Hungry shoppers want good food. And it’s likely they’ll stick around and shop once they eat, benefiting both retailers and real estate owners that are taking note of this.

The talk of the biggest gathering of retail real estate professionals in the world, organized by the International Council of Shopping Centers and happening this week in Las Vegas, is food, according to a handful of people attending the show.

A study released Monday at ICSC’s RECon by commercial real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle found that 40% of customers will choose a center to shop at based solely on the food there, and nearly 38% of people want healthy options. The study surveyed more than 1,500 U.S. adults in March.     MORE