March 7/Sacramento, Cal./States News Service -- U.S. retailers have increased their expansion plans by 40% in 2011 over 2010, according to ChainLinks Retail Advisors' National Retailer and Restaurant Expansion Guide.
Low rents are part of the reason retailers and restaurateurs are eyeing expansion into areas with lower-than-average unemployment rates in an effort to build a bigger brand mark. Restaurant chains, especially burger and Asian, are poised to increase this year.