| Another week, another property owner leveraging leasing platforms to reach new tenants. Last week we highlighted Regency and Spacewise, this week it’s Macerich, who, as we previously covered, launched a platform that allows anyone with an internet connection to see all of the spaces for lease in their shopping centers. What we like about this specifically, outside of the obvious benefits of making leasing agents more efficient, is that Macerich acknowledges that despite launching a couple of years ago, “this isn’t the end of the product roadmap either” and the platform will continue to grow. Bringing new technology doesn’t have to be an “all or nothing” endeavor and you don’t have to do it all right off the bat. Start slow, but start! Need support getting out the gate? #LetsChat
This week we read about how the food offerings in malls are continuing to evolve, what remote work has meant for neighborhood centers, and caught up on how a new reverse logistics offering is fairing in the fast fashion space. Have you visited us on LinkedIn recently? Make sure to give us a follow to keep ahead of industry news. |
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| Stores Roll Out Employee Body Cameras as Retail Crime Precaution [Sourcing Journal] Locking up merchandise and employing private security have failed to address the issue, and that’s where body cameras come into play.
A new Walmart in-store AI is giving employees advice on how to sell products before it’s too late [CNBC] Walmart is piloting a new in-store artificial intelligence to advise associates on everything from when bananas are likely to rot to when to mark down seasonal clothing.The goal is to reduce food waste and fashion waste, which leads to millions of tons of unused items each year likely bound for landfills, and billions of lost dollars for Walmart.
Chipotle Scraps Farmesa Fresh Eatery After Ghost Kitchen Closure [RetailWire] Chipotle Mexican Grill’s venture into the Farmesa Fresh Eatery concept has come to an abrupt halt following the closure of its partnering platform Kitchen United’s ghost kitchens. Roughly a year prior, Chipotle generated buzz with the launch of its pioneering Farmesa locale at Kitchen United’s Santa Monica hub. |
| Amazon Prime Announces It Has Faster Deliveries [RetailWire] Amazon reports that its Prime deliveries are now even speedier. With over 2 billion packages reaching customers in a day or less this year, the company claims its delivery system is picking up its pace.
Nordstrom to grow online product assortment via new digital marketplace [Chain Store Age] Nordstrom is rolling out a new digital marketplace as it looks to provide customers with a greater selection of products, brands and sizes online.The department store retailer said the new digital offering will enhance its existing assortment, as well as offer brands not sold in their stores.
Shein and Forever 21 first to use UPS’ Happy Returns cross-brand solution [FreightWaves] Happy Returns, a UPS company, has launched its buy-online, return-in-store (BORIS) solution for retailers to develop reverse logistics networks with physical brand locations to improve consumer experience. Happy Returns also announced Tuesday that e-commerce giant Shein and retailer Forever 21 will be the first cross-brand partnership to use the BORIS product. |
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| Yelp will release AI restaurant overview videos based on user feedback [Fast Company] Twenty years in, Yelp is turning to AI to help bring restaurant reviews to life. The reviews behemoth is testing AI to create short narrated videos describing local businesses by stitching together the photos, videos, and text descriptions that users have already uploaded to the platform. |
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| Macerich Builds Listing Platform to Appeal to ‘Mom and Pop’ Business Owners [promodo] Declaring that mom-and-pop businesses “are the backbone of any mall,” Macerich is recruiting tenants for its numerous properties with an online portal. Along with 360-degree images are the rental prices, something many landlords don’t want to be public; Macerich figures that information will eventually get out, executive Aaron Spector says.
Say goodbye to Ruby Tuesday and Chili’s. These are the hot new restaurants at the mall [CNN] Looking for a bite at your local mall? As US malls race to reinvent themselves, they’re turning to sushi conveyor belts, craft-beer membership clubs and Korean barbecue to replace burgers and fries. Often used by police officers in the field of duty, the technology is increasingly gaining traction as a means of monitoring retail employees’ safety.
EXCLUSIVE: Woodbury Common Premium Outlets Is Upping Its Game for Elevated Shopping With Expansion [WWD] Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, a mecca for bargain hunters and home to scores of designer labels, is elevating its already high-end outlet experience. This year, 20 new outlets will open, on top of the 20 that opened or expanded last year. Among the brands soon to open are Bollicine Champagne Bar, MCM, Rothy’s, Helly Hansen, Hollister, and others. |
| Michigan mall set to get billion-dollar makeover [Chain Store Age] Out of the Box Ventures, a subsidiary of Miami-based Lionheart Capital, has announced the closure of Lakeside Mall on July 1 as part of an approved redevelopment plan. The $1 billion redevelopment process will begin with the demolition of Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights, a northern suburb of Detroit, paving the way for a new mixed-use city center.
Over 45K retail stores may close in next 5 years: UBS [RetailDive] About 45,000 retail stores may close in the coming years as retail’s physical footprint increasingly shifts to serve as fulfillment and distribution centers, UBS analysts led by Michael Lasser said in an April 22 report. That forecast is based on the premise that online retail penetration rises to 26% from 21% with retail sales growth of 4% by 2028.
How remote workers have increased traffic and new uses at neighborhood centers [Chain Store Age] A LinkedIn study found that, in April of 2022, 20% of job postings offered remote-work opportunities. That was twice the share posted in January 2021. Pre-pandemic, only 3% to 5% of employers offered work-at-home options. The effect that this incredible social shift has had on neighborhood centers has been profound. Center visitation has been increasingly activated throughout the day. |
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| How Hudson Yards Went From Bust to Boom [NY Times] Hudson Yards — the $30 billion planned neighborhood with office towers and luxury apartments — has become a success story, at least as far as leasing the offices is concerned. |
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