The Week In News, But Shorter

The Week In News, But Shorter
January 8 – 14, 2024

(Ed note: We’re coming to you a day later than our normal Monday delivery in honor of the Martin Luther King holiday here in the United States.  We’ll be back on our regular schedule next week)

This week we also caught up on predictions for NRF, which is just getting underway, and ongoing predictions for 2024 in general. We also enjoyed an article about the role China is playing in the evolving mall landscape. Anything we missed? Tag us on LinkedIn and we’ll be sure to include in next week’s newsletter.

Digital Meets Physical

Amazon expands cashierless checkout to hospitals — with a new feature [Chain Store Age] Amazon has adapted its “Just Walk Out” cashierless checkout technology for use in hospitals and other health care centers. The updated version includes a new payment solution called “badge pay,” which lets staff pay for food and beverages purchases by scanning their employee badge. The first hospital to offer the technology is St. Joseph’s/Candler’s Candler Hospital in Savannah, Ga. 

NRF’s Big Show is all about AI in 2024, as retail’s biggest conference has become a tech event [ModernRetail] Zeitgeisty topics like artificial intelligence, omnichannel retail and retail media are set to be among the major topics at this year’s NRF Big Show in New York City. It’s is one of retail’s biggest conferences, thanks to its panels, opportunities for networking, and vendors. Last year drew 35,000 attendees. 

Study: Retail tech investments will rise 10% in 2024 [Chain Store Age] A survey of 100 retail executives from large companies conducted by IT consulting and digital services provider Softstream and Wakefield Research found that  99% of respondents predict a surge of technology investments to happen this year.  Across all respondents, investments are expected to increase by an average of 10%, while 94% of respondents reported technology to be a significant driver for new customers.

A Stepping Stone Year For Generative AI: Core Challenges For 2024 [Forbes] The current period of innovation is just only beginning, and the work the technology industry is doing now will inform how AI will impact our lives and work in the long term. Leaders are currently ironing out their short-term priorities with generative AI, which will bring about several trends and challenges in 2024

Micro & Last Mile Fulfillment

The Last Mile Advantage: Research Shows Delivery Experiences Will Drive Consumer Loyalty In 2024 [Forbes] The ecommerce industry has experienced significant shifts, with consumer spending habits and delivery logistics at the forefront of these changes.  Online businesses face the dual challenge of adapting to new consumer preferences while ensuring operational efficiency.

Amazon successfully shipped more last-minute holiday products this year than in 2022 [ModernRetail] In 2023, Amazon experimented with new logistics strategies and technologies to quickly fulfill and deliver orders — and these changes paid off big for the e-commerce giant. Amazon shipped last-minute Christmas gifts faster in 2023 than in 2022, according to analyst Momentum Commerce. 

Walmart Expands Drone Delivery in Dallas as It Races Amazon [The Wall Street Journal] Drones are more likely to be buzzing overhead this year if you live in Dallas. Amazon plans to offer drone delivery to most of the region this year, a major expansion of its effort in recent years to provide the delivery option to some customers in several states.

Mall Talk

The US invented shopping malls, but China is writing their next chapter [The Conversation] On a recent research trip to China, I wandered through the Oasis Mall in suburban Shanghai. Like many Chinese shopping centers, this complex was filled with empty stores that reflected the end of China’s 30-year-long economic expansion. 

Gold Fever At Dubai Airport Amid Record Sales For Its Biggest Retailer [Forbes] The main duty-free retailer at the world’s busiest international airport, Dubai International, has reported a new all-time revenue record with sales in 2023 reaching 7.885 billion UAE dirhams ($2.16 billion), overtaking the previous high of just over $2 billion set in 2019.

As Retailers Cite Rising Theft and Shrinkage, Analysts Want More Details [The Wall Street Journal] As retailers, in the coming weeks, report on the busy holiday shopping season, investors and analysts will be trying to get more understanding into shrinkage and theft.

Restaurants & Ghost Kitchens

Restaurant CPG enters the TikTok era with products created to go viral [Nation’s Restaurant News] While restaurants have been selling their products in supermarkets and convenience stores for decades — from frozen White Castle sliders to TGI Fridays mozzarella sticks — recently, foodservice CPG has entered a new social media-conscious era.

7 restaurant industry trends to watch in 2024 [RestaurantDive] The outlook for the restaurant industry in 2024 is clouded by many of the pressures that defined 2023. Inflation, diner price sensitivity, sluggish traffic and scarce capital will continue to plague operators, experts said. These challenges may push restaurants to embrace new solutions this year, experts said. 

Once-Sizzling Ghost Kitchens May Be Cooling Fast [Inc] Outsourced restaurant food annexes or independently run ghost kitchens preparing food orders were the (avocado) toast of the pandemic. But now they’re losing their spice.