|
|
This week the Wall Street Journal started a new series on “The Shipping Wars” and started by taking a closer look at Amazon and Target’s strategy (with Walmart up next.) While Amazon is of course the largest online retailer and really changed consumer behavior, they seem to be borrowing from the strategy Target is banking on so they can continue to compete – sticking closer to home. Target is going all-in on ship-from-store, and Amazon is also doubling down on same-day centers that combine fulfillment, sortation and delivery into a single warehouse and regional hubs. To us, this all sounds eerily similar to our “a mall is a warehouse” theory and showcases why property owners should be paying attention to this space. It’s the old adage of a canary in a coal mine and your retailers and the SMB retail market are sure to follow providing malls a strong competitive advantage, you just need to harness it.
This week we also caught up on how the tides are changing when it comes to self-checkout, a survey on why consumers love ghost kitchens, and shopping centers are seeing some old friends return and welcoming in some new ones. We’ll be taking some time this week to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends (we hope our US readers will as well!), but you can find us over on LinkedIn if you want to drop us a line.
|
|
|
|
Amazon’s Astro robot is now a roving security guard for business [CNBC] Amazon wants businesses to use its Astro robot as a roving security guard in their stores to detect break-ins and other threats.The service, called Astro for Business, is launching only in the U.S. and comes at a steep price point of $2,349.99. Amazon’s Astro household robot has remained elusive since it launched in Sept. 2021, available in limited quantities and on an invite-only basis.
|
|
J. Crew unveils holiday-themed virtual store [RetailDive] Continuing its digital store collaboration, J. Crew has teamed up with the experiential e-commerce company Obsess to create the holiday version of its virtual store. The store has an AI card generator that lets shoppers answer questions to receive a greeting card based on their answers. It also has a ski game that lets players ski around red flags to avoid trees in their pathway, according to the announcement.
|
|
|
|
Walmart, Costco and other companies rethink self-checkout [CNN]
The backlash against self-checkout is growing, and stores are starting to dial back on the technology after it exploded over the past few years. Booths, a British supermarket chain, said it’s removing self-checkout stations in all but two of its 28 stores. In the United States, Walmart, Costco, Wegmans and other chains have also revised their self-checkout strategies.
|
|
|
|
Micro & Last Mile Fulfillment
|
|
|
|
Inside Target’s Strategy to Compete With Amazon, Walmart in Fast Shipping [The Wall Street Journal] Target uses its almost 2,000 stores to deliver 95% of its online orders. Now it’s ramping up its speed by investing $100 million in local sorting centers to keep up with Amazon and Walmart. Explore its store-centric strategy.
Walgreens Wants the Corner Drugstore to Be an Online Delivery Hub [The Wall Street Journal] Walgreens Boots Alliance is betting its 8,700 bricks-and-mortar stores, and not a network of fulfillment centers, hold the key to speeding up delivery of online consumer orders and increasing sales. The pharmacy giant recently closed a warehouse in Edwardsville, Ill., dedicated to filling e-commerce orders for household items such as toothpaste and nail polish, signaling that it is going all-in on the idea that its stores will do double duty as both retail outlets and hubs for home deliveries.
|
|
Inside Amazon’s Strategy to Redefine Fast Shipping, Again [The Wall Street Journal] Amazon is the king of fast delivery—it pioneered the two-day shipping model customers have come to expect. But to stay ahead of Target and Walmart, it’s overhauling its distribution network. Explore the company’s fast-shipping strategy.
UPS just opened a giant new warehouse where 3,000 robots will do most of the work: ‘It’s a linchpin of our strategy’ [Fortune] United Parcel Service just opened its largest warehouse, a sweeping 20-acre facility on the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky. The package-handling giant plans to fill the $79 million facility with more than 3,000 robots by the end of next year to handle tasks like lifting and reduce the need for manual labor. That level of automation means UPS can run the warehouse with about 200 workers, which are expected to increase over time.
|
|
|
|
Restaurants & Ghost Kitchens
|
|
|
|
1 in 7 Consumers Chooses Ghost Kitchens to Skip Social Interaction [PYMNTS] The PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Connected Dining: The Robot Will Take Your Order Now,” found that, among the roughly half (48%) of consumers who are interested in virtual kitchens, 30% of them reported that this interest comes at least in part from the fact that these digital eateries do not require any interaction with other people.
|
|
With Covid Back and Winter Approaching, Is It Safe to Dine Indoors? [Bloomberg] At this time last year, I was able to recite the number of Covid cases in New York from memory. Covid was so ingrained in daily life then that monitoring viral risk was as much a part of my routine as checking the weather. When I sat down to write this newsletter, though, I realized I actually have no idea how many Covid cases are floating around the city right now.
|
|
|
|
Restaurant prices are way up. You might want to head to the supermarket [CNN] If you’re watching your budget, it might be time to skip the drive-thru and head to the supermarket.In the 12 months through October, higher restaurant prices drove food prices above overall inflation, even as grocery prices were relatively low.
|
|
|
|
Toys R Us to open flagship store in Mall of America [RetailDive] Continuing its brick-and-mortar expansion, Toys R Us is opening a location at Mall of America, according to a press release shared with Retail Dive from parent company WHP Global. The 11,000-square-foot Mall of America location is the second flagship store in the U.S. and will open before Thanksgiving. In-store shoppers can find toys and games and take pictures with Geoffrey the Giraffe.
|
|
An AI Doctor In A Box Coming To A Mall Near You [Forbes] Aoun announced a fresh $100 million in funding to bring 25 of these pods to malls across the country, compares his healthcare approach to what Elon Musk is building at Tesla. The goal is to put medicine on autopilot. “Slowly but surely we’re just migrating every single thing from doctor and nurse to hardware and software,” Aoun said. “In fact, we don’t even believe a doctor’s office should exist.”
|
|
|
|
BuyBuy Baby announces locations of 11 store openings ahead of holidays [RetailDive] BuyBuy Baby plans to open 11 stores Saturday. The retailer has planned celebration events at all locations, which are entirely on the East Coast. The company said its online store is also set to reopen this fall.
|
|
|
