next rivet logo

Let's Talk!

    PropTech Newsletter: The Week In News, But Shorter

    August 19 - 25, 2024


    View this email in your browser



    The Week In News, But Shorter
    August 19 – 25, 2024

    A Weekly  PropTech Newsletter bringing you industry updates from across the real estate spectrum



    An article this week from the Wall Street Journal discussed the retail industry’s resistance to moving away from barcodes and toward a more powerful, newer technology; QR codes. And while this isn’t necessarily a specific sticking point for property owners, it is a common trope in the broader retail industry: being stuck in the past. Embracing new innovations can mean breaking with deeply ingrained traditions and legacy systems, but the power of these new technologies can engage customers in new ways, open new revenue streams, and pave a way for a more successful future. If you are feeling stuck in the past, let’s chat or send us a message on LinkedIn.

    Drone delivery remained in the headlines this week, as did retail shopping centers in the international market, and predictions on where retail sales will come from this coming holiday shopping season. 

    Digital Meets Physical

    How did Walmart’s drone delivery service grow so big, so fast? [Fast CompanyIt has become increasingly common to see a drone hovering over a building with a delivery order. Customers want things faster these days, and drone delivery offers retailers a great way to meet that demand. At the forefront of the drone delivery revolution is Walmart, which has leapfrogged over Amazon when it comes to last-mile logistics

    Restaurants are Finding New Tools to Solve Old Problems [QSRIt’s hard to remember a time when the restaurant industry was tracked so closely by the mainstream media. In the wake of COVID’s disruption there have been successes and failures. From novel new dining concepts and TikTok trends, to the closure of favorites, Chapter 11s, and even new rules around employee wages.

    How Will Real-Time Tracking Affect Retail Delivery? [RetailWireBest Buy has launched a new live tracking feature for large deliveries like TVs and appliances, using AI to provide real-time updates. Customers receive a four-hour delivery window on the day of their delivery with a link to track the driver’s location and estimated arrival time on a map.

    The 50-Year-Old Technology That Brands and Retailers Are Trying to Quit [The Wall Street JournalScanning barcodes at checkout could be a thing of the past as early as 2027, brands and retailers say, as they work to replace the decades-old technology with newer, more capable QR codes, a move that could boost sales and customer engagement. Companies such as Coca-Cola, L’Oréal and Procter & Gamble are working toward this goal, as are many retailers who carry their products.

    Mattress Firm rolls out two-hour delivery with DoorDash [Chain Store AgeThe nation’s largest mattress specialty retailer has a new on-demand delivery partner. Mattress Firm is collaborating with DoorDash to introduce on-demand, two-hour delivery of mattresses and bedding accessories from its more than 2,300 store locations across the U.S.

    Mobile shopping forecast to drive over half of online holiday sales: report [RetailDiveDuring this year’s upcoming holiday season, 53% of online sales are forecast to happen on mobile devices, according to a new Adobe Analytics report. Adobe projects that mobile shopping will “consistently eclipse” desktop going into 2025.

    PropTalk

    Department stores, malls in Japan set up prayer rooms as Muslim visitors increase [JapanTodayDepartment stores and shopping malls in Japan are increasingly setting up prayer rooms to meet the need for Muslims amid a growing number of visitors from Islamic countries on the back of a weak yen. At the Matsuya Ginza department store in Tokyo’s upscale shopping district, a number of people lined up in front of a room designated as a “prayer room” at certain times of the day.

    Meet the $465 million startup UPS acquired that helps solve the ‘free returns’ nightmare that Amazon fueled [FortuneWhen UPS posted its worst-ever day on the stock market after a disappointing earnings report in July, there was one “bright spot,” according to company executives. And it had very little to do with traditional shipping.

    Amazon allowing sellers to ditch physical returns [SupplyChainDiveAmazon has launched a program allowing sellers using its fulfillment services to issue product refunds without customers returning the item. Fulfillment by Amazon Returnless Resolutions will help sellers avoid returns-related fees by cutting out the physical reverse logistics process and letting customers keep the items instead.

    5Qs for Allison Greenfield on the remaking of Michigan’s largest mall [Chain Store AgeLionheart Capital has plans to turn the site into the new downtown of Michigan’s fourth-largest city. Lionheart’s Out of the Box Ventures unit, which works at infusing new value into distressed retail real estate, plans to employ at least $1 billion in the development of retail, residences, and office spaces in the place once anchored by Macy’s, Sears, and Lord & Taylor.

    Meet the $465 million startup UPS acquired that helps solve the ‘free returns’ nightmare that Amazon fueled [FortuneWhen UPS posted its worst-ever day on the stock market after a disappointing earnings report in July, there was one “bright spot,” according to company executives. And it had very little to do with traditional shipping.

    Twitter

    LinkedIn

    Website


    Most Recent Articles

    15 Oct
    PropTalk: Insights from Real Estate Experts

    In this installment of ‘PropTalk: Insights from Real Estate Experts,’ we speak to Ricardo Rosa, the Director of Innovation at...

    Read More
    14 Oct
    PropTech Newsletter: The Week In News, But Shorter

    While it’s fascinating to see Amazon refining its Just Walk Out technology and innovations in smart shopping carts, the bigger...

    Read More
    7 Oct
    PropTech Newsletter: The Week In News, But Shorter

    We regularly include studies in our proptech newsletters about preferences for in-person shopping, especially among younger shoppers.

    Read More

    FREE INSIGHTS!

    Get The Industry News You Need to Know

    We curate the news and trends unique to property owners on a weekly basis. Subscribe now!