The Week In News, But Shorter
October 20 – 26, 2025

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

Delivery drones have made regular appearances in these newsletters, but have rarely been the lead story. An article this week in Thesis Driven gave us reason to change that. The article pointed out that the rise of delivery drones is not just reshaping logistics, it’s creating a new real-estate opportunity as well. The growth in use of fully-autonomous, battery-powered drones are creating a need for a network of charging, storage and maintenance hubs. For mall owners, this means that your properties could serve as essential nodes in a new last-mile delivery network, offering lease opportunities, new income streams and enhanced relevance in an omni-channel world where speed and proximity matter. Not to mention the potential benefit it could offer to your tenants. Are delivery drones part of your property or planning yet?

This week headlines on ChatGPT were all over the place, with one headline suggesting that it should make retailers nervous, while another saying it’s not responsible for translating to very many sales. Speaking of driving sales, a study this week found that Spirit Halloween stores drive center visits, but not much longer with Halloween just a few days away. You know what that means!? Get your Christmas trees up and queue up the Santa playlist! Is your center making the transition this week? Let us know over on our LinkedIn page.

Digital Meets Physical

Amazon’s Delivery Drivers Will Soon Wear AI Smart Glasses to Work [CNET] Amazon announced that it is developing new AI-powered smart glasses to simplify the delivery experience for its drivers. The goal is to simplify package delivery by reducing the need for drivers to look at their phones, the label on the package they’re delivering and their surroundings to find the correct address.

Alibaba Unveils AI Chatbot and Prices AI Glasses at $659 [PYMNTS] Alibaba has unveiled a new artificial intelligence chatbot for consumers and announced the pricing and launch date of its new AI glasses. The company’s consumer-facing AI application, Quark, announced the Quark AI Chat Assistant, saying it enables users to access real-time information and services via text or voice.

E-commerce sites see low sales from ChatGPT traffic, study finds [ModernRetail] ChatGPT is sending more shoppers to e-commerce sites, but most aren’t buying. A new working paper from researchers finds that referral traffic from ChatGPT converts far worse than traditional marketing channels such as Google Search, email and affiliate links.

ChatGPT Should Make Retailers Nervous [The Wall Street Journal] ChatGPT has the potential to make shoppers’ lives much easier. The effect on retailers will be more complicated. Last week, investors cheered after Walmart—America’s largest retailer—said it would let shoppers buy its products directly within OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Walmart’s shares rose nearly 5% that day, adding about $40 billion to its market cap.

Consumers embrace AI for research, but few have allowed it to make purchases [RetailDive] Customers are worrying over payment security, privacy and potential mistakes with autonomous AI purchases, a Riskified survey found.

Gen Z, millennials drive adoption of AI for holiday shopping [RetailDive] While nearly a quarter (23%) of consumers overall are likely to use chatbots and AI tools to shop this holiday season, millennials and Gen Z shoppers are leading the way in using the technology, according to an Epsilon Pulse report. Forty-four percent of millennials and 42% of Gen Z respondents said they are likely to use chatbots and AI tools for holiday purchase inspiration.

PropTalk

Real Estate Opportunities in Drone Delivery [Thesis Driven] Over the past decade, logistics real estate has emerged from the fringes to an institutional-quality asset class. Other related typologies like industrial outdoor storage (IOS), cold storage, and EV charging have followed, walking the line between traditional real estate and infrastructure while attracting billions in investor capital.

Jamie Dimon Wants Everyone in the Office. Is a $3 Billion Building the Answer? [The Wall Street Journal] Jamie Dimon was sitting on the 13th floor of his new headquarters on a Monday morning, sipping a Guinness and looking out at the Manhattan skyline. It was the first day that JPMorgan Chase’s massive skyscraper at 270 Park Avenue was opening to employees; the CEO had arrived with his architect to toast the building, a $3 billion monument to work.

Study: Spirit Halloween stores help boost community, power center visits [Chain Store Age] A new report reveals that Spirit Halloween and its over 1,500 seasonal pop-up stores have helped fuel a surge in retail visits. Community shopping centers benefit from a strong boost in foot traffic fueled by the launch of seasonal Spirit Halloween pop-up stores, with the strongest uplift occurring between Oct. 13 and Nov. 10 and peaking just before Halloween itself.

As many retailers shrink their footprints, Dick’s Sporting Goods goes big [CNBC] As many retailers look for ways to shrink store counts and square footage, Dick’s Sporting Goods is going bigger. The retailer is building more sprawling “House of Sport” stores, which typically come in at 120,000 to 150,000 square feet, more than double the 50,000 for its traditional locations. The sporting goods company believes it’s working.

Bombas Takes Next Big Steps Opening Flagship Store In NYC And Entering Target, DSW [Forbes] Bombas, the quality- and comfort-obsessed, mission-driven socks brand, is opening its first owned flagship store in New York City at 345 Bleecker Street. Called a “soft opening” in a nod to the softness its products deliver to customers in everyday essentials like socks, t-shirts, underwear, and slippers, the brand will follow the NYC opening with store launches in Boca Raton and Austin before the end of the year.

Toys R Us accelerates flagship openings, seasonal shops [RetailDive] Toys R Us is undergoing an expansion in the U.S. that includes flagship stores and seasonal holiday shops, according to a company announcement Thursday. Over 30 new stores will open, per the company’s website. Additional store launches will be announced throughout the season.

The Gulf’s Real Estate Boom Comes With Expectations [Propmodo] The Gulf real estate market is on fire. Dubai home prices are up double digits year-over-year, office space in Riyadh is nearly fully leased, and cranes are multiplying across Doha’s skyline. But with prices soaring and speculative developments accelerating, whispers of a bubble are starting to spread—echoing past boom cycles that ended in overbuilt skylines and empty towers.