| A Weekly PropTech Newsletter bringing you industry updates from across the real estate spectrum |
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| As we head toward the year’s end, studies and predictions are ramping up, and Accenture’s latest Annual Holiday Shopping Survey offers positive signs for malls this holiday season. Surveying 1,500 U.S. shoppers, their Annual Holiday Shopping Survey found that nearly three-quarters of respondents are open to inspiration while gift shopping—an experience perfectly suited to a mall’s diverse retail landscape. Additionally, with almost half of shoppers preferring to visit stores to see items firsthand, malls remain at the heart of seasonal shopping experiences. With this in mind, properties like the Mall of America are ready to put their Black Friday strategies into action to engage and inspire shoppers.
Also in the news this week, with Amazon drone delivery kicking off in Phoenix , it’s fun to think of where else autonomous delivery could have a role. And while home delivery will see it’s peak in the coming weeks, curbside remains popular at some retailers, though tweaks are still needed. We’re back in the states (NYC for CRETech to be exact) this week, but over on LinkedIn. should you want to drop us a line to chat. |
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| Zara opens first tech-forward concept store in Thailand [InsideRetail] The store concept focuses primarily on technology tools that allow consumers to browse the store of their choice online, check available stock, shop online, and pick up their products in just two hours. It also promotes sustainability in store, where it uses eco-friendly products and “some of the most advanced environmental eco-efficient systems”
Amazon begins delivering select products via drone in Phoenix [TechCrunch] A few months after ending its drone-based delivery program, Prime Air, in California, Amazon says that it’s begun making deliveries to select customers via drone in Phoenix, Arizona.
Can Autonomous Delivery be the Future for Restaurants? [QSR] The future of delivery is here, and it’s not what you might have imagined during the sci-fi-inspired predictions of the 1980s. Forget flying cars, DeLorean time machines and the necessity to drive 88 miles per hour—it’s drones and robots that are now poised to revolutionize the food delivery industry. |
| Target changes app to curb ‘double-tapper’ customers who caused chaos with drive-up orders [Business Insider] Target released an update to its app to curb a shopper behavior workers call the “double tap.” Workers said drive-up customers were causing chaos by waiting until arrival to say they were en route. Shoppers are now required to wait an extra minute to trigger the process of order fulfillment.
How Tech Investments Will Support Retailer Profitability In 2025 [Forbes] A mix of technological advancements and economic realities will shape the retail landscape in 2025. Here is a sampling of some of what we predict for the retail industry in the coming year.
Lowe’s launches home maintenance support tool for loyalty members [RetailDive] Adding another perk for members, Lowe’s has launched its Digital Home Platform, a free loyalty-member exclusive hub where customers can access personalized information, including maintenance suggestions, how-to content, recommended subscriptions and replacement parts and other product information. |
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| Santa’s delivery helpers: Here are how the major shippers are hiring for the holidays [USA Today] Santa Claus will have some help making deliveries as multiple shipping services are on a hiring blitz with the holiday season approaches. Shipping demands appear to be strong, with the National Retail Foundation finding that 57% of people plan to shop online during the holiday season. and projecting that consumers will spend $907 per person through the season. |
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| Retail leasing in malls drops slightly during July-September period [Apparel Resources] Real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield has reported that between July and September, leasing of retail space in shopping malls and well-known high streets fell 1 per cent to 1.63 million square feet across the top eight cities. Cushman & Wakefield published its Q3-2024 ‘Retail MarketBeat’ report, highlighting a consistent trend in India’s main streets that led to retail growth in the country’s top eight cities.
DTC is dead. Long live DTC. [RetailDive] As the direct-to-consumer model matured, a slew of factors that helped DTC brands flourish began waning. The general retail market slowed, customer acquisition costs on social media surged, venture funds dried up, the cost to fulfill online orders grew and brands started hitting their own growth ceilings.
Simon Property Sees Young People Coming Back to the Mall [WWD] Simon Property Group continues to see plenty of opportunity in the mall. “I’m pleased with our financial and operational performance in the third quarter,” said chairman and chief executive officer David Simon. “We saw increased leasing volumes, occupancy gains, and total retail sales volumes.” |
| Malls Remain a Draw in 2024 [ConnectCRE] Four years after the pandemic put most of the shopping public on lockdown, shopping malls are still going strong. And while malls have faced challenges in recent years, as e-commerce and pandemic-induced store closures led to shifts in consumer habits, “the outlook is brightening,” Placer.ai says in a new white paper.
Jill Renslow on Mall of America’s Black Friday strategy: ‘250,000 people’ will shop our stores [Glossy] As the largest retail and entertainment complex in the U.S., Mall of America is currently experiencing its annual Super Bowl. Depending on who you ask, the holiday shopping season is already on — and, according to Jill Renslow, the center’s chief business and marketing officer, Mall of America is embracing every related opportunity.
Deck The Malls: Stores are back [Chain Store Age] Peak holiday shopping season is here. And as people look for the perfect gift for friends and family, six-in-10 don’t know where to start and seven-in-10 are worried they’ll make the wrong choice and regret it. That’s according to Accenture’s Annual Holiday Shopping Survey, of 1,500 U.S. shoppers, which also found almost three-quarters (73%) of consumers would welcome inspiration. |
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