The Week In News, But Shorter
November 10 – 16, 2025

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

An article this week highlights JLL’s new 2025 Global Real Estate Technology Survey, which found that 88% of commercial-real-estate investors and landlords are piloting AI projects; no surprise there. The survey also found that only 5% of these companies have achieved all (note: ALL) their AI goals; again no surprise! While the article frames this as “rapid adoption with limited success,” and positions it as a challenge, we’d argue the opposite: it’s exactly what healthy innovation looks like. The world moves so fast that we forget that just two years ago, AI barely registered in our industry. Now, it’s a majority of what we’re talking about. Yes, we want technology investments to prove ROI, but we know from years of experience that this doesn’t happen overnight, (especially with truly transformative technologies,) and that slow, iterative progress isn’t the same as failure. Curious what a typical ROI curve looks like for these technologies? Let’s chat and get realistic together.

The industry is continuing to read the tea leaves on what’s in store (no pun intended!) for the holiday shopping season, taking notes from the outcome of 11/11 in China, recent fundraising rounds, and how promotion strategies impact foot traffic. What are the signals you’re taking note of as we inch ever closer to the holidays? Find us over on LinkedIn and let us know what those signals are predicting for your properties.

Digital Meets Physical

TikTok Shop Is Now the Size of eBay [WIRED] TikTok’s ecommerce arm has kept growing steadily, despite tariffs and never-ending debates over whether the platform should be banned.

China ‘Singles’ Day’ Sales Show Modest Growth [The Wall Street Journal] A major shopping event in China showed sales improved, but not by enough to dispel concerns that tepid consumer spending will continue to drag on the economy. Sales across e-commerce platforms operated by heavyweights like Alibaba and JD.com rose during Singles’ Day—an unofficial anti-Valentine’s Day holiday that offers a gauge of consumers’ willingness to spend.

Fearful of Trump’s raids, some Hispanic shoppers turn to safety of online buying [Reuters] Some Hispanic shoppers, fearful of US immigration raids, shift to online purchases. Hispanic buying power projected to reach $2.8 trillion next year. Small businesses suffer because they lack online presence

Retailers struggle to quantify return on in-store tech investments [RetailDive] While nearly half of respondents said they have difficulty in quantifying the return on their in-store tech enhancements, over a third (37%) expressed uncertainty regarding whether new technology will be useful or distracting to their businesses, the survey found

Fabletics opening tech-driven flagship at Westfield Century City [Chain Store Age] Located at Westfield Century City, the 3,300-sq.-ft. “next-generation” store is powered by Fabletics’ proprietary technology and AI. It will processes over 70 billion data points daily to create a hyper-personalized and curated customer experience and will serve as a testing ground to pilot future company initiatives.

Tech deal gives 3k independent c-stores access to e-commerce [C-StoreDive] A partnership between Vroom and point of sale software company SwiftSku will help retailers add online ordering and delivery capabilities.

PropTalk

Commercial Real Estate’s AI Journey: High Adoption, Low Achievement [HNR] Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly being adopted in the commercial real estate sector, with 88% of investors and landlords piloting AI projects. However, only 5% of these companies have achieved all their AI goals, highlighting a significant gap between adoption and successful implementation.

Simon debuts Simon+ omnichannel loyalty program [Chain Store Age] America’s largest shopping center owner is rolling out a new rewards program for its guests. Simon Property Group has announced the launch of Simon+, a new loyalty program that rewards members with cash back, points and perks for shopping nationwide at Simon properties and online at ShopSimon.com or on the ShopSimon app.

Retailers are still growing their business, finding new locations, says Tanger CEO Yalof [CNBC] Stephen Yalof, Tanger president and CEO, joins ‘Fast Money’ to talk consumer trends, the state of retail, what to expect out of the holidays and more.

Holiday sales to top $1 trillion for the first time: NRF [RetailDive] Retail sales during November and December are expected to reach $1 trillion for the first time, according to the National Retail Federation. That translates to growth of between 3.7% and 4.2% year over year during the two-month period. That compares to a 4.3% increase in 2024, when holiday sales reached $976 billion.

Wayfair to Test Smaller Store Format with First Ohio Location [Retail Touchpoints] With four large-format store openings in the pipeline, Wayfair is now planning to test a smaller-format location with its new Columbus, Ohio store, scheduled to open in late 2026. At 70,000 square feet, the furniture store will be about half the size of Wayfair’s large-format stores.

Placer.ai: Promotions key for driving in-store holiday traffic [Chain Store Age] New retail data reveals that retailers will be facing a more challenging environment in the coming weeks. A recent report points to decreased foot traffic and a divided retail environment as key factors impacting the upcoming holiday season.

Skims valued at $5 billion after new funding round as it accelerates store expansion [CNBC] Kim Kardashian’s Skims is now valued at $5 billion after a new funding round. The brand plans to use the money to fund an expansion of physical stores. The cash infusion could also delay an expected IPO from the brand.