PropTech Newsletter: The Week In News, But Shorter

The Week In News, But Shorter
November11 – 17, 2024

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

We continue to see reports of how retailers and brands are incorporating AI into their digital shopping experiences this holiday season (only a handful of what we read this week is captured below.) And with this being the first full holiday season where AI is truly incorporated, we are very curious to see how it impacts online vs. offline traffic and sales. Will customers be thrilled with the enhanced experience they find online thanks to AI, or will they be frustrated and head in store? Will in store start to feel too analog, or just analog enough in our overly digital lives? What do you think? Drop us a note on LinkedIn and let us know!

Also on our mind this week: delivery wars will remain active this holiday season, with Amazon turning to eyeware for a competitive advantage; the jury on DTC vs. In-Store remains out with different brands taking different approaches; and lastly, holiday spirit has a new meaning this season, and it’s one that has an impact for property owners.

Digital Meets Physical

Brands are updating their sites to prepare for a mobile-heavy holiday season [ModernRetail] With roughly seven in 10 Therabody customers coming to its website on a mobile phone, the health device company’s digital experience team has been heads down getting ready for the holiday season.

Instacart CEO: Retailer Integrations Streamline Shopping, Drive Growth [PYMNTS] Instacart’s expansion of retailer integrations and the implementation of advanced technology have streamlined the shopping experience, providing convenience, savings and higher engagement, CEO Fidji Simo noted Tuesday (Nov. 12) during the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

Wonder to acquire Grubhub for $650M [GroceryDive] Wonder, a company that operates delivery-focused food halls, will acquire food delivery provider Grubhub for $650 million from Just Eat Takeaway.com (JET). The transaction is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2025, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approval.

The AI-Enabled Future Of Retail [Forbes] Like all industries, retail is seeing substantial impact with the use of AI. Retail organizations collect lots of data from customers daily including customer purchases and transactions, inventory data, as well as customer feedback and sentiment analysis. In order to get the most insights from this data, many retailers are turning to AI technologies for help.

Exclusive: Amazon developing driver eyeglasses to shave seconds off deliveries, sources say [Reuters] Amazon is developing smart eyeglasses for its delivery drivers to guide them to, around and within buildings, as it tries to smooth the final stretch of an order’s journey to a customer’s home, five people familiar with the matter said.

CVS & Walmart test letting people use their phones to open locked cases [ModernRetail] With more essential items locked behind security glass, retailers are trying out new technology that aims to make the shopping experience easier while still cracking down on retail theft.

PropTalk

Grove doubles down on DTC, will ditch brick-and-mortar partnerships [RetailDive] As part of a “multi-year turnaround journey,” Grove Collaborative will exit partnerships with brick-and-mortar stores. Grove will conclude current contracts and sell existing inventory through early next year. The wholesale channel constitutes less than 4% of Grove’s business “and has been consistently unprofitable.”

PRCP acquires second Hawaii center [Chain Store Age] Pacific Retail Capital Partners (PRCP) has acquired a new tropical property. The real estate firm has announced that together with its joint venture partners, Starwood Property Trust (Starwood) and Taconic Capital Advisors LP (Taconic), it has acquired Kings’ Shops located in Waikoloa, Hawaii. The acquisition of the nearly 70,000-sq.-ft. luxury resort retail destination marks the second asset in PRCP’s portfolio in Hawaii.

Ulta Beauty bets big on market fulfillment center model [SupplyChainDive] When Ulta Beauty began its current supply chain transformation journey in 2021, it wanted to do things differently than its competitors. Other retailers often build large facilities that may go underutilized throughout the year, but Ulta made a deliberate choice to keep a smaller footprint, Chief Supply Chain Officer Erik Lopez said in an interview with Supply Chain Dive.

When does Spirit Christmas open? What to know about Spirit Halloween’s new holiday venture [USA Today] Spirit Halloween’s plot to take over Christmas is officially underway. Back in October, the retail chain announced the launch of “Spirit Christmas,” with plans to open 10 locations across the Northeast. But as of Tuesday evening, there were only eight Spirit Christmas locations listed online.

October Mall Traffic Bodes Well for Holiday Season Shopping [GlobeSt.] Mall foot traffic in October bodes well for the upcoming holiday season, as visits to indoor malls, open-air shopping centers and outlet malls were back on par with 2023 levels following a slight decline in September. The mall sector has experienced several months of roller-coaster visit trends, with August visits surging and September visits dipping.

Online mattress brands are once again betting on physical retail [ModernRetail] After a few years of reset, online mattress players are continuing to bet on physical retail stores. Naturepedic, which opened its first store in 2014, doubled its retail footprint in 2023, opened six new locations in 2024 and is on track to open about 10 locations in the U.S. in 2025. Meanwhile, Casper, which opened its first store in 2018, kicked off this year with a new store design with a lab for pillows and a “Snooze Bar” akin to Apple’s “Genius Bar.”