| A Weekly PropTech Newsletter bringing you industry updates from across the real estate spectrum |
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| Well, the biggest shopping week of the year is finally here! Starting even earlier, with some sales kicking off last week (or even earlier!), this year’s Black Friday is upon us and it’s still anyone’s guess how things will go down. Between AI shopping tools, AI recommendations, and to the impacts of inflation and tariff’s, we’ve seen all sorts of predictions for the outcome. The latest from ICSC predicts that shoppers will spend an average of $542 over the holiday weekend, up from last year, 83% of which is expected to take place in-store. We hope that however your properties fare, that somewhere in the mix you also enjoy some time with family and friends – Happy Thanksgiving!
Headlines this week also pointed to Gen Z’s “love affair” with the mall, and Auntie Ann’s looked to Y2K mall nostalgia in their latest campaign, which left us wondering who the target audience is for the forthcoming Netflix show about the mall? Regardless, we’ll be watching! We’re over on LinkedIn and available via DM if you want to chat about what’s on your docket for post-holiday season. |
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| Google delivers new AI shopping tools in time for the holidays [RetailDive] U.S. Gemini app users can now enter search queries to receive shoppable product recommendations, pricing and comparison tables. Google has also updated its AI Mode to let search users describe their desired items and receive product recommendations with shoppable product images, pricing, reviews and other information, the company said in its announcement.
Target to launch ChatGPT app with multi-item baskets, fresh food [RetailDive] After hinting at the experience in October, Target will launch a beta version of an app on OpenAI’s ChatGPT next week. The on-platform app will allow customers to make multi-item purchases, buy fresh food products and select from drive up, pick up or shipping fulfillment options.
Facebook integrates eBay, Poshmark into Marketplace listings [Chain Store Age] Earlier this year, Facebook began integrating eBay and Poshmark inventory into Faecbook Marketplace in an effort to give shoppers more options across categories like fashion and electronics. |
| Will an In-Store Retail Tech ‘Confidence Gap’ Create Winners and Losers? [RetailWire] According to research titled “How Retailers Can Modernize In-Store Tech with Confidence,” there is an observable and significant disconnect between contemporary consumer expectations around in-store retail tech and the ability of many retailers to meet these asks.
How AI and Investor Caution Are Reshaping the PropTech Startup Playbook [Propmodo] Artificial intelligence is having the kind of moment that founders dream about. Capital is pouring in, tools are improving by the week, and entire industries are starting to reorganize themselves around what AI might make possible. PropTech sits at an odd intersection of this surge.
Target cuts outlook as new CEO bets on stores, tech [Axios] Target’s incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke plans to cut prices and invest billions in stores and technology to fight a slump that forced the retailer to trim its profit outlook for the year on Wednesday. |
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| ICSC: Shoppers to spend average of $542 over Thanksgiving weekend [Chain Store Age] Despite uncertain economic conditions, a large majority of consumers are expected to make purchases over Thanksgiving weekend this year. Eighty-eight percent of U.S. adults, or approximately 235 million people, plan to spend approximately $127 billion in total between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday.
Gen Z’s Surprising Love Affair with the Mall [AdvertisingWeek] For years, the narrative has been that malls are relics of the past, casualties of e-commerce and shifting consumer habits. But Gen Z is rewriting that story. Far from abandoning the mall, this generation is embracing it and in doing so, reshaping what the modern mall looks and feels like.
The Weekly Closeout: Spirit Christmas opens and Revlon develops first Champion fragrance [RetailDive] Spirit Christmas, a new venture from Spirit Halloween, has officially opened the 30 stores it plans to run this holiday season across the Northeast and Great Lakes regions featuring an in-store experience which features seasonal decor, gifts, apparel and interactive displays. |
| Auntie Anne’s Merch Targets Folks Who Are ‘Smitten’ [MarketingDaily] “The mall has always been Auntie Anne’s natural habitat, so we wanted to celebrate the era when a trip to the food court and a department store photo shoot were peak holiday moments,” says Nathan Baldwin, chief brand officer at Auntie Anne’s, in a press release. “The Sparkleberry Smittens and new lemonade products bring back that feeling as a reminder of where we came from and why people still love us today.”
Meta Opens Pop-Up Stores to Build Buzz for Its AI Glasses [The Wall Street Journal] If there is one thing Meta knows how to do, it is getting people to take pictures and share them with friends. That was top of mind for Matt Jacobson when he was designing the company’s new retail pop-up stores.
Netflix to debut mall-focused game show [Chain Store Age] The streaming giant has shared details about its newest upcoming show, “Win the Mall,” which it describes as the “ultimate fantasy retail experience.” Over eight episodes, 10 teams of expert shoppers will face off against each other as they attempt to “gain control of storefronts, increase their spending power, and outmaneuver their rivals,” the company said. |
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| Philadelphia’s Netflix House Deliver? [RetailWire] Bringing a mini-Disney World/Universal Studios to the mall, Netflix last week opened its first Netflix House at the King of Prussia Mall on the outskirts of Philadelphia. The concept promises to offer Netflix show fans an opportunity to “explore, taste, play and shop your favorite shows and movies IRL.” |
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