| A Weekly PropTech Newsletter bringing you industry updates from across the real estate spectrum |
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| With the end of 2025 coming into view, the 2026 predictions are rolling out as well. And to no one’s surprise, they mostly include how AI will help and change all industries. And while we agree that AI is a pivotal technology as you know from reading our newsletters, we also believe that application and integration are everything. We heard someone compare AI access to the iPhone giving everyone access to a high-quality camera – you can still easily tell who is using the tool to it’s maximum potential and who is an amateur (or not even trying.) This will be the same for AI. Yes, it could make all the difference in how you engage with tenants, partners, employees and customers, but that will be a big gap between those who bring a thoughtful strategy and expert execution and those who just plop the tool on top of existing structures. Don’t be in the latter, and if you need help avoiding that destiny, you know where to find us.
If you missed us at ICSC last week, an overview of our session was included in Commercial Property Executive – check it out! Also below are some additional roundups of Black Friday and Cyber Monday action, and details about some retailers still offering new deals and services until the last minute.
As the year comes to a close, we want to thank all of our readers for being here and interested in our takes on the amazing industry we all have the privilege of working in. Wishing you a restful and restorative end of the year, and wonderful start to New Year. We’ll be back in your inbox on January 5, 2026. Until then, find us over on LinkedIn. |
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| ‘What to buy Dad for Christmas’: is retail ready for the AI shopping shift? [The Guardian] Christmas shopping – some love it, to others it’s a chore, and this year for the first time many of us will outsource the annual task of coming up with gift ideas to artificial intelligence.
Google enables selfie-based virtual try-on [Chain Store Age] Google’s latest enhancement to its virtual try-on feature eliminates the requirement for shoppers to have a full-body photo. The online giant is now allowing U.S. consumers to use its generative AI-based virtual try-on tool, first introduced in 2023, even if they lack a full-body photo of themselves. Leveraging the Google Gemini 2.5 Nano Banana flash image AI model, the try-on solution will generate a full-body digital version of the shopper based on their selfie.
Uber Intelligence Offers Trip, Takeout Data To Marketers [MarketingDaily] Never mind “peak pricing,” this is how Uber is really making money. The rideshare company’s Uber Advertising unit is launching a platform for marketers called Uber Intelligence that turns data about rideshare trips and takeout orders into actionable insights for marketers. |
| Retailers band together to maintain customer relationships as third-party AI grows [RetailDive] A coalition of retailers has formed the Shopper Context Protocol Working Group, dedicated to maintaining relationships with consumers who are using third-party AI tools in their shopping journeys.
Amazon plans a new ‘rush’ pickup service as it doubles down on rapid delivery [Business Insider] Amazon is working on a new “rush” pickup service for one-hour in-store collection. The service aims to boost rapid delivery and leverage Amazon-owned stores such as Whole Foods. Amazon faces tough competition in click-and-collect sales from Walmart and Target.
E-Commerce Returns Of Holiday Purchases Down 2.5%, Adobe Reports [Forbes] During the first six weeks of the holiday shopping season, returns of online purchases were down 2.5%, Adobe reported today. In addition to that potentially positive news for retailers, Adobe also reported that online sales have remained solid following a strong start to the season. E-commerce sales on U.S. retail sites were up 6.1% as of December 12. |
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| ICSC Special Report: Retail Pros Talk AI [Commercial Property Executive] To close the conference, there was a general session called AI 101: Understanding Artificial Intelligence in Today’s Market. The panel included Yvette Elliott, COO at Mall Maverick; Stephen Polanski, managing director of global business development at Kalibrate; and Deborah Weinswig, founder & CEO of Coresight Research. The session was moderated by David Blumenfeld, co-founder of NextRivet LLC.
2026 Proptech Predictions: Anyone Up for AI? [Commercial Observer] Predicting can be a risky business, but it can be fun too. (If no one is keeping score!) With that in mind, a number of proptech entrepreneurs have chosen to manifest their inner Oz Pearlman and look into what technology innovations might lie ahead for real estate in 2026.
Asos, amid a turnaround, is branching out from its digital roots with more pop-ups [ModernRetail] Digital fashion retailer Asos is making physical retail more of a priority as it attempts a continued turnaround. The company, which is based in the United Kingdom and is popular with Gen Z, debuted as an online business in 2000. In 2023, it made a major change, holding its first-ever pop-up in its home city of London. |
| For the first time in years, Pacsun is opening more stores than closing stores [ModernRetail] 2025 marks a major milestone for the Y2K-favorite brand Pacsun: It’s the first time in 18 years that it’s increasing its store count, rather than decreasing it, the company told Modern Retail. Pacsun, which is now at just over 300 stores, opened nine new stores this year in areas including New York City and Victor, New York, as part of a bigger bet on brick-and-mortar retail.
How Changes In Holiday Spending Are Reshaping Physical Retail [Propmodo] For retail real estate, the holidays are equally revealing. They show which locations still command foot traffic, which formats resonate with consumers, and how physical retail fits into an increasingly digital shopping journey. Black Friday and the broader holiday season are no longer just sales events. They are stress tests for the modern retail ecosystem.
US retailers poised for record Super Saturday footfall in NRF survey [Retail Insight Network] An estimated 158.9 million consumers in the US intend to shop on Super Saturday 2025 – the final Saturday before Christmas – according to the latest annual survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics. |
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| E-commerce hasn’t killed the Black Friday mall experience quite yet [ModernRetail] Despite many retailers embracing earlier and earlier online holiday shopping before Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving continued to be a banner occasion for malls and shopping centers. Some malls have already reported record Black Friday traffic, at least within the past few years, including Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota and Greece Ridge Mall in Greece, New York, according to media reports. |
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