This week there were a slew of headlines about self checkout (in fact we only included a few of them below), all with wildly different perspectives. One discussed exciting new innovations coming to self checkout in Germany leveraging facial recognition and AI to verify age for age-restricted purchases like alcohol, while another discussed a possible ban on self checkout in California, and yet another discussed the technologies’ role in theft. Our takeaway here is that while there are these “silver bullet” technologies that might promise to replace humans and increase efficiency (among other things), they aren’t always perfect and we have to be open to improvement, adaptation, and sometimes regulation. Change is the only constant and we really must remain open to it and expect it.
This week there were also headlines about the role e-commerce plays in brick-and-mortar, the latest in the last-mile delivery wars, and the generation gravitating toward in-store. In case you missed our LinkedIn post, David will be moderating a panel on the “Practical Industry Applications to Leverage AI” for ICSC with Lucia Connor (Oxford), Lee Jackson (JLL), and Donald N. Noland, Jr. (Cushman & Wakefield) at 1:00 pm on Sunday, 3/19 at the Wynn in Las Vegas. If you’re attending too, we hope you can join us and please reach out to set up a time to meet. |
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Smartseller Adapts Its Hybrid Retail And Dining For Small Airports [Forbes] Smartseller—the joint venture between Hamburg-based Gebr. Heinemann and Casualfood, the owner-run specialist in more than a dozen food-to-go outlets—has adapted and broadened its hybrid retail for small airports. The project combined travel retail shopping with food and beverage (F&B) with the aim of expanding into small- and medium-sized airports.
Kohl’s to deliver same day through Instacart [RetailDive] Harnessing its brick-and-mortar locations, Kohl’s is now offering same-day delivery via the Instacart app. Using Instacart, customers can place orders for same-day or scheduled delivery from 1,172 Kohl’s locations nationwide. The retailer is offering product categories such as beauty, skin care, pet supplies, accessories and home essentials for delivery, according to the announcement.
Here’s what consumers like most about online delivery [Chain Store Age] A new survey reveals customer motivations and preferences for online delivery. Consumers most like the convenience (57%) of the online buying and delivery model, followed by 49% who say the online ordering process has gotten easier, according to the third annual U.S. and European consumer sentiment study of e-commerce home delivery from Descartes Systems Group. |
Automatic age verification comes to self checkout [RetailDive] A 24/7 store at the Stuttgart Airport in Germany is piloting Diebold Nixdorf’s Vynamic Smart Vision age verification solution to allow for the purchase of age-restricted items via self checkout. When customers scan a restricted item, such as alcohol, their faces can be analyzed with a camera on the machine and an AI algorithm to see if it sees the customer is old enough for the purchase.
California proposes bill to outlaw self checkout lanes in stores [Today] Though some major retailers are already placing restrictions on self checkout lanes, a proposed bill in California could force some stores to begin rolling them back.
Retailers Scale Back Self Checkouts to Curb Irritation—and Theft [The Wall Street Journal] Attention, shoppers: Retailers are rethinking your cashier job. Store operators are modifying how they use self checkout stations in a bid to boost their bottom lines and improve the shopping experience for customers. Some retailers are pulling kiosks out of stores as a way to keep a lid on theft. Others, including Target, Dollar, and the regional grocery chain Schnucks, have limited how many items customers can bring to self checkouts to avoid bottlenecks and alleviate headaches for staff. |
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Does Woodbury Common Outlets Need a VIP Suite? [RetailWire] As part of an expansion first announced in fall 2023, New York’s Woodbury Common Premium Outlets will be adding a “multimillion-dollar” VIP Suite featuring multiple private spaces with their own dressing rooms, an upscale lounge, and a private kitchen.
Uber and Instacart Team Up on Restaurant Deliveries, Challenging DoorDash [Bloomberg] Instacart is partnering with Uber Technologies Inc. to offer restaurant delivery through the Instacart app — taking on the top US food delivery app, DoorDash Inc. Instacart users in the US will be able to order from hundreds of thousands of restaurants using an Uber Eats interface that will become available within the Instacart app sometime in the coming weeks. Orders will be fulfilled by Uber’s couriers, while grocery delivery will remain separate and operated by Instacart.
Gen Z big on in-store shopping [Chain Store Age] In a surprising finding, Gen Z’s preference for in-store shopping experiences tops all other generations at 30.77%, according to a study. The finding contrasts sharply with the common perception of younger consumers favoring online shopping, indicating a notable trend towards physical retail among this digitally-native demographic, the study noted. |
How Online Shopping Is Saving the Bricks-and-Mortar Store [The Wall Street Journal] Store owners once viewed e-commerce as a mounting threat to their survival. Now, more bricks-and-mortar stores are thriving after integrating their properties with the online shopping experience.
‘The death of the mall was a myth’: Brookfield Properties CEO on the evolution of an aging retail concept [RetailDive] Along with some urban retail real estate, Brookfield Properties’ U.S. portfolio includes more than 130 malls in 40 states, from Hawaii to Maine. Speaking via video conference, Brookfield Properties U.S CEO Kevin McCrain gave Retail Dive his perspective on the past, present and future of malls.
Macy’s Inc. to open its fourth Bloomie’s location in New Jersey this fall [ModernRetail] A fourth Bloomie’s location is set to open in New Jersey this fall, part of the parent company Macy’s Inc.’s ongoing strategy to tap into more luxury sales with a new small format strategy. As lifestyle centers and outdoor shopping plazas take the place of old-school shopping malls anchored by department stores, Bloomie’s is an attempt to bring the brand ethos of the legacy department store to new locations and augment existing markets with a scaled-down experience. |
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