| August 22 – 28, 2022
 A few weeks ago we talked about the trend of retailers moving toward smaller footprints, and this week we saw news about that trend spreading to the restaurant space. While the examples for Quiznos and Taco Del Mar are prefab drive-thrus, and different from the small front-of-house, larger back-of-house/offsite warehouses we were talking about previously, they do still fit with the trend and reinforce the opportunity this trend provides for property owners and mall operators. The driver in the restaurant space is an expedited timeline from idea to life, and this is the takeaway for you too – make it as easy as possible for retailers and restaurants alike to get going and be successful. If not, the reverse can be true and alternative solutions will step up to fill the gap (pun intended!) as we are seeing now with retailers and last mile providers beginning to offer their core services to their own competition all in an effort to compete for todays consumer.
This week we also heard about some shake-ups in the last-mile delivery partnership space, some great examples of how mall operators are making their properties searchable and shoppable, and why new Amazon acquisitions mean their data set can now include customer’s blueprints and bones. Like what you learn in these newsletters? Tell your friends to give us a follow on Twitter or LinkedIn for more!
|
|
Digital Meets Physical
Kroger finalizes digital orders with unified commerce platform [Chain Store Age]
The Kroger Co. is ensuring that curbside pickup and ship-from-store orders are processed correctly. America’s largest grocery retailer is leveraging the OneView Unified Commerce Platform to finalize digital orders when those orders are delivered at curbside pickup or via home delivery at more than 1,000 Kroger locations. |
Amazon keeps growing, and so does its cache of data on you [Associated Press]
From what you buy online, to how you remember tasks, to when you monitor your doorstep, Amazon is seemingly everywhere. And it appears the company doesn’t want to halt its reach anytime soon. In recent weeks, Amazon has said it will spend billions of dollars in two gigantic acquisitions (One Medical and iRobot) that, if approved, will broaden its ever growing presence in the lives of consumers. |
|
Lily AI lands new capital to help retailers match customers with products [TechCrunch]
Purva Gupta launched Lily AI, an AI-powered platform that connects a retailer’s or brand’s shoppers with products they might be looking to buy. Co-founded by Sowmiya Narayanan, Lily provides algorithms designed to power web store components like search engines and product discovery carousels.Lily today announced that it raised $25 million in a Series B funding round led by Canaan, bringing its total raised to $41 million. |
|
Micro & Last Mile Fulfillment
Walmart links home delivery service to ‘smart garage’ solution [Chain Store Age]
Walmart is partnering with “smart garage” technology provider myQ to soon let users of the myQ app monitor, control and secure their garage door for inHome deliveries. Launched in 2019, Walmart’s InHome service delivers fresh groceries, everyday essentials and other products directly into customers’ homes, including placing items straight into their kitchen or garage refrigerator.
Report: Walmart, DoorDash to cease delivery collaboration [Chain Store Age]
According to TechCrunch, DoorDash has decided to stop delivering groceries for Walmart. DoorDash reportedly sent Walmart a 30-day termination notice, which will end the partnership in September 2022. Sources told Business Insider that DoorDash is taking this step because the relationship is no longer mutually beneficial and DoorDash would like to focus on its long-term customers. |
Gap enters logistics and fulfillment space with GPS Platform Services [SupplyChainDive]
Gap has launched logistics and fulfillment services for retailers, joining a growing number of companies leveraging their supply chains as revenue generators. GPS Platform Services provides omnichannel fulfillment capabilities through a nationwide distribution network, according to Gap’s website.
Last-Mile Delivery War Heats Up As Amazon Rivals Multiply [Forbes]
The pandemic may have become yesterday’s crisis, and parking lots may be thrumming with shoppers, but brands and merchants have been placing their bets this summer on our front porches. Rapid, last-mile delivery services are proliferating as retailers — big and not so big — try to compete with Amazon, which had a 17-year head start with the launch in 2005 of its Prime two-day service. |
|
Restaurants & Ghost Kitchens
Quiznos And Taco Del Mar Hope To Spark Growth With Prefab Mini Drive-Thru Units [Restaurant Business]
Hoping to speed the restaurant development process, the parent of Quiznos and Taco Del Mar unveiled a tiny prefabricated restaurant model with the option of no dine-in. Denver-based Rego Restaurant Group announced a strategic partnership and development deal with BCubed Manufacturing LLC, that makes fully outfitted, free-standing drive-thru units. |
Why QR-code menus are still around [CNN Business]
As it became clear that Covid-19 was unlikely to be transmitted via surfaces, however, people revealed their true feelings about menu QR codes. They hated them. But for restaurants, QR codes are more than just a way to offer a contact-free menu. The tech solves problems that restaurants have had for years and are especially painful now, like menu printing costs and staff shortages. |
|
Restaurants Send More Customer Calls to Voice Bots Amid Staffing Shortages [The Wall Street Journal]
More casual-dining restaurants and takeout joints are dispensing with direct phone lines, opting instead to divert customer calls to voice bots. Pushing customers who call in orders and reservations to automated lines run on artificial intelligence can help staff focus on cooking and serving, some restaurant executives say. That is particularly helpful in a time when 65% of restaurant operators say they don’t have enough employees to support customer demand, according to a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association between July 14 and Aug. 5. |
|
Mall Talk
Inside the ‘Online Mall’ Simon has Created for its Outlet Brands [Retail Touchpoints]
A lot of new marketplaces have sprung up in the last few years, but even among that now dense crowd, Shop Premium Outlets (SPO) stands out. The first hint as to why comes from the platform’s owner — mall operator Simon, with the added expertise of ecommerce authority Rue Gilt Groupe (RGG, encompassing Rue La La and Gilt) in which Simon is now an investor.
Can Grocery Stores Save the American Mall? [BNN Bloomberg]
Between movie theaters, fitness centers and full-on amusement parks, American shopping malls have scrambled for years to attract new visitors to counter plummeting foot traffic. Even before the coronavirus struck, the concept of the mall—once so central to suburban life—was increasingly viewed as an anachronism. Now, with pandemic precautions falling by the wayside and brick-and-mortar shopping eyeing a revival, it’s looking like there may be a strategy for the old standby to survive amid the hordes of Amazon delivery vans. Grocery stores. |
Inside the Great Mall Rebrand [Glossy]
Post-pandemic, malls are betting on e-commerce fatigue and a renewed appetite for tangible experiences to drive traffic, but the retail offerings of yesteryear won’t cut it anymore. “So much of our lives is online, so any time we spend in the physical world together, we want it to be moments that enhance our lives and go beyond shopping,” said Cress. “It’s about creating a place where people want to come and spend time. Coming out of Covid, we’re pickier on where we spend our time and where we go shopping or dining.”
Centennial expands its Shop Now! online platform to California mall [Chain Store Age]
The Shops at Montebello got a new operator and, shortly thereafter, a digital shopping platform allowing customers to shop the mall from home. That new operator, Centennial, first introduced its Shop Now! e-commerce capability at its MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana in 2020. The program lets consumers tap into the current inventory and specials at participating retailers in the mall from home or phone. They then can create a wish list to make their mall visits more efficient. |
|
|
