| September 12 – 18, 2022
 With less than 100 days till Christmas, things are kicking into high gear for retailers and delivery companies alike. This week, UPS announced plans to hire more than 100,000 workers to help handle the holiday rush this season. Meanwhile, Amazon said it will invest $450 million to fund wage increases and other benefits for delivery drivers as they gear up for the peak holiday season amid a tight labor market. As a property owner, while you might not need to invest quite so much, you should be planning (in between endless budget meetings this time of year!) for how your center can assist your retailers with BOPIS and curbside pickup, as they will remain critical delivery methods this holiday season. Don’t forget, we’re here to help if you’re feeling unprepared.
This week we also saw news about how several restaurants are planning to enter the metaverse, and how others are employing technology in the real world. We also heard more about non-traditional tenants in malls (with a familiar moniker), and of course, ongoing predictions for holiday spending amid inflation. Anything you’d like to see more of? Let us know over on Twitter or LinkedIn!
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Digital Meets Physical
Instagram Scaling Back Shopping Features Amid Commerce Retreat [The Information]
Instagram is planning to drastically scale back its shopping features, the company told Instagram staffers, as it shifts the focus of its e-commerce efforts to those that directly drive advertising. The retreat shows how Meta Platforms is moving away from some long-term projects as it focuses on building its short-form video business.
Branded Apps Are Connecting with Local Consumers [StreetFight]
We’ve solidly entered the era of the branded app as the central platform for successful local loyalty programs. Branded apps, because they encourage and reward repeat business, can be seen as the central hub of a successful localized marketing strategy for many multi-location brands, especially in certain verticals where repeat business is relatively easy to win. |
Shoplifters force Wegmans to pull the plug on its self-scanning app [RetailWire]
Wegmans is ending the use of its SCAN app, which enables customers to scan and bag items as they shop in its stores. The family-owned grocery chain concluded that it could no longer afford the losses associated with the app as shoplifters exploited the technology to walk out of stores with items they did not scan.
Walmart unveils virtual fitting room to push shoppers to buy more clothes [CNBC]
Walmart is launching a virtual try-on tool to help shoppers see how a shirt, dress or another clothing item would look on their own body. It is the latest way that the retailer is using technology from Zeekit, a startup it acquired last year. The discounter is launching the tool as some shoppers trim back purchases of discretionary purchases, such as clothing. |
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Micro & Last Mile Fulfillment
Amazon to Fund Raises for Delivery Drivers Amid Tight Labor Market [The Wall Street Journal]
Amazon said it is planning to raise pay and benefits for its delivery partners, as the e-commerce giant gears up for the peak holiday season amid a persistently tight labor market. The company will invest $450 million to fund wage increases and other benefits for delivery drivers employed by members of its Delivery Service Partners network.
Inditex founder Amancio Ortega to buy U.S. warehouses for $905 million [Reuters]
Spanish billionaire and Zara founder Amancio Ortega is in talks to buy several warehouses in the United States rented by global firms such as Amazon and FedEx for $905 million, Ortega’s family office Pontegadea said on Tuesday. |
UPS to hire more than 100,000 workers for holiday season, from package handlers to drivers [USA Today]
UPS plans to hire more than 100,000 workers to help handle the holiday rush this season, in line with hiring the previous two years. Holiday season volumes usually start rising in October and remain high into January. While online shopping has slowed from the height of the pandemic, it’s still well above historic norms.
Ikea adds delivery perks to loyalty program [RetailDive]
Ikea has sweetened the perks for its loyalty program members. The Swedish furniture retailer on Monday announced it has added benefits to its Ikea Family program, including saving 5% on eligible in-store purchases and offering “special” pricing on select delivery options online. |
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Restaurants & Ghost Kitchens
Starbucks details its blockchain-based loyalty platform and NFT community, Starbucks Odyssey [TechCrunch]
Starbucks is officially introducing Starbucks Odyssey, launching later this year — the coffee chain’s first foray into building with web3 technology. The new experience combines the company’s successful Starbucks Rewards loyalty program with an NFT platform, allowing its customers to both earn and purchase digital assets that unlock exclusive experiences and rewards.
DoorDash adds grocery delivery partnerships as Instacart branches out [GroceryDive]
DoorDash has started providing on-demand delivery services from supermarkets operated by Raley’s, intensifying its efforts to grab market share in the third-party grocery delivery sector from industry leader Instacart. |
Chipotle debuts menu item – in the metaverse [Chain Store Age]
Chipotle Mexican Grill is officially unveiling a new food offering on the popular Roblox immersive video game platform. The quick-service retailer says it is the first restaurant retailer to introduce a meal, its new limited-time Garlic Guajillo Steak, in the metaverse. The new menu item is available through the Chipotle Grill Simulator experience on Roblox, as well as stores across the U.S. and Canada.
Panera Taps CarPlay to Bring Drive-Thru Ordering Into the Car [PYMNTS]
Fast-casual chain Panera Bread, which has more than 2,100 bakery-cafes in the United States and Canada, is looking to drive digital orders by extending drive-thru ordering opportunities beyond the restaurant into consumers’ own cars with Apple’s CarPlay. |
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Mall Talk
Riveters women’s hockey team inks three-year deal to make American Dream its home ice [Chain Store Age]
The Metropolitan Riveters of the Premier Hockey Federation (formerly the New York Riveters of the National Women’s Hockey League) have entered into a three-year agreement with American Dream to practice and play its home games at the mega-mall in the Meadowlands.
Why the Retail Renaissance Can’t Last Forever [Business of Fashion]
For the first time in years, store openings in the US and UK have exceeded store closures by far. Pent-up demand and financial incentives from the pandemic, coupled with booming apparel sales, have driven the brick-and-mortar revival. But the most coveted real estate now command multiple bids, signaling that the market has tipped in favor of landlords over tenants once again. |
Deloitte: Holiday sales to increase 4% to 6% [Chain Store Age]
Although inflation will help to raise dollar sales, retailers will see less growth in sales volume this holiday season. That’s according to Deloitte’s annual holiday retail forecast, which predicts that year-over-year holiday sales will increase 4% to 6%. By comparison, sales grew 15.1% during the 2022 holiday timeframe (November 2021 to January 2022).
JLL: Retail space leased in the second quarter is the most since 2017 [Chain Store Age]
Retail space is officially hard to get. JLL’s just-released report on retail real estate activity in the second quarter of 2022 put the retail leasing total at 78 million sq. ft., the highest it’s been since 2017. And over the past 12 months, more than 250 million sq. ft. of retail space has been claimed, lifting net absorption in the category to a likewise five-year high. |
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Retail sales in malls set to touch $39 bn by FY28: Report [LiveMint]
Retail sales in Indian malls will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29% in FY22-28 to touch $39 billion by FY28, according to estimates by real-estate consultancy Knight Frank |
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