| October 17 – 23, 2022
 A new study from PYMNTS found that “big retailers” (those with 50 locations or more and $1 billion in revenue) are dissatisfied with their digital tools and believe they have work to do. While we’ve seen great progress being made by “big” and “small” retailers and property managers alike, we agree that there is still work to be done. And we admit that it’s no small task! Especially when it comes to integrating or updating legacy systems, working cross-partner, and testing nacient technologies. However, we promise the investment is worth it – in fact it’s quite honestly necessary. Find us over on Twitter or LinkedIn and let us know how you are feeling about your tech investment.
This week we also heard about the future of live-streamed shopping in the US and if it will ever actually take off, another company abandoning last-mile delivery robots, and how a pending recession might be harder for some retailers than the other challenges of the past 2+ years, while some are counting on deals to drive foot traffic this holiday season.
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Digital Meets Physical
How Walker Slater is using VR to engage Gen-Z customers [Glossy]
Since the start of the pandemic, 33-year old Scottish fashion brand Walker Slater has seen more interest in its sustainable fabrics from younger consumers, based on its customer surveys. To further teach Gen Zers about sustainability, it’s launching a VR integration from October 12-19, available through Oculus Quest headsets in its stores and online through a dedicated platform.
Climate Pledge Arena expands availability of palm-based payment [Chain Store Age]
The home arena of the Seattle Kraken professional hockey franchise is rolling out Amazon One palm-based payment technology at more stores. The arena is expanding use of Amazon One at three more concession areas inside the facility. Amazon One is now available as a standalone payment option at the Modelo Cantina, Metropolitan Grill, and 1st Ave Nachos stores inside Climate Pledge Arena. |
Big retailers say they need more tech to deliver better customer experiences [RetailWire]
Technology is everywhere in retail today, but some big retailers say there is not enough, according to a new survey. Many “big retailers,” defined as those with 50 locations or more and $1 billion in revenue, are calling for more digital transformation, with about half saying that they have not gone far enough.
How Meta Is Rebuilding Its Ad Platform To Overcome Apple’s Privacy Changes [AdAge]
Meta’s big consumer event last week was Connect, where the company presented its hypothetical future in VR. It also marked the one-year anniversary of rebranding away from Facebook. But for its 10-million plus advertisers, a more important, less-flashy event took place a month earlier at the company’s first performance marketing conference, where execs explained how Meta’s ad platform is being rebuilt to handle Apple’s data changes. |
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Retailers, Brands and Tech Platforms Bet Big on Live-Streamed Shopping in the U.S. [The Wall Street Journal]
Despite becoming a major sales driver in China, live shopping has yet to break through in the West. But some predict that’s about to change. |
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Micro & Last Mile Fulfillment
Ikea in driverless delivery pilot [Chain Store Age]
Ikea is teaming up with self-driving trucking company Kodiak Robotics to pilot autonomous freight deliveries in Texas. The program, which began on Aug. 8, 2022, includes a Kodiak autonomous heavy-duty truck transporting Ikea products seven days a week between an Ikea distribution center in Baytown and an Ikea store in Frisco, Texas. |
FedEx abandons its last-mile delivery robot program [ArsTechnica]
The courier company FedEx is abandoning a project to develop last-mile delivery robots. In 2019, FedEx partnered with New Hampshire-based DEKA Research and Development Corp, founded by Segway inventor Dean Kamen, to develop a wheeled robot called Roxo for last-mile deliveries. |
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Want to tip for your Amazon delivery? Drivr is a new app for that [TechCrunch]
Drivr is a crowdsourced tipping platform that uses data science to map drivers to neighborhoods, and then creates tipping pools to collect monthly contributions from residents in those neighborhoods, with the sum then divided up among drivers serving those areas proportionately based on how many deliveries they’ve made there. Drivr has built apps for the two sides of its marketplace: residents to tip money, and drivers to sign up and collect those tips, and it’s launching first in the city of Santa Cruz, California, before looking to expand elsewhere in the U.S. |
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Restaurants & Ghost Kitchens
Study: Diner demand for restaurants higher than 2021 [RestaurantDive]
Fifty-eight percent of diners are eating restaurant food more this year than in 2021, a Popmenu survey of 1,000 customers conducted in September found. Most customers are willing to pay higher prices to keep restaurants open, at least in the short term, with 68% of diners reporting they would accept menu prices, per the survey. |
Jet founder Marc Lore explains why now’s the time to disrupt the food industry [Yahoo! Finance]
Wonder is a food delivery startup co-founded by ex-Walmart exec Scott Hilton and Lore, who serves as chairman and CEO of Wonder Group. The company, which came out of stealth mode in 2021, closed a $350 million funding round earlier this year that brought Wonder’s total amount of debt and equity raised to $900 million. Wonder has often been described as a cross between ghost kitchen and food truck. |
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Mall Talk
Placer.ai: Big sales could bolster traffic at centers this holiday season [Chain Store Age]
Overstocked inventories promise big bargains and strong traffic in shopping centers this holiday season. So says foot traffic data provider Placer. ai in a new report that predicts that early and aggressive sales aimed at moving mountains of merchandise out of stock rooms will lead to a resurgence in traffic from October through the end of the year.
Google enhances shopping experience for search [RetailDive]
Expanding on new features announced last month, Google has released updates to its shopping experience in search with a more visual feed of results for desktop. Additionally, new dynamic filters have been added to narrow down search functionality for products and the ability to view a product without leaving the results page, according to details shared with Retail Dive. |
What Simon Property Group’s latest move says about the future of malls [RetailDive]
The company’s acquisition of a 50% stake in mixed-use developer Jamestown, announced last week, suggests that Simon may be coming to terms with the limits of having a portfolio dependent on enclosed malls, observers say.
IBM: Economic, other worries replace COVID-19 concerns among holiday shoppers [Chain Store Age]
Uncertainty around inflation, gas prices and supply chain is driving consumers’ holiday plans. Holiday 2022 shopping budgets are up 8% over 2021 and holiday travel budgets are up by almost half, but inflation and price increases have made economic concerns top of mind this holiday season, according to the annual global holiday shopping and travel report by IBM’s Institute for Business Value. |
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Holiday Wish: That Strapped Shoppers Will Spend [The New York Times]
Retailers have navigated pandemic closures and supply chain snarls in recent years. But dealing with the fallout from inflation could be an even tougher test. |
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