| November 28 – December 4, 2022
 Well the numbers are in and the Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Cyber Monday holiday shopping weekend was…a success? There are some clear winners in some areas, but some mixed messaging in others. The NRF is reporting a record high since they began tracking in 2017 saying 196.7 million people shopped online and in stores. However, the NRF also says that 72.9 million people shopped in stores, an increase from 66.5 million in 2021, while Placer.ai found that in-store visits on Black Friday were down year over year for most categories and retailers, and that visits to indoor malls fell 2.3%. So while the jury might still be out on if in-store shopping saw the big return they were going for or not, one thing is for sure; shoppers spent. Consumers spent $35.4 billion online over the five-day period, according to data from Adobe Analytics.
What did you experience in your centers? What do you think it indicates for the remainder of the year? Let us know over on Twitter or LinkedIn.
This week we saw some of the ongoing layoffs impact a key restaurant partner, saw reports on how Simon is reaching customers a world away with technology, and why some malls are looking at food in a whole new light than usual.
|
|
Digital Meets Physical
Analysis: Retailers turn to robots in cost inflation fight [Reuters]
While retail has been slower to adopt automation than sectors such as autos and electronics, it has been picking-up the pace – from the introduction of basic self check-out tills in stores to the use of robots and AI in supply chains.Exclusive: Retailers increase technology investment despite inflation [Chain Store Age]
Current economic conditions are not driving retailers to cut their technology budgets. According to results of a survey of 1,420 IT executives, many of whom were retailers, there has been a 59% increase in IT investment by retail respondents during 2022. Many retail respondents also intend to make further investment in IT strategies over the next 12-18 months in the cloud (75%), security (57%) and digital transformation (48%). |
Walmart overtakes Amazon in Shoppers’ Search For Black Friday Bargains [CNBC]
Walmart took the top spot among shoppers who are searching online for Black Friday discounts. Amazon last year topped the ad tech company’s list, but this year fell to fourth place. Retailers are battling for shoppers’ eyeballs and wallets amid an unusual holiday shopping season clouded with sky-high inflation.With Travel Still Restricted, Simon is Bringing its Outlets to China via Livestreaming [RetailTouchpoints]
This livestream is one of the first outputs of the new partnership between mall owner Simon’s online marketplace Shop Premium Outlets (SPO) and Alibaba’s cross-border ecommerce platform Tmall Global. It was by all measures a huge success — within the first minute viewers increased 10X from 2,000 to 20,000; by the end, 1.37 million people in China were watching. |
|
Micro & Last Mile Fulfillment
Walgreens rolls out 24/7 delivery and parents with sick kids do the happy dance [RetailWire]
Walgreens is coming to the rescue of parents caring for sick kids in the middle of the night. The retailer’s same-day delivery program is going 24/7 as of today. The drugstore giant said that customers at nearly 400 24-hour Walgreens locations around the country would be eligible to order and receive from a selection of more than 27,000 products, including over-the-counter remedies, beauty and personal care products, groceries and household essentials. |
Target expands Starbucks curbside pickup service [GroceryDive]
Adding to its partnership, Target will deliver Starbucks food and beverages in its Drive Up curbside service at select locations. Customers can place their Starbucks orders for curbside pickup within the Target app. They then notify the retailer that they’re on their way and have arrived, during which time a Starbucks employee will prepare the order and a Target employee will drop it off. |
|
Survey: Poor delivery performance drives away customers [Chain Store Age]
According to the new 2022 biennial consumer holiday survey from Voxware, 44% of surveyed U.S. consumers say that up to 10% of their orders arrive later than promised, and another 20% report experiencing late deliveries up to 25% of the time. Two-thirds (65%) of respondents report that they will abandon shopping with a retailer altogether after two to three late deliveries. |
|
Restaurants & Ghost Kitchens
DoorDash lays off 1,250 employees [Grocery Dive]
DoorDash has laid off about 1,250 employees, CEO Tony Xu said in a statement on the company’s website. During the COVID-19 pandemic, DoorDash hired quickly to keep pace with growth and started many new businesses, but the company wasn’t as disciplined about managing team growth, Xu said.Food courts are dying, but mall food is thriving [ModernRetail]
Mall owners are now seeing food as a way to draw people in, rather than a mere sustenance necessity. They are adamant that their new dining options aren’t a food court for people to kill time, but rather a trendy destination in and of themselves. That means that malls are furiously recruiting influencer-owned restaurants, celebrity chefs, and luxe food halls to draw crowds. Meanwhile, mall stalwarts are being forced to grow their online sales channels while their number of food court locations dwindle. |
The 21 Digital Disruptors Shaping Restaurants in 2022 [QSR Magazine]
For the second year, QSR recognizes its Digital Disruptors: the change-makers and innovators laying the blueprint for a more connected restaurant world than ever.Restaurants, Grocery Stores Battle Over Consumers’ Stretched Dollars [The Wall Street Journal]
Restaurants and supermarkets are ramping up competition for Americans’ mealtimes, as consumers gird for a souring economy while food bills continue to rise. Many restaurants are promoting deals they said are aimed at giving consumers more value for their dollars, while raising menu prices. Supermarkets are stocking more low-price staples and offering specials on prepared food that companies said are targeted toward shoppers who are rethinking how many times they eat out each week. |
|
Mall Talk
Amazon touts record Black Friday weekend sales [RetailDive]
Amazon said that the 2022 Thanksgiving weekend was its biggest holiday shopping weekend ever and that it sold “hundreds of millions” of products during the period. The results come after a slightly underwhelming October sales event for the retailer. The Prime Early Access sale was estimated to have fallen short of Amazon’s annual Prime Day sale over the summer, and Numerator found that the average order size dropped 23% to $46.68 when compared to its July sale.The mall where Black Friday refuses to die [CNN]
At 4:30 a.m. on Friday, hundreds of people waited in line at the main entrance of the Mall of America. The nation’s largest shopping and entertainment center – a 5.6-million-square-foot behemoth – would open its doors for Black Friday in 150 minutes. |
NRF: Record 197M consumers shopped from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday [RetailDive]
Marking a record high since the trade group began tracking in 2017, the National Retail Federation announced on Tuesday that 196.7 million people shopped online and in stores during the holidays between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. This is an increase of 17 million people compared to 2021, per the NRF.Q&A: American Dream’s Don Ghermezian on mall as medium for entertainment [Chain Store Age]
Don Ghermezian is the CEO of Triple Five Group and its American Dream retail and entertainment mega-center in New Jersey’s Meadowlands. American Dream runs a host of more than 20 monthly activations. We caught up with Ghermezian to learn more about American Dream’s events strategy and plans going forward |
|
|
