January 23 - 29, 2023

While we have been publishing our weekly newsletter through our?website?and?email subscriptions?directly for over two years, we thought we might give this LinkedIn version a go.

If you’ve read a few of these newsletters, you may have figured out that we’re big fans of store-based fulfillment. (And if you haven’t read a few, you can catch up here.) We’re a fan for a lot of reasons, but this week we were reminded of a reason store-based fulfillment will continue to be appealing to retailers and customers alike - it can be more sustainable. If you’re able to tap into store inventory—which is likely closer in proximity to your customers than a warehouse—and if you’re able to batch deliveries to nearby locations (something easily done from locations like malls), then fulfillment and? last-mile delivery can be exponentially more green than other delivery options. Of course there are economic reasons this is a strategic move as well, but sustainability is going to continue to be at the top of mind of consumers and wall street, and should be top of mind for you too.

This week we also heard about the role brick-and-mortar will play for DTC brands in 2023, the retail revolution coming to the airport, and how the latest rage, ChatGPT, might influence the retail space. Find us over on Twitter or LinkedIn and let us know what other headlines are catching your attention.

Digital Meets Physical?

Omnichannel Investments Are Top of Mind for Retailers in 2023 [WWD]

The last several years have proved that there is no sure way to truly know the future, but according to Avalara’s 2023 retail forecast survey, retailers are committed to making investments that will get them as close as possible — both in store and in the metaverse.

Walmart launches dedicated e-commerce site for businesses [RetailDive]

Walmart on Friday launched a dedicated e-commerce site, dubbed Walmart Business, tailored to small and medium business customers. The website will offer “a curated assortment of more than 100,000 items” and is meant to simplify business-related purchases.

Will ChatGPT supercharge chatbot conversations? [RetailWire]

Despite a few limitations, ChatGPT may massively impact how people search for, evaluate and purchase products in the future. Here are a few thoughts on how OpenAI’s new chatbot could be used in retail…

Why digitally native brands are stepping up their march into brick-and-mortar [Chain Store Age]

Shoppers spend up to 10 times longer in retailers’ physical store locations than they do on their e-commerce sites. That’s just one of many reasons why so many direct-to-consumer and digitally native brands have hired real estate brokers and emerged in malls and shopping centers, according to a new whitepaper from the digital traffic-tracker Placer.ai.

Micro & Last Mile Fulfillment

Give sustainability-minded customers a delivery choice [Roadie]

Customers today not only want faster delivery. Many also want that delivery to be easy on the environment. Reducing the carbon footprint of delivery (especially in the expensive last mile) is a pressing environmental challenge for retailers.?

Companies Rush to Trace Sprawling Supply Chains as Sustainability Rules Loom [The Wall Street Journal]

Companies are rushing to more closely track materials across their sprawling supply chains ahead of expected new human rights and environmental laws Businesses, including consumer-goods company Unilever PLC, clothing retailer H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB and Polo Ralph Lauren supplier of socks Renfro LLC, say they are turning to technologies to help gather data on their supply chains and track materials.?

How retailers are trying to save on rising fulfillment and warehousing costs [ModernRetail]

As the threat of a recession looms, retailers are trying to save on fulfillment costs by turning to automation and closing warehouses. Analysts and experts echoed that rising costs in the warehouse and fulfillment segment will be an acute pain point for online retailers. One micro-fulfillment provider that uses automation to rely less on human labor said it’s seeing increased interest from retailers of late.

Where are the cost savings in last-mile delivery? [RetailWire]

A survey finds retailers increasingly fixated on cost efficiencies around last-mile deliveries amid rising inflation and fuel costs.

Ghost Kitchens & Restaurants

Shift to Remote Work Puts Pressure on Chains Like Sweetgreen [The New York Times]

It’s a tough time for companies that cater to the needs of office workers. For some, like downtown lunch spots that rely on servicing white-collar professionals, remote work options could pose an existential risk.

Inflation Puts Pressure on Ghost Kitchen Model [PYMNTS]

Throughout the pandemic, the delivery-only virtual brand model proliferated, and through much of 2022, as brands noted the stickiness of consumers’ digital ordering habits, they continued to gain ground. Now, however, as consumers cut back on unnecessary expenses, and as many turn to grocery options to get their at-home needs met, restaurant locations that are entirely dependent on off-premise sales are facing an uphill battle.

Pandemic-era stigma cost Asian restaurants $7.4B in lost revenue, new study finds [NBC News]

Stigma against Chinese cuisine in the first year of the pandemic cost Asian restaurants in the United States an estimated $7.4 billion in lost revenue in 2020, a recent study found. In a year in which tens of thousands of restaurants closed and many barely scraped by, the study — published online last week in the journal Nature Human Behaviour — reported that Asian restaurants across the country lost 18.4% more in foot traffic than other restaurants in 2020.

Mall Talk

TikTok is driving an offline lift in sales for some brands [ModernRetail]

While TikTok ads and posts are typically known for driving online traffic for brands either to their Amazon storefronts or DTC sites, some brands are observing an increase in their offline sales through these videos.

8 DTC retail trends to watch in 2023 [RetailDive]

With macroeconomic challenges from 2022 seeping into the new year, brands are balancing out their store count, pushing for profitability and more.

HMSHost Leads Food Tech Evolution Inside Airports [QSR Magazine]

Although passenger traffic hasn’t fully recovered to pre-pandemic numbers yet, airport food and beverage concepts have recalibrated and caught up to consumers’ growing demand for contactless convenience. Neil Thompson, HMSHost’s vice president of digital, says “the temperature is hot and things are moving quickly” in terms of technological adoption.