Data & Analytics

Westfield’s billion-dollar renovation of its Century City Mall in Los Angeles will include a swanky Uber Lounge when it is completed this fall.   Westfield has formed a partnership with Uber to facilitate use of shared rides at its centers nationwide. The mall owner will create drop-off and pick-up stations at every one of its U.S. properties, whose locations will be digitally mapped into the Uber app. The idea: make pick-ups and drop-offs easier and build mall traffic.  

Dollar General turned in mixed results for its second quarter, with gains in sales but a dip in profits and a decline in gross margins.    Net sales rose 8.1% to $5.83 billion in the quarter ended Aug. 4, compared to $5.39 billion in the year-ago quarter, better than analysts were expecting. Same-store sales increased 2.6%, also better than expected, driven by increases in average transaction amounts and customer traffic.   

Amazon isn't as dominant as is widely believed — at least not according to a new report from Moody's Investor Services.   

Walmart is expanding its online breadth in Canada.   The discount giant expanded its global online marketplace to its Canadian e-commerce store, Walmart.ca, a move that doubles the site’s online product assortment. The retailer expects this number to quadruple by the end of this year, according to Walmart.  

Based on its recent bold expansion into the grocery segment, Amazon is primed to give food and beverage e-commerce a shot of adrenaline.   This was according to “U.S. Grocery Market Focus: The Amazon Food Shopper,” a report from Packaged Goods.    According to the firm’s estimates, Amazon's 2016 online food and beverages sales, including AmazonFresh, is at $1.5 billion. This volume is expected to rise to $2.3 billion in 2017, giving the company a 19% share of the online market.

As much as today's shoppers want convenience, they also prioritize saving money and will make time to uncover the best deals online and offline.     Over half (53%) of consumers indicated they invest over two hours a week looking for deals and savings across all sources, according to a survey from Valassis. About 25% of millennials and moms spend over four hours a week in their search for value.  

Don't believe the hype — physical retail is still growing, particularly in three key segments.   Retailers are opening 4,080 more stores in 2017 than they are closing, according to a new research report from IHL Group, and they plan to open over 5,500 more in 2018. Mass-merchandisers, including off-pricers and value chains, are the fastest-growing retail segment (+1,905 stores), followed by convenience stores (+1,700 stores) and grocery retailers (+674 stores).  

Kohl's is reaching out to its associates as well as the general public impacted by Hurricane Harvey.   The retailer said it will provide an estimated $1 million in financial support to its employees who have been significantly impacted by the storm. Kohl’s will continue to monitor the impact of the flooding throughout the region to evaluate the need for additional assistance.