Data & Analytics

Construction spending in the retail sector saw a dip in June, according to a report by the Associated General Contractors of America, but the first half of the year recorded an overall gain.   Commercial (which includes retail, warehouse and farm) construction declined 1.6% in June, per the report, but climbed 8.6% year-to-date. Association officials said spending appears to have leveled off after a strong early start to the year prompted by mild winter weather conditions in many parts of the country.  

Online retail giant Amazon is not looking for a repeat of holiday 2015, when increased fulfillment costs due to a surge in orders took a bite out of its holiday quarter earnings.   The company is adding 18 warehouse facilities this quarter in preparation for the holiday surge, according to a report by Recode. Last year, it added six.  

Temperatures for the U.S. will trend the warmest in at least five years.    August begins with an active pattern along the East Coast with showers and thunderstorms. Heat will be building across the Central U.S. with a heat wave likely developing in the first week of August. The heat spreads to the East Coast later in the week. Another heat wave during the second retail week of the month will keep it feeling firmly like summer.   

Rent-to-own giant Aaron’s saw its revenues rise but profit drop in the second quarter, and the retailer said it would review its store base going forward.     

Leasing has begun on HELM Miami, a mixed-use development destined for a full city block in Miami’s Design District, a neighborhood carved out in an under-developed area north of downtown near Biscayne Bay.   Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Retail will handle leasing, led by executive managing director Thomas Citron and executive VP Mitchell Friedel.  

Amazon has launched an online shop dedicated to innovative products from start-up companies.   Amazon has teamed up with popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter to showcase a collection of products that have been successfully funded on the platform. The Kickstarter Collection is featured on Amazon’s Launchpad section, the company’s storefront for hardware startups and crowdfunded projects. The new collection has more than 300 products, and covers a wide range of categories, from electronics and toys to home and kitchen.

Sam’s Club has selected Salesforce’s customer success platform to digitally transform business membership acquisition and engagement, and create an enhanced membership experience across its more than 650 clubs nationwide.  

Walgreens on Thursday announced the company will discontinue operations of drugstore.com and Beauty.com in favor of focusing on its core online property Walgreens.com.