News Briefs

Real estate investment firm The Macerich Company has announced a change to its C-suite.

The California-based firm has announced that Daniel E. Swanstrom II will become the CFO of Macerich effective on Nov. 16. Scott Kingsmore, the current CFO, will transition to the role of senior advisor on the same day and remain with the company through Dec. 31 to assist in the transition. Kingsmore has been with Macerich since 1996.

“I am very pleased to welcome Dan to Macerich,” said Jack Hsieh, Macerich’s CEO who took over last year. “Dan brings an excellent background to Macerich with over 20 years of experience in real estate, both as a CFO of two public REITs and as a former investment banker with Morgan Stanley. He has extensive experience in managing complex balance sheets, interfacing with external stakeholders and making capital allocation decisions that drive shareholder value. He will be a great addition to our team.”

[READ MORE: Macerich reports its space at NYC’s Queens Center fully leased]

Macerich currently owns 45 million sq. ft. of real estate consisting primarily of interests in 41 retail centers. Its portfolio is concentrated in California, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Metro New York to Washington, D.C. corridor.

A new survey from eBay Advertising reveals the top considerations, features and product categories of customers making holiday purchases online.

The survey of more than 3,000 e-commerce consumers from the eBay advertising unit reveals two in three plan to do most of their holiday shopping online. Top five respondent considerations are:

• Value for the money: 57% (46% of respondents 18-24)
• Free shipping: 47% (10 percentage points more than in 2023)
• Deals and coupons: 40%
• Product quality: 34% 
• Fast shipping in five days or less: 25%

Respondents said the categories they are most likely to buy online gifts in are: 

• Clothing and shoes: 88% 
• Toys and games: 77%
• Holiday and seasonal items: 76% 
• Consumer electronics: 73%

Other findings

Notable data points also include:

• Close to eight-in-10 (78%) surveyed young adults feel having a one-stop online holiday shop is important.
• More than seven-in-10 (73%) respondents say that it’s easier to get what they need online. 
• Just over two-in-three respondents said advertisements help them figure out what to finally buy. Gen Z and young millennial respondents are even more likely to be influenced positively by advertising
• Two-in-three (67%) respondents tend to browse marketplaces (such as eBay) first. 
• Seven-in-10 (71%) respondents plan to spend more or the same on gifts this year, than in 2023, including 37% who plan to spend more and another 34% who plan to spend the same amount as last year. 
• More than four-in-10 (42%) shoppers surveyed said they will start their holiday shopping in November or December. Three-in-10 (31%) plan to start in November and 12% plan to start in December.

The survey was carried out by Censuswide between July 10-16, 2024 among a sample of 3,005 holiday shoppers. 

A new survey reveals the ways consumers are leveraging artificial intelligence to aid their e-commerce activities.

According to the survey of more than 1,000 consumers conducted on behalf of online coupon platform CouponCabin, over 96% of respondents are at least somewhat familiar with AI, with nearly 82% indicating that the technology is already a part of their lives in some way.

Nearly 54% of respondents said they notice AI while online shopping, and roughly 33% find it most helpful to online shopping. Here’s how consumers use AI when it comes to online shopping:

• 54.48% used AI to find the products they want faster.
• 43.93% used AI to search for savings at specific stores.
• 42.82% used AI to find deals for a specific item they wanted.
• 31.17% used AI to show the products they might be interested in.
• 29.57% used AI to find out when a sold-out product might be restocked.
• 25.03% used AI to research the products they’re interested in.
• 20.37% used AI to find dupes of the product they want.

In other findings, 60% of respondents believe AI is trustworthy and nearly 89% believe that AI will become even more popular over the next few years. 

[READ MORE: Salesforce: AI can help retailers meet customer expectations]

This survey was conducted on behalf of CouponCabin on Wed., Oct. 16, 2024, among 1,036 consumers.

Casey’s General Stores has completed the largest deal in its 50-year-plus history.

The Iowa-based convenience store chain said that it closed on its previously announced acquisition of Fikes Wholesale, owner of CEFCO Convenience Stores, on Nov. 1. The $1.145 billion acquisition will bring 148 additional stores to Texas, considered a highly strategic market for Casey’s, as well as 50 stores in the southern states of Alabama, Florida and Mississippi. With the acquisition, Casey’s has a total store count of approximately 2,900 stores.

“This acquisition is the largest in Casey’s history and in line with the strategic plan laid out at the June 2023 Investor Day,” said Darren Rebelez, president, CEO and board chair of Casey’s. “We are thrilled to complete this transaction, welcome Fikes to the Casey’s team, and look forward to bringing Casey’s pizza to these high-volume stores.”

Fikes Wholesale and CEFCO stores were founded as a family-owned and operated business in 1952, starting as a single “filling station” in Cameron, Texas.

“The acquisition by Casey’s, especially given its reputation and shared values, is an exciting development for Fikes and our employees,” said Raymond Smith, president of Fikes and CEFCO, in July when the acquisition was announced. "I am happy that the CEFCO stores will join a top convenience retailer that will reinvest in the stores and eventually bring Casey’s pizza to many of our customers as well as provide professional opportunities for our employees.”

Founded more than 50 years ago, Casey’s has grown to become the third-largest convenience store retailer and the fifth-largest pizza chain in the United States.  

Paul Kurzawa, a 20-year veteran of the commercial real estate and entertainment industries, has taken over as president of Centennial, owner-operator of malls such as MainPlace in California and Liberty Center in Ohio.

Most recently the COO of CenterCal properties, Kurzawa ended a seven-year stint at Caruso in 2013 in that same position. From 2013 to 2016, he served as the global head of retail development at DreamWorks animation. 

“Paul has deep industry experience – both mall and open-air,” said Dallas-based Centennial’s founder and CEO Steven Levin. “He also has excellent industry relationships and a wealth of operations expertise, making him the right choice to lead Centennial forward.”

He replaces Whitney Livingston, who has moved on to the International Council of Shopping Centers as its COO. 

“Whitney has been instrumental in helping us acquire, transform, and create some of the most dynamic destinations in retail real estate,” said Levin . “She has grown our portfolio, elevated our talent pool, and bolstered profits for our own organization as well as those we manage for others. Whitney will be sorely missed.”

An app that connects shoppers with fresh produce, meat and other groceries at up to 50% off has been redesigned.

Flashfood is releasing version 3.0 of its app, which offers deals on groceries nearing their sell-by date with the goal of diverting food waste from landfills. New and revised features include a refreshed onboarding process, as well as a new map screen that lets users browse multiple stores in one view, with vertical and horizontal scrolling.

A new card-style display also makes it easy to compare deals at different stores at a glance. In addition, a single React Native codebase that replaces previous separate Android and iOS codebases.

This enables Flashfood to develop and update both iOS and Android apps more efficiently while providing a consistent experience across platforms and enabling faster delivery of new features the future. 

A simplified SNAP EBT payment method provides a clear SNAP EBT subtotal on the checkout screen to make it easier to track budget before paying. Retailers operating in the grocery space that have piloted and deployed Flashfood in the past few years include Save Mart Companies, Giant Food, Meijer, Hy-Vee and SpartanNash.

"Our customers have been asking for a new Flashfood app for a long time and we could not be more excited to deliver it," said Jordan Schenck, president and COO at Flashfood. "Our growth and success to-date have not been because our app was the best in the business, but because we deliver real value for our shoppers. Moving forward, Flashfood will offer both: affordable, fresh groceries through an excellent app experience.”

The new Flashfood app is now available on the Apple Store and Google Play.