What You Need to Know This Week in B2B
This week we’re going to the mall! Interesting data on what’s going on in America’s shopping centers was just released in a survey conducted by investment bank UBS.
The main takeaway is that people are increasingly going to the mall to eat instead of shop. UBS reported that the percentage of people who went to a mall to eat rose from 4 percent to 7 this year, while those who went to shop decreased from 25 percent to 20.
Mall owners may be catching on to these trends as well. The brand-new ‘American Dream’ mega-mall in New Jersey will be composed of just 45 percent retail space, with the rest devoted to eateries and experience-activities.
We turn now from UBS to UPS. The package handler is issuing a warning to retailers ahead of the holiday shopping rush. UPS said Monday it expects a record-breaking year in item returns this winter.
This year’s peak, expected on January second, could come close to 2 million returns, which would be a 26-percent increase from last year’s high, according to the company. It is anticipated that close to one million packages will be returned per day in the month of December.
And finally, in Japan, Toshiba announced this week its plans to launch a new Internet-of-Things consortium in 2020.
Around 100 companies are expected to partner up with Toshiba, with the idea that they would be able to share best practices and technological updates through Toshiba’s service.
