How far will “tech” investments increase in retail ?

Global Retail News investigates a new phenomenon. Eager to lead the digital transformation race, many mall owners are investing in incubators, start-ups and retail technology. We examine why such investment are of high (but risky) value for retailers.

Through . Published on 26 July 2017 à 10h23 - Update on 10 May 2019 à 17h43

To retain customers and compete against online retailers such as Amazon and Zalando who are stealing their market share, landlords from the U.S.A., Europe and Asia, are investing heavily in technology to help arm them against the changes shaking the retail sector. “The property technology sector is heating up, and creating a lot of noise,” said Hongwei Liu, C.E.O. of MappedIn, a Canadian firm providing indoor mapping and service location software for more than 300 U.S. malls. Driven to lead with the best technologies for their business, the world’s largest property owners such as Simon Property Group, Westfield and Unibail-Rodamco have quietly put aside millions of Dollars for incubators. Risks are similar to acting as venture capitalists.

However, this new retail landscape is littered with broken promises. In the last quarter,…