Business is booming at first Amazon Go stores

Initial reports about the Amazon Go store concept have been positive, and sales appear strong. In fact, advisory firm Brick Meets Click estimated that sales per square foot at the Seattle store are about $2,700. That's nearly $5 million in annual sales for an 1,800 square foot, cashierless store.

According to Brick Meets Click, "Amazon Go stores produce more sales per square foot than virtually any other retailer except Apple and a few other specialty stores."

The company also estimates that the inventory turns over around 50 times per year, which is four-to-five times more than at other retail operations.

Furthermore, digital marketing firm inMarket believes Amazon Go stores are more of a threat to fast-casual restaurants and convenience stores than to supermarkets. Peak visitation hours at Amazon Go stores in Seattle and Chicago over the past 60 days have been on weekdays during lunch and breakfast.

"Amazon Go's combination of ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook food choices challenges both grocers and restaurants," reported Brick Meets Click Co-Founder and Managing Partner Steve Bishop. "With no lines or waiting, it's easy to see why people would stop by twice a day - first to grab lunch and later to pick up a dinner portion on their way home."

There are six Amazon Go stores open, all with the company's "Just Walk Out" technology, and more locations are planned. In fact, Bloomberg reported in September that Amazon is mulling plans to open up to 3,000 Amazon Go stores by 2021.

Is Target next for Amazon?

A former analyst who followed Apple closely and was known for his accuracy in predicting their financial performance over the years made news recently by forecasting that Amazon will buy Target in 2018.

"Target is the ideal offline partner for Amazon for two reasons, shared demographic and manageable but comprehensive store count," said Loup Venture Co-Founder Gene Munster. "Getting the timing on this is difficult, but seeing the value of the combination is easy."

Analysts have been making several predictions about Amazon's next deal. Companies mentioned recently have included Lululemon Athletica, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Advanced Auto Parts. One analyst foresees Amazon purchasing a small- or mid-sized bank.

Eight US companies make "world's fastest growing retailers" list

Recently 24/7 Wall St. analyzed data from the National Retail Federation and released a "World's 25 Fastest Growing Retailers" list. Eight U.S.-based retailers made the cut, three of which are grocers.

Here are the eight American companies on the list:

• Albertsons Companies (5-year annual growth: 74.1%)
• Sprouts Farmers Market (47.4%)
• Southeastern Grocers - BI-LO, Harveys, Winn-Dixie, Fresco y Mas (34.6%)
• Apple/Apple Retail Stores (23.4%)
• NIKE/Direct-to-Consumer (22.3%)
• Ulta (22.1%)
• Dollar Tree (21.4%)
• Amazon (20.8%)

Six "traditional" supermarkets among Top 20 U.S. Retailers

The National Retail Federation released its annual Top 100 Retailers list, and Wal-Mart remains at the top by a comfortable margin (nearly four times the annual sales of the #2 retailer). As usual, traditional supermarkets made a strong showing, taking six of the top 20 spots.

It wasn't supermarkets, though, that caused much of the buzz generated by the list (published in the July issue of Stores Magazine and based on 2010 sales figures). Two retailers - Amazon.com and Apple Stores - made big jumps from last year's list. Amazon jumped from #26 to #19, as U.S. sales grew 46.2% to $18.5 billion. And Apple Stores climbed more than 30 spots to #21, as U.S. sales increased 32.3% to $18 billion.

Here is the top 10:

#1 - Wal-Mart
#2 - Kroger
#3 - Target
#4 - Walgreens
#5 - The Home Depot
#6 - Costco
#7 - CVS Caremark
#8 - Lowe's
#9 - Best Buy
#10 - Sears Holdings

Here are the supermarkets in the top 20 (and local brands in parenthesis):

#2 - Kroger
#11 - Safeway (Genuardi's)

#12 - Supervalu (Acme, Save-A-Lot)

#14 - Publix

#16 - Ahold USA (Giant)

#18 - Delhaize America (Bottom Dollar)

Also on the list:

#29 - ShopRite

#31 - BJ's Wholesale Club

#38 - Whole Foods

#42 - Aldi

#45 - A&P (Super Fresh, Pathmark)

#55 - Trader Joe's

#65 - Wegmans

PREIT taking advantage of digital media tools

PREIT, the Philadelphia-based real estate investment trust that owns 49 retail properties, released its "roster of digital media efforts" in advance of the ICSC show in Las Vegas, which begins on Sunday.

The usual suspects - websites, Facebook pages and a Twitter account - are all there, as they should be. But what impresses me is the following:

Mobile App
PREIT is launching a free Apple iPhone application with information on each of its 40 shopping malls. The app will soon be available for the Android, Palm Pre and Blackberry.

Quick Response Codes
QR codes are a big deal these days. They're essentially bar codes on steroids. Perhaps you've seen them on signs or products; they are black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. Anyone with a smartphone can scan a QR code and boldly go where no man has gone before. Unless you've been to Japan, of course, where they've been in use since 1994.

Anyway, PREIT says they have introduced QR codes on advertisements, flyers, posters and other marketing materials for its consumer marketing programs. By scanning the codes, shoppers can receive details on fashion trends, store sales, coupons, etc.

They have also introduced the codes on leasing materials, which means real estate professionals can get instant access to aerials, leasing plans, etc. (Here at Equity Retail  Brokers we are testing the same technology.)

Apple iPads
PREIT's executives and leasing team members are currently testing Apple iPads loaded with custom apps that provide them with important facts and figures at their fingertips, not to mention the ability to bring up leasing materials during presentations.

Although I don't have an Apple iPad, I have seen firsthand how effective they are in this business. My colleague Rob Samtmann, one of the principals at Equity Retail Brokers, uses his Apple iPad on a daily basis, and it's an extremely convenient and effective tool, especially for tenant representation.

By the way, if anyone at Apple is reading this (for search purposes, I have generously and liberally inserted "Apple" in as many places as possible), I'm available to test iPhones and iPads.

See y'all in Vegas!