Executive Summary

• This week’s note “From the Desk of Deborah Weinswig” discusses the US arrival of smaller-format grocery stores such as Amazon Go, Walmart Pickup with Fuel and Lidl, as well as their demand drivers and some of the challenges they may face.
• Nordstrom launched its first chatbot on the Facebook Messenger and Kik messaging services to help holiday shoppers find gift items. The chatbot helps users select gifts by asking them a series of questions about the person they are shopping for. It then chooses gifts from Nordstrom’s online store that match their answers.
• Amazon.com’s drone delivery program has lifted off—from a rural corner of England. Last week, Amazon made its first customer delivery by drone. The drone carried a package containing popcorn and a Fire TV video-streaming device several miles to a two-story farmhouse near Cambridge in 13 minutes.