Gauge of consumer sentiment falls in Oct. | Sysco to open a distribution center in Mesa, Ariz. | Gordon Food Service to open Jacksonville, Fla. location
Consumer sentiment declined in October for the third month in a row, according to a University of Michigan survey. "There were a lot of reasons sentiment could have fallen, given different geopolitical events and the macro picture being highly uncertain, but the movements in sentiment are pretty volatile and don't necessarily move in line with broader spending," says Shannon Seery, economist at Wells Fargo.
Sysco is opening a new 353,000-square-foot distribution center in southeast Mesa, Ariz., called Sysco Arizona East. The roughly $100 million facility is expected to cost $100 million and be operational by spring 2025 with around 260 employees.
Gordon Food Service is set to open its first grocery store and delivery service in Jacksonville, Fla., late next year. The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based company is leasing a 30,400-square-foot space formerly occupied by Staples, with the site expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2024 after interior demolition and build-out.
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The 2,116 data compromises reported in the first three quarters of this year have outpaced the previous full-year record of 1,862, set in 2021, the Identity Theft Resource Center says in a report. Compromises in Q3 affected nearly 66.7 million people, and financial services surpassed health care as the most-targeted industry for the first time since Q2 of last year, the report says.
The years of record investments in warehouse automation spurred by rising e-commerce sales and speculative building construction appear to have ended with declines starting in 2022 that will continue throughout 2024 amid factors such as inflationary environment and higher interest rates, according to Interact Analysis. Exceptions are expected among pet care brands serving the households that adopted animals during the pandemic and drug companies working to comply with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act.
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Business-to-business marketers and communications professionals can use influencer marketing to drive brand visibility, using advanced search features and free tools like Followerwonk to find the right partners, writes Austin Andrukaitis, CEO of ChamberofCommerce.com. Andrukaitis also offers advice on sharing company news via social media and developing relationships with the right journalists covering your industry.
Economists have become more positive about the economy's trajectory, with the probability of a recession within the next year dropping to 48% from 54%, according to a Wall Street Journal survey. The survey cites falling inflation, a possible end to Federal Reserve interest-rate increases, a strong labor market and economic growth as major factors in skirting a recession. Economists expect GDP to increase 2.2% year over year in the fourth quarter, up from a forecast of 1% growth in a previous survey.
The number of large companies that have already appointed a team to oversee generative AI -- more than 4 of 5 -- proves it's no flash in the pan, experts say. "Enterprise decision-makers across industries are adopting generative AI in droves and the wave is only going to grow, with spending set to surge by more than 25% in the next 12 months," says B-school professor Stefano Puntoni, who helmed a study for consulting firm GBK Collective.
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