Top Things You Missed

Walmart is partnering with veterinary telehealth provider Pawp to offer Walmart+ subscribers free access to virtual veterinarians for a year beginning Tuesday.

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Six Flags has reportedly become the first theme park offering Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology. The pilot program, set to launch next month at the amusement park operator’s New Jersey location, comes as consumers are increasingly seeking frictionless checkout experiences.

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With a passionate online following already under its belt, Shein is now setting its sights on expanding its influence in the U.S. In pursuit of this goal, the fast-fashion eTailer is launching a venture that involves the introduction of pop-up stores and the establishment of a third-party marketplace.

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To celebrate the return of its X-Treme Watermelon smoothie, and the launch of its Watermelon Lemonade smoothie, Smoothie King commissioned ChatGPT to write a steamy 250-page romance novel, "A Summer Fling to the X-Treme" with elements of the brand and LTO woven into the narrative.

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Local sharing app, Olio, is launching a partnership with Whole Foods Market, supporting the Amazon owned retailer with food waste prevention at its stores in London.

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The Home Depot Canada runs stores, distribution, and online operations for the Canadian market. THD Canada’s end-to-end business backend functions run on SAP ERP, so it is critical to ensure that those systems are always available and running optimally.

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E.l.f. Beauty will implement a new ERP system as part of its growth strategy. The cosmetics company expects to transition to SAP next year to optimize operations, company leaders shared in an earnings call with investors.

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The numbers are in, and generative artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to have a major impact on retail. Generative AI will have a financial impact of $9.2 trillion through 2029 on retail, according to a new forecast from research analyst firm IHL Group. Generative AI, which is based on machine learning (ML), can create new content and ideas, including conversations, stories, images, videos, and music.

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Artificial intelligence is playing a crucial role in enabling brands and retailers to distinguish themselves and captivate consumers. Among the various AI-powered solutions available, such as virtual try-on, customer service chatbots, and predictive analytics for inventory management, one tool that often flies under the radar but serves as the foundation for all others is product attribution. It forms the backbone of these technologies, enabling their effectiveness and seamless integration within retail operations.

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During the earnings presentation, Ulta spoke to macro pressures as well as retail theft issues impacting not only its stores, but the broader beauty retail industry. Management noted that organized thefts are an “increasingly concerning challenge” for retailers in the space.

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With guidance from RetSci, Hibbett chose Oracle Retail Assortment Planning Cloud in June 2022 and implemented it by December 2022. And by May 2023, Alicia Kahn and her team deployed Merchandise Financial Planning in just four months.

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Fort William Henry Resort, Wedding and Conference Center has recently teamed up with Skyware, a leader in Hotel Technology, for their Property Management System (PMS), Sales and Catering(S&C), and Point-of-Sale (POS) software services.

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NewStore today announced that Filson and Shinola, two American lifestyle brands owned by Bedrock Manufacturing Co., have selected the company to modernize their in-store experiences. Both brands will implement the NewStore mobile point-of-sale, order management, and store inventory solutions to create seamless, unified customer journeys across all touchpoints.

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Residents of a small village in rural Finland now have access to an unstaffed automated contactless convenience store that uses RAIN RFID tags attached to each item to let shoppers quickly and easily self-checkout using a POS solution equipped with an RFID reader that automatically scans all the items in their basket.

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Adding another virtual visualization tool to its lineup, Perfect Corp. has unveiled a new sizing tool for wrists and fingers to help online customers shop for rings, bracelets and watches, the company announced on Wednesday.

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Quest Apartment Hotels, a member of The Ascott Limited network, announced it will implement Amadeus’ Agency360+ across its 160 locations in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and Fiji.

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Amazon is continuing to expand the reach of its Just Walk Out (JWO) cashierless checkout tech with a particular focus on events-based venues.

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The California 1970s-inspired leisure wear brand Aviator Nation decreased its refund rate 11% by automating returns. The retailer also fulfills online orders through its 17 store locations.

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Tailored Brands is testing and adopting new, consumer-friendly technologies to attract a younger customer base. One technology involves something dubbed Wedding Wingman, a digital wedding planner for grooms. Another is an AR smart mirror that’s being tested in one Men’s Wearhouse store.

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Whataburger is partnering with geofencing tech provider Radar to boost the customer experience by leveraging location-based data.

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Shinola and Filson will modernize their in-store experiences with mobile POS, order management and store inventory solutions from NewStore. Both retail brands are owned by Bedrock Manufacturing; Filson is known for high-end outdoor clothing and accessories, and Shinola offers products including timepieces, leather goods, jewelry and audio.

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Laneige is embracing the virtual realm to showcase its newest collection through a partnership with virtual store-building platform Obsess, an experiential commerce company.

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Givex Corp. announced today the expansion of its presence in Quebec with Food Love Generation, which uses Givex solutions for three of its brands: BBQ restaurant Jack Flat, Sergio Lino's (opening winter 2023) and fried chicken chain Jack le Coq, with five Quebec locations, including the newly opened location at the Champlain Mall, 2151 Boul. Lapinière in Brossard.

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WOWorks put itself in a prime position for growth in 2023, with one of its most important ventures being renewed technology integrations. These new partnerships include QU, OLO Rails, OLO Dispatch, PUNCHH, and World Pay.

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Panera customers have a new omnichannel ordering opportunity at the drive-thru window. The fast-casual restaurant chain is launching a new offering called Drive-Thru Pick-Up at stores across the country. Customers can select the option when ordering ahead on the Panera app or e-commerce site and then pick up their online order without leaving their vehicle.

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The retailer’s 111 Scottish stores are now accepting the regional card, which can be swiped at the till like a debit card, with the balance automatically updated after each purchase.

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It will trial the deployment of Polytag’s invisible UV tags onto its packaging, starting from July. With the company’s unique readers installed at the Biffa Teeside recycling centre, Aldi will get insights on the quantity of its packaging that is actually recycled and be able to track an item’s journey through said process.

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Ralph Lauren is leveraging early learnings from existing artificial intelligence use cases to test generative AI across a range of business functions, company leaders shared.

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Eboost teamed last year with Native, a market intelligence provider that’s leaning into generative AI, to research and create digital twins of its target consumers, with the ultimate goal of deriving insights to refine marketing personalization capabilities and the development of new products.

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A new survey provides a detailed look at the way U.S. consumers view the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in shopping and other areas of their lives.

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The company has teamed with the Recycling Partnership to leverage its Recycle Check platform, which enables shoppers to scan a QR code and either enter their ZIP code or enable location permission to receive a yes-or-no answer to the common question of whether something can be recycled in their area. The technology draws data from 9,000 U.S. community programs to cover 97% of the U.S. population.

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Olga's Kitchen has expanded its partnership with VOICEplug AI, a provider of voice-AI solutions, to enhance its customer experience through AI enabled ordering. The partnership has helped Olga’s Kitchen improve efficiency, allowing employees in the restaurant to focus on bringing an elevated level of guest service.

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Tapestry (parent company to such brands as Kate Spade and Coach) is bolstering its marketing efforts by leveraging generative AI tech to automate online personalization, and Marks & Spencer is following close behind.

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Olive oil manufacturer Deoleo is teaming with IBM to leverage the solution provider’s Food Trust blockchain-based QR code technology — featuring the code on the Carapelli 100% Italian SKU. Upon scanning, consumers can trace the journey of the olive oil to verify origin and quality.

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Bouclair, a home furnishings and décor brand operating across Canada, has completed the integration of PredictSpring’s PoS into all of its retail locations.

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Ace & Tate, a Dutch retailer that designs and distributes private-label eyewear and accessories, will partner with RELEX Solutions, provider of unified supply chain and retail planning solutions, to implement unified forecasting and replenishment.

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SADA has announced a new services engagement with Frasers Group, a retail conglomerate based in the UK.

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Robots are rolling out in Wakefield, Yorkshire from today as a partnership between Starship Technologies, Co-op and Wakefield Council brings autonomous grocery deliveries to local residents.

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Broadening its digital reach, The Save Mart Cos. is teaming up with tech provider Swiftly to launch a retail media network. Through this venture, the parent company of Save Mart, Lucky, and FoodMaxx banners hopes to bolster advertising opportunities for its suppliers and improve the omnichannel shopping experience for customers.

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Katchin, an online marketplace created specifically for jewellery and watches, has announced its expansion into Germany and France, following a UK launch earlier this year.

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Mother’s Market & Kitchen, an independent organic and natural health food store chain with 12 Southern California locations, and retail tech companyUpside have teamed up to offer the retailer’s customers the chance to earn cash back while shopping.

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Niemann Foods has begun using a new replenishment and inventory system from Upshop called Magic in 43 stores across Illinois, Missouri and Indiana. The AI software analyzes data in real time to forecast consumer demand, calculate the current inventory levels and order the optimal amount of product, according to Upshop.

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Surfsand Resort in Cannon Beach, Oregon has built its long-held reputation as a leading vacation spot. In 2022 the resort elevated its stature by updating all the property’s systems prior to a property-wide renovation and expansion starting in November 2023.

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Following a three-year pilot, The Kroger Co. is expanding its partnership with Microsoft-backed Cooler Screens. The in-store retail media company will bring smart screens into 500 Kroger stores across the United States to offer shoppers a digital media and merchandising experience.

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Rock-style fashion brand John Richmond is expanding into the metaverse in partnership with SHIB The Metaverse. The SHIB is a Web3 part of the Shiba Inu Ecosystem ranked high in the cryptocurrency market, according to a press release.

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WH Smith North America, which includes the Marshall Retail Group, a specialty retailer in the airport market, is deploying Oracle technology for better planning and inventory management.

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Road Ranger is joining retail technology company Upside's digital marketplace. Through the partnership, 33 of Road Ranger's 47 stations located throughout the Midwest corridor will be added to the Upside platform.

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Metro Inc. will officially launch the Moi rewards program on May 25 in its Metro, Super C, Brunet and Première Moisson banners. Moi, an evolution of the metro&moi program, will allow consumers to earn points in close to 900 stores and redeem them instantly at the checkout to save more on their everyday essentials.

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Hopdoddy, a fast casual burger brand based in Austin, has tapped Kea, a cashier in the cloud and provider of AI operations, to help the brand streamline its to-go ordering.

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Diageo, the maker of Guinness, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker, has announced a five-year business transformation programme in partnership with SAP and IBM.

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US-based convenience store chain, Stinker Stores, has selected PAR Technology’s loyalty solution, Punchh.

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Bensons for Beds is using Emplifi Live Advisor solution to deliver live shopping and support to customers.

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UK-based women’s gym wear brand, AYBL, has integrated Patchwork’s Stockr solution across multiple Shopify stores and says that, as a result, it has generated 100% order accuracy, saved time, money, and boosted customer loyalty.

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The company leverages cloud technologies to process and collect information from the platform aimed at improving user experience and sales strategies.

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