Top Things You Missed IN Retail

Alibaba is reportedly looking for partner companies to test its Tongyi Qianwen AI chatbot, according to Reuters. A formal launch is expected on April 11, when Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group, is scheduled to speak at an Alibaba Cloud event.

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In its latest move to avoid bankruptcy, Bed Bath & Bath Inc. has entered into a deal to help boost its inventory, increasing merchandise availability.

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Flying Pie Pizzaria, which operates seven locations in Idaho, is piloting the Kea voice AI ordering system at all of its stores. The initial implementation aims to improve Flying Pie’s customer experience by ensuring every phone order is properly processed during peak rush hours.

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Sean O'Neill's vision for Kwik Stop has fueled a digital signage transformation which has revamped the brand image and customer experience.

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Domino's Pizza Inc. has launched a new and more efficient way to order while on the go: via Domino's iOS app on Apple CarPlay. Customers have two ordering options via Domino's app on CarPlay: "Tap to Order" or "Call to Order."

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The world’s largest pizza retailer is unveiling two new ordering options via its iOS app on Apple CarPlay, which enables a consumer to control their app using their car radio. A new :Tap to Order” function lets customers submit their saved order or one of their most recent orders, while "Call to Order" allows them to place the order of their choice, hands-free, by talking to a customer service representative.

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The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company is relying more on non-store business to drive profits. The retail giant has recently invested a lot in bolstering its data and shipping arms, among others.

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Before using Talkdesk, GlassesUSA.com couldn't track, measure, or save data from voice calls. My team members would tell me how chaotic it used to be to manage incoming calls. By the time I arrived, they had already transitioned from a hard phone to an IVR system and made progress in setting customers down the right path of resolution, but there was still more work to be done.

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IKI, the second biggest supermarket chain in Lithuania, has opened its second cashierless convenience store in Vilnius, following a pilot using technology from Pixevia.

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California-based Nekter Juice Bar, Colorado-based Mad Greens and Tokyo Joe's and Popadelics, based in NYC, are testing drone delivery via FlyBy Robotics, an end-to-end drone automation and delivery company that recently raised $4 million in seed investment funding.

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Ralph Lauren has opened a concept store in Miami that will accept cryptocurrency payments through a partnership with BitPay, according to a tweet. Marking the first time Ralph Lauren will accept crypto as payment, the store will accept cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, Ethereum, polygon and dogecoin.

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The newest generation of artificial intelligence (AI) would seem to be tailor-made for the behind-the-scenes operational complexity of today’s retail organization — and in many ways it is. Generative AI-powered solutions’ ability to ingest non-linear, non-numerical types of data, including images, audio and video, is a strong fit for the multi-touch-point nature of commerce today.

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Digital transformation isn’t easy for any brand, but for Pandora, with its 40 years of history and more than 6,400 points of sale across 100 countries, that effort is particularly complex.

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Rite Aid and “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) solution provider Afterpay have expanded their relationship to offer a nationwide flexible payment option allowing consumers to make four interest-free payments at more than 2,000 Rite Aid locations for all household necessities, including health and beauty, baby care, and grocery items.

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Rite Aid has partnered with Afterpay to offer buy now, pay later (BNPL) services for its customers at more than 2,000 locations. The pharmacy joins other recent Afterpay partners, including Boden, Fresh, Lulu and Georgia, Quince, Swarovski and Wolverine Worldwide in launching or expanding payment over time choices.

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Southeastern Grocers (SEG), parent company of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, is deploying Zebra Technologies’ workforce and task management solutions to boost in-store operations.

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Blue Apron and DoorDash’s DashMart have expanded their partnership to 11 new markets. The expansion makes Blue Apron’s Heat & Eat meals available in a number of new locales, including New York City. It follows a pilot program launched by the companies last year in Philadelphia.

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The new initiative is focused on leveraging stores as home bases from which tech-driven solutions are launched. Each location will continue to offer full retail capabilities and coaching, but extend the in-store experience through the introduction of a new social selling tool and mobile point-of-sale (POS) system.

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Wrist Mafia has increased its subscriber base by over 60% and subscriber lifetime value (LTV) by 100% after migrating its subscription experience to the Ordergroove subscription management platform. Founded in 2017, Wrist Mafia partners with popular brands including Timecraft and Maestro to send subscribers a “mystery watch” on a monthly basis.

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The closest store to our customers is the one in their pockets, and we’re giving that digital storefront a revamp. Over the past year, we’ve made hundreds of enhancements to transform the core digital experience for our customers, elevating our e-commerce offering by creating more personalized and seamless interactions that make shopping how it should be: fast, easy and fun.

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INTELITY and the Westlake Village Inn have announced the continuation of their strong partnership with the iconic Southern California property’s investment in new smart-room tablets featuring the INTELITY platform.

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the consumer electronics giant, which says it is the nation’s largest retail collector of e-waste, is introducing a new nationwide program that allows consumers to recycle their old tech by mail. It follows the April 2022 launch of a program for picking up consumer electronics for recycling at customers’ homes.

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Poshmark is introducing a new, interactive way to sell goods via its online platform. The online resale site is rolling out Posh Shows, a livestream shopping solution designed for fashion resale. Available in the U.S. and Canada, Posh Shows enables people to livestream on Poshmark for the first time.

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GNC Mexico, the leading retailer of nutritional products, has partnered with RELEX Solutions, provider of unified retail and supply chain planning solutions, to improve the accuracy and efficiency of their forecasts and streamline their end-to-end supply chain.

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The same-day delivery and last-mile company, which was acquired by Target in 2017, is partnering with national hospitality brands InTown and Uptown Suites, Mainsail Lodging and Development, Stay Sojo, and RCI to provide a personal shopping and delivery solution.

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InPost has announced a partnership with Sports Direct, enabling the latter’s customers to return parcels at one of its 5,000 lockers across the UK, without having to print a label.

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Fresh Thyme Market now offers Fresh Thyme Market Pickup, a solution which provides online goods at in-store prices. Each online pickup order is picked fresh and packed by a store associate who is fully trained to pick the best quality products.

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Consumer goods companies have traditionally viewed the supply chain as a necessary evil to be effectively managed to reduce unnecessary expenses. But more companies, including Kellogg’s and PDC Brands, are exploring how it can be transformed into a revenue center.

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Shinesty is migrating its subscriber experience to the Ordergroove subscription management platform. The subscription-first, direct-to-consumer brand enables subscribers to have access to more than 40,000 product combinations and guarantees they will never receive the same design twice.

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The retail giant, which has nearly 1.6 million workers in the U.S. alone, Monday announced a new “Workplace Mental Health course” that will focus on teaching Walmart leaders and managers how to deal with someone struggling with behavioral health issues. The course will be facilitated by clinicians from the company Lyra Health, which is known for educating on mental health risks in the workplace.

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The discount giant plans to add EV charging stations to thousands of Walmart and Sam’s Club stores coast to coast by 2030. Walmart, which currently has almost 1,300 EV fast-charging stations at more than 280 U.S. Walmart and Sam’s Club locations, said it will build its own network of low-cost, fast-charging EV stations.

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UK supplement brands Free Soul, HUX Health and Misfits Health have partnered with one-hour and same-day delivery startup bodo.

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Near Intelligence, Inc. today announced that it signed an eight-figure renewal deal with its largest retail customer in Europe – an increase of approximately 100% over the previous year.

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In response to the growing demand for pickup service, PDQ Restaurants implemented Flybuy technology brand-wide to streamline operations and provide customers with an exceptional experience.

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ShopRite, a banner of Wakefern Food Corp., is deploying 32-inch Front End digital TV displays from Grocery TV in a select group of stores in the New York City metropolitan area. The retailer is implementing the displays in some of the most high-traffic areas of its stores, and plans to continue rolling the solution out across more locations in its network.

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WaBa Grill is eliminating network downtime, which previously resulted in disruption and lost sales, by tapping Interface Systems' Restaurant Network-Technology-in-a-Box solution.

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5G LLC, a provider of connectivity technology solutions for the real estate industry, has signed an agreement with IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG), to enable owners of more than 3,800 IHG-branded hotels in the United States to develop a long-term digital revenue stream by connecting hotel rooftops with leading 5G networks.

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Denny’s has partnered with Sparkfly and Olo to launch a new customer engagement ecosystem. This is now live across all 1,600+ Denny’s locations.

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The fast casual pizza chain is leveraging the Oracle Micros Simphony Cloud POS platform to collect and analyze data including order and delivery history and loyalty rewards, as well as store operations. Equipped with expanded insight into its customers' changing needs, Unos has identfied popular food items to improve its menu offering.

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Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, large-scale technology investments continue to ripple across the retail industry. In recent weeks, market leaders such as Gap, American Eagle, The RealReal, and Fairmount Tire & Rubber have rolled out new strategic initiatives to boost efficiencies and streamline operations.

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Nestle and General Mills’ joint venture Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW), which includes more than 50 brands, will leverage AnswerRocket’s Max assistant to improve their ability to access insights from their own data. Using the technology, employees can ask natural language questions, which is expected to break down a common adoption barrier within business intelligence.

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Infor announced that Old Edwards Inn and Spa has selected Infor to simplify its hotel management and revenue management functions. Implemented across all three of Old Edwards Hospitality Group’s properties, Infor’s cloud-based hospitality-specific applications will deliver faster turnover, higher profit margins and a more tailored guest experience.

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Consumer goods companies are increasingly giving their retail partners more visibility into inventory, access to powerful data insights they can leverage across their own supply chains, and convenience features that expedite processes. Unilever is the latest company to offer such a platform, delivering this and more to small retailers in the Hindustan Unilever (HUL) sector, the company’s Indian market.

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