Top Things You Missed IN Retail

Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc. and other companies are using artificial intelligence to decide whether it makes economic sense to process a return. For inexpensive items or large ones that would incur hefty shipping fees, it is often cheaper to refund the purchase price and let customers keep the products.

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Bridgeline Digital, Inc. announced today that a well-established furniture business in Ireland has selected Bridgeline's Celebros Search to power their new eCommerce site.

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Bolivian pharmacy chain FarmaCorp has deployed Reflexis’ Q-Walk store audit mobile solution in more than 100 locations.

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Despite the rapid rise in digital orders, today IHL Group released research that shows close to 90% of all orders in 2021 are expected to be fulfilled by local stores.

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Pokeworks has released a prototype for its first-ever Cruise-Thru Lane, a mobile order pick-up lane. Customers will be able to order ahead online and pickup without having to leave their vehicles.

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The drugstore giant has made a majority investment in iA, a provider of software-enabled automation solutions for retail, hospital, federal healthcare, and mail-order pharmacy markets. The investment will support iA’s expansion and further development of pharmacy automation solutions for the entire pharmacy industry.

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Albertsons Companies has installed an automated and contactless grocery PickUp kiosk on a pilot basis. The kiosk, demonstrates continued expansion of the company's e-commerce business and commitment to providing easy service through its websites and apps.

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Aptos today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LS Retail, a developer and provider of all-in-one software solutions for retail, hospitality, food service, pharmacy and forecourt businesses.

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ParTech, Inc. announced today CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc., which operates Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s brands, has selected PAR Brink POS software for their corporate-owned restaurants and select franchisee restaurants.

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The Hut Group (THG) has selected SoftIron's Ceph optimised HyperDrive as the storage backbone for its THG Ingenuity e-commerce platform.

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Imports seen during 2020 appear to be headed toward a new record despite the coronavirus pandemic, and remain at high levels as 2021 begins, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

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Quiz has announced a partnership with AI platform provider, HelloDone, focusing on its post-purchase customer support.

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Subway launching Curbside Pick-Up at participating restaurants across Canada.

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The latest home delivery innovation being piloted by Walmart is looking to make anytime delivery possible. The retailer’s HomeValet service, currently being tested by consumers in its hometown of Bentonville, Ark., allows Walmart to deliver orders directly to customers’ homes via temperature-controlled, HomeValet-powered smart boxes.

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Ahold Delhaize USA’s Retail Business Services (RBS) arm is testing ultraviolet disinfection robots in two distribution centers to support stepped-up cleaning procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Ben Bridge Jeweler and its company-owned Pandora jewelry stores are teaming up with mobile clienteling and virtual selling platform provider Salesfloor to create a personalized consumer experience.

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For the restaurant industry, adapting to the digital space over the past year wasn’t just a matter of innovation; it was a means for survival. Still, some brands have used the pandemic as an opportunity to rethink and retool their digital strategies to be better prepared for the future.

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The drug store retailer will launch a co-branded credit card and a prepaid debit card. The cards, which will be issued by Synchrony and powered by the Mastercard network, will be available in the second half of the year.

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The two-level store features numerous high-tech flourishes, such as a second-floor window integrated with a transparent LED screen that illuminates Cat Street at night, two screens highlighting Cole Haan innovations and QR codes throughout the store to add interactive elements. There’s also a selfie station with an illuminated mirror that directs visitors to “Blaze trails. Shatter boundaries.”

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Huck’s Market has extended its partnership with contactless checkout provider Skip through 2021. The decision comes thanks to a marked increase in monthly active shoppers at Huck’s since implementing Skip’s Mobile checkout technology at all 124 of its locations in April last year.

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The Kroger Co. has been quietly testing a souped-up shopping cart that can weigh items, provide shopping suggestions, and scan and pay for orders without requiring shoppers to visit a traditional checkout lane.

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Convenience store chain McColl’s Retail Group has launched a customer experience management programme with Service Management Group (SMG).

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As detailed in a recent post on the Amazon Science blog, Amazon is developing machine learning models to enhance the Amazon Fresh shopping experience across channels. As part of this mandate, the Amazon Fresh team develops forecasting models, which are critical for grocery products with a limited shelf life.

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Farmacorp, a Bolivian pharmacy chain, will deploy Reflexis Systems’ Q-Walk store audit solution at more than 100 stores, to streamline on-site inspections and automatically prescribe corrective tasks.

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The Watches of Switzerland Group, a luxury watch retailer, now boasts a virtual boutique providing enhanced person service via Vee24 technology.

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OMNIQ Corp. today announced that it has received purchase orders with a total value of approximately $1.0 million from a Fortune 100 retailer for the supply of IoT solutions for “contactless” data collection and automation.

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Darryl McDaniels, superstar founder of Run-DMC, learned he was in foster care and adopted at age 35. His inspiring story exemplifies the mission of RetailROI’s SuperFriday event.

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Korean grocery and outlet retailer transitions from self-support to third-party support for high-quality service, long-term cost reduction and ability to focus IT resources on infrastructure modernization

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M.Video-Eldorado Group, a 1,039-store electronics and appliance retailer serving more than 250 regions across Russia, did much more than simply funnel products through its suddenly active ecommerce channel. The M.Video ONE RETAIL strategy, designed to connect the online and offline customer experience through a single platform, met the pandemic’s challenges on multiple fronts.

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N Brown Group Plc, a U.K. digital retailer, is deploying Oracle technology solutions to improve inventory processes and decrease operational costs.

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Engage3 has today been selected by Allegiance Retail Services, a retailer-owned co-op that supports independent supermarkets with a variety of services and a full line of private label products, for their Competitive Intelligence Management solution.

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Bridgeline Digital, Inc. has announced that the New Balance online store in Indonesia will launch with Celebros Search as its search and product recommendations solution.

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Hudson today announced the next phase in its digital transformation journey with an agreement to use Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology in select travel convenience stores.

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Uncle Julio’s Mexican From Scratch restaurants are using Medallia Experience Cloud and Medallia Zingle to seamlessly communicate with restaurant guests about their takeout, delivery and curbside orders and to understand their experience in real-time.

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