Top Things You Missed IN Retail

Using Microsoft Azure’s OpenAI platform, Starbucks is adding a generative AI assistant to 35 stores this month. The technology’s intent is to help baristas improve efficiency and decrease service wait times.

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Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright says the fast-casual restaurant chain is expanding at an “exponential rate,” with plans to open more than 300 new locations this year. Key to making the growth happen is new AI technology, like its hiring platform, “Ava Cado,” Boatwright tells Fortune.

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Amazon is building a "humanoid park" in San Francisco where it can experiment with prototype humanoid robots provided by Chinese robotics firm Unitreethat. The robots reportedly would deliver packages from Amazon Rivian electric delivery vans to customer doors.

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A new service is launching this week at Ikea Rhodes in Sydney, allowing customers to shop and pick up their orders during the early morning or late into the evening.

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ostco has been testing checkout technology it hopes will speed up the checkout process, something members rank as one of their significant concerns with the warehouse retailer.

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Coca-Cola proved that inviting public collaboration can generate global engagement. People around the world helped shape the brand. That level of inclusion helped deepen emotional investment and positioned the company as forward-thinking without letting go of what made the brand special.

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Recognising that food waste is a significant problem in the hotel industry, Hilton has deployed a waste-tracking system created by British technology company Winnow in nearly 200 hotels.

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The convenience and fuel operator is accepting QuikQ fuel cards at all RaceTrac and RaceWay truck-accessible locations. QuikQ is a provider of innovative and secure fuel payment, corporate payment and fraud prevention solutions.

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The discount giant is now offering its drone delivery service in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa. This move makes Walmart the first retailer to scale drone delivery across five states: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas.

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After initially implementing Shopify in 2021, Bentley saw an opportunity to further leverage the advanced capabilities of Shopify Plus and integrate Shopify POS across their extensive retail network. Partnering with Shopify Plus agency Molsoft, Bentley embarked on a comprehensive digital transformation that would unify their online and in-store experiences.

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Walmart Canada is deploying smart lockers to support its store associates to better serve customers in its more than 400 stores nationwide.

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In the future, shops should expect a full-time assistant manager role and a new AI assistant.

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Omnichannel pet retailer, PetSmart, has announced a partnership with delivery network Skip. Canadians can now order over 15,000 PetSmart products directly on the latter’s platform, ranging from premium food and litter to toys and accessories.

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Boden, a UK-based online apparel retailer, was looking to bring all of its systems and data sources together under one roof, enabling the team to unlock the next level of personalisation across every customer touchpoint, from email to SMS and beyond.

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Lula Commerce, a provider of AI driven digital commerce solutions, reports the launch of United Pacific's flagship convenience store brands, Rocket and Alta Convenience, on its platform.

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Debenhams Group - home to brands including PrettyLittleThing, Boohoo, BoohooMAN, Karen Millen, and Debenhams - says that it has implemented AI at scale to optimise product pricing and promotions.

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Estée Lauder is developing an artificial intelligence-powered application designed to automatically deploy stock, according to statements shared during the D.B. Global Consumer Conference. The system analyzes global trends and consumer behavior to anticipate demand spikes and reposition inventory accordingly.

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GoWit will support Mumzworld with its omnichannel retail media solutions as it plans to amplify the retailer’s online presence, increasing advertising monetisation and driving incremental revenue growth.

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Retailers are at a technology inflection point. Outdated, siloed store systems no longer cut it, creating operational headaches, frustrating customers and stifling innovation. To stay competitive, retailers are adopting modern POS solutions and unified commerce platforms.

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Farmacorp, a pharmaceutical retailer in Bolivia has selected RELEX Solutions to improve the accuracy of demand forecasts and optimize replenishment processes in stores and distribution centers.

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Currys has partnered with WelcoMe, an inclusive platform that allows customers with additional needs to pre-book a personalised shopping experience in its stores.

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Award-winning food producer to implement RELEX for demand sensing, master planning, and production scheduling across their four production sites

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LVMH said artificial intelligence and agents will be key to navigating a broad slowdown and waning consumer demand in the luxury goods segment.

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Amazon is providing residents of multi-family buildings and gated communities new tools to securely manage entry and deliveries.

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Amazon Ads is rolling out enhancements to its video generator and making it available to all U.S. advertisers. The tool now utilizes advanced AI techniques that create realistic shots of products in use, allowing it to move beyond displaying a product in a lifestyle scene to show the item in action, such as showing a watch on someone’s wrist as they check the time.

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Cargill said it will invest close to $90 million in computer vision and other cutting edge technologies over the next few years at a Colorado beef plant, which will allow the food giant to get more meat out of each animal.

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Starbucks Corp. will provide baristas in select stores with tablet-based access to artificial intelligence assistance with their jobs. The coffee giant is implementing a generative AI solution designed to assist store associates with performing routine tasks at 35 stores during June 2025.

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Five Guys launched its first ghost kitchen Monday in San Francisco, California, partnering withCloudKitchens to expand its reach.

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NRN spoke with Newk’s CEO Frank Paci about the company’s recent technology upgrades, including switching from the Aloha legacy POS to the Toast cloud-based POS, as well as adding kitchen display systems and kiosks for the first time.

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PepsiCo was burdened with a “mishmash” of different process-planning systems, ranging across business units and markets, Talley says. The company was looking to integrate planning in line with an “end-to-end vision” of its supply chain.

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The chain is adding back-of-the-house automation processes to speed up throughput while freeing up employees to be more guest facing.

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The hosted web services division of Amazon is making a major commitment to its operational presence in Taiwan. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is launching the AWS Asia Pacific (Taipei) Region.

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Grubhub customers can now combine items from two eligible stores into a single order and also get flower deliveries from FTD.

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This week, at Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Summit, Lore said the company is working on an app where they will visit a customer's home, perform a blood test, and create a nutrition profile based on DNA samples and AI. From there, Wonder will create a personalized 21-meal weekly plan delivered either as a meal kit (like Blue Apron) or as full, premade meals.

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The new Walmart "Retail Rewired Report" reveals that the trust gap between AI-based recommendations and influencer endorsements is much smaller than may have been anticipated.

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Automation, AI and outsourcing are all drivers of the latest developments in delivery.

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NCR Atleos Corporation today announced that Morrisons Daily has extended its collaboration with Atleos, providing even more consumers with reliable, secure access to cash through Atleos’ Cashzone Network.

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Grocery giant Lidl France, in collaboration with creative agency Marcel Worldwide, turned to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to power a viral marketing campaign.

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South African supermarket retailer SPAR Group is looking to broaden its produce range, expand its on-demand delivery service and sell more own-brand goods after first-half results showed flat revenue and a small decline in earnings.

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Amazon opens new tab wants customers to know that artificial intelligence is not just for writing college essays. In a series of announcements Wednesday, Amazon demonstrated how stockroom robots, delivery people and its sprawling warehouses will all benefit from a hefty dose of artificial intelligence, speeding packages to customer doorsteps.

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Rock N’ Roll Sushi took another step in its digital evolution by going live with Thanx, a loyalty and guest engagement platform known for deep data integrations.

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The discount giant’s new AI Interview Coach tool simulates a realistic Walmart interview by walking candidates through up to 10 questions, scoring each response on a scale of one to 10 and delivering instant pointers on structure, clarity and confidence.

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Simbe has partnered with DeCicco & Sons Markets, a family owned grocer in the US, which is bringing its Store Intelligence platform to a new flagship location in Sleepy Hollow, and additional stores in Eastchester and Larchmont.

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Starting Thursday, June 5, 2025, Five Below Inc. is offering online delivery from more than 1,500 stores across the country through the Uber Eats app.

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Parcel delivery company DPD has inked a deal with Wise to replace its legacy internal driver management system.

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Co-op and Royal Mail have inked a partnership deal to roll-out parcel lockers at the convenience retailer’s stores. The first ones will launch in summer, with plans for lockers at 100 stores.

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Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions reports the expansion of its partnership with Matalan, a UK fashion and homeware value retailer.

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A custom pet clothing and accessories retailer is managing scheduling and financial tracking with a single solution. The company utilizes the Bisi Blvd. technology platform to help maintain control of operations.

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Walmart is expanding the range of its U.S. drone delivery program in a big way. The discount giant is now offering its drone delivery service in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa.

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Walmart-backed FinTech OnePay is teaming with Synchrony to launch a credit card program. The card, set to roll out this fall, will be integrated into the OnePay app and available to Walmart customers.

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Sam Altman’s digital ID firm, World, is reportedly bringing its eye-scanning tech to the U.K. The goal is to let people in Great Britain access verification services the company argues are critical for distinguishing between human and artificial intelligence (AI).

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The online giant has announced it intends to invest at least $20 billion in Pennsylvania to expand its data center infrastructure to support advanced AI and cloud computing technologies.

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The Spanish fashion company unveils a 26,300-square-foot flagship with a department store-style layout and advanced technology.

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Algolia, an AI native search and discovery platform, has announced a collaboration with Oh Polly, an online destination for women’s fashion.

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Walmart Inc. is leveraging generative and agentic artificial intelligence capabilities for a new feature in its shopping app. The discount giant is now offering a smiling "Ask Sparky" button in its mobile app which customers can use across all product categories to find items and synthesize reviews.

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