Top Things You Missed IN Retail

Generative AI is the topic of the moment, and the dollars are following: Spending on AI-centric systems worldwide will jump to $154 billion this year from $121 billion last year, according to the International Data Corporation. If you’re not already using the tech, it’s time to get startedHere’s how retailers are using the AI.

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The 2,600 square-foot restaurant features kiosks for ordering — five to be exact — that were created in collaboration with technology company Bite. These kiosks are the primary in-house ordering method for this location.

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In the latest of a string of moves to build upon its retail media game, The Fresh Market has launched the beta release of a generative AI live shopping option which allows online shoppers to use an in-video chat feature — even after its shoppable livestreams have ended.

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Grocery wholesale cooperative Associated Food Stores (AFS) plans to deploy Symbotic warehouse automation technology at its Farr West, Utah, distribution center.

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Coach has partnered with Zero10 to bring the company’s augmented reality technology to its Soho store in New York.

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KBP Brands is rolling out an SMS and mobile wallet digital marketing program at its 847 KFC locations across 28 states. The program is powered by Vibes, a unified mobile messaging platform.

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The online pet supply retailer is implementing the SaaS-based CommerceHub Commerce Suite solution in an effort to cost-effectively broaden its inventory. Chewy, which partners with more than 3,500 pet brands to offer more than 110,000 products, seeks to more efficiently provide a wider selection from curated brands.

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Hanesbrand is ramping up its enterprise-wide digital transformation, rolling out a series of new innovations and integrations for payment architectures, supply chain automation, trade promotion, ERPs, and more.

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Kos has found an antidote to cash flow woe: Inventory Planner. Inventory Planner is the top rated inventory planning app that helps startups and big brands reliably forecast sales demand and get hassle-free buying recommendations, alongside powerful inventory insights that save money and time.

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A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. reports that, in addition to an existing order of 1,300 smart carts from Yochananof, the Israeli grocery retailer intends to purchase up to another 1,700.

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The grocery retailer/distributor is rolling out the Simbe Robotics Tally AI-based robotic solution across 15 stores in Michigan and Indiana. This move comes following a successful pilot in select D&W Fresh Market stores.

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Sweetgreen’s latest new restaurant concept is based on automation. The healthy eating chain is opening its first store powered by automation, in Naperville, Ill. The pilot location debuts a new proprietary technology solution called Sweetgreen Infinite Kitchen.

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1-800-Flowers.com is leveraging technology innovation all year round. Chain Store Age recently spoke with Jason John, chief marketing officer, 1-800-Flowers.com, about how the specialty gift retailer integrates next-generation technology into its promotional activities.

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For Destination XL CEO Harvey Kanter, too much inventory is “the kiss of death.” That fear comes from Kanter’s experience on the merchandising side of the retail industry.

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Marks & Spencer has deployed VyPops to support its food trends research and product development planning. Using the new video insight tool from Vypr, the retailer’s customer insight team says it has strengthened its research with video clips of customers from across the UK speaking in their own words.

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Instacart today announced that Sprouts Farmers Market is leveraging Carrot Ads - part of the Instacart Platform - to power its new retail media network. Carrot Ads helps retailers, like Sprouts, establish and grow their retail media networks on their owned and operated websites and apps.

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TalkShopLive has added Target to its live streaming, social selling online platform. Bryan Moore, CEO and Co-Founder at TalkShopLive, said: “We created TalkShopLive as the ultimate live commerce solution for brands, publishers, entrepreneurs, creators, and retailers of all sizes.”

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CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, is working to bring automated drive-thru ordering to its restaurants nationwide. CKE has partnered with Presto and OpenCity, which both have the ability to launch nationwide at the company’s locations.

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Valyant AI, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company focused on customer service in the restaurant industry, today announced an agreement with CKE Restaurants, the operator of iconic drive-thru restaurants, Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., to offer its conversational AI platform in drive-thrus at participating corporate and franchisee locations nationwide.

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Travelers at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport can manage these last-minute purchases without the usual hassle of waiting in line to check out. Instead, they can "zip in and zip out" at the Fort Worth Magazine Travel Store powered by Zippin's AI-enabled checkout-free technology.

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Larusmiani, an Italian bespoke menswear store, is introducing virtual try-on technology in its Milan store. With the help of Zyler technology, customers can now try on anything in-store without the need for a physical dressing room.

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Suchit Sikaria, Chief Business Officer (D2C), SUGAR Cosmetics said that an effective supply chain is essential for the beauty sector to maintain a competitive edge and effectively manage retailer demands while also overcoming the numerous supply and demand-related issues.

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WH Smith North America (WHSNA), incorporating Marshall Retail Group, is leveraging the Oracle retail cloud platform to better manage planning and inventory across its more than 300 specialty airport and casino stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.

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The Aldo Group, a Canadian multinational retailer that owns and operates footwear and accessories stores across the world, is deploying the Fluent Commerce distributed order management system (OMS), Fluent Order Management, to support omnichannel order fulfillment.

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The omnichannel used-car retailer is increasing customer prospecting efforts and enhancing the customer experience through its adoption of Azure OpenAI and the language models behind ChatGPT.

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Casey’s General Stores, Inc. will partner with RELEX Solutions to implement a unified space planning and supply chain solution. RELEX will service Casey’s 2,400+ stores and support the company’s growth plans.

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Domino's Pizza is testing out autonomous robots for the delivery of its home orders in Spain. A collaboration with Goggo Network has resulted in five robots operating in the Madrid town of Alcobendas, which has more than 116,000 inhabitants.

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Gulf Oil unveiled its new Gulf Pay, across its network. The refreshed offering comes through its partnership with Stuzo.

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Sainsbury has digitally transformed its end-to-end supply chain strategy working with Blue Yonder. The retailer intends to implement Blue Yonder’s demand planning, store order planning, and fulfillment solutions across all its food categories – fresh, frozen and ambient – as part of its Supply Chain Transformation Programme.

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Formula One hits America this weekend, with the 2023 Miami Grand Prix taking place at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida, on Sunday, 7th May. This will feature an autonomous store powered by AiFi technology.

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The e-tail giant is opening a fulfillment center in Windsor, Conn., equipped with advanced robotics technology. The 3.8.-million-square-foot facility began processing and delivering customer orders starting in November 2022, and will eventually employ more than 2,000 workers;

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AI is a voracious, data-hungry beast. Unfortunately, problems with that data — quality, quantity, velocity, availability and integration with production systems — continue to persist as a major obstacle to successful enterprise implementation of the technology.

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Adyen has partnered with retail company FitFlop to reduce checkout abandonment and support the latter as it scales globally. The strategic partnership will enable FitFlop to improve its consumer experience by adopting a streamlined approach to global payments.

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Macy’s Inc. is partnering with a demand-side advertising platform to increase the reach of its retail media network. The department store retailer is partnering with demand-side ad platform The Trade Desk.

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Potbelly Corp. added a dozen more stores to its Potbelly Digital Kitchen rollout in the first quarter and expects to have the operations-enhancing platform in 100 restaurants by year’s end, executives said Thursday.

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Wendy's announced Tuesday that it plans to test automated drive-thru ordering with the help of Google Cloud. The solution, called Wendy's FreshAI, will use Google Cloud's generative AI and large language models innovation.

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Internationally renowned hospitality brand Earl Enterprises is expanding its use of Data Central, ParTech Inc.’s back-office solution.

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HRS, a global corporate lodging and payment technology platform, announced the addition of Radisson Hotel Group its groundbreaking Green Stay Initiative (GSI). As more corporate hotel procurement leaders prioritize a hotel’s sustainability-related credentials during the bidding process, Radisson Hotel Group’s choice to participate in the global GSI program enhances their opportunities to win more corporate volume.

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Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard has chosen SOCi for its marketing platform. The brand will utilize SOCi Listings, SOCi Social and SOCi Reviews.

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DFS, the top sofa maker and retailer in the U.K., is deploying the Fluent Commerce order management systems to support its home fulfillment program as well as its efforts to grow its non-sofa business. The technology, according to a press release, should also streamline the retail experience for the 50-year-old retailer that operates 118 stores in the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland.

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The app, which debuted in 2016, will now have geofencing, giving customers the ability to see when they’re close to a Chick-fil-A location as well as how long their order will take to prepare (the other new addition to the app). When a customer is close to the Chick-fil-A at which they placed an order, the app will notify the unit so workers can begin preparing the food.

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A subsidiary of Safe & Green Holdings Corp., a designer and fabricator of modular structures, has designed, delivered and installed two QSR units in Arkansas on behalf of a franchisee for Domino’s.

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The retailer Bealls operates over 600 stores in 23 states, and the company is growing, adding 150 stores in the past two and a half years. In this episode of Tech transformation, we’re talking with Jackie Long, director of merchandise process at Bealls, about how the deployment of auto allocation technology is helping them react to the actual performance of these stores.

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The company chose Oracle and RetSci retail planning solutions to replace its old technology. WHSmith North America has selected Oracle’s artificial intelligence (AI) powered retail cloud platform to improve its inventory planning and placement at its US and Canada stores.

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