Top Things You Missed IN Retail

Conversational AI in the drive-thru lane is nothing new — NRN has been covering the rise of this trending tech phenomenon since 2019, when companies first begin adapting AI voice assistants in earnest — but the trend has now reached a fever pitch, and more and more limited-service chains are replacing humans with AI drive-thru workers.

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The drone manufacturer has been growing its commercial delivery business, with partners including Walmart, and announced three more retail deals on Wednesday: GNC, Pagliacci Pizza and Associated Couriers.

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The Kraft Heinz Company has unveiled HEINZ REMIX, pitched as the first customisable and IoT enabled digital sauce dispenser that allows consumers to personalise their own flavour creations.

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The Mercatus grocery e-commerce platform is teaming up with a digital marketing technology company. Mercatus is integrating its platform with customer engagement solutions provider, Eagle Eye to help grocery retailers deliver more personalized and targeted digital promotions.

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UK online marketplace, OnBuy, has announced a partnership with buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider, Clearpay.

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Tapestry is generating personalized words and phrases on its e-commerce site in real time. The parent company of Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman is utilizing the Persado Dynamic Motivation AI-based marketing solution.

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The Warehouse Group, New Zealand’s largest retail group, will partner with RELEX Solutions. The RELEX solution will service The Warehouse Group’s 248 stores and distribution centers throughout New Zealand, driving improved product availability and decreased inventory value.

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ezCater, the most trusted provider of corporate food solutions, and Wawa Inc. announced the launch of all Wawa locations on the ezCater marketplace. Now, workplaces can order Wawa’s signature breakfast sandwiches, like the Sizzli, and hoagies, from 1,000 store locations across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Washington, D.C.

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Salesfloor, a customer engagement platform for retail that combines virtual shopping, clienteling, and conversational AI, has announced the launch of its solution with activewear brand Fabletics.

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A leading meal kit provider is shifting to an “asset-light” operational model with a third-party logistical partner. Blue Apron is entering a long-term operations and logistics relationship with FreshRealm, a provider of fresh meals to retailers nationwide.

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Buy now pay later firm Clearpay has announced partnerships with household and garden retailer wilko, parenting specialist Online4Baby and UK online marketplace venture OnBuy.

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The deployment of the new system will let the company improve access to consumer data, drive insights and speed decision-making. Through the new ERP, Clorox will also gain insights across its supply chain and the ability to reduce costs where needed.

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A Domino's Pizza franchise, Team Washington Inc., has earned over $163,000 in proven incremental sales and $78,000 proven incremental profit since partnering with Upside last summer.

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The hotel’s management team began looking for new financial management tools capable of delivering macro and micro analysis of numerous data sets and assisting with planning for future investments into the property. PVNG enterprise accounting and Targetvue budgeting and forecasting solutions from Aptech fit the bill for their ability to affordably give operators the insight, flexibility and control they desired.

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As part of a broader shift to a wholesale operating model, Save A Lot is implementing innovative planning systems and strategies. In a session at the recent Blue Yonder ICON 2023 conference, Stephanie Blackshear, senior manager, store design & planning, Save A Lot, explained how the discount grocer is upgrading its legacy merchandise, space and floor planning environment.

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SodaStream invested in artificial intelligence to determine which ad campaigns would be most successful via email, SMS text and on social media.

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Convenience retailer Energy Mart is testing Amazon One biometric identification across its seven-store footprint.

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Abuelo's Mexican Restaurant is integrating machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) with its curbside pickup operations. The fast-casual dining retailer is utilizing the Flybuy Pickup platform, based on proprietary ML and location AI, to streamline its curbside pickup offering.

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Tapestry, parent company to several well-known brands including Kate Spade and Coach, has been highly focused on how to better engage with consumers via product innovation.

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Waterline, a UK-based supplier to the independent kitchen specialist sector, is enhancing the operational efficiency of its fleet delivery and customer service operations using Descarte Systems Group’s cloud-based route planning and optimisation; pre-delivery customer email notifications; and electronic proof-of delivery (ePOD) solutions.

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The casual dining chain is deploying the Oracle CrowdTwist loyalty and engagement solution to support a relaunch of the Friday Rewards customer loyalty program. Customers can join Friday Rewards via the recently upgraded Fridays mobile app, website, or at one of nearly 300 participating U.S. restaurant locations.

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Amazon is reportedly using artificial intelligence in its inventory system to speed deliveries. Stefano Perego, Amazon’s vice president of customer fulfillment and global ops services for North America and Europe, said that the company had begun employing artificial intelligence (AI) to determine where to place inventory.

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Croatian grocery retailer Studenac has partnered with Infobip to design and implement solutions for customer conversations.

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rt Sebastian of Casey’s General Stores Inc. recently got a change in job title, going from vice president of digital experiences to vice president of omnichannel marketing. While this may seem like a minor change, it is indicative of a much larger transformation that's currently underway at the nation's third-largest convenience store chain.

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Google is applying next-gen artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in Google Search to help consumers find products. In a test, Google is integrating new generative AI functionality into its search engine. Based on machine learning (ML), generative AI can create new content and ideas, including conversations, stories, images, videos, and music.

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This week, Digital Wave Technology customer MadaLuxe Group, North America's leading distributor of luxury fashion and accessory brands, has gone live with Digital Wave's PXM and Maestro AI solutions. The innovative solutions offer a range of advanced features, providing significant value to operations.

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Oracle is expanding the global rollout of its Oracle Hospitality OPERA Cloud Property Management System (PMS), today announcing plans to bring the system to 2,000 additional hotels under the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts portfolio by the end of next year.

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Sowvital, a creator of premium horticultural products, is using Oracle NetSuite to support its ambition to reconnect people and their plants with science led botanical care.

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Telpo, a China-based self-service kiosk manufacturer, has deployed its Telpo K7 kiosk in Aeon supermarkets throughout China, according to a press release.

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Singapore-based online furniture retailer, Castlery, has selected Kinaxis, along with mSE Solutions, to deliver an end-to-end supply chain solution.

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Natuzzi is leveraging visual configure, price, quote (CPQ) software from 3CAD to offer consumers a seamless experience when ordering customized sofas. Through configuration, the company offers a wide range of products in terms of versions, combinations and materials.

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Woolworths has partnered with First Insight, Inc. Woolworths announced today that it will use First Insight to gather zero-party, Voice of Customer data and operationalize product testing for faster and better merchandising decisions in their Womenswear division.

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Kraft Heinz has added $30 million to its sales by applying artificial intelligence to its supply chain visibility functions. The food manufacturer has used AI to drive operational priorities as well as automate service risk identification and operator alerts.

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The rollout across 40 stores consists of a passive handheld reader-based system that tracks inventory and enables replenishment.

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Upside added nearly 150 Sunoco sites in the Pittsburgh area to its digital marketplace. The partnership will allow Sunoco to reach new customers and encourage repeat visits from existing customers through the platform's mobile app and partner app network, which reaches over 30 million people across the United States, according to the company.

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ServiceNow today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire artificial intelligence (AI) powered platform G2K to transform retail and other industries. G2K’s technology allows organizations to connect real‑time data across storefronts and other physical spaces for a complete view of operational data.

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Fresh Thyme Market has entered into a multi-year agreement with Radian to provide merchandising analytics and planning tools including promotion optimization, price management, assortment development and supporting analytics.

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Since 2020, WBA has partnered with Tata Consultancy Services for labor provided solutions; Microsoft and Adobe to create personalized, omnichannel shopping experiences; and Verizon to power enhanced digital consumer experiences. This year, Walgreens partnered with Doordash and Uber to provide free, same day delivery of HIV medications.

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While operators acknowledged these technologies can help with tasks like shift scheduling and assigning duties, some remain hesitant to go full-speed ahead.

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Costa Coffee, the second largest coffeehouse chain in the world, and the largest in the UK, has selected GEP SOFTWARE’s procurement and supply chain platform.

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A summary of real-world installations and insights, showcasing how AI is helping restaurants super-charge efficiencies, solve challenges and enhance customer journeys.

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Doorda has been chosen by CARTO, a cloud native location intelligence platform, as a geospatial data partner.

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Co-op’s partnership with Just Eat is set to reach almost 1,000 stores by the end of this month.

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Eyewear retailer Zenni Optical is enhancing its e-commerce search capability by introducing a new Image Search Tool, as well providing a new prescription reader tool, Prescription Scan.

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The North West Company, which operates more than 200 grocery stores in Canada, Alaska, the South Pacific and the Caribbean, has been utilizing the Invafresh artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)-based Fresh Retail Platform Scale Management solution to manage and distribute item-level regulatory and compliance data across its network of production scales, labelling equipment and printers.

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Perfitly, an AI-based AR/VR fitting room solution that can be integrated into the e-commerce platforms of retailers, has announced a partnership with TaylorMade Japan, a subsidiary of TaylorMade USA, a manufacturer of golf equipment.

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New York-based Rare & Forever first started training AI to grade diamonds in 2018, to make the classification of its diamonds more uniform and accurate. Now, it’s offering the service to natural diamond retailers, as competition with online and lab-grown diamond retailers heats up.

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The Wendy’s Company is testing an automated system that may revolutionize in-store pickup of online orders. The fast food hamburger chain will pilot the underground autonomous robot system from Pipedream to deliver digital food orders from the restaurant kitchen to designated parking spots in seconds.

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