Walmart partnered with People of Crypto (POC) Lab to develop an interactive, virtual odyssey designed to commemorate Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary. The virtual experience is designed as a “choose your own journey” experience, where visitors can learn, network and simply enjoy the space, creating new opportunities for the retailer to blend “IRL” (in real life)…
Ulta Beauty will kick off 2024 with a fresh look for its loyalty program a decade after its debut in 2014. Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, the Ultamate Rewards loyalty program will become Ulta Beauty Rewards, and along with the new name will come enhanced benefits for the program’s 42.2 million members that are designed to…
The holiday season brings joy, magic, beautiful decorations and a soundtrack of carols and standards that we revisit year after year. Sure, these tracks may get us in a festive mood, but for retail workers listening to them on what can feel like a truly endless loop they could also lead to madness. New research…
Whole Foods Market has introduced a new “pollinator policy” for its produce and floral purchasing. By 2025, all growers will need to implement integrated pest management (IPM) systems prioritizing preventative and biological measures that reduce the need for chemical pesticides. The retailer also will bar the use of all nitroguanidine neonicotinoids (which are particularly harmful…
The editors of Retail TouchPoints are sharing our picks for the seven most consequential stories of 2023. As usual, there were lots to choose from — that’s standard for such a dynamic industry — but these were the topics that had “legs” (and are likely to continue to be important in 2024). 1. Resale Continued…
Walmart will offer buy now, pay later (BNPL) options at self-checkout kiosks in more than 4,500 U.S. stores through an expanded partnership with Affirm. Walmart and Affirm first partnered in 2019 to bring BNPL options to shoppers on its website and app. Indeed, until recently most BNPL offerings were relegated to the digital realm, but…
Alibaba Group has given Eddie Wu, already Group CEO and head of the Alibaba Cloud unit, responsibility for its biggest revenue generator, the Taobao and Tmall Group (TTG). Wu is replacing Trudy Dai, one of Alibaba’s original 18 founders, as CEO of TTG, but she will remain with the company to help set up an…
Manhattan’s Fairway Market grocery chain has partnered with Instacart to develop a new convenience-focused service called Fairway Now that will offer delivery of last-minute grocery items and household essentials in as fast as 30 minutes. “Our customers are New Yorkers, and they are savvy, on the move and always looking for smart, convenient ways to…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has prohibited Rite Aid from using facial recognition technology in its stores, claiming the retailer failed to implement reasonable security procedures and prevent harm to consumers. The FTC complaint said that from 2012 to 2020, store employees using this technology erroneously accused customers of wrongdoing based on “thousands” of false…
Editor’s note 12/20/23: Hello Bello has officially been acquired by private equity firm Hildred Capital Management after it voluntarily filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 23, 2023. Erica Buxton, President of Hello Bello, shared in a statement that she is “confident” this acquisition will allow the brand to “not only make great products but increase our…
