Starbucks is reportedly partnering with CloudKitchens, a ghost kitchen led by Uber founder Travis Kalanick, to expand its last mile capabilities, according to Insider. CloudKitchens rents small kitchen bays that can be used as pickup-only facilities for delivery drivers. Starbucks is planning to utilize a CloudKitchens location in San Francisco starting August 22, 2023, according…
Malls were once the nucleus of “shopping culture.” They were core destinations for all things retail; where families spent hours on a free Saturday and where teens, hungry for independence, spent many Friday nights to build their social clout. But many shopping malls have endured an identity crisis. With the rise of ecommerce and the…
Major retailers are increasingly rolling out the red carpet to draw in small business customers: Ikea has launched a new loyalty program for SMBs called the Ikea Business Network, and Lowe’s is enhancing its business loyalty program with a suite of new mobile tools for business owners. Earlier this year, Walmart rolled out an ecommerce…
Sam’s Club will open its 37,000-square-foot design thinking studio, dubbed Clubhouse, this summer on the retailer’s Bentonville, Ark. campus. Sam’s Club, which first announced plans for the studio in June 2022, will use Clubhouse as an innovation engine for testing products and designing new, enhanced experiences for members and associates. Additionally, the retailer has digitized…
Payments platform Klarna has expanded its “Sign in with Klarna” service to 23 countries, including the U.S. and UK, following a test period with two Sweden-based companies, the restaurant app Maitres and the Tradera marketplace. The service enables consumers to choose which data they share with the merchant, such as purchase histories that would enable…
Sellers on any online marketplace know that the key to success is a well-constructed product detail page (PDP). But putting together a good PDP can be time-consuming, which is why many marketplaces are now rolling out AI-powered tools to help with the process. The latest of these is Ebay’s new image-based “Magical Listing Tool,” which…
One of the first criticisms leveled at online apparel sellers was customers’ inability to try products on prior to purchase — and despite many advances in technology, that fact remains a major ecommerce challenge. However, Amazon is using AI to try to close the appearance vs. reality gap in multiple ways. According to a blog…
Editor’s note: As retail interfaces and systems continue to evolve, the way we design retail experiences to user needs and behaviors is also transforming. In the new series “Stimulating Retail,” join award-winning sensory designer and Harvard neuroscientist Ari Peralta as he breaks down the science and tech behind some of today’s most stimulating sensory retail experiences….
In 2024, it won’t be your dad’s supply chain. Shoppers’ retail preferences will be unlike anything we’ve seen even just a year ago. More fluid. Less predictable. Highly distributed! These four emerging trends elevate the urgency for supply chain execs to move distributed order management (DOM) to the top of their lists. #1: Retailers are testing brands,…
Since Santa’s magic only works in the vicinity of the North Pole, Simon Property Group has equipped “helper elves” with ChatGPT 4.0-powered AI technology to assist shoppers seeking the perfect gift. Beginning on Black Friday and recurring every Saturday and Sunday through Dec. 23, HolidAI elves carrying tablet devices will be strategically positioned throughout Simon’s…
