5 minutes
After a year of high inflation, rapid interest rate hikes, and a war-driven energy shock, consumers are preparing for an economically uncertain 2023. To provide value for money, retailers are kicking off the year by investing in technology-driven convenience – from the Text to Shop concept at Walmart to Amazon providing its Just Walk Out, palm-scanning technology in non-Amazon-owned stores.
Text to Shop launched by Walmart
Walmart has launched a new purchase system that allows shoppers to shop by sending a text. After a year of testing by the retail giant, the Text to Shop system is now being rolled out across its stores for shoppers with iOS and Android devices. Shoppers simply text the items they need, and they are then added to their basket. Orders can be completed and paid for by sending another text message, or shoppers can use the Walmart app. The final step is to choose either store pickup or home delivery.
Source: grocerydive.com
Emart24 opens its first store in Singapore
E-Mart’s convenience store chain Emart24 has opened its first store in Singapore, becoming the first Korean convenience store chain to operate in the city amid the retailer’s push for overseas expansion. A second store opened soon after the first. The two stores will focus on Korean-style fast foods and ready-to-eat meals, such as ‘tteokbokki’ and ‘gimbab’, seaweed rice rolls with vegetables. The retailer plans to add up to 300 stores over the next five years, it said.
Singapore is the second country for Emart24 to enter after it opened its first convenience store in Malaysia in June last year.
Source: insideretail.asia
Asda revamps the refill proposition and guarantees lower prices
Asda has announced a new ‘refill price promise’ which guarantees that each refill product will be cheaper than packaged alternatives as part of its new refill proposition. The British retailer has partnered with WRAP and Unilever, with funding from Innovate UK, to find out shopper barriers to participation, so it could look at ways it can increase participation. Clear pricing was the top priority, emphasized by the cost of living crisis, leading to the supermarket implementing a new refill pricing strategy. Other key objectives which were developed based on the barriers discovered; combat uncertainty and apprehension and make the experience fun and enjoyable have also led to changes with greater shopper communication and a focus on four key categories – cereals, pet food, store cupboard (including snacks, tea and coffee) and rice, pasta, and pulses.
Source: corporate.asda.com
First US non-Amazon-owned grocer using Just Walk Out, palm-scanning tech
Amazon has been building out its grocery presence online and with physical stores. But the e-tailer giant is also turning the dial-up on serving as vendors to grocers. Community Groceries, a health-focused grocer that targets underserved communities, was the first supermarket to launch the technology in its store.
Shoppers will be able to enter the store by inserting their credit card at the entry gates or hovering one of their palms over an Amazon One device. The Just Walk Out technology tracks which items people select while shopping and then charges them for those items.
Source: grocerydive.com
Those Vegan Cowboys create first cheese made by stainless steel cow
Those Vegan Cowboys produced the first cheese with casein, without the use of a live cow. Those Vegan Cowboys, founded by the founders of De Vegetarische Slager, make identical casein with the help of precision dairy fermentation. This milk protein makes cheese cheesy. The first cheeses have now been presented, made by the stainless steel cow Margaret.
Source: duurzaam-ondernemen.nl
REWE opened a fully autonomous Pick&Go store in Munich
German retailer REWE has opened a fully autonomous Pick&Go store in Munich after testing the format in hybrid mode in Cologne and Berlin. The store is part of the second test phase for the Pick&Go project, which aligns with the company's vision to make 'shopping of the future' possible. The product assortment at the 289 square-meter stores comprises around 4,000 items, including fresh baked goods, fruit and vegetables, dry goods, frozen products, beverages, and household goods. Shoppers can access the store by logging in to the Pick&Go app at the entrance. The invoice is sent to the Pick&Go app after shoppers leave the store.
Supplier collaboration
Introducing new products to the demanding shopper has become a huge challenge, not to mention being able to get attention for the items already on the shelves. Our solution: supplier collaboration.
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