#weeklytechnews

[advancingretail]

CART Weekly Report 9/19/19

TURNING CUSTOMER DATA INTO ENGAGING SHOPPER EXPERIENCES | Supermarket News

CHASING SHINY OBJECTS: ARE GROCERS INVESTING IN THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY | GroceryDive

AS E-GROCERY MATURES, FULFILLMENT STRATEGIES DIVERGE | Supply Chain Dive

IN POWER MOVE, WALMART EXPANDS DELIVERY UNLIMITED | RetailWire

Sterling’s Take: It's great to finally see a full resurgence of the physical store. We've specifically been putting stores around people that buy things for the better part of 100 years. Why not use them most effectively? Store design will continue to evolve, but for Walmart to roll this out so broadly they must have seen performance that really resonated. I don't know if it's going to draw customers from competitors, but it does open up the opportunity to their entire customer base so more people (perhaps not formally doing much ordering online) will take part.

WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY:

THE PROMISE AND PERIL OF RETAIL PERSONALIZATION | Gary Hawkins

iRetail: A new way to think about retail 

Data Driven Shopping Experiences | Groceryshop

Data is the Fuel Powering Retail in the Age of ‘i’ | Gary Hawkins

👉 5 ‘i’s Required for Retail Success: 

Individual 

Intelligence 

Integration 

Immersive 

Innovation

HAPPENINGS:

UPCOMING RETAIL TOMORROW INNOVATION DAYS/EVENTS

CGA STRATEGIC CONFERENCE 2019 - September 29-October 1, 2019

RETAIL REVOLUTION AT PORTLAND STATE - October 24, 2019

ENERGIZER - November 14, 2019

More Events to be Announced Soon!

Notify me about upcoming and new events

MINDING THE GAPS - CGA STRATEGIC CONFERENCE 2019 - Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, September 29-October 1, 2019

GMDC SELF-CARE SUMMIT - October 3 thru 7, 2019 in Indianapolis, IN

X/SPECS 2019 - October 15 thru 17, 2019 at the Waldorf Astoria, Orlando

Store Design in the Age of “I” - Wednesday, 11:30am-12:15pm

THE RETAIL REVOLUTION at PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY’S CENTER FOR RETAIL LEADERSHIP - Portland, Oregon - October 24, 2019 12:30-5:00pm

SPECS SHOW 2020 - The ForeFront of Physical Retail - March 15-17, 2020, Gaylord Texan, Dallas

CART COMMUNITY. GET ON THE INSIDE. MEMBERSHIP HAS BENEFITS.

Become part of the epicenter of retail innovation exclusive network. The place where retail decision makers and solution providers come together to advance retail into the future.

✔️Blogs ✔️Newsletter ✔️Webinars ✔️Accelerator ✔️Pitch Events ✔️Solution Spotlights ✔️Innovation Programs ✔️Educational Content

FOR RETAILERS>> Proven programs to advance your business

FOR SOLUTIONS>> Your growth engine into retail

VIEW ALL SOLUTIONS HERE

CONTACT US

TELL ME HOW TO GET MY SOLUTION ADDED TO CART

Get the CART Weekly Report delivered to your inbox. Sign up here.

Quote of the Week: An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail. ~ Dr. Edwin Land

[advancingretail]

CART Weekly Report 9/5/19

BREAK DOWN DIGITAL WALLS TO KEEP PACE WITH CHANGE | FORBES

Gary’s Take: As I speak to in my latest book, Retail in the Age of ‘i’, one of the ‘i’s that retailers need to focus on is integration. Specifically, I’m referring to the disparate systems most retailers use to connect with shoppers online. We can broaden this to also include the myriad social media channels and other online shopping sites. The need for systems integration to provide a smooth and cohesive user experience is vitally important as traditional retailers increasingly compete with technology firms. There are two primary reasons driving these challenges. The first is that retailers have added digital capabilities over the years as new things entered the scene, leading to multiple solution providers that need to be integrated. Secondly is the retailer erecting walls around their digital properties in hopes of providing a better experience for shoppers. In both cases, the customer experience usually suffers.

INTEL TUNES ITS IoT WITH THE HELP OF BLUEBERRY FARMERS | ZDNet

Gary’s Take: As 5G cellular networks roll out and IoT explodes, we’re going to see a fast growing number of solutions focused on tracking and monitoring products across the supply chain. In addition to location (and how much time at each location) we are going to see growing sophistication around monitoring of temperature and other environmental conditions. All this is coming together to power greater transparency for the end customer, letting the shopper know where the product was sourced and its journey to the shopper.

STORE BRANDS CUT INTO BIG FOOD | Wall Street Journal

Gary’s Take: Retailers’ private label programs are finally hitting their stride as retailers put forth products comparable to, if not even better than, the quality of national brands. And, doing it at attractive price points that are appealing to a growing number of shoppers. Sophisticated private label programs provide the retailer a way to differentiate their stores and build customer loyalty. And, in an age of personalization and true focus on growing customer share-of-wallet, private label margins help the retailer provide meaningful savings on relevant products to the individual customer. 

WILL H&M’S AMBASSADOR PROGRAM TURN EMPLOYEES INTO SOCIAL INFLUENCERS? | Retail Wire

Sterling’s Take: Developing a culture that starts to generate ideas and fashion from the inside is a good plan. And doing it over time is even better. As these new influencers are able to express themselves through the brand it will breathe excitement and life into the whole organization (and of course shoppers). Of course, if the brand tries to express itself through the people it'll be a non-starter. It's a fine line, but certainly doable. I think other retailers are watching to see how it's done...

WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY:

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF GROCERYSHOP | Gary Hawkins

IT TAKES SOMETHING TO DO NEW THINGS | Sterling Hawkins

HAPPENINGS:

UPCOMING RETAIL TOMORROW INNOVATION DAYS/EVENTS

CGA STRATEGIC CONFERENCE 2019 - September 29-October 1, 2019

RETAIL REVOLUTION AT PORTLAND STATE - October 24, 2019

ENERGIZER - November 14, 2019

More Events to be Announced Soon!

GROCERYSHOP - September 15-18, 2019 at the Venetian in Las Vegas

MINDING THE GAPS - CGA STRATEGIC CONFERENCE 2019 - Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, September 29-October 1, 2019

GMDC SELF-CARE SUMMIT - October 3 thru 7, 2019 in Indianapolis, IN

X/SPECS 2019 - October 15 thru 17, 2019 at the Waldorf Astoria, Orlando

Store Design in the Age of “I” - Wednesday, 11:30am-12:15pm

THE RETAIL REVOLUTION at PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY’S CENTER FOR RETAIL LEADERSHIP - Portland, Oregon - October 24, 2019 12:30-5:00pm

SPECS SHOW 2020 - The ForeFront of Physical Retail - March 15-17, 2020, Gaylord Texan, Dallas

CART COMMUNITY. GET ON THE INSIDE. MEMBERSHIP HAS BENEFITS.

Become part of the epicenter of retail innovation exclusive network. The place where retail decision makers and solution providers come together to advance retail into the future.

✔️Blogs ✔️Newsletter ✔️Webinars ✔️Accelerator ✔️Pitch Events ✔️Solution Spotlights ✔️Innovation Programs ✔️Educational Content

FOR RETAILERS>> Proven programs to advance your business

FOR SOLUTIONS>> Your growth engine into retail

VIEW ALL SOLUTIONS HERE

CONTACT US

TELL ME HOW TO GET MY SOLUTION ADDED TO CART

Get the CART Weekly Report delivered to your inbox. Sign up here.

Quote of the Week: Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun. ~ Mary Lou Cook

[advancingretail]

CART Weekly Report 8/29/19

15 MIND-BLOWING STATS ABOUT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT | CMO. Adobe

Gary’s Take: Customer experience management is a focus of 80% of companies according to Gartner. Companies that deliver on providing a great experience consistently outperform those companies who fail to provide a good experience as shoppers reward them with more spending, more visits, and greater retention over time. But to do customer experience right requires many things, from motivated associates, the right technology tools, and deep understanding of customers and why they are shopping with you.

RETAIL DIVIDE WIDENS AS SHOPPERS SEEK VALUE AND CONVENIENCE | Wall Street Journal

Gary’s Take: Those retailers that are investing heavily in online and omnichannel marketing and selling are outperforming their less advanced competitors as recent financial results from a number of retailers shows. Companies like Walmart, Target, and TJ Maxx are pulling away from Macy’s and JC Penney who have failed to make needed investments to keep pace with changing shopping behavior. But, Nordstroms offers a cautionary tale: The company has done many of the right things - reasoned new store openings, heavy investment in online and omnichannel, etc. - and yet continue to be challenged in the market.

VIDEO ANALYTICS PROVIDE CLUES ABOUT WHAT RETAIL CUSTOMERS REALLY WANT | Biz Tech Magazine

Gary’s Take: Video analytics have been around in retail for some years now but the technology is continuing to spread, enabled by the decreasing cost of digital cameras and ever increasing software capability. I think many retailers intuitively understand the power of having analytics around customer behavior in the store but it has taken a while for best practices to begin developing in various retail channels. The insights provided can power improved merchandising directly leading to increased sales and margins and are a powerful tool for category managers.

INNOVATION : ARE RETAILERS TRYING TO DO TOO MUCH? | RetailWire

Sterling’s Take: Innovation is a significant positive change — could be technological, but it could also be in team performance, financials or customer service. It comes from thinking and then doing things in a new way (vs. how we’ve already done it. Brian is right on here — keeping up with consumer adoption isn’t innovation. Merging online and offline isn’t in and of itself innovation. Having a “innovation group” isn’t actually innovation. But they’re all mediums to potentially innovate. We have lost our way as an industry. This isn’t about the technology. It’s about using technology and developing our businesses to meet the needs of human beings. The only assurance we have about the future is that it will be different. The best thing a retailer can do is to develop their teams, their culture to be one that can support change over time to meet those customer needs ever more efficiently and effectively.

WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY:

RETAIL IN THE AGE OF 'i': A FRAMEWORK FOR RETAILERS AND SOLUTION PROVIDERS | Gary Hawkins

INNOVATION IS FOR DISTRIBUTION TOO | Gary Hawkins

THE RETAIL APOCALYPSE CONTINUES | Gary Hawkins

RETAILERS: HOW DO YOU EVALUATE NEW INNOVATIVE SOLUTION PROVIDERS | Gary Hawkins

SOLUTION PROVIDERS: WHAT PROBLEM ARE YOU SOLVING? | Gary Hawkins

HAPPENINGS:

UPCOMING RETAIL TOMORROW INNOVATION DAYS/EVENTS

IMPERIAL DISTRIBUTORS - September 5, 2019

CGA STRATEGIC CONFERENCE 2019 - September 29-October 1, 2019

RETAIL REVOLUTION AT PORTLAND STATE - October 24, 2019

ENERGIZER - November 14, 2019

GROCERYSHOP - September 15-18, 2019 at the Venetian in Las Vegas

MINDING THE GAPS - CGA STRATEGIC CONFERENCE 2019 - Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, September 29-October 1, 2019

GMDC SELF-CARE SUMMIT - October 3 thru 7, 2019 in Indianapolis, IN

X/SPECS 2019 - October 15 thru 17, 2019 at the Waldorf Astoria, Orlando

Store Design in the Age of “I” - Wednesday, 11:30am-12:15pm

THE RETAIL REVOLUTION at PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY’S CENTER FOR RETAIL LEADERSHIP - Portland, Oregon - October 24, 2019 12:30-5:00pm

SPECS SHOW 2020 - The ForeFront of Physical Retail - March 15-17, 2020, Gaylord Texan, Dallas

CART COMMUNITY. GET ON THE INSIDE. MEMBERSHIP HAS BENEFITS.

Become part of the epicenter of retail innovation exclusive network. The place where retail decision makers and solution providers come together to advance retail into the future.

✔️Blogs ✔️Newsletter ✔️Webinars ✔️Accelerator ✔️Pitch Events ✔️Solution Spotlights ✔️Innovation Programs ✔️Educational Content

FOR RETAILERS>> Proven programs to advance your business

FOR SOLUTIONS>> Your growth engine into retail

VIEW ALL SOLUTIONS HERE

CONTACT US

TELL ME HOW TO GET MY SOLUTION ADDED TO CART

Get the CART Weekly Report delivered to your inbox. Sign up here.

Quote of the Week: Innovation is the calling card of the future. ~ Anna Eshoo

[advancingretail]

CART Weekly Report 8/22/19

NORDSTROM DID SO MUCH RIGHT, BUT IT’S STILL IN TROUBLE | Wall Street Journal 

Gary’s Take: In what could be a harbinger of the future for some supermarket retailers, an interesting discussion of how Nordstrom’s, in spite of doing many right things, is still suffering from declining sales. The retailer has avoided many of the other mis-steps taken by other department stores like having too many stores, not going after eCommerce strongly and quickly enough, and changing their company culture to reward innovation. Despite all this the company continues to suffer from weak performance in a very challenging environment.

MASTERCARD’S LOYALTY CHIEF: REWARDS ARE NOT ENOUGH | CMO.by Adobe

Gary’s Take: Customer data - more specifically, customer-identified transaction data - has become the fuel for growing numbers of retailers as they seek to become more customer focused and implement marketing personalization. Retail loyalty programs remain the most efficient and effective means of encouraging shoppers to identify themselves each time they shop, giving the retailer the data it needs. Having launched one of the original loyalty programs in the U.S. supermarket sector over 25 years ago, we well understand the power of this data. We also have a pretty good understanding of how to create the incentives needed to encourage shoppers to join and participate. As this article calls out, effective programs are not just about providing financial rewards or benefits. Retailers would be well served to think outside the box and consider how they can provide services, experiences, and recognition to their more valuable customers. Recognition - something as simple as a handwritten thank you card - can actually provide more value to a retailer than giving shoppers more discounts.

HOW AI-POWERED AUGMENTED REALITY TRANSFORMS DIGITAL EXPERIENCES | CMO.by Adobe

Gary’s Take: Augmented reality, increasingly referred to as mixed reality, is poised to explode as synergistic technologies converge to power growth. 5G networks are being rolled out and the much higher speeds support the data needs powering AR experiences. The next generation of glasses is on the way from Apple, Samsung, and Google making AR experiences far more natural than using your smartphone. Apple reportedly is planning to use the incredible processing power available in its iPhones to power AR experiences, wirelessly connecting to its glasses. This technology is tailor made for food retailing. The ability to use image recognition to launch a video about the farm where the sweetcorn was grown, or a virtual tour of a vineyard bring powerful experiences into the store and into the home. 

WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY:

INNOVATION IS FOR DISTRIBUTION TOO | Gary Hawkins

THE RETAIL APOCALYPSE CONTINUES | Gary Hawkins

RETAILERS: HOW DO YOU EVALUATE NEW INNOVATIVE SOLUTION PROVIDERS | Gary Hawkins

SOLUTION PROVIDERS: WHAT PROBLEM ARE YOU SOLVING? | Gary Hawkins

HAPPENINGS:

UPCOMING RETAIL TOMORROW INNOVATION DAYS/EVENTS

IMPERIAL DISTRIBUTORS - September 5, 2019

CGA STRATEGIC CONFERENCE 2019 - September 29-October 1, 2019

RETAIL REVOLUTION AT PORTLAND STATE - October 24, 2019

ENERGIZER - November 14, 2019

GROCERYSHOP - September 15-18, 2019 at the Venetian in Las Vegas

MINDING THE GAPS - CGA STRATEGIC CONFERENCE 2019 - Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, September 29-October 1, 2019

GMDC SELF-CARE SUMMIT - October 3 thru 7, 2019 in Indianapolis, IN

X/SPECS 2019 - October 15 thru 17, 2019 at the Waldorf Astoria, Orlando

Store Design in the Age of “I” - Wednesday, 11:30am-12:15pm

THE RETAIL REVOLUTION at PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY’S CENTER FOR RETAIL LEADERSHIP - Portland, Oregon - October 24, 2019 12:30-5:00pm

SPECS SHOW 2020 - The ForeFront of Physical Retail - March 15-17, 2020, Gaylord Texan, Dallas

CART COMMUNITY. GET ON THE INSIDE. MEMBERSHIP HAS BENEFITS.

Become part of the epicenter of retail innovation exclusive network. The place where retail decision makers and solution providers come together to advance retail into the future.

✔️Blogs ✔️Newsletter ✔️Webinars ✔️Accelerator ✔️Pitch Events ✔️Solution Spotlights ✔️Innovation Programs ✔️Educational Content

FOR RETAILERS>> Proven programs to advance your business

FOR SOLUTIONS>> Your growth engine into retail

VIEW ALL SOLUTIONS HERE

CONTACT US

TELL ME HOW TO GET MY SOLUTION ADDED TO CART

Get the CART Weekly Report delivered to your inbox. Sign up here.

Quote of the Week: The possible's slow fuse is lit by the Imagination.  ― Emily Dickinson

[advancingretail]

CART Weekly Report 8/15/19

AMAZON DELIVERY ROBOTS ARE OFFICIALLY ON THE STREETS OF CALIFORNIA | ZDNeT

Gary’s Take: Amazon is taking robots to the street as it rolls out a test of last-mile delivery robots in Southern California. Amazon is joining other companies like Starship Technologies and Refraction AI in using automated robots to do home delivery of products. Amazon’s entry into this space will do nothing but speed the transformation of delivery. Supermarkets are an ideal launching point for robotic delivery as the stores are already in the neighborhood and near to shoppers. Watch for this space to begin moving fast.

ALEXA, TIME FOR CLASS: HOW ONE UNIVERSITY PUT AN ECHO DOT IN EVERY DORM ROOM | CNET

Gary’s Take: Amazon being Amazon is pushing hard in many directions simultaneously as shown by its aggressive deployment of Alexa in a fast growing number of sectors. Already well established in homes, Alexa is moving into cars, the workplace, apartment buildings, libraries, hospitals, and now university dorm rooms. Amazon’s goal is to make Alexa ubiquitous - the idea being that you are surrounded by ‘Alexa’ throughout your day wherever you are and wherever you go. Voice is on its way to becoming the next primary user interface replacing keyboards. Are you ready?

CASHIERLESS STORES MAKE INROADS IN U.S. | Wall Street Journal

Gary’s Take: Amazon Go-like technology is beginning to spread fast as Amazon opens new Go stores, Sam’s Club and Giant Eagle test AI driven frictionless shopping and more retailers are entering the space. The technology is potentially game-changing, eliminating a major labor cost and creating a very new shopping experience. According to the article, an estimated 100 retailers around the globe are said to be testing or piloting the technology.

AMAZON GETS SERIOUS ABOUT BEING YOUR PERSONAL STYLIST | FORBES

Sterling’s Take: The key to Amazon is their relentless pursuit of change. This is probably a good move for Amazon, but it’s not an end game. I’m sure they’re going to continue to evaluate their progress into fashion and continue to iterate. One move isn’t likely to make a dramatic difference. However, continuous evaluations/adjustments over time do.

WILL THE NEXT BIG THING SINCE STARBUCKS BE RUN BY ROBOTS| RetailWire

Sterling’s Take: I don't think there's any question that robotics will play a more prominent role in coffee and foodservice in the future. But that doesn't mean humans aren't ever involved -- it starts to free people up to focus on things that humans are just better at: customer interaction, developing the experiences around the robots, etc. The unrelenting march of technology will continue on. It's up to us to make sure we're using them to improve human experiences, not just replace them.

WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY:

THE RETAIL APOCALYPSE CONTINUES | Gary Hawkins

RETAILERS: HOW DO YOU EVALUATE NEW INNOVATIVE SOLUTION PROVIDERS | Gary Hawkins

SOLUTION PROVIDERS: WHAT PROBLEM ARE YOU SOLVING? | Gary Hawkins

HAPPENINGS:

UPCOMING RETAIL TOMORROW INNOVATION DAYS/EVENTS

WAKEFERN - August 21, 2019

IMPERIAL DISTRIBUTORS - September 5, 2019

CGA STRATEGIC CONFERENCE 2019 - September 29-October 1, 2019

RETAIL REVOLUTION AT PORTLAND STATE - October 24, 2019

THE DISINTERMEDIATION CHALLENGE

In this new Retail Tomorrow podcast, recorded at GMDC’s annual GM conference in Denver, the focus was on the ways in which startups are working to disintermediate traditional retailers … how retailers can turn these innovations to their own advantage … why cultural resistance within companies can be the ultimate enemy of progress … and even brainstorm about a business model that could’ve made Toys R Us relevant again. You can listen to the Retail Tomorrow podcast here, or on iTunes or GooglePlay. The Retail Tomorrow podcast series is a production of GMDC, the Global Market Development Center. Featuring : • Patrick Fore, CEO and co-founder of Fleat. • Sterling Hawkins, co-founder of the Center for Advancing Retail & Technology (CART). The host: Kevin Coupe, MorningNewsBeat’s “ContentGuy.”

Pictured, left to right: Patrick Fore, Kevin Coupe, Sterling Hawkins

E-COMMERCE IN THE AGE OF ‘i’ [Webinar Recap]

Retail expert Gary Hawkins reveals how Amazon sellers must leverage new innovations and customer centricity to provide personalized shopping experiences. By Natalie Taylor August 7, 2019

GROCERYSHOP - September 15-18, 2019 at the Venetian in Las Vegas

MINDING THE GAPS - CGA STRATEGIC CONFERENCE 2019 - Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, September 29-October 1, 2019

GMDC SELF-CARE SUMMIT - October 3 thru 7, 2019 in Indianapolis, IN

X/SPECS 2019 - October 15 thru 17, 2019 at the Waldorf Astoria, Orlando

Store Design in the Age of “I” - Wednesday, 11:30am-12:15pm

THE RETAIL REVOLUTION at PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY’S CENTER FOR RETAIL LEADERSHIP - Portland, Oregon - October 24, 2019 12:30-5:00pm

SPECS SHOW 2020 - The ForeFront of Physical Retail - March 15-17, 2020, Gaylord Texan, Dallas

CART COMMUNITY. GET ON THE INSIDE. MEMBERSHIP HAS BENEFITS.

Become part of the epicenter of retail innovation exclusive network. The place where retail decision makers and solution providers come together to advance retail into the future.

✔️Blogs ✔️Newsletter ✔️Webinars ✔️Accelerator ✔️Pitch Events ✔️Solution Spotlights ✔️Innovation Programs ✔️Educational Content

FOR RETAILERS>> Proven programs to advance your business

FOR SOLUTIONS>> Your growth engine into retail

VIEW ALL SOLUTIONS HERE

CONTACT US

TELL ME HOW TO GET MY SOLUTION ADDED TO CART

Get the CART Weekly Report delivered to your inbox. Sign up here.

Quote of the Week: Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable. ~William Pollard

[advancingretail]

CART Weekly Report 4/11/19

SURVEY: GROCERY STORES NEED TO ‘ENTER THE MODERN AGE’ | Supermarket News

Gary’s Take: Fascinating survey that finds 51% of shoppers believe if supermarkets don't 'enter the modern age' people will find other ways to buy food. Consumers read about new innovation in shopping nearly every day in the news - from the Amazon Go store to automated delivery vehicles. It is no wonder that shoppers experience a disconnect between what they read about and experience with Amazon and their local grocery store. Many supermarket companies are trying to innovate but simply are challenged to move fast enough. As the pace of innovation grows exponentially, change is occurring at an increasing rate, and traditional retailers are having a tougher time keeping up. And yet, as the survey calls out, they must.

WALMART AND GOOGLE FORGE VOICE ORDER ALLIANCE TO BATTLE AMAZON | ZDNet

Gary’s Take: Voice based commerce is poised to grow fast with millions of Amazon Alexa devices already in homes and Google coming on fast, especially with its recently announced partnership with Walmart. Walmarts voice ordering system will work across more than one billion Walmart Assistant devices. Digital commerce continues to advance quickly while many supermarket retailers are still working to get online. The innovation gap continues to grow.

18 RETAILERS WITH THE BEST LOYALTY PROGRAMS | Business Insider

Gary's Take: So here's a list of the top 18 retail loyalty programs as compiled by Business Insider... and there is not one supermarket retailer on the list. At a time when shoppers expect, even demand, marketing relevancy, supermarket retailers are missing in action. Customer identified purchase data provided by loyalty programs is the fuel for marketing personalization and yet 27 of the top 50 supermarket retailers lack loyalty and the resulting data. Yes, there's a path to personalization via eCommerce and other digital engagement, but it is a much slower path to meaningful levels and business impact. Supermarket retailers need to focus on digital customer engagement and utilize new innovative technologies to provide new services and experiences to their customers. Retail today is powered by data, customer data, and grocery retail needs to get moving.

SHOULD UNIFORM PRICING BE THE NORM FOR LARGE CHAINS? | Retail Wire

Sterling’s Take: As soon as we all pay the same for airline tickets and credit card interest rates we should look at generalized pricing. Different customers have different economic value and personalization customizes that. There are technological and operational kinks at some retailers that reduce benefits, but that doesn’t mean scrap the program. We should be looking at how to improve it or use technology differently.

FEATURED BLOG OF THE WEEK: 

GROW REVENUES USING THESE DIGITAL STRATEGIES by Yehudis Milchtein, Senior Account Manager, Harvesting Media

HAPPENINGS

CREATING ROI IN THE FUTURE OF AR/VR IN RETAIL: HOW RETAILERS ARE USING VR/AR TO ACHIEVE GROWTH, PROFITABILITY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE GOALS - May 14, 2019 - 2pm EST

Questions? Contact Retail and eCommerce Committee Event Co-Chair, Sterling Hawkins via email: sterling.hawkins@advancingretail.org

DISRUPTIVE LEADERSHIP & THE SELFCARE REVOLUTION​, Boston Immersion Event

Apply to present at Retail Tomorrow Labs: Boston - Applications due June 15th, 2019

SPRING 2019 RETAIL INNOVATION PITCH EVENT, hosted virtually on May 23, 2019

Get on the Inside - CART Community

FOR RETAILERS>> Proven programs to advance your business

FOR SOLUTIONS>> Your growth engine into retail

Become part of the epicenter of retail innovation exclusive network. The place where retail decision makers and solution providers come together to advance retail into the future.

VIEW ALL SOLUTIONS HERE  

HOW CART WORKS

CONTACT US    

TELL ME HOW TO GET MY SOLUTION ADDED TO CART

[advancingretail]

CART Weekly Report 3/21/19

CART’S INNOVATION PROGRAM | Gary Hawkins

Gary’s Take: CART’s Innovation Program, done in partnership with Retail Tomorrow, is a unique offering that works for retailers and solution providers alike. Designed for national and larger regional retailers, the CART team works with the retailer’s executive team to identify 2-3 specific areas of interest like automation, in-store experience, etc. With interests established, the team then goes to work identifying the leading solution providers in each area, filtering through and curating the most appropriate capabilities...Learn more 

STUDY: THE OMNICHANNEL FEATURES CUSTOMERS WANT MOST ARE... | ChainStore Age

Gary's Take: This article highlights the importance of providing the seamless and cohesive shopping experience I talk about as so important in my latest book, Retail in the Age of 'I'. Too many retailers are challenged by capability silos arising from the different solutions they've cobbled together over the years. Digital demands contextual relevancy to the individual customer along with a seamless user experience.

SHOPKO LIQUIDATION: BANKRUPTCY PLAN NOW CALLS FOR ALL STORES TO CLOSE BY SUMMER | USA Today

Gary's Take:  Shopko is the latest victim of the disruption sweeping supermarket retail as the industry moves online, marketing moves from mass to household to the individual customer, and Amazon continues its relentless march to growing share. Too many retailers don't yet understand that retail success today requires embracing a true customer-first perspective. Fast moving consumer goods retail is no longer about products - CPG products are commodities, increasingly available anywhere and everywhere. Retail success demands a customer focus; it's not about what products the brand or the retailer wants to promote. It is about what products each individual customer wants to buy. Welcome to Retail in the Age of 'I'.

RETAIL IN THE AGE OF 'I'

Gary's Take: Retail in the Age of ‘i’, is not the next consecutive step in the product-to-customer continuum. Rather, Retail in the Age of ‘i’ represents a complete upending of the industry’s journey, beginning, not with products, but with the individual customer. The massive FMCG retail industry needs to seize control of it's destiny by disrupting itself, rather than attempting to respond to new outside competitors positioned to change the very business model the industry has operated on for decades.

SUGGESTED READING

SHOPTALK 2019: WHAT'S NEXT FOR RETAIL | MR MAGAZINE STAFF

INSTAGRAM COULD TURN PICS INTO CLICKS | WSJ  Shoppable ads offer a new avenue of growth for image-heavy internet platforms

SHOPTALK 2019 QUICK HITS: 7 TAKEAWAYS FROM THE RETAIL TECH SHOW | TWICE - The customer journey is zigging and zagging throught retail

FEATURED BLOG OF THE WEEK:

SURVEY RESULTS - EXPIRED PRODUCTS HURT SALES, NOT JUST SHRINK Guest blog by Andrew Hoeft, CEO, Pinpoint Software, Inc.

In 2018, Pinpoint completed a market study surveying grocery shoppers on actions they take upon finding expired food items at a grocery store. This post will examine a particular finding from the survey. In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting additional insights from the survey. If you want to read the survey in its entirety, download it here.

LEARN MORE>>

HAPPENINGS

CALL FOR PRESENTERS FOR VR/AR ASSOCIATION WEBINAR IN MAY

We're looking for presenters for the next VR/AR Retail & eCommerce Webinar we are planning for May. Any great VR or AR tech you've heard of? Retailers or brands seeing great results with it?

Message sterling.hawkins@advancingretail.org about joining. The retail industry is expected to spend $1B on VR/AR solutions in the next year

SAVE YOUR SPACE! Spring 2019 Retail Innovation Pitch Event, Hosted Virtually on May 23, 2019

This webcast is designed to act as an accelerator for the broader retail industry, especially important now that retail innovation is being increasingly driven from outside forces such as rapid adoption of consumer technology and new competitors like Amazon / Whole Foods and Google.

APPLY NOW - Applications close March 25, 2019

ATTEND THE WEBCAST

GET ON THE INSIDE. Become part of the epicenter of retail innovation exclusive network. The place where retail decision makers and solution providers come together to advance retail into the future.

CART Community

✔️Newsletter ✔️Innovation Programs ✔️Pitch Events ✔️Accelerator ✔️Educational Content

For Retailers and Wholesalers

For Solution Providers

VIEW ALL SOLUTIONS HERE  

HOW CART WORKS

CONTACT US    

TELL ME HOW TO GET MY SOLUTION ADDED TO CART

[advancingretail]

CART Weekly Report 4/4/19

MCDONALD’S ACQUISITION OF DYNAMIC YIELD TELLS US ABOUT DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION | ZDNet

Gary’s Take: McDonalds is getting into the customization and recommendation game with its recent acquisition of Dynamic Yield. The idea is that McD's will customize the menu in realtime based upon weather, time of day, food trends, and more. While a step in the right direction, where McD's should be looking is personalizing the menu based on the individual customer in front of it at the drive through or at the self-ordering kiosk in store. Contextual relevancy is what's called for in the Age of 'I' - it's all about tailoring the experience to the individual customer. 

WITH FACIAL RECOGNITION, SHOPLIFTING MAY GET YOU BANNED IN PLACES YOU’VE NEVER BEEN | CNET.COM

Gary’s Take: The use of facial recognition is exploding, increasingly used by governments around the world, and also used by retailers. This article calls out the use of facial recognition for identifying shoplifters; once a shoplifter has been caught in one store, digital cameras across all the retailer's stores can be watching for the same person. We are already seeing a growing use of the technology related to payment and there are more applications coming, especially around identifying customers (repeat shoppers, etc.).

AMAZON CUTS MORE PRICES AT Whole Foods | WSJ 

Gary’s Take: I think the more interesting question is what happens at Whole Foods when Amazon goes stealth, unleashing its recommendation technology on the vast repository of (Prime) customer identified transaction data it is accumulating at WF and personalizing promotions and pricing to the individual customer? Kroger has leveraged personalization to great impact over the past decade. Amazon / Whole Foods is positioned to take the strategy far beyond what even Kroger is doing because Whole Foods is not reliant on brand manufacturer marketing funds like traditional retailers are.

WHERE ARE GROCERS FAILING ON IN-STORE EXPERIENCE? | RetailWire

Sterling’s Take: Getting in and out isn’t necessarily mutually exclusive with positive human contact or visually appealing displays. I do think that speed is a necessary condition for most stores and not every retailer needs to be a Wegmans. But there’s strong competition in some markets and coming soon to others that necessitates grocers take a step to compete. 

WHICH DATA SOURCES SHOULD BE DRIVING PERSONALIZATION? | RetailWire 

Sterling’s Take: Time-relative consumer feedback/requests really should be #1. How can you be more relevant than that? But I don’t think this is just about data sources. It’s about the quality of the personalization. Making two or three segments for offers is far different “personalization” than a more advanced AI that customizes offers and even prices for everyone. I’m with Nikki here that all of it is a value prop — if there’s enough perceived value, consumers will engage and respond.

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SMARTER, FASTER RETAILING WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, Guest blog by Ed Porter, VP – Customer Insights and Product Strategy, Pristine InfoTech, Inc. 

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CART Weekly Report 12/20/18

SpartanNash Rolls Out Mobile Scan and Go Program | Winsight Grocery Business

CART’s Take: SpartanNash is the latest retailer to roll out a self-shopping capability for customers as part of its mobile strategy. The news service, called Check Out Now, is live in two stores and will be rolled out to additional stores through the year. The service is integrated with the retailer’s loyalty program and provides access to digital coupons, and other savings.

A fast growing number of retailers are rolling out similar capability in response to the Amazon Go store experience and driven by adding to customer convenience. I believe that the app-based self-shopping capability is going to be an interim solution until the Amazon Go type technology is scaled and perfected for full scale supermarkets. There are a number of solution providers bringing that type tech to market and this is a space that is going to evolve quickly.

Walmart has a new initiative that proves it still has a serious edge against Amazon in one key way | Business Insider

CART’s Take: Walmart is converging the brick & mortar store with its digital eCommerce capabilities by providing store associates an app that the associate can use to order a product online for a shopper if it can’t be found in the store. This is a great way to foster interaction between shoppers and store associates which can enrich the shopping experience and helps build Walmart’s eCommerce business. Customers can choose to have the item sent to their home or to the store for pickup. The associate send a barcode via email or text or provide a printed ticket that the customer provides the cashier at checkout, paying for the online item when they are paying for their in-store purchases. 

3 AI-Driven Strategies For Retailers In 2019 | CMO. by Adobe

CART’s Take: AI is spreading into a growing number of capabilities fast. There are three key areas retailers should be focused on using AI looking ahead to this coming year:

Marketing personalization is at the top of the list. There is a great deal of work going on in this area and some very sophisticated capabilities available to retailers. Relevancy is the name of the game in marketing today, especially when it comes to mobile shopper engagement. That small screen dictates that the retailer be relevant.

Merchandising, Supply Chain, and Operations: AI can put existing optimization solutions on steroids, providing much stronger results. Several of the key areas here are leveraging AI to assist with product assortment decisions, demand forecasting, and scheduling.

Customer service: Chatbots are growing and we’re going to see voice-based interaction grow quickly in the customer service area. 

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CART Weekly Report 11/29/18

Sam's Club Now and its simple yet big idea to maximize tech investment | Brick Meets Click

CART’s Take: Walmart’s focus on innovation is spreading to Sam’s Club with the opening of Sam’s Club Now, a smaller footprint Sam’s Club housed in a former Walmart Neighborhood Market store location. The new store, about 32,000 square feet, will carry a curated selection of 1,000-2,000 items rather than the usual 6,000 in the typical Sam’s Club. Focus will be on fresh food, convenience items, and grab-and-go meals.The store will also offer the Walmart Scan & Go app that let’s customers avoid the usual cashier checkout process, instead scanning items using the shopper’s smartphone and paying through the app.

Kroger, Ocado announce first U.S. fulfillment center | Supermarket News

CART’s Take: Kroger announced the first automated online grocery fulfillment center will be built near Cincinnati, Kroger’s headquarters. The automated warehouse is being built in partnership with Ocado as part of Kroger’s significant deal with the company that calls for three locations to be identified and started by the end of 2018 and 20 more facilities during the first three years of the agreement.The goal is to have the centers up and running within two years of identifying the location and kicking off the work with Ocado.

Kroger is investing over $50 million to build the first automated facility which will measure 335,000 square feet and employ a projected 410 people. The Ocado deal, announced earlier this year, was followed by a deal with Nuro, a provider of automated self-driving delivery vehicles. A pilot of Nuro’s tech is underway in the Phoenix market. Nielsen, Microsoft Align to Democratize Retail Data With AI | Winsight Grocery Business

CART’s Take: Nielsen and Microsoft announced a significant partnership focused on ‘democratizing’ data in the fast moving consumer goods retail industry. The idea is to leverage Microsoft’s Azure cloud and apply AI technology to power analytics drawn from the massive volumes of data gathered by Nielsen. The idea is to surface opportunities, trends, and gaps faster so trading partners can quickly respond, ultimately helping drive sales by having the right products in the right markets and on store shelves. 

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CART Weekly Report 11/15/18

Walmart is building an AI lab inside one of its stores | Tech Crunch

Walmart is aggressively pursuing new innovation, including opening up a new AI lab in one of its stores. The intention is to test new AI powered technologies in a real-world setting, a live store, to understand how new technologies work and the impact it can have. Some of the technologies on the list to test include operations focused capabilities while others are more customer focused. The key point here is that Walmart is aggressively pouring resources into new technologies and capabilities to try and keep up with new innovation. Other retailers are being pressured to keep up. H-E-B Expanding Frictionless Checkout | Winsight Grocery Business

HEB is expanding its pilot of an Amazon Go type checkout experience to seven stores. The service is provided through a dedicated app that HEB calls the HEB Go app; shoppers scan products using their smartphone as they shop, and then pay at a special terminal set up at the front of the store using their phone. Frictionless checkout is a hot space as there are a growing number of solution providers focused on providing technology similar to that used by Amazon Go and other retailers roll out app-based services similar to the one being deployed by HEB. Ahold Delhaize’s AIRLab to Explore Robotics | Winsight Grocery Business

Ahold is partnering with Delft University in the Netherlands, creating a lab focused on AI and robotics, the AIRLab. The lab is looking at how robotics can be used across the supply chain, from order picking and delivery to robotics in the store for food prep and processing. They are working on image recognition and the ability for robots to pick up soft foods and foods not in neat packages such as fresh produce. This kind of capability can be game-changing and would extend the economics of automated order picking and delivery to all foods, not just packaged foods. 

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CART Weekly Report 11/8/18

Online grocery shopping, spend poised to climb | Supermarket News

CART’s Take: According to a recent KPMB survey, 48% of consumers currently do some or all of their grocery shopping online and 59% said they plan to do so in the future. Other reports are stating that an estimated $120 billion in grocery sales will be done online in about the next 5 years representing approximately 12% of industry sales. There is no doubt that grocery eCommerce is accelerating as shoppers have more choices in retailers and delivery options. Retailers that are not providing online shopping services need to move quickly or they will risk losing a growing portion of sales to retailers that are more aggressively pursuing an online strategy. Startup Deliv Raises $40 Million in Home-Delivery Arms Race | Wall Street Journal

CART’s Take: Showing just how fast grocery eCommerce is growing, and the importance of last-mile delivery capabilities, Deliv, a startup that provides same-day deliveries for Walmart and other retailers just raised $40 million in funding at a company valuation of $500 million. Deliv is one of a growing number of solution providers and competes with Shipt, Uber, Instacart, and other services. It will be fascinating to watch over the next few years how these delivery services evolve as self-driving automated vehicles take to the roads to do grocery delivery, like Nuro that Kroger is piloting with. It’s All About Business Model Innovation, not New Technology | Wall Street Journal

CART’s Take: This is a fascinating article. The author maintains that while new technology and innovation are important, what is more important in disrupting and transforming established industries and businesses is the business model itself. Retailers need to think outside the box and consider alternative ways to delivery value to shoppers and how that can be monetized. CVS for example recently announced a pilot involving a monthly subscription fee. Instacart is another example of creating a new business model to deliver value to consumers. 

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CART Weekly Report 10/11/18

70% of Consumers Will Buy Groceries Online by 2024 | Progressive Grocer

CART’s Take: According to the updated “Digitally Engaged Food Shopper” study by FMI and Nielsen, an estimated $100b annual spend will be online by 2022 or 2024 - and that equates to approximately 70% of consumers shopping online for groceries. This finding is reinforced by a recent research report for Deutsche Bank that calls out that online grocery is growing much faster than many in the industry realize.

Robot-powered grocery fulfillment center comes to Florida | Grocery Dive

CART’s Take: In parallel with the rapid growth of online grocery we are seeing fast growing interest and action around order fulfillment. The pleasant surprise in this article is that Sedano’s, a 14 store retailer in Florida, has contracted with Takeoff Technologies to build robot powered microsite to automate fulfillment. 

Often it is only the largest retailers that have the resources to invest in leading edge innovation so it is very exciting to see a smaller retailer like Sedano’s make such a move.

Online Orders Force Supermarkets to Rethink Their Stores | Wall Street Journal

CART’s Take: And also in line with the fast growth of online grocery is this article that talks to a growing number of retailers having to re-think their physical store layout to accommodate order picking and click & collect orders. As a growing piece of annual sales shifts online, the traditional store layout will come under increasing pressure and retailers are beginning to react to this.

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CART Weekly Report 9/27/18

Facial Recognition Goes Mainstream | Wall Street Journal

Fast food restaurant CaliBurger is using facial recognition technology to validate the customer’s identification to authenticate payment at kiosks. This is another signal that biometrics, especially facial recognition, are growing fast as a way to authenticate payment and identify shoppers. There is certainly a level of trust that has to be gained with the shopper but, once done, facial recognition or use of other biometrics for authenticating a person can really speed up the transaction process. Look for more of this showing up in many other areas. Forget Airline Miles. Retailers Pile on Perks for Big Spenders. | Wall Street Journal

A growing number of retailers, many from the department store and apparel industries, are using recognition and special services to reward their most valuable shoppers rather than just more discounts. This is a lesson that supermarket operators should take to heart: simple recognition is an incredibly powerful motivator. Telling a shopper they are valued as one of the retailer’s best customers, rewarding them with tickets to a concert or special event, or other similar benefits often are far more impactful than more savings on groceries. Adobe: Nearly half of U.S. households will own a smart speaker by the end of 2018 | Venture Beat

Nearly half of all consumers in the U.S. will own a smart speaker like Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home or Apple Siri by the end of the year. This reinforces the pace at which this technology is being adopted by consumers… and the growing risk that retailers will be left behind. Amazon now has Alexa on over 20,000 different devices, everything from its own Echo devices to lamps, appliances, automobiles, and more; that’s up from 4,000 devices earlier this year.

Retailers need to be developing a voice strategy and how they are going to integrate their online shopping solutions into the major platforms that are in place, namely Amazon, Google, and Apple.

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CART Weekly Report 6/14/18

7 ways Walmart is innovating with technology | Food Dive

CART’s Take: I talk quite a bit about how Walmart and Kroger in particular are investing heavily in new innovation as they try to keep pace with Amazon and consumer expectations. This article highlights 7 specific areas that Walmart is focusing on.

Mobile and mobile-based services are centerstage. Self shopping remains important even thought Walmart’s original Scan & Go app had some issues. Alongside that is the importance of shopping lists as Walmart works to make a digital list as easy to make as the common pen and paper list. The lists are integrated to store maps helping the shopper quickly find the item in store they are looking for - this is one of the early capabilities becoming popular as physical stores meld with digital. Coborn’s, Niemann Foods County Market, and Foodtown have had this capability for a while now.

Robots and automation are high on Walmarts to-do tech list as they expand pilots of in-store robots to monitor for out of stocks, price compliance, and other issues. And new services for associates is also growing in importance - both helping associates gain new education and learning as well as new applications that can be used to improve customer service. Unilever isn't relying on ad agencies to build 'direct relationships' with a billion consumers | The Drum

CART’s Take: If competing with Amazon is not enough, retailers increasingly need to watch CPG brand manufacturers as they grow efforts to build direct relationships with end shoppers and sell directly to them via additional and alternative channels. Case in point is Unilever as the company seeks to build a customer database of 1 billion people that it can engage with with globally. Stop to think about that. While many retailers still do not have customer identified purchase data and still do not know who their customers are, Unilever - one of the world’s largest CPG brand manufactures - is on its way to building a database of 1 billion consumers it can interact with and build its business directly, circumventing the retailer.

Domino's will deliver pizza to the beach | CNN Money

CART’s Take: The eCommerce battle in the food industry is ramping up fast. The latest salvo is Domino’s who has geo-coded 150,000 locations around the country that consumers can use to have pizza delivered to them while they are out and about. Locations include beaches, sports stadiums, parks, and countless others. Supermarkets in particular should be watching this as prepared food eComm is growing fast - and every food coming from restaurants and prepared food providers like Domino’s is one less meal being purchased at the grocery store.

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CART Weekly Report 6/7/18

eMarketer Releases New Smart Speaker Figures / eMarketer

CART’s Take: Smart speakers - digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa - are being adopted by consumers nearly as fast as smartphones. Smart speakers in the U.S. market are growing at a nearly 50% compound annual growth rate with an estimated 76 million devices projected to be infuse by 2020 - less than two years from now. The typical user profile is that of an early tech adopter: affluent, older millennial males. But use is growing fast across other demographic groups, especially younger Gen X women with kids. Amazon’s Alexa is far out in front, projected to have a 60% market share in 2020 with Google’s Home next at 32%. Retailers need to be focused on incorporating voice capabilities into their digital strategies. The use of voice goes far beyond simply shopping online; one leading digital marketing solution provider is planning voice-based navigation in the store, quietly guiding the shopper to the next item on his shopping list while providing any other requested information. Remember: Digital engagement is about far more than online shopping. Voice is quickly going to become a primary method of interfacing with technology, taking over the keyboard. Walmart's future may include in-store drone assistants and smart shopping carts | CNBC

CART’s Take: I’ve written about the innovation arms race that Amazon has triggered, and how Walmart and Kroger are investing billions in new innovation trying to keep pace. Consider this: In the past 9 years Walmart has filed nearly 1,500 patents focused on new tech-enabled capabilities. These patents cover things like smart shopping carts, wearable tracking devices, in-store drones for providing customer assistance, and blockchain technology. Retail success is quickly becoming dependent on a retailer’s access to and use of technologies to fuel new services and operations. While companies like Walmart and Kroger have the wherewithal to play this game, there are serious implications here for independent and regional retailers. As the pace of innovation grows ever faster, retailers need to be aware of what tech is coming next, what solutions are out in the market today, and how best they can leverage new cloud-based capabilities to stay in the game. CPG Brands Are Leveling The Playing Field By Bringing This Digital Tool Into Brick-And-Mortar Retail | Forbes

CART’s Take: CPG brand manufacturers like Coca-Cola are leveraging new IoT technologies to provide a realtime view to what’s happening on store shelves as they fight to maintain sales in the brick & mortar world. In the past many manufacturers would send people into stores to do a store audit, checking stock levels, displays, signage and so on. Using technology enables brands to have a realtime view across stores much more efficiently. Retailers should be asking (especially) DSD vendors about their use of these technologies as better stock levels and operations create a win for everyone, shoppers, the retailer, and the brand manufacturer

udelv Wins Spring 2018 Retail Innovation Pitch Event!

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