Top Things You Missed IN Retail

CJ Lang & Son Ltd, the wholesaler for SPAR in Scotland, and the largest Scottish convenience store franchise with over 300 stores across the country, has selected RELEX, provider of unified supply chain and retail planning solutions, to automate and optimise their supply chain processes.

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Information security teams have always had to do more with less, but 2023 might be the year when they are able to do more with more. Riding a three-year trend, 70% of CISOs expect their budgets to increase again this year, while 60% also expect more FTEs, according to the CISO Benchmark Report released today from the Retail & Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC).

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Sainsbury’s has undertaken a series of partnerships and Cloud-based projects over the last few years aimed at mobilizing data and keeping pace with dynamic pricing changes. The need to understand these customers is more urgent than ever, and the retailer has been partnering with advanced analytics software provider Alteryx to both simplify their data collection processes and meet the demands of their customers, their leaders, and their business.

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The global hotel chain exclusively recommends the use of Demand360®, Agency360®, and RevenueStrategy360™ across its portfolio to help both corporate colleagues and hoteliers gain market insights to drive demand and revenue.

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Karl Lagerfeld is automating allocation across its network, tapping artificial intelligence to streamline inventory management. The company is working with supply chain planning software ToolsGroup to improve customer satisfaction, elevate sell-through potential, and increase financial performance by expediting the planning process, reducing inaccuracies, and fine-tuning forecasts to ensure ideal stock placement.

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M&S has invested £480m in creating “bigger, better” stores across the UK as a core part of its bid to become the UK’s “leading omnichannel retailer”. The investment of almost half a billion pounds will generate over 3,400 new jobs across the country and develop the future M&S store estate, offering customers a “seamless experience” every time they shop.

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Amazon is making another hefty investment in its cloud business. Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to invest $35 billion by 2040 to establish multiple data center campuses across Virginia. The e-tail giant is evaluating different localities across Virginia and will make site decisions at a later date.

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SymphonyAI Retail CPG has been selected by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) Netherlands for data driven assortment optimisation capabilities to better avoid out-of-stocks and overstocks.

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Guitar Center Inc., a seller of musical instruments in the U.S., said it is moving from its data centers to the cloud to support growing online and in-store demand for instruments and services like repairs and lessons.

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Excess inventory has plagued many companies of late due to a lack of sales and over-ordering in an attempt to battle ongoing global supply-chain delays. Although Guess CEO Carlos Alberini admitted in a Q3 earnings call in November to having 19 percent more excess inventory than in Q3 2021, the company’s European arm has successfully implemented new software to keep inventory under control and improve its operating margin.

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Lowe’s is just one company that has begun to utilize the digital capability, partnering with NVIDIA earlier this year to fuse spatial data with Lowe’s other data like product location and historical orders to form a complete digital picture.

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UK retailer Marks & Spencer is piloting virtual try-on in a partnership with Zyler, according to a press release. The system leverages AI-powered image processing and mobile interactivity to allow customers to see how an array of outfits will look on them, all without having to physically try on the garments in a changing room.

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Cryptocurrency, a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security, is becoming an increasingly popular method of payment. As more people buy cryptocurrency, cryptocurrency becomes more mainstream, and more retailers are beginning to accept it as a form of payment. In this article, we will take a look at some well known retailers that now accept payments in cryptocurrency.

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Uniqlo’s parent Fast Retailing is banking on RFID technology to improve its supply chain management, and in turn, drive digital innovation and international growth.

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The global software company continues its growth in South-central Europe by implementing its cloud POS product Infrasys at Bluesun’s properties in the Makarska Riviera region.

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BurgerFi store locations utilize digital signage to communicate information on product pricing, promotions, and special offers to customers. The retailer experienced challenges in deploying and updating information consistently across its store fleet, because each location managed its own displays. Digital screens were not networked together within or across locations.

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The vitamins and supplements retailer is utilizing the cloud-based UJet Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) platform as the backbone of its omnichannel, customer service operations. As a result, GNC hopes to leverage the heightened flexibility of the UJet cloud platform to more easily implement new, innovative customer service solutions and integrate with best-of-breed customer experience tools.

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American restaurant brand Big Boy Restaurant Group LLC has partnered with Oracle to modernize its systems. With MICROS Simphony Cloud Point of Sale (POS) and Oracle Payment Cloud Service, the chain will be able to streamline its ordering and payment processing across the entire system, while also better using data to manage inventory and new opportunities such as ghost kitchens.

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"SymphonyAI and Oracle are heavyweights, and they have very best-of-breed solutions together," said Jeff Main, CIO of Festival Foods. "There's a lot of value there, including not having to plan on-premises solutions and staff up with technical specialists. We can both replace legacy systems and create new systems to help deliver a more efficient, scalable way to run our growing business without adding overhead to support additional stores.

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Sass & Belle is partnering with Akeneo, a specialist in product information management (PIM) and product experience management (PXM) solutions.

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Carnival Corporation & plc announced an agreement for the next-generation of internet connectivity across its global fleet, the latest in a series of moves that have nearly tripled ship bandwidth since 2019. The company has signed a new agreement with SpaceX’s Starlink, the leader in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology, to provide faster service, greater capacity and more reliable Wi-Fi on a global scale.

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Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) Netherlands hopes to avoid out-of-stocks and overstocks with a new investment in assortment optimization. The bottling company, which serves 600 million consumers and has 1.75 million customers across 29 countries, has tapped SymphonyAI Retail CPG’s technology to improve supply chain efficiencies and better align its assortments with shopper behavior.

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Manhattan Associates Inc. today announced that Everything But Water has successfully deployed several Manhattan Active Omni offerings as part of a digital retail transformation project. This comprehensive cloud-native unified commerce solution, which includes Manhattan Active Point of Sale, Order Management and Store Inventory & Fulfillment, was recently deployed in Everything But Water’s 85 retail locations across the country.

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Under the new agreement, Stripe becomes a strategic partner for Amazon in the US, Europe, and Canada, processing a “significant” portion of the e-commerce giant’s total payments volume across its businesses, including Prime, Audible, Kindle, Amazon Pay, and Buy With Prime. Stripe will also expand its use of AWS, the firm’s cloud infrastructure provider.

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Albertsons Cos. and Takeoff Technologies will open a micro-fulfillment center in Laguna Niguel, Calif., on Jan. 11. Takeoff offers an e-grocery solution that enables grocers to succeed online using micro-fulfillment centers – small robotic fulfillment centers that can be leveraged at a hyperlocal scale.

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NRF 2023 was one of the busiest in recent memory. While it was physically impossible to see everything, RIS News has you covered, with our comprehensive, curated take on the most vital retail news, trends, and sessions from Retail’s Biggest Show.

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Build-A-Bear recently launched the Salesforce Loyalty Cloud. The loyalty module provides tools that leverage information regarding purchases from the millions of members in its Bonus Club loyalty program. The retailer intends to grow customer lifetime value with the delivery of enhanced benefits and perks to shoppers.

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Chipotle this week updated its popular mobile app, which hosts about 30 million Rewards members. The updates are certainly not bells or whistles, but rather the addition of simple new features meant to reduce friction for loyal consumers, who have proven they visit more frequently and spend more money with the brand, executives have noted.

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Texas Roadhouse has implemented a customer experience management tool across its system to generate real-time feedback from its to-go customers.

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Nestlé Purina Petcare has successfully completed their implementation of a new 3D tech solution aimed at helping partners optimize their store shelving and reach more customers. The pet care company will now use the integrated solution – which employs headsets to allow users to interact in a common space across the globe – to offer their customers more personalized assortment options and seamless displays of products.

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Walmart has unveiled a business-to-business procurement website in its latest bid to compete with Amazon. Launched Friday (Jan. 20), Walmart Business is an eCommerce site and “customer experience” aimed at Walmart’s small and medium-sized business (SMB) and nonprofit customers.

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At Arirang K, a beloved Korean barbeque hotspot in Johns Creek, Georgia, robots offer diners a uniquely futuristic experience and lighten the load on servers during peak business hours. Since June 2022, four “LG CLOi ServeBot” robotic assistants from LG Business Solutions USA have been assisting wait staff by accompanying them to guests’ tables while carrying multiple dishes at once.

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The Container Store has been acting far more aggressively in the last several years than it has in the past, said Ganc. It has embarked on the path toward transformed customer experiences, being more strategic about its merchandising and how consumers traverse stores.

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The membership warehouse club operator is adopting the Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Elera Commerce platform in an effort to transform its front-end customer experience. PriceSmart will begin rolling out the Elera platform by replacing its current legacy POS system with Elera technology.

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Walmart is expanding an initiative to attract new drivers for its private fleet — using its existing workforce. In April 2022, the retail giant launched its Associate-to-Driver training program, which gave its supply chain workers in select parts of the country the chance to earn a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and became full-fledged drivers in Walmart’s private fleet of more than 13,000 drivers.

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Amazon today announced RxPass, a new Prime membership benefit from Amazon Pharmacy that offers patients affordable access to commonly prescribed generic medications that treat more than 80 common health conditions. With RxPass, Prime members can receive all of their eligible medications for one flat, low monthly fee of $5, and have them delivered free of charge.

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American Eagle Outfitters is converting all of its store locations to a new POS software platform. The apparel and accessories retailer, parent company of American Eagle and Aeire, is replacing its existing POS solution at all American Eagle and Aeire stores with the Jumpmind Commerce POS software system.

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Regional grocery store chain Coborn’s and its Hornbacher’s banners are deploying a revolutionary new weekly ad circular solution from Birdzi and Ideal by Design House across all of their stores. Previously, the solution had been implemented at 12 Coborn’s stores.

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Cora France, a retail group of hypermarkets, has partnered with RELEX Solutions, provider of unified retail planning solutions, to optimize their demand forecasting and automatic replenishment. RELEX’s unified supply chain planning solution already serves Cora’s 61 stores and 13 distribution centers throughout France.

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Marriott International and Groups360 announced the launch of Instant Booking for Marriott’s portfolio of hotels in the United States and Canada. Marriott International is the first brand to have a direct integration with Groups360 to offer the “Instant Book” functionality for both guest rooms and meeting space at scale on GroupSync Marketplace, providing planners with a streamlined booking process at the click of a button.

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Swedish supermarket chain Maxi ICA has revamped its flagship store, Stormarknad Universitetet, in the city of Orebro, with a major focus on retail digital signage via PPDS displays.

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ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions has announced a successful upgrade of its VingCard Classic door locks at The Water Tower Inn to VingCard Classic RFID. The Water Tower Inn with its recent lock upgrade can now ensure enhanced guest peace of mind and the ability to keep pace with evolving security solution trends.

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SymphonyAI Retail CPG has been selected by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) Netherlands for data driven assortment optimisation capabilities to better avoid out-of-stocks and overstocks.

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Consumers can receive cash back rewards on thousands of items at Dollar General through Ibotta’s platform and expect cash back rewards available directly through Dollar General’s app and website.

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While many grocery retailers are still trying to figure out how to replicate the in-store experience online, The Fresh Market thinks it has found its answer: Firework.

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Tecsys is pleased to announce that Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply, a one-stop shop for all things ranch and outdoor-related, has renewed its partnership with Tecsys to provide order management software across the retailer's online and physical stores. A customer since 2017, Tecsys' Omni™ OMS provides Murdoch's shoppers with an enhanced digital experience, while improving shipping speed and order consolidation.

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Panda Express is rolling out the full suite of WorkJam digital workplace tools in a new employee app. As a result, the casual dining chain’s 50,000 associates across more than 2,200 U.S. locations will have mobile access to all of digital frontline workplace company WorkJam’s tools.

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Smart home fitness mirror Fiture has a short, yet appropriate, tagline: “Don’t fit in. Fiture.” At its core, the brand is focused on making sure anyone and everyone can benefit from and enjoy fitness. And those core beliefs are reflected in everything the brand touches, whether it be an influencer partnership or an in-store experience.

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As the threat of a recession looms, retailers are trying to save on fulfillment costs by turning to automation and closing warehouses.

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The new resale offering on the J.Crew website debuted Jan. 17, 2023, and is powered by ThredUP’s resale-as-a-service (RaaS) platform. ThredUP’s RaaS is also the underpinning of Madewell’s online resale program. Customers can now buy and resell gently worn J.Crew women’s and kids’ items online at jcrew.thredup.com and receive J.Crew shopping credit for items that sell.

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Kroger Co. is leveraging cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology to improve real-time associate performance. America’s largest grocery retailer is deploying a variety of Google Cloud data analytics, AI, and ML tools under an application framework co-developed by Deloitte and Kroger.

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UK retailer Topps Tiles is boosting its fleet delivery capabilities with Descartes Systems Group’s cloud-based route planning and optimisation solution.

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