Walmart
Walmart has launched TrendGetter, a technology that uses image recognition to make it easier for customers to find deals on on-trend products for the holidays.
In a nutshell, you take a picture of a pair of designer sunglasses or an expensive bag. And by uploading the pic at TrendGetter, you can find a similar item at Walmart.com.
Casey Schlaybaugh, Vice President of Brand Strategy & Marketing, says: “We’ve all been there. You’re scrolling through your Instagram feed and your favourite influencer is wearing the must have accessory of the season.”
“Or you’re watching the latest viral TikTok video, and you find brag worthy home décor.”
“Maybe gifting inspiration hits for the hardest person to shop for on your list during your favourite TV show.”
“The problem? You can’t find a shoppable link or any product details, or it’s way out of budget.”
He adds: “This holiday season, we know our customers are searching for what they love at can’t miss prices. Now, whenever you find a product you love, you can easily search for a similar item at Walmart’s everyday low prices and purchase as soon as inspiration strikes.”
St. Louis CITY SC
The newest club in US Major League Soccer (MLS), St. Louis CITY SC, recently opened CITYPARK, a 22,500 seat stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. This is the first MLS stadium to offer checkout-free shopping.
Those who attended the recent friendly match between St. Louis CITY2 and Bayer 04 Leverkusen, experienced CITYPARK’s three Zippin powered stores, which are checkout-free and feature local food favourites, grab and go drinks and snacks.
CITYPARK says that it saw shopping times as fast as 10 seconds.
@stlCITYsc is the first MLS stadium to offer checkout-free shopping. CITYPARK saw shopping times as fast as 10 seconds, proving why frictionless shopping is a priority for today’s leading venues. ⚽GOAL!⚽https://t.co/hd4cAnusDo
QUIZ
QUIZ expects to deliver over two million packages by the end of next year. Higher volumes of shipments inevitably lead to higher volumes of returns and, if not managed efficiently, this can become expensive and time consuming to manage.
To help it achieve its target, the company has extended its partnership with nShift.
JD Sports
To promote its festive campaign, King of the Game, JD has teamed up with Snap to create an augmented reality experience transforming its Oxford Street, London storefront into a free, interactive AR claw grabber that replicates the one seen in the retailer’s commercial.
To play, shoppers can scan the Snapcode on the corner of the JD Oxford Street store window, to see the claw machine arcade game appear on the storefront in AR.
Alternatively, they can point their Snap Camera at the storefront and use the Scan function to unlock the AR experience, thanks to Snap’s Landmarker technology.
Snapchatters will be able to try their hand at the grabber machine, loaded with footwear and signature JD teddys which appear in its King of the Game Christmas film.
Very
Very, a pureplay operated by The Very Group, has tapped augmented reality technology to allow customers to discover and choose makeup products that best match their needs.
Using ModiFace technology, those shopping on Very’s app can virtually try on 24 lip products by L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline and NYX.
The retailer plans to expand the use of augmented reality across more make-up, hair colour and nail products, as it looks to create a more immersive beauty shopping experience.
Varner
Scandinavian retailer Varner has chosen the Sitoo PoS and Unified Commerce Platform with the software set to be rolled out in 1,200 stores.
Varner, which consists of fashion brands Cubus, Dressmann, Dressmann XL, Bik Bok, Carlings, Volt, Junkyard, and Levi’s Store, employs nearly 8,500 people across Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark.
It says that it needed to find a new PoS solution capable of meeting constantly evolving customer expectations at speed, support them in providing excellent customer experiences, and that would easily integrate with its existing systems.
Some HUGE news for you! The Nordic retail giant, Varner, has chosen Sitoo to help meet evolving customer expectations and our market-leading POS and Unified Commerce Platform is now set to be rolled out across 1,200 stores.https://t.co/xkiRvN60Es pic.twitter.com/etJmCwnPjp
Printemps
Printemps is continuing its Web3 journey with the launch of a virtual fashion brand for Christmas.
This builds on the creation of a virtual store in the metaverse and completion of its first NFT drop.
Further details here.
Community Groceries and Amazon
Community Groceries, a grocery store in Kansas City, USA, is set to re-open with a new retail technology centric customer experience on 16th December.
The company has collaborated with Amazon to equip Just Walk Out technology and Amazon One in one of its stores for the first time.
It’s also the first time Amazon has expanded both technologies to a third-party customer’s grocery store in the US.
Laura Mercier
Laura Mercier has partnered with Obsess to launch its debut virtual store, World of Beauty.
“This is an exciting time for our consumers to explore Laura Mercier through a new, digitalised lens, that offers an immersion into the brand and its history,” says Diane Kim, Global Brand President at Laura Mercier.
“The dynamic shopping experience provides consumers with the opportunity to play, discover, test and trial products, while telling the rich story of this iconic brand.”
Nudie Jeans
Nudie Jeans has partnered with headless commerce platform Centra to develop a ship from store solution.
A.F. Blakemore & Son
A.F. Blakemore & Son is set to launch a SPAR Christmas campaign giving away up to £100,000 worth of prizes.
Merry Textmas is a 25-day text to win competition that will be live in more than 300 Blakemore Retail and independent stores across SPAR’s Meridian & Welsh Guild from 8th December to 1st January.
It will feature both a spot prize promotion and grand prize promotion.
The latter consists of weekly prize draws offering customers the chance to win one of four prizes: cash towards Christmas, fuel for a year, energy for a year or shopping at SPAR for a year.
Shoppers can play daily to win one of more than 30,000 spot prizes redeemable at SPAR stores by sending a text. Every valid entry into the spot prize promotion will also give one free entry into each weekly grand prize promotion draw.
People can win additional entries into the weekly grand prize draw by scanning a QR code on a poster at a SPAR store or downloading a Merry Textmas app.
The app offers an in-store game that uses the customer camera to create an augmented reality Christmas tree, with virtual presents dotted around the store to place underneath.
Pandora
Jewellery brand, Pandora, is adopting SAP S/4HANA, SAP Customer Activity Repository and SAP Business Technology Platform as it aims to deliver “an omnichannel experience for customers across 100 markets that meets expectations for seamless and personalised services both online and in-store”.
Forever 21
Forever 21 has launched the F21 Metaverse Collection, the retailer’s first metaverse inspired fashion collection, to mark its first year on Roblox.
This is available in stores and online and features hoodies and T-shirts, designed with elements from the brand’s virtual offerings and includes the real-life version of the Forever Beanie, the number one selling item in Forever 21 Shop City on Roblox.
During the month of December, this will offer a limited edition virtual accessories collection, launching one item each day that will be available for less than 24 hours.
From the Metaverse to IRL, Forever 21 Metaverse collection introducing our BEST SELLING BEANIES!
Explore our virtual shop: https://t.co/ELd2VACs80 and match with your avatar👉 Get exclusive Forever 21 gear on @Roblox #F21Metaverse@LoveSpunn @JazzyXThree @BesismRBX @YouFoundSam pic.twitter.com/Qo9j743v1Y
Starbucks
Starbucks Odyssey, an extension of Starbucks Rewards powered by Web3 technology, has launched in beta to a small group of waitlist members, including customers and employees in the US.
The retailer brought in Adam Brotman, the architect of its Mobile Order & Pay system and the Starbucks app, to serve as a special advisor.
Participants will be able to engage in Starbucks Odyssey ‘Journeys’ which are a series of activities to earn collectible ‘Journey Stamps’ (NFTs) and Odyssey Points that will unlock access to new benefits and experiences.
“Starbucks has a history of harnessing emerging technology to innovate on behalf of our customers and making it easily accessible and approachable for the mainstream,” says Brady Brewer, Starbucks Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
“Our innovative spirit and the desire to continuously exceed the expectations of our customers has led to the launch of Starbucks Odyssey.”
Macy’s
FIT:MATCH has announced the launch of its bra fitting experience in the following Macy’s stores this holiday season: Boca Raton (FL), Century City (CA), Dadeland (FL), Herald Square (NY), Kings Plaza (NY), Queens Center (NY), Roosevelt Field (NY), South Portland (ME), South Shore Plaza (MA) and Willowbrook (TX).
The technology gives shoppers the opportunity to get scanned and then, within seconds, matched to their best fitting bras based on their exact body shape.
Mariah Carey
Pop star Mariah Carey will be hanging out on Roblox for the month of December through one of the platform’s Livetopia experiences.
Mariah Carey’s Winter Wonderland aims to give people “a unique way to connect with the iconic artist and enjoy her music together with friends and family”.
During December, a holiday themed treasure hunt created in conjunction with Carey’s twins, Moroccan and Monroe, virtual item drops, and decked out Livetopia homes will be available, culminating with virtual performances.
Carey will perform a mix of her old and new hits, including All I Want For Christmas Is You as the grand finale.
The first of four consecutive nights of the virtual performance starts at 7 pm EST on Wednesday, 21st December, with additional showings at 7 pm EST on the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th.
There will also be a virtual store offering the likes of exclusive merchandise, unlockable houses, cars, and Christmas hats. Certain exclusive items include special power-ups for users to use before, during, or after, within Livetopia.
Albert Czech Republic
Brain Corp, working with Tennant, has completed the deployment of over 40 autonomous in-store scrubbers with the Czech Republic’s Albert, part of the Ahold Delhaize company.
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