All articles tagged with #retail technology
Kroger has deployed electronic shelf labels in nearly all Cincinnati-Dayton stores and across most divisions nationwide to improve price accuracy and free up staff; the move has sparked concerns about potential surge pricing, though Kroger says the system lowers costs, with Walmart pursuing a similar ESL rollout.
Walmart is expanding its digital shelf labels to about half of its stores, with remaining locations expected to adopt them within a year. Prices are set at corporate HQ and pushed to stores overnight, while store workers use an app to print up to 10 labels at a time. The electronic tags, mounted on rails powered by an eight-year battery, aim to speed restocking, improve price accuracy, and keep shelf prices aligned with online listings; Walmart also plans a customer-facing LED tag feature later. Some lawmakers in New York are pursuing bills to curb pricing practices based on shopper data, though the tags themselves contain no sensors or cameras to collect data. Paper tags remain in use where not yet updated.}
Costco is testing a new scan-and-go technology that allows members to scan items with their phones and pay via an app, potentially reducing or eliminating checkout lines, with early tests showing promising results.
Amazon, after shutting down its first cashierless store in Seattle, has decided to license its "Just Walk Out" technology to other retailers. The company also plans to replace the cameras and shelf sensors in its Amazon Fresh grocery shops with smart shopping carts, which operate as wheeled self-checkout machines.
Amazon is set to sell its smart grocery carts to other retailers, with Price Chopper and McKeever's Market stores in Kansas and Missouri already testing the technology. The Dash Cart, which allows customers to scan products as they shop and skip the checkout line, uses computer vision and sensors to track and tally items in real time. Amazon's move follows its strategy of offering its retail technology to third-party retailers, similar to its "Just Walk Out" cashier-less system. Despite recent layoffs in its physical store technology teams, Amazon remains committed to advancing these technologies, although its cashier-less systems have faced scrutiny over privacy concerns.
Amazon is removing its cashierless Just Walk Out technology from US grocery stores as it remodels existing Fresh locations and won't feature it in new ones opening later this year. The system, which used ceiling-mounted cameras and shelf sensors to determine what shoppers took from the store and charged them automatically upon exiting, faced criticism from some shoppers and will now be limited to Amazon Go stores and licensed to other retailers. This move reflects a retreat from Amazon's ambitious push into cashierless technology in physical stores, as the company also scales back its ambitions for the Dash Cart.
Major retailers are re-evaluating self-checkout systems due to inventory loss, with some implementing AI technology to monitor customers and products. While self-checkout represents 30% of transactions, complaints about glitches and impersonal experiences persist. Target is testing a 10-item limit to reduce wait times, while Dollar General plans to increase employee presence at store fronts. Despite the convenience, many customers still value personal interaction with cashiers.
Walmart is expanding its drone delivery service to 1.8 million more households in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and introducing AI-powered tools such as a generative search tool for iOS users and "InHome Replenishment" to enhance customers' shopping experiences. Sam's Club, owned by Walmart, is also implementing new checkout technology using cameras to confirm purchases without the need for a traditional receipt check.
Retailers and supermarkets are turning to AI-powered robots to boost sales, improve inventory management, and address the ongoing labor shortage. Autonomous inventory robots equipped with cameras and sensors are being deployed to verify price signs and look for out-of-stock items. Inventory robots from companies like Brain Corp, Simbe Robotics, and Bossa Nova Robotics are expected to help retailers reduce missed sales from empty shelves and out-of-stock items, which cost U.S. retailers $82 billion in 2021, according to NielsenIQ.