Trends often start on the high end, then trickle down to the hoi polloi. Such is the case with Walmart, which continues to create experiences that will challenge Internet shopping. Walmart’s Code Eight, led by Rent the Runway co-founder Jennifer Fleiss, has started testing personal shopping services for moms in New York City. Code Eight is part...
Utilizing a camera scanning system, displays and projectors, Amazon's patent for a blended-reality mirror describes an item that could (if produced) allow users to try on clothes virtually. The device would be part reflective and part transmissive, wherein the users face and eyes are recognized and reflected back, though affixed to a...
Singapore’s We the People store is proving so popular that it is already expanding into other countries. Featuring products that got their start via the popular crowdfunding site, Kickstarter, every item sold in the We the People store is accompanied by a detailed backstory including the amount of money raised and number of people who pledged...
Environmental sustainability is at the forefront of many minds in the retail industry at the moment, and logistics companies are no exception. Deutsche Post DHL Group’s air and ocean freight specialist, DHL Global Forwarding, has teamed up with the Good Shipping Program — described by DHL as “the world’s first initiative to decarbonize the...
It is likely that consumers will be talking through their purchases rather than typing and clicking – with voice becoming the “standard”. Once you’ve got an Alexa device, or Siri on your phone, once you’re used to doing a search like that on your phone, you’re gonna expect to do that on e-commerce sites. Watch this space.
E-Novia is currently testing YAPE — short for Your Autonomous Pony Express — a compact self-driving robot that has an impressive range of some 50 miles (80 kilometers). Bringing to mind Piaggio Fast Forward’s Gita robot, YAPE moves along on two wheels and self-balances while reaching speeds of up to 12.4 mph (20 kmh), according to New Atlas....
Albert Heijn, the leading supermarket brand in the Netherlands, is taking grab-and-go convenience to the next level. Beginning this month, Albert Heijn is testing "tap to go" technology at one of its AH to go stores, allowing customers to pay for items without going through the checkout. The technology, which is being piloted at the AH to go...
Target released its own mobile payments system today, called Wallet, which will be accessed from the Target app on iOS and Android. The feature works like this: you open Wallet inside a Target store, scan any coupon barcodes, and then scan your Wallet barcode at the register to pay with your REDcard (which you upload beforehand). Currently, you...
Starbucks has a long, long tradition of using tech to bring you into its coffee shops, and that will be truer than ever with the latest supersized Reserve Roastery location in Shanghai. The beverage behemoth will use a mobile app to offer guided augmented reality tours of the coffee-making process when the restaurant opens on December 6th....
Robots have been unleashed in Russian supermarkets to chat to customers they can even recognize if they are regulars - and help them with their shopping. In a world first, the so-called Promobots work alongside regular employees to chat to customers about discounts and promotions and even demonstrate new products. They have been unveiled at the...