Oct 8, 2024: Retail and Consumer Happenings

Here are the recent happenings in the Retail and Consumer Tech world as of Oct 8, 2024:

In a sweeping move to enhance consumer experiences, Albertsons has integrated its retail media network directly into its rewards app, allowing for more personalized promotions and customer engagement. Similarly, Instacart has launched new gamified capabilities in its shopping experience, promising to maximize in-store rewards through innovative Caper Carts technology. These advancements highlight the sector’s shift towards more integrated and interactive shopping journeys.

Meanwhile, Unilever is undertaking a significant overhaul of its European homecare supply chain, as stated by a company executive, aiming to streamline operations and enhance sustainability. This effort is paralleled by Smucker’s evolving relationship with U.S. retailers, focusing on deeper, more collaborative engagements to better meet consumer demands.

On the tech front, recent studies urge retailers to adopt more advanced pricing and promotion strategies to stay competitive, especially as the holiday shopping season approaches earlier each year, according to a survey by supply chain expert project44. This trend is complemented by new findings suggesting that donations may be an effective alternative to discounts to encourage customers to accept delayed deliveries, fostering a new type of consumer loyalty, per a recent research paper out of North Carolina State University’s Poole College of Management.

Whole Foods is also making headlines with its rollout of Amazon’s ‘Just Walk Out’ technology in its Daily Shop format, setting a new standard for frictionless checkout experiences.

These dynamic changes across the retail and consumer tech landscape point to an industry in rapid evolution, increasingly driven by data, collaboration, and consumer-centric innovations.

Brought to you in collaboration by the teams at EVOA Digital, CPG Cloud Partners, and Red Stapler. This article was initiated using AI technology provided by Apple and OpenAI. Contact us to learn more!