Walmart has announced the addition of new features to its mobile app for its pharmacy and money services customers, including new ways for shoppers to skip regular checkout lines. The expansion means that now Pharmacy customers can use the Walmart app to refill prescriptions, track order status and view pricing and pickup details, then use express lanes to pick them up. It also allows customers using the retailer’s money services at its 1,200 wire-transfer centers to cash checks, pay bills and send money without paperwork, using the app to complete their transactions, and those services will have new express lanes to speed things up.
Online retail giant Amazon has quietly dropped its free shipping threshold from $49 to $35, apparently in an effort to challenge Walmart’s new policy. Walmart announced in February that it has scrubbed its ShippingPass in favor of free two-day shipping in its battle for customers. In a conference call, Marc Lore, CEO of Walmart US eCommerce explained that as two-day shipping becomes a customer expectation, “we don’t think it’s necessary to charge a membership for it.”
Target vows to slash prices, refurbish stores, and open smaller urban locations to better compete.
Virginia has become the first state to pass legislation that regulates the use of delivery robots, allowing them to operate on sidewalks and through crosswalks. The new state law will go into effect on July 1. While the new law does not require delivery robots to function within the line of sight of a human operator, it does require the operator to be able to take over in case of an issue with the robot. It also imposes a 10 mph speed limit and a 50 pound weight limit on the delivery robots.
We’ve all been there: you go out shopping, you’re going through the motions and making progress, and suddenly analysis paralysis overwhelms you. Maybe you’re trapped in the dressing room, and you’ve picked out too many options. Maybe you’re standing in the aisle and looking at 20 different handbags and you don’t even know where to start. Or maybe you’ve picked an item you want, but your mind has now traveled back in time to philosophy class and suddenly thinking about the difference between want and need.
What is the counter, truly? A barrier between a customer and a cashier. Wasted space where products can’t be displayed. A place for long, annoying lines to form. An arbitrary place to end the buying process.
Self-service is no longer limited to ATMs and gas stations…The kiosk marketplace is expanding rapidly, as consumers become more and more accepting of self-service technologies. According to a recent survey, 85% of Americans and 91% of Millenials have used a self-service checkout kiosk.
The e-commerce industry is growing rapidly. With the demand for online shopping higher than ever before, retailers and brands are doing everything in their power to grab consumers’ attention and more importantly, their wallets. With access to an unlimited marketplace at their fingertips, consumers’ concept of patience is hastily diminishing.
We know that 2016 was the year of “omnichannel”—but we don’t believe omnichannel goes far enough. To us, omnichannel requires only the ability to accept payments in all channels. It’s a good and necessary step for any business, but it’s not enough in today’s retail environment. Modern consumers demand unified commerce: support for the entire customer journey across all channels, from brick‐and‐mortar to e‐commerce to in‐aisle and beyond.
We know that 2016 was the year of “omnichannel”—but we don’t believe omnichannel goes far enough. To us, omnichannel requires only the ability to accept payments in all channels. It’s a good and necessary step for any business, but it’s not enough in today’s retail environment. Modern consumers demand unified commerce: support for the entire customer journey across all channels, from brick‐and‐mortar to e‐commerce to in‐aisle and beyond.
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