New York Times | July 26, 2021 QR codes — essentially a kind of bar code that allows transactions to be touchless — have emerged as a permanent tech fixture from the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants have adopted them en masse, retailers including CVS and Foot Locker have added them to checkout registers, and marketers have splashed them all over retail packaging, direct mail, billboards and TV advertisements. But the spread of the codes has also let businesses integrate more

National Retail Federation | June 22, 2021 Join the discussion around TikTok and the community commerce that brands and consumers cannot resist. The bite size videos allow anyone to be a creator, just as authentically, you. NRF discusses with Matt Cleary, TikTok’s vertical director for retail and restaurants. Cleary points brands to get involved. Brands and discussions around products are already out there, having awareness and leaning into the discussions about your product

Retail Dive | January 5, 2021 Sensor Tower reports 2020 as a year of unprecedented change in consumer spending. Global consumer spending on mobile apps and games surpassed $100 billion in 2020. It was the first time consumers spent as much in a single year. On Black Friday, mobile shopping, smartphone purchases increased by 25% to $3.6 billion, comprising 40% of all online spending. On Cyber Monday, consumers spent about $10.8 billion online, and mobile purchases comprised 37

Retail Dive | October 20, 2020 Google unveiled several search-based features, including two aimed at helping people shop for everything from cars to clothing. As part of its virtual "Search On" event, Google touted its AR Autos feature and an upgraded visual search tool that matches items to products sold online, per a company blog post. Google's various shopping-oriented features are significant to mobile marketers in different ways, especially as many people seek to limit i

Retail Dive | October 2, 2020 Walmart+ seems to have caught the attention of millions of U.S. shoppers. Walmart has put considerable promotional muscle behind the new program, particularly as competitor Amazon is gearing up for Prime Day. Walmart has convinced many shoppers to quickly shell out $98 for its new service during widespread economic uncertainty. 11% of Americans subscribed to the new Walmart+ service within the first two weeks of its launch, according to national

Retail Dive | August 27, 2020 Amazon’s long-anticipated supermarket in Woodland Hills, California, opened Thursday morning, the company announced in a blog post. The store, which carries the Amazon Fresh brand, will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Amazon Fresh customers can use Amazon’s automated Dash Cart technology to avoid the checkout line. They can also employ the company’s Alexa technology to handle shopping lists and find their way around the store. The store offe

A Bullseye View | June 25, 2020 Need groceries in a hurry? Target's enhancing their industry-leading Order Pickup and Drive Up services to include fresh and frozen grocery items. Target's adding the expanded assortment to those services at stores in the Midwest making the enhanced services available in over 400 stores by the end of the month. They’ll reach more than 1,500 stores in time for the holidays. “The speed and convenience of our fulfillment options are unmatched acro

Retail Revolution | June 23, 2020 Vending machines are in the midst of a renaissance. Traditional vending machine companies have struggled in recent months. Stay-at-home orders have kept customers out of workplaces, resulting in a drop in snacking on the go. However, the future is promising for those looking to innovate. In the months to come, as shelter-in-place orders lift but social distancing remains in place, retail solutions that can limit capacity and contact have sudd

Retail Dive | June 15, 2020 U.S. e-commerce sales jumped by 92.7% in May, according to a new SpendingPulse report from Mastercard. In April and May, consumers spent more than $53 billion via e-commerce in the U.S. While some nonessential retailers like GameStop have seen an e-commerce boost during the pandemic, others, like Zara, are rethinking their store footprint and closing locations in order to focus on digital sales. Mastercard's research found that e-commerce sales in

National Retail Federation | May 27, 2020 As the growing desire to minimize human contact leads to an increase in touchless fulfillment models, consumers’ mobile devices have become the primary portal for ordering, payments and updates. The “hygiene-centric value proposition” has led to a surge in contactless payments and retailers encouraging mobile payments, adoption of curbside pickup options with encouragement to pay before hand. Some retailers including, Best Buy, Office

A Bullseye View | May 21, 2020 Target is the first mass retailer to make its products available through Instagram Checkout. Today more than ever, shopping must be as easy as possible. When Instagram guests find something they need at Target, it is now just a few taps. Setting up a virtual store, Instagram collaborated with Target Tech for guests to seamlessly make a purchase through their Instagram Checkout. Products are tagged in posts by @Target and @TargetStyle From there,

Retail Dive | May 19, 2020 Home improvement retailers like Home Depot and Lowe's are deemed essential amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore have not had to temporarily shutter their stores. Prioritizing a safe shopping experience, retailers have adopted digital strategies such as partnering with delivery startups and implementing mobile checkout. With much of the population working from home, Apptopia noted that many consumers are painfully aware of the improvements they

Retail Dive | April 7, 2020 According to a PYMNTS.com report, Apple Pay usage peaked in late 2017 and has declined to about 5.1% of eligible transactions. Only 3.3% of transactions were made using Walmart Pay in the period from early- to mid-March studied, a decline from 4.5% in 2019. Interestingly enough, this report was completed in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak which, conversely, has many retailers turning to technology to give consumers safer alternatives for sho