As part of their ongoing mission to help clients stay ahead of the competition in a fast-paced, constantly evolving marketplace, Mars United Commerce’s Customer Development team closely monitors the strategic activity taking place across all key retailers and channels.
Each month, the teams compile Marketplace Assessment reports on the retailers (Walmart, Target, Amazon, Kroger, Best Buy, Ulta Beauty) and channels (Regional Grocery, C-Store, Drug, Value, Pet, Club, Home Improvement) that are most important to the business success of our clients. The following report outlines noteworthy events across five key retailers from the team’s most recent round of assessments. (To receive copies of the full reports, contact EVP-Customer Development Kandi Arrington at [email protected].)
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Target Equips Employees with GenAI
Target is rolling out Store Companion, a generative AI-powered tool, to team members in all 1,956 stores by August. Developed in-house, Store Companion is a chatbot that answers on-the-job process questions, coaches new team members, and supports store operations management.
The goal is to let team members work faster and more efficiently by providing immediate answers to their questions and streamlining their day-to-day activity. The chatbot will be available as an app on special handheld devices, serving as an in-store process expert to help new and seasonal team members learn on the job.
Relevance: While much of recent genAI news has focused on how the technology can benefit shoppers, Target’s latest approach illustrates the internal opportunities as well — which, ultimately, can also enhance the in-store environment. Store Companion is just the latest example of Target’s ongoing efforts to use genAI to create more intuitive, smoother experiences across its ecosystem. Target.com currently uses genAI to power product pages and search capabilities, providing shoppers with easier navigation across the website.
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Albertsons Launches New Mobile Offers In-Store
Through a partnership with digital incentive platform Vizer, Albertsons has a new method of delivering in-store deals. The tool lets brands send shoppers mobile offers via email after they scan codes at the shelf. The promotions will run separately from the retailer’s For U loyalty program.
Shoppers using smart devices to scan a code are directed to a landing page prompting them to enter an email. The subsequent email they receive contains a barcode that applies the discount at checkout.
Relevance: The technology offers another way to deliver relevant savings to shoppers in the store. Albertsons shoppers are already ingrained in digital coupon use through For U, so adoption of another tool like this should be relatively easy and gives both retailer and brand an additional avenue of shopper engagement and at-shelf conversion that could be especially beneficial for impulse brands.
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Electronic Shelf Labels Arrive at Walmart …
After testing electronic shelf labels (developed by the VusionGroup) at one Texas location, Walmart plans to expand the technology to roughly half its U.S. store base (2,300 doors) by 2026. The initiative is aimed at improving efficiency for store associates and reducing operational waste.
Relevance: With Walmart shelves housing more than 120,000 products, updating individual price tags for Rollbacks, markdowns, new items, and other changes has long been a tedious, time-consuming process for associates. The new system eliminates much of the manual steps required in the process, reducing the time needed to change prices from two days to mere minutes through the use of a mobile app. This will give associates more free time to support customers.
Additional features included:
- The “Stock to Light” function lets associates flash an LED light on a shelf to identify items that need to be replenished.
- “Pick to Light” guides associates to the products needed to fulfill online orders for delivery or pickup.
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… and at Hy-Vee
Midwest-based grocery chain Hy-Vee has also tapped VusionGroup to provide ESLs at more than 230 of its stores. According to a joint statement from the companies, the technology likewise will give Hy-Vee employees more time to focus on other tasks such as replenishment, merchandising, and customer service.
Hy-Vee plans to use additional solutions from VusionGroup to create a more efficient and sustainable experience for both employees and shoppers, including:
- Day-of promotions to reduce waste in perishable categories. By using the ESLs and the VusionCloud platform to automatically lower prices at specified time intervals, products with a shorter shelf life can be easily marked down.
- As at Walmart, LEDs can be used to help employees with stocking issues and online order fulfillment.
Relevance: According to Polaris Market Research, the global ESL market was valued at $1.7 billion in 2023 and is anticipated to grow to $5.4 billion by 2032. While upfront installation expenses have always been a barrier to faster adoption, widespread costs have been declining over the years and the need for operational efficiencies in-store has increased in an omnichannel world.
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Wakefern Bolsters Caper Cart Fleet
Wakefern Food Corp. is adding Caper Carts to four ShopRite stores in Philadelphia, adding to the 11 locations already utilizing Instacart’s AI-driven technology. Caper Carts feature an interactive screen that lets shoppers scan products, weigh produce, and apply promotional offers as they shop, then check out seamlessly at the end of the trip. Shoppers can also sync shopping lists from Instacart’s app directly to the cart by scanning a QR code.
Relevance: Not only do Caper Carts elevate the in-store experience, they also bridge the gap between the online and in-store spaces. With the grocery trip typically lacking much of the technical innovation available online, Caper Carts are a welcome addition that can facilitate product discovery and increase basket ring while enhancing the shopping and checkout experiences. Instacart plans to deploy thousands of Caper Carts to various retail partners by the end of 2024, making this an area of potential growth for brands and retailers alike.
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Opportunities for Brands
Adoption of in-store technology is heating up as retailers seek to improve both omnichannel operating efficiencies and the shopping experience. The potential for retail media ad revenue has helped accelerate implementation, as well as the need to improve the low margins of omnichannel fulfillment.
As new, tech-enabled ways of sending offers and engaging with shoppers in the store emerge, whether via Caper Carts or mobile devices, brands should work with retailer partners to test the opportunities. One way brands can keep track of these opportunities is through Mars United’s quarterly Retail Media Report Card, which is covering the rollout of on-location media opportunities.
As Caper Carts specifically become more widely available, brands should work with retailers to ensure that the images, names, and promotions are updated on product detail pages so they are accurate and available for shoppers using the technology. They also should consider leveraging the engagement tool to introduce new products or relevant seasonal items to shoppers. And check with Instacart about any cross-retailer opportunities that may be in the works.
With technology continuing to evolve, smart carts and other in-store digital tools can be a great bridge between the retailer’s ecommerce and physical presence, thereby creating an efficient way to create seamless experiences for shoppers.
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Mars United Commerce’s Customer Development practice is an unrivaled team of in-market commerce experts who simplify the complexity of retail for our clients. Located in Bentonville, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Chicago, Tampa and the “backyards” of other key retailers, they provide deep knowledge of the retailer, expertise in key business areas (like strategy, media and creative), and door-opening personal relationships with key executives to deliver an unmatched level of business success for clients across accounts, channels and shopper engagement platforms. For more information, contact EVP-Customer Development Kandi Arrington at [email protected].
