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  • Walmart May Bring Customer Service Drones to Its Stores Soon, Retailer Files Patents

    Walmart May Bring Customer Service Drones to Its Stores Soon, Retailer Files Patents

    Walmart has always been known to push boundaries. The company is continuing this innovative culture with its recent filing of patents for keeping track of inventory, a store drone and other technologies aimed at changing how customers shops.

    Walmart is no stranger to filing patents. The company has reportedly filed 1,400 patents since 2009, all of which focused on technology that enhances their customers’ in-store experience. One of the newly filed patents pertains to a sensing device designed to make smart shopping carts that can communicate with a mobile device. This can make searching for grocery items go more smoothly.

    Meanwhile, several of the patents that were filed are geared towards sensing and managing inventory levels and one that can track customers via wearables.

    Walmart has also filed two patents for autonomous technology. One is for tech that can detect items or products in containers while the other can gather vehicle information, like size, temperature, pre- and post-delivery weight, using an intricate system of sensors, an interface, and a processor.

    One patent that could drastically change how things are done at Walmart is for a drone that could assist customers as they shop in the store. According to the patent outline, a customer can call the drone through a mobile device that’s either the customer’s own or one that’s been provided by the store. The drone can be used to navigate around the store or to verify product price.

    The patent detailed how the device can control the aerial drone to guide the user to the location of the item in the store. The drone could also give a visual projection to show the shopper what direction they should take or provide audio instructions.

    There’s also the possibility of Walmart utilizing a variety of drones to perform different tasks. Each drone will reportedly have its own distinct features based on its assigned job.

    While the patents appear promising, there’s no guarantee that they will be realized. Most of the time, the patents companies file are never realized.

    However, Walmart’s recent patent filing underlines just how serious the company is in its bid to compete against Amazon and other established retailers. It has already increased the prices of products bought online and has started producing and selling its very own meal kits. Walmart has also signed an exclusive deal with Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce company, to sell Kobo e-readers.

    Featured image via Pixabay

  • Target Lets You Pay With New ‘Wallet’ Mobile Payment System

    Target Lets You Pay With New ‘Wallet’ Mobile Payment System

    It appears that Target is still not keen on accepting Apple Pay as a mode of payment in its onsite stores. In a recent post, America’s second-largest retailer announced that it had rolled out Wallet, its own mobile payment system that is now active as a feature for Target’s iOS and Android apps.

    The arrival of the Wallet feature has actually been long anticipated by customers. Talks about Target launching its own mobile payment have been around since 2015, but the company waited till January 2017 to confirm its plans.

    With the introduction of Wallet, Target customers will now have the option of seamlessly checking out their in-store purchases with the use of their smartphones. They’ll also be able to update points and use discounts with Cartwheel digital coupons.

    Reportedly, the Wallet feature found in the Target app is similar to other in-store payment options like Wal-Mart Pay. However, Wal-Mart Pay uses QR code for scanning items, Target’s system is barcode-based.

    For it to work though, it seems that shoppers will need a REDcard—a Target-branded debit or credit card packed with special offers. Target, however, wants more customers to shop with Wallet and is already working out a way to get them to use the feature even if they don’t own a REDcard.

    The main incentive for using Wallet is that checking out for in-store purchases would be faster. This is achieved because customers can now check out for payment as well as apply Cartwheel deals with a single scan of the in-app barcode.

    It should be noted that while Target does not accept payments using Apple Pay for in-store purchases, items bought from Target’s online store can still be paid using Apple’s payment platform.

    [Featured Image by Target]

  • Google Proclaims 2016, “The Year of the Supershopper”

    Google Proclaims 2016, “The Year of the Supershopper”

    In a blog post last week Google declared 2016 as the year of the supershopper. They define a supershopper as someone who is shopping primarily on their mobile device, looking for deals on the best products and constantly searching Google to so all of this.

    “With the ability to instantly discover, research, and purchase, shoppers around the world are more informed and more efficient than ever before – they’ve transformed into supershoppers seemingly overnight.” said Julie Krueger, Retail Managing Director at Google. “We all have that friend – the one who somehow knows the latest brands, the season’s must-have products, and where to find the best deals at the snap of a finger.”

    Google says that in 2015 over 50% of holiday shoppers were open to buying from new retailers and that 76% of mobile shoppers have switch their intended brand or retailer after searching Google.

    “It used to be that shoppers would thumb through catalogues or stare longingly at the holiday window displays, but mobile is now the super shopper’s go-to source for inspiration,” says Krueger. “Over 64% of smartphone shoppers turn to mobile search for ideas about what to buy before heading into store. And 1 in 4 mobile video viewers in the U.S. have visited YouTube for help with a purchase decision while they were at a store or visiting a store’s website.”

    They also report that people more than ever before are search for phrases like “best gift” indicating that they are using search to find quality, not just deals. Google also believes that shoppers are looking for unique gifts too, reporting that searches related to “cool gifts” grew 80%.

    Mobile Search: A Door to the Store

    Searches on mobile are still really about driving business to the brick and mortar store, rather than just pure online shopping. “Although more and more people are willing to buy on mobile, we know that mobile is still used predominantly as a door to the store,” said Krueger. “In fact, 76% of people who search for something nearby on their smartphone visit a related business within a day, and 28% of those searches result in a purchase.”

    They say that once in the store, shoppers use their mobile device to find deals and information about the products they are interested in.

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    From a retailers perspective, expect online conversion rates to increase across devices as the holidays get to full stride. Google says that last year on mobile, sales were up 30% on Black Friday and 50% on Cyber Monday.

  • New Google Merchant Center Launched

    New Google Merchant Center Launched

    Google introduced a new version of its Google Merchant Center today that offer more efficient navigation and makes additional shopping programs easier to find. The Google Merchant Center enables online retailers to connect their products to Google so that their products are included in search results, YouTube and partner websites.

    Responsive New Interface

    “With updates to Merchant Center, you’ll see a fast, responsive new interface, aligned with the modern look and feel of the rest of Google’s products,” says Sven Herschel, Product Manager for Google Shopping at Google. “We’ve changed Merchant Center navigation by bundling common tasks and actions. For example, you can use the new Home page to view recent announcements and dashboard data for your account, and you can find consolidated product feed and product data quality information under the Products page.”

    Screen Shot 2016-08-30 at 3.36.59 PM

    The Merchant Center is the place for ecommerce sites to upload their product data to Google, literally letting millions of shoppers see their online and in-store inventory.

    Explore Google Programs for Your Products

    “Merchant Center now lets you discover new ways to apply your data to promote and sell your products,” said Herschel. “Use Merchant Center to explore additional Google programs for your products, including Local Inventory Ads, Merchant Promotions, Product Ratings and more, while continuing to manage and configure your product data for Shopping ads.”

    Screen Shot 2016-08-30 at 3.43.51 PM

    Additional Updates to Merchant Center Features

    Google has also made updates and improvements to improve speed and functionality so that retailers can get their products online more quickly including Feed Rules, their Diagnostics Page and Currency Conversions. Find more info on those here.

  • Macy’s Cuts Jobs Despite Successful Christmas Sales

    Bad news for Macy’s employees. The retailer announced on Thursday that it will be laying off about 2500 of its employees despite having successful earnings over the Christmas season. Macy’s announced that it intends to close a total of 5 stores in Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, New York and Utah by this spring. In addition to giving some employees the boot, the remaining staff will take on additional duties or be transferred, Macy’s said. The decision is expected to save the company $100 million — adding a big boost to its bottom line.

    The news will likely be disheartening for its employees, especially given the stagnant U.S. job market.

    On Wednesday Macy’s CEO Terry J. Lundgren said that consumers gave it a “vote of confidence” during the holidays, “even in a questionable macroeconomic environment with challenging weather in multiple states.” Macy’s saw an increase in sales of 3.6 percent from the months of November through December for stores that were open for more than a year. The increase was 4.3 percent when third party licensee departments were included.

    It did, however, adjust its predictions for this year’s second half saying that “same-store” (stores open for more than a year) sales increased 2.8 to 2.9 percent instead of 2.5 to 4 percent. Nonetheless, that translates to 2.3 to 2.5 percent growth in the fourth quarter, said the company. This year should see earnings of $4.40 to $4.50 per share.

    This earnings projections seem brilliant for Macy’s and its investors but not quite as glowing for the folks who are soon to find themselves without a job. However, one bright spot could be found when Macy’s said it will continue to hire employees in its online operations, direct-to-consumer fulfillment outfit, and new stores.

    Image via Wikipedia

  • People Are Outraged at Kmart’s Plan to Remain Open All Thanksgiving Day

    Mega retailers being open for part of Thanksgiving Day is nothing new, but usually stores close for a few hours so employees can get in a little guaranteed family time. Kmart added a twist in their Thanksgiving/Black Friday plans this year when they announced plans to stay open 41 hours straight, starting at 6 AM on Thanksgiving Day, November 28. And guess what? People are mad.

    Some Twitter users are calling for shoppers to boycott Kmart for opening all Thanksgiving Day, which may just happen unintentionally as Kmart saw a 5.5 percent drop in sales in the first 9 months of the year. Check out some of the angry tweets Kmart has received below.

    Will you do any of your holiday shopping on Thanksgiving Day? Respond below.

    In all fairness, Kmart won’t be the only store that will open on Thanksgiving this year, and some 24-hour Walmart stores reportedly stay open all day on Thanksgiving to avoid some of the Black Friday chaos. Even Macy’s announced that they will open on Thanksgiving for the first time this year at 8 PM.

    After receiving hundreds of angry tweets directed their way, Kmart responded on their Twitter page with the following:

    Naturally, this was met with a lot of snarky responses.

    [Image via YouTube]