Amazon’s cashierless store is almost ready for prime time — Bloomberg — “For the past year, Amazon employees have been test driving Amazon Go, an experimental convenience store in downtown Seattle. The idea is to let consumers walk in, pick up items and then pay for them without ever standing in line at a cashier… In a sign that the concept is almost ready for prime time, hiring for the Amazon Go team has shifted from the engineers and research scientists needed to perfect the platform to the construction managers and marketers who would build and promote the stores to consumers.”
FPOS
ICICI Bank partners with Paytm to offer instant loans during checkout
Paytm-ICICI Bank Postpaid: Now get instant digital credit in your mobile wallet — BGR — “While checking out, customers will see a ‘Pay Later’ option, and on clicking it, their credit score would be calculated instantly. ICICI Bank will arrive at the credit score based on behavioral data from Paytm, the bank’s own customer data, and financial data from the credit bureau.”
UK supermarkets to test face recognition for proof-of-age at self-checkout tills
Supermarket self-service tills replace ID checks with facial recognition — The Telegraph — “The technology will be used to remove in-person age checks when customers are buying alcohol and other age restricted items… Using Yoti at a self service till would involve a QR code showing up on the checkout screen, which could be scanned by the app. The Yoti app would then scan the shopper’s face to confirm their identity, and would then connect to the till over the internet to verify the purchase.”
Chatbots to issue over 1bn coupons a year by 2022
Digital coupon redemptions to surpass $90bn by 2022 — Juniper Research — “Juniper has quantified the volume of chatbot coupons as 25m this year, with this set to reach 1.1bn by 2022. The technology will enable greater personalisation of offers; particularly through use via social media, and at a fraction of the cost of using human operatives, and will aid in driving commerce transactions both online and in-store… Mobile will account for nearly 80% of all coupon redemptions by 2022.”
Chinese retail giant to open unmanned stores with face recognition and RFID tags
Suning to open four new unmanned stores in China — Suning — “Highlights include: Facial recognition — After linking a bank card and going through the facial recognition on Suning Finance app, customers will be able to enter the store simply by letting the camera scan their faces at the entrance. Effortless shopping experience — To check out, shoppers only need to carry their goods along the payment pathway. The system will automatically recognize the shoppers and their items with the facial recognition and RFID technology – making the entire check-out process shorter than 15 seconds.”
UK supermarket pilots self-checkout service that lets shoppers scan and pay by smartphone
Sainsbury’s to launch app which helps customers avoid checkout queues — The Independent — “Sainsbury’s are currently testing the app at their London Euston station store meaning that shoppers can buy the £3 ‘On the Go’ meal deal by simply scanning the products and paying using their phone. As soon as payment is confirmed, customers are free to leave the store without the hassle of time-consuming queues.”
Convenience store Cheers opens first unmanned, cashless outlet
Convenience store Cheers opens first unmanned, cashless outlet — The Straits Times — “The Cheers outlet at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) looks like its normal store — with shelves and fridges stocked with food and drinks — except there is no cashier or assistant in sight… Customers use a QR code found on the free ‘Shop It Yourself’ mobile app to gain entry to the store… The store also features a unified self-checkout system that accepts various cashless payment modes, eliminating the need for multiple payment terminals.”
Alibaba’s self-service Tao Cafe takes e-shopping offline
Alibaba’s self-service Tao Cafe takes e-shopping offline — Xinhua — “Entry into Tao Cafe in Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province, is through ticket gates similar to those at subway stations, however, customers scan their smart phones instead of tickets… The 200-square-meter store offering beverages, fast food and snacks can accommodate 50 customers at a time. To enter and make a purchase, shoppers require only a smart phone with Alibaba’s Taobao ecommerce app.”
Tesco brings mobile and contactless rewards to millions of UK supermarket shoppers
UK-based supermarket giant Tesco has launched a contactless version of its Clubcard reward scheme that lets customers “simply tap at the checkout to add their points”... More
In China, Amazon’s ‘store of the future’ is already open
In China, Amazon’s ‘store of the future’ is already open — Tech In Asia — “This is a typical Bingobox store… A shopper opens the door – and registers with the startup – through WeChat, the popular messaging app… The customer has to scan each item’s barcode. And then pay on their phone, either via WeChat or Alibaba’s mobile wallet app, Alipay. As you leave the store, a camera checks you’re taking out only the stuff you paid for.”
Urban Airship analysis of retailers’ mobile wallet coupons and loyalty cards reveals widespread peer-to-peer sharing
Urban Airship analysis of retailers’ mobile wallet coupons and loyalty cards reveals widespread peer-to-peer sharing — Urban Airship — “Analysis of more than one million Apple Wallet coupons and loyalty cards of major retail brands shows that for every mobile wallet pass a customer installs, it is shared and added to 3.3 other mobile devices on average… More than three-quarters of retailers’ installed passes were the result of sharing versus being created and distributed through their marketing channels.”
Target to combine offers with mobile payments to create a “one-stop shop” for customers
Customers of US retail giant Target will soon be able to redeem offers and make in-store payments using a single service on their mobile phone, as the chain announces plans to fully integrate its Cartwheel offers app into its main Target mobile app to enable a “one-stop shop”... More
At Alibaba, artificial intelligence is changing how people shop online
At Alibaba, artificial intelligence is changing how people shop online — Alizila — “Alibaba is spreading artificial intelligence throughout its core e-commerce operations, making it a cornerstone technology to speed the arrival of what company officials envision to be the future of not only e-commerce, but all commerce.”
Macey’s invites shoppers to skip checkout lines
Macey’s invites shoppers to skip checkout lines — Progressive Grocer — “After setting up a free account, Macey’s shoppers simply scan their items as they’re placed in the cart. Once they have everything they need, shoppers simply pay for the purchase directly from their phones using a linked debit or credit card, or the Apple Pay or Android Pay mobile wallet apps, and exit the store via the Skip Checkout lane.”
Dunkin’ Donuts customers get mobile ordering through Google’s navigation app
Customers of coffee chain Dunkin’ Donuts across the US can now place orders and complete a payment before leaving the house using their mobile phone and a new feature that has been added to Google-owned traffic and navigation app Waze. More
McDonald’s adds mobile ordering in the UK
Customers at select McDonald’s restaurants across the UK can now order ahead using their mobile phone... More
McDonald’s begins mobile order and pay trial
Fast food giant McDonald’s has begun testing its mobile order and pay service at 29 restaurants in the Californian cities of Monterey and Salinas... More
McDonald’s to roll out mobile order and pay in 20,000 restaurants this year
McDonald’s will launch its mobile order and pay service in 20,000 restaurants in “some of our largest markets including the US” by the end of 2017, with the fast food giant aiming to enhance its digital capabilities and the use of technology to “dramatically elevate the customer experience” and “unlock meaningful growth and increase guest counts”... More
Pizza Hut unveils pizza-ordering shoes
Pizza Hut has unveiled a pair of shoes with a button that lets wearers order pizza and get it delivered... More