Sales & Marketing

Walmart is looking for innovative technology ideas – and casting a wide net to find them.

The discount retailer is launching a “Technology Open Call” aimed at retail technology start-ups. Walmart will consider technology spanning all of retail, including capabilities around the store shopping experience, associate experience, logistics, big data, security and/or social media.

Industry veteran Jill Standish, senior managing director of retailer for Accenture Consulting, recently spoke with Chain Store Age about what she sees as some of the biggest IT-related trends facing the industry. Here is her take on the trends:

Amazon.com Inc. swung from loss to profit and significantly boosted net sales during a first quarter that topped analysts expectations.

The world’s largest online retailer reported better-than-expected net income of $513 million, compared to a net loss of $57 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015.

One of the nation’s largest franchisees will soon also be operating GNC stores.

Moving ahead with its plan to reduce its corporate-owned store footprint, GNC announced plans to sell 84 company-owned locations to Dallas-based Sun Holdings for about $17 million. The retailer revealed the sale amid disappointing first quarter results.

Cabela’s will debut a “cost-effective” design in its two newly announced store locations.

The outdoor apparel and goods retailer announced two new locations, one in McDonough, Georgia, opening in fall 2017, and one in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, opening in fall 2017 or spring 2018.

The locations, both 70,000 sq. ft. each, are designed around a new concept that the retailer said is more cost effective "in a focused effort to bring more its stores to more convenient locations" to better serve customers.

Retailers who can get consumers to generate social and online content about them have a decided competitive edge.

According to the new “CGC Index” from social marketing technology provider Bazaarvoice, consumer-generated content (CGC), or digital content that people create about a product or service they have experienced, used, purchased, or considered, can have a significant impact on retailer performance.

Expect the 365 by Whole Foods Market store format to look much different than the traditional Whole Foods store.

The concept, debuting in late May in Los Angeles, will feature a no-frills design, low fixtures and all-digital price tags, reported Business Insider, which was given a sneak peak of the format.

To see renderings of 365 and learn more about its details, click here.

Dunkin' Brands, the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, announced that Paul Twohig, president, Dunkin' Donuts U.S. and Canada, 62, has decided to retire at the end of first quarter 2017.

Dunkin’ plans to name a successor before the end of the year and said it is currently conducting a search which will consider both internal and external candidates.