Artificial Intelligence

Dollar General has tapped a fast-casual restaurant executive to lead its technology and fledgling online operations.    Dollar General Corp. announced that Carman Wenkoff will join the company as executive VP and CIO, effective July 10. He replaces current CIO Ryan Boone, who recently announced his retirement.   

With fraudulent card-not-present (CNP) transactions on the rise, losses will become staggering over the next five years.    Retailers stand to lose $71 billion globally by 2022, driven by a number of factors, such as the United States' shift to Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) chip cards, delays in 3DS 2.0 (3D-Secure) and click-and-collect fraud. This was according to “Online Payment Fraud: Emerging Threats, Key Vertical Strategies & Market Forecasts 2017-2022,” a report from Juniper Research. 

The recent announcement that Amazon intends to purchase Whole Foods Market has the retail and grocery store industry reeling as traditional grocers assess the near and long-term impact that the online giant’s much larger position in the marketplace may have. And with good reason. Amazon is the classic “disruptor” and has changed the face of every industry it touches. But aside from the competitive aspects, this move potentially has significant political and policy impacts as well.   

The ink is barely dry on Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods Markets, yet the natural grocer’s CEO implied that “big ideas” are already in the works.  

Merchants may be losing out on potential e-commerce sales due to shoppers’ concerns over the security of their information in the digital world.  

Reading business news and talking to retailers, I often hear about marketers’ disappointment in not reaching their email marketing goals. It’s become a real issue that they try to solve by sending more appealing emails with better offers more often. But still, it’s an uphill battle. Why? Because retailers aren’t really missing goals with email; the truth is that you can’t look at email as a stand-alone agent any longer.   Today’s Elusive Shopper

Sidewalk delivery robots are revving their engines for their July 1 debut in Virginia and Idaho, but there is an even bigger launch planned.   The delivery bots will soon be commonplace across the country of Estonia. Based on a vote of 86 to 0 in the country's parliament last week, Estonia is the first country in Europe that allows these food-carrying robots to roam sidewalks, according to Engadget.