TECHNOLOGY

Walmart’s grocery pickup service is available to even more shoppers in the Golden State.   The discounter introduced grocery pickup in 26 stores across Inland Empire, Los Angeles and San Diego, bringing the total number of stores statewide offering the service to 36 locations, according to The Orange County Register. Each store will designate parking stalls for shoppers to retrieve their groceries.    

Amazon is extending its brick-and-mortar brand exposure, once again — albeit in an unconventional way.   Mattress retailer Tuft & Needle will open its newest store in October, in Seattle. And the self-funded specialty retailer is relying on Amazon’s technology and services to drive its success, according to ReCode.  

Food Lion is stepping up its digital engagement game.   A banner under Delhaize America, Food Lion launched a mobile app. Available to customers across its 10-state footprint, the app streamlines and personalizes the shopping experience.  

The most digitally savvy generation to date has a soft side for physical stores.    Despite being digital natives, 57% of Generation Z say they prefer to shop in-store rather than online, according to a report from CrowdTwist, a provider of multichannel loyalty and engagement solutions.   

While the number of cyber-attacks have declined in the last year, a majority of companies still feel susceptible to data threats.   This was according to the “2017 Thales Data Threat Report, Retail Edition,” from Thales e-Security and analyst firm 451 Research. The study is based on responses from more than 1100 senior security executives, including in the retail segment, from across the globe.   

It's only July, but GameStop has jumped into the ongoing debate about whether stores should be open on Thanksgiving Day.    After keeping its stores closed on Thanksgiving for the past three years, the retailer has told its employees that stores will be open for this year's holiday. The change was first reported by gaming website Kotaku.   

A new service is helping retailers adhere to newly introduced interoperability standards related to QR code-based payments.   In a move to standardize emerging cashless payments, EMVCo, the global technical body that manages the EMV Specifications, released new global QR Code Payment standards — a move that will allow retailers to process mobile payments made through the two-dimensional machine-readable barcodes. Visa and the other EMVCo members worked to develop these new globally interoperable EMV specifications. 

When it comes to brands that stand out in online apparel shopping segment, subscription services are leading the pack.   Apparel subscription services, like Stitch Fix and Trunk Club, and introduction of Amazon’s Prime Wardrobe are disrupting the apparel segment. While the subscription method of shopping for apparel is still in its infancy, consumer reach — and interest — is growing, according to research from The NDP Group.