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Writer's pictureJuanita Neville-Te Rito

ICYMI AND WHAT WE ARE READING – July 2022


We make it easy for you to keep up to date with what's happening in the world of retail. Check out what we are reading this month and why.



 


Woolworths launches rapid delivery app Metro60

Speed is the new currency and the new Metro60 app launched looks to make a statement in the grocery space. Launched mid-June in Sydney, shoppers can choose from 4000 Woolworths products at select Metro stores, place an order worth a minimum of $20, and pay a flat $5 delivery charge to get it within 60 mins.


 

LOWE’S is taking a slightly different approach to metaverse commerce.

The home improvement giant is debuting in the metaverse by making more than 500 3D product assets available for download for free via Lowe's Open Builder, a new asset hub designed to be available to all Web 3.0 creators.

Lowe's will also release a limited NFT wearable collection for builders in the Decentraland metaverse environment to the first 1,000 Lowe’s Open Builder hub participants who link to their MetaMask cryptocurrency wallet. The NFTs will be accessible via a free airdrop.




 


McDonald’s is restructuring how it recruits and retains franchisees with a clear plan to diversify its franchisee pool.

The “term is earned, not given,” and will now take into factors like performance history to evaluate if franchisees are eligible for new 20-year agreements and will treat renewal applications the same way it treats new applicants. Evaluating all applicants the same way “will provide a consistent process based on equally applied criteria.




 

Walmart’s new AR tech is built for the stores inside shoppers’ pockets

A new “view in your space” feature, which will be visible on compatible home decor items in the Walmart app, allowing users to view an augmented reality version of a desk—or other potential purchase—in their room using a smartphone screen and camera. They’ll be able to drag and drop an item to where it might be positioned, with its dimensions visible on-screen.




 

Crocs opens Metaverse store with Saweetie

Croc’s has collaborated with rap artist Saweetie in designing custom Jibbitz charms. As part of the launch, Crocs and Saweetie have opened a virtual store based on technology from the metaverse commerce platform Obsess. The immersive experience features a digital avatar of Saweetie welcoming customers to explore the 3D metaverse environment. Within the virtual store, fans can sign up to enter a live drawing on the Crocs e-commerce site to shop an assortment of limited-edition Saweetie X Crocs bundles.









 

CVS offers reward members digital features, summer deals and gifts

CVS has recently rolled out several new features of its ExtraCare loyalty programme to provide a personalised, digital first experience for customers. This will include: digital receipt choice, rewards tracker, scan to save feature, ExtraCare SMS program, Buy online, pickup in-store and a Health Dashboard.



 

Pinterest adds four new ecommerce features

The visually-oriented social media network is introducing several new features in effort to become an ecommerce platform. This includes: Pinterest API for shopping, product tagging for pins, video in catalog and a shop tab on business profiles.





 

Starbucks 'next chapter'

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has alluded to the company’s next chapter in a letter to employees stating ‘We need to reinvent Starbucks for the future.’ This reinvention will be guided by four principles: Safety and welcoming kindness for its stores, advancement and opportunity for its employees, wellbeing for one another and its communities and finally shared power accountability and success.



 

Retail Radar

The Retail Radar report for Quater 2 has been released. Results highlight that rising operational costs like freight, wages, staff shortages and lack of foot traffic have been identified by retailers as key pressure points. Other key findings include 71% of retailers have increased their prices in the last quatre and 45% of retailers remained closed for the new public holiday.


 

What we are reading


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