Online news

AEON Wellness, the health and beauty division of the AEON Group, has recently announced new initiatives as part of its digital transformation to cope with the impact of the pandemic. Focus on digitisation, convenience and safety COVID-19 may have disrupted AEON Wellness’ operations in the past year, but it has also served as a catalyst for the retailer to accelerate its digital transformation...

We look at Albertsons’ plans to improve the online shopping experience through introducing livestreaming and shoppable videos, plus its new partnership with Pinterest. Helping shoppers to discover new products Albertsons is partnering with Firework, the short-form video platform designed to bring a shoppable, livestream video experience to any website. This type of model can help transform ...

As Lineaires reports on Système U’s results and Picard and Cora investigate new growth opportunities, we round up news from France. Système U sees sales rise 3% in H1 Local trade publication Lineaires has reported Système U’s sales rose 3%, excluding fuel, in H1 2021. The organisation’s growth was mainly been driven by its non-food activities, which supported its hypermarkets, with sales of...

COVID-19 may have dampened consumer spending during Deepavali in 2020, but online retailers and suppliers in India are now preparing for ‘revenge spending’ that will likely boost demand during India’s biggest festive season this year. Consumers are eager to fulfil their wants vs. last year’s focus on needs Shoppers in India are now looking forward to go out and celebrate festivities with ca...

Quick commerce is becoming increasingly competitive in Latin America. The sector is currently dominated by local operators, including Rappi, Cornershop (recently acquired by Uber), and iFood. These businesses have profited from their local know-how, such as understanding consumption habits and knowledge of LatAm’s complex road networks, which is fundamental for logistics and delivery.   This y...

Food delivery platforms are piloting a common acquirer model to support hawkers so they will not need to pay commission or onboarding fees. What is it? Deliveroo, FoodPanda, Grab and WhyQ will be participating in this pilot covering 400 stalls across 14 hawker centres. Hawker centres are open-air food courts in Singapore that typically charge between SGD3.50 (US$2.60) to SGD5 per meal (US$3...

Sainsbury’s has announced the relaunch and expansion of its same day and one-hour rapid delivery as it evolves its online offer to cater for changing shopper preferences. Relaunch of same day delivery service Sainsbury’s will introduce same day delivery and collection services to 100 more stores by the end of October, so that customers ordering before midday can receive a delivery after 5pm...

Walmart has developed a new platform to make it easier for shoppers to identify products that are built better for them and for the planet. Icons used to identify two groups of products The new platform is integrated into Walmart.com. Shoppers will be able to quickly identify products that meet independent and authoritative standards for promoting personal well-being and reducing their envi...

We highlight two of the latest developments in quick commerce, including the potential for next minute deliveries and consolidated shopping trips. Retailer Platform Robomart , which operates a fleet of on-demand automated stores, which consumers can summon to their home in less than ten minutes using a dedicated app, has launched a new Retailer Platform. This enables retailers to partn...

Netherlands-based pure ecommerce retailer Picnic has raised further funding as it looks to expand in its existing markets of Netherlands, Germany, and its more recent entry of France. Picnic raises €600m in series D fundraising round The retailer raised €600m as part of its series D fundraising round, with investment coming from four organisations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates foundat...