Foodservice

• Domino’s has partnered with Xevo to develop its in-car ordering system launching later this year. The technology will allow users to find nearby locations, call in an order and even track order preparation all through their car’s interface.

• McDonald’s Corp and Uber Technologies Inc. have begun testing Uber’s drone delivery service ‘Uber Elevate’. This idea will be expanded later in the year to include test meal drops for San Diego fine dining eatery Juniper & Ivy. McDonald’s is also starting to explore kitchen automation and voice-recognition software for ordering.

• Starbucks Inc. and McDonald’s Corp have both unveiled plans to rollout AI-enabled platforms in order to provide a more customized experience for consumers. This technology will make order recommendations based on the customer’s initial orders and other factors such as time of day, popular selections and weather.

• Taco Bell has installed self-service kiosks in 4,000 locations nationwide. The company is on track to rollout kiosks at all 6,600 U.S. locations by year’s end.

Retail

• Amazon.com Inc. has expanded its AmazonFresh perishables same-day delivery service to Las Vegas. AmazonFresh is now available in 15 major market areas.

• Sam’s Club has announced the rollout of a new technology. Known as “Ask Sam,” the responsive voice app serves as a digital assistant when associates ask questions via mobile devices.

• Target Corporation announced an expansion of its curbside or “Drive Up” service to over 1,400 stores.

• Walmart Stores Inc. announced Walmart InHome Delivery, a new service launching this fall in which associates will deliver groceries right to a customer’s refrigerator. InHome Delivery staff wear a camera that lets customers watch the delivery remotely.

• Walmart Stores Inc. announced it is using AI-powered cameras in 1,000 stores. The computer vision technology is used to monitor checkouts and deter potential theft.

Grocery/Convenience

• Albertsons LLC has implemented self-checkout systems (System 6 from Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions) in its Jewel, Acme, Shaw’s, Safeway, Carrs, Tom Thumb, Randalls, and Vons stores. The company plans to deploy the Toshiba System 7 self-checkout solution later this year. Albertsons is also piloting Toshiba mobile POS and solutions to further reduce the time that customers spend at checkout.

• The Kroger Co. has expanded its partnership with consumer health engagement company Higi to put its self-service smart health stations in Roundy’s Supermarkets in Illinois and Wisconsin, including Pick ‘n Save, Mariano’s, Copps and Metro Market banners. The higi stations offer free health screenings and interactive educational content.

• Meijer Inc. has expanded its Shop & Scan service to stores in the Indianapolis area, after successful rollouts in other regions. Customers download the Meijer app, log into their mPerks account, scan and bag items as they shop and then scan the bar code at the kiosk to pay before leaving.

• Publix Super Markets Inc. announced customers will soon be able to pay by credit, debit or flexible spending account with the company’s mobile app. The current mobile payment option, on Apple devices, is being rolled out gradually in its stores, with plans to expand to Android.

Drug

• CVS Health announced it will open additional HealthHubs in major cities this year. The company plans to have a total of 1,500 HealthHubs operating by the end of 2021.

Just because we don’t mention it here doesn’t mean it didn’t happen – or we didn’t capture it. In the past four weeks, we’ve updated more than 797 companies in the Database of Foodservice Technology and Database of Retail Technology, with many of those companies’ records updated at multiple points.