Foodservice
• Burger King Worldwide Inc. has now partnered with Uber Eats nationwide for delivery. To stimulate the campaign, Uber Eats offered free delivery during a portion of the month.
• Chick-fil-A Inc. has launched a ‘Dine-in mobile ordering’ option for their guests. While using their proprietary app, customers can sit at a table in the restaurant’s lobby and order their food without waiting in line. A server will then bring the food to their table.
• KFC Corporation has rolled out QSR Automation’s ConnectSmart Kitchen software in the U.K. and Ireland. The software was launched across 900 locations and helps reduce order errors and improve customer experience by decreasing wait time.
• McDonald’s Corporation has launched their new ‘Apply Thru’ campaign. Users can start the process of filling out a job application for the nearest McDonald’s simply by activating their voice-activated device such as Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant.
• Outback Steakhouse Restaurants has had AI learning analyze customer and employee interactions at a handful of their franchised locations. The tech, developed by Presto, has cameras set up in the lobby to analyze interactions as well as collect data about wait times and if customers are being greeted promptly after entering the restaurant.
• Rubio’s Restaurants Inc. has partnered with Healthy Dining to launch their ‘MyMenu 2.0’ platform. The service allows customers to find menu options based on their personal dietary lifestyle such as vegetarian or keto. It also provides nutrition and allergen info as well as pictures of the menu options.
Retail
• Amazon.com Inc. is planning to launch the cashier-less technology of its Go stores into the locations of other retailers. The initial expansion of Go technology could begin by the first quarter of 2020, with plans to grow across hundreds of retail spaces by the end of next year.
• Dollar General Corp. is testing a grocery pickup service for online orders.
• Five Below Inc. is partnering with Nerd Street Gamers, a developer of training and competition facilities for esports. Five Below and Nerd Street will build 3,000 sq. ft. Localhost esports gaming centers connected to select Five Below stores, beginning with a multi-store pilot in 2020. While future rollout plans will be based on the results of the pilot, they could include 70 or more locations during the next several years.
• Microsoft Corporation and Nuance partner to transform the doctor-patient experience with ambient clinical intelligence (ACI). Working in tandem with long-term electronic health record (EHR) partners to develop the technology, ACI will deliver a seamless and engaging interaction between clinicians and patients. Through patient consent, ACI will synthesize patient-clinician conversations, integrate that data with contextual information from the EHR, and auto-populate the patient’s medical record in the system.
Grocery/Convenience
• Food Lion LLC plans to launch its Food Lion To-Go online grocery pickup service at 50 more stores in Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
• Sobeys Inc. has entered into a partnership with AI-powered smart shopping cart company Caper to streamline the checkout process. The Caper Smart Carts are now live at the Sobeys location in Oakville, ON.
• Wakefern Food Corp. plans a 50-store test of a computer vision system that automatically identifies when product stock runs outs on shelves. The retailer is working with retail automation specialist Focal Systems.
Drug/Health/Beauty
• CVS Health announced it is expanding the reach of its BeautyIRL experience. The interactive beauty department will reach nearly 50 stores by the end of 2019 in the New York City, Los Angeles, Miami and Boston markets.
• Vitamin Shoppe Industries is opening a new innovation store in Edgewater, NJ. The completely reimagined 3,185 sq. ft. space features interactive elements such as on-demand digital product guides, enhanced mobile checkout, a complimentary body composition analysis station, and a supplement sampling machine.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has partnered with delivery company Postmates to bring on-demand delivery to customers in New York City. Postmates will soon be delivering OTC, health, beauty and grocery products from 174 Walgreens and Duane Reade locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
