What mattered in the retail sector this month

Note: O. Macard, EY Partner- Head of Retail and Consumer Products for France

Every month, I will introduce a few trends that I think reflect deep changes in the retail space, setting new directions that may compel industry players to rethink their business strategy.

As close as possible to consumer expectations

Sainsbury’s adds vegan product filter to e-grocery offer

Sainsbury’s online grocery shoppers looking for vegan options can now use a Chrome extension that automatically filters products to only display suitable options... Read the full story at retailtechinnovationhub.com

Migros invests in Israeli lab-grown steak firm

Migros has invested in an Israeli start-up, Aleph Farms, which specializes in lab-grown meat. Aleph Farms is able to reproduce different types of beef cells, such as muscle, fat, and blood vessel cells, to create a structure that closely resembles that of a conventional cut of meat.... Read the full story at www.swissinfo.ch

Sainsbury's to introduce incubator bay for small suppliers

Sainsbury’s is introducing a new bay in its supermarkets to promote small suppliers. From next month the retailer will create a fixture dedicated to food and drink startup brands in 68 stores.... Read the full story at www.thegrocer.co.uk

 

From Russia with love…

 Yandex launches AI-powered smart home products

Russian internet giant Yandex today announced a major expansion of its intelligent assistant Alice through integrations with various smart home products... Read the full story at yandex.com

X5 Retail Group, Courier Service Express enter strategic cooperation

X5 OMNI, a subsidiary of Russian grocery market leader X5 Retail Group, has signed an agreement enabling Courier Service Express (CSE) to fulfill online orders directly to customers and also to parcel lockers and pickup points at Pyaterochka, Perekrestok and Karusel via X5 OMNI’s sorting centres and logistics solutions... Read the full story at www.x5.ru

X5 Retail Group, Alibaba enter Russian lockers partnership

From June, shoppers using AliExpress, Russia’s leading ecommerce portal, will be able to collect orders from pickup lockers at Pyaterochka, Perekrestok and Karusel stores after X5 Retail Group and AliExpress entered into a new agreement... Read the full story at www.retail.ru

Ozon enables cross-border vendors to sell via its platform

Russian online retailer Ozon has begun a pilot allowing sellers from China, Europe and the US to sell via its marketplace... Read the full story at 1prime.ru

The packaging is the new focus

Kroger, Walgreens to test Loop reusable packaging

Kroger plans to pilot a reusable packaging system for leading consumer brands in an exclusive grocery retail partnership with Loop US, a circular online shopping platform developed by waste management firm TerraCycle.... Read the full story at www.supermarketnews.com

Carrefour, TerraCycle trial Loop in Paris to tackle waste

French retailer Carrefour and US waste recycling company TerraCycle have launched a test for their ‘Loop’ initiative which they hope will tackle the problems of plastic waste... Read the full story at in.reuters.com

Amazon US rolls out packaging automation

Amazon is rolling out automation to box up customer orders in the US. The robotic tech scans goods coming down the belt then immediately places the item in an appropriately sized box... Read the full story at www.reuters.com

Automation everywhere

Mercadona invests warehouse automation

Mercadona has signed a contract with Cimcorp, integrator of intralogistics solutions, to automate the storage of fresh products in four of its distribution centers, which are under construction... Read the full story at www.revistainforetail.com

Alibaba invests in autonomous driving technology

Alibaba has invested USD520 million for a 15% stake in self-driving vehicle specialist China TransInfo... Read the full story at www.kr-asia.com 

Carrefour Spain trials inventory-tracking robot

Carrefour Spain is testing 'Tally', a robot that tracks the real-time store inventory at hypermarket stores in Madrid... Read the full story at www.vozpopuli.com

 

Last but not least…

Waitrose trials ‘invisible door’ technology

Waitrose is to start testing an ‘invisible door’ which has the potential to save retailers considerable sums... Read the full story at www.talkingretail.com

Casino parent Rallye placed under creditors' protection

A Paris commercial court has placed Rallye, the parent company of retailer Casino, which is battling investor concerns over its high debt, under creditors’ protection for at least six months... Read the full story at in.reuters.com

Target looks to acquire retail ad firm Triad

Target is in talks to buy retail advertising firm Triad Retail Media from WPP, as the retailer seeks to boost its digital advertising business, according to people familiar with the matter.... Read the full story at www.wsj.com

Intermarché France trials outdoor home delivery lockers

Intermarché France is testing lockers for home delivery that customers can install outdoors, preferably in the garden of their residence... Read the full story at www.usine-digitale.fr

Walmart Flipkart plans offline grocery stores

Walmart is leveraging its relationship with Flipkart to open bricks & mortar grocery stores in India... Read the full story

Albert Heijn tests AI-driven dynamic discounts

Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn is debuting an artificial intelligence-driven method of calculating at-shelf discounts on products nearing their expiry date... Read the full story at www.aholddelhaize.com

Lowe’s strengthens tech focus with retail analytics acquisition

To sharpen its focus on retail technology, Lowe’s is acquiring Boomerang Commerce’s Retail Analytics platform... Read the full story at www.pymnts.com

Pinduoduo to sell cars on its social commerce platform

Social commerce platform Pinduoduo is planning to sell vehicles on its platform. The Chinese social commerce specialist will sell 200 Wuling Hongguang S1, one of the country’s bestselling car models, with discounts between 10%-34% as a part of its promotional campaign.... Read the full story at kr-asia.com

Poland cleared by EU to introduce tax on large retailers

The controversial retail tax proposed by Poland’s ruling PiS party has been ruled as lawful by European Union judges, raising the possibility of its introduction next year... Read the full story at www.esmmagazine.com

Ceconomy MediaMarkt opens eBay clearance shops in Spain

Ceconomy-owned consumer electronics chain MediaMarkt is teaming with ecommerce marketplace eBay to create online clearance outlets for each of its 87 stores in Spain.... Read the full story at www.revistainforetail.com

Auchan to exit Vietnam

Having confirmed its departure from Italy yesterday, Auchan Retail is also winding down its Vietnam business, with plans to quit the market before summer, according to media reports... Read the full story at www.reuters.com

Target expands Drive Up locations

Target has extended its Drive Up curbside pickup service to more than 1,250 stores. This week, the discount store chain launched Drive Up at approximately 150 Target stores in Maryland, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Florida, and California... Read the full story at www.supermarketnews.com

Auchan Spain launches AR-powered Cosmia MakeUP app

Auchan Retail Spain has debuted an app that enables users to visualize how cosmetics products look before applying them... Read the full story at www.revistainforetail.com

Kroger to build consumer brand incubator

Pushing ahead with its alternative business strategy, Kroger has teamed with private investment firm Lindsay Goldberg to build an incubator for next-generation consumer product brands... Read the full story at ir.kroger.com

Alibaba makes Japanese payments push ahead of Olympics

With Tokyo hosting the Summer Olympics in 2020, Alibaba’s payments arm Alipay is ensuring retailers in Japan are suitably equipped to deal with an influx of Chinese visitors by expanding the number of merchants now able to handle its payment systems.... Read the full story at www.scmp.com

Amazon incentivizes US employees to start delivery businesses

Amazon has announced the expansion of its Delivery Service Partner program in the US with a new incentive for current Amazon employees to start a small business owning and operating a package delivery company.... Read the full story at press.aboutamazon.com

Walmart Vudu to stream shoppable shows in the US

Walmart US’ streaming video service Vudu is expanding into original content and will include a number of shoppable shows... Read the full story at www.forbes.com

Tesco to reduce assortment by 20%

Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis is to sweep 20% of its 40,000 products off the supermarket chain’s shelves... Read the full story at www.thetimes.co.uk

Amazon US sells build-it-yourself guesthouse

Amazon’s listings now include a minimalistic DIY house, which can be assembled by two adults in eight hours... Read the full story at hypebeast.com

Auchan sells Italian hypermarkets to Conad

Conad has completed the acquisition of several Auchan stores in Italy. Bdc Italia, the ad hoc company set up by Conad (51%) and financier Raffaele Mincione (49%) took over 46 hypermarkets from the French group... Read the full story at www.italianfoodtoday.it

Alibaba Alipay, Klarna enable ‘Pay later’ option on AliExpress

Alipay, Adyen, and Klarna - three popular payment companies - have teamed up to allow AliExpress shoppers to use Klarna’s ‘Pay Later’ option for online shopping... Read the full story at www.klarna.com

Casino considers combining Latin American assets

Casino has said that it is studying various strategic options for a combination of its Latin American assets, but that it doesn't justify a market disclosure.... Read the full story at www.reuters.com

Amazon China offers loans to local merchants

Having only recently closed its 1P China operation, Amazon has inaugurated what it calls the Lending Referral Program, targeting Chinese SMEs doing business through its platform with short-terms loans to help them expand their business and grow via Amazon portals.... Read the full story at www.cnbc.com

JD.com shutters Australian branch office

Chinese ecommerce giant JD.com has closed its Australian branch office in Melbourne less than two years after it first opened... Read the full story at www.insideretail.com.au

Colruyt pilots home delivery in Brussels

Colruyt has started home deliveries with its Collect&Go service in five Brussels communes under a pilot project that will continue until autumn... Read the full story at www.colruytgroup.com