Instacart’s AI-powered smart carts, which offer real-time recommendations and ‘gamified’ shopping, are coming to more U.S. grocery stores at Fortune/Yahoo. “Instacart expanded its Caper Cart technology… trialing the tool in Price Chopper and McKeever’s Market & Eatery grocery stores this week. Since Instacart first acquired Caper Cart for $350 million in 2021, 1,500 retail partners including Kroger and ShopRite have implemented the time-saving tech.” Read more

 

Even as prices stabilize, Walmart, Chipotle and others feel the heat from skeptical customers at CNBC. “Walmart, for instance, cut the number of sheets in its Great Value paper towel rolls from 168 to 120 but did not reduce the price. Company spokeswoman Tricia Moriarty said it’s not shrinkflation because Walmart reformulated the product to make each sheet more absorbent.” Read more

 

Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris lures Rolling Stones to small-town Missouri at Reuters. “When the Rolling Stones close out their North American tour…(they) will perform in Ridgedale, Missouri, with a population of less than a thousand, taking to the stage at the picturesque Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in the middle of the Ozark mountains. Set amid 1,200 acres of land and overlooking Table Rock Lake, the 20,000-seat amphitheatre opened in May and…was built by…Johnny Morris.” Read more

 

Alibaba bets on gen AI tools for overseas merchants, executive says at Reuters. “According to Zhang, Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group now has 300 million consumers yearly and over one million merchants around the world.” Read more

 

America’s biggest candy store is Costco-sized warehouse at Daily Mail. “…it’s an enormous big box store tucked away in a warehouse district in Downtown Los Angeles. Jack’s Candy, a sweet treats wonderland with over 90 years of history, fills its massive space with bulk candy from all over the world.” Read more

 

College credit for working your job? Walmart and McDonald’s are trying it at NPR. “…her adviser found the record showing she’d already taken the course…“But I didn’t,” Boop says. “And she said, ‘Yes, you got credit from Walmart Academy.’ And I said, what?”…At her rate of study, “that would have been two semesters’ worth,” Boop says. “I was like, wow!” Read more

 

Etsy CEO says company is escaping ‘race to the bottom’ and getting back to its artisan roots at CNBC. “Etsy has found itself overrun with mass-produced, generic items from resellers who have learned how to game the website and crowd out handcrafted products…(Etsy) is launching a major overhaul of the policies that govern its site to make it “crystal clear” to shoppers what products belong on Etsy.” Read more

 

Target stores will no longer accept personal checks for payments starting July 15 at USA Today

 

These are the 5 top performers in grocery ecommerce at Supermarket News. “Walmart and Target are leading the way in both delivery and curbside pickup, although several traditional supermarket operators, including Albertsons, Food Lion, and H-E-B, are also performing well in certain aspects of their ecommerce services.” Read more/Rankings

 

Sam’s Club Is Removing a Beloved Free Perk at Entrepreneur. “(Sam’s) emailed club members ahead of the holiday weekend and revealed that starting August 19, free shipping would no longer apply to Plus members’ orders, just orders over $50 or more.” Read more

 

Circle K leverages iPads, games for in-store training at Chain Store Age. “My Journey leverages gamified training software, delivered via in-store iPads, designed to get new hires learning on the floor in the flow of work to help retain them beyond the six-month mark. Circle K aims to save millions of dollars in annual training costs with this approach.” Read more