THE FRIDAY 5: Amazon Pivots to Smart Carts; Low-Price Retailers Dominate
Amazon Fresh stores will no longer utilize the company’s Just Walk Out technology, but instead employ smart Dash Carts for checkout.
3. Amazon Retools Grocery, Just Walk Out Strategy
Amazon has been hard at work retooling its grocery strategy over the past couple of years, and the retailer is ready to change its focus in an effort to obtain success with its Fresh business. The company says its next generation of Fresh stores will not utilize the company’s proprietary Just Walk Out technology, but will instead lean on its Dash Carts for seamless checkout.
Tony Hoggett, Amazon SVP of grocery stores, told news outlet The Information that the company’s new batch of Fresh stores will not employ Just Walk Out technology, and its existing Amazon Fresh locations will get a facelift and be updated to “version two” stores sans the technology. The retailer will instead employ Dash Carts, smart shopping carts with a scanner and screen that allow shoppers to check out as they shop.
Amazon will reportedly still utilize Just Walk Out technology, which was first introduced in 2016, in a small number of Fresh stores in the U.K., as well as in some of its Amazon Go stores. Just Walk Out technology was poised to revolutionize grocery checkout, so time will tell whether the Dash Cart is a worthy replacement.
4. Walmart Turns Its Attention to Retail Media
Walmart was already in a unique position within retail media thanks to its proposed acquisition of television maker Vizio, but news of the retailer’s latest moves in the space garnered a bevy of clicks this week. Walmart Connect has several new initiatives in the works this year, ranging from more programmatic offerings to new self-serve capabilities for advertisers, all aimed at creating even more meaningful connections between its customers and the brands the retailer carries.
Beginning this month, Walmart Display is becoming primarily programmatic and auction based, which will offer advertising brands of all sizes greater access and control. Additionally, Walmart Connect is now offering offsite media to support brands that don’t sell with Walmart but offer complementary products and services that are relevant to its customers. Those businesses, to start, include automotive, entertainment, financial services, quick-service restaurants and travel.
5. Trader Joe’s Viral Mini Tote
PG readers love a good viral grocery moment, and the long-awaited return of Trader Joe’s mini tote made waves this week. Marketing execs Matt Sloan and Tara Miller talked about the clamor for the smaller-sized reusable shopping bags on the latest edition of the Inside Trader Joe’s podcast, joking that they are constantly getting asked about where, when and how to find the limited-time bags that sold for $2.99 and were at one point fetching hundreds of dollars on resale sites like eBay.
Those bags are pretty much all out for now, but the items will make a return around the end of summer, the hosts shared. Shoppers ready to make a dash to their local Trader Joe’s to get the second round of the mini tote bag can check back at the end of August or beginning of September.