After nearly a decade of big tech companies venturing into launching their own financial products, the major players have now pulled back. Most have shifted to roles as tech providers, broadly supporting advances in financial infrastructure.

Amazon and Google stand out in this area:

• Amazon is embedding itself in more financial transactions via partnerships, investments, and acquisitions. It’s using these relationships to reach customers across more geographies and a wider range of services. 
• Google has shifted away from providing financial services and instead is connecting its existing platforms to others’ financial offerings. The company is also investing and partnering to enable digital-first financial tools.

We mined CB Insights data on Amazon’s and Google’s investments, acquisitions, and partnerships, as well as patents and earnings transcripts, from January 2021 to July 2024 to explore how the companies are reengineering their fintech strategies.

Download the full report to see where they are making moves.

This report uses CB Insights datasets like investments, acquisitions, business relationships, earnings call insights, patents, and more. Learn more about our data here.

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A handful of developers are targeting 2024 to release their humanoid robots, which are designed to perform tasks similar to humans. Technologies like generative AI and reinforcement learning are helping drive this progress. However, the impact will be limited at first, and it will likely take 3-5 years to see more widespread commercial rollout and usefulness.

Below, we dive into 6 industries that humanoids will impact the most in both the near- and long-term, as well as the technology firms making this possible:

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Across 2023, retail tech fundraising followed the overall venture slowdown: retail tech startups grabbed $19B in equity funding — just a third of the 2022 total ($55B) and 84% lower than the peak in 2021 ($118B). Deals also declined in 2023, down 44% YoY to 2,339.

But as the year closed out, some quarterly indicators turned positive. For instance, retail tech saw 10 mega-rounds (deals worth $100M or more) in Q4’23 — up from 6 the prior quarter. M&A activity continued its upswing after hitting a recent low in Q2’23. And funding to store tech companies more than doubled quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) in Q4’23.

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Consumer journeys have grown more complicated amid the rise of e-commerce, making options like BOPIS (buy online, pick-up in store) table stakes for any retailer looking to serve both in-store and online shoppers. To fulfill orders quickly and accurately, retailers must prioritize efficient distribution, inventory visibility, and last-mile flexibility. 

Striking this balance is especially crucial in grocery, where thin margins raise the stakes on profitability. A well-executed omnichannel fulfillment strategy can yield strong customer loyalty and repeat visits, while serving a wider customer base.

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The e-commerce giant has long had far-reaching financial ambitions, including introducing its own financial tools (e.g., credit cards, checking accounts, and lending) — not to mention its cashierless checkout tech for physical stores.

However, it has narrowed its focus in the past couple years, driven by a heightened need to find profitable and defensible pathways to growth.

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In 2021, Kroger launched its first Customer Fulfillment Center to serve e-commerce shoppers outside its geographical footprint. Then, in late 2022, the grocer made moves to acquire Albertsons — which is one of its largest competitors and has a stronger presence in the West and Northeast — for $24.6B. 

Kroger’s ambitions to grow its supermarket empire don’t stop there.

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With 90% of Americans living near a Walmart, the retailer has been leveraging its vast store footprint and distribution systems to provide customers with flexible and convenient fulfillment options. Its e-commerce business grew by 23% from 2020 to 2022. 

The retail giant has been playing catchup with Amazon through in-house experimentation, investments in emerging solutions, and acquisitions of leading tech providers. We used the CB Insights platform to benchmark Walmart’s activity across key areas of omnichannel fulfillment.

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The post How Walmart’s omnichannel fulfillment investments drove its e-commerce revenue to $70B+ appeared first on CB Insights Research.

However, these solutions — which help shoppers quickly checkout without scanning individual items — have had a slower rollout than expected due to challenges with hardware implementation, consumer acceptance, and capital costs. 

Even Amazon, an early-mover in the space, has closed a number of its autonomous checkout stores this year. (It still intends to sell the tech as a white-label service.)

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According to the National Retail Federation, in 2021, retailers saw a 26.5% increase in organized retail crime (ORC) incidents. Retailers credit ORC for the year’s 4.1% increase in losses ($94.5B in total) over 2020. 

Companies from REI to Starbucks are also grabbing headlines as they close stores and cite crime and theft as a reason. Others, like Ulta, are simply locking up more products to keep them out of thieves’ hands.

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While economic growth in advanced markets like the US and France is set to see a notable slowdown in 2023, per the IMF, the picture is more positive in emerging markets like China and many countries in Africa.

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Using CB Insights data, we dug into the retail tech and innovation landscape in Q1’23, including:

1. The continued decline in retail tech funding in Q1’23, to its lowest level since Q2’16
2. Early-stage deal strength in retail, and where the money is going
3. A steady quarter for exits, with 9 IPOs and a slight uptick in M&A activity
   
4. The handful of mega-rounds that buoyed food & meal delivery funding
5. The 11% quarter-over-quarter increase in US funding
   

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Last week, the retail giant sold Bonobos for $75M, a 76% markdown from the $310M Walmart paid for the men’s fashion brand in 2017.

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Over its 20+ year history, the China-based company has ventured into more and more industries, including cloud computing, healthcare, travel, and entertainment, among others — growing influential enough to attract intense scrutiny from a tech-wary Chinese government in recent years. And in March 2023, Alibaba announced it would split its sprawling business empire into 6 separate units.

At least 3 of these new units will focus on Alibaba’s core retail business. And they’re likely to remain committed to the behemoth’s vision for “New Retail” — a long-held aim to integrate Alibaba’s advanced e-commerce data and analytics into offline commerce to create a seamless omnichannel experience.

Using CB Insights data, we uncovered 5 of Alibaba’s most important strategic priorities in retail which will remain top-of-mind even as the company restructures. We then categorized companies by their business relationships with Alibaba across these priorities.

• Cross-border commerce
• E-commerce
• Express logistics
• Omnichannel retail
• Online grocery

This graphic includes investments, acquisitions, and business relationships for Alibaba Group, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, and Tmall. These designations are not exhaustive of Alibaba’s investment and partnership activity in the analyzed period.

Cross-border commerce

Alibaba has formed several strategic partnerships via its logistics arm, Cainiao, to reach shoppers outside of China (as well as to connect foreign brands with Chinese customers). The company is particularly focused on less-mature markets where it can capture new growth.

It has partnered to enable cross-border logistics and shipping to South America (Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings), Japan (SGH Global Japan), Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa (Saudia Cargo). 

Alibaba has also formed smaller-scale partnerships with organizations like the Zhejiang China Commodities City Group Co. with the goal of helping small businesses extend their reach outside of China.

E-commerce

Alibaba’s investments in e-commerce platforms have focused on growing its reach in high-growth markets and in key product categories.

For instance, over the last 2 years, the retailer increased its stakes in Turkey-based online fashion marketplace Trendyol as well as in Singapore-based mass online marketplace Lazada. In addition to the potential for growth in Singapore, Lazada reaches even further across the competitive Southeast Asian retail landscape. Alibaba wants to extend the marketplace’s reach into Europe and other new markets as well. 

Alibaba’s investments also signal that it’s doubling down on growing categories. Its investment in online luxury marketplace Farfetch in November 2020 points to the importance of luxury shoppers and products in Asia. The deal included not only a $300M investment in Farfetch but also a $250M stake in a new joint venture called Farfetch China, both investments were in partnership with the Swiss luxury holding company Richemont. 

Express logistics

In recent years, Alibaba has increased its ownership stakes in the biggest express logistics companies in China. The companies offer fast logistics and delivery capabilities and have grown dramatically as a result of an increase in the use of e-commerce across China. 

Notably, the company fully acquired China-based logistics provider ALOG in August 2020. ALOG had been the main warehouse management provider for Tmall Mart, Alibaba’s online supermarket. 

Omnichannel retail

Alibaba continues to focus on grocery as a key building block for its store footprint and New Retail online-to-offline strategy. 

Since 2016, Alibaba has run its high-tech supermarket Freshippo, which deploys tech like electronic shelf labels, facial recognition, and robotics to enable more efficient shopping in stores as well as faster delivery. The chain now has nearly 300 locations.

Alibaba’s investments in recent years have added to its physical grocery footprint, with the aim to extend New Retail capabilities. The company’s biggest move in the sector was a $3.6B investment in Sun Art, one of the largest mass merchandiser and supermarket chains in China, in October 2020. The deal added nearly 500 stores to Alibaba’s brick-and-mortar network. Since then, Alibaba also led a $100M round for China-based T11 Food Market. 

Online grocery

Alibaba’s online grocery initiatives offer the company more ways to make New Retail connections between stores and online. They also enable the company to take advantage of the growth in online grocery, which expanded in China during the pandemic.

Its investments have reached across the grocery value chain. For instance, in February 2021, Alibaba took a minority stake in Caihuasuan, which builds pieces of the fresh food supply chain. 

Alibaba also invested 4 times in the group grocery buying platform Nice Tuan, which has since dissolved. But Alibaba’s attention to the company points to its interest in new online models like group buying, which has caught fire in the fast-growing lower-tier cities in China (as well as in India, South America, and elsewhere) where Alibaba is looking for growth.

A social commerce partnership may prove most fruitful for Alibaba’s online grocery ambitions. In August 2022, Alibaba’s online grocery platform Ele.me launched a presence on Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok (also owned by ByteDance). Douyin users can place grocery and restaurant orders directly via Ele.me on the video platform.

Other

Beyond these 5 strategic focus areas, Alibaba has made noteworthy investments, partnerships, and acquisitions across a range of other categories.

E-commerce enablement: In July 2020, Alibaba invested in the Australia-based cross-border payments processor Airwallex. Then in March 2021, the company invested $30M in China-based Leyan Tech, which makes AI-powered e-commerce customer service software. 

Media & content: Alibaba has made a few investments that indicate interest in advanced e-commerce content and the metaverse. In November 2021, the company backed a Series A round to China-based DGene, which makes mixed reality content for several industries, including AI-generated actors for film and TV, as well as digital influencers. Then in March 2022, Alibaba participated in a $60M Series C round for the mixed reality equipment and tech company Nreal, which is based in China. 

Sustainability: Sustainability has come into focus for Alibaba as it grows in importance for Chinese consumers as well as for the Chinese government. Along with a 2020 investment in Hong Kong-based green packaging developer Ecoinno, Alibaba also formed a “Waste Free World” partnership with Unilever in 2021. The companies designed machines that use AI to identify types of plastic and sort them to be recycled. Users get Unilever coupons and rewards on Alibaba’s payments platform AliPay.

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Many of this year’s winners focus on boosting the efficiency of retail operations across channels. To this end, AI is being deployed by winners across categories, to automate everything from inventory forecasting and management to counterfeit tracking. Additionally, platforms that integrate tech stacks — whether in stores or for digital selling — are gaining traction in developed as well as emerging markets. 

Other companies in this year’s winning cohort help retailers create more engaging shopping experiences, via tools like chat commerce, shoppable video, and NFTs. Sustainable shopping solutions for both consumers and retailers make a notable appearance as well.

Using the CB Insights platform, our research team picked these 100 private market vendors from a pool of over 7K companies, including applicants and nominees. 

The list includes early- and mid-stage startups driving innovation across store tech, e-commerce, loyalty & rewards, supply chain & logistics, and digital engagement. They were chosen based on factors including funding, proprietary Mosaic scores, market potential, business relationships, investor profile, news sentiment analysis, competitive landscape, team strength, and tech novelty. The research team also reviewed hundreds of Analyst Briefings submitted by applicants.

Clients can access the entire Retail Tech 100 list and interactive Collection here. (If you don’t have a CB Insights login, create one here.)

Companies are categorized by their primary focus area and client base. Categories in the market map are not mutually exclusive. Please click to enlarge.

Want to be considered for future rankings? Fill out this initial application form (it’ll take no more than a few minutes). If selected, you’ll be asked to complete our Analyst Briefing Survey so that our analysts can better understand your products, customers, and market traction.

RETAIL TECH 100 COHORT HIGHLIGHTS

Overall funding & valuation trends: The cohort has raised nearly $5B across more than 250 equity deals since 2019 (as of 3/2/23). In 2022 alone, companies on the list raised more than $3.1B across 106 deals. This year’s list features 3 unicorns: self-checkout company Mashgin, delivery management platform Veho, and omnichannel operations and loyalty tool Swiftly. 

Funding leaders: Cart.com, which makes end-to-end e-commerce technology, is the most well-funded company on the list, with $323M in total equity funding. Delivery management unicorn Veho comes in second with $299M in funding. New unicorn Swiftly rounds out the top 3 with $216M in total equity funding.

Global reach: This year’s winners come from 20 different countries. Fifty-six of the selected companies (56%) are headquartered in the US. The United Kingdom comes in second with 6 (6%) and China and Australia are tied for third with 5 companies (5%) each. 

Notably, 12 companies on the list (12%) represent emerging market economies. Local companies in these markets are increasingly looking to deploy tech to make fragmented and informal retail processes more efficient and trackable.

Some of the companies in these geographies — like Majoo (Indonesia) and Dot (India) — offer omnichannel retail operations platforms that help retailers digitize operations across in-store and online channels. Other solutions — such as Khazenly (Egypt) — are focused on delivery management.

Top investors: Insight Partners is the top investor in this year’s list. It has invested in 8 of this year’s winners since 2019, including 3D digital content producer and manager nfinite, food traceability solution iFoodDS, and delivery management platform Shipium. Tiger Global is close behind with 7 companies, followed by Accel with 5.

Digital content and engagement rules: The biggest category for this year’s list is digital shopper engagement, which has 16 companies (16%). The companies in this category allow retailers to connect with shoppers across platforms and channels, with a focus on personalization and loyalty. 

For instance, Charles and Postscript both make chat commerce platforms that enable marketing and checkout via text. Meanwhile, Arianee, METAV.RS, and Novel help brands develop NFTs and use Web3 tools to boost loyalty and authenticate their products. 

Automation is driving efficiency: Automation solutions reach across categories on this year’s list as retailers and brands look for tools to make their operations faster and smarter. 

Alloy, for instance, makes a platform to connect e-commerce teams’ apps and automate tasks. Several other companies build supply chain integration platforms that aggregate tools and use AI to optimize decision-making. Meanwhile, Vue.ai, Lily AI, and Pixyle use AI to automate product tagging and broader catalog management online, which can ultimately boost the accuracy of shoppers’ searches and drive more buying. 

Early-stage innovation: More than half of the winners in this year’s cohort are early-stage companies (seed/angel or Series A). These companies are developing innovative solutions to promote more specialized and personalized shopping experiences.

For example, EQL’s e-commerce platform is specialized for “hype commerce,” or limited-time drops for hot products. EON creates digital IDs (or digital twins) to make apparel traceable. And Nibble Technology uses AI and chat commerce to inject negotiation into e-commerce shopping.

What we didn’t find: Despite retailers’ acute challenges in a few areas — namely loss prevention and employee empowerment — our research turned up fewer-than-expected earlier-stage companies solving these problems in new ways. 

However, a few tools still stood out in these areas. For example, Spot’s AI-powered video intelligence system helps retailers track everything from shoplifting to employee issues. Meanwhile, SparkPlug’s platform helps retailers reward employees in a tough labor market through the gamification of tasks.

THE RETAIL TECH 100 CLASS OF 2022: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

The 2022 Retail Tech 100 winners have accomplished a great deal since March 2022. Together, they have seen:

• Over $2.5B in equity funding across 25+ deals (as of 3/2/23)
• 10 mega-rounds (deals worth $100M+), including a $300M round to cross-border payments company Xendit
• 2 exits: 1 merger and 1 acquisition
• 1 new entrant to the $1B+ unicorn club

If you want to learn more about the Retail Tech 100 Class of 2022, check out the full list of previous winners.

The post Retail Tech 100: The most promising retail tech startups of 2023 appeared first on CB Insights Research.

With more than 10,500 stores in 24 countries and global annual revenues exceeding half a trillion dollars, Walmart has long shaped the world of brick-and-mortar commerce. 

Now, it’s establishing itself as a tech provider — similar to the likes of Amazon — by launching high-margin, high-growth-rate tech businesses for the retail industry. This could change financial markets’ perception of the company’s growth potential and help it achieve a higher valuation than traditional grocery retail.

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The post Mining Walmart’s partnerships to identify its next product launches appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Get up to speed with our explainer video — and read on for the full report.

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However, even with quarterly revenue growth in the double digits, the company is facing increasing profitability challenges. And the number of Amazon Prime members in the US reportedly fell to 168M last year from 170M in 2021 — the first drop since the program’s launch. 

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Retailers are facing last-mile pressures on all sides. Consumers have grown accustomed to the free and fast shipping options that giants like Amazon, Walmart, and Alibaba provide, while execution has grown increasingly expensive for retailers due to inflation, fuel costs, and labor shortages.  

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Instacart is stepping up to help grocery retailers enhance the omnichannel shopper journey. 

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As uncertainty and volatility grew in 2022, retailers and brands zeroed in on tech to boost conversion and grow revenues.

No matter the environment, our research helps retail players make tech-buying decisions. For example, discover tech solutions in merchandising in our merchandising tech market map, determine which tech markets to prioritize with our corresponding MVP framework, and decide which companies are ideal for partnerships or investments with our market-specific ESP Vendor Rankings, including this one covering trade promotion optimization.

Looking ahead to 2023, we’ll be watching:

• Tech that helps build new revenue streams as well as the solutions that help retailers cut costs and drive efficiency, across stores as well as e-commerce.
• Continued growth in emerging markets across the globe, creating new opportunities for digitization.
• New media platforms and modes of digital content production.
• New types of customer journey tracking and personalization tech.

The points above are in focus as we develop the 2023 Retail Tech 100, our annual list of the most innovative B2B retail companies in the world. Look for it in March 2023.

In the meantime, we’ve created a guide below to help you check out our top research in retail and e-commerce — and prep for the year to come. 

OMNICHANNEL RETAIL 

• The Big Tech in Retail Report: How Meta, Amazon, and Google are transforming retail
• The Retail Tech 100: The top retail tech companies of 2022
• 13 tech solutions to help recession-proof retail businesses
• The Future of the Post-Purchase Experience: How technology is transforming the way we shop
• The Future of Fashion: From design to merchandising, how tech is reshaping the industry
• The shift to a circular economy: How tech is shaping the future of sustainable retail
• [Client Research] Analyzing Walmart’s Growth Strategy: How the retail giant is building e-commerce and boosting profits
• [Client Research] Unbundling Sephora: How the beauty retail experience is being disrupted
• [Client Research] Tech Market Map Report: Merchandising Tech for Brands & Retailers
• [Client Research] These 15 technologies are helping brands & retailers supercharge merchandising — here are the ones to prioritize
• [Client Research] Tech Market Map Report: Hourly Employee Management Tech
• [Client Research] Prioritizing the 13 technologies combating labor shortages for hourly employees across industries
• [Client Research] Analyzing Alibaba’s growth strategy: How the tech giant is reimagining retail to drive its global ambitions 
• [Client Research] 157 companies helping grocery leaders adapt to the omnichannel shopper journey
• [Client Research] How grocery retailers should prioritize these 11 technologies supporting omnichannel enablement
• [Client Research] Analyzing Carrefour’s growth strategy: How the retailer is digitizing its operations to improve profitability
• [Client Research] Tech Market Map Report: Loyalty & Retention Tech in Consumer & Retail
• [Client Research] 10 technologies that strengthen customer loyalty and retention — and the ones retail leaders should prioritize now
• [Client Research] Analyzing 7-Eleven’s growth strategy: How the world’s largest convenience chain is improving customer experience and engagement
• [Client Research] 70+ early-stage companies reimagining luxury retail
• [Client Research] Analyzing Kering’s growth strategy: How the luxury giant behind Gucci and Balenciaga is innovating across sustainability, the metaverse, and more
• [Client Research] Tech Market Map Report: Customer Service in Consumer & Retail
• [Client Research] MVP Technology Framework: Customer Service for Consumer & Retail Leaders
• [Client Research] 54 companies using AI to automate customer service interactions
• [Client Research] Analyzing H&M’s growth strategy: How the fashion giant is innovating in sustainability and omnichannel commerce
• [Client Research] These 134 companies are transforming how brands & retailers acquire customers

E-COMMERCE AND DIGITAL SHOPPING

• The Future of E-Commerce: How AI advisors, crypto wallets, and the metaverse will enable shopping in 2030
• Unbundling SHEIN: How fast fashion is being disrupted
• [Client Research] The virtual fitting room: How Amazon, Walmart, Alibaba, and others are using AI and AR to transform shopping
• [Client Research] Unbundling TikTok: How influencer marketing and the creator economy are getting disrupted
• [Client Research] 74 companies powering super apps like WhatsApp and WeChat
• [Client Research] Analyzing Shopify’s growth strategy: How the e-commerce platform is expanding its merchants’ reach and speeding up delivery
• [Client Research] Tech Market Map Report: E-Commerce Tech in Consumer & Retail
• [Client Research] MVP Technology Framework: E-Commerce Tech for Consumer & Retail
• [Client Research] 100+ startups driving innovation in recommerce tech
• [Client Research] Analyzing eBay’s growth strategy: How the company is prioritizing category specialization & luxury authentication

STORE TECH

• The Future of the Supermarket: How technology is making grocery shopping more personalized, efficient, and sustainable
• 5 new formats reinventing the physical retail store experience
• [Client Research] 160 companies making retail stores more profitable, efficient, and engaging
• [Client Research] Prioritizing 13 technologies digitizing and automating retail stores

SUPPLY CHAIN, FULFILLMENT, & DELIVERY

• The Future of the Fleet: How technology is making transporting freight more efficient and sustainable
• The Future of Last-Mile Delivery: How technology is tackling the complexity and cost of fulfillment
• [Client Research] What are Walmart, Kroger, and Albertsons doing in microfulfillment?
• [Client Research] How American Eagle and Gap are entering the third-party logistics space
• [Client Research] 218 companies helping retail leaders make last-mile operations faster, cheaper, and more efficient
• [Client Research] Analyzing DoorDash’s operational strategy: How the delivery leader is investing in local commerce
• [Client Research] Tech Market Map Report: Supply Chain Optimization in Grocery
• [Client Research] MVP Technology Framework: Supply Chain Optimization for Grocery Retailers
• [Client Research] Analyzing Ocado’s growth strategy: How the grocery tech giant is shaping the future of the supermarket
• [Client Research] 60+ early-stage companies reshaping food & meal delivery

DIGITAL CONTENT & MEDIA

• • Unbundling Meta: How the tech giant’s digital advertising business is being disrupted
  • What L’Oréal, Nike, and LVMH are doing in Web3
  • [Client Research] Tech Market Map Report: Retail Media Networks
  • [Client Research] These 14 technologies are helping retailers build out their media networks — here are the ones to prioritize
  • [Client Research] 171 companies helping brands scale and automate their digital content offerings
  • [Client Research] 95+ early-stage companies using AI to create and edit digital content

The post Our top retail & e-commerce research and trends to watch appeared first on CB Insights Research.

On one hand, physical retail is absolutely necessary: Around 85% of all retail sales in the US happen in stores. 

On the other, despite a slowdown in growth, e-commerce’s proportion of retail sales is higher than it was pre-pandemic. Technologies from text commerce to virtual worlds are making digital shopping more immersive and seamless. And many retailers are culling their fleets: CVS, for instance, will close 900 stores by 2024, while Amazon shuttered all of its existing non-grocery stores in March 2022.

Yet store remodels, new formats, and store openings are still a prominent part of retail executives’ conversations heading into 2023. In fact, the ongoing challenges that retailers face have made it more important than ever before to invest carefully and purposefully in stores.

One approach is to remodel stores and find ways to squeeze more out of retailers’ existing assets. For instance, Walmart spent $3.3B on store remodels in 2021 — 52% more than it spent in 2018. In 2022, the retailer is on pace to spend nearly 20% more than it did in 2021. Target also plans to remodel another 200 stores in 2023. 

But several retailers are aiming to elevate the in-person shopping experience further by launching entirely new store formats. They’re turning to new layouts, services, assortments, and technology to give shoppers a distinctive reason to visit a store — and more importantly, the right experiences to drive them to make purchases.

In this report, we examine 5 new store experiments that will level up brick-and-mortar shopping in the coming year by creating exciting, efficient, and necessary stores:

• Expertise-driven experiences
• Omnichannel natives
• Shop-in-shops
• Smaller stores
• Specialized spin-offs

The formats emphasize the need for more consistent and in-depth employee training as well as the importance of customer data as a foundation for decision-making.

Tech solutions will be fundamental in advancing these new formats. Each breakdown in the report will also direct you to CB Insights research that can help identify the right tech and vendors to create these IRL experiences. 

The post The 5 new retail store formats to watch in 2023 appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Demand forecasting and inventory optimization platforms utilize sales data and other relevant metrics to improve the inventory planning process.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based demand forecasting solutions help retailers enhance supply and demand planning, pricing and promotion initiatives, and replenishment efforts. As a result, they have the potential to reduce waste and out-of-stock events and, ultimately, boost the bottom line for retailers across categories.

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The post Market Trend Report: Demand forecasting and inventory optimization for brands and retailers appeared first on CB Insights Research.

A physical point-of-sale (POS) system is the hardware and software that help businesses accept payments from customers in person.

Companies in this space focus on brick-and-mortar POS services and solutions. These include card and chip readers, which are often bundled with tablet-based business management solutions.

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Grocery microfulfillment centers (MFCs) are small fulfillment centers, often located in warehouses or within grocery stores themselves. These centers help grocery retailers quickly fulfill online grocery orders.

Many microfulfillment options use robotics to automate the process of picking up orders and preparing them for delivery. Currently, MFCs are most efficient with consumer-packaged goods, which tend to be relatively uniformly shaped and durable, making them easier for robots to handle.

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Auto-replenishment tech uses machine learning to automatically ship orders to customers for frequently purchased items, often on a subscription basis. In forward-looking applications, auto-replenishment tech can include smart containers that utilize Internet of Things (IoT) technology to automatically reorder products that are running low.

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