Schnuck Markets
Schnuck Markets, a supermarket chain in the United States, is leveraging Domo’s AI and Data Products platform.
It says that, by implementing Domo as its enterprise reporting platform, it is overcoming the common fragmented, siloed data challenges grocery retailers face.
With 113 stores throughout the Midwest, Schnucks had faced significant challenges in consolidating disparate data from its stores, warehouses, vendors, and internal departments. Reports were manually created through spreadsheets and printouts, often leading to misaligned teams and conflicting data interpretations.
Domo enabled it to aggregate and visualise data from HR, finance, marketing, operations, merchandising, and supply chain into one centralised platform. Store teams use Domo daily to optimise staffing, production, and customer service, while leaders rely on it to track strategic progress across multiple states.
“We no longer ask ‘What were my sales yesterday?’ but focus on ‘What do I need to do moving forward to improve the customer experience?’” says Colin Lloyd, Director of Business Analytics at Schnucks. “Domo is the tortilla, and data is the filling – together they nourish our business daily.”
Instacart
Instacart says that it is the first grocery partner to launch an app on ChatGPT and the first to offer an embedded, end-to-end shopping and Instant Checkout, all within the context of a ChatGPT conversation.
The aim here is to make it easier for people to go from meal inspiration to doorstep delivery, using Instacart’s real-time grocery network and fulfillment capabilities with the help of OpenAI frontier model capabilities.
“Instacart and ChatGPT are redefining what’s possible in AI powered shopping,” says Anirban Kundu, Chief Technology Officer at Instacart.
“Built on Agentic Commerce Protocol, this experience brings intelligent, real-time support to one of the most essential parts of daily life: getting groceries to feed your family.”
“Together, we’re creating a seamless and secure way for people to turn simple conversations into real-world action, helping customers go from inspiration to a full cart delivered from the store to their door with ease.”
“With the Instacart app directly in ChatGPT, users can go from meal planning to checkout in a single, seamless conversation,” says Nick Turley, VP, Head of ChatGPT. “It’s another step toward bringing our vision to life – where AI delivers helpful suggestions and connects directly to real-world services, saving people time and effort in their everyday lives.”
The Instacart ChatGPT app experience with Instant Checkout is currently available on desktop and mobile web; the Instacart ChatGPT app is available on iOS and Android, with Instant Checkout rolling out to these native platforms in the coming weeks.
Walgreens
Walgreens Advertising Group, the retail media arm of Walgreens, has announced an expansion of its retail media ecosystem with Rokt.
The agreement enables non-endemic brands to reach millions of Walgreens consumers on Walgreens.com’s order confirmation page.
“We are committed to connecting brands with one of the most loyal and engaged consumer bases in the country,” says Abishake Subramanian, Group Vice President, Consumer Marketing, Loyalty and Walgreens Advertising Group.
“By expanding our retail media ecosystem with AI powered capabilities, we’re giving advertisers new ways to engage customers in meaningful moments while creating incremental value for Walgreens.”
Frank’s Catering
London-based Frank’s Catering has announced a partnership with same-day delivery specialist Gophr.
Founded in 1980 as a single Hammersmith coffee shop, Frank’s has grown into a provider for events, offices and hospitality venues across the capital.
With its in-house fleet now operating at full stretch, it says that the Gophr tie up will help it take on more work without compromising the freshness, reliability or sustainability standards that underpin the family business.
Gophr will supports deliveries that fall outside its existing reach, including longer distance drops, last minute requests and peak time overflow orders. The service will support everything from office catering to larger event deliveries serving 10–200 people.
Frank’s uses fully recyclable, plastic free platter packaging and prides itself on fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Gophr’s locally based courier network will help minimise unnecessary road miles and maintain temperature sensitive quality throughout the supply chain.
Sam De Conto, Director at Frank’s, says: “Keeping our food fresh and on time has always been non-negotiable for us. As the business has grown, we’ve reached the point where relying solely on our own vans would limit what we can say ‘yes’ to. Gophr lets us protect and better the standards our customers expect while giving us the breathing room to grow without compromise.”
shoezone
shoezone has partnered with Royal Mail to expand its network of collection and return locations for online customers across the UK.
The tie up introduces thousands of new Royal Mail return points, with the aim of giving customers greater flexibility and choice when returning their online purchases.
New collection points and returns hubs include more than 24,000 locations where customers can drop off and collect parcels: 2,200 lockers; Almost 8,000 Royal Mail Shop outlets; 11,500 Post Office branches; 1,200 Royal Mail Customer Service Points; 1,400 parcel postboxes.
Customers can also drop off parcels in 3,500 solar powered postboxes, which feature a larger postbox slot suitable for parcels up to the size of a shoebox.
The addition of these locations forms part of shoezone’s investment in improving convenience and accessibility for online shoppers. It follows implementation of free next day delivery with no minimum spend, seven days a week, across its online shop.
Gary Baines, Head of Digital at shoezone, says: “More delivery options mean more flexibility and convenience for customers – from collecting an order on the go, to returning it when it suits them.”