Walmart has acquired the logistics startup Parcel to help launch same-day delivery in New York City

The deal was small but key to Walmart’s new express delivery service.

Source: www.recode.net

Parcel sends order updates to its merchant clients and their customers in real time via text messages. The startup has also compiled a database of every New York City building it has delivered to, including photos and detailed information on service entrances.  The merging of business and consumer channels.

Supreme Court Rejects Coca-Cola Case on Vending Machine ADA Compliance

The case, titled Magee v. Coca-Cola Refreshments USA, was brought by Emmett Magee, a blind man from Louisiana who invoked the ADA in suing Coca Cola because its glass-front vending machines made it impossible for him to know what product he was choosing and at what price. He was thwarted buying soda from vending machines at a hospital and a bus station.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit turned away his claim, ruling that vending machines are “not a physical place open to public access” and therefore don’t fit the definition of “public accommodations” that are required to abide by the ADA. It also said that the hospital and the bus stations were public accommodations and “may very well” bear some responsibility to make vending machines on their premises accessible to the disabled.

Source: www.law.com

Electronic Parcel Lockers for Parcel Carriers – American Locker

  The dramatic expansion of the eCommerce landscape calls for innovation in the way post and parcel industry is operating. Besides this, there are several other factors like the continuously growing numbers of middle-class consumers, increasing urbanization, globally higher standards of living, etc., which make it imperative to revisit current logistics. In such scenarios, electronic …

Source: americanlocker.com

Pitch piece (decent) by American Locker

Can Chatbot Concierges Save Shopping Malls? | PYMNTS.com

With brick-and-mortar chains shutting down, Simon Property Group, the world’s largest mall owner, looks for out-of-the-box solutions to save physical retail.

Source: www.pymnts.com

The physical world of commerce might just have within it the killer use case that the chatbot needs, because it digitizes a physical experience for a consumer in a way that actually adds to the overall experience.

 

“The Simon Facebook Messenger bot provides an always-on, instantly available digital concierge experience. That means that wherever they are, shoppers can get their top questions answered through their mobile device.”