News: Customers shopping on Walmart.com can pick up purchases in-store at automated Pickup Towers. The big box chain is testing a similar kiosk for groceries.

Source: www.pymnts.com

The Pickup Tower is just for customers using the buy-online-pick-up-in-store service, although a similar self-service kiosk is also in the works for customers who use Walmart.com to shop for their groceries. A pilot is being tested in the parking lot of the Walmart Supercenter in Warr Acres, Okla.

When online grocery shoppers arrive at the kiosk, they can key in an access code to trigger the machine to retrieve their order. Employees pack orders into bins ahead of time and store them in the 20-by-80-foot building, which is equipped with freezers and refrigeration to keep food fresh.

DAVOS, Switzerland — Alibaba founder Jack Ma thinks America went wrong over the past 30 years by focusing too much on war and Wall Street. Speaking at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, Ma was asked about globalisation and the reaction to it represented by the election of Donald Trump as US president.

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Great read

In an effort to expand its footprint in South Florida, eCommerce giant Amazon has announced its plans to open a robotics-based warehouse near Tampa.

Source: www.pymnts.com

Also opening same type of fulfillment center in Thornton, Colorado (down the street from us).

Scientists, technologists, engineers, and visionaries are building the future. Amazing things are in the pipeline. It’s a big deal. But you already knew all that. Such speculation is common. What’s less common? Scale. How big is big? “Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley, Silicon Dock, all of the Silicons around the world, they are dreaming the dream. …

Source: singularityhub.com

Good list as lists go.

With innovative new technologies helping shape personalized experiences for consumers both in-store and online, the retail landscape is constantly evolving in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago.

Source: pointofsale.com

Source: monotonecritic.com

WalMart is looking to partner with dealership groups to set up kiosks that will help customers buy cars. CarSaver, an online auto retail platform, will set up these kiosks in Walmart Supercenters. CarSaver enables shoppers to select, finance and insure a vehicle on a touch screen kiosk.

Source: www.forbes.com

From January 2017.  Walmart looks to duplicate and better the business Costco does.

Walmart is trying to make it easier to pick up online grocery orders.

Source: www.businessinsider.com

There is no cost for picking up groceries, but customers must spend at least $30 per order to use the service. The kiosk is open 24/7 and can to fulfill hundreds of customer orders in a single day, according to Walmart spokesman Scott Markley.

Amazon offers Prime discount to those on government benefits

Source: abcnews.go.com

Walmart’s 200 “Walmart Academy” training centers are all planning to incorporate virtual reality by the end of 2017, after an earlier pilot program. The limited curriculum is being produce

Source: www.theverge.com