3 Grocers Using Tech to Combat Food Waste and Drive Profits
The first thing most consumers see when they walk into a supermarket is the produce department. It’s specifically designed to evoke bounty, with gleaming, freshly misted piles of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables in every colour imaginable. But the problem with bounty is that it can lead to waste. In fact, the USDA estimates that in-store […]
Self-Driving Cars Are Coming. Is the Convenience Industry Ready?
A future with self-driving cars, also known as autonomous vehicles or “AVs,” seems inevitable. These machines, which leverage advanced cameras, computer vision, and sensors, in place of human inputs to steer automobiles automatically, are poised to change how we travel, where we live, and how we shop. It feels like every day a new headline announces another […]
4 Cutting-Edge Technologies to Curb C-Store Theft
C-stores have unique challenges that make them ripe for crime. Products are easily accessible. Footprints are small. Many stores have a handful of employees. And many operate around the clock. It’s no wonder, then, that c-stores are popular targets of grab and go or armed robberies. And that doesn’t even take into account casual shoplifting, […]
How Nike Slayed 2018, and Takeaways for Fashion Retailers
2018 was a year full of wins for Nike, on the field and off. The brand’s iconic swoosh was ubiquitous at the 2018 World Cup before a television audience of nearly 3.6 billion people—the third-most-viewed television broadcast of all time. By Nike’s count, 60% of the athletes competing in the tournament’s opening round wore Nike […]
How International Retailers are Digitizing Customer Experience
US brick-and-mortar retailers at the shores of transformative customer experience innovations might be hesitant to dive in. But that ocean is wide and deep—ranging from solutions that improve operational efficiencies to those that put AI at the forefront of a brand’s interactions with consumers. Here’s a peek at four cutting-edge retail innovations rising to the […]
How Top Retailers Use Mobile Tech to Boost Employee Motivation
Engaged, inspired employees can make all the difference in the brick-and-mortar environment. But there’s a twist on that road to employee motivation. Creating the right employee experience may well include arming associates with mobile devices to keep pace with their ever more knowledgeable customers. It wasn’t that long ago that mobile devices were considered anything […]
The Lost Sales Calculator: What It Is & Why We Built It
At CB4, we live and breathe retail. That means connecting with our customers and other retailers whenever we can to learn about their successes, the challenges their stores face, and how they’re adapting to the demands of 21st century brick-and-mortar. One question we love to ask retail leaders is: “How much revenue does your chain […]
6 Ways to Improve Grocery Store Profit Margins with Technology
Raising prices used to be the go-to strategy for retailers looking to widen their grocery store profit margins, but this practice is no longer sustainable in today’s retail landscape. With players like Walmart, Aldi, and Lidl constantly offering bargain basement deals, other grocery stores risk losing their customers if they can’t match the prices of […]
How Ulta is Revolutionizing the Beauty Biz (With the Help of AI)
Carrying a variety of drug store and luxury brands, Ulta has carved a niche as a one-stop shop in a landscape rife with specialty beauty retailers. By developing a deep understanding of its customers and deploying the cutting-edge technology needed to attract them, Ulta has managed to grow sales in a competitive industry and join […]
Kohl’s x CB4 NRF Panel: How to Satisfy Mission-Driven Shoppers
Kohl’s VP of Technology, Shweta Bhatia heads up the retailer’s in-store learning labs. These labs test innovative technology solutions and then scale them across Kohl’s entire chain of 1,000+ stores. Bhatia had this to say about her philosophy: “We focus on two things: Keeping it simple and making it actionable. Making it simple is the […]
