Retailers

Coca-Cola is using AI in Malaysia via its “Coke Buddy” platform and “Perfect Basket” feature to optimize retailer orders. This AI analyzes historical data, seasonality, and weather to recommend optimal product stocking and quantities. The system empowers thousands of retailers, offering personalized suggestions while retaining their final decision-making authority. This initiative aims to boost efficiency and sales across Malaysia and is being expanded globally.

Global yields are surging, impacting investor confidence and increasing borrowing costs. Retailers face mixed impacts from tariffs and changing consumer habits, with some benefiting from refunds while others see softened demand. Canada’s tariffs on US goods have been temporarily postponed. Auto dealerships are shifting focus to service as new vehicle sales slow. American Airlines is reintroducing seatback screens on its narrow-body fleet. A cyclospora outbreak is influencing salad company marketing strategies.

Amazon is licensing its AI shopping technology, originally developed for “Alexa for Shopping,” to other e-commerce retailers. This initiative allows businesses to deploy customized AI shopping assistants, aiming to position Amazon as a foundational AI infrastructure provider for the broader shopping ecosystem. This strategy mirrors Amazon’s success with AWS, turning internal innovation into an external service. The move seeks to empower retailers with their own AI solutions, leveraging their unique product and customer insights.

OpenAI is shifting its ChatGPT shopping strategy from “Instant Checkout” to enhanced product discovery. The new approach focuses on visual search via images or text, offering users a richer comparison experience. This pivot addresses complexities in direct transactional integration, allowing merchants to direct users to their own checkouts while OpenAI concentrates on improving relevance, speed, and product coverage. Key retailers like Target and Sephora are already integrating this enhanced discovery feature.

As Children’s Day approaches, online retailers face a potential surge in costume returns. To combat this, some vendors are implementing strategies like attaching prominent “no return if removed” stickers. This follows concerns about customers using costumes for performances and then returning them. The focus is on balancing consumer rights with protecting businesses from unfair exploitation of return policies.