🛒 China Leads in Smart Checkout Tech

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🗃️ What’s Shaping the Shelves?

Pharmacies across the US are facing a mix of staffing shortages, declining reimbursements, and rising operational costs. As retail chains scale back hours and services, customer experience is taking a hit. Many pharmacists are calling for reform, including better compensation models and less administrative burden. For retailers in adjacent categories—health, wellness, or convenience—this disruption offers both a warning and an opportunity. When core service models falter, new players can step in with tech-driven solutions or hybrid formats. Read more.

🧙 Retail Masterclass

Retail media is growing fast, but even experienced brands are struggling with fragmented reporting, inconsistent metrics, and platform complexity. According to a recent study, more than 70% of brands cite measurement as a major challenge. Successful players are building internal teams to own media buying and data analytics, rather than relying solely on agencies. The takeaway: to win in retail media, brands need structure, not just budget. Treat it like a new retail channel, not just an ad campaign.

💡 An Everyday Market Hack

Instead of waiting for return data to pile up in customer service reports, include a dropdown menu at checkout asking: “What would make you change your mind about this item later?” Over time, patterns emerge—fit issues, unclear product info, price doubt. Use this early feedback loop to improve your product descriptions and images before returns become a problem.

🧐 Shopper Insights

Coresight Research predicts a 3.3% rise in back-to-school spending this year, driven by early deals and bundled offers. However, consumers remain value-focused, with most planning to shop online or in discount stores. Apparel and electronics lead spending categories, while specialty retailers are seeing less foot traffic. Parents are buying smart—seeking essentials first, and waiting on extras.

Retail Innovation

🏷️ Featured Brand - Shein

France’s antitrust agency has hit Shein with roughly €40 million (US $47 million) for misleading discount claims. Investigators looked at thousands of listings between October 2022 and August 2023 and found 57% of deals weren’t real discounts, 19% offered less savings than claimed, and 11% items actually increased in price before sale prices were applied. Shein has since corrected its pricing practices—but the penalty underlines the need for transparency in promotion strategies.

🌱 Eco Trends

Across China, supermarkets and convenience stores are rolling out AI-powered self-checkout systems that scan, bag, and finalize transactions without staff. Early adopters report lower wait times, labor savings, and better inventory accuracy. For global retailers, this shows automation isn’t a future idea—it’s becoming foundational to store operations.

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