According to LatePost, Meituan CEO Wang Xing held a significant internal communication meeting on February 28th, attended by senior executives and directors. This meeting, the first high-level communication meeting in Meituan's 15-year history, saw Wang Xing delve into Meituan's future development directions. This meeting signifies Wang Xing's deeper reflections on Meituan's future, outlining three key focus areas for the next decade: food and grocery retail, internationalization, and technological innovation. In terms of food and grocery retail...

On February 25th, JD Retail's technology team announced the official launch and full opening of its self-developed JingDianDian AIGC content generation platform. This platform aims to provide e-commerce merchants with a highly efficient and cost-effective content generation solution using AI technology. Currently, the platform covers over 20 core scenarios, with daily AI capability calls exceeding 10 million times. It assists over 350,000 JD merchants in generating high-quality product images, marketing copy, and soon-to-be-launched main video, significantly improving content production efficiency and reducing production costs.

Against the backdrop of rising labor costs, the UK retail industry is rapidly moving towards an era of automation. From electronic shelf labels to self-checkout machines, many new technologies are gradually transforming the familiar supermarket shopping experience. With the national minimum wage increase and higher employer national insurance contributions, retailers are significantly increasing their investments in automation technology, hoping to address the rising labor costs by improving production efficiency. Recent holiday trading updates show that investment in automation has become a focal point for major retailers. A survey indicates that nearly one-third of retail financial leaders...

In the digital transformation of Thailand's retail industry, Central Food Retail Group is reshaping the shopping ecosystem with artificial intelligence. The company has partnered with Google Cloud to launch the 'Tops Chef Bot', Thailand's first generative AI-powered shopping assistant. This innovative product, dubbed the 'Chef Robot', is not just a simple shopping tool; it represents a significant attempt in retail technology. It deeply integrates Google Cloud's data analytics, generative AI, and enterprise search engine capabilities with the supermarket's personalized shopping services, aiming to provide consumers with a superior experience.

Connectly.ai, an AI service company aiding retailers in selling on messaging platforms, secured $20M in Series B funding led by Alibaba. The funds will expand its platform and increase San Francisco staff to 80 by year-end. Founded by Stefanos Loukakos, the platform integrates services like WhatsApp and SMS for personalized customer engagement, aiming for 100% revenue growth in 2024.....

US retail giant Target Corporation recently announced the launch of a groundbreaking generative AI tool called 'Store Companion' in nearly 2000 stores across the country. This AI chatbot aims to improve operational efficiency, enhance the shopping experience, and serve as a multi-faceted assistant for Target's over 400,000 employees.

Over 40% of retailers believe that the talent gap is a major barrier to adopting AI. Investing in talent and training can reduce AI integration obstacles. Retailers need to collaborate with universities to establish AI research centers. Integrating generative AI requires investments in high-performance computing and algorithm research.

Japan's 7-11 will begin utilizing generative AI technology in spring 2024 to generate text and image descriptions of new products based on store sales data and consumer feedback from social media. The company estimates this will reduce product planning time by up to 90%, making product distribution more aligned with emerging trends and customer demands. The system will integrate generative AI technologies from companies such as OpenAI, Google, and Stability AI to process data from customers, manufacturers, and social media. 7-11 expects AI to generate proposal drafts for new products, simplifying the current process.

Recent survey results show that 91% of retailers in the ANZ region are investing in generative artificial intelligence to adapt to the changing needs of shoppers. Millennials show a strong interest in generative AI for shopping, with 52% of millennial consumers expressing a desire to use this technology when seeking gift inspiration. The influence of social media in retail is growing significantly, with digital channels becoming a crucial way to meet the increasing demand. The lines between physical stores and the digital world are becoming increasingly blurred, and loyalty programs are continuously improving as retailers strive to enhance shopper loyalty and market share.

{1: Nearly one-sixth of retailers plan to adopt technologies like artificial intelligence in the coming year to enhance the shopping experience. 2: Retailers believe that artificial intelligence can complement and enhance the workforce rather than replace employees. 3: Budget constraints and difficulty in proving business value are obstacles to adopting artificial intelligence.}