TLDR: We predict Walmart acquiring a cashier-less tech startup like Grabango. Cashierless forced into mainstream COVID is also pushing retailers to try radical changes. Walmart is testing cashierless checkout by replacing people with self-checkout machines. Customers may not enjoy self-checkout so much. Researchers found that more than 60% of shoppers who use self-checkout don’t use...

TLDR: Costco is most confident in growth during and post-COVID. Target least. Surge in temp hires during COVID-19 Amazon, Costco and Walmart all appear to be investing to grow during COVID. The three retail giants posted more new job postings from April to July 2020 than they did in the same time period last year....

Summary: Amazon is ramping up recruiting for Just Walk Out technology, preparing for changing shopping behaviors post-COVID. Retailers without internal tech or analytics teams will benefit most. We wrote in May 2018 that Amazon would make more money selling its cashierless checkout technology to other retailers than opening more Go stores. Well, Amazon finally announced exactly that this past...

Surprise: COVID-19 test operations in Walmart parking lots may give Walmart’s healthcare ambitions an awareness boost. Data: Walmart’s primary care ambitions in its infancy: Only a dozen new jobs open every month compared to hundreds for its pharmacy and optometry operations. Opportunity: Everyday low prices for checkups and convenient locations may be a winning formula,...

The number of open postings for Alexa roles reached an all-time high of 1,679 this past October. Alexa was born alongside the first Echo speaker on November 6th 2014. It’s hard to imagine 5 years have passed since. Over 26% of US households now own a smart speaker, with Alexa being the dominant voice with...

Walmart is unexpectedly boosting investment in Fashion. October data shows the number of new positions in apparel and fashion retailing increasing 10x, from 15 in September to 150 in October. Bonobos hiring for 121 positions one month after layoffs Bonobos is responsible for the bulk of this hiring spree. A complete reversal from the situation...

The number of Costco eCommerce and retail IT open job postings reached an all time high of 50 in September. A significant surge from the 20 postings it had in July, and 40 in August. Prior to July, Costco only had a dozen eCommerce positions open in any given month. Half to staff its online...

Google and Facebook command 60% of the $107 billion online advertising business, but growth has stalled, and Amazon is stealing market share. Amazon recently acquired ad-server company Sizmek to boost capabilities. Is Amazon becoming a serious threat to the duopoly? What are Amazon’s growth intentions? Amazon continues to pour large investments into Advertising this year...

“Let’s Try Again” series investigates why companies attempt to do something they failed at previously. Walmart is ramping up growth at Sam’s Club a year after it closed 63 stores and laid off almost 1,000 workers. Our data shows the number of new positions posted at Sam’s Club grew from 84 in April to 2,300+...

Target’s investment in restaurant operations surged this past July. The number of open hospitality-restaurant job postings increased 74% MoM, from 1,274 open postings in June to 2,218 postings in July. This is in stark contrast to open postings in retail which dropped -40% from 11,190 to 6,671. It appears Target is doubling down on restaurants...