Walmart U.S. Chief Technology Officer Hari Vasudev unveiled the retailer’s agentic AI strategy and implementation plans, preparing for an era where robot shoppers will buy products and services from robot sellers, accessing websites optimized for them with the goal of delivering fast, hyper-personalized experiences to human shoppers. First, Walmart identifies core agentic AI capabilities that would work best for the retailer, are cohesive and can scale globally, per the post. Next, it uses a “surgical” approach to agentic AI. That means its agents will be experts at specific tasks, unlike the more generic solutions from other providers. Finally, Walmart agents’ work outputs will be stitched together to solve complex workflows. As an example, Walmart taps its retail-expert large language model to build agents within its generative AI shopping assistant, which appears as a smiley face chatbot. These agents can do specific tasks such as deep personalization, item comparison and shopping journey completion, among others. The model is trained on the retailer’s data and can be combined with other models to contextually address the customer’s needs Walmart’s existing generative AI-powered tools are on their way to becoming fully autonomous agents. Walmart is also exploring using AI agents across the company, from doing in-store tasks to merchandising planning at the home office and beyond. Shoppers are already using Walmart’s shopping assistant to find products, and the next step is to let an agent do the research, make decisions and place the order. This autonomous task would be ideal for repeat purchases of everyday necessities. Walmart is aware of the risk of hallucinations, or AI models making things up. So, it is adding a layer of governance, checks and balances, as well as evaluating which parts of agentic AI need human oversight and approval
Experiential anchors- booksellers, fitness centers and food & beverage brands are serving to drive customer visits to malls, accounting for 8-16% of visitor share
Macy’s and JCPenney still play a key role in drawing customers to malls, but empty anchor implants like entertainment brands, fitness centers, and restaurants are increasingly building new traffic across longer ranges of hours, declares Placer.ai’s latest Mall Report. One key participant in this trending phenomenon is a brand that most retail experts thought had run its course: Barnes & Noble. In recent years, the land’s leading bookseller has reinvented itself in smaller stores (15,000 sq. ft. versus 25,000 sq. ft.) redesigned to be “hangouts” for local customers with better lighting, more open layouts, and opportunities for social interaction. At the Coronado Center in Albuquerque, N.M., the Barnes & Noble accounted for 7.9% in 2024, according to Placer.ai, outperforming both Macy’s and JCPenney. Key food-and-beverage brands, too, are now outpacing department stores with their traffic counts. At Northridge Fashion Center in Northridge, Calif., Porto’s Bakery & Café was the No. 1 customer draw with a 15.6% share of overall center visitor, a full 3.6 percentage point lead over No. 2 Dick’s Sporting Goods. And while Placer.ai had Target as the top tenant at Glendale Galleria in Glendale, Calif., Placer.ai with a 14.4% share of visitors, it was followed by by In-N-Out Burger’s 8.6% share in second place. “Increasingly, shopping centers are turning to fitness centers as experiential anchors,” according to the Placer.ai report. “And since many people work out early in the morning, these gyms are having a significant impact on the distribution of mall visits across dayparts.” At Northshore Mall in Peabody, Mass., where a Life Time gym opened in 2021, visits between 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. rose from 13% to 15% over the past five years. Similarly, at Jackson Crossing in Jackson, Mich., where Planet Fitness arrived in 2022, the morning visit share increased from 14% to 16%.
Microsoft proposes GenAI Intent-based routing (IBR)- Customer Intent Agent discovers and manages intents, while IBR uses those intents to route conversations, connecting customer needs to the right support resources with speed and precision
Intent-based routing (IBR) is a generative AI-powered capability that routes customer queries based on real-time intent recognition and dynamic user group assignment. It is enabled by the Customer Intent Agent, which autonomously discovers and manages customer intents by analyzing past interactions and builds an evolving intent library. Customer Intent Agent discovers and manages intents, while IBR uses those intents to route conversations, connecting customer needs to the right support resources with speed and precision. Once an intent and its group are identified, IBR routes the conversation to the appropriate user group based on the mapped intent group. Next, IBR assigns it to the best-suited support representative within the group, based on their capacity, presence, and other routing attributes. This enables faster, more accurate resolutions. By turning intent from a passive insight into an active, intelligent routing decision, IBR becomes the operational backbone of an intent-driven contact center. Subsequently, this results in better assisted and self-service experiences. Implementing intent-based routing in your contact center can offer numerous benefits: Enhanced precision and personalization; Dynamic intent discovery; Streamlined routing configuration; Smarter workforce management and load handling; and Scalable and adaptable.
Startup New Gen is building AI storefronts using “AI subdomain” to receive AI-driven traffic; it reindexes a brand’s entire product catalog and uses AI models to create dynamic product pages and recommendation
Startup New Generation, or simply New Gen, is building AI storefronts – versions of brands’ websites that dynamically interact with AI chatbots and agents. Its technology helps brands automate product tagging, personalize responses and adapt to real-time market trends. To build the AI storefront, New Gen creates an “AI subdomain” — a dedicated microsite such as “ai.brand.com” designed to receive AI-driven traffic from tools like ChatGPT or website-browsing agents like Operator. Their system reindexes a brand’s entire product catalog, combines structured and unstructured data such as product descriptions and social media posts, and uses AI models to create dynamic product pages and recommendations. This data pipeline is available through an API for other companies to access. For image generation, New Gen uses Gemini 2.5. For prose and copy, the team relies on Anthropic’s Claude 4. For code and front-end generation, OpenAI’s models are preferred. Brands can control the experience through a merchant dashboard, setting preferences for tone of voice, which products to highlight, and seasonal merchandising strategies. Over time, the AI storefronts would integrate with marketplaces such as Shopify or WooCommerce. New Gen has partnered with Visa as part of the payments giant’s Intelligent Commerce initiative to enable AI agents to make purchases on behalf of consumers.
Carvel to kick of summer promotion with first-of-its-kind dispenser billboard offering ice cream and free sprinkles for loyalty members
Fans of Carvel ice cream located in New York City will be able to get a free treat from a very special source on Wednesday, June 18. The soft serve ice cream chain, a subsidiary of GoTo Foods, will serve its product directly from what it is calling a first-of-its kind interactive billboard on Perry Street in New York City’s West Village on June 18 from noon to 7 p.m. EDT. All consumers can receive a free vanilla soft serve while supplies last. Members of the Carvel Fudgie Fanatics loyalty program will also receive free sprinkles on their ice cream. The retailer will also give the first 50 loyalty members who show up exclusive gifts like t-shirts and Carvel gift cards. Consumers can sign up to be a member of Fudgie Fanatics before June 18 for free on the Carvel site or on the spot at the billboard. All attendees will have the chance to participate in special giveaways and surprises throughout the day. All Carvel locations nationwide will offer a “buy one get one free” sundae or ice cream on Wednesdays throughout the summer, starting June 18. A dispenser billboard typically refers to a billboard or advertising display that incorporates a physical dispenser mechanism, allowing it to dispense samples, coupons, brochures, or small products to passersby.
Walmart’s interactive job simulations tool for veterans gives them the ability to virtually try out their skills in real-life scenarios and simulate the experience of working in a corporate environment
Walmart has unveiled a new skills translator tool specifically designed to let veterans upload their resumes, which are then translated into professional skills that align with its needs, such as logistics planning, GPS routing and inventory control. Walmart is also providing veterans with a new interactive job simulations solution that gives them the ability to virtually try out their skills in real-life scenarios and see what it’s like working in a corporate environment. So far in 2025, Walmart has invested $500,000 in events that mark the 250th anniversary of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. These donations support initiatives like the Revolutionary War Exhibit at the Museum of the Army commemorating the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday in 2025 and the celebration of Declaration of Independence in 2026. Walmart will also join the Navy and Marine Corps to commemorate their 250th birthdays in Philadelphia and in Camden, N.J. in October 2025. In addition, the company is funding a series of veteran-focused projects through the Manufacturing Institute, Hire Heroes USA and the Institute for Veteran and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University. Each organization is working to help veterans get credit for the skills they acquired in the military as they transition to civilian life. Julie Gehrki, senior VP and president, Walmart Foundation said, “By investing in tools for the military community and supporting leading organizations, we’re ensuring veterans have the support and opportunities they need to succeed in their post-military careers.”
Walmart is rolling out a new design for Onn 4K Pro, the retailer’s competition to the Google TV Streamer
Walmart is rolling out a new design for Onn 4K Pro, the retailer’s competition to the Google TV Streamer, at least for the box it comes in. The Onn 4K Pro launched last year as what was, at the time, the best Google TV streaming device on the market. More horsepower, a backlit remote, and more made the device appealing, and all the more so at a price tag of just under $50. In the time since, the $30 Onn 4K Plus has launched with similar experience and, also, a new design language for the packaging in line with Walmart’s ever-changing Onn brand. Onn 4K Pro is now getting the same treatment. Gone is the punch-you-in-the-face neon yellow box we’ve known, with Walmart instead giving the Google TV streamer a blue packaging design. Not a ton has changed, but the new design does better emphasize the hands-free voice control – “Hey Google” – support than the previous design did. This is purely a packaging change, from the looks of it. Walmart even says that it’s the “same great streaming device,” just with a “new look.” The design of the device itself is also unchanged.
Temu reportedly loses 58% of US daily users due to tariffs
Daily U.S. users of PDD Holdings’ global discount e-commerce platform Temu fell by 58% in May, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, one of many headwinds the e-retailer is facing amid a U.S.-China trade war. Temu decided to slash ad spending in the U.S. and shift its order fulfilment strategy after the White House on May 2 ended the practice known as “de minimis” – which allowed Chinese companies to ship low-value packages to the United States tariff-free. Tariffs forced both Temu and Shein to raise prices, but Shein has been able to increase the amount of money spent per customer compared to a year ago, while Temu has struggled. Engagement on Temu has dropped significantly following the end of the exemption, Morgan Stanley equity analyst Simeon Gutman said. “While the tariff environment is uncertain, if the status quo remains for an extended period, we believe Temu’s competitive threat will continue to weaken,” Gutman said. Temu continues to handle fulfilling orders close to shoppers, setting prices and online operations., HSBC said that Temu’s growth in non-U.S. markets has picked up, with non-U.S. users rising to 90% of its 405 million global monthly active users in the second quarter. “New user uptick grew swiftest in less affluent markets,” analysts wrote.
Ad-enabled BNPL Zilch partners Visa to launch its first physical payments card to capture latent opportunity in transaction volume by irregular usage of mobile wallets by ~80% UK adults
BNPL firm Zilch is launching a physical card as part of a partnership with Visa. The card will work across Visa’s global network that reaches over 150 million merchant locations in 200+ countries and territories. Customers will have the ability to shop anywhere in the world that Visa is accepted, online or offline with the same flexible repayment options. Available to existing customers from September, Zilch hopes the card will see the 50% of active customers who currently only use it for online shopping make the offline leap. Philip Belamant, CEO, Zilch, says: “By partnering with Visa – a global leader in payments – we’ve plugged our AI-driven engine into a network that touches over 150 million merchants worldwide. This move will allow us to fully deploy our ad-enabled payments technology across both digital and physical retail, bringing measurable savings to consumers and margin efficiencies to merchants.”
OatFi building a credit network to address the opposing cash flow conundrum in B2B payments by embedding its underwriting, origination, and funding capabilities directly into the platforms within their AP, AR, and commercial charge card workflows
Fintech infrastructure startup OatFi has raised $24 million in Series A funding to build a credit network for business-to-business payments. In traditional B2B transactions, buyers and suppliers often operate on opposing cash flow incentives. Suppliers seek fast post-delivery payments to recover working capital, while buyers look to delay payments to preserve operating cash and liquidity. By embedding its underwriting, origination, and funding capabilities directly into B2B payment platforms within their AP, AR, and commercial charge card workflows, OatFi’s APIs enable platforms to facilitate B2B transactions with built-in financing at the point where it’s needed most. “B2B payments are not just a money movement challenge—they’re a data and workflow challenge,” says Michael Barbosa, CEO, OatFi. “That’s why we’ve focused on deep API integrations that offer working capital solutions within the platforms that businesses already rely on to pay and get paid.”