Grabbing food from the drive-thru is the top preference for consumers when it comes to visiting quick-serve chains. 54% of customers said they “always” or “very often” choose drive-thrus over dining inside at QSRs, according to a new survey from Mood Media, signaling a strong preference for convenience. Order accuracy was ranked as the most critical drive-thru feature, while 73% respondents ranked timeliness among their top three most important drive-thru features, with more than half putting it squarely in slots two or three. While 23% of customers say technology is the most important drive-thru feature, 21% rank it second-to-last, showing that it can be “polarizing” among guests. Only 5% of respondents ranked mobile ordering as the most important feature for drive-thrus to have. However, 38% regularly use mobile ordering when it is offered. 72% of consumers do not decide to visit a QSR based on the digital features in their drive-thru. However, 92% of respondents have a neutral to positive sentiment about digital features enhancing their experience at QSRs. 82% are neutral or positive about QSRs collecting data to deliver personalized offers and recommendations. 60% ranked human interaction between third and fifth in importance, showing that customers still value friendly service. When it comes to what consumers don’t like about drive-thrus, long wait times (64%), inaccurate orders (58%) and outdated or unclear speaker systems (47%) top the list. Millennials and Gen Z are the most frequent drive-thru users, as 65% said they “always” or “very often” use them. Four-in-10 consumers say they are uninterested or concerned about AI taking their order, while 47% are open to it or have used it with little to no issue. The main concerns include AI not understanding them (37%) and not allowing order changes (24%).
Target looking to use large-format store to accommodate a bigger-than-average fresh and frozen food and beverage section, including organic produce options and back-room fulfillment space to support shoppers’ digital orders and Drive Up and Order Pickup
Target recently opened a new large-format store in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area at 2755 West University Drive in Denton, Texas. The Denton North store marks the second Target location for the Denton community. At about 147,000 square feet, Denton North is one of Target’s biggest new builds — and an example of what’s to come as the retailer focuses on these large-format stores. With its extra space, Denton North can accommodate a bigger-than-average fresh and frozen food and beverage section, including organic produce options, bakery and deli. Helping to keep the store in stock is Target’s Dallas sortation center and Denton food and beverage supply chain facility, the latter of which serves 158 Target stores in Texas. “We can show up for guests for all their grocery needs, where they don’t have to look at a competitor,” said Store Director LaShon H. “We can be their one and only, from fresh produce to amazingly priced meats. Everything is affordable, and then joy can be given when you walk through the departments in our store. [It has guests saying] ‘This is bright, this is big. I’m glad you’re on this side of town.’” More square footage also means room for a back-room fulfillment space, which is about five times larger than Target’s older stores of a similar size, to support shoppers’ digital orders and Drive Up and Order Pickup same-day services. The company expects to add more than 300 stores over the next decade, with a total of 20 openings slated for 2025
PayPal’s Deal Week rewards program to let customers earn up to 10% cashback on in-store payments at 2,000 partner locations with offers recuring every week
PayPal has announced multiple long-term, strategic partnerships with a range of Germany’s favorite brands, as part of a major expansion into in-store payments. The first resulting initiative – Deal Week – is available to consumers across Germany today. Deal Week cashback from PayPal can be earned on in-store purchases at the following German brands. On different days of the week, customers can earn up to 10% cashback when they pay contactless in-store with the PayPal app. The offers recur every week, which means consumers could earn hundreds of euros in cashback a month using PayPal in-store. The new contactless feature can be accessed through the latest version of the popular PayPal App (both iOS and Android). Customers can pay safely and easily with a simple tap of their phone at any location that accepts Mastercard contactless payments, as well as benefit from Deal Week offers, once activated in the PayPal app, at approximately 2,000 partner locations4. For the first time, the PayPal App brings together a consolidated view of both online and offline purchases for the consumer. The latest version of the PayPal App also enables consumers to pay in installments for in-store purchases with Ratenzahlung To Go. Fast and flexible, customers can seamlessly apply directly in the PayPal App at any time. Ratenzahlung To Go is available in 3, 6, 12 and 24-month installments, helping consumers spread the cost of in-store purchases to meet their needs (in addition to PayPal’s popular online Pay Later options).
Liberis AI underwriting agent automates data analysis across multiple sources including open banking data, credit bureau information, and digital footprint indicators to deliver a 50% reduction in manual decision time for complex cases
Embedded business finance platform Liberis has launched a proprietary AI underwriting agent built to boost accuracy and slash decision times. Called Ada after programming pioneer Ada Lovelace, the agent is designed to eliminate repetitive manual tasks and accelerate funding decisions for businesses. It ingests and analyses financial, compliance, and digital footprint data in real-time, automatically surfaces key risk factors, trends, and anomalies to support human underwriters. Ada automates data analysis across multiple sources including open banking data, Companies House records, credit bureau information, and digital footprint indicators. This, projects the firm, will deliver a 50% reduction in manual decision time for complex cases, while improving accuracy by correcting for human bias and blind spots. “Ada’s value goes far beyond just time savings. As humans, we all have biases and blind spots. Ada helps us uncover those. It flags what we might have missed and brings those risks to the surface, improves fairness, and helps us learn from past decisions,” says Rob Straathof, CEO, Liberis.
Retailer Kurt Geiger’s in-store solution offers store associates the ability to deliver seamless omnichannel services including endless aisle, ship-to-store, and buy online pickup in-store and buy online return in-store, using an iPhone or iPad
Kurt Geiger is now live on the NewStore Omnichannel unified commerce platform across more than 70 owned stores, outlets, and airport locations in the U.S. and U.K. The rollout spans the Kurt Geiger and Carvela brands brands, replacing three legacy in-store systems with an upgraded, mobile-based solution. Store associates now have the ability to complete transactions and deliver seamless omnichannel services including endless aisle, ship-to-store, and buy online pickup in-store and buy online return in-store, using an iPhone or iPad. Gareth Rees-John, chief digital officer at Kurt Geiger. “With NewStore, we’ve moved to a more agile, digitally native point-of-sale that allows us to innovate faster, empower our store teams, and stay ahead of the latest industry trends.” The implementation also supports Kurt Geiger’s growing footprint in the U.S. Kurt Geiger has now opened multiple brick-and-mortar locations, all of which have operated on the NewStore platform from the time they opened. “With multiple brands and store formats across two regions, Kurt Geiger’s rollout is a great example of how the NewStore platform makes it simple for retailers to scale their business globally while maintaining a consistent brand experience,” said Michael DeSimone, CEO at NewStore. “By consolidating systems and standardizing operations, they now have the agility to grow faster, adapt quicker, and serve customers more consistently no matter where they shop.” As part of the next launch phase, Kurt Geiger will extend the NewStore platform to its two concession stores within Harrods and Selfridges locations in London.
Fintech OneBanx’s APIs enable banks to integrate cash deposit and withdrawal capabilities into their mobile banking apps via OneBanx kiosks
UK-based fintech OneBanx is integrating cash deposit and withdrawal capabilities into partner banks’ mobile apps, aiming to bridge the gap between digital banking and physical cash access. The company is developing secure APIs to enable customers to initiate and complete cash deposits and withdrawals from OneBanx kiosks using their existing mobile banking apps. This integration complements existing digital payment solutions, providing a more comprehensive service offering. OneBanx’s joint white paper with Enryo highlights the importance of a long-term strategic approach for cash users. Benefits for Banks and Their Customers : Enhanced Customer Experience: Customers can enjoy a unified banking experience, managing their finances and accessing cash through a single, familiar platform. Increased Digital Engagement: Introducing cash access features within bank apps can serve as a gateway for customers who are less digitally active, encouraging gradual adoption of digital banking services. Cost-Effective Infrastructure: Banks can extend their service reach without the overhead of maintaining traditional branch networks, leveraging OneBanx’s kiosk infrastructure.
Phonely’s conversational AI agents reduce response times by more than 70% he awkward delays that immediately signal to callers they’re talking to a machine
A three-way partnership between AI phone support company Phonely, inference optimization platform Maitai, and chip maker Groq has achieved a breakthrough that addresses one of conversational AI’s most persistent problems: the awkward delays that immediately signal to callers they’re talking to a machine. The collaboration has enabled Phonely to reduce response times by more than 70% while simultaneously boosting accuracy from 81.5% to 99.2% across four model iterations, surpassing GPT-4o’s 94.7% benchmark by 4.5 percentage points. The improvements stem from Groq’s new capability to instantly switch between multiple specialized AI models without added latency, orchestrated through Maitai’s optimization platform. The system works by collecting performance data from every interaction, identifying weak points, and iteratively improving the models without customer intervention. “Since Maitai sits in the middle of the inference flow, we collect strong signals identifying where models underperform,” Matai founder Christian DalSanto explained. “These ‘soft spots’ are clustered, labeled, and incrementally fine-tuned to address specific weaknesses without causing regressions.” The performance gains translate directly to business outcomes. “One of our biggest customers saw a 32% increase in qualified leads as compared to a previous version using previous state-of-the-art models,” Will Bodewes, Phonely’s founder and CEO noted. For call centers and customer service operations, the implications could be transformative: one of Phonely’s customers is replacing 350 human agents this month alone.
Peloton launches P2P used equipment marketplace, allowing members to post listings for their used Peloton equipment and gear and set a price with help from a generative AI tool
Peloton launched its own marketplace for reselling used equipment and gear as the company looks to capitalize on the many bikes and treadmills collecting dust in people’s homes. The platform, dubbed Repowered, will allow members to post listings for their used Peloton equipment and gear and set a price with help from a generative AI tool. Sellers have the final say on how much to list the item for, but the AI tool will suggest a price based on information about the product, such as its age, Peloton said. It said sellers will get 70% of the sales price, while the rest will be shared between Peloton and its platform provider, Archive. Sellers will get a discount toward new equipment, while buyers will see the activation fee for a used product drop from $95 to $45. Buyers will be able to see the equipment’s history on the listing and have the option to get the item delivered for an extra fee, Peloton said. The resale market for used bikes and treadmills is booming. The company said it wants to streamline the sale process for members and offer a safe and comfortable way for prospective customers to buy equipment. It’s also an opportunity for Peloton to reach a wider array of new users as it plots a pathway back to growth.
AdLift ‘Tesseract offers real-time visibility into how brands are being discovered and represented within AI-powered responses
AdLift announced the launch of Tesseract, an innovative AI-driven platform. Tesseract is the first-ever tool designed to help brands, agencies, and marketers track and amplify their presence across the rapidly expanding landscape of LLM powered search platforms, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity. AdLift Inc., now part of Liqvd Asia, has been at the forefront of innovation, bringing together top talent to deliver groundbreaking solutions. With Tesseract, their latest breakthrough, they’re taking AI-powered marketing to the next level. This breakthrough technology is built to give brands unprecedented real-time visibility into how they are being discovered and represented within AI-powered responses. It empowers marketers to not only monitor but also optimize their digital footprint where it counts—in the very engines powering the next generation of search. Tesseract goes beyond legacy SEO tools by decoding the complex ways LLMs display and prioritize brand content across diverse AI-driven channels. Whether its tracking brand mentions in ChatGPT conversations or analyzing visibility in Google’s AI Overviews, the platform delivers actionable insights that fuel smarter, AI-savvy marketing strategies. Prashant Puri, CEO & Co-Founder of AdLift, “The dominance of traditional search engines is being challenged by AI-native platforms that interpret and present information differently. Brands that don’t adapt risk becoming invisible in this new landscape. Tesseract is our answer to this challenge—a revolutionary tool that puts brands back in control of their digital destiny.”
New Automated Underwriting System (AUS) purpose-built for the Non-QM lending market shifts underwriting decisions to the start of the loan lifecycle by using verified borrower data and aligning directly with investor-specific guidelines
Prudent AI has launched the industry’s first Upfront Automated Underwriting System (AUS) purpose-built for the Non-QM lending market. The new system shifts underwriting decisions to the start of the loan lifecycle by using verified borrower data and aligning directly with investor-specific guidelines, enabling lenders and brokers to scale confidently with fewer exceptions and greater certainty. Prudent AI’s Upfront AUS introduces a fundamental shift: moving critical underwriting logic upstream, where it can deliver the highest impact — enabling faster, cleaner, and more compliant decisions before loans enter underwriting queues. Purpose-Built for Modern Lending Prudent AI’s Upfront AUS: Uses verified income, credit, and asset data at submission; Applies investor-specific guidelines; Assess eligibility and conditions to clear; Offers a dual-phase review: upfront qualification and downstream consistency; Is built from the ground up to support the complexity and flexibility of Non-QM lending. Real Impact for TPOs and Lenders include: TPOs benefit from faster submissions, fewer conditions, and clearer investor alignment; Lenders gain efficiency, reduce rework, and expand underwriting capacity without adding headcount; Operational teams get cleaner data pipelines and scalable exception management.