Self-serve commerce company Cantaloupe is set to go private in an $884 million deal. The company announced that it would be acquired by 365 Retail Markets, maker of unattended retail technologies and a portfolio company of private equity group Providence Equity Partners. Cantaloupe’s and 365’s complementary strengths will enable the combined company to offer a seamless unattended retail platform for customers around the globe, from hardware to software, and payment processing technology to data analytics. Cantaloupe’s offerings in delivering frictionless payments and software services combined with 365’s innovation and focus in self-checkout technology primarily for foodservice operator (FSO)-centric, enterprise-focused customers are expected to help expand the combined company’s customer base, product suite and vertical reach. The combined company will have a strong financial foundation and the transaction is expected to unlock meaningful synergies to fuel further investment in the business and customer benefits. These synergies include customer cost savings, cross-sell opportunities, and growth through new product rollouts, increased software adoption, and payments expansion. Together, the two companies say they will be better positioned to serve food service, convenience, retail, hospitality and sports/entertainment providers across North America, Latin America and Europe.
Pinterest to launch shoppable ads by leveraging Instacart’s first-party audience data built from real-world retail purchase behavior for targeting high-intent consumers with more precision
Instacart and Pinterest are enhancing brands’ Pinterest campaigns by providing high-intent audiences powered by Instacart data. In the initial phase of the partnership, select brands advertising on Pinterest will be able to advertise their products to Instacart first-party audience segments—built from real-world retail purchase behavior—to reach high-intent consumers with more precision. A second phase is expected to introduce closed-loop measurement, which would tie Pinterest ads to actual product sales across the Instacart Marketplace of over 1,800 retailers, and help prove campaign impact with real purchase data. Pinterest ads will become directly shoppable via Instacart, giving Pinterest users the ability to complete a purchase in just a few clicks. Imagine pinning a cocktail recipe and being able to instantly order the ingredients, or discovering a new clean beauty brand and getting it delivered to your door in as fast as 30 minutes. Pinterest advertisers will also gain a new way to leverage first-party audience data from Instacart. This means the ability to target and reach Instacart consumers based on actual purchase behaviors, like fans of gluten-free snacks or low-sugar beverages on Pinterest.
Startup Alta’s AI stylist makes outfit recommendations and lets users try on those looks with their personalized virtual avatar by uploading their closet photos or dressing themselves in clothes they are looking to buy
Startup Alta has announced an $11 million seed round led by Menlo Ventures. The product is indeed an AI stylist and personal shopper that makes outfit recommendations and lets users try on those looks with their personalized virtual avatar. Users upload their closet by either taking photos, forwarding purchase receipts, or searching what is already in the Alta database. People can also dress themselves in clothes they are looking to buy, mixing and matching with clothes already in their closet. Alta has already struck a partnership with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) to offer Alta to its membership base. There are others playing around in the AI styling space, such as Whering and Cladwell, all trying to recreate the magic of that iconic scene in “Clueless,” where Cher plans an outfit from her closet using computer technology. Founder Jenny Wang considers herself to be part of the new wave of consumer technology, looking to make styling and shopping more effective. “There are existing players like Google Shopping and Pinterest who are also experimenting with AI,” she continued. “But the experiences that consumers will crave and use in the future will need to be built with new technical architectures and new user interfaces.”
Walmart leads in SNAP shopper spend, capturing nearly a quarter (24%) followed by Kroger (8%), Costco (6%) and Amazon (5%); nearly one-in-three (29%) of lapsed 2021 SNAP households say they are putting money into savings
According to a new report from Numerator, Walmart leads in SNAP shopper spend, capturing nearly a quarter (24%). The retail giant is followed by Kroger (8%), Costco (6%), Amazon (5%) and Sam’s Club (4%). Walmart, Amazon, 7-Eleven, Dollar General and Dollar Tree all over-index with SNAP users compared to all shoppers. For the 52-week period ending March 30, 2025, SNAP shoppers shifted their CPG and general merchandise share towards Costco (+2.0%), Walmart (+1.2%), Amazon (+0.8%), Sam’s Club (+0.5%) and Target (+0.3%). SNAP usage is down compared to a few years ago. About one-in-five (19%) of U.S. households regularly utilized SNAP benefits in May 2022, compared to 15% of U.S. households in February 2025. Households that used SNAP in 2021–2022 but no longer use it in 2025 are more likely to have a household income of over $80,000, live in a suburban area, have a four-year or graduate degree, have four to five persons in their household, and be Gen X. Nearly one-in-three (29%) of lapsed 2021 SNAP households say they are putting money into savings. Almost a quarter (23%) of current SNAP households have a household income of $80,000 or more (+6 points vs. 2020), while more than half (53%) have an income between $40k–80k (+4 points). Twenty-three percent have an income of less than $40k (-10 points).
Klarna allows callers to provide feedback and suggestions about its products to “AI-Sebastian,” who has been trained using the real CEO’s voice, personal insights and experiences
Klarna has introduced an AI-powered hotline, enabling customers to engage directly with a digital version of CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski for product feedback. This initiative places technology at the centre of customer communication, enabling a more streamlined and efficient feedback process.This innovative approach allows callers to provide feedback and suggestions about Klarna’s products to “AI-Sebastian,” who has been trained using the real CEO’s voice, personal insights and experiences. The deployment of this technology aims to transform the way customer input is gathered and integrated into product development. The new service is initially rolling out in Sweden and the US. By leveraging advanced AI, Klarna’s customers can now submit ideas, ask questions and provide feedback simply through a regular phone call. This eliminates the need for traditional, often cumbersome methods of data collection. Each conversation is analysed and transcribed in real time using AI. This ensures that all customer interactions are captured and processed efficiently, providing immediate insights into customer sentiments and requirements. Upon completion of a call, the technology generates a summary which is immediately forwarded to an internal information flow, where it is assigned to Klarna’s product and development teams. This rapid dissemination of information ensures that relevant departments can quickly address customer feedback. Customer feedback, depending on the nature of the issue or suggestion, can lead to tangible product improvements within 24 hours. This rapid response capability highlights the agility and responsiveness enabled by integrating AI into the customer feedback loop. Klarna seeks to challenge conventional standards by offering customers a faster and more interactive way to contribute to the improvement of its products and services. The AI-driven hotline is designed to overcome the limitations of traditional feedback methods, ensuring a more engaging and insightful customer experience. The introduction of the direct line to “AI-Sebastian” builds on Klarna’s ongoing efforts to leverage AI for increased efficiency and improved customer experience. Klarna’s AI chatbot now handles two-thirds of all chats, representing over 1.3 million customer cases each month, and the work of 800 full-time employees. Simultaneously, the average handling time has decreased from 12 minutes to under two, while maintaining customer satisfaction. The company has recently replaced over 1,200 external SaaS solutions with a proprietary technical infrastructure. By implementing AI throughout the organisation, revenue per employee has increased by 152%, approaching $1m per employee per year.
Startup focused on Indian diaspora to expand beyond remittances into verticalized financial services through platform for paying rent and utilities, foreign currency fixed deposit accounts and full-stack banking account
Aspora (formerly Vance) is trying to build a verticalized financial experience for the Indian diaspora by keeping convenience at the center. While a lot of financial products are in its future roadmap, the company currently focuses largely on remittances. Now it also allows customers to invest in mutual funds in India. The company has raised $50 million in Series B funding, co-led by Sequoia and Greylock, with Hummingbird, Quantum Light Ventures, and Y Combinator also contributing to the round. The startup said this round values the company at $500 million. The startup has raised over $99 million in funding to date. The startup is also set to launch in the U.S. Plus, it plans to open up shop in Canada, Singapore, and Australia by the fourth quarter of this year. In the next few months, the company is launching a few products to offer more services. This month, it plans to launch a bill payment platform to let users pay for services like rent and utilities. Next month, it plans to launch fixed deposit accounts for non-resident Indians that allow them to park money in foreign currency. By the end of the year, it plans to launch a full-stack banking account for NRIs that typically takes days for users to open. While these accounts can help the diaspora maintain their tax status in India, a lot of people use a family member’s account because of the cumbersome process, and Aspora wants to simplify this. Apart from banking, the company also plans to launch a product that would help NRIs take care of their parents back home by offering regular medical checkups, emergency care coverage, and concierge services for other assistance.
Albertsons to deploy in-store large-format premium digital displays in high traffic areas at selected touchpoints to enhance shopping experience and gain insights for direct sales attribution and sales lift
Albertsons Media Collective retail media arm is partnering with shopper engagement solution provider Stratacache to deploy a fleet of digital screens that will support in-store advertising in its stores. The in-store digital display network pilot will launch during summer 2025 in select Albertsons Companies stores in two key regions, featuring large-format premium displays in high traffic areas at selected touchpoints throughout the store, such as store entry and the produce department. Albertsons expects this initiative will enhance the shopping experience for customers while also providing insights through advanced measurement capabilities for brand partners, allowing for proof of play, direct sales attribution and sales lift. In-store digital ads are designed to reach customers throughout their shopping journey, encouraging them to add items to their cart with engaging content on digital screens, including meal or snack inspiration, product usage and lifestyle and health benefits. For a full store immersion, brands can enhance this experience with in-store audio and promotional offers. Albertsons Media Collective participating advertisers can also deploy offsite display and social video campaigns to bring their brand message to life in the store.
Adobe’s new app can detect gaps in brand visibility and suggest improvements across both owned and external channels based on attributes prioritized by LLMs, to optimize content for enhanced discoverability
Adobe announced Adobe LLM Optimizer, a new enterprise application that enables businesses to gain new relevance in an environment where consumers are embracing generative AI-powered interfaces to engage their favorite brands. Now with Adobe LLM Optimizer, teams can stay ahead of shifting consumer behaviors and remain top-of-mind in the AI era. A suite of features will enable businesses to monitor AI-driven traffic and benchmark brand visibility, while receiving recommendations that can be quickly deployed on their digital properties to improve discoverability, engagement and conversion. Adobe LLM Optimizer enables brands to: Monitor and increase AI-driven traffic: LLM Optimizer will be able to identify owned content (details on a website for instance) that is being leveraged by AI-powered interfaces to deliver responses to user queries. Optimize content to improve discoverability: A recommendation engine will detect gaps in brand visibility and suggest improvements across both owned and external channels—based on attributes prioritized by LLMs including high-quality, informative content from authoritative sources. An attribution capability also connects AI visibility to user behavior and business performance, enabling teams to demonstrate the effect on engagement, conversion and downstream traffic metrics.
Nurix Labs AI voice agents offer exceptional interruption handling for complex calls, immediate resolution and 99% accuracy to allow meaningful human-like voice interactions that reflect brand tone
Nurix Labs, the developer of custom AI agents for enterprise customers, launched an interactive voice platform NuPlay that will allow meaningful automated human-like voice interactions using AI agents. NuPlay will bridge the gap between dry business operations and customers by providing meaningful interactions and allowing businesses to scale up automated customer service. According to the company, its voice-enabled AI agents offer exceptional interruption handling for complex calls, immediate resolution, 99% accuracy, personality-driven agents that reflect brand tone, and multiple integrated enterprise software systems such as CRM, booking and support platforms. NuPlay is enabling people to interact with AI agents in the same way they would with a sales rep or customer support team, fostering genuine engagement, gathering information and accelerating decision-making seamlessly within enterprise operations.
Chick-fil-A tops the QSR ACSI customer satisfaction for the 11th year in a row, despite experiencing slow growth amid increased competition
Chick-fil-A is continuing its dominance in the quick-serve sector when it comes to customer satisfaction, topping the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s (ACSI) Restaurant and Food Delivery Study for the 11th year in a row, with a steady score of 83 out of 100. However, the list-topping performance comes as Chick-fil-A is experiencing slow growth amid increased competition. U.S. sales only grew 5.4% in 2024, providing openings for popular chicken brands like Raising Cane’s and Wingstop. KFC dropped 5% to 77 as it faces competitors who are adapting to shifting preferences more quickly. Popeyes was up 4% to 75. Other notable score changes include Panda Express (up 4% to 80), which jumps into a second-place tie with Starbucks (unchanged). Little Caesars, up 3% to 77, improved its ratings for food and service quality. Five Guys and Sonic both fell 4% to scores of 75 and 73, respectively, in the most recent ACSI report. Last-place McDonald’s dropped 1% to an ACSI score of 70. As a whole, the customer experience for quick-service restaurants is similar to last year’s report, with every aspect receiving a score of 81 or higher. Accuracy of food order and quality of mobile app lead the way at 85, both down 1% year over year. Mobile app reliability is 1% lower at 84, matching beverage quality, staff courtesy and helpfulness, food quality and website satisfaction (the only metric to increase in 2025).