Global News and Digital
Insights for the Food and Grocery Industry

April 6, 2021

Walmart is building its website as a media platform to compete with Amazon

As per a report by Profitero, an e-commerce research firm, Walmart is gearing up to increase the number of ads on its website. This move is led by the intent to double the revenue from ad units and the number of advertisers. Moreover, it will compete with Amazon who ran 9.1 paid ads on average on the first page of search results in January.

Chocolate-manufacturers use social media apps to predict and increase sales this Easter

Hershey and various other chocolate-makers observed trends of Easter desserts on social media apps to predict and grow Easter sales. Pinterest has been a major source of inspiration for people to come up with unique Easter desserts and indicated the changing consumer behaviour. Hershey quickly jumped on the bandwagon and uploaded recipes incorporating Cadbury crème eggs and chocolate syrup. Data suggested that consumers would spend as much as $179.70 this Easter in US.

Albertson Cos. partners with Google to improve the omnichannel shopping experience

Albertsons Cos. has collaborated with Google to create a seamless online and in-store customer experience. The grocer will include Google’s search and Maps to help customers find products, use Google Pay to checkout and build a predictive grocery engine using Google Cloud AI. Albertsons retail pharmacies have been sending COVID-19 vaccine notifications using Google conversational e-commerce and messaging solution.

Indian lawmakers to propose a law to debar private cryptocurrencies

Indian Authorities are planning to propose a law regarding the ban on private cryptocurrencies. The lawmakers also suggested developing a framework to launch Indian digital currency, which will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India, to replace foreign bitcoins. The RBI stated to ban individuals and businesses allowing the use of cryptocurrencies back in April 2018. The statement was rejected by India’s Supreme court later on.

Visa will be allowing shoppers to settle payment transactions using cryptocurrency

Visa, a U.S. based firm offering financial services, has partnered with Crypto.com and will now be adding cryptocurrency USD coins to settle transactions on its payment network. Financial giants including BNY Mellon, BlackRock Inc and Mastercard Inc have already included some digital coins. Many firms have received rising demand from shoppers who are eager to access and use cryptocurrency as a medium of financial payments.

Nestlé Professional introduces anti-viral and self-disinfecting screen protection

Nestle Professional, the leading cold and hot beverages brand, has partnered with Nanoveu, a technology research firm, to deploy anti-viral screen protectors for its coffee machines placed in offices, convenience stores, and other public spots. The modern Nanoshield films are capable of self-disinfecting and are scientifically proven to have anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. The anti-viral mechanism thoroughly disinfects screen protectors, regardless of the frequency of touching and daily cleaning.

Booming Chinese E-Grocer raises $750 million in an investment round led by Alibaba

In an investment round led by tech giant Alibaba and investment firm DTS Global, a Chinese e-grocer Nice Tuan, AKA Shi Hui Tuan, has raised $750 million. The Beijing-based digital firm has a group-buying business model. The digital app lets customers into a group through its WeChat mini-program to buy fresh produce and other groceries at competitive and negotiated prices.

Walmart is building its website as a media platform to compete with Amazon

As per a report by Profitero, an e-commerce research firm, Walmart is gearing up to increase the number of ads on its website. This move is led by the intent to double the revenue from ad units and the number of advertisers. Moreover, it will compete with Amazon who ran 9.1 paid ads on average on the first page of search results in January.

Chocolate-manufacturers use social media apps to predict and increase sales this Easter

Hershey and various other chocolate-makers observed trends of Easter desserts on social media apps to predict and grow Easter sales. Pinterest has been a major source of inspiration for people to come up with unique Easter desserts and indicated the changing consumer behaviour. Hershey quickly jumped on the bandwagon and uploaded recipes incorporating Cadbury crème eggs and chocolate syrup. Data suggested that consumers would spend as much as $179.70 this Easter in US.

Albertson Cos. partners with Google to improve the omnichannel shopping experience

Albertsons Cos. has collaborated with Google to create a seamless online and in-store customer experience. The grocer will include Google’s search and Maps to help customers find products, use Google Pay to checkout and build a predictive grocery engine using Google Cloud AI. Albertsons retail pharmacies have been sending COVID-19 vaccine notifications using Google conversational e-commerce and messaging solution.

Indian lawmakers to propose a law to debar private cryptocurrencies

Indian Authorities are planning to propose a law regarding the ban on private cryptocurrencies. The lawmakers also suggested developing a framework to launch Indian digital currency, which will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India, to replace foreign bitcoins. The RBI stated to ban individuals and businesses allowing the use of cryptocurrencies back in April 2018. The statement was rejected by India’s Supreme court later on.

Visa will be allowing shoppers to settle payment transactions using cryptocurrency

Visa, a U.S. based firm offering financial services, has partnered with Crypto.com and will now be adding cryptocurrency USD coins to settle transactions on its payment network. Financial giants including BNY Mellon, BlackRock Inc and Mastercard Inc have already included some digital coins. Many firms have received rising demand from shoppers who are eager to access and use cryptocurrency as a medium of financial payments.

Nestlé Professional introduces anti-viral and self-disinfecting screen protection

Nestle Professional, the leading cold and hot beverages brand, has partnered with Nanoveu, a technology research firm, to deploy anti-viral screen protectors for its coffee machines placed in offices, convenience stores, and other public spots. The modern Nanoshield films are capable of self-disinfecting and are scientifically proven to have anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. The anti-viral mechanism thoroughly disinfects screen protectors, regardless of the frequency of touching and daily cleaning.

Booming Chinese E-Grocer raises $750 million in an investment round led by Alibaba

In an investment round led by tech giant Alibaba and investment firm DTS Global, a Chinese e-grocer Nice Tuan, AKA Shi Hui Tuan, has raised $750 million. The Beijing-based digital firm has a group-buying business model. The digital app lets customers into a group through its WeChat mini-program to buy fresh produce and other groceries at competitive and negotiated prices.