Coop Värmland, a Swedish consumer cooperative that runs some 60 supermarkets, aims to optimize its staff schedules to reduce idle time and improve the customer experience working with workforce optimization specialist Zenopt. Zenopt’s software will help the retailer to plan its staffing more cost-effectively and smooth out its workload in order to reduce stresses on staff.

 

Authentic Brands Group LLC, owner of a global portfolio of celebrity and entertainment and lifestyle brands, announced a definitive agreement to purchase the American lifestyle brand Nautica from VF Corporation.

 

Commercetools, the leading provider of next-generation commerce, has extended its partnership with global business transformation agency Valtech. This expanded strategic partnership will enable brands, retailers and manufacturers in North America to provide their customers enhanced, shopping-enabled experiences beyond traditional websites.

 

Macy’s Inc. announced Mobile Checkout, powered by the Macy’s app and designed to speed the in-store checkout process. It is slated for a nationwide rollout to all full-line stores by the end of this year. In addition, an augmented reality furniture shopping experience, powered by Marxent’s 3D Cloud and VR solution, will be incorporated into the Macy’s app with a rollout beginning in April.

 

Souler, an influencer commerce platform, announced the addition of several new brands including Ben Sherman, Nambé and Rockport to its growing list of more than 100 companies leveraging influencers to increase brand awareness and generate additional revenue.

 

Affirm Inc., the company started by entrepreneur Max Levchin to provide fair and honest financial products, announced it will partner with merchants to make Affirm financing available in-store. Shoppers can use Affirm InStore in bricks-and-mortar locations, securing credit in just seconds before they even get to the cash register, and can pay for their purchase over time in simple, fixed monthly installments. Additionally, the company announced that consumers will have the ability to instantly add a newly issued Affirm virtual card to Apple Pay, the easy, secure and private way to pay, via the Affirm mobile app.

 

Mercatus, a leading provider in digital solutions for grocery, has partnered with Shipt, a leading online same-day delivery platform. The partnership will enable a turnkey solution, bringing personalized shopping and last-mile delivery to leading regional grocers, rounding out their fulfillment options and enhancing the online shopping experience through Shipt.

 

Alipay, operated by Ant Financial Services Group, is further expanding its footprint in the Americas through a partnership with Openpay in Mexico, allowing Alipay’s more than 600 million active users in China to use Alipay to make purchases from Openpay’s affiliated businesses in Mexico. Alipay is China’s leading payment provider and the primary means of online and mobile payment for Chinese consumers.

 

Axis network audio technologies, a division of Axis Communications, will integrate with several subscription-based music services to enable tailored background music for businesses in primarily retail establishments. By partnering with Soundtrack Your Brand, Royal Streaming, MUSIC2BIZ and Pinesker Media Company, Axis can now offer a complete solution for retailers who wish to easily manage all aspects of their in-store audio.

 

Bluecore, an AI-driven retail marketing platform that brings together website, customer and live product insights to match customers with the products they love, is partnering with Magento Commerce. Together, Magento and Bluecore will equip merchants with new opportunities to interact with their customers through individualized communications deployed directly from the Magento platform.

 

TableSafe Inc., maker of the first purpose-built pay-at-the-table platform for table-service restaurants, announced that 71 Above and Takami Sushi have become the first restaurants in the greater Los Angeles area to provide EMV-secured pay-at-the-table convenience for their guests using TableSafe’s RAIL payment platform.

 

HelloFresh SE has acquired Green Chef, the USDA-certified organic meal kit company. HelloFresh will now offer the largest selection of meal plans for consumers, adding Green Chef’s popular organic, vegan and gluten-free menus, including those plans compliant with paleo and keto diets.

 

For Eyes, a subsidiary of leading global optical retailer GrandVision, has chosen the Clutch platform to help it take an innovative approach to customer data, enabling a change in the way customers perceive and shop with the brand through smarter marketing.

 

Mystery Ranch, the Montana-based backpack company that makes packs for both military and consumer markets, has selected Centric Software to provide its product lifecycle management solution. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to fashion, retail, footwear, outdoor, luxury and consumer goods companies to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.