Merchandising & Store OpsMonday, August 31, 2026
AI agents are now autonomously managing inventory tasks, including restocking alerts and reconciling counts, within a broader 89% adoption rate of AI applications in retail and CPG companies.
Wonder, the parent company of Grubhub, has raised approximately $600 million at a valuation exceeding $7 billion to double its physical retail presence and expand beyond the New York metro area.
Retail software platforms are replacing manual shelf layout processes with AI-driven systems that generate and update planograms based on sales data and demand signals.
Prosus has begun selling down its holding in Delivery Hero, including a 4.5% stake sale to Uber in April 2026, following antitrust approval for its acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway.
Amazon's 'Rufus' AI shopping assistant, built on Amazon Bedrock and Claude, is projected to generate over $700 million in profit in 2025 and has increased purchase completion rates by 60% for its users.
A 2025 National Retail Federation study indicates that 40% of consumers now rely on AI assistants for product research before purchasing.
