Walmart is integrating new technologies into its e-commerce plan as part of a larger reset.

This includes adding a nutty chatbot to manage customer service to selling Walmart goods on gaming platform Roblox.

“A standard search bar is no longer the fastest path to purchase, rather we must use technology to adapt to customers’ individual preferences and needs,” Suresh Kumar, CTO and CDO of Walmart, said in a press statement.

The announcements come at a time when the “every day low price” retailer’s e-commerce business is growing and thriving.

“At the heart of our platform strategy is developing common global core capabilities that are built once and deployed across Walmart US, Sam’s Club, and Walmart International,” Kumar added.

Walmart dubbed these features as “adaptive retail” technologies when it first shared its plans at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Keep reading here.—VC

As the holiday shopping season approaches, retailers better get their ship together. So finds a new survey on holiday shopping from supply chain platform Project44.

More than half (58%) of Americans said they’re either unlikely or very unlikely to shop at a retailer who missed a promised delivery date in the past. In the UK, respondents were even more unforgiving, with more than three out of four respondents (76%) saying they were unlikely or very unlikely to reorder from a retailer who flubbed on a promised delivery date.

That may seem unjust when the delays are often the fault of their shippers, but the report stressed that consumers put the blame squarely on retailers.

Keep reading here.—AAN

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Heather Hoytink has been with PepsiCo for more than 18 years, currently serving as president, south division at PepsiCo Beverages North America.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I have the privilege and honor of leading PepsiCo Beverages North America’s South Division, guiding a team of over 15,000 associates who make, move, and sell our iconic brands. We’re the force behind getting your favorite drinks, like Pepsi, Gatorade, and Bubly, into stores and restaurants and ultimately into the hands of consumers, like you, in communities across the Southeast US, from Maryland to Florida to Louisiana.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? While I may work for a large global company, as I’ve risen through the ranks at PepsiCo, I’ve tried to never lose sight of the importance of getting out in the trade and building relationships with our frontline employees and retail partners. It’s what makes my role as a division president so exciting. My job requires a community-focused approach specific to our south division and meeting with our associates and partners to understand the challenges they’re facing at not only a regional level, but a city and store level is an important first step in providing meaningful solutions.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? One of my proudest achievements was developing and championing a platform that we call “Own the Streets.” This is an initiative focused on making sure we have the right people, right products, and right processes to serve small business customers—specifically local convenience stores and bodegas.

Keep reading here.—EC