In its latest announcement, Boston Dynamics revealed it will deliver a fleet of Stretch robots to multiple DHL warehouses throughout North America over the next three years.

In the next six months, the firm plans to have up to 500 dark stores across 20 cities, which the company claims will be the largest dark store network in the country. Currently, it has 200 dark stores, which offer more than 2,500 stock keeping units.

The companies, both of which provide labour-saving storage technology to the fast-growing online shopping industry, have been locked in a series of battles over intellectual property (IP) rights for years.

The city of Amsterdam announced on Thursday a one-year freeze on the opening of new "dark stores" - small distribution centres in residential areas or nearby shopping streets used by burgeoning fast grocery services such as Gorillas, Getir, and Flink.

The Kroger Co. plans to launch a second “spoke” facility to work with its Ocado-automated customer fulfillment center (CFC) in Monroe, Ohio, in filling online grocery orders.

To manage the surge and meet the needs of consumers and retailers alike, FedEx and Microsoft are collaborating on what they call a cloud-based, cross-platform solution to improve customer engagement while also providing enhanced shipping options. In short, to meet and better manage the rising tide of packages, the two companies have unveiled a “Logistics-as-a-Service” offering for retailers, merchants and brands.

From lightweight robots to hi-tech van routing systems, British online supermarket Ocado unveiled a suite of innovations on Wednesday it predicted would raise its returns and win new customers for its technology.

BrewDog expands D2C offer with Jiffy tie-up

The first Amazon Style store, located in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, California, will open its doors later this year, the company announced Thursday. The store will feature women’s and men’s apparel, shoes, and accessories from a mix of well-known and emerging brands, with prices catering to a wide range of shoppers.

The Grocer approached Aldi for comment after spotting several of its stores had disappeared from the platform

Hy-Vee, which for years has offered dietitian services and in-store wellness sections, is hoping its latest health-focused offering will resonate with shoppers across the country.

Instead of shoplifting from stores, some thieves are zeroing in on another target: Trains and delivery trucks full of packages on the way to customers’ doorsteps.

REI Co-op will build a new distribution center in Lebanon, Tennessee, to support growth on the East Coast, Midwest, and South.

The health and beauty retailer’s customers can now get products direct to their doorsteps via Amazon Prime’s free two-hour scheduled delivery service.

Offering a secure, temperature-controlled and internet-connected outdoor receptacle, the Smart Box enables unattended delivery of fresh groceries and packages directly to consumers’ front doors. With HomeValet’s mobile app and subscription service, consumers will be able to conveniently customize, manage, monitor and remotely control their Smart Boxes for delivery anytime.

Some numbers for online grocery sales in the U.S. have been tallied, and point to a bigger, broader embrace of digital shopping. According to the latest Brick Meets Click/Mercatus Shopping Survey, online grocery sales hit $97.7 billion in 2021 and online grocery shopping grew 2% to comprise almost 13% of total grocery spending for the year. More than 70% of U.S. households received one or more orders during the year, the findings show.

The Kroger Co. and Nuro announced today an expanded collaboration to continue redefining the customer experience leveraging autonomous vehicles with the introduction of Nuro's third-generation autonomous delivery vehicle.

The discount home furnishings' chain said Monday that it plans to open more than 500 new stores over the next several years following a decade in which it put its expansion on pause. Big Lots (BIG) will open around 50 new stores in 2022 and then 80 or so annually. The chain will add stores in existing markets, rural and small towns, and in new areas, the company said in an investor presentation.

In a move seen as a challenge to Amazon’s expanding physical footprint, JD.com has opened its first stores in Europe, opening two robotic “pick-up” stores in the Netherlands — with more to come.

Today, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT) announced it has developed and is testing a custom-engineered non-pneumatic (airless) tire (NPT) to support Starship delivery robots.