With the financial year at a close and tax returns underway how businesses can better utilise government incentives is front of mind. For small businesses (turnover of up to $10 million) the $20,000 instant tax write off is a great opportunity to invest in new technologies and equipment, that can make the business more efficient and ultimately cheaper to run….

Auchan Retail Group founded in Lille in north of France in 1961, is the second largest retail-based business group in France. Auchan is a Fortune 500 Global organization, operating in 17 countries through more than 4000 stores. As a world leading retailer, Auchan aims to create a better consumer experience in the store environment through optimizing technology and retail solutions.

They went about doing this by partnering with Hanshow who are a leading provider in electronic shelf labels and related Omni-channel solutions.

United Business News: On May 27th, Yonghui Group opened its 18th Yonghui O2O experience member store in Shanghai. This brand new model of supermarket has drawn a lot of attention in retail ever since the first Yonghui member store opened.

It is challenging for a traditional retailer to attract online consumers. However, 1919 Liquor stores have combined their online flow with their offline stores, and have achieved great success in the Omni-channel retail model.

LINKSHOP News: “HeMa Fresh Store” is a new store concept of the Alibaba Group leading one of the biggest e-commerce innovations in the world. After 6 months of operation each HeMa store receives ~4,000 online orders per day averaging ~70rmb per order. This achievement has proved the success of Omni-channel retail.

The COOP Hypermarket business recently opened a new concept store at Bicocca Village in Milan. The new flagship store combines physical and digital, bringing together the atmosphere of local open-air markets with innovative digital solutions. All under one roof. Customers can enjoy a grocery shopping on a whole new level through a digital journey that satisfies their demand for information, engagement and functionality in a simple and intuitive way

FutureShelf (formerly esLabels) successfully completes Electronic Shelf Label installation at The Railway Hotel in Melbourne.

It’s not a new tech innovation; you’ve all been utilising this online for a while now – reviews and ratings. Reviews and ratings are not just a tool online marketers can leverage, real-time product ratings can also be presented at the shelf edge, without intervention from staff on the shop floor.

Shopping for groceries may be a little different this year, with digital technologies and enhanced in store experiences predicted to be the supermarket trends of 2016.

A great article from The Consumerist on how Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs) can help bricks and mortar retailers stay competitive compared to etailers such as Amazon. snapshot below.