27/09/21; The Guardian Sellers of plug-in vehicles say petrol shortages are driving people to adopt the new technology As petrol stations in parts of the UK started running out of fuel on Friday, business at Martin Miller’s electric car dealership in Guildford, Surrey, started soaring. After what ended up being his company EV Experts busiest day ever, interest does not appear to be dying down. This week the diary is booked up with test drives and the business is low on stock. “People buy electric cars for environmental reasons, for cost-saving reasons and because the technology’s great,” he said. “But Friday was one of those moments where people said, ‘Do you know what, this is a sign that we need to go electric’.” While scenes of chaos play out at petrol stations across the country amid shortages, for many electric vehicle (EV) dealers the fuel crisis has led to an unexpected surge…

27/09/21; NACS Online C-stores can now send delivery orders to the most cost- and time-effective third-party provider. CHICAGO—Vroom Delivery has partnered with Skipcart to allow convenience stores to automatically route orders between multiple third-party delivery services on an order-by-order basis based on cost, speed and serviceability. When a c-store receives an order, Vroom recommends the best third-party service based on the delivery location and driver network availability, or stores can choose to deliver some orders with their own drivers or utilize Vroom’s proprietary driver app. “The high cost of delivery and the lack of control of customer data on the third-party marketplaces are the two biggest complaints we hear from stores. With the addition of Skipcart and our automated brokerage service, we aim to solve both of these issues through our platform,” said John Nelson, CEO of Vroom Delivery. Vroom also partners with Doordash Drive and robot delivery service Tortoise.…

30/09/21; Electric Drives New ABB Terra 360 electric vehicle (EV) charger delivers a full charge in just 15 minutes and offers 62 miles (100km) in under three minutes ABB, a leading global technology company that helps to accelerate the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future, have launched the world’s fastest electric car charger. ABB’s new Terra 360 is a modular charger that can simultaneously charge up to four vehicles with dynamic power distribution. This means that drivers will not have to wait if somebody else is already charging ahead of them. They simply pull up to another plug. The new charger has a maximum output of 360kW and is capable of fully charging any electric vehicle (EV) in 15 minutes or less. It can deliver 62 miles (100km) of charge in less than three minutes. This is a game-changer for electric car drivers whether it’s…

30/09/21; Inside Retail Asia Google has unveiled new search functions aimed at improving the online shopping experience, including allowing consumers to see retailers’ in-store inventory from wherever they are using their device. The enhancements have been enabled using advances in AI technology, the company said during its livestreamed Search On conference overnight. A new addition to search results – an “in stock” filter – will show if nearby stores have specific items on their shelves. In an example provided by the search provider, someone looking for a kids bike helmet can click on the filter to find stores nearby that have a helmet – right down to a specific brand or style – on their shelves. A screenshot of Google’s new shopping search feature. The new feature launched overnight in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, along with the UK, multiple European markets, Brazil, and Canada.  Another feature aimed at creating…

04/10/21; Inside Retail Asia Home furnishing giant Ikea has launched the world’s first Ikea Close to You concept store inside the Market Place grocer in Hong Kong’s Discovery Bay. Spanning more than 3000sqft, Ikea Close to You houses more than 110 home furnishing products together with 120 Swedish signature gourmets ranging from meatballs, salmon, sauces to condiments. According to Ikea, the new concept focuses on the digital experience, offering a number of solutions such as self-pick-up lockers that support flexible pick-up time and free shipping. The store features a 2-metre-high interactive screen ‘Digital Experience for Furnishing Inspiration’ that provides 50 home-decorating inspirations and the “Swedish Cooking Interactive Screen” which provides free cooking recipes. The new store was opened alongside Bread Pantry at the Market Place Discovery Bay launched last Friday (October 1). Ikea Close to You is also the retailer’s first store located inside a supermarket. Owned by Dairy Farm…

07/10/21; Convenience Store News Operators are also optimistic about fuel sales and the viability of electric vehicle charging. ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Convenience store retailers are seeing strong sales return to pre-pandemic levels, and that is boosting their outlook for the remainder of the year. According to the latest NACS Retailer Members survey, three in four operators (74 percent) expect year-end in-store sales to be better than 2020 and 67 percent expect in-store sales will top sales in 2019. Only 11 percent of retailers expect their year-end in-store sales to fall below year-end 2020 sales and 13 percent anticipate sales will be lower than 2019. Retailers are also optimistic about fuel sales. Sixty-seven percent expect fuel sales to be higher this year than last year, while 16 percent estimate that they will drop vs. 2020 sales. Opinions are more divided around 2021 fuel sales compared to those in 2019. Thirty-six percent…