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Serve Robotics stockpiles cash ahead of planned expansion: The company aims to have 2,000 delivery robots on the streets by 2025鈥檚 end.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how the Apple monopoly trial could change the smartphone market, whether Aldi can take on Walmart, if gambling ads will get banned, the impact of Amazon's "Big Spring Sale," how seriously we should be taking drone delivery, where the happiest people in the world live, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Blake Droesch and vice presidents of content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna.

The year is nearly halfway over. As we prepare for H2, our analysts have been hard at work debating some very specific鈥攁nd potentially unlikely鈥攑redictions that could play out in the coming months. Everything from retail media standardization to drone delivery to AI partnerships is at play over the rest of 2024. Here are some of our analysts' hottest takes.

In part two of this two-part podcast episode, we discuss some more predictions for 2024 that are too specific to be 100% certain about but could still come true, including: what happens next when measuring retail media, Starbuck's drone delivery pilot, and how the publisher/AI relationship will play out. Tune in to the discussion with our vice presidents of content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna and analyst Max Willens.

Wing has big ambitions for drone delivery: The Alphabet-owned company aims to handle millions of orders within the next 12 months as it expands how the technology is used.

On today's episode, we discuss whether streaming's golden age is suddenly waning, the race to build a do-everything app, Amazon's new TikTok-like shopping feature, how Disney+ is doing, Walmart's drone deliveries, the numbers that best sum up this year, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our director of reports editing Rahul Chadha, vice president of Briefings Stephanie Taglianetti, and analyst Paul Verna.

On today's episode, we discuss Snapchat's new AI chatbot, Meta's generative AI plans, and what's new about GPT-4. "In Other News," we talk about whether VR influencers can save the metaverse and how drone delivery company Wing is looking to make last-mile delivery more efficient. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Jacob Bourne and Jasmine Enberg.

You said Starbucks would be piloting drone deliveries, however, they did get a new CEO, so maybe that was in the works and he killed it. Paul Verna (04:02):. Well, also they deliver him to the Starbucks headquarters every day by private jet. So there's that. Marcus Johnson (04:09):. Technically it is drone delivery, just big drone.

Delivery drones also have potential, particularly in cities and hard-to-reach rural areas. Delivery drones can transport small to medium-sized packages from a distribution center or retailer to a customer鈥檚 home at ultrafast speeds. Amazon claims its newest Prime Air drone, the MK30, can carry packages of up to 2.3 kilograms for delivery in 1 hour or less.

Amazon is on a never-ending mission to speed up delivery: The retailer鈥檚 latest initiatives, including smart glasses and streamlined grocery fulfillment, will help cut costs and encourage shoppers to order more鈥攁nd more often.

She also said to stop the leaky bucket, Starbucks will pilot drone deliveries in select cities. No updates there, but Zak Stambor was writing that new Starbucks CEO, Brian Niccol, is prioritizing trying to reestablish Starbucks stores as the community coffee house. (03:58):. And then Paul was on that show. He said the NBA contract will go to Disney, NBCU, and Amazon. A major milestone. He nailed it.

Walmart is also quickly taking the lead on delivery by drone, an area where Amazon was meant to be the pioneering force. The big-box retailer made over 6,000 drone deliveries in 2022, while the latter only began offering the service in December.

It also eliminated several jobs within its fledgling drone delivery business, according to CNBC. The big takeaway: While several signs suggest the US may avoid a recession, it appears likely that the country is entering a period of slowing growth.

Walmart is expanding its 30-minute drone delivery pilot, serving 1.8 million households in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

But I also think drone delivery, to the same effect, I would probably put both of those over gen AI powered search, in my opinion. I had AI as three for me. Marcus Johnson:. Okay. Suzy Davidkhanian:. I didn't have the drone delivery at all on my list because I don't care how you get me the thing, I just want it. So from a consumer perspective, do it however you need to do it. Blake Droesch:.

Also, cool drones. Here is the-. Arielle Feger:. Are drones cool? Becky Schilling:. To some people, drones are cool. I'm not one of those people, but some people think drones are cool. So Walmart is expanding their drone use for delivery in Dallas. Again, viability, we'll see.

Since Jassy took the helm from former CEO Jeff Bezos, he has shifted Amazon from a company with an upstart 鈥淒ay One鈥� culture鈥攖hat makes splashy bets on cutting-edge initiatives such as Just Walk Out technology and delivery drones鈥攖o one more comfortable seeking easy wins. For example, its pivot from a national fulfillment network to a regionalization model sped up delivery times and cut costs.

To stay ahead, Walmart will need to integrate its recent innovations into the WFS framework, such as drone delivery, InHome grocery delivery, GoLocal delivery services, autonomous vehicles, and fulfillment from stores. Walmart can leverage its expansive physical footprint by adding dedicated spaces to stores for handling ecommerce orders (called 鈥淢arket Fulfillment Centers鈥�).

And then the whole drone delivery and robot delivery, that seems well, well, well ahead of its time it so it may never happen. So as far as the delivery speed, A, not convinced that it's what people want. Because as you're saying, Marcus, from that study, cost is definitely a big issue. But also, I just don't see where are these options for same-day delivery. Marcus Johnson:. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

It will likely reduce aspirational projects like delivery drones and the Amazon Astro robot, which was announced in 2021 but is still in a $1,600 invite-only preview. Trendspotting: Amazon isn鈥檛 the only Big Tech company reeling from failed hardware plays. Microsoft canceled its Cortana smart speaker and discontinued its Surface Duo foldable phone.

The delivery firm aims to see whether the tool improves the buying experience and increases transactions per customer.