Amazon Prime Day 2026 will take place from June 23 to June 26, marking a shift from its usual July schedule. This year's event introduces new Alexa AI features to provide tailored assistance that improves the shopping experience, offering price history reviews, personalized deal guides and price alerts. The four-day event will feature exclusive deals across 35 categories, with a focus on groceries and essentials.

Walmart is capping employee usage of Code Puppy, its in-house AI tool for tasks like spreadsheets and presentations, because of high demand, now reportedly offering a limited number of "tokens" per employee. This move reflects the challenges companies face when integrating AI into workflows, as heavy usage can lead to increased costs. Despite these limitations, Walmart continues to lead in AI implementation across its operations, from supply-chain management to enhancing shopping experiences, positioning itself ahead of many retail competitors.

Costco CEO Ron Vachris notes that AI is a supplement to its more than 341,000 workers worldwide, not a replacement for them. This strategy has helped Costco's shares rise around 17% this year, giving the company about a $440 billion market capitalization. "AI has been extremely good for our company in an assistive nature," says Vachris, adding, "We've not displaced people because now the business is growing at a faster rate. But those employees that were doing those tasks before have now elevated up to more of a forward-thinking role."

Macy's AI-powered "Ask Macy's" shopping assistant has helped boost online sales since its March launch, with the "Complete the Look" feature standing out as a customer favorite, the company says. This virtual try-on tool lets shoppers upload photos and receive personalized outfit suggestions, leading those users to spend nearly five times more per session than others. The success of this feature highlights Macy's effective use of targeted, customer-centric innovation.

Winn-Dixie has revamped its loyalty program to offer a seamless omnichannel experience. The company has moved from its traditional rewards model to a digital, customer-first ecosystem by adopting the Eagle Eye AIR AI platform, which provides real-time personalization and addresses issues such as fragmented systems and slow POS integrations.

Bathroom scale producer Withings has launched the BodyFit, a $280 smart scale designed to cater to users of GLP-1 weight loss drugs, which have gained significant popularity. The scale offers advanced body composition scanning, analyzing six body zones in a few seconds, and provides results similar to a lab-based DEXA scan. The BodyFit, which monitors fat and muscle loss while addressing concerns about muscle mass reduction, includes an AI chatbot for guidance and offers a free session with a nutritionist.

OpenAI's ChatGPT app has reached a milestone of 1 billion monthly active users, making it the fastest app to achieve this feat, according to Sensor Tower. This rapid growth surpasses that of other popular apps like Google Maps and TikTok, highlighting both the success of ChatGPT and the emerging competition in the AI market. However, the competitive landscape is heating up as Anthropic's Claude app shows significant growth and both companies prepare for IPOs.

Back-to-school shoppers are increasingly turning to AI tools to locate the best deals, with more than 77% planning to use platforms like ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Meta AI, according to a survey by Minty. Despite rising prices, almost 90% of consumers intend to spend the same or more this year, with many starting their shopping early. AI is being used for product comparison, deal discovery and even making purchase decisions, marking a significant shift in consumer behavior.