Today in Retail: Kroger, Bed Bath & Beyond Expand Partnership; Rihanna Joins Forbes’ List of the World’s Richest People

CVS

Today in retail, payments providers must offer value-added services to their customers, while Mastercard SpendingPulse shows continued return to pre-pandemic consumer spending. Plus, KimChi Chic Beauty line gets a retail home in 139 CVS BeautyIRL locations, lease-to-own plans are providing a boost to retailers and a solution for consumers, and Productsup secures $71 million in Series B fundraising round.

Mastercard: Service Spending Making a Comeback

March’s 8.4% year-over-year increase in retail spending marked the ongoing return to pre-pandemic consumer spending, Mastercard said Wednesday (April 6) in its monthly SpendingPulse report of online and offline retail sales, similar to February’s results and a slight uptick from January.

Airline spending saw one of the strongest rebounds in Mastercard’s data, as people began spending on travel again to the tune of 44.8% year-over-year growth in March. Consumers were also spending more on restaurants (a 19% increase), lodging (46%), luxury goods (27%) and department stores (14%).

Kroger Ups Its Cross-Category Game via eComm Pact With Bed Bath & Beyond

Grocery store operator Kroger announced Wednesday (April 6) that it’s expanding its 5-month-old digital partnership with Bed Bath & Beyond in a “multi-category omnichannel collaboration.”

The two brands said they will roll out an eCommerce experience that will expand upon Kroger’s home and baby care offerings, while leveraging the specialty retailer’s expertise and recognition in the category, to give customers a more cohesive shopping experience.

KimChi Chic Beauty Makeup Line Debuts at CVS Stores

CVS Pharmacy is bringing Bespoke Beauty Brands’ KimChi Chic Beauty line of products to at least 139 of its U.S. BeautyIRL locations, according to a Wednesday (April 6) press release.

KimChi Chic Beauty launched in 2019 with a focus on beauty for all in celebration of drag queen, Instagram sensation and “live-action anime character” Kim Chi.

Rihanna the Retail Billionaire Joins Growing List of Industry’s Celebrity Money Makers

Singer, actress, model, entrepreneur, fashion mogul and expectant mother has added another title to her growing list of superlatives: billionaire, according to Forbes’ annual ranking of the world’s wealthiest people. Rihanna has an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion, landing her at #1729 on the overall list.

Almost one-fifth (18) of the top 100 placeholders in the overall list this year derived their wealth from the retail industry, including Amancio Ortega of Spanish fast fashion brand Zara ($59 billion), Nike founder Phil Knight ($47 billion) and Germany’s Dieter Schwarz of Schwarz Group ($47 billion).

Productsup Grabs $71M in Series B Round

Software company Productsup wrapped up a 65 million euros ($71 million) Series B fundraising round that the company plans to use for product development, merger and acquisition activity, strengthening its partner network and expansion into new markets, according to a Wednesday (April 6) press release.

European technology growth capital firm Bregal Milestone led Productsup’s funding effort, with participation from existing investor Nordwind Capital.

Productsup works with more than 900 global brands, retailers, marketplaces and service providers to improve their omnichannel retail strategy at a time when eCommerce is projected to reach $5 trillion this year.

Acquirers Must Aim for Payments ‘Moon Shots’ to Move Beyond Mere Processing

Carl Churchill, managing director at NetPay Solutions Group Limited, parent firm of Technologi, told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster that the payments industry is facing a watershed moment, where the key providers — especially the acquirers — need to give their merchants the value-added services needed to meet consumers at the next phase of commerce.

Certain acquirers are still holding onto the physical terminal thinking that’s still the future, said Churchill, but that’s not a tenable strategy. Those same providers will need to shift their attention beyond terminal sales and shopping plugins the core processing businesses that are doing so well at the moment, buoyed by the pandemic and the surge in contactless transactions.

New Data: Retailers Get Durable Sales Boost From Lease-To-Own Plans

The rising cost of living, uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and potential increases in interest rates are but a few of the issues influencing their spending decisions.

Many consumers feel especially cautious about buying durable goods, typically defined as goods that do not wear out quickly and are used by consumers for more than three years, including sofas, beds or refrigerators, believing that they have just two viable options for purchasing durable goods: going without potential necessities or going into unsecured debt.

“The Lease-to-Own Secret: Giving Consumers Control Over Durable Goods Purchases,” a PYMNTS and Katapult collaboration, examines how lease-to-own purchasing options can give consumers greater financial flexibility when buying durable goods. It reveals how they currently pay for durable goods and how lease-to-own plans can positively impact their relationships with their favorite merchants and increase sales.

Flying Cars Can Wait: CES Shows Future Is Robots That Cool Your Soup, Pick Up Socks

AI Me gadget from CES 2025

What do the movies “Blade Runner,” “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Back to the Future Part II” and Spike Jonze’s “Her” all have in common?

These science fiction movies, each depicting various versions of a future full of fantastic technologies, all take place in the year 2025 or earlier.

Though some of the high-tech gadgets and futuristic innovations seen in these films, such as hoverboards and flying cars, haven’t quite materialized in everyday life, they have sparked imagination and set the stage for the very real innovations. As the dozens of groundbreaking products and wacky gadgets that debuted at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week reveal, the future is certainly now.

CES, after all, rarely disappoints when it comes to providing a first-look at some truly strange gadgets that might just represent the ultimate showcase of tomorrow’s technology.

From artificial intelligence (AI) being embedded into everything and smarter than ever home devices, to autonomous robotic companions and wearable tech that both bends and blends reality, many of the inventions that once seemed out of reach in Hollywood films are now being unveiled on the convention floor.

See also: The Five Not-So-Obvious Things That Will Change the Digital Economy in 2025

Could Smart Home Robots Revolutionize Daily Life?

It’s becoming clear that today’s technological advancements are increasingly bridging the gap between what was once imagined and what’s now becoming real.

For example, smart home robots are no longer a futuristic fantasy — they are being positioned as potentially indispensable components of modern households.

CES 2025 saw the debut of the Roborock Saros Z70, a robot vacuum with a telescopic, five-axis arm. Rosey the Robot from “The Jetsons” has nothing on this little gadget, which its maker describes as “a mechanical arm that sees and thinks,” and is able to pick up and put away items like socks, shoes, tissues and more.

For more serious household tasks, the SwitchBot Multitasking Household Robot K20+ Pro was also unveiled at CES 2025. “Whether it’s delivering objects, vacuuming, monitoring pets, purifying the air, providing home security, or even mobilizing smart tablets, the K20+ Pro juggles household management with ease … from delivering food and drinks to carrying small packages,” said a company release.

Read more: Training Robots Using Video Games Could Democratize Warehouse Automation

The K20+ Pro’s core is designed for customization and flexibility, serving as a modular foundation that allows users to create, adapt, and personalize the robot for a wide variety of innovative applications, and can connect with third-party smart devices like Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri, ensuring integration into any smart home ecosystem.

Elsewhere, TCL premiered its “AI Me” (Amy) concept companion robot, complete with animated eyes, autonomous movement and an AI-powered camera on its head; while Dreame showcased its X50 Ultra robot vacuum that has legs to avoid obstacles.

As smart home technology continues to evolve, the integration of robots designed to assist in daily activities could significantly alter how we interact with our homes, manage tasks and even shape the future of work.

TomBot, for example, debuted an emotional robotic lap dog, Jennie, an AI robot therapy dog designed to keep seniors company. On the more playful side of things, Tokyo robotics startup Yukai Engineering introduced the Nékojita FuFu, a portable cat-shaped robot that can blow air to cool hot food or drinks.

It wasn’t solely robotics for use at home being showcased at CES. John Deere used the Las Vegas event to reveal its own autonomous agricultural products. The fully autonomous machines were on display from Jan. 7 to 10, and were a bit bigger in size, if equivalently less cute, than the TomBot puppies.

Read more: Google Reportedly Bringing Gemini AI to TV Sets

The Future Is Calling and Consumers Can Answer Anywhere

Behind the strangely futuristic convenience of a robot picking up your laundry and taking out the trash while it vacuums and interfaces with the rest of your household appliances lies a much larger story: the rise of the smart economy.

As CES 2025 showed, augmented reality (AR) glasses are the eye candy of the smart economy. A host of futuristic specs were unveiled, capable of a range of tasks that turn the wearer into a high-tech superhero.

Halliday showcased “the world’s first proactive AI glasses with invisible display,” while freshly debuted Loomos.AI glasses offer a ChatGPT-4o integrated AI assistant.

But other appendages remain up for grabs, and innovative products from smart rings to apps like WowMouse, which allows smartwatch wearers to control devices using just their gestures and fingers, are vying for market share in ways that aim to make daily life more convenient, efficient and secure.