Lawson to tap AI to reduce food waste

Japanese convenience-store giant Lawson plans to tap the power of artificial intelligence to help keep fresh food items from being thrown out before their expiration date. The move comes as the country's retailers try to cut back on food waste. Lawson has developed a system that predicts sales of perishable items like boxed meals and rice balls at each store. It's based on data such as the outlet's sales history and local weather conditions. The system figures out which products should be marked down by how much, and notifies the stores.