Starring Tesco, Ikea, and Sam’s Club: RTIH rolls out the biggest retail technology news stories of the week
It’s Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past five days, including Nibble, Asos, Pets at Home, Co-op, Marketplacer, Aldi Süd, and Caper.
1. Global IT outage proves cash is vital to society as CrowdStrike Microsoft incident hits card payments
The culprit was a cybersecurity firm called CrowdStrike. An update to one of its pieces of software, Falcon Sensor, backfired, hitting computers running Windows.
According to BRC research, we are seeing a return to many of the pre-pandemic trends in payments, including smaller but more frequent purchases, and a slight return of cash payments.
Cards, however, now account for the overwhelming proportion of money being spent.
Eamon O’Hearn, GMB National Officer, commented: “The IT outage reinforces what GMB has been saying for years - cash is a vital part of how our communities operate.”
“When you take cash out of the system, it means people have nothing to fall back on, impacting on how they do the everyday basics - even buying food. Today needs to be the start of a new conversation at a local and national level of how we keep cash in our society.”
2. 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards winner Pets at Home gets digital as retailer opens first of four concept stores
British omnichannel retailer Pets at Home has launched the first of four concept stores.
This is situated in Anlaby, Hull, with Pets at Home using sustainable materials in the construction build, PoS and signage.
It has also introduced digital experiences that aim to deliver easier routes to its expertise, advice and extended ranges.
In a LinkedIn post, Helen Fraser, Group Development Director at Pets at Home, said: “I was lucky enough to be there for the grand opening and there is a lot to be excited about.”
“We’ve elevated colleague and consumer experiences across Nutrition and Pet Health, trialled new impulse kit to drive incremental sales, placed in spotlight displays to showcase innovation and/or provide education, and created a localised welcome with Pets Foundation activation.”
She added: “We’ve been supported in delivery by some great designers, suppliers and contractors - particular shoutout to True Story, ITAB UK, Key Group, Image Technique, and Mitchell & Co.”
“This has been a massively collaborative project across the organisation, but special mention to my development teams who have worked tirelessly to ensure even the smallest of details were landed well.”
3. Pushing what’s possible at intersection of fashion and tech: SYKY makes Apple Vision Pro spatial reality move
Luxury fashion platform SYKY, the brainchild of Alice Delahunt, former Chief Digital and Content Officer at Ralph Lauren & Global Director of Digital & Social at Burberry, has announced the launch of a fashion experience on Apple Vision Pro.
Debuting with a showcase from avant-garde Japanese label Anrealage, the SYKY app offers a way for fashion enthusiasts to enter and explore the worlds of legendary designers and fashion houses.
Pitched as a bridge between digital and physical fashion, it creates a spatial environment that immerses visitors in an interactive world.
According to SYKY, hyper-real depth, textures and storytelling components create levels of immersion that have only been possible through physical fashion experiences, like runway shows, until now.
“We believe that the fashion industry is entering a period of remarkable change as realities merge and digital fashion experiences blend with the physical world,” says Delahunt.
“We’re excited to continue leading this new frontier with the launch of our Apple Vision Pro app, where we will transport consumers to the front row of the fashion industry, offering them access to impeccable design and inspiration with the ultimate luxury fashion experience.”
4. Ikea announces 100th Tesco Click and Collect point and preps roll-out of 100 more within next year
Ikea has opened its 100th mobile pick-up point, following a UK wide roll-out. The service is free of charge for orders over £100 and costs £5 for orders below that amount.
The expansion comes as the retailer reports that almost 40% of its total sales are made through online purchases.
Customers can use the offering at Tesco stores by placing their order on Ikea.com, through the retailer’s app or with the assistance of an Ikea co-worker, either remotely or in-store.
Orders are available from next-day and can be collected at a customer’s local participating Tesco store within one of two daily collection windows.
The scheme was initially piloted in 2022 before a national roll-out began late last year.
Ikea now plans to open an additional 100 pick-up points, with half of them due to open this year.
5. UK’s biggest grocer Tesco partners with Marketplacer to launch its new online marketplace
Marketplacer has partnered with Tesco to launch its new online marketplace.
Powered by Marketplacer’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology, this offers Tesco customers access to more third-party products online that complement its existing range, with the aim of giving people a one-stop-shop for everything they may need.
The project, which commenced in June, will continue to expand, with the addition of further third-party sellers, over the months to come. Marketplacer’s platform will enable the supermarket to find and connect products from third party sellers at scale.
Peter Filcek, Marketplace Director at Tesco, says: “We knew that we wanted to open up access to a wider range of products for Tesco customers; we could see customers were searching for products that we didn't sell, and that we could be front of mind for.”
“It became clear that exploring this advanced technology for industry partnerships would be advantageous for the customer experience and ensure a seamless integration experience for our seller partners.”
6. Co-op teams with Bunzl Retail Supplies as part of convenience retailer's move away from single-use plastic
Co-op has partnered with Bunzl Retail Supplies to help tackle shopfloor waste and save 132 tonnes of plastic annually in its 2,400 stores.
In what is pitched as a retailer first move, it is rolling out new shroud coverings for existing backhaul waste cages.
This will see Co-op moving away from single use stretch-wrap plastic film typically used for cages, which hold shopfloor waste, such as packaging and cardboard.
The reusable shrouds, which have an expected lifespan of up to five years, are made from recycled plastic and are wrapped around the waste cages via Velcro straps to hold all the contents securely, without the possibility of loose waste falling from the cages.
By removing the need for plastic film wrap and cardboard inner tubes, the solution is expected to save 132 tonnes of plastic and 19 tonnes of paper in its first year, increasing in year two to 176 tonnes of plastic and 19 tonnes of paper saved.
7. AI negotiation platform Nibble notches up a milestone as Asos taps tech for return of Sample Sale website
Nibble reports that it has hit one million automated negotiations through its platform.
In a LinkedIn post, Jamie Ettedgui, Co-Founder at Nibble, said: “This milestone is one of, if not the largest, human-to-computer negotiation datasets out there, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved.”
“Nibble is a long way from the original PDF it started out as. Here’s to many more milestones ahead!”
He added: “A massive thank you to our amazing customers for believing in our technology and trusting it to negotiate with their customers. Your support has made this achievement possible.”
Fast fashion giant Asos, meanwhile, has brought back its Sample Sale website, with brands including Pull & Bear, Topshop and French Association.
This previously proved to be a big hit with shoppers in October of last year and April of this year.
Everything is priced at £5 and for the first time ever it was possible to haggle over prices using Nibble.
8. Parklife Festival partners with Boxbar and lays claim to world’s largest full menu, self-service automated bar
Boxbar Tech and Parklife Festival have announced the results of a recent partnership.
This followed on from a Boxbar installation at The Warehouse Project events series in the autumn and winter of 2023.
Parklife Festival is one of the UK’s leading music festivals.
Organised and promoter by The Warehouse Project and Live Nation, the Manchester festival started life in Platt Fields Park, before moving to Heaton Park in north Manchester where it has become the largest metropolitan festival in the UK.
The 2024 edition saw the likes of Doja Cat, Disclosure, Becky Hill and Kaytranada perform across the weekend of 8th and 9th June.
Boxbar's deployment at the event made Parklife the first music festival in the world to dispense a complete drinks menu utilising automated self-service technology.
9. Sam’s Club hails step forward in Retail Media 2.0 as retailer launches display ads in Scan & Go feature
Walmart owned Sam’s Club reports that its Member Access Platform (MAP) is launching display ads in the retailer’s mobile app’s Scan & Go experience to help members easily find more products while they shop in-club.
This unlocks a new way to measure member shopping behaviour and ad performance in-club with MAP’s closed-loop attribution.
The capability will help advertisers reach more Sam’s Club members and deliver a more engaging experience, as part of Sam’s Club’s broader approach to digital engagement.
Sam’s Club MAP is pitched as the first and only retail media platform to integrate ads in a mobile, self-checkout app experience.
Scan & Go allows members shopping in-club to use their mobile devices to scan items as they shop, complete payment and skip the checkout line entirely.
Members who opt-in will see display ads on the cart page that dynamically refresh after each new product scan, enhancing their shopping experience and helping them discover products as they check out with Scan & Go.
10. Aldi Süd trials Caper smart shopping carts in Austrian store with test set to run until end of year
Aldi Süd is testing out a smart shopping trolley from Caper, which was acquired by Instacart in 2021, at its Austrian country unit HOFER Österreich.
This has been taking place in Sattledt (HOFER’s headquarters) since 1st July.
Products are scanned via the shopping cart. Users can select a product on the screen, which will then be weighed in the shopping cart and the price calculated. They then pay at a screen at the exit.
Products can be removed, by scanning them out.
15 Caper carts are available for use, with the trial set to run until 31st December.
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