Five retail technology innovations that won’t be big in 2022
RTIH reckons the following heavily hyped advancements, including the metaverse, cryptocurrencies, and checkout free stores, will not go mainstream in 2022.
The metaverse
The metaverse is undoubtedly an exciting new retail channel with significant possibilities. It will be embraced by more and more brands as well as consumers, but won’t go mainstream in 2022.
According to ABI Research, it is still more of a buzzword and vision than a fully fledged end goal with a defined arrival date.
“What we have today is a number of tech companies building their version of a metaverse,” it says.
“But this multiverse is not fully interconnected, does not yet widely employ open standards, and certainly has not fully embraced extended reality (XR) - all tenets of the metaverse vision (some would also add the crypto economy to the list, which is also not in place).”
Cryptocurrencies
Lots of interesting stuff happened this year courtesy of the crypto in retail space.
US-based e-commerce platform Shop.com got into the cryptocurrency payments game.
The company, which is owned by Market America, partnered with BitPay, enabling it to accept payments in several cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum and Litecoin, as well as five USD pegged stablecoins.
The BitPay integration is available in all the countries where Market America operates, which includes the US, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, UK, Singapore and Malaysia.
American cinema giant AMC Theatres is also adopting cryptocurrencies for online payments.
And startup Lolli remains a favourite at RTIH Towers.
We’re still talking about a niche thing, however. Because, and we’ve posed this question on more than one occasion, what in-store or online payments problem does it actually solve? Answers on a postcard, please, to the usual address…
And don’t get us started on the environmental impact of Bitcoin et al.
Checkout free stores
Checkout-free stores are set for rapid international expansion in 2022, with the addition of more non-food locations, and increased competition for Amazon, says GlobalData.
At the same time, however, according to the company’s latest UK Consumer Views Survey, 55.7% of Brits are unwilling to use a checkout-free grocery store.
The greatest concern is the need to download an app and register payment details. Retailers looking to win over more consumers will need to select in-store tech providers that can deliver a convenient, frictionless experience, GlobalData says.
RTIH recently visited the new Trigo technology powered Tesco GetGo store in Holborn, London.
We saw a number of people being turned away by staff members at the entrance, as they didn’t want to shop in this newfangled way.
Retailers dictating payment terms and turning away customers, never a good look.
Dare we suggest that a hybrid approach is the way of the future?
Rapid delivery
Rapid delivery, aka quick commerce, has been around for some time, but Covid-19 has catapulted its expansion to the point where it’s become a channel in its own right.
Startups like Jokr, Buyk, Gorillas, and Fridge No More have dispersed their distribution networks to within an actual mile, via the use of dark stores. In doing so, they’ve created the last last mile.
Love it (the people need and deserve delivery within 15 minutes of placing their orders) or hate it (it’s killing the planet and exploiting workers, man!), you couldn’t ignore this space in 2021.
But to quote supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive, Brittain Ladd: “The valuations being assigned to Gorillas and Flink, defy the laws of finance, mathematics, and logic. In my opinion, there is an ‘invisible hand of collusion’ artificially inflating their valuations.”
He adds: “Although there are many rapid grocery delivery companies, only a few will survive. Several have already been acquired and there will be more acquisitions in the future.”
“I believe that rapid grocery delivery is a viable business model, but only a few companies will succeed. I anticipate that there will be many changes.”
NFTs
The Collins Dictionary recently announced its shortlist for word of 2021, and declared NFT, the abbreviation of non-fungible token, as top of the heap, beating out the likes of crypto, metaverse and hybrid working.
If we’re being absolutely honest, we don’t understand half the stuff that NFT enthusiasts come out with.
Nonetheless, the following initiatives caught our attention this year.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade celebrated its 95th anniversary this year with a drop of 9,500 free NFT artwork, featuring balloons from past events in support of Make-A-Wish.
A charitable auction of 10 NFTs began on Friday, 19th November. Limited edition free Macy’s Parade NFTs launched on Thursday, 25th November.
Rise at Seven created and launched an NFT collection for online fashion retailer boohoo’s boohooMAN brand.
“We're used to starting trends, and this is no different. For the first time, an affordable fashion brand is launching an unforgettable line of NFTs, and who could get the virtual ball rolling better than boohooMAN?” the pureplay said in an online post.
“We're bringing our freshest threads from reality to NFT, to create a range of boohooMAN fits to hang on your virtual rail.”
“We've got a whole collection on offer, including t-shirts, outerwear, tracksuits and hoodies, meaning you can turn your digital wallet into a digital wardrobe in no time. Each item is brand new and completely unique, so once it's gone, it's gone.”
It added: “Create a metaverse worthy streetwear fit, or just keep them as a collection: once they're yours, the sky's the limit. It's not enough to look cool in real life anymore - time to take your style into the virtual realm.”
Last but not least, Shopify made it possible for eligible merchants to sell NFTs through their e-commerce stores. One of the first out of the traps was the NBA’s Chicago Bulls.
Expect more ‘hey, that’s kind of cool’ stuff in 2022, but NFTs will ultimately remain on the fringes of the retail sector. A big deal for hardcore blockchain fans on Twitter, not so big in the hearts and minds of mainstream shoppers.
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