Ten biggest retail innovations so far this year

Impressive retail tech initiatives have been coming thick and fast since 2019 kicked off. From robot delivery to image recognition and machine learning, RTIH rounds up the ones that stand out from the crowd.

1.) Tesco/Starship Technologies

Tesco is working with Starship Technologies on a robot/food delivery initiative in Milton Keynes. The retailer is fulfilling the service from a Tesco Extra in the city’s Kingston Centre.

2.) Amazon

Amazon is the latest retailer to enter the robot delivery space with the Amazon Scout.

Created by the e-commerce giant, these are the size of a small cooler, and roll along sidewalks at a walking pace. Starting this week, they will begin delivering packages to customers in a neighbourhood in Snohomish County, Washington.

3.) L’Occitane/On the dot

On the dot has partnered with L’Occitane to help the French beauty retailer launch its same day delivery service proposition, Ship From Store, in the UK.

4.) Ocado

Ocado has gone live with a new digital advertising platform from Australian startup Citrus.

5.) JD.com

Chinese e-commerce heavyweight JD.com has worked with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to launch its first government approved drone flight in Indonesia.

6.) Walmart/Udelv

Walmart has teamed with Udelv to test its autonomous delivery vans in Surprise, Arizona.

7.) Marks & Spencer/Syte

M&S has worked with Syte on the launch of Style Finder, a mobile website feature that enables customers to quickly find products with a photo.

8.) Stop & Shop/Robomart

US supermarket chain Stop & Shop is gearing up to launch driverless grocery vehicles in the Greater Boston area, beginning during Spring.

9.) Trax/Google Cloud

Trax has partnered with Google Cloud to brings its image recognition and machine learning capability to retail stores.

10.) Kroger/Microsoft

Kroger and Microsoft have announced a partnership that will see them bring to market a new Retail-as-a-Service (RaaS) offering.