Walmart lands RTIH innovation award

Walmart has picked up the Most Innovative Retailer (Rest of World) gong at the first ever RTIH Innovation Awards.

2019 highlights include the introduction of InHome Delivery, which sees items delivered directly to customers’ kitchen or garage fridges. 

Walmart also “leased floors” in a new virtual store called KidHQ, which lets users browse toys and merchandise in videos with various choose-your-own-adventure formats.

Walmart Canada, meanwhile, partnered with DLT Labs to launch a blockchain-based freight and payment network.

A big thank you to our 2019 judging panel for their help in picking our 2019 winners.

Hayley Meenan-Wilkin, Web Trading Management, Ocado.com

Christine Bardwell, Global Strategy Lead, Oracle

Martin Newman, Founder, The Customer First Group

Toby Pickard, Head of Insight - Innovation & Futures, IGD

Natalie Berg, Retail Analyst, Author & Founder, NBK Retail

Tiffany Lung, Retail Analyst

Nadine Neatrour, Independent Consultant

Judges’ comments on Walmart included:

“This was a tough category to judge but got to give Walmart credit for reconfiguring themselves for the digital era – not easy given sheer scale of the business etc.”

“There is a lot going on with blockchain and I think this is really interesting space, Kid HQ is both genius in terms of relevance and terrifying if you are a parent, but Walmart are solving genuine customer challenges with their innovations.”

“They are showing innovation on a whole other scale. Grocery deliveries offering the utmost convenience? Yes please, you can automate my grocery deliveries straight to my fridge. They’re not just talking about ideas, or researching them in labs. These initiatives are out there, being tested and if successful rolled out.”

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