Yet more big retail technology plays in 2019
We know you can’t get enough of cool retail tech initiatives, so here are 10 more that should be on your radar. This builds on a hugely popular article that appeared on RTIH at the beginning of 2019. We then ran a follow up piece and another one which can be viewed here. At the end of the year, we will be putting together a shortlist of the most innovative tech plays in 2019 and asking our judging panel to vote for their favourites across various categories.
1.) Amazon patents retrieval robot that lives in your house
Amazon has landed a patent for a robot that docks at your house or apartment block and meets up with delivery trucks on the street to retrieve your orders.
2.) Carrefour is back on the blockchain
Carrefour is continuing its adventures in blockchain by applying the technology for tracking milk.
3.) Bakkt to bring Bitcoin payments to Starbucks stores
Starbucks has received “significant equity” in the upcoming crypto platform Bakkt in return for a commitment to allow in-store Bitcoin-based payments this year.
4.) Ocado Zoom launches, powered by Stuart
Earlier this year, we reported that Ocado was prepping a trial of its one-hour delivery service, Ocado Zoom, in March. The offering, which has now officially launched, is powered by last mile delivery platform Stuart.
5.) CoGo 'a natural fit' for Co-op
Co-op has become the first nationwide retailer to join the ethical living app CoGo.
6.) JD.com tackles 'stranger danger' with AR tech
China’s JD.com is bringing augmented reality (AR) features to a picture book that teaches children how to interact safely with strangers.
7.) NatWest announces biometric payments trial
NatWest is working with Gemalto, Visa and Mastercard to pilot biometric fingerprint technology among 200 customers.
8.) A.S. Watson, ModiFace start #ColourMe service roll-out
L’Oréal’s AI and AR offshoot ModiFace and A.S. Watson Group have launched a virtual makeup try-on offering called #ColourMe.
9.) Alibaba introduces smart tech powered FlyZoo Hotel
Alibaba Group has been showing off its new FlyZoo Hotel concept.
Located in Hangzhou, China, the 290-room facility was built by its online travel platform, Fliggy, along with other business units, such as Alibaba A.I. Labs and Alibaba Cloud. It taps the like of a mobile app, smart assistants, room service robots and facial recognition.
10.) Argos rolls out visual search homewares app
Argos has tapped image search technology and machine learning to enable customers to pick out homeware items by taking a picture with their smartphone camera.
