10 big retail technology plays in 2019

RTIH brings you 10 more cool retail tech initiatives that should be on your radar in 2019. We’ve been running these top 10 articles throughout the year. And 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.) Super-Pharm, CommonSense Robotics notch up micro-fulfillment first

CommonSense Robotics is laying claim to the world’s first one-hour delivery fulfilled by robots, in partnership with Israeli health and beauty retailer, Super-Pharm.

2.) Nestlé, Carrefour to track mashed potato brand with blockchain

Nestlé and Carrefour are working on a pilot that will apply blockchain technology to the Mousline instant mashed potato product.

3.) Walmart adds voice ordering to grocery shop mix

Walmart has teamed with Google to add voice ordering capabilities to its online groceries service.

4.) FamilyMart, Panasonic pilot facial recognition checkouts

Japanese retailer FamilyMart has partnered with Panasonic to test out a next-generation convenience store in Yokohama, south of Tokyo.

5.) Zaitt, Carrefour partner on fully automated store

Zaitt has teamed with Carrefour to open a 24-hour, cashier less convenience store in São Paulo, Brazil.

6.) Kurly wraps major Market Kurly Series D round

Kurly, the South Korean company behind online grocery delivery platform Market Kurly, has completed a KRW 100 billion ($88 million) Series D funding round.

7.) Google Wing notches up drone delivery first

Google Wing has launched the first home delivery drone service in Australia.

8.) River Island invests in Nextail AI tech

River Island is rolling out Nextail's AI platform to its network of 343 stores across the UK, Ireland, Asia, the Middle East and Europe and across its entire product line.