RTIH Innovation Awards celebrates forward thinking UK retailers
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RTIH has unveiled the third shortlist for its 2020 Innovation Awards.
Our Most Innovative UK Retailer category highlights stand out tech deployments, pilots etc from the past 12 months and asks: which brand has been the most consistently forward thinking and customer centric in 2020?
Last year, John Lewis Partnership emerged victorious, impressing our judges with initiatives involving the likes of sustainability and robotics.
Here are the 2020 runners and riders.
Asda
Asda this year hired former Morrisons Chief Technology Officer Anna Barsby as interim Chief Digital and Technology Officer, following the grocery giant’s sale by Walmart to the Issa brothers.
It moved ahead with various ‘test and learn’ initiatives under CEO Roger Burnley, including its Stevenage innovation store and a sustainability store trial.
Meanwhile, Preyash Thakrar, Chief Strategy Officer, noted that the past 12 months had seen a shift towards big retailers “not needing to own everything” and instead partnering with companies in areas where they are unable to move quickly.
This went to the next level during the coronavirus outbreak and included a partnership with StarStock to help vulnerable and shielded customers receive food and essential items during the coronavirus outbreak.
Asos
Asos reported a quadrupling in full-year profit following a spike in online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic.
It ramped up its use of augmented reality technology to simulate real-life model photography in response to the Covid- 19 pandemic.
The purely also launched APEXX Global’s payments orchestration layer across several of its European markets.
Co-op
Co-op reported in November that more than one million shoppers had downloaded its new membership app following a refresh of its loyalty programme.
It expanded its relationship with Diebold Nixdorf to include managed services and remote monitoring of self-service and PoS systems throughout the UK.
It extended its deployment of Starship Technologies robots across Milton Keynes and surrounding towns and villages.
Co-op also partnered with Gophr to launch a same day delivery service from its 50+ stores in Scotland. And it teamed with Pinga to offer zero emission online grocery deliveries in East London.
It also launched an augmented reality experience to celebrate the £15 million its members have helped raise for more than 4,500 local causes across the UK.
Marks and Spencer
A busy year for M&S, including the launch of its Ocado online venture.
It also rolled out its Sparks Book & Shop online reservation service to all 566 UK foodhalls and larger stores with foodhalls.
The retailer increased capacity at its online distribution centre at Castle Donington, as it prepared for high Christmas demand during the coronavirus outbreak.
M&S tested out new Click and Collect solutions. And it announced the roll-out of its checkout-free shopping technology Mobile Pay Go to all UK [owned] stores.
It is also launching the Innovation Hub, pitched as “a new specialist team that will focus on disruptive innovation to create industry leading products and address some of the biggest sector wide challenges”.
Ocado
Ocado overtook Tesco in terms of stock market value to become the UK’s most valuable retailer, despite having only a fraction of the UK grocery market share.
One of the reasons for this is the expected revenue from its overseas CFC deals with the likes of Kroger and Aeon.
Ocado also purchased two North American robotics firms, Kindred Systems and Haddington Dynamics, as it looked to boost its grocery picking and packing capabilities. It said that it was building “probably the best robotics team in the world”.
It also upped its profit guidance for the year for its Marks and Spencer JV as trade “remained strong” in the fourth quarter.
Tesco
In April, Tesco became the first retailer to fulfil one million online grocery orders in a week. It now serves nearly 1.5 million customers a week online, up from around 600,000 at the start of the pandemic.
Tesco CTO Guus Dekkers and CEO Dave Lewis praised the grocery giant’s technology team for their hard work during the coronavirus outbreak.
It went live with its first urban fulfilment centre. Tesco also ramped up its Net Zero ambitions, including an all-electric delivery fleet.
It also opened its first cashless store, situated in High Holborn, London. Whilst Tesco Pay+ mobile payment service crossed one million sign ups.
And last but not least, Tesco Red Door will see the grocery giant invite those with new products, ideas or emerging technologies with the potential to cause disruption to contact its newly established Group Innovation team.
We will now ask our judging panel to vote for their favourite entry.
The winner will be revealed in December.
Stay tuned for more shortlists and, if you would like to be an RTIH Innovation Awards sponsor, please email scott.thompson@retailtechinnovationhub.com for further details.