10 innovative retail technology deployments and pilots
These retailers and brands are leading the way in providing technology and experiences that are one step ahead of their customers’ expectations.
1. Ahold Delhaize
Ahold Delhaize is accelerating its development of robotic technologies that can clean stores and process orders amid the coronavirus outbreak.
2. OLPRO
OLPRO has launched an augmented reality service that enables customers to see how tents, campervan and caravan awnings would fit in their gardens.
3. Selver
Estonian supermarket chain, Selver, has deployed the Cleveron 501, which enables customers to receive online ordered groceries without human contact.
4. Nespresso
Nespresso has launched a blockchain platform that lets people trace their coffee from farms in Zimbabwe through to the company’s production centre in Switzerland.
5. Asda
Asda is trialling a virtual queuing system as part of social distancing measures during the coronavirus pandemic.
This allows customers to log in to a queue remotely and wait in their cars to enter stores. It is being tested out at Asda’s store in Middleton, near Leeds.
6. Azbuka Vkusa
US startup Zippin has launched in Europe with what it labels “the first checkout-free store within a store”.
It has partnered on this with Sberbank, Visa and Azbuka Vkusa, a grocery retailer in Russia. The store within a store is located inside one of the latter’s locations in Moscow. Azbuka Vkusa converted one of the aisles for the initiative.
7. Target
Target is making its products available through Instagram Checkout.
It says that it is the first mass retailer to do this. Customers can now purchase products displayed in @Target and @TargetStyle posts directly through Instagram.
8. Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s hefty investment in smart speaker technology will cement its leadership position in China's e-commerce market, says GlobalData.
The company will stump up US$1.4 billion to develop an artificial intelligence and Internet of Things ecosystem that supports its smart speaker, the Tmall Genie, which launched in 2017.
9. Facebook
Facebook is making a major new push into the e-commerce space with the launch of Shops.
This enables businesses to set up free storefronts on Facebook and Instagram, powered by third-party services, including Shopify, BigCommerce, and Woo. The stores will appear on business pages, Instagram profiles and through targeted stories and ads.
10. Leroy Merlin Spain
Tel Aviv-based startup Bringg, which helps companies build and run delivery operations, has snagged a deal with Leroy Merlin Spain.
The retailer has 134 stores across Spain, six distribution centres and multiple external fleets.
“Together we will be able to elevate the customer experience, drive cost efficiencies and unlock their vision of anticipating and setting a new benchmark for the needs of their customers,” says Tom Doyle, Area Vice President EMEA at Bringg.
