Ten stand out retail technology investments
These retailers and brands are leading the way in providing technology and experiences that are one step ahead of their customers’ expectations.
1. Tottenham Hotspur
Amazon has launched its first ever Premier League club brand store with Tottenham Hotspur.
This follows in the footsteps of tie ups with SSC Napoli, AS Roma, FC Internazionale Milano, and Borussia Dortmund.
2. GRIDSERVE
GRIDSERVE has announced a number of retailer partnerships as it prepares to open what is pitched as the UK’s first electric forecourt.
This will be situated near Braintree, Essex and will launch in November. It will be followed by 100 or so more facilities across the UK.
Retailers onboard with the initiative include WHSmith, Costa Coffee, Post Office, Booths and Gourmade, alongside charging infrastructure partners ABB, Tesla, and customer support from the AA.
3. Tesco
Tesco will next month trial grocery home deliveries with drones.
This will take place in Ireland, where the retailer’s partner Manna has a licence to operate. It will focus on the delivery of a small number of grocery items, with deliveries made within 30 minutes to an hour of an order being made.
4. Walmart
Walmart has announced a drone delivery pilot with Flytrex.
This has launched in Fayetteville, North Carolina and focuses on delivering select grocery and household essential items from Walmart stores.
5. Dunkin’
Dunkin’ is set to test out an Amazon Go style store in California.
The checkout-free pilot will launch in October at an as yet unnamed location. It will involve the use of Shop Anywhere by Mastercard, which is powered by Accel Robotics.
6. TJ Morris
Discount retailer TJ Morris is tapping new motion sensor technology from Hitachi Europe for a traffic light queueing system at all 550 of its Home Bargains stores across the UK.
7. Empire
Empire is expanding its e-commerce offering to Atlantic Canada with the launch of Voilà by Sobeys Curbside Pickup.
Powered by Ocado Group’s in-store fulfilment technology, this is available at three Sobeys locations in Nova Scotia, with customers able to order online at voila.ca or by downloading a mobile app.
8. Amazon
Amazon recently announced the launch of Luxury Stores, offering both established and emerging luxury fashion and beauty brands.
Oscar de la Renta unveiled the first store featuring its Pre-Fall and Fall/Winter 2020 collections.
9. Arçelik
Arçelik has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred cloud provider for machine learning and analytics across its operations.
10. H-E-B
Swisslog is working with H-E-B to deploy a number of automated micro-fulfilment centres that will support the US retailer’s curbside pick-up and delivery business.
These will feature AutoStore technology and Swisslog's SynQ software and pick stations.
