Asda named UK retailer of the year at RTIH Innovation Awards
Asda was among the companies who emerged victorious at RTIH’s 2021 retail technology awards.
The awards, sponsored by PMC, StoreSpace, Critizr, Marxent, QVALON and Selazar, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
We received a record number of submissions this year across 14 categories (you can find a full rundown of the 2021 shortlists here).
Our winners and highly commended companies were announced during an exclusive event that took place in central London last week and was attended by retailers, members of our judging panel, and sponsors.
Asda picked up the Most Innovative UK Retailer gong for the launch of musicMagpie’s SMARTDrop kiosks in-store.
These self-service kiosks enable customers to recycle their old and/or unwanted mobile phones in a safe and convenient way.
People can bring in their old phone, receive a valuation and get paid instantly with money transferred to their bank or PayPal account. The kiosk is fully automated and guides the customer through a few simple steps.
The device quality is assessed in real-time whilst the customer waits, and credentials are checked against several databases to prevent misuse of the service, including stolen devices. Finally, the device is deposited into the machine before authorising a credit to the customer's account.
The phones that are sold via the kiosks will be refurbished by musicMagpie to be sold back on, rented out or recycled responsibly.
Following a trial involving 15 kiosks across the Asda estate since November 2020, roll out will extend to nearly 300 of the retailer’s stores in 2022.
Connected customer experiences
Also in 2021, the Asda Retail Innovation team have focused on creating a connected customer experience.
A number of initiatives have been tested out in the Asda Stevenage concept store. Asda, for instance, launched its eSEL solution across 22,000 lines in November 2020. Since then a further 3,000 GM lines have received a fully integrated eSEL solution.
Following on from this, eSELs will be launched in the York Monk Cross store by January 2022. Asda plans to review further stores which this solution can be tested across.
Smart trolleys and digital screens
Following months of preparation, Asda is testing a smart trolley at the Stevenage store. This will lead to shoppers in the future simply being able to place their shopping in the cart and checkout once they’re done.
Although this project is in its early stages of testing and is currently being trialled amongst store colleagues and selected customers, the feedback so far has been promising with 90% of participants saying they’d use the smart trolley to complete their shopping.
Finally, as part of Asda’s sustainability programme and hassle free shopping experience push, the retailer has reduced the volume of printed Point of Sale presence across selected stores, including Stevenage, by introducing digital marketing tools to the Produce, BWS, Coffee and Gondola End areas.
The digital screens and video rails aim to create a more targeted campaign that is customer relevant. In addition, these tools will help quickly and efficiently change signage to reflect current promotions and stock levels, whilst taking a small step towards creating a greener environment.
What our judges had to say…
Gerald Dawson, Business Consultant and Finance Director, The iOutlet and HANX: “So much innovation from Asda, and at such pace; they are leading the way for the major grocers despite going through two sales processes.”
Nadine Neatrour, Marketing Director, Selfridges: “For the effort and commitment to innovate with multiple initiatives, Asda is really trying to solve CX problems and make grocery shopping better.”
Mike Cadden, IT Director (Sales, Marketing and Customer Services), Office Depot: “The shopping cart innovation is a perfect example of taking frictionless commerce to the next level, integrating the requirement for adding to the payment cart without the consumer taking any other action than the natural piece of adding to the physical cart.”
“Whilst this may not seem to offer much more than the Tesco or Amazon offerings, by using the cart to “scan” the product this becomes more scalable.”
In conclusion
Scott Thompson, Editor and Founder of RTIH, says: “Innovation and technology play a critical role in the success of the retail sector, so it was great to recognise standout examples through our awards.”
“Competition was tougher than ever, so to emerge victorious was no mean feat.”
He adds: “Congratulations to Asda and all of our other winners and highly commended companies. And thank you to our 2021 judging panel; their assistance in producing the winners list is hugely appreciated.”
