Asda, Carrefour UAE, Farfetch named RTIH’s retailers of the year
Asda, Carrefour and Farfetch were 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 earlier this month and was attended by retailers, members of our judging panel, and sponsors.
Farfetch
Farfetch picked up the Most Innovative Pureplay gong for marking the launch of pre-order collections on its e-commerce platform by partnering with fashion startup DRESSX to digitally dress its global community of influencers and produce virtual editorial shoots, for the first time ever.
It also announced a donation programme for customers in the US.
thredUP’s Resale-as-a-Service will power the experience, allowing customers to extend the life of their clothes while earning shopping credit and raising money for charity.
Snap, meanwhile, lifted the lid on a virtual try-on partnership with Farfetch.
Carrefour UAE
Carrefour UAE and Majid Al Futtaim took home the Most Innovative Global Retailer award for launching checkout free store, Carrefour City+.
A first for Carrefour worldwide and situated in Mall of the Emirates, this taps AiFi powered artificial intelligence technology.
Store access and shopping payment is enabled via the MAF Carrefour app. Once inside Carrefour City+, every item picked up by customers is automatically added to a digital shopping basket and the purchase is completed by walking out.
Also this year, Carrefour UAE teamed with Russian tech giant Yandex to explore autonomous technology solutions that enhance its last mile delivery capabilities.
This made it the first omnichannel retailer to use self-driving robots for online order delivery in the region.
Majid Al Futtaim also joined IBM Food Trust, a blockchain-enabled initiative run on IBM Cloud.
As a result, Carrefour UAE become “the first retailer in the region to offer new levels of insight and transparency to its customers about the provenance of their food via end-to-end visibility on products throughout its supply chain”.
Asda
Asda was named the Most Innovative UK Retailer 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, musicMagpie’s SMARTDrop kiosks will be rolled out to nearly 300 of the retailer’s stores in 2022. So far, approximately 3,490 smartphones have been traded in through musicMagpie’s kiosks, paying out over £1 million to customers.
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 trial 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.
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.
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, Carrefour UAE and Farfetch 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.”
