July 2021: top 10 most clicked retail technology articles

These are the RTIH retail systems articles that caught your fancy during July, including Tesco, Amazon, Klarna, Morrisons and eBay.

Tony Hoggett quits Tesco for Amazon physical stores role

Tony Hoggett is stepping down from the role of Tesco Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer to head up Amazon’s international stores arm.

He will move to Amazon’s HQ in Seattle, Washington and become Senior VP of Physical Stores in January 2022.

FinTech unicorn Klarna snaps up social shopping venture HERO

Buy now pay later big hitter Klarna has acquired social shopping platform HERO. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In a press release, Klarna says it will “introduce HERO to its 250,000 retail partners, allowing their in-store teams to become content creators instantly, offering reviews, real-time advice and richer, more engaging and informative content around products to bring the best of in-store shopping to the online experience for consumers.”

Morrisons Project Sarah taps AiFi tech for checkout free stores pilot

Morrisons is testing out a store with no checkouts or staff, known internally as Project Sarah, at its Bradford head office.

Britain's fourth largest supermarket, which is currently at the centre of a takeover battle, is working with US venture AiFi on the initiative.

Just walk out stores: how UK retailers are responding to this hot concept

As Morrisons follows Tesco’s lead and starts to explore just walk out stores, RTIH takes a look at the UK retailers leading the way in this booming space.

Autonomous checkout venture Imagr opens London popup store

Imagr recently opened its first popup store in London, UK, located on Oxford Street.

The New Zealand-based startup fitted out a Sook adaptable retail space into a mini-market for “a fully immersive autonomous supermarket experience”.

It invited prospective customers, tech experts and press into the space for demonstrations of the offering, which includes smart carts and an imaging station.

The joke’s on grocery execs as Jokr and other new entrants power ahead

Far too many grocery executives have failed to understand the threat that Jokr poses to their business, according to Brittain Ladd, a former Amazon exec and supply chain consultant.

The rapid grocery delivery startup recently closed a $170 million Series A funding round, three months after the company started operations in the US, Latin America and Europe.

Led by GGV Capital, Balderton Capital and Tiger Global Management, the funding will allow it to enter new cities and expand in current locations, including its home base of New York City.

DPD names Oxford as its first all electric city

Oxford has become delivery firm DPD's first electric vehicles only city, with nine further UK locations set to be confirmed this year.

Vision 25 is DPD's pledge to deliver ‘green' to 25 major UK towns and cities, covering 25% of the UK population by 2025, and is backed by a £111 million investment in electric vehicles.

Gousto and Spotify match listening habits with dinner recommendations

Recipe box venture Gousto has partnered with Spotify on a new platform that will provide recipe recommendations based on the listening preferences of the latter’s users.

eBay fulfilment by Orange Connex service goes live in UK

For the first time in the UK, eBay has established dedicated warehouses (situated in Leicester and Birmingham) to store, pack and deliver goods for business sellers.

It has partnered with logistics firm, Orange Connex, to launch the service, which will enable sellers on eBay to offer next-day delivery, same-day handling, a fully tracked service, late cut-off times to buyers and full seller protection.

Customers fume as Sainsbury's website and app go down

Sainsbury’s e-commerce site and mobile app were down for several hours in early July, leaving shoppers unable to order groceries online.

A number of disgruntled customers flagged this up on social media, with the retailer claiming that it was an issue at their end and advising them to clear their cookies and cache and try another browser or device.