Asda Stevenage launches tech to help customers personalise gifts

Customers at the Asda Stevenage innovation store can now create a personalised gift card after a new piece of technology launched this month.

The option is only available at this store and is one of a number of ‘test and learn’ trials currently live at the location.

Shoppers can use the kiosk to take a selfie or upload a picture, select a background design and write a personalised message before taking it to the till to activate.

The cards are available in denominations of between £5 and £500, with the whole process taking less than two minutes to complete.

There are 12 designs for customers to choose from, allowing the cards to be personalised for birthdays and special occasions. Once the balance has been spent, they can also be topped up and reused in-store.

Asda says that it is the first of the big four UK supermarkets to trial this technology, with customers in Stevenage being encouraged to give their feedback.

Anastasia Pitsillos, Project Manager at Asda’s Stevenage Tech Store, comments: “Customers in Stevenage have really embraced new technology and have helped us to test new ideas and learn from a series of trials over the last 18 months.”

“We’re really excited to be able to bring another new offer to Stevenage and hope that the option to personalise Asda gift cards will help to make occasions that little bit more special.”

“We continue to find new and exciting ways to enhance the shopping experience for our customers, be it using technology to make their trip quick and convenient, or giving them the option to create a thoughtful present through personalisation.”

RTIH Innovation Awards

Asda Stevenage emerged triumphant in the Bricks and Mortar Innovation category at the 2020 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The award celebrates retailers who are enabling physical spaces to thrive via innovative technology, even as online shopping continues to grow.

We were looking for examples of reducing friction in the customer journey, offering improved experiences, and blurring the lines between channels.

Asda beat out the likes of Walmart and JD.com to pick up the gong. 2020 highlights included the roll out of an electronic shelf edge labelling (eSEL) solution.

Louise Bagshaw, Senior Director of Retail Front End and Innovation at Asda, said: “It’s great to receive recognition for the Tech Store team, our central stakeholders and of course the store; it really is a full team effort landing innovation in Stevenage.”

“With each initiative we have a really clear plan and have an open mindset. With innovation we start small, fail fast and move onto the next project.”

“This gives our colleagues and suppliers a really unique opportunity to try out technology in a live store environment – learning from our customers and store teams along the way.”

She added: “Colleague and customer engagement is a big part of how we work; as a team we work closely with colleagues and customers to help them embrace the new technology in their store.”

“It’s important that our colleagues really believe in the technology and getting them excited about the massive part they play towards our strategy has been key to success for many of our projects.”

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