RTIH retail technology awards: 2020 winners overview
The third edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards is now open for entries.
The awards, sponsored by PMC, StoreSpace, Critizr, Marxent and QVALON, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
The 2021 categories can be found here and you have until Friday, 5th November to get your entries in.
As we head towards category shortlists being released in November and winners being announced in December, what better time to look back at those companies that made it into our retail technology hall of fame last year?
Drum roll, please…
2020 winners
Bricks and Mortar Innovation - Sponsored by C A Design Services
Winner: Asda
Asda beat out the likes of Walmart and Target to pick up the bricks and mortar innovation gong, impressing our judges with its Stevenage innovation store.
Highly commended: JD.com
JD.com ran the UK grocery giant a close second with the opening of its first home appliance flagship store in Bengbu, a fourth-tier city in Anhui province.
Supply Chain Innovation - Sponsored by Brightpearl
Winner: IBM/Kaya&Kate
IBM and Kaya&Kato have developed a blockchain network for the fashion industry, with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development (BMZ).
Highly commended: Glovo
Glovo has launched a new business unit, Q-Commerce, which focuses on delivering the likes of groceries, toys, books, flowers and beauty products within cities in 30 minutes or less.
Winner: MishiPay
MishiPay impressed our judging panel with its well rounded queue busting solution and rapid expansion during 2020.
Highly commended: Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s was highly commended for accelerating the roll-out of its SmartShop solution.
Most Innovative UK Retailer - Sponsored by EBI.AI
Winner: Co-op
Co-op took home the gold for its various last mile delivery and sustainability initiatives.
Our judging panel were also impressed by the launch of an augmented reality experience to celebrate the £15 million its members have helped raise for more than 4,500 local causes across the UK.
Most Innovative Retailer (Rest of World)
Winner: Amazon
Amazon took first place for adapting strongly to the challenges posed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
On the tech front, meanwhile, the e-commerce giant had another busy year, with highlights including the introduction of Amazon One, which enables people to use their palm for the likes of paying at a store, presenting a loyalty card, entering stadiums, or badging into work.
Technology Vendor of the Year (UK)
Winner: Mercaux
Mercaux was the winner here due to its new solutions and retailer partnerships, the latter including Holland & Barrett which is using the venture’s technology to support store colleagues delivering a specialist health and wellbeing service to customers.
Technology Vendor of the Year (Rest of World)
Winner: Farmstead
Farmstead emerged victorious for its dark store model and for making its in-house grocery delivery software Grocery OS available to other retailers.
Startup of the Year
Winner: Bitreel
Bitreel builds augmented reality showrooms for retailers to share their in-store experiences online via a mobile browser.
Winner: Ocucon
Ocucon developed Occupi by Ocucon, an intelligent occupancy management system that allows retailers to remotely monitor and manage the flow of shoppers in and out of their stores – coordinated via signage, CCTV and door entry and closing systems.
This is installed in Aldi’s 1,040 UK and Ireland stores with other major retailers now looking to invest in the technology.
Winner: AO
In 2020, AO partnered with Tesco to launch its first ever physical retail experience. It is working on five store-within-a-store concepts as part of a six-month pilot with the grocery giant.
Also this year, it expanded its logistics operation and went on a recruitment drive as sales rocketed during the coronavirus outbreak.
