Top 10: last week’s most popular retail technology articles
These are the RTIH retail systems articles that caught your fancy last week, including NRF 2022, H&M, Amazon, Tesco and eBay UK.
NRF 2022: To attend or not to attend as Covid cases rise?
The National Retail Federation recently confirmed that its annual US-based industry event, the Big Show, now in its 112th year, will still continue in person as planned, despite rising Covid cases across the country.
DigiDoe raises cash to “revolutionise creaky payments infrastructure”
DigiDoe, a London-based startup that offers biometrics-based payments to merchants without the presence of a card or phone, has secured £852,500 in funding.
JD.com launches ochama robotics stores in the Netherlands
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has opened two automation powered ochama stores in the Netherlands.
These involve robots preparing parcels, and home delivery service.
The first two ochama pick-up shops are in Leiden and Rotterdam, with two more set to open in Amsterdam (Diemen) and Utrecht.
Former Tesco exec Tony Hoggett joins Amazon physical stores push
Last year, we reported that Tony Hoggett was stepping down from the role of Tesco Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer to head up Amazon’s international stores arm.
He was set to move to Amazon’s HQ in Seattle, Washington and become Senior VP of Physical Stores, we noted.
Hoggett started his new job last week.
H&M becomes first ever metaverse clothing retailer
H&M has opened a virtual store in Ceek City and became the first clothing location in the metaverse.
Ethereum-based project Ceek announced on Twitter: “Shopping in the metaverse with $CEEK Concept VR store presented to H&M by CEEK creates mainstream use cases for $CEEK + scaling virtual reality beyond games.”
Customers can walk through the store, choose the products they want and buy them in the Ceek City universe.
They will also have the opportunity to later order the products at physical H&M stores with Ceek currency.
Rapid grocery delivery startups disrupt UK food sector
New UK research from Cardlytics highlights the rise and rise of rapid grocery delivery apps like Zapp, Getir and Weezy in 2021, and the impact this is having on supermarkets and convenience stores.
This is not how Walmart envisions shopping in the metaverse
A video did the rounds on social media earlier this month, supposedly showing “how Walmart envisions shopping in the metaverse.”
Responses were not positive, with people mocking the clunky visuals and utter naffness of the whole endeavour.
In Walmart’s defence, however, the video was four years old. A quick Google search revealed that a digital agency made the clip for the retailer to impress influencers at SXSW 2017.
We’ll leave it up to you to decide what that says about social media and the heavily hyped metaverse space in 2022. We couldn’t possibly comment.
Tesco Clubcard Pay+ now available to all Clubcard members
Tesco is offering a new payment method to its 20 million Clubcard members.
They can now apply online following a phased Tesco Clubcard Pay+ launch which began in March 2021 with a limited number of customers and Tesco colleagues.
Shoppers can use a new debit card to pay, save and earn Clubcard points. Tesco is offering double Clubcard points for the first three months to pull people in.
Customers will be able to pay the retailer with the card or use it via Apple Pay or Tesco’s own digital wallet.
Tesco Whoosh rapid grocery delivery service set for major expansion
Tesco’s one-hour delivery service Whoosh will be available from at least 600 of the grocery giant’s stores by the end of next year.
“It is a mission that customers now want and we’re clear on that,” CEO Ken Murphy said on Tesco’s Christmas trading call last week.
“Whether it’s incremental is hard to tell, but it’s somewhere we need to be and it needs to fit in with our overall proposition so customers can tap in to our wider strategy and are able to buy from us wherever and whenever.”
eBay UK enlists Roberto Carlos and Eni Aluko for Dream Transfer competition
eBay UK is giving football fans the chance to sign World Cup winner and former Real Madrid Galactico Roberto Carlos, and ex-Juventus and Chelsea women’s star Eni Aluko to their Sunday league teams for one match.
