September 2022: top 10 most clicked retail technology articles
These are the RTIH retail systems articles that caught your fancy during September, including Gopuff, Walmart, PrettyLittleThing, Alibaba Group, and the 2022 RTIH Innovation Awards.
Gopuff hires Amazon veteran Patrick Bigatel as Vice President of Grocery
Patrick Bigatel has joined Gopuff as Vice President of Grocery.
He was previously Vice President Of New Business Development at Booster.
Prior to that, he spent almost 15 years at Amazon, holding such positions as General Manager, Amazon Heavy-Bulky, Home Services and Local Selling.
Walmart makes a big move in the Roblox metaverse
Walmart is launching two new immersive experiences on the Roblox metaverse platform: Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play.
The former will bring fashion, style, beauty and entertainment items to the Roblox community of over 52 million daily users.
The latter, meanwhile, is pitched as “the ultimate virtual toy destination in Roblox, just in time for those oh-so-real holiday wish lists”.
Developed alongside Journey, who supported development, and Publicis Groupe’s Power of One Agency, Walmart’s lead creative and media agency, the experiences offer Roblox users the chance to “engage and interact with all the top items everybody wants from Walmart - in a virtual way”.
PrettyLittleThing Marketplace resale app goes live
Fast fashion firm PrettyLittleThing has announced the launch of PrettyLittleThing Marketplace, an app which allows people to sell on clothes they no longer wear, or shop for something new to them.
Phase one of the platform will include functions such as PLT existing account sync, PLT and non PLT listings, wishlists, message centre, image recognition and text filtering, verified users and PayPal integration.
PLT Marketing Director, Nicki Capstick, says: “We know now more than ever that our customers are more conscious of how they shop.”
“Therefore, we wanted to be the first fashion brand to launch a resale site with the ability to integrate the customers’ previous PLT purchases into their wardrobe as well as creating new listings and selling items from other brands.”
“We’re encouraging our customers to recycle and resell unwanted garments whilst making money in return.”
Alibaba Group announces luxury shopping experience in the metaverse
Alibaba Group’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion platform has hosted an augmented reality fashion show and introduced a Meta Pass, which confers priority digital access to brands’ products.
In recent years, the platform has deployed 3D shopping, augmented reality and virtual reality try-ons for products, digital avatars and digital collectibles.
Also this month in Shanghai, luxury executives attended an awards ceremony and explored an exhibition on extended reality.
“Before metaverse became a buzzword, we had already transformed this buzzword into a commercial reality,” says Janet Wang, Head of Alibaba’s luxury division.
Karakuri raids Kraft Heinz for Kevin Garry appointment
Food robotics company, Karakuri, has announced the appointment of Kevin Garry as its new Director of Global Business Development.
Garry will be pivotal to the firm’s focus on the global QSR market through the development of commercial partnerships for its latest range of kitchen robotics innovation.
He previously held the role of UK Channel Lead for QSR and Leisure at Kraft Heinz, as well as foodservice roles with Kerry Group and McDonalds UK.
Walmart makes livestream shopping move with Firework
Firework has signed a partnership agreement with Walmart Connect, a closed loop omnichannel media business of Walmart, to bring livestream and premium shoppable video content to the retail giant’s offering.
Walmart Connect is aiming to bring shoppable, short form, social media style videos to its own digital properties while also making them available to advertisers.
Wegmans was right to pull its scan and go mobile app. Here’s why
American supermarket chain, Wegmans Food Markets, pulled its in-store scan and go app on Sunday, 18th September.
It’s a wise move, according to Brendan Witcher, VP & Principal Analyst, Digital Business Strategy, Forrester Research.
In a LinkedIn post, Witcher said: “As Nelson Mandela once said, "I never lose. I either win or learn." You may find this odd, but I applaud this move by Wegmans.”
“Why? Because the three mistakes companies make when investing in something new and innovative are 1) bake the initiative so deep into their business model that what's been done can never be undone, 2) fail to set up metrics to assess total business impact, and 3) continue the initiative out of pride even though it makes no business sense.”
He concluded: “Wegmans, on the other hand, approached and executed this correctly from start to finish.”
The Wegmans SCAN app launched in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. It allowed users to scan barcodes and pay for items quicker at self-checkouts.
2022 RTIH Innovation Awards: don't delay, enter today!
Time is running out to enter the 2022 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards, sponsored by PMC, 3D Cloud by Marxent, CADS, FreedomPay, and Critzr, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Deadline for submissions is 4th November, with winners being announced at an exclusive event in central London during December.
It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.
kate spade new york launches first global activation in the metaverse
kate spade new york has unveiled its fall 2022 campaign, bringing the scenes of a fall townhouse to life against a backdrop of the brand’s seasonal prints - leopard, roses, oversize graphic polka dots and colourful plaids.
With photography by Nadine Ijewere, film by Grammy award winning director Alan Ferguson and styling by Nathan Klein, the campaign tells the story of residents in a New York City townhouse apartment building coming together for a Saturday afternoon open house.
And they’re all wearing kate spade new york fall brand prints (natch).
To promote the concept, people will be able to explore the campaign and collection in an immersive and interactive virtual townhouse, kate spade new york’s first global activation in the metaverse.
Balmain Paris and SharpEnd launch NFC enabled Pokémon adventure
Balmain Paris has announced a Balmain x Pokémon collaboration, an immersive digital experience enabled through NFC patches and a luxury connected jacket.
To integrate the technology, Balmain has partnered with SharpEnd.
