RTIH runs through this week's coolest retail technology plays
RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his top ‘future of retail’ systems launches and deployments from the past week, including adventures in the metaverse, checkout free stores in airports, and a shoe retailer that is winning at TikTok.
Walmart
Walmart has announced Electric Fest, building on last week’s Roblox metaverse announcement.
This weekend, users can jump back into Walmart Land’s Electric Island, which was inspired by the world’s greatest music festivals.
For the first time on Roblox, the retailer will be hosting a festival experience, featuring Madison Beer, Kane Brown and YUNGBLUD, for people to enjoy from the comfort of their own homes.
Electric Fest is a motion capture concert that aims to “celebrate self-expression through music”.
It will be available in Walmart Land on Roblox from Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7 pm EST each evening
Check out a behind the scenes look at how this all came to life.
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
West Elm
Design company, West Elm, part of home retailer Williams-Sonoma, has announced the launch of its own virtual world, West Elm Home Design, on Roblox.
This is comprised of the West Elm Hub and the West Elm Neighbourhood.
The former features a furniture store, coffee shop and merchandise boutique. Users can customise their homes with over 150 products, replicated to be nearly identical to the physical goods.
In the West Elm Neighbourhood, users can acquire homes and appoint them with West Elm furniture, lighting, garden and decorative accessories. They can also collect and wear West Elm branded avatar accessories like T-shirts, hats, and bags.
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Zippin
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport has opened its first checkout-free store, powered by Zippin.
This is Zippin’s third airport store, with locations at Tom Jobim International Airport (“Galeão”), in Rio de Janeiro and New York’s JFK International Airport.
In Dallas, the firm worked with Puente Enterprises to make the 1,400 square-foot store - the largest in Terminal C - a reality.
It offers more than 900 products: from grab and go snacks to bluetooth headphones.
Shoppers tap their credit card at one of the four turnstiles to enter, select their items and exit the store to make a connecting flight or head home.
Clarks
After a retailer that is successfully tapping TikTok? Then look no further than Clarks.
In a LinkedIn post, Elle-Louise Wilmot, Rotational Graduate at TikTok and Founder at Truly Twenties, says: “Not enough people are talking about the Clarks TikTok channel. So I’m going to.”
The company can teach a lot of brands how to maximise their potential on the platform, she argues
“They’ve been jumping onto trends with reactive content. Sometimes being the first out of brands to take the opportunity,” Wilmot comments.
“AKA; getting their graphic designer editing corn into the shoes for the viral corn song AND then photoshopping Rodger Cleye into their content.”
She adds: “They are on it and they are quick.”
McDonald’s
McDonald’s is now accepting Bitcoin as a payment method in the city of Lugano in the Italian speaking region of Switzerland.
A video of someone ordering food on a McDonald’s digital kiosk and then paying for it at a regular checkout with the help of a mobile app was uploaded on Twitter by Bitcoin Magazine.
The Tether (USDT) logo can be spotted next to the Bitcoin symbol on the payment terminal (NB: earlier this year, the city of Lugano announced it would accept Bitcoin, Tether and the LVGA token as a legal tender).
Crypto.com Arena and Amazon
Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles is gearing up to launch two new grab and go locations powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology.
Visitors will have the opportunity to take what they want without having to stop to checkout while shopping at the Bud Light Seltzer Market and the Michelob Ultra Market, located on the main concourse between sections 105 and 108.
The stores are debuting this October in time for NHL and NBA preseason games.
To enter, guests insert their credit card at the entry gates and start shopping. As they select food and beverages, Just Walk Out technology determines what they take from or return to the shelves.
After they exit, the credit card will be charged for the items they took.
Made.com and Pinterest
Furniture and homewares retailer Made.com has launched its first Idea Ads with Paid Partnership campaign on Pinterest, making it the first brand to do so in the UK.
To support its Never Ordinary campaign, the company’s collaboration with two creators on the platform (Kerry Lockwood and Little Big Bell) aims to inspire Pinners to style unique spaces in their houses with bright and colourful touches.
Pinterest recently launched Idea Ads with Paid Partnership to enable businesses to collaborate with a creator to produce “immersive, interactive branded content that consists of images and videos to tell a story and inspire the creator’s audience to action”.
It also provides companies the ability to scale collaborative content beyond the creator’s audiences by promoting it to their target audiences and measuring performance on Pinterest’s ad platform.
Prada
Prada has announced the release of its fifth Timecapsule NFT Collection, which is linked to both a gender-neutral physical product and a gifted NFT.
This drop follows four Timecapsule NFT drops, which the company says all lead to immediate sell outs.
A key design element of the latest Timecapsule shirt is upcycled fabric from the Prada archives from which it is composed.
This shirt, which is #34 in the Timecapsule Collection, is emblazoned with the calendar month of October.
Deliveroo
Deliveroo has opened its first physical grocery store in partnership with Morrisons.
The Deliveroo Hop store on London’s New Oxford Street will allow customers to order on digital kiosks or the Deliveroo app, for quick collection.
It also functions as a dark store for Deliveroo’s rapid grocery offering, Deliveroo Hop.
“We’re opening our doors and welcoming commuters, local residents, visitors and day trippers into our first high street grocery store in the UK,” says Eric French, COO at Deliveroo.
“Our New Oxford Street store promises a new way to shop for our customers, giving them even greater flexibility and choice and should help boost the local area, with nearly two-thirds of shoppers saying they will visit other nearby shops as they come to shop with Deliveroo.”
Printemps
Printemps, a retailer focused on beauty, fashion, accessories and menswear with 20 department stores in France, is inviting people to visit its first ever immersive, virtual location in the metaverse.
It will offer anyone purchasing a product from said store the chance to enter a prize draw to win NFTs created in collaboration with the artist Romain Froquet.
30 NFTs, exclusive digital works, will be offered to customers via the Arianee platform.
Possession of one will also allow the holder to receive the original painting by Froquet, exhibited in the atrium of Printemps Haussmann during the campaign.
Amazon India
Amazon is rolling out a livestreaming video shopping feature in India.
The company is hooking up with social media influencers to host livestreams during which they can interact with customers and also offer limited period deals.
"With the Amazon Live launch, we want to make the shopping experience exciting and meaningful for our customers," says Kishore Thota, Director, Customer Experience and Marketing, Amazon India.
Amazon Live is currently hosting livestreams across several categories, including electronics, fashion and beauty, and home decor via an app.
Amazon says it will run 15 livestreams a day between 10 am to 1 am. During its ongoing festive sale, it expects to stream over 450 hours of content.
