Here are RTIH’s most popular retail technology articles on LinkedIn

We’re big fans of LinkedIn and are busy building an amazing community of retail tech enthusiasts on the social media platform. These are the articles that are currently on their radars, including Tesco, Trigo, Brooks, Marks and Spencer, Snap, and RELEX Solutions.

Six retail technology funding rounds you need to know about

RTIH rounds up the retail tech ventures whose funding rounds have been making headlines of late, including Trigo, Kudos, Tymit, mason, and Penny Black.

Top five grocery retail trends to watch out for heading into 2023

As retailers head into 2023, the industry must face many challenges, such as keeping stores and warehouses staffed in what many fear is a foundational readjustment in the labour market.

With the food industry constantly evolving, the future of grocery retail is at the mercy of global trends such as inflation and labour shortages, according to Mikko Kärkkäinen, CEO and co-founder, RELEX Solutions.

“The future of the food and grocery sector is uncertain with external forces set to rock the boat,” says Karkkainen.

“Increased inflation, supply chain issues and labour shortages, to name are few, have shifted the power dynamics across the industry. After attending Grocery Shop 2022, our team at RELEX has identified the top trends grocery retailers should be aware of heading into 2023”.

Last week’s biggest retail technology plays at a glance

RTIH rounds up the stand out retail systems deals, deployments and pilots from the past week. Featuring Marks and Spencer, Woolworths Group, Ocado, Walmart, and happy nation.

Tesco opens second Trigo powered autonomous store and preps two more

Tesco has announced an expansion of its GetGo autonomous stores trial, with Chiswell Street Express open from today in central London.

There will also be another location in London and one in Birmingham, allowing customers to shop and pay without scanning a product or using a checkout.

Like Chiswell Street, these will also offer the option of using a self-service or attended checkout if preferred.

The sites in Fulham Reach Express in Parrs Way, London, and Aston University Express in Aston, Birmingham are due to open over the next few months.

Tesco launched its first GetGo store in High Holborn in October 2021, which will continue to offer a purely checkout-free model.

Shoppers need to download the Tesco app and select the GetGo option. They can then walk in and pick their shopping, before scanning their app as they walk out.

Continuing Tesco's partnership with Trigo, a combination of cameras and weight sensors will establish what customers have picked up and charge them for products directly through the app when they leave the store.

Marks and Spencer BEAM Academy hackathon tackles digital and omnichannel challenges

Last week, M&S hosted its sixth hackathon, with 18 teams of over 270 colleagues from across the business coming together to develop digital and data solutions to real life situations in a 24 hour period.

The retailer tweeted: “It was our biggest hackathon yet, helping cement a culture of innovation across the entire business!”

United Natural Foods to offer Smart Shelf Tags from Cornerstone for Natural

North American grocery wholesaler United Natural Foods has announced an agreement with Cornerstone for Natural to brings its Smart Shelf Tag programme to UNFI’s suppliers and retailers.

Smart Shelf Tags contain ELi QR Codes, pitched as an enhanced, more secure version of a QR code, which can be scanned to provide shoppers with additional product information and content on their mobile phones without requiring an app.

Snap research highlights “huge untapped potential” of augmented reality for retailers

As consumer expectations of the possibilities of augmented reality grow, a major gulf remains when it comes to brands’ perception of how consumers want to use it - with retail leading the way here, according to research from Snap.

Brooks runs with Illumio to protect business against ransomware

Footwear brand, Brooks, has selected Illumio Core to reduce its risk from cyberattacks like ransomware.

“Illumio is a strategic technology in our work to protect the business against ransomware, which is a top priority not only for my team, but the company overall. Ransomware attacks can have a major impact on retail brands – they can limit our availability, halt operations, and damage our trust with customers.” says Ryan Fried, Senior Security Engineer at Brooks.

“Illumio provided value to Brooks right out of the box, with a visualisation of our risk across the network.”

“With the Zero Trust Segmentation platform, we’re able to automate and create segmentation policies which control unwanted communications and proactively contain a potential breach to limit its impact on the organisation.”

Agile ways of working that are delivering best in class digital retail experiences

‘Move fast and break things’ is the infamous mantra of the tech industry, but is it one the retail industry is ready for? PMC reviews the behaviours retailers need to be adopting to help them keep pace with their customer demands.

Countdown enlists Zappar for Countdown Bricks Farm AR campaign

New Zealand supermarket chain Countdown has launched an augmented reality campaign, Countdown Bricks Farm.

Working with Zappar, the retailer has unveiled a collectible campaign that encourages Kiwi kids to learn more about where their food comes from while also boosting customer engagement beyond the checkout and into their homes.

Zebra Technologies flags change in shopper sentiment towards DIY tech

Shoppers are returning to shop in stores in similar numbers seen prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

They have also embraced self-serve habits as they increasingly use DIY technology, allowing more associates more time on the floor to help customers.

That’s according to research by Zebra Technologies.