Drones, awards, and startups: Last week’s most clicked RTIH retail technology articles
These are the RTIH articles that caught your fancy last week, including Walmart, DroneUp, bodo, Currys, Starbucks, and our 2022 retail technology innovation awards.
2022 RTIH Innovation Awards winners and highly commended entries announced
Now into their fourth year, the awards celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
We received a record number of submissions this year across 14 categories (you can find a full rundown of the 2022 shortlists here).
Our winners and highly commended companies were announced during a sold out event that took place in central London this month and was attended by retailers, tech suppliers, members of our judging panel, and sponsors.
So, without further ado, here is the 2022 RTIH Innovation Awards hall of fame.
Congratulations to our latest entrants!
Walmart drone delivery service hits Arizona, Texas and Florida markets with DroneUp
Walmart’s drone delivery service is now available for select customers in the Arizona, Texas and Florida markets.
In Phoenix, Arizona, the option will be fulfilled from four stores.
In the Dallas area of Texas, it will be fulfilled from 11 stores.
And from seven stores in Tampa and Orlando, Florida.
This follows Walmart’s announcement of plans to expand its DroneUp network to reach four million additional households across six US states.
“Drone delivery makes it possible for our customers to shop those last minute or forgotten items with ease, in a package that’s frankly really cool. Being on the forefront of that innovation at Walmart is something we’re proud of,” says Vik Gopalakrishnan, Vice President, Innovation & Automation, Walmart U.S.
“It may seem like a futuristic option, but it’s giving our customers what they’ve always wanted, and that’s time back to focus on what is most important to them.”
Startup Stories interview: Jack Green and Brandon Neman, founders of bodo
RTIH gets the lowdown on bodo, which was founded by former CloudKitchens and Deliveroo executives and offers e-commerce brands a plug-in that facilitates one hour and same-day delivery directly from their website or store.
Evri and Zara flop as shoppers flag online delivery as kind of a big deal
Chatermill research, based on customer reviews, reveals delivery to be one of the biggest issues for retail customers, with speed and timeliness being key contributors to the negative sentiment received by some of the most popular fashion retail brands.
Chattermill analysed feedback from over 152,000 public Trustpilot reviews, registered from 1st January to 4th September, from customers buying at Asos, H&M, New Look, Next and Zara.
Based on ratings given by customers, New Look and Asos have the best customer experience, while Zara has the worst.
Delivery complaints frequently centre on the fact that despite stating on their websites a limited number of days for delivering purchases — usually around two to four days — packages tend to be delayed, with items frequently arriving out of the suggested timeframe.
An explanation for this could be linked to the courier service used by the fashion brands analysed. Based on the feedback collected from customers, Evri (formerly Hermes) is the most problematic courier brand, followed by DHL and Yodel in number of negative reviews.
As is reflected in the data, this negativity carries over to the companies that use them.
Getir buys Gorillas as rapid grocery delivery funding stagnates and consumer use dwindles
After weeks of rumours, Getir has officially announced that it is acquiring Gorillas.
“Markets go up and down, but consumers love our service and convenience is here to stay. The super fast grocery delivery industry will steadily grow for many years to come and Getir will lead this category it created seven years ago,” says Nazim Salur, Getir founder.
The amount of VC money burnt investing in the quick commerce space is staggering.
With this latest move, can we assume that one startup will survive and thrive, alongside traditional retailers like Tesco who saw what was going on and came up with their own offerings?
Currys hails busy Black Friday and tackles digital poverty with Christmas song
Electrical retailer Currys says it was the fourth busiest website in the UK over Black Friday with eight million customers online.
It is also getting into the Christmas song business, with a tune courtesy of one of its employees.
In a LinkedIn post, Andy Gamble, Chief Information Officer | Chief Transformation Officer at Currys, said: “Raphael Barnett, aka 3Style from our Staples Corner store, penned and performed an incredible track featuring samples from a selection of in-store tech.”
He added: “And because it’s Christmas - for every watch/like the video gets on TikTok we're donating 1p to help combat digital poverty. So show some love… and let me know what you think in the comments.”
Altogether now, we’re real, no robots, advice on point, no roadblocks, tech experts to get setup, come shop live for no holdups.
New Look agrees digital payments partnership with e-commerce startup Primer
Digital payments firm, Primer, has announced a partnership with New Look.
The UK startup was founded by alums of Braintree and PayPal and provides a drag and drop framework for merchants to build online payment stacks.
It says that the tie up will provide the fashion retailer with “an expansive, no-code payment infrastructure that will invigorate its online shopping experience and ensure it keeps pace with the sector’s demand”.
With Primer, New Look will be able to onboard, maintain and automate dozens of new solutions ranging from payment service providers and fraud tools to express checkout modules, wallets, buy now pay later offerings with just a few clicks in a dashboard.
Walmart, Pandora, and Printemps: 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 seven days. Featuring Zippin, JD Sports, Very, Amazon, Forever 21, and Macy’s.
L’Oréal opts for payfree and Avery Dennison tech at German pop-up store
L’Oréal has deployed grab and go technology from payfree in a pop-up store in Düsseldorf, Germany.
It is also using RFID tags from Avery Dennison. Customers pass their shopping bag with beauty products through a u shaped scanning unit at the exit.
The payfree Bag Fast Track solution automatically identifies the items in the shopping bag because a RFID tag is attached to eachj one. Customers then pay via contactless using a card or digital wallet.
Our next big innovation in loyalty”. Web3 tech powered Starbucks Odyssey experience begins
Starbucks Odyssey, an extension of Starbucks Rewards powered by Web3 technology, has launched in beta to a small group of waitlist members, including customers and employees in the US.
The retailer brought in Adam Brotman, the architect of its Mobile Order & Pay system and the Starbucks app, to serve as a special advisor.
Participants will be able to engage in Starbucks Odyssey ‘Journeys’ which are a series of activities to earn collectible ‘Journey Stamps’ (NFTs) and Odyssey Points that will unlock access to new benefits and experiences.
“Starbucks has a history of harnessing emerging technology to innovate on behalf of our customers and making it easily accessible and approachable for the mainstream,” says Brady Brewer, Starbucks Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
“Our innovative spirit and the desire to continuously exceed the expectations of our customers has led to the launch of Starbucks Odyssey.”
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