January 2022: top 10 most clicked retail technology articles
These are the RTIH retail systems articles that caught your fancy during January, including Tesco Whoosh, NRF 2022, H&M in the metaverse, and Aldi UK’s first ever checkout-free store.
NRF 2022: To attend or not to attend as Covid cases rise?
The National Retail Federation confirmed that its annual US-based industry event, the Big Show, now in its 112th year, would still continue in person as planned, despite rising Covid cases across the country.
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.
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.
AiFi tech powers new Aldi UK checkout-free concept store
Discount retailer Aldi UK has launched its first checkout-free store.
The Aldi Shop&Go concept store in Greenwich, London opened in January for public testing, having been tested by staff members in recent months.
Situated on Greenwich High Street, it enables customers to complete their shop without scanning a single product, or having to go through a checkout.
They can download the Aldi Shop&Go app, which will allow them to enter the store, pick up their items, and then walk out when they have completed their shop.
Once a customer leaves the store they will then be automatically charged via their selected payment method and a receipt will appear in the app.
The system, provided by AiFi, uses specially positioned cameras.
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.
This is not how Walmart envisions shopping in the metaverse
A video did the rounds on social media during January, 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.
Nike launches Nikeland, Roblox experience in New York store
After venturing in to the virtual world of Roblox in November, Nike is now bringing its Nikeland experience to the brand’s New York City store on Fifth Avenue.
Throughout January, the Kids space - 1F floor of Nike NYC, House of Innovation - featured visual elements decked out in the theme, while augmented reality features through Snapchat Lenses offered avatars and games.
Food startup Sessions announces $10 million Series A round
Sessions, a startup which provides UK foodie entrepreneurs with a platform to sell their products, has raised $10 million in a Series A round.
Founded by Dan Warne, formerly MD of Deliveroo, CFO Ian Banks, formerly CFO of Soho House, and leisure industry specialist Chairman, Graham Turner, Sessions has secured the cash from a syndicate of investors led by Guinness Asset Management.
The business comprises physical consumer facing locations (the Shelter Hall in Brighton being the first of several planned), delivery kitchens and an accelerator model.
Gorillas, Getir and Buyk set to become major real-time retail delivery players
Rapid grocery delivery firms must transform their business models in order to survive in a hugely competitive, fast changing space.
That’s the view of Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive.
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.
“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.”
