Check out RTIH’s biggest retail technology articles on social media
Here at RTIH, we’re big fans of Twitter and LinkedIn and are busy building an amazing social media community of retail tech enthusiasts. These are the articles that are currently on their radars, including checkout-free stores, and how a high street presence is increasingly influencing consumers’ decisions on whether they shop with brands online.
1. Asda tests out digital ID tech at self-checkouts
Asda is trialling an automated age verification solution at self-checkouts.
From this week, as the result of a partnership with NCR and Yoti, customers at the UK grocery retailer’s Pudsey and Stevenage stores can use privacy preserving age estimation technology when purchasing alcohol, which works via a camera in the self-checkout screen.
The initiative is part of a Home Office test to allow the trial of technologies that can assist in the requirement for age verification in the retail sale of alcohol.
If the system detects a customer looks younger than 25, they can prove their age through the Yoti and Post Office EasyID apps.
Those who do not wish to use the system have the option to show their ID to an Asda staff member.
The trial will run until the end of May.
2. Omnichannel Brits opt for digital retailers with high street presence
A high street presence is increasingly influencing consumers’ decisions on whether they shop with brands online, according to research from Retail Technology Show, which will take place in London during April.
Over 2,000 UK shoppers were surveyed for this.
Free delivery was the top consideration that would motivate them to continue to buy from a retailer online (70%), followed by a simple and easy returns process (40%).
Next was demand for more personalised digital buying experiences, with 29% of UK shoppers saying that online retailers would need to make them feel like a valued individual customer, rather than just website traffic, to secure their long-term loyalty.
20% of UK consumers said they would be more likely to buy from a digital retailer if their e-commerce offer was backed up by a physical presence on the high street.
At the same time, however, 28% would only continue to use bricks and mortar stores if they could match the speed and convenience of shopping online.
3. 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, has opened 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.
Those people wishing to buy alcohol, or other Challenge 25 products, will be able to use facial age estimation technology, provided by Yoti, to authorise their purchase.
4. Mention Me eyes global expansion following $25m Series B round
Mention Me, a referral engineering platform for e-commerce brands, has announced a $25 million Series B round, led by Octopus Ventures.
Lead investor from a prior round Eight Roads Ventures also participated. London-based Mention Me previously bagged $7 million in a Series A.
It will use the latest funds to hire new team members, expand into the US, invest in its partner network (which includes Klaviyo, TrustPilot, Ometria and SAP) and develop its product offering.
Puma, Pret a Manger, Bought By Many, Bloom & Wild and Asos are among the firm’s 450 strong client base.
5. 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.
Sessions currently partners with such brands as Lost Boys Chicken, SoBe Burger and Oxblock.
And it works with over 50 kitchens nationwide, where customers can order from the range of food brands that it has teamed with.
The investment raised will help the company with its aim of partnering with 15 more chefs and opening 500 more kitchens within the next 12 months. It will also be used to expand its team.
6. Autonomous stores surge - Answering the key questions around this technology
Check out this rather excellent article by Diana Morato, Chief Revenue Growth Officer at Sensei.
