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 Heineken, Mulberry, Instacart, Starbucks, and MediaMarkt.
Heineken has launched its first virtual beer, Heineken Silver, available exclusively in its virtual brewery within the Decentraland platform.
Croatia retailer Studenac has launched a mobile application as it looks to improve customer experience and build loyalty.
This is available in both Croatian and English, for Android and iOS.
Customers scan the app when making purchases, collecting points that can be used for discounts and receiving personalised loyalty rewards.
Mulberry has deployed Aptos’ Order Management solution.
The system – which serves as a centralised commerce hub to help Mulberry profitably manage orders through their lifecycle – has been implemented across the brand’s retail estate, which includes stores and its online channel.
Instacart has launched Shoppable Recipes, which will allow food creators to link Instacart shopping lists into their content through integrations on TikTok and Tasty, as well on Hearst properties like Delish and Good Housekeeping.
kencko, a US direct-to-consumer plant-based nutrition brand, has implemented referral engineering platform Mention Me.
Appointed as the digital agency for London Fashion Week for the year, IBM is redesigning the event’s website via a public cloud-based platform.
Powered by the IBM iX Experience Orchestrator, IBM iX has revamped the mobile first website, removing friction in the journey and developing existing features and experiences such as City-Wide Celebrations, Event Schedules, Google Maps and Carousels.
An IBM team of design and technology professionals collaborated with LFW, utilising the IBM Garage methodology to generate ideas and quickly turn them into business value.
Ocado Solutions has announced a partnership with Auchan Retail Poland which will see the latter’s online business using the Ocado Smart Platform (OSP).
This agreement marks the second Auchan business to partner with Ocado Solutions.
The pair will initially build a customer fulfilment centre (CFC) to serve the Warsaw region, beginning in 2024, with additional CFCs to follow.
Auchan Poland will also leverage Ocado's In-Store Fulfilment (ISF) software across its hypermarkets nationwide. The tie up will cover both its food and non-food business.
Starbucks is set to deploy new handheld ordering devices to stores.
It is planning to launch Shift Marketplace, an app designed to make it easy for partners to switch and offer shifts virtually, along with a waste and recycling app.
And it will also expand the Starbucks safety Lyft programme to provide rides home for partners after dark.
Plans are also afoot to expand to 55,000 stores in over 100 markets by 2030.
Electronics retailer MediaMarkt is set to deliver its online orders in a CO2 neutral way and on the same day via the Bringly platform.
Orders will be processed and delivered by bicycle or electric cars from stores and various MediaMarkt hubs.
Bringly and MediaMarkt have launched the service in the Netherlands (49 stores). Belgium (24 stores) is expected to follow later this year.
Fashion brand, GANT, has created a digitally connected global community for its frontline workers in partnership with Yoobic.
Harry Rosen, a Canadian luxury menswear retailer, has gone live on Jesta’s cloud warehouse management system (WMS).
PCI Pal has worked with restaurant group Fridays UK on the implementation of its Agent Assist solution, to ensure full PCI compliance when handling customers’ telephone-based card payments.
Finland-based fuelling station chain Neste has gone live on the ReceiptHero digital receipts platform.
Skechers has announced a push into the metaverse with the signing of a lease in the Fashion District of Decentraland.
It has also filed trademark applications throughout the world to sell virtual goods such as footwear and apparel.
The company has leased the equivalent of a 5,000-square-foot space on virtual land owned by Metaverse Group to build an experiential store on the Fashion Street Estate located in the Decentraland metaverse.
Online beauty retailer, Feelunique, has partnered with global product sourcing platform, RangeMe.
Feelunique is the first major health and beauty retailer in Europe to join RangeMe since the platform launched in the UK six months ago.
