The six biggest retail technology news stories of the week
It’s Friday, the week is almost done, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past five days, including Walgreens Boots Alliance, Morrisons, Gopuff, and Metaverse Fashion Week.
1. Morrisons and Gopuff agree rapid grocery delivery tie up
UK grocery giant Morrisons has announced a multi-year partnership with US-based rapid delivery firm Gopuff.
Customers across the UK can now order thousands of Morrisons food and grocery items for delivery in as little as 15-20 minutes.
Morrisons will act as the wholesaler to Gopuff, which operates via a network of dark stores.
2. Did Metaverse Fashion Week give us a glimpse of retail’s future? Potentially
You may have heard that a fashion week took place last week. But not in one of Europe’s major cities. And instead of a backdrop of the Louvre, it was a canvas of pixels and futuristic architecture.
For Decentraland was hosting the inaugural Metaverse Fashion Week which meant that many retailers and brands were dipping their toes into the meta water for the first time.
Not everything was perfect by any means, but there were some cool sights on display, and this could be the start of something really exciting for the retail industry, according to Max Vedel, Co-founder and Creative Director at Swipe Back.
3. UK technology ecosystem hits landmark $1 trillion valuation
The UK tech industry is now worth $1 trillion in value, as the country’s tech sector becomes the third in the world to ever reach this landmark valuation.
The UK’s digital economy is worth more than double that of Germany’s and almost five times larger than France and Sweden, according to data by Dealroom analysed for the UK’s Digital Economy Council.
4. Deliveroo and WHSmith agree rapid delivery tie up
Deliveroo has announced a rapid delivery partnership with WHSmith, marking its first major push into the general merchandise space.
WHSmith is launching the service in Reading, Berkshire, and will roll it out across nine more stores over the next week, covering Richmond, south-west London, Muswell Hill, north London, Chiswick, west London, Brighton, East Sussex, Cambridge, Oxford, Leeds, West Yorkshire, St Albans, Hertfordshire, and Guildford in Surrey.
The trial will offer about 600 products to customers, including stationery, home working equipment, and technology accessories.
5. Asda teams with Buymie for one-hour grocery deliveries across Leeds and Bristol
Buymie has launched a one-hour grocery shopping service in Leeds and Bristol in partnership with Asda, allowing customers to access the latter’s full online range of products with the on-demand delivery platform.
Buymie's network of personal shoppers will pick, pack and deliver each order, giving customers the ability to submit any preferences and discuss their requests, including the type of substitutes they would accept if their original choices were unavailable.
The service, which will operate under the brand Asda Express powered by Buymie, will be initially trialled for three months across selected postcodes within a three mile radius of ten Asda stores in Leeds and Bristol and will create 60 new jobs in the two cities.
6. Walgreens Boots Alliance preps automated hubs for prescription fulfilment
Walgreens Boots Alliance plans to open 22 robot powered micro-fulfilment centres across the US to fill customers’ prescriptions.
By 2025, as much as half of the retailer’s total prescription volume could be filled at the automated hubs, says Rex Swords, Walgreens’ Group President of Centralised Services, Operations and Planning.
