The six biggest retail technology news stories of the week
It’s Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, 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 Walmart, Amazon, Flexport, Apple, and the 2022 RTIH Innovation Awards.
1. 2022 RTIH retail technology awards are now open for entries
After launching in 2019 and delivering hugely successful follow up events in 2020 and 2021, the RTIH Innovation Awards return in 2022, featuring PMC as Headline Sponsor.
The fourth edition of the awards is now open for entries.
New categories in 2022 as follows: Most innovative independent retailer, Customer service excellence, and Omnichannel retail initiative of the year.
The event celebrates global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
We received a record number of submissions in 2021, and winners included Metapack, Asda, Carrefour UAE, Situ Live, Starbucks, Oracle, Go Instore and Halla.
Winners and highly commended companies were announced on Wednesday, 8th December at an exclusive roundtable discussion/networking event in central London.
2. Walmart taps automation technology for next generation fulfilment centres
Walmart has announced plans to build four new fulfilment centres. These will implement automation technology that provides customers and Walmart+ members with access to next or two day shipping on millions of items.
Locations include McCordsville, Indiana, and Greencastle, Pennsylvania.
“Our new next generation fulfilment centre is a first of its kind for Walmart that will transform the way we ship online orders to customers,” says David Guggina, Senior Vice President, Automation, and Innovation at Walmart.
“Through our automated storage system and patent pending five step process, we’ll not only provide increased comfort for associates but also double the storage capacity and double the number of customer orders we’re able to fulfil in a day.”
3. Pinterest to acquire AI powered fashion shopping platform THE YES
Pinterest has inked a definitive agreement to acquire THE YES, a fashion platform that enables users to shop a personalised feed based on their active input on brand, style, and size.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
AI powered THE YES was founded in 2018 by CEO Julie Bornstein and CTO Amit Aggarwal.
The former will now report to Pinterest’s Co-Founder and CEO, Ben Silbermann.
She will lead shopping vision and strategy across the social media giant, creating “a new and strategic organisation dedicated to Pinterest’s taste driven shopping efforts that will help steer the evolution of features for Pinners and merchants on Pinterest”.
4. Former Amazon exec Dave Clark joins logistics startup Flexport
Dave Clark, a 23-year Amazon veteran and the driving force behind its huge logistics operation, will join supply chain technology startup Flexport as Chief Executive in September.
Amazon announced last week that Clark planned to leave his role as CEO of its worldwide consumer business on 1st July.
He will join San Francisco, US-based Flexport in September and will for the first six months serve as Co-Chief Executive with Ryan Petersen, Flexport’s Founder and current Chief Executive.
Petersen will then move to an Executive Chair role as Clark becomes the solo Chief Executive next year.
5. Former Asos boss Nick Beighton joins online fashion platform Secret Sales
Nick Beighton, the former Asos Chief Executive, is returning to the online fashion sector and taking on the role of Chairman at Secret Sales, which helps premium brands sell surplus stock.
The company, which was bought by retail entrepreneurs Chris Griffin and Matt Purt just over two years ago, recorded sales growth of over 150% during the last 12 months.
It secured €10 million in funding in 2021. This has now been followed up with additional funding to accelerate its international growth strategy.
Secret Sales has operations in the UK, Netherlands and Belgium and plans to expand to a further 12 international territories over the next two years.
6. Apple makes BNPL move with Apple Pay Later
Apple is venturing into the BNPL market, piling pressure on firms like Klarna and Affirm that are already grappling with investor pressure, slower online retail growth and rising interest rates.
With Apple Pay Later, which is built into Apple Wallet, iPhone and Mac users in the US can pay for purchases in four instalments over six weeks without being charged interest or other fees.
The system will tap the Mastercard network at any location that supports Apple Pay, both online and in physical stores.
