May 2022: retail technology deals and deployments at a glance
RTIH rounds up the stand out retail systems deals, deployments and pilots from May, including Alimentation Couche-Tard, Walmart, H&M Group, Asda, The Very Group, Netto, and Starbucks.
Alimentation Couche-Tard is set to deploy more than 10,000 Mashgin AI powered touchless checkout systems, branded as Smart Checkout, to over 7,000 of its Circle K and Couche-Tard stores during the next three years.
The agreement launches the global deployment of the solution, and is claimed to be one of the largest scale expansions of computer vision powered checkout technology to date.
It builds upon the deployment of Mashgin across nearly 500 Circle K locations in the US and Sweden since 2020, as well as at Couche-Tard's retail innovation lab store on the campus of McGill University in Montreal.
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.”
Mexican fast food chain Chipotle is now accepting cryptocurrency payments through Flexa at its 2,950+ USA-based restaurants.
Chipotle will offer all the 98 cryptocurrencies Flexa currently supports, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and seven US dollar pegged stablecoins.
H&M Group is rolling out a pilot in COS stores, US, where “tech enabled in-store shopping solutions provide visitors with seamless payment options, personalised styling recommendations, faster checkout, and upgraded delivery/return options”.
The first pilot store in Beverly Hills, California includes fitting rooms equipped with smart mirrors that recognise products brought into the room (e.g. item, size, and colour) with the possibility to offer personalised product and styling recommendations.
On the store floor, other types of smart mirrors can be used for virtual try-on and styling.
Prada has announced its first solo NFT drop. The brand is planning more drops, following its first foray into this space in collaboration with adidas Originals.
The solo drop is linked to the Prada Timecapsule, an online event in which a different exclusive item is made available in limited quantities, in selected markets, for only 24 hours each month.
Boxer, a Southern African discounter, has selected RELEX Solutions to implement forecasting and replenishment for its stores and distribution centres.
It will leverage the RELEX Living Retail solution in 300+ stores and five distribution centres, with the aim of improving availability and driving sales across all its activities.
Asda has selected Luminate Commerce solutions from Blue Yonder to modernise its omnichannel order management capabilities.
The grocery giant will also partner with Bringg, a Blue Yonder technology alliance partner and delivery and fulfilment cloud platform, as it looks to make each element of the supply chain seamless, connected and orchestrated.
The Very Group, which operates digital retailer Very.co.uk, is looking to transform its content management system through a new partnership with Amplience.
Using the latter’s Dynamic Content solution, Very says it will simplify and speed up the process of managing digital content across all of its brands and devices.
Fashion pureplay retailer, boohoo group, says that it has improved operational efficiency and speed to market, with a product information management solution from Akeneo.
Netto is testing out a shopping cart from Imagr that scans items and handles payment, enabling shoppers to skip checkout queues.
This is currently live at Kirkegårdsvej in Copenhagen, and it will shortly also be found at Kongelundsvej in Copenhagen, Runevej in Aarhus, Bybuen in Skovlunde and Virum.
The shopper’s smartphone is connected to the shopping cart via the Netto+ app. When the cart is filled with goods, these are automatically registered with the user receiving a digital receipt.
The trial is set to run until July.
Domino’s is teaming with Netflix to launch an immersive mind ordering app experience which places “test subjects” inside Hawkins National Lab in Hawkins, Indiana – transporting them to the centre of the hit show Stranger Things in 1986.
The app uses facial recognition and eye tracking technology to allow test subjects to use their “powers” to order pizza by making certain facial expressions and head movements.
Fast fashion big hitter boohoo has partnered with four female artists from the NFT community (Amy Kilner, Reem El, Aoife O’Dwyer and Shar.eth) to create an “affordable and inclusive avatar collection”.
The artists created 230 unique traits and features, with a range of these consisting of statement fashion pieces from boohoo’s product range.
Using these traits, the pureplay came up with a collection of 30,000 avatars which aim to represent the diversity of its community.
Uber Eats is launching two autonomous delivery pilots in Los Angeles with Serve Robotics and Motional.
Both of the pilots will initially deliver food from only a few merchants.
Serve’s part of the initiative will focus on shorter trips in West Hollywood. Motional’s will handle longer distance deliveries in Santa Monica.
Customers who place food orders via the Uber Eats app can opt to have their order delivered by a robot.
They will see a confirmation screen, receive app notifications and be able to track the robot’s location as their order approaches. Once it arrives, they can use the Uber Eats app to open the robot and retrieve their order.
Veeve has announced an agreement with Albertsons Companies that later this year will make its smart carts available to customers at a few dozen stores across the US.
Shoppers can use them to skip checkout lines.
“Veeve smart carts offer a sophisticated, yet simple self-checkout experience for people who value flexibility and time savings,” says Alyse Wuson, Senior Director of Omni Experiences at Albertsons Cos.
“Our goal is to enhance the grocery experience no matter how our guests choose to shop, and Veeve’s technology brings the ease and integration of e-commerce right to the grocery cart.”
Yochananof, an Israeli supermarket chain, has placed a follow on order for an aggregate of 1,000 Cust2Mate smart carts, after an initial roll-out in stores.
Stationery retailer, Paperchase, has been working with Retail Assist on a full upgrade of the infrastructure and operating system that underpins its omnichannel supply chain solution, Merret, also provided by Retail Assist.
Decathlon is set to equip dozens of additional stores with Quadient’s automated parcel lockers in 2022.
Starbucks will launch its own NFT collections later this year.
During its fiscal Q2 2022 earnings call this week, the coffee giant said that NFTs can help Starbucks extend its concept of the “third place”, that is, a place between home and work where people can feel a sense of belonging over coffee.
The company has brought in Adam Brotman, the architect of its Mobile Order & Pay system and the Starbucks app, to help serve as a special advisor on the project.
Tesco has teamed up with Uber Eats to help expand its Whoosh rapid grocery delivery service.
The supermarket giant launched Whoosh, which aims to deliver food and drinks in under 60 minutes, in May 2021 and it now covers 200 Express outlets across the UK.
The deal with Uber launches from 20 stores, including Edinburgh, Bradford, Portsmouth, Norwich, St Albans and Letchworth.
Tesco says that the partnership will help towards the target of offering the service from 600 locations by the end of 2022.
