Here’s what happened in the retail technology space during June
RTIH takes a look back at an eventful month for the retail systems sector, including Shoptalk Europe 2022, Amazon, Primark, Walmart, Gopuff, Deliveroo, Ikea, Pinterest, and Apple.
Good month for…
Doug Herrington was appointed as the new CEO of Amazon’s Worldwide Stores business (formerly known as Consumer).
He has been at Amazon for 17 years, joining the company in 2005 to build out the Consumables business, launching Amazon Fresh in 2007, and in 2015, taking on leading all of the North American Consumer business.
Checkout-free stores are now live in 20 countries across the world, according to research from RBR.
The number of stores across the world using checkout-free technology increased threefold during 2021 to over 250.
In most cases this is installed within the physical infrastructure of the store, tracking customers as they move around the store. Other retailers have deployed smart carts for larger basket sizes, which have the technology fitted to the carts themselves.
Amazon has the largest number of checkout-free stores globally, mostly in the USA and the UK, with plans for expansion in these markets and others. These locations use its Just Walk Out solution, although other retailers are also using the firm's technology, including travel convenience store chain Hudson.
Jisp’s Scan & Save solution reached a key milestone across Nisa, Londis, Budgens, Premier and Family Shopper stores in the UK.
Customer engagement platform, MoEngage, bagged $77 million in a Series E funding round led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and B Capital.
Australia-based retail technology startup TAGR raised $1.15 million.
Its scan and pay platform enables retailers to offer mobile checkout to their customers within a 48 hour period, with integration to their PoS system.
Workforce scheduling company, Rotageek, secured a £3 million funding round led by Volution, Calculus Capital, and Gresham House Ventures.
The investment will enable it to scale, following the signing of retail clients including Caffè Nero, McColl’s, White Stuff, and Charlotte Tilbury.
Reflex, an online marketplace that connects retail associates with brands in need of staffing help, emerged from stealth and announced a $4.5 million oversubscribed seed funding round.
PoS and omnichannel commerce solution startup XY Retail closed a $4 million seed round led by Monta Vista Capital with participation from Stage 1 Ventures.
The cash will be used to accelerate the company’s global roll-out of its XY platform to luxury brands.
The aim is to help them digitise their enterprises and manage their entire global retail operations— from data decisioning, stock management, and order fulfilment to hyper-personalising the clienteling and merchandising experience.
Bad month for…
These are challenging times for the rapid grocery delivery space, with many once hotly tipped startups now laying off staff, exiting markets and scaling back ambitions in a post-Covid world.
Critics of this industry have been quick to claim it was an accident waiting to happen.
But one prominent player (Ahmad Yousry, Chief Executive at Rabbit) wasn’t taking it lying down this month.
Also this month…
REWE Group announced the upcoming opening of a second Trigo powered hybrid checkout-free supermarket.
Located in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany, this builds on a launch last year in Cologne.
Shoppers at the 400 square metre Schönhauser Allee location can walk in and grab items including fresh baked goods, weighted fruits and vegetables and other grocery products, then exit the store and receive a receipt within minutes.
A traditional checkout option will also be available.
Quick commerce big hitter Gopuff is going beyond convenience, according to Bryan Batista, Senior Vice President of International.
Speaking during June at Home Delivery World Europe, he observed:“We’re seeing more and more of our busy customers using us for supplementary ‘top-up’ or daily shops. And as well as speed, we know that they want consistency and reliability.”
After launching in 2019 and delivering hugely successful follow up events in 2020 and 2021, the RTIH Innovation Awards returned to action in June, featuring PMC as Headline Sponsor.
The fourth edition of the awards is now open for entries. Further details here.
Dave Clark, a 23-year Amazon veteran and the driving force behind its huge logistics operation, joined supply chain technology startup Flexport as Chief Executive in September.
Nick Beighton, the former Asos Chief Executive, returned to the online fashion sector to take on the role of Chairman at Secret Sales, which helps premium brands sell surplus stock.
Deliveroo launched a new advertising platform, Deliveroo Media and E-commerce.
The rapid delivery firm is working on this offering with Criteo who are supplying the advertising technology and media sales services.
Brands will be able to advertise to Deliveroo customers with relevant offers across its app, on the company’s website and as part of social media, email and push notification campaigns.
Walmart entered into an agreement to acquire augmented reality tech company, Memomi.
Since 2019, Memomi has enabled digital measurements for Walmart and Sam’s Optical customers, across more than 2,800 Walmart Vision Centres and 550 Sam’s Clubs, and also powers the optical e-commerce experience on SamsClub.com.
Shoptalk Europe 2022 took place in London this month.
Keynote speakers included Elodie Perthuisot, Chief E Commerce, Digital Transformation and Data Officer & EXCOM member at Carrefour.
Perthuisot revealed her vision on the future of grocery and the technologies, tactics and strategies that she believes are needed to win in the long-term.
In a LinkedIn post, she said: “London is indeed a great place to be at the moment.”
“Today, I attended Shoptalk Europe 2022. It is striking to visit the booths, to meet the startups and the tech companies there, and to see how much technology is changing the way we do retail, on every part of our value chain.”
She added: “In my keynote, I explained what we in Carrefour are looking for in our digital transformation: no tech for the sake of tech, but tech that gives us solutions to improve our business.”
“Key examples are tools for our associates and store managers, that give them access to relevant data, information and mobile solutions without leaving the store's floor.”
Primark is gearing up to test out a Click & Collect service on children's products in some UK stores.
Owner Associated British Foods (ABF) said the move builds on the launch of a new website earlier this year.
Ingka Group, the largest Ikea retailer, launched a new artificial intelligence driven digital home design experience, Ikea Kreativ.
The UK’s first Amazon Fresh checkout-free store situated outside of London opened this month in Sevenoaks, Kent.
Walmart began a push to bring UK exporters to its US Walmart Marketplace, an online offering where third-party sellers serve a base of more than 120 million shoppers each month.
Apple ventured 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.
Pinterest completed its acquisition of THE YES, a fashion platform that enables users to shop a personalised feed based on their active input on brand, style, and size.
