RTIH runs through this week's coolest retail technology plays
RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his top ‘future of retail’ systems launches and deployments from the past week, including immersive cricketing experiences, social media firsts, and computer vision technology powered autonomous stores.
Sixes Social Cricket
Sixes Social Cricket, an immersive cricketing experience, has launched a new flagship venue in Westfield London, marking the business’ fifth such opening since its inception in 2020.
This is Sixes’ largest venue to date and follows launches in Fulham, Fitzrovia, Manchester and Birmingham.
With capacity for 250 people, it will comprise of five large batting nets complete with the brand’s technology, an outdoor terrace and a brand new look and feel.
The core Sixes offering remains the same, allowing visitors to eat, drink, and bat in batting nets available to hire by the hour to test their cricket skills with friends and family.
The company has a further 30 venues in the pipeline to open in the UK and overseas, with one expected to arrive in the United States later this year.
QuikTrip and Amazon
US convenience retailer, QuikTrip, has opened a store in Tulsa powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology. This is its first venture into the checkout-free space.
Those visiting the new location (in the BOK Tower at One Williams Center) will be able to insert their credit card at the entry gate to enter, shop like normal, and then leave.
Just Walk Out technology determines what items shoppers take from or return to the shelves, and when they leave, the credit card they inserted will be charged for the items they took.
Rapha Racing
Rapha Racing, a cycling apparel brand, is leveraging 7bridges’ AI technology to create more resilient supply chains.
Over the past two years, the company has faced a huge increase in demand, presenting new challenges.
7bridges’s AI technology will be used to help manage the wide range of different carriers and service providers that Rapha currently works with, streamlining the invoicing process, ensuring that service levels are always met, and automating the dispute and recovery process for any erroneous charges.
Shopify
Pinterest and Waitrose
Pinterest has launched Waitrose’s latest campaign on its platform, showcasing its “colourful variety in food choices for this year’s summer dishes”.
Raising awareness of its “high quality products and everyday food range”, the retailer is looking to inspire Pinners to prepare tasty meals, utilising Pinterest’s immersive ad format, the Pin Extension, for the first time.
Waitrose’s campaign features an interactive look book allowing Pinners to select from one of four different summer food options including dishes from around the world ‘World Eating’, dishes ‘Made for Sharing’, ‘Perfect Picnics’ and ‘Brilliant BBQs’.
They will then be shown a selection of dishes and recipes, including tips and tricks on how to perfect each one, with a shopping list specifically for that recipe that the user can have to hand ahead of their next grocery shop.
Cainz Corporation
Japan’s Cainz Corporation, a home improvement chain with 230 stores, has announced a new autonomous location, called Cainz Mobile Store, on the first floor of its HQ in Honjo City, Saitama.
The computer vision technology implemented into the store, powered by US-based AiFi, will allow customers to shop for Cainz brand household products and snack items without having to go through a cash register or self-checkout.
This will open in the near future and may expand to other locations in the future.
MillerKnoll and 3D Cloud by Marxent
3D Cloud by Marxent, a specialist in 3D e-commerce for furniture and home improvement, has announced a partnership with design company MillerKnoll.
The pair are launching a new, code free system for building and maintaining consumer facing, web-based 3D product configurators for furniture e-commerce, powered by 3D Cloud.
Earlier this year, 3D product configurators built with the app were launched in select Herman Miller retail stores.
These are now available via the Herman Miller contract website in the US and are expected to roll-out to the firm’s websites serving consumers and international markets in mid-2023.
Interior designers and trade professionals now have the ability to customise designs such as the Aeron chair in real-time and then buy their final configuration online.
The apps allow shoppers to visualise every possible combination, get accurate pricing as they design, download images at any stage in the process, and share them with friends and family.
The University of Hull and iParcelBox
The University of Hull’s Aura Innovation Centre has joined forces with Hull-based company iParcelBox to develop a carbon footprint tool for people shopping online.
The initiative started when iParcelBox wanted to understand exactly how green its product was.
The company provides a drop box, which the customer monitors and controls from their smartphone to securely receive parcels when they’re not home or can’t get to the door.
Paul Needler, iParcelBox’s CEO, felt that the Aura Innovation Centre (AIC) could help support small businesses to accelerate their low carbon innovations into commercialisation, so got in touch to see whether his firm’s idea was eligible for support and funding.
The AIC matched iParcelBox up with the University of Hull Business School’s logistics and supply chain expert Dr Sushma Kumari, who leads a masters course in the subject.
Smart Robotics
Smart Robotics, a specialist in picking automation as a service for warehouses and logistics processes, has officially launched its latest cobot - the Smart Fashion Picker.
This can pick a large variety of fashion items, which are placed in protective wrapping, straight from a cart or bin.
Vision sensors, motion and task planning algorithms help the cobot to calculate what to pick next, as well as how to pick and place the item accurately into the next bin, and it can easily detect when the bin is empty or filled.
American Eagle Outfitters
American Eagle Outfitters has announced American Eagle (AE) initiatives across Meta Quest 2 and a campaign with TikTok’s SoundOn platform.
