Awards, drones, and fast cars: here are last week’s most read RTIH retail technology articles
These are the RTIH articles that caught your fancy last week, including H&M, Walmart, Rohlik Group, ShipStation, Halfords, and Wunderman Thompson Commerce.
Vineta Bajaj departs Ocado Group to take on Chief Financial Officer role at Rohlik Group
European e-commerce grocery delivery service, Rohlik Group, has appointed Vineta Bajaj as Chief Financial Officer.
Bajaj most recently served as Finance Director at Ocado Group.
She trained as a chartered accountant and tax advisor at KPMG Ireland, where she delivered audits for large corporate clients before moving to Kerry Group, an Irish multinational.
She has worked at Ocado Group for the last ten years, during which time it transitioned from a pureplay retailer to a business licensing grocery technology and grocery fulfilment globally.
2022 RTIH Innovation Awards winners and highly commended entries announced
Now into their fourth year, the awards celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
We received a record number of submissions this year across 14 categories (you can find a full rundown of the 2022 shortlists here).
Our winners and highly commended companies were announced during a sold out event that took place in central London last week and was attended by retailers, tech suppliers, members of our judging panel, and sponsors.
So, without further ado, here is the 2022 RTIH Innovation Awards hall of fame.
Congratulations to our latest entrants!
In defence of Amazon and its physical stores strategy as Kroger and Walmart make big moves
RTIH recently published a 2022 recap article in which we discussed Amazon putting the brakes on the expansion of its UK checkout-free convenience stores.
The e-commerce giant, we argued, faces a make or break year in terms of its Amazon Fresh locations.
In doing so, we joined a growing chorus of critics of Amazon’s excursions in to the physical retail space.
Check out the case for the defence here.
SES-imagotag to buy In the Memory as it builds out data management and analytics capabilities
The SES-imagotag group has entered exclusive discussions with the aim of acquiring In the Memory, a French firm which specialises in data analytics and decision making tools for the retail sector.
This builds on the purchase of MarketHub (Ireland) at the beginning of last year.
These new platforms complement Captana, specialised in real-time analysis of store shelves via the analysis of images and the use of artificial intelligence, as well as several other solutions within SES-imagotag’s VUSION platform.
Halfords enlists Wunderman Thompson Commerce for digital boost and e-commerce growth
Halfords, a UK-based provider of motoring and cycling services and products, has appointed Wunderman Thompson Commerce as its strategic commerce partner.
In a press release, Wunderman Thompson Commerce says that it will help Halfords “reduce costs, increase sales, and harness the power in its Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform, as it looks to adapt to this latest approach while accelerating digital growth, alongside the e-commerce experts”.
Ten teams and approximately 100 experts will be based both nearshore and in the UK to ensure collaboration.
Made up of management, delivery and support, they will deliver several projects over the next three years to boost customers’ online experience.
A particular focus will be on Halfords’ Motoring Club loyalty scheme with its 1.2 million members, the retailer’s core proposition and project and programme enhancements, with the aim of delivering better connected journeys for customers, as well as maximising retention and revenue.
Halfords states that it is already benefitting from the introduction of new monitoring tools to track performance and online delivery as well as a new payment system provided by ACI Worldwide to offer customers the latest in-store, online and mobile purchase options.
NASCAR and Phoenix Raceway keep the faith with autonomous stores specialist AiFi
AiFi has been selected by Phoenix Raceway to use its autonomous retail technology after a test launch with both AiFi and Amazon Go systems at the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship in November.
The former’s store will now be back for the next NASCAR race in the spring.
This is its second race car presence after revealing a frictionless express shop at the Miami Grand Prix in May in partnership with Verizon 5G.
Walmart notches up drone deliveries milestone and eyes further progress in 2023
Walmart says that it completed more than 6,000 drone deliveries in 2022, in as little as 30 minutes per pop.
The top five items delivered via drone were: Great Value Cookies and Cream Ice Cream 16 oz, 2lb Bag of Lemons, Freshness Guaranteed Hot Rotisserie Chicken, Red Bull 8.4 fl. oz, and Bounty Select-a-Size Paper Towels.
Currently 85% of items in a Walmart Neighborhood Market meet the 10 lb. weight and volume requirements for drone delivery.
The retailer now operates, in partnership with its vendors, 36 drone delivery hubs across seven US states.
This marks completion of its drone hub expansion plans that it announced last year.
Vik Gopalakrishnan, Vice President, Innovation & Automation, Walmart U.S., says: “I’m incredibly proud of our team for creating the largest drone delivery footprint of any US retailer and providing customers with an incredibly fast – and innovative – option for delivery.”
“We’re encouraged by the positive response from customers and look forward to making even more progress in 2023.”
Here are six big technology related takeaways from last week’s retail results
Many UK retailers reported strong Christmas performances last week, with Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury’s and the discounters leading the way, albeit in part fuelled by inflation. In this article, we look at the key retail technology takeaways from an eventful five days of festive results.
ShipStation partners with The Delivery Group for last mile online deliveries
ShipStation, a cloud-based e-commerce shipping solution, has partnered with The Delivery Group (TDG), a tech enabled online delivery specialist.
The tie up will see TDG added to ShipStation’s carrier services in the UK.
TDG enables an end-to-end delivery service across the UK and 220 countries worldwide.
By joining ShipStation’s carrier services platform, it says it can provide more merchants with quick and easy access to its UTrak and ETrak offerings that provide a range of tracked and untracked delivery services.
H&M partners with Dubit to build immersive Loooptopia Experience on Roblox
H&M has launched a H&M Loooptopia Experience on Roblox.
The result of a partnership with metaverse studio Dubit, this lets players experiment with materials and patterns creating the next virtual garment and wardrobe for their avatar.
"People who shop and wear H&M garments and accessories are increasingly spending time in virtual spaces and digital worlds. The H&M Loooptopia Experience on Roblox is now allowing us to explore new ways to engage with our current and new customers in the places they love to be, both online and offline," says Linda Li, Head of Customer Activation & Marketing, H&M Americas.
"In the coming years, we will continue to explore this fast growing expanse of virtual and augmented realities."
Continue reading…