Donut miss out on this article: RTIH runs through the 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 doughnut related light therapy, a checkout-free technology first in the USA, and the most sophisticated and advanced grocery store in the world.
Krispy Kreme
Krispy Kreme is launching SADvert, a light emitting billboard designed to help boost the moods of Brits this month.
Created by PR & social agency Good Relations with support from VCCP Media, Open Outdoor and Clear Channel UK, it has been developed in response to research from Krispy Kreme which reveals that one in five Brits admit to getting no more than 15 minutes of sunshine each day during the month of January.
The 3D billboard, which has been constructed in Salford, features giant decorative doughnuts with SAD lamps inside from the brand’s new 195 calorie range and has been created to launch Krispy Kreme’s creative platform, Joy Unboxed.
It dispenses light therapy to passers by at the touch of a button.
Grubhub
Wakefern Food Corp.
Wakefern Food Corp. has opened The Pantry, a checkout-free convenience store for the workers at its Edison, New Jersey campus that features Trigo technology.
This uses computer vision with a series of cameras and shelf sensors to identify products picked up by people.
Wakefern is the first US company to test Trigo's technology, which has been deployed by several retailers in Europe and the UK, including REWE and Tesco.
Zippin
Zippin has launched Zippin Walk-Up which allows food and beverage counters to turn into checkout-free locations without changing the equipment already in place.
The company says that minimal construction is required, and existing stands can be converted in just days.
An all inclusive monthly subscription starts at under $4,000 with no upfront CapEx.
SeeChange and Diebold Nixdorf
SeeChange Technologies has announced a five-year partnership with Diebold Nixdorf which kicks off with the launch of the first in a series of AI powered self-checkout (SCO) solutions.
UK-based SeeChange was founded in 2018 as a subsidiary of Arm, becoming independent in 2021 with seed funding investment from London-based Crane Venture Partners.
Diebold Nixdorf’s Vynamic Smart Vision uses the firm’s machine learning to recognise fruits, vegetables, baked goods and items without a barcode.
Żabka Group
Żabka Group this week joined Microsoft at NRF 2023 in New York.
Żabka Nano, an autonomous store concept that has been developed under the umbrella of Żabka Future for over a year and a half, was featured at the Microsoft booth.
“Participation in this prestigious event is not only an opportunity for us to establish new partnerships but also an opportunity to present Żabka as one of the world’s most innovative companies in the retail industry.,” said Tomasz Blicharski, EVP, Managing Director of Żabka Future.
“Warsaw, thanks to our concept, has become the world capital of autonomous stores, so I am glad that we have the opportunity to present this project to a global audience.”
“We want to show how our new technologies, created in cooperation with our partners, make life easier and free up our customers' time.”
Farmison & Co
Farmison & Co, an online meat retailer, has unveiled a new traceability system that enables customers to use their smartphones to see where their whole cuts come from – right down to videos of the pastures where the cattle graze.
As part of its Farming the Future (FTF) programme, using a QR code on the packaging, with a link to the Farmison & Co website, customers can trace the origins of their meat, including the breed, videography of the farm where it was reared and the food miles.
Ottonomy.IO
This week, Ottonomy.IO exhibited the Ottobot Yeti, pitched as the first autonomous delivery robot capable of unattended deliveries, at NRF 2023 in New York.
This includes an automated sliding delivery hatch that opens to deliver items without the need for human assistance.
H-E-B
Supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive, Brittain Ladd, has provided a first look at an AutoStore micro fulfilment centre (MFC) installed in a H-E-B store in Plano, Texas, USA.
In a LinkedIn post, Ladd said: “I can state with no hesitation that the installed MFC is the most incredible AutoStore MFC I've ever seen.”
“H-E-B can legitimately claim to operate the most sophisticated and advanced grocery store in the world. Carrefour, Tesco, Majid Al Futtaim, Hy-Vee., and Amazon, need to pay close attention to what HEB is doing; especially Hy-Vee and Amazon.”
Just Eat and Sainsbury’s
Just Eat has launched a new partnership with Sainsbury’s, marking the food delivery platform’s second tie-up with one of the UK’s ‘Big Four’ grocery retailers (Asda being the first to get onboard).
The partnership will launch with more than 175 stores by the end of February in locations including London, Edinburgh and Bristol, with plans to roll-out to more cities across 2023.
Customers across the UK will be able to purchase items from Sainsbury’s via Just Eat, from fresh milk and vegetables to household essentials. The latter will then take care of the delivery, through its network of couriers across the UK.
With over 2,000 grocery sites on its platform, Just Eat says that the tie up is a significant step in its plan to further expand its grocery offer.
The partnership will widen the range of products available, starting with more than 3,000 items ready for consumers to buy online.
Teleport
Danielle Vermeer has left her “dream job” leading resale fashion CX at Amazon for life at a fashion tech startup.
She is now Co-founder and CEO at Teleport, a social commerce app to share and shop outfit videos in a Gen Z driven community (think TikTok and Depop combined).
In a Twitter post, she said: “I believe the future of fashion is where content, community and (re)commerce collide.”
“Younger consumers want a “third space” online to express their authentic style and to shop cute clothes from trusted peers. I’m obsessed with making this vision a reality.”
Volumental and Under Armour
Volumental is launching a new self-service version of its AI powered foot scanners.
Specifically designed for an in-store experience, customers can take their own foot measurements at the click of a button and receive their best fitting footwear recommendations on their phones.
Volumental expects to launch this globally starting with select stores in the sporting goods industry, outlet malls and brand warehouses in 2023. This follows a beta test with Under Armour.
L’Oréal
L’Oréal has unveiled two new technology prototypes
HAPTA is pitched as the first handheld, ultra-precise computerised makeup applicator designed to advance the beauty needs of people with limited hand and arm mobility.
And L’Oréal Brow Magic, the first at home electronic eyebrow makeup applicator that provides users with customised brow looks in seconds.
“For L’Oréal, the future of beauty is inclusive. And this future will be made more accessible by technology,”says Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO at the L’Oréal Groupe. “The two consumer technologies we are unveiling this year represent the true purpose of our company: to create the beauty that moves the world.”
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