Innovation awards and omnichannel experiences: RTIH’s biggest retail technology articles on LinkedIn right now
We’re big fans of LinkedIn and are busy building an amazing community of retail tech enthusiasts on the social media platform. These are the articles that are currently on their radars, including MarketLeap, Zippin, Therabody, Outform, American Girl, Obsess, Pinterest, Retail 247, and Niryo.
E-commerce platform MarketLeap secures €2.6m seed round and eyes expansion of global reach
Luxembourg-based MarketLeap, formerly Gonuggets, has secured an additional €1.5 million in seed funding, taking its total funding to €2.6 million.
The latest round sees Notion Capital, Kima Ventures, and Motier Ventures, among others, joining existing investors, including Luxembourg’s Expon Capital.
The cash will be used to accelerate the startup’s operating system’s technical development, including the addition of new service offerings, and to facilitate expansion into the US while scaling UK operations.
MarketLeap was founded in 2022 by Mamoun Benkirane and Mekki Mouaddeb, former employees of Amazon and Jumia.
Harrods Tech Month sees wellness brand Therabody enlist Outform for interactive window experience
Wellness brand Therabody has created an interactive window experience as part of Harrods Tech Month.
The concept was designed, produced and installed by Outform. The result is an experience that passers-by can control from their phone to discover more about Therabody’s wellness universe and product range.
Its display takes up an entire window along Harrods’ Brompton Road frontage. A QR controlled interactive screen sits at its centre and a use of LED lighting ensures that it delivers a night time impact.
It showcases four hero Therabody products, including the brand’s newest entrant into the beauty tech space, its TheraFace Mask, an at home LED therapy mask that couples red and blue light with vibration therapy.
Shoppers can choose one of three “stories”, in line with Therabody’s three product categories which trigger corresponding content on the large LED screen.
As they watch the content, the relevant product categories light up in the window display - red for beauty, white for wellness, blue for performance - accompanied by a mobile landing page which links to the Harrods online store and a call to action to visit the brand concession on Harrods’ fifth floor and trial the product range.
Time is running out to enter the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards: deadline for submissions Friday, 3rd November
There are just over three weeks left to submit your entries for the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards, which takes place on Wednesday, 29th November at the Barbican Arts Centre in central London.
The event, sponsored by PMC, CADS, 3D Cloud by Marxent, and Goodays, celebrates global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Spread over 19 different categories, submissions are judged on the extent of innovation and transformation demonstrated, as well as the sustainability of the results. Previous year’s winners have included B&Q, Pets at Home, Walmart, Sook, AiFi, Compass Group, Obsess, and Ribble Cycles.
Deadline for 2023 submissions is Friday, 3rd November.
The awards culminate in a fantastic ceremony, complete with a drinks reception and Christmas themed three-course meal at the Barbican Arts Centre on Wednesday 29th November.
A key event highlight is an exclusive pre-awards roundtable discussion, enabling retailers, tech suppliers and advisors to come together and talk about current retail challenges and opportunities.
Key dates
Friday, 3rd November: Award entry deadline
Tuesday, 7th November: 2023 shortlist revealed
7th-10th November: Judging days
Wednesday, 29th November: Winners announced at the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony
Categories, along with entry forms, can be found here.
Collaborative robot arms startup Niryo raises €10 million to continue international expansion push
Niryo, a French startup specialising in the design of compact collaborative robotic arms, has announced a €6.4 million round of financing.
The Series A round was led by the BPI Digital Venture investment fund, the Innovacom investment fund, and IRD, Finorpa, NFA and Go Capital.
It is backed by €3.6 million in loans provided by a banking pool.
The cash will be used to continue the firm’s international expansion and address new use cases.
Companies that have adopted Niryo’s cobots include Airbus, Deutsch Bahn, Siemens, Solvay, Coca-Cola and Texas Instrument.
American Girl teams with Obsess for virtual experience involving 2024 Girl of the Year Lila Monetti
American Girl has unveiled its 2024 Girl of the Year, Lila Monetti.
As part of the launch, the brand will reveal Lila’s own room in its virtual museum experience this October through a partnership with immersive e-commerce platform Obsess. This will let people explore more of Lila’s life and personality, including her love of horseback riding and gymnastics.
“We know our fans will flip for our newest Girl of the Year, Lila Monetti, who arrives just in time for the holidays,” says Jamie Cygielman, General Manager at American Girl.
“As with all our beloved characters, Lila will inspire kids to face new challenges with purpose and positivity and find the joy and strength that comes from unexpected friendships.”
First Class Vending, Mars Wrigley, Aramark open Frictionless Market at Uni of Nevada Las Vegas, powered by Zippin
First Class Vending, in collaboration with Mars Wrigley and Aramark, has opened an unattended Frictionless Market at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV).
Powered by Zippin's platform, this lets customers grab items, and exit, eliminating the need for traditional checkouts.
"We are excited to introduce the Frictionless Market to the UNLV community," says Matthew Marsh, CEO at First Class Vending.
"This innovative concept aligns perfectly with our commitment to providing cutting-edge vending solutions that enhance convenience and efficiency. With Zippin's advanced technology and Mars Wrigley's support, we are confident that this market will exceed expectations and become a hub of convenience for the UNLV campus."
Nisa expands AR powered Jisp Scan & Save loyalty programme roll-out following successful trial
Nisa is set to extend the roll-out of the Jisp Scan & Save loyalty service to all Nisa retailers.
This utilises AR voucher technology to bring discounts on branded products, with the aim of driving increased loyalty and sales for retailers and helping brands gain incremental sales and volume.
Retailers receive weekly payments based on in-store redemptions, as well as 6p back on every Scan & Save product purchased.
Following a trial, where over 200 Nisa retailers signed up to the scheme, an average of 3,500 voucher redemptions per store were recorded over a 12-month period, increasing in-store sales on average by more than 20%.
Ayaz Alam, Commerical Director at Nisa, says: “It’s been really positive to see how the trial has performed and to see our retailers benefitting from a compelling value and loyalty proposition.”
“At a time when value has never been more important to shoppers, we’re delighted to be able to scale our relationship with Jisp and to work together to enhance our offer for suppliers and retailers.”
dunnhumby powered Tesco Media and Insight Platform expands connected store and digital offering
Tesco Media and Insight Platform, powered by dunnhumby, has unveiled a range of new onsite and in-store media channels.
At an Upfront event in London, updates were announced including Scan as You Shop media, new in-store digital screens and new onsite digital performance ads.
“Tesco are leading the way in retail media, giving brands and agencies the power to truly shape what Britain buys, with Tesco Media now standing shoulder to shoulder with the established media houses,” says Nick Ashley, MD, Tesco Media & Insight Platform.
“This scale, combined with our advanced closed-loop measurement and cutting-edge data science, allows brands partnering with Tesco Media to connect with shoppers like never before.”
LiSA teams with Coresight Research, Sook and LVS on The Commerce Social Club event series
Social and live commerce specialist, LiSA, together with its partners Coresight Research, Sook and LVS, has launched an event series The Commerce Social Club, with the first one taking place this week in central London.
By bringing together retailers like Marks & Spencer, technology innovators, agency partners and e-commerce thought leaders, the aim is to facilitate exchange and learning in a hands-on (and fun) way. The event was also streamed online.
Sophie Frères, CEO at LiSA, says: “We find that many e-commerce marketing leaders are shifting budgets from classic digital marketing and content production toward experience initiatives which really drive instant sales and keep customers coming back for more.”
“Running their own social commerce activities is the perfect way to achieve that, but many brands are not even aware of the easy options available to do so. This event aims at helping them see how easy it is to get started and see results from day one.”
CADS StoreSpace solution helps US supermarket chain Rouses improve productivity and increase sales
Retail space planning specialist CADS has helped US grocery retailer Rouses Market improve its efficiency, communication and profitability with StoreSpace software.
Before adopting StoreSpace, family owned Rouses used Excel spreadsheets and email threads for macro space planning, planogram management and inventory tracking.
It is now benefitting from a more streamlined space planning process with access to vital performance insights, an intuitive planning environment and more.
Absolute Collagen taps new Pinterest Premiere Spotlight offering for product launch and brand recognition campaign
Absolute Collagen has chosen Pinterest and its new Premiere Spotlight ad format to raise awareness of its new Deep Lift skincare range.
With Premiere Spotlight, brands can secure premium placements on the social media platform for a selected period of time to promote high visibility campaigns to users.
This format showcases videos in locations such as the search page and the user’s home page, allowing brands to reserve their placement and dominate the screen, occupying approximately 50% of the mobile device space on the Pinterest search page.
Absolute Collagen is one of the first beauty and wellbeing brands to tap Premiere Spotlight for a product launch and brand recognition campaign.
Retail247 Archean stock solution deployed in Crew Clothing stores as part of omnichannel push
Retail247 has announced the deployment of Archean, its stock solution, at Crew Clothing stores.
This consists of a central engine (Archean Core), and is supported by a series of transaction providing solutions.
As part of Crew Clothing’s three-year technology strategy to enable efficient omnichannel retailing, the brand needed a platform to become its single repository of stock information.
Having established a strong partnership with Retail247, it chose to build on this existing foundation and selected Archean as its stock engine in March 2022, including the module Archean Move.
This is designed to be deployed in stores, Archean Move can be the store’s single portal for stock activity.
Transactions in Archean Move can have multiple states and can also trigger activity to other solutions, meaning that Archean can seamlessly maintain the integrity of legacy solutions where required.
Including Niryo, Trinetix, and Centro: seven retail technology funding rounds you need to know about
RTIH rounds up seven retail systems ventures who have recently secured significant investments in their businesses, including a firm that leverages Open Banking technology to process account-to-account (A2A) payments in real-time between consumers and online merchants, and an automated inventory control centre for e-commerce brands.
Manhattan Associates research flags changing face of the store and progress on seamless omnichannel experiences
New research from Manhattan Associates highlights how retailers are increasingly digitising their in-store offering in efforts to improve customer experiences and maintain market share, at a time where cost-of-living challenges have affected the shopping habits of 89% of consumers.
6,000 consumers were asked about their sentiments and attitudes towards the role of the physical store and store associates, innovative fulfilment options, sustainability, inventory visibility, convenience, consistency across channels and the shift in commerce.
And 1,150 management or senior level officers in Tier 1 retail organisations (generating more than $100 million in annual revenue) were surveyed about their technology-based investment plans to support e-commerce, reduce customer friction and increase fulfilment options.
54% of retailers reported that their customers could buy in-store and return online (50% in 2022), and if the product was out of stock in-store, 48% provided buy online and return in store options (46% in 2022).
However, retailers also commented that on average they only had an accurate indication of inventory across their entire operations 70% of the time (down from 74% in 2022).
Sainsbury’s, Nectar360, Clear Channel celebrate partnership milestone with digital screen network move
Nectar360, which owns and operates Nectar, a UK loyalty coalition programme, as well as managing Sainsbury’s and Argos’ retail media services, has announced plans to expand its connected digital screen network to over 800 screens, in conjunction with out of home media and infrastructure company, Clear Channel, a move that also includes the launch of a new internal screen network.
The Sainsbury's Live network currently reaches millions of shoppers every week through more than 320 full motion digital screens, placed at store entrances.
It will now become the UK’s largest connected digital supermarket screen network, as Clear Channel upgrades the existing offering, expanding the external screen network to include 420 screens and launching up to 400 internal ones across stores nationwide.
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