Starring Blue Yonder, Doddle, and dunnhumby: check out last week’s most read RTIH retail technology articles
These are the articles on this here website that caught your fancy last week, including In The Style, SHOPLINE, Walmart, Manhattan Associates, Gymshark, Google Cloud, and the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards.
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.”
Time is running out to enter the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards: deadline for submissions Friday, 3rd November
There are just 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.
In The Style partners with SHOPLINE as fast fashion retailer's new online store goes live
Asian e-commerce Software-as-a-Service and solution provider, SHOPLINE, has been appointed to launch In The Style's new online store.
It worked with eBusiness Guru and Patchworks on the project.
Jas Singh, CEO at Baaj Capital, which acquired In The Style earlier this year for £1.2 million, says: “We are thrilled to announce the appointment of SHOPLINE for our modern commerce strategy.”
“Their integrated approach and profound expertise in the retail industry, coupled with a straightforward problem solving approach, will propel us into the next phase of our growth strategy.”
He adds: “During their time with the In The Style team, they demonstrated a real commitment to a customer centric approach working closely with the team to deliver excellent and timely results, they will extend their support across our entire portfolio, enabling us to harness the potential of all our brands and transform into a significant marketplace.”
Gymshark picks Google Cloud to drive digital growth and innovation with generative AI
Gymshark is harnessing Google Cloud’s data analytics and AI tools to boost customer experiences during November’s retail sales event and beyond, including improving the breadth, relevance, and availability of its product offering.
It will use Vertex AI, in particular, to create new assistants that will guide consumers through the product selection process and improve the Gymshark training app experience.
And it will also tap Google Cloud’s BigQuery to replace the central repository of all data, as well as Looker, a unified business intelligence platform, as its visualisation and reporting tool.
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).
Including Therabody, Asda, and PriceSmart: RTIH presents last week’s biggest retail technology plays at a glance
RTIH rounds up the stand out retail systems deals, launches, deployments and pilots from the past seven days. Including Outform, Amazon, American Girl, Obsess, Crew Clothing, Retail247, Costa Coffee, Vista Technology Support, Walmart, Sook, and Liverpool ONE.
Blue Yonder announces intent to acquire first and last mile technology specialist Doddle
Supply chain solutions provider, Blue Yonder, has announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Doddle, a first and last mile technology business.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Doddle has achieved what so few other companies have been able to accomplish: it has cracked the code of first and last mile together with omnichannel returns,” says Duncan Angove, CEO, Blue Yonder.
“The beauty of its solution is that they solve the returns problem end-to-end. From returns initiation, to returns rules, from in-store returns processing to self-service kiosks, right through to warehouse returns handling and back into stock.”
“The proliferation of e-commerce - and, therefore, returns - has placed increased pressure on carriers, muddied the waters of inventory management, and created frustrations for shoppers. Doddle’s capabilities unlock a differentiated, superior customer experience and will help us to further our mission to transform the supply chain.”
Walmart flags retail technology powered experiments designed to make shopping easier, more convenient
Walmart has shared a preview of some of the ways it is exploring emerging tech to boost the online shopping experience, from generative AI powered search to hands free voice shopping and virtual commerce.
Continue reading…