La-Z-Boy, Pacsun, and Walmart head up September’s biggest retail technology plays at a glance
RTIH rounds up the stand out retail systems deals, deployments and pilots from September, including 3D Cloud by Marxent, Roblox, shopreme, Nedap, Pricer, Pixevia, NewStore, and Attensi.
La-Z-Boy
Furniture retailer La-Z-Boy reports that 3D product configuration and WebAR OnDemand technology is now available on its website. Powered by 3D Cloud by Marxent, the initiative is part of La-Z-Boy's Century Vision strategic plan.
The company is investing in a range of new shopping and brand experiences for both digital platforms and bricks and mortar environments.
It says that the upgraded product configurators and the addition of appless AR provide an immersive brand experience that bridges online product research with the in-store experience.
With over 29 million possible configurations available to consumers, WebAR OnDemand aims to bring a new level of convenience to shoppers who want to research, configure, and plan furniture purchases online before visiting a physical retail location.
The approach uses 3D Cloud WebAR OnDemand to automate 3D content creation and deploy WebAR at scale.
Walmart
Walmart has announced its latest venture on Roblox, Walmart Discovered.
This is pitched as a first of its kind activation that creates a new way for users to “find their thing” by discovering the best games, indie experiences and virtual items as voted on by the community.
Through a nomination system, Walmart Discovered will spotlight 300+ community creators, from digital fashion designers to experience developers, offering a way for users to discover top trending items and for creators to be discovered within the experience.
ALDI Nord
shopreme is working with ALDI Nord on a project across several stores in the Netherlands that involves scan and go, self-checkout kiosks and exit terminals.
The initiative marks the first instance of ALDI Nord testing self-checkout solutions in its stores.
It includes integrating the shopreme SDK into the ALDI customer app. Customers can now use the app to scan products and make payments using such methods as iDEAL, debit cards, credit cards, Google Pay and Apple Pay.
This process culminates with issuing a digital receipt within the app, enabling customers to leave the store by scanning an exit code at the shopreme vector terminal which opens the checkout gate.
An alternative options sees customers scan their products at the shopreme matrix self-checkout kiosk. This dispenses an exit code receipt that opens the vector exit terminal to leave the store after payment.
AllSaints
AllSaints is set to roll-out NewStore’s mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) in more than 200 stores globally.
The British fashion retailer previously selected NewStore to replace its homegrown direct-to-consumer mobile app.
"Our goal has always been to create customer journeys that are effortless and contemporary. To do this, we needed a modular yet comprehensive omnichannel platform that could empower us to innovate and adapt," says James Reid, Chief Innovation Officer, AllSaints.
"We originally selected NewStore to build our consumer app, but that was just the beginning. By expanding our partnership, we are elevating the overall customer experience and future-proofing our technology strategy at the same time."
Amazon
Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology has landed in Canada. It will first become available at two Canadian arenas - Scotiabank Saddledome, home of the NHL’s Calgary Flames on 29th September, and Scotiabank Arena, home of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and the NBA’s Toronto Raptors on 10th October.
More locations will roll out the technology in the coming months. Canada joins the US, UK, and Australia as nations offering checkout-free shopping experiences for consumers.
It will be available at Market 213 in Scotiabank Saddledome and at Grains and Greens (100 Level) and Molson Market (300 Level) locations in Scotiabank Arena.
To enter the store, fans use their credit or debit card at the entry gate. Just Walk Out technology associates the shopper with their payment instrument, and detects the items taken from or returned to store shelves.
When guests have completed their visit, they leave and the payment instrument will be charged for the items they took with them. Shortly after exiting, customers will be able to access their receipt online.
Foot Locker
Sports fashion and apparel retailer Foot Locker has extended the Nedap iD Cloud RFID solution to its new Eastern European stores.
This means that the project, which kicked off in 2018, now involves over 650 stores across Europe.
By using RFID tagged merchandise from brands such as Nike, adidas, and PUMA, Foot Locker says that it is benefiting from long-term accuracy in its inventory, leading to improved stock availability and reduced stock-outs.
Niek Philipsen, Director Innovation at Foot Locker, comments: “Brands we work with are very strict when it comes to displaying merchandise. In the case of exclusive, limited-edition footwear, timing is crucial.”
“The iD Cloud App tells our store teams exactly which items should be displayed and when. This way, we ensure true brand experience and a great moment of shopping at Foot Locker for our customers.”
Henderson Group
Retail space planning specialist CADS has helped Northern Ireland’s largest Spar retailer and wholesaler, Henderson Group, improve its space management process with StoreSpace.
Henderson Group reached out to CADS following a recommendation from Nielsen, which provides Spaceman planogram technology that partners with StoreSpace.
“Our StoreSpace software makes it easier for retailers to optimise their retail space. Henderson Group has been able to make better informed planning decisions which help boost sales,” says Richard Burford, CADS’ Customer Success Specialist.
FreedomPay and Amazon
Amazon’s Amazon One service is now integrated with FinTech firm FreedomPay’s commerce technology platform.
Amazon One is a payment system based on biometrics that works by reading users' palm print. It is used by the likes of Whole Foods Market and Amazon Go, as well as third-party retailers who have purchased the technology from Amazon
“Our technology empowers businesses around the world to provide a robust, frictionless and personalised purchasing experience across online and in-store channels,” says Chris Kronenthal, President at FreedomPay.
“That’s why we’re excited to announce that Amazon One, the fast, convenient, and contactless identity service that uses your palm to enter, identify, and pay, is now integrated with our commerce technology platform.”
“Together, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and FreedomPay’s technologies enable merchants to offer a seamless checkout process and a faster way to pay. Shoppers will be able to use their palm to pay with FreedomPay using Amazon One.”
Geek+ and adidas
Geek+ and adidas have announced the opening of an automated warehousing and distribution centre in Suzhou, China.
Covering an area of 139,000 square metres, this can process more than one million pieces per day, with the capacity to hold ten million pieces of apparel and footwear in its facilities.
Geek+'s robot solution addressed various challenges faced in adidas' logistics and warehousing operations.
This included customisations for item location detection, enhancing operational safety and aligning with human-machine collaboration needs.
It also optimised robot handling efficiency through intelligent scheduling logic, elevating overall efficiency and improving the work experience for logistics centre employees, thereby increasing worker retention.
Kingfisher
Kingfisher is using TCS OmniStore, an AI powered unified commerce platform from Tata Consultancy Services.
The company operates a chain of over 1,900 stores in eight countries across Europe under its retail banners including B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt, Screwfix, TradePoint and Koçtaş.
It was looking to upgrade to a multilingual commerce platform that delivers a unified brand experience. In addition, it wanted to address legal, fiscal, and operational differences across all its European banners.
The Very Group
The Very Group has been working with Kyndryl to migrate applications to the public cloud. And the online retailer is now extending the agreement and moving over more applications.
Kyndryl will combine The Very Group’s core service management toolset with cloud native tooling and the implementation of Kyndryl Bridge and AIOps, enabling greater links between global teams.
It says that this process will “build an optimised, integrated service that is simple, flexible, automated, and delivered with velocity with improved service observability”.
Pacsun
Cart.com has announced a new partnership with Pacsun.
This will see the company leverage its logistics expertise and order and inventory management capabilities to support US fulfilment for the brand.
Pacsun will also transition management of its Groveport, Ohio fulfilment facility to Cart.com.
The two million square foot automated facility, which includes advanced sortation and over 25 miles of conveyance as well as dynamic storage solutions, is the 14th warehouse in Cart.com’s nationwide network of omnichannel fulfilment centres.
S Group
S Group has chosen Pricer as its electronic shelf labels (ESL) supplier and signed a framework agreement for five years.
S Group is a customer owned network of companies in the retail and service sectors, with more than 1,000 retail outlets in Finland.
The biggest business area is supermarket trade, which is covered by five chains. The largest chains are the supermarket chain S-market (440+ stores) and hypermarket Prisma (70+ outlets).
Although there are no minimum commitments for volumes or values under the agreement that cover all brands, S Group will make pilot installations in 17 stores (nine Prisma and eight S-market) during 2023, with the intention of doing installations in 300 stores during the coming years.
The solution is based on the platform Pricer Plaza, which provides a cloud-based software offering that enables the chains to centrally manage and control pricing, product information, and promotions across all ESLs in all connected stores.
Crunch Fitness and Amazon
Crunch Fitness has become the first fitness brand to introduce the Amazon One palm recognition service as an entry option for its members. This is now available at select locations in the US.
Members who choose this option no longer need their Crunch membership tags or mobile app to enter. They can instead hover their palm over an Amazon One device to enter a facility.
Amazon One is currently being piloted at nine Crunch clubs across the US, including five in San Francisco, three in the New York City, and one in the Los Angeles area, with more locations rolling out the technology in the coming months.
Crunch has been piloting the solution for the last four months. It says that at participating gyms, 80% of members are already using Amazon One for entry.
M&S
SymphonyAI Retail CPG has been selected by Marks & Spencer for computer vision and AI-based intelligence capabilities across more than 500 stores.
The UK retailer will deploy AI-based technology on handheld devices that compares images captured of products in stores to store specific planograms, providing an instant view of compliance on shelves.
Rob Barnes, Chief Technology Officer, M&S says: “As we reshape M&S for growth, we’re investing in technology that will create greater efficiencies and a more connected in-store experience for our customers.”
“Through our partnership with SymphonyAI Retail CPG, our colleagues will be able to leverage AI-based technology to help them deliver an exceptional service to our customers.”
Asda
Asda is testing out gamified learning for those employees getting to grips with its new checkout system.
This has been taking place at the grocery giant’s Goldthorpe store in Rotherham, in partnership with Attensi.
In a LinkedIn post, Bruce Gibb, Learning Design Manager at Asda, said: “Gamified learning in Asda is live! Delighted to have landed new checkout training in line with our new checkout system in the pilot store this weekend.”
He added: “This has been a project I have been lead on since taking my Learning Design role on and it’s fantastic to see it come to life.”
“The reaction from the Goldthorpe store leadership and colleagues has been fantastic, they transitioned from the games to the live environment effortlessly and the competitive nature of the solution engaged a desire to practice and repeat, driving confidence and capability.”
“A massive thank you to Owen Smith (Senior Manager Learning - Transformation at Asda) for his leadership, support and guidance while I’ve worked on this.”
IKI
Pixevia has partnered with IKI, a member of REWE Group, to launch a fifth autonomous store in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The IKI GO store is located next to the Green Bridge public transport stop. It is the seventh location overall powered by Pixevia technology.
Contained in a small format pavilion, it operates without staff for approximately 95% of its opening hours, only requiring occasional restocking.
Shoppers can choose from over 200 items – from hot coffee beverages and chilled ready-to-eat meals to ice creams, snacks, drinks, and essential non-food items.
The store features Pixevia’s proprietary real-time checkout technology, which allows customers to enter by tapping a payment card.
People take what items they want from the shelves while cameras and shelf sensors compile a virtual shopping basket. They then tap the same payment card to exit the store, and receive a real-time receipt which can be printed upon leaving.
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