Starring Amazon, Superdrug, and Shein: 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 PMC, OneStock, Xiatech, Drovo, Slerp, Uber Direct, Timberland, Vyking, and the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards.
At the coal face of major industry change: Superdrug announces arrival of Optimo retail media network
Superdrug has launched its own retail media network in the UK.
In a LinkedIn post, Paul Stafford, Head Of Digital Marketing, Retail Media & Online Brand at Superdrug, said:
“This week, I had the pleasure of announcing the arrival of Superdrug’s own retail media network, Optimo, at our annual supplier conference.”
He added: “This has been a huge piece of work covering A.S. Watson Group (the owner of Superdrug) BU’s across Hong Kong, Milan, Paris, Amsterdam and London. From a personal point of view, it’s been an incredible journey to work on a project that is at the coal face of major industry change.”
“I can’t wait now to start working with our suppliers to deliver on their briefs.”
“Obviously this has been a massive team effort and couldn't be done without the support of Dan Jarvis (Chief Digital Officer, Europe at A.S. Watson Group), Andrea Zoboli (eLab Technology Director (Europe) at A.S. Watson Group, Mariëlle Slenders, (Head of Media & Performance Benelux at A.S. Watson Group), Matt Walburn, (Customer and Marketing Director at Superdrug), Nicholas Queally, Marketing Manager - Promotions and Pricing at Superdrug), and many, many more.”
PMC launches Graphene composable commerce platform following implementations with UK retailers
PMC, a UK-based technology services provider for retail and B2C, has announced the launch of its composable commerce platform Graphene.
Graphene is pitched as a flexible, rapid and robust platform environment designed for commerce.
The platform is built on the fundamentals of a microservices, API led approach, cloud architecture, and a headless structure.
PMC says that the offering “allows retailers to generate business value with composite technology at scale and low cost…from lightning fast checkouts and enhanced customer loyalty using personalised campaigns, to optimised inventory operations and improved product availability in-store”.
Retailers can now customise applications to meet business needs and deploy cutting-edge solutions, which then readily scale as required, the company adds.
Calling all retail technology trailblazers! 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards entry deadline fast approaching
There are just five days left to submit your entries for he 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards, sponsored by PMC, FreedomPay, Worldpay from FIS, CADS, 3D Cloud by Marxent, Goodays, and Vista Technology Support, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world,
The event culminates in a fantastic ceremony, complete with a drinks reception and Christmas themed three-course meal at the Barbican Arts Centre on Wednesday 29th November.
Deadline for 2023 submissions is Friday, 3rd November.
Click here for further information on the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards.
AdTech startup Drovo pulls in £3m following Series A round led by Maven Capital Partners
Drovo, a UK-based startup specialising in transit media advertising technology, has raised £3 million of funding following a Series A investment round led by Maven Capital Partners.
It plans to use the cash to further develop the dynamic digital rooftop screens element of its offering as well as expand its human resource and hardware acquisition. And also onboard new users for its proprietary technology platform.
Drovo pairs vehicle owners with advertisers to deliver targeted and measurable out-of-home (OOH) advertising campaigns through on-vehicle digital screens and wrapping.
Its geo-targeting and programmatic capabilities allow clients to customise their message to be seen at the right place and time.
The offering is used by Deliveroo, Paco Rabanne, Uniqlo and American Express, and features 28 real-time data points including location (down to borough, street and vehicle level), outside temperature, footfall and proximity to specific landmarks or stores.
Xiatech and OneStock release results of Business Value of MACH Technologies Survey
Xiatech, the company behind machine learning powered composable hyper-integration platform, Xfuze, and OneStock, a distributed order management specialist, have released the results of their 2023 Business Value of MACH Technologies Global Survey.
This ran between June and September 2023, and included responses from business and technology executives at end user organisations from 12 countries around the world.
Supported by Adyen, Bloomreach, commercetools, Mercaux and the MACH Alliance, the findings reveal that organisations are creating quantifiable competitive advantage by tapping MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud native SaaS, Headless) technologies.
Nearly half of the survey respondents witnessed a return on MACH investment.
Slerp teams with Uber Direct to power on-demand delivery service for UK hospitality sector
Hospitality technology solutions provider, Slerp, has partnered with Uber Direct, to provide the UK’s hospitality sector with an on demand delivery service.
This integration will give businesses of all sizes that offer direct ordering and delivery, from premium hotels and quick service restaurant chains to independent bakeries, coffee shops and delis, access to the same courier network as Uber Eats across the UK.
Slerp works with more than 200 UK brands across the UK food industry, including The Dorchester, The Connaught, The Savoy, Eataly, Pasta Evangelists and Ottolenghi.
Their customers can make a purchase through the business’s own website or app and the Slerp dispatch platform will request a courier via Uber Direct. Customers can choose between ASAP or scheduled delivery times.
They can also use Uber’s real-time tracking technology and, if needed, access to 24/7 customer support services.
Just Walk Out technology powered, London-based Amazon Fresh convenience stores launch on Deliveroo
Amazon Fresh UK convenience stores are now live on Deliveroo, well, two of them at least.
A trial is currently underway, with a minimum order of £15 and £2.50 delivery fee, closely following on from
Amazon tinkering with the way in which its outlets in Kensington, White City, Southwark, and Monument, London operate.
The ultimate aim here was alleviating some of the friction associated with the e-commerce giant’s Just Walk Out technology.
Shein has California on its mind as online retailer taps QR codes for pop-up in Forever 21 store
A section of the latter’s permanent storefront was transformed into a shop for apparel, beauty products and accessories sold by Shein, complete with its own employees and checkout counter.
Shoppers needed to scan a QR code to make an appointment to enter.
An exciting way to engage with customers: Superdrug explores TikTok live shopping experiences
UK health and beauty retailer Superdrug launched its first TikTok live shopping experience last week.
In a LinkedIn post, Paul Stafford, Head Of Digital Marketing, at Superdrug: “The jury is still out on whether this will take off in the west, like it has in China, but it’s an exciting way to engage with customers, and we're committed to exploring this channel further.”
“And while the scale may not be huge yet, live shopping is a great way to build brand love and stay relevant with our target consumers. And, it's fun!”
“Thanks to Ana Fisher (Assistant Marketing Manager at Superdrug) and Samantha Bullock (Social Media Marketing Manager at Superdrug) and the COTY team for their hard work on getting this up and running.”
Amazon teams with UVeye on new AI powered Automated Vehicle Inspection technology
Amazon has implemented a new artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology that, it claims, can spot even the smallest anomalies in delivery vans, from tyre deformities and undercarriage wear to bent or warped body pieces, before they become on-road problems.
The Automated Vehicle Inspection (AVI) tech is launching in partnership with startup UVeye in the US, Canada, Germany, and the UK.
“The last thing I want is for something preventable to happen, like a tyre blowing out because we missed an imperceptible defect during our morning inspection,” says Bennett Hart, owner of logistics company Hart Road. “This technology improves the safety of our fleet.”
Outdoor footwear and apparel retailer Timberland rolls out Vyking virtual try-on tech across EMEA platforms
Timberland has launched over 250 products for virtual try-on powered by Vyking across its EMEA platforms.
This follows the American manufacturer and retailer of outdoor footwear and apparel, which is owned by VF Corporation, testing out the technology.
In a LinkedIn post, Thibault Marion de Procé, Co-Founder at Vyking, said: “It's always great to get new clients but what's even better is when they decide after successful tests to roll-out on a larger scale.
“This innovative approach has been helping Timberland to increase sales and engagement.”
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