2023 RTIH Innovation Awards winners assemble: last week’s most read RTIH retail technology articles
These are the articles on this here website that caught your fancy last week, including B&M, TPP Retail, Pinterest, Aldi, Evri, Tesco, NorgesGruppen, Manhattan Associates, EE, and the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards.
B&M rolls out TPP Retail technology as it looks to drive operational efficiency across UK stores
Discount retailer, B&M, has selected TPP Retail as its partner to drive operational efficiency across its 700+ UK stores with the implementation of Retail IQ.
It was looking for a modern solution that could scale at speed and support in-store operations. Needing to replace its existing mobile devices, B&M hooked up with TPP Retail.
The Retail IQ solution was chosen to replace its legacy system and optimise in-store operations including pricing, labelling, promotions, and stock management processes.
Deployed on Zebra TC21 mobile devices for maximum compatibility with B&M’s existing estate of Zebra mobile printers, this has been implemented across 714 stores in four weeks.
It’s here! RTIH announces shortlist for 2023 omnichannel retail technology innovation awards
We’re pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards, sponsored by PMC, FreedomPay, Worldpay from FIS, CADS, 3D Cloud by Marxent, Goodays, and Vista Technology Support.
We received a record number of submissions this year and many fantastic examples of the continued resilience and dynamism of the retail space during hugely challenging times.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, which will take place at the Barbican Centre in central London.
The event will be held on Wednesday, 29th November, maintaining its popular evening format, with a drinks reception in the stunning Conservatory, followed by a Christmas themed three course meal, and awards presentations in the Garden Room.
Congratulations to all those who made the shortlist.
To book your place at the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony on Wednesday, 29th November, click here.
Evri little helps: parcel delivery firm announces Tesco Clubcard points partnership
Evri has announced a partnership with Tesco that will enable people to collect Clubcard points for every parcel they send with it.
This is the first time that the UK’s largest retailer has agreed this type of Clubcard partnership with a parcel delivery firm.
Consumers will be able to collect one Clubcard point for every £1 spent at evri.com.
They will then be able to turn them into vouchers to get money off their Tesco shop. Alternatively, consumers can choose to donate to charity – or double the value of their points with more than 100 Clubcard reward partners.
The tie up comes after Evri recently announced a £46 million investment to boost its customer service and operations in preparation for its busiest period of the year from Black Friday to Christmas Day.
It also follows a partnership with Tesco, which launched in 2021, when Evri’s ParcelShop services were made available in Express stores across the UK enabling customers to send, receive and return parcels as they shopped.
Chinese low cost retailer Temu announces expansion of its delivery network in Europe
Chinese e-commerce firm, Temu, has expanded its delivery network in Europe via partnerships with Poste Italiane, CTT in the Iberian Peninsula, and Mail Alliance in Germany.
In Italy, Poste Italiane will work with Temu on initiatives like PIN code enabled lockers and local stores serving as pick-up and drop-off points. The partnership also includes environmental strategies, such as reducing carbon emissions and employing eco-friendly packaging.
CTT, which operates as the national postal service of Portugal and has a presence in Spain through CTT Express, is expected to play a key role in supporting Temu’s growth in the Iberian market.
In Germany, Mail Alliance will bring its network of 55,000 delivery personnel to the party.
The company is Germany's large network of private postal service providers and is known for its capacity to handle large volumes and its swift delivery times.
Secret Sales brings in Chris Lacey as Chief Digital Officer and Alex Adamson as Chief Marketing Officer
Secret Sales, a non full price marketplace for fashion, sportswear and beauty brands, has announced the appointment of Chris Lacey as Chief Digital Officer (CDO) as it accelerates its European expansion strategy.
CEO Chris Griffin says: “As we enter 2024, it’s critical for us to move quickly to keep pace with the strong appetite we’re seeing for off-price from our retailer and brand partners so we can help them expand into new European territories.”
“This is why the time is right to strengthen our leadership team to help us deliver on our vision to positively disrupt the world of off-price.”
As CDO, Lacey is responsible for driving Secret Sales’ platform growth and international expansion.
He will be working with all departments to optimise the e-commerce platform to drive digital revenue, enhance the customer experience and advance operations, including marketing and technology as the business accelerates further on its international expansion, including its merger and acquisition strategy.
EE tackles Black Friday Burnout with Digital Spa at Westfield White City store and Kate Nightingale tie up
EE is looking to take the stress out of the seasonal sales this year, following new research that found two fifths of Brits will experience ‘Black Friday Burnout’ over the coming week.
The EE Studio in Westfield London, White City, will host a dedicated shoppers’ sanctuary giving people in the capital a moment to relax and recharge in what is pitched as the UK’s first Digital Spa, while consumer psychologist and shopping expert, Kate Nightingale, helps bargain hunters across the country to find their calm on the biggest shopping day of the year.
Research by EE reveals that 28 million people (53%) plan to bag a bargain this Black Friday, with 57% looking to spend up to 10 hours looking for deals this week. It’s the younger generation who are particularly deal savvy with four fifths of Brits aged 25-34 planning to get involved.
With 30% of Brits having already prepared their shopping list a week before, it’s clear the Black Friday hype is real.
Of the shoppers surveyed, one in five often stay up late or get up early to check for the best deals online, while a further fifth say they are tempted to take the day off work. This rises to four in ten and three in ten (32%) respectively for 25-34 year olds.
One in six Brits even admitted they'd go as far as missing a friend’s birthday to browse the sales.
NorgesGruppen picks Manhattan Associates technology for growth of premium supermarket brand MENY
Norway’s largest grocery retailer, NorgesGruppen, has chosen Manhattan Active Warehouse Management to meet the expanding delivery expectations for customers of its premium supermarket brand, MENY.
The NorgesGruppen family includes household Norwegian brands such as Kiwi, Meny, Spar and Joker, covering the full range of grocery retail.
With 1,800 grocery stores, a further 900 retail convenience goods stores, plus ASKO, NorgesGruppen’s wholesale arm, which offers over 25,000 products, to 14,000 clients from an additional 13 warehouses, the organisation offers food and consumer goods to 88% of the country.
KFC UK & Ireland begins roll-out of Uber Direct white label delivery solution across its stores
KFC UK & Ireland has launched an exclusive partnership with Uber Direct, Uber’s white label delivery solution, to provide its UK customers with fast deliveries through the fast food giant’s app.
Orders placed through the app will leverage the same technology and courier network that powers Uber Eats.
Uber’s technology provides customers with real-time tracking from their local restaurant to their delivery address and 24/7 customer support for orders should they need it.
The first phase of the roll-out of Uber Direct has begun, and all of KFC’s 916 stores across the UK and Ireland are due to move exclusively to it for their app orders by January 2024.
Aldi and Kevin The Carrot announce Pinterest partnership to push retailer's new festive campaign
Aldi and Kevin The Carrot have teamed up with Pinterest to promote their new festive campaign.
Leveraging a series of Pinterest’s new ad formats for the first time such as Lead ad, Premiere Spotlight and Breakthrough video, Aldi’s campaign also marks a category first by featuring a secret board, giving users the chance to access a Pinterest board full of festive cheer.
Users searching for Christmas inspiration will discover an animated ‘Golden Pin’ video which adopts a breakthrough technique to appear in the home feed, giving them exclusive access to the Secret Christmas Factory Pinterest board.
The invite mechanic behind the Golden Pin utilises the Lead Generation ad format and invites users to fill in their email and Pinterest handle, to be added to the secret board.
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