2023 RTIH Innovation Awards: UK retailer of the year shortlist announced, sponsored by 3D Cloud by Marxent
We’re pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards UK Retailer of the Year category, sponsored by 3D Cloud by Marxent.
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.
Most Innovative UK Retailer shortlist as follows:
Who has been the UK’s most innovative, customer focused retailer this year?
Judges are asked to look at each retailer’s tech deployments and initiatives and decide which one has been the most consistently forward thinking and customer centric in 2023.
Amazon Fresh UK
Amazon Fresh customers can now pay at self-checkouts in the Monument, London store, in addition to using a Just Walk Out technology powered checkout-free option.
In a LinkedIn post, Charlie Mills, Head of In-Store & Local Marketing at Amazon Fresh, said: “Customers get the choice of scanning and paying for items using the self-checkout and they can still checkout at the gates using our Just Walk Out technology.”
“The Amazon Fresh in-store shopping experience is made possible by the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning.”
“Our Just Walk Out Technology automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves, and keeps track of them in a virtual basket. Using the self-checkout adds another convenient way to shop. Pretty cool.”
Amazon has also been busy tinkering with its Amazon Fresh checkout free convenience stores in Kensington, White City, and Southwark, London.
The ultimate aim here is alleviating some of the friction associated with Just Walk Out technology.
Asda
Asda has announced the appointments of Rob Barnes and Adrian Berry to its technology team to oversee the oversee the development of its new strategy and separation from Walmart.
Barnes is currently Chief Technology Officer at Marks and Spencer and will join Asda early next year as Delivery Director.
He will be responsible for the design, build and delivery of all colleague and customer facing technology and will also act as Deputy Chief Information Officer.
Prior to joining M&S, he was MD of Accenture’s Retail Tech Advisory business, where he managed technology delivery for a range of clients including Dyson, Clarks, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Best Buy.
Meanwhile, Tata Consultancy Services has announced a multi-year partnership with Asda to support its digital transformation and to implement a new organisation wide IT operating model, following its divestiture from Walmart.
This will see the grocery giant leverage TCS’ cloud, AI, and security solutions.
TCS will build a new digital core by implementing multiple cloud-based ERP platforms to streamline Asda’s supply chain forecasting, buying and merchandising processes, HR processes, warehouse management, and e-commerce processes.
Additionally, it will use its Machine First Delivery Model to automate the retailer’s IT operations, with the aim of providing a seamless experience for employees and customers, and improving operational resilience.
DFS
DFS has been shortlisted for its innovative approach to bringing 3D interactivity to its online shopping experience. In addition to the deployment of WebAR at a major scale (over 32,000 SKUs), it is also launching a leading edge 3D sectional configurator on 8th November.
It will be the first UK retailer to deploy this technology. The launch is one product range - Sofables. It will be adding ten additional ranges this year.
Spanning across the United Kingdom, Spain, and Ireland, DFS has become a leader in the furniture and soft furnishings industry. It is utilising 3D in smart and thoughtful ways that put the customer at the centre of the shopping experience.
John Lewis Partnership
Earlier this year, Eagle Eye secured a five-year contract with The John Lewis Partnership for its new pan-partnership loyalty project launching in 2024 alongside dunnhumby.
This brings together Eagle Eye’s existing relationships with John Lewis, as first announced in 2017 to improve the retailer’s digital marketing capabilities, and with Waitrose, as subsequently announced in 2019.
The project aims to integrate the group’s high street business, online and app touchpoints, building on the My John Lewis and My Waitrose loyalty programmes.
The Eagle Eye AIR platform will provide The John Lewis Partnership with loyalty management capabilities, enabling dunnhumby’s data science to be executed at scale to deliver more personalised rewards, offers and experiences to customers.
Elsewhere, Waitrose has partnered with CitrusAd to roll-out relevant, targeted advertising across Waitrose.com.
The retailer says that its suppliers can now maximise their online presence through sponsored search and category product ads, as well as sponsored offers and checkout ad campaigns.
The move replaces static advertising - where all customers were served the same adverts - with a targeted model, in which shoppers are given updates from brands based on the product searches or areas they browse online.
It also gives suppliers the flexibility to change or boost their campaigns, rather than being tied into long-term fixed tenancy slots, allowing them to take advantage of events and seasonal changes.
With access to performance-based metrics and reporting, brands can measure the impact of their adverts, and return on ad spend (ROAS) down to the individual product level and by search term.
Kingfisher
At Google Cloud Nextin October, Kingfisher shared the work it has been doing with AI and machine learning technologies.
Group Head of Data Science, Mohsen Ghasempour, discussed how the retailer is harnessing these innovations to improve the customer experience and power growth.
He introduced Athena, an AI orchestration framework which will manage how Kingfisher prompts and interacts with AI language models, as well as other AI tools developed in-house.
This is designed with advanced controls to ensure security and provide protection against sensitive or inappropriate content.
Tom Betts, Group Data Director at Kingfisher, says: “Athena will help us test and learn with these technologies even faster.”
Kingfisher also announced this year that it 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.
Polarn O. Pyret
Sustainable childrenswear brand Polarn O. Pyret launched a fully integrated, brand owned, circular business model in November 2022.
Delivering against its long standing vision that every piece of PO.P clothing is owned by at least three children, the PO.P Second Hand service is the first of its kind and category leading for circular innovation in childrenswear.
Leveraging trade in technology from Tern Eco and supported by GXO's refurbishment and resale fulfilment services, PO.P UK’s circular retail transformation is delighting customers and driving innovation with key partners. Crucially, it is also embedded into a long-term sustainable growth strategy for the business.
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