Marks and Spencer under fire: here are last week’s most read RTIH retail technology articles
These are the RTIH articles that caught your fancy last week, including M&S, Tesco, Trigo, Wilko, Carrefour Argentina, Very, Constructor, and Vyking.
Retail technology gone wrong: Marks and Spencer slammed over new disabled unfriendly self-service checkouts
M&S is currently deploying new self-service checkouts across its stores.
RTIH tested them out last week and found them to be a definite improvement on what went before.
But not everyone is a fan. A disabled customer has taken to Twitter to air her frustrations after a visit to the M&S store in Ipswich.
RieRieB said that she “left extremely upset. Making things less accessible for your disabled customers, as you have with your new self-service checkout design, is unacceptable and legally questionable.”
Wilko unpicks legacy tech as it enlists UST, Cinchy, and Blue Yonder for Click and Collect roll-out
Wilko has rolled out a Click and Collect service to its 400+ stores.
Online purchases can be collected from stores in as little as three hours, at no extra charge.
This is an extension of a service that the retailer began offering from approximately 70 locations last year.
In a LinkedIn post, Simon Reeve, Head of Solution Delivery and Software Engineering at Wilko, said: “I’m hugely proud of the cross functional team here at Wilko that has recently brought Click and Collect to all of our 400+ stores, resulting in a great new way to shop and some terrific feedback from our customers and team members.”
Reeve noted that delivery went from sticky Post-Its to production launch in about seven months. “That short timescale belies the huge complexity of the challenge.”
He added: “For the Wilko technology team this involved unpicking lots of legacy tech; implementing the spine of a new tech stack based on MACH principles and composable architecture; taking our first steps into CI/CD and DevOps with UST; implementing a new data fabric with Cinchy; integrating OMS capability with Blue Yonder; and much more besides.”
The project involved Wilko shifting its thinking from e-commerce to omnichannel, and from project centric to product centric delivery.
Reeve concluded: “Still lots more to do on all of the above, and as a technology team we're excited to be pushing on and supporting our great business in accelerating our omnichannel transformation.”
Very teams with Constructor to transform product discovery experience with AI and machine learning
Online retailer, Very, which is operated by The Very Group, has announced a new product discovery experience partnership with Constructor.
The first phase will see Very implement new search, browse and autosuggest tools across its website and app.
Using artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing, machine learning and data, these tools learn from anonymous individual interactions and collaborative behaviours, with the aim of optimising the product discovery experience and providing customers with faster, more personalised results.
Very will also roll-out other elements of Constructor’s product discovery solution, including its personalised ‘quiz’ functionality, in the longer term.
By answering a series of questions related to their preferences, interests and goals, customers will be able to use quizzes to discover the right items for them across all product categories.
Carrefour notches up a first as data and innovation teams explore ChatGPT and generative AI use cases
Carrefour has produced its first ever video made with ChatGPT and generative AI.
The retailer’s avatar answers a common question from its customers: “how to eat better and cheaper via its website”.
In a LInkedIn post, Elodie Perthuisot, Chief E Commerce, Digital Transformation and Data Officer & EXCOM member at Carrefour, said: “For us, artificial intelligence is very concrete: personalisation of purchases, optimisation of assortments, reduction of waste...we are exploring the different uses, at the service of our customers.”
“So, of course, our data and innovation teams are currently working on the use cases of ChatGPT, and generative AI in general. We explore them always keeping our customers as a compass and how to better serve them. To be continued…”
Check out the video here.
Celebrating retail technology trailblazers: Check out the official 2022 RTIH Innovation Awards review
RTIH has published an in-depth 2022 RTIH Innovation Awards review, running through the winners and highly commended submissions and including photos from our awards ceremony and the thoughts of our judging panel.
Check it out here.
Sponsored by PMC, 3D Cloud by Marxent, CADS, FreedomPay, and Critzr, the awards celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
We received a record number of submissions in 2022 across 14 categories (you can find a full rundown of the 2022 shortlists here).
Our winners and highly commended companies were announced during the aforementioned sold out event that took place in central London during December and was attended by retailers, tech suppliers, members of our judging panel, and sponsors.
Shopping in a flash: Carrefour Argentina enlists startup Go2Future for autonomous stores first
The first autonomous Carrefour Flash store has opened in Latin America.
Tapping Go2Future miniGO technology and using cameras on the ceiling and sensors integrated into the shelves, this is a 50 square metre store located in Argentina, in the town of Pilar, a province of Buenos Aires.
Via an app, the products that customers choose are automatically loaded into a virtual cart and payment is made upon leaving, without the need to use a traditional checkout. It is also possible to buy online and pick up in-store or request home delivery.
“We are excited to be able to implement innovative purchasing alternatives in Argentina,” says Pablo Lorenzo, CEO at Carrefour Argentina.
“We listen to our clients and customers and we know that speed and simplicity are essential characteristics when going to stores. We seek to be up to the task and we hope that in Carrefour Flash they will find an ideal shopping experience.”
AutoStore launches pay per pick option and inks partnership agreement with THG Ingenuity
AutoStore reports that its fulfilment automation technology is now available as a pay per pick service.
It says that the new offering will enable a lower entry price point to help retailers meet the growing need for more efficient warehouse operations and faster customer delivery.
AutoStore has also signed a global distribution partnership agreement with THG Ingenuity, part of THG, the direct-to-consumer digital brands group.
THG Ingenuity will provide AutoStore technology on a pay per pick model embedded alongside its proprietary warehouse management, courier and optimisation software.
Well Pharmacy introduces micro-donations in-store to boost mental health fundraising efforts
Independent pharmacy chain Well Pharmacy has partnered with Pennies, a micro-donation charity, and Trust Retail, part of the Trust Payments Group, to help encourage charitable donations when paying in cashless ways.
It is officially launching micro-donations in-store this Random Acts of Kindness Day (17th February).
Customers are now being offered the chance to donate 9p on top of their purchase when making a payment by card or digital wallet.
These funds, which will be processed by Trust Payments in conjunction with Pennies, will help support the mental health charity Mind to run services including the Mind Infoline, legal line, and online community, Side by Side.
Retail technology startup Vyking launches Magic Mirror solution for in-store footwear shoppers
Virtual try-on specialist Vyking has unveiled a new in-store augmented reality solution, Magic Mirror.
It says that that this will enable consumers to visualise footwear through a smart mirror.
Activated by walking up to a full length digitally connected mirror, people can try virtually before they buy dozens of pairs of trainers and other footwear.
They choose the pair they’d like to try via an in-store display on a tablet, before the 3D model is “beamed” into the mirror for them to see how it looks on their own feet.
The solution also offers omnichannel marketing possibilities as the technology can be deployed in other physical locations such as billboards, bus stops or window displays.
Tesco leaves London and switches on GetGo Aston University Express checkout free store in Birmingham
Tesco has opened its latest GetGo location, Aston University Express. Powered by Trigo technology, this is located in Birmingham, the UK’s second largest city.
The university location is the final instalment of Tesco’s announced three autonomous stores deployment throughout the UK, the other sites being Chiswell Street Express in central London, and Fulham Reach Express in Parrs Way, London.
It is the largest autonomous Tesco store to date at over 4,000 square metres.
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