The autonomous future has arrived: Presenting the week's coolest retail technology plays

RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his top ‘future of retail’ systems launches and deployments from the past week, including autonomous stores, autonomous delivery, and autonomous supply chains. And, fear not metaverse fans, we give that a mention as well.

Żabka Group

Żabka Group’s Żabka Nano pop-up autonomous store is now a part of the Microsoft Industry Experience Center in Washington, USA.

In a LinkedIn post, Patryk Powierża, Head of Growth at Żabka Polska, said: “Microsoft IEC is a unique place.”

“It is the physical manifestation of the company’s vision for the future and its belief that all successful companies will effectively be tech companies, creating their own innovations. We are glad to be part of it as a pioneer in autonomous retail.”

The London Lions

UK basketball team, the London Lions, has partnered with BitPay.

This will enable fans to transact with the club using more than 100 different crypto wallets and exchanges including Coinbase, Exodus Wallet and Trust Wallet.

Merrick Theobald, Vice President of Marketing at BitPay, says: “The London Lions realise the potential for crypto to transform the UK professional sports industry, making payments faster, more secure, and less expensive on a global scale.”

“Our goal is to make accepting crypto a seamless process and increase adoption as we believe crypto is the future of payments.”

Starship Technologies and Grubhub

Starship Technologies, a provider of autonomous delivery services, and Grubhub, a food ordering and delivery marketplace, are expanding their delivery service to Baylor University and East Carolina University (ECU) in the USA.

Baylor’s 20,000 students can order delivery from more than seven eateries on campus.

Starship’s fleet of 20 robots will deliver to the majority of buildings on campus, typically within minutes, and work in conjunction with student meal plan Dining Dollars through the Grubhub app.

At ECU, another fleet of 20 robots are providing deliveries anywhere on the main campus, including College Hill.

The deliveries to ECU’s 27,000 students are made possible through Grubhub and Starship’s partnership with ECU’s food service provider, and the service can be used in conjunction with students’ meal plan that integrates with their Grubhub account.

Fujitsu and TORIDOLL Holdings

Fujitsu has deployed its AI demand forecast service at 823 Marugame Udon noodle shops in Japan, operated by TORIDOLL Holdings.

The latter says it will now be able to accurately forecast customer numbers and sales by day and time for each shop, based on weather data and PoS data.

Fujitsu will help to optimise complex manual processes, including the ordering of products and food quantity planning, with the aim of delivering greater overall efficiency, helping to reduce food loss, and realise efficient energy management through the optimisation of staff allocation and air conditioning in shops.

Fujitsu will present this project at its booth at the Retailtech Japan 2023 event, which will be held Tuesday, 28th February to Friday, 3rd March.

Pinko

Italian fashion brand, Pinko, has announced the launch of its first virtual store, developed using the Emperia platform and celebrating the opening of its new Milan boutique.

It says that this aims to “drive brand recognition and tap into new female communities, alongside empowering women around the world to feel independent and able to express their femininity in a bespoke way”.

Users will also have the chance to buy the brand’s NFTs, the Meta Love Bags, by accessing the PINKO metaverse experience.

Laid out in a futuristic pink setting, the virtual store features an array of new, specially designed handbags.

Customers will be able to purchase these products from the brand new Pinko Galleria, exclusive to this experience, directly from the metaverse store while experiencing, interacting with, and learning about them via 3D modelling.

Dexory

London-based robotics and data intelligence company Dexory has launched a new platform called DexoryView.

Supported by a new Dexory robot, said to be the tallest yet of its kind, this automates data collection and builds real-time digital twins that unlock insights across all levels of warehouse operations. 

This allows companies up-to-date access to their inventory - across the receiving, storing and dispatch stages – from anywhere and at any time.

Not only will companies be able to automate their stock checks with this solution, but also keep track of occupancy, increasing efficiency and helping to facilitate profitable operations, Dexory says.

Asos and Secret Sales

Secret Sales and Asos have announced a new non-full price partnership, where visitors to the former’s platform will be able to shop from an initial selection of up to 1,000 products from the latter’s owned brands.

This will include Asos Design, Collusion, Reclaimed Vintage, Topshop, Topman, and Miss Selfridge.

It launches initially in the UK, with all of the selected discounted items no longer being available on Asos as products will be housed on Secret Sales.

Purchases will be fulfilled by Asos using its existing fulfilment infrastructure and capability, including packaging and shipping.

Sam’s Club

Sam’s Club, a division of Walmart and a membership warehouse club, has announced plans to open over 30 new locations across the US over the next several years.

The first one, which is planned in Florida, is slated to debut in 2024.

In addition, the company will launch five new supply chain fulfilment and distribution centres in 2023, including automation, with the first location planned in Georgia in Q3.

It says that the decision to invest in expanding its physical footprint was motivated by historic comparable sales growth, and a record rise in membership over the last two years.

A.P. Moller – Maersk

A.P. Moller – Maersk has embarked upon a trial with Dexory, and now has its autonomous robots operating in a warehouse facility in Kettering, UK. 

The proof of concept has been launched in continuation of Maersk Growth’s, the venture arm of A.P. Moller-Maersk, investment in Dexory in its most recent funding round.

Andrei Danescu, Dexory’s CEO, says “It’s reassuring to see such trust placed in Dexory from globally recognised logistics leaders like Maersk. We’re looking forward to bringing it valuable data insights and expanding into other Maersk facilities.”