Serial returners and accidents waiting to happen: RTIH’s biggest retail technology articles on LinkedIn right now
We’re big fans of LinkedIn and are busy building an amazing community of retail tech enthusiasts on the social media platform. These are the articles that are currently on their radars, including REWE, Trigo, Co-op, Starship Technologies, 3D Cloud by Marxent, Ikea, Sook, and Retail Technology Show 2023.
REWE picks Cologne as it opens another Trigo powered autonomous store in Germany
REWE has opened its fourth Trigo powered store, situated in Cologne, Germany’s fourth largest city.
Located in the Sülz neighbourhood, this is, at 564 sqm, Trigo’s largest store to date.
Kai-Uwe Reimers, Head of Research and Innovation, REWE digital, comments: “The bar is rising around customer expectations, customers have less time, cost and effort are getting more important.”
“Computer vision will be the core of the future store. It changes the supermarket workflow by introducing frictionless checkout which solves the biggest customer pain point in the store: standing in line.”
“When we were ready to start with frictionless checkout it was clear that Trigo would be the first to talk to.”
“We screened the market again, we talked to other retailers and in the end, we decided for Trigo because we really believe in the team, we really believe in the solution, and we think it’s the most advanced solution at the moment.”
‘Stay strong, keep fighting’: OnBuy boss Cas Paton speaks out on Silicon Valley Bank collapse
Cas Paton, Founder and CEO at online marketplace, OnBuy, took to LinkedIn over the weekend to have his say on the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
Five retail technology questions for Beck Besecker, CEO and Co-Founder, 3D Cloud by Marxent
Beck Besecker, CEO and Co-Founder of 2022 RTIH Innovation Awards winner, 3D Cloud by Marxent, sits down with us to discuss the demand for self-service, and also metaverse implementations, and retail pioneers.
Amazon Just Walk Out technology makes debut at Marymount University’s new checkout-free store
Marymount University has become the first higher education institution in the US to have an on-campus convenience store powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out tech.
Located in the lobby of Gerard Phelan Hall on Marymount’s main campus in Arlington, Saints 24 opened to the University community for the first time on Friday of last week.
Customers use their credit card at the entry gates of Saints 24, grab what they need and the technology automatically detects what is taken from (or returned to) store shelves, creating a virtual shopping cart.
When people have completed their shopping, they can leave the store without stopping to check out, and their credit card will be charged for the items they took.
Food Rocket and Alimentation Couche-Tard grocery delivery tie up “had disaster written all over it”
Rapid grocery delivery startup Food Rocket is no more, with visitors to its website being greeted with the message, "We are closed. Thanks to everyone who was with us."
“In spite of overall profitability, we ran out of capital while struggling to raise additional funding,” it said.
Last year, Food Rocket announced a $25 million Series A investment round.
It said that this would be used to expand its offering in Chicago and other cities throughout the US, as well as reinforce its AI enabled software and enhance the team.
The lead investor was Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT), which has more than 14,000 Circle K and Couche-Tard locations in 26 countries and territories, including 7,000+ in the US.
Through the partnership, Food Rocket was working with Circle K to explore ways in which the convenience store chain could extend its brand experience and offerings to customers beyond its physical stores through e-commerce and delivery.
Meanwhile, Food Rocket expected to benefit from Circle K’s size and scale, consumer insights, marketing expertise, procurement network and supply chain efficiencies to expand its offerings into categories beyond grocery, improve its purchasing power, reduce costs and grow profitability.
This was an accident waiting to happen, according to Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive.
Starship Technologies and Co-op bring robot grocery deliveries to Greater Manchester
Starship Technologies has partnered with Trafford Council and the Co-op to bring autonomous grocery deliveries to residents across Sale in Greater Manchester.
Also operating in Milton Keynes, Northampton, Bedford, Cambourne, Cambridge and Leeds, orders are made through the Starship app with groceries picked in local Co-op stores and delivered to customers on-demand.
Chris Conway, eCommerce Director, Co-op, says: “Co-op stores are well placed in the heart of local communities to provide quick, easy and convenient home deliveries - whether a full shop or last minute top-ups.”
“We are committed to exploring new and innovative ways to increase access to our products and services, and delighted to be able to roll-out autonomous robots to provide additional online flexibility and choice in Greater Manchester.”
Critizr changes name to Goodays, launches Artificial Intelligence Lab and appoints new Chairman
Critizr, a specialist in customer satisfaction and experience management, has announced that it is changing its name to Goodays.
According to a press release, the new identity reflects its mission to “bring the employees of a company together around a common objective: to satisfy customers. It also affirms international expansion ambitions, to grow market share across the company’s five bases in Spain, France, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.”
The company, created over ten years ago, has developed a platform that facilitates digital interactions with customers to improve their experience, with recent deployments including the integration of Google Business Messages and WhatsApp.
2022 RTIH Innovation Awards winner Sook touches down in Islington Square, north London
Sook, which takes vacant retail spaces and gives them a modular, digital fit-out which can be rented by the hour, has landed in Islington Square, a place in north London to eat, drink and shop which is situated in an old postal sorting office.
This is Sook’s sixth opening in London.
In a LinkedIn post, the company said: “This is our sleekest space yet, boasting floor to ceiling windows, boutique style warm wooden flooring and art gallery-esque adjustable lighting.”
“This space will be one to watch; we can’t wait to see how brands transform it to showcase themselves alongside some wonderful neighbours including Anthropologie, A.P.C., Meghan's Restaurant, Third Space and JIJI.”
“With a grand total of 554,000 catchment residents and 21,000 workers within a ten minute walk, this prosperous, trendy and cosmopolitan area is the perfect place to put your brand on the map. Available to book now from April onwards.”
Retail Technology Show research: a third of shoppers say retailers shouldn’t ban serial returners
Consumers feel that retailers shouldn’t ban serial returners from shopping with them, according to new research from Retail Technology Show, which will take place on 26th and 27th April at London’s Olympia.
A survey of over 1,000 UK shoppers revealed that the average Brit now returns 15% of the total number of items they buy online, rising to 20% for Millennials and 22% among Gen Z shoppers.
Seven retail tech funding rounds you need to know about, including Connectd and Powered by People
RTIH rounds up the retail tech ventures who have recently wrapped notable funding rounds, including Ocula Technologies, Yoti, Patchworks, and APEXX Global.
Ikea claims an industry first as it says it is now using 100 drones for stock inventory
One hundred autonomous drones are now operational in Ikea stores - the latest in Ikea Zaventem, Belgium – with owner Ingka Group saying it is the first retailer to use such a solution for stock inventory.
Two years ago, Ingka Group and the Supply Chain Development Team at Inter Ikea Group, together with Verity, a provider of indoor drone systems, started developing a fully autonomous drone solution.
As a result, 100 drones are now at work during non-operational hours, with the aim of improving stock accuracy and securing availability of products for online or physical retailing. This means that co-workers no longer need to manually confirm each pallet.
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