Rich lists and saucy firsts: Check out last week’s most read RTIH retail technology articles
These are the RTIH articles that caught your fancy last week, including Sticky, The Snappy Group, Amazon, Klarna, Gymshark, Lounge Underwear, Ocado Solutions, and our 2023 Innovation Awards.
UK retail technology startup Sticky raises £1.5m to help customers see physical space as an asset
Sticky, a UK startup which enables retailers to turn more of their physical space into Points of Sale, has secured £1.5 million to fund its expansion plans.
The venture, which counts the burger chain Byron among its clients, has attracted backing from new investors Praetura Ventures and Cornerstone VC.
The round also includes follow on funding from SFC Capital.
Sticky uses its own operating system with NFC technology to enable companies in sectors such as retail, hospitality and health and fitness to process payment transactions in less than 10 seconds.
Based in Manchester, the company was founded by Priscilla Israel and James Garner in 2020.
Ready to roll: 2023 RTIH retail technology awards are now open for submissions
After launching in 2019 and delivering hugely successful follow up events in 2020, 2021 and 2022, the RTIH Innovation Awards return in 2023 with a discussion panel and awards ceremony to be held in central London venues during December.
The fifth edition of the awards is now open for entries.
The event celebrates global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
We received a record number of submissions in 2022, with winners including Sook, B&Q, 3D Cloud by Marxent, Compass Group, AiFi, Walmart, Ribble Cycles, Obsess, HyperFinity, Red Ant, Pets at Home, and TPP Retail.
Our winners and highly commended companies were announced at a sold out event in central London on Tuesday, 6th December.
For 2023, we are introducing new categories and expanding the awards ceremony in December to accommodate more attendees (further details on that will be revealed in the near future).
Scott Thompson, Editor and Founder of RTIH, says: “Our awards celebrate the dynamic, resilient and innovative retail sector and the companies and technologies that drive it forward.”
“Competition was tougher than ever in 2022, so to emerge victorious was no mean feat.”
“Congratulations to our winners and highly commended companies. I’m excited to launch the fifth edition of the awards. The 2023 event will be the biggest and best yet.”
Deadline for 2023 submissions is Friday, 27th October, with winners being revealed at the aforementioned event in central London during December.
You're hired! The Snappy Group snaps up Brad Jones as its new Head of Marketing
The Snappy Group, a technology business that focuses on the Q-commerce convenience grocery sector, has announced the appointment of Brad Jones as Head of Marketing.
He joins the firm, home of delivery app Snappy Shopper, after three and a half years with Company Shop Group, a redistributor of food and household products in the UK, and will report to Dan Calvert, Chief Growth Officer.
Talkin’ bout a retail technology revolution: Klarna research flags shopper interest in AI, AR and robots
New data from buy now pay later big hitter Klarna reveals how retailers will need to adapt their offering to win shoppers in the future.
The company spoke to more than 5,000 consumers in five countries and teamed up with Kate Hardcastle, aka the Customer Whisperer, to explore how the future of shopping could evolve.
Its report also includes predictions from some of the world’s leading retailers and ChatGPT, which recently teamed up with Klarna.
Featuring TalkShopLive, Simbe, and Vypops: last week’s biggest retail tecn plays at a glance
RTIH rounds up the stand out retail systems deals, launches, deployments and pilots from the past seven days. Including Target, Studenac, Sky Sports, Fanatics, Ikea UK, Domino’s Pizza, Co-op, Just Eat, Coach, and Yochananof.
Once in a generation opportunity: Amazon preps addition of ChatGPT style search to its online store
Amazon is working on a new search functionality for its online store featuring a ChatGPT like interface.
A pair of job postings spotted by Bloomberg highlight the company’s plans.
In a job listing for a “Sr Technical Program Manager,” it states: “We are working on a new AI first initiative to re-architect and reinvent the way we do search through the use of extremely large scale next-generation deep learning techniques.”
A second listing, this one for a “Sr SDE, Machine Learning (ML), Amazon Search” position claims that the initiative will be “a once in a generation transformation for search”.
“We are reimagining Amazon search with an interactive conversational experience that helps you find answers to product questions, perform product comparisons, receive personalised product suggestions, and so much more, to easily find the perfect product for your needs.”
It’s also worth noting that Amazon recently unveiled its own Bedrock AI foundational models.
'A first for the sauce category and foodservice industry': IoT powered HEINZ REMIX launches
The Kraft Heinz Company has unveiled HEINZ REMIX, pitched as the first customisable and IoT enabled digital sauce dispenser that allows consumers to personalise their own flavour creations.
With over 200 potential sauce combinations, this is the latest offering from the firm’s foodservice or Away From Home (AFH) division.
The free standing machine is touchscreen operated, enabling consumers to first select from a range of “bases” – currently Heinz Ketchup, Ranch, 57 Sauce, and BBQ Sauce – then personalise further with one or more “enhancers” – currently Jalapeño, Smoky Chipotle, Buffalo, and Mango – at their preferred intensity level (low, medium, high).
Fabrick acquires mobile payments firm Judopay as it looks to become a market leader in the UK
Fabrick, a European open finance specialist, has announced the acquisition of Judopay, a UK-based mobile payments company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Judopay, which will continue operating under its own brand, currently handles 60 million+ transactions a year worth over €2 billion and has partnered with the likes of KFC, PaybyPhone group, and Autocab.
The company has also been a launch partner for Apple in launching Apple Pay in-app payments in the UK, and Mastercard (Click2Pay and the Pay by Bank App).
Ocado Solutions announces appointment of Adriano Araujo as its first APAC and MEA President
Ocado Group has appointed Adriano Araujo as its first President, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APAC & MEA) for Ocado Solutions.
In this role he will lead its operations across the region, growing with current partners and bringing new retailers to the Ocado Smart Platform (OSP).
He joins from consumer insights businesses, dunnhumby, where he was President of its Latin American business. Previously he also led dunnhumby’s operations in Asia Pacific, across nine countries and 200+ employees in the region.
Luke Jensen, CEO at Ocado Solutions, says: “I’m delighted that Adriano is joining us in the newly created role of President, APAC & MEA.”
“Ocado’s footprint across the region is growing. We have signed ambitious partnerships already in Japan, South Korea, and Australia and continue to engage with retailers across the wider region as they look to harness the growing online grocery opportunity.”
“Adriano brings a wealth of insight into global consumer trends across Asia Pacific to Ocado, as well as a unique understanding of the changing retail landscape in the region. It’s great to have him onboard.”
Adobe research: Brits rack up £4.9 billion buy now pay later debt in first four months of 2023
UK consumers spent a total of £8 billion online in April 2023, down 1.7% from the previous month, and down 2.2% YoY, according to the Adobe Digital Economy Index.
And they have racked up £4.9 billion in buy now pay later debt for the first four months of 2023 from a total online spend of £32.6 billion.
In April, BNPL usage remained high with consumers spending £1.3 billion through these services, representing 16% of total online spend.
Adobe’s analysis also revealed a 2% increase in average order values using BNPL compared with March, and an acceleration in the amount spent using these services from 20th April onwards.
For the final ten days of the month, order values using BNPL were around £8 higher on average than the period from 1st – 19th April indicating consumers are more reliant on BNPL services in the run up to payday.
Five retail technology questions for Rory O’Connor, CEO at Scurri
RTIH asks major players in the retail technology space for their thoughts on the sector, and throws in a random question to keep them on their toes. This time around, our five questions go to Rory O’Connor, CEO at Scurri.
Gymshark’s Ben Francis and Lounge Underwear’s Dan and Melanie Marsden make Sunday Times 35 under 35 Rich List
Ben Francis, Co-founder, CEO and majority owner of fitness apparel and accessories brand Gymshark, features in the new edition of The Sunday Times 35 under 35 Rich List, published today online and in the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday, 21st May.
Harry Kane, Harry Styles, Dua Lipa and the Duke of Westminster also make an appearance.
The 68-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the wealth of the 350 richest people in Britain in its 35th annual edition.
There are 171 billionaires in the UK recorded this year, down six from 2022, the first fall for 14 years. The combined wealth of the UK billionaires is £683.856 billion, up £30.734 billion, or 4.5%, on the total wealth of those in last year’s list.
Trends highlighted in the list are self-made stars who have all taken advantage of social media and Instagram in particular to market directly to their peers.
These include companies such as Gymshark, through which Francis has built a £900 million fortune in just over a decade.
Also in the mix are athleisure and fashion brands such as Dan and Melanie Marsden’s Lounge Underwear, AYBL run by Reiss and Kris Edgerton, and Manière De Voir founded by former U20 England footballer Reece Wabara.
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