Starring AiFi, ZERO10, and Slalom: Check out last week’s most read RTIH retail technology articles
These are the RTIH articles that caught your fancy last week, including EE, Barclaycard, the Isle of Wight Festival 2023, no-boxx, Valtech, commercetools, MACH Alliance, and Brave Bison Commerce.
UK mobile network giant EE seeks to reinvent retail with new Studio store launch at Westfield London
EE has opened a new flagship store, The EE Studio, located in Westfield London, White City.
Focused on connectivity and technology solutions, the 4,230-square-foot location will also serve as a hub for the local community to work, learn and play.
The launch forms part of EE’s new strategy, which, the company says, “seeks to reinvent the role of retail in the telco industry, putting innovation, personal experience, and community front and centre”.
Barclaycard sponsored Isle of Wight Festival 2023 under fire for being cashless event
The Isle of Wight Festival 2023 took place on 15th – 18th June, and it was an entirely cashless affair.
Those attending could pay by card (Visa, Mastercard or Amex), or with apps such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. This year’s event is sponsored by, wait for it, Barclaycard.
Those with a Barclaycard or Barclays Premier card could get 10% off food and drinks at selected vendors.
The festival went cashless in 2021, and remained that way last year.
In a LinkedIn post, Ron Delnevo, Chair of the UK Cash Supply Alliance, said: “You cannot use cash. Who sponsors the event? Barclaycard. Need I say more?”
He added: “Next year, the festival will again accept cash, when the Payment Choice Act 2023 comes into force. You read it first here! Payment Choice Alliance. Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, Andrew Griffith MP.”
Starring J.Crew, Tesco, and Danone: RTIH presents last week’s biggest retail tech plays at a glance
RTIH rounds up the stand out retail systems deals, launches, deployments and pilots from the past seven days. Including Obsess, dunnhumby, Recite Me, Amperity, Bringg, Virtualstock, and Brightpearl by Sage.
Valtech launches composable commerce accelerator with commercetools, inspired by Mars work
Valtech has worked has collaborated with commercetools to launch a composable commerce accelerator for multi-brand companies, inspired by the model it created for Mars.
Known as LEAP, the accelerator presents a solution for multi-brand direct-to-consumer (DTC) and B2C commerce strategy as they modernise and differentiate their customer experiences across their brands and channels.
Five retail technology questions for Susan Cuffe, Retail Client Services Lead at Slalom
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 Susan Cuffe, Retail Client Services Lead at Slalom.
ZERO10 looks to rethink the future of retail with augmented reality powered store concept
ZERO10 has unveiled a prototype AR store.
The introduction of the firm’s AR Mirror offering as a standalone store follows ZERO10’s recent collaborations with fashion big hitters Tommy Hilfiger and Coach, which deployed the AR Mirror and Storefront respectively.
Unlike those cases, where AR Mirror served as an additional element to existing bricks and mortar stores, the AR Store prototype presents the solution as the standalone focus, pitched as an autonomous retail agent.
Too much retail automation too soon? Examining the recent customer backlashes against M&S and Tesco
RTIH Editor Scott Thompson asks: Is the constant drive by retailers to innovate via technology deployments really delivering what their customers want and need?
no-boxx looks to reduce single-use packaging from UK e-commerce supply chain and cut carbon emissions
Manchester-based startup no-boxx is launching a sustainable and reusable packaging and returns solution for e-commerce retailers, which, it claims, eliminates single-use packaging and reduces CO2 emissions by 87% on just the second use.
This is currently being used in a pilot scheme by a sustainable activewear brand, with plans for a wider roll-out later in the year.
2023 RTIH retail technology awards: Payments Innovation category now open for submissions
The fifth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards is now open for entries.
The awards celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world and include a payments category.
Deadline for 2023 submissions is Friday, 27th October, with winners being revealed at an exclusive event in central London on Wednesday, 29th November.
Entries are free and you can submit in multiple categories.
The payments award recognises initiatives that are both innovative and customer and retailer friendly.
We’re looking to reward a project that has the potential to increase a retailer’s competitiveness and effectiveness, and to improve the shopper experience. Bonus points if the project could be considered a first in the market.
Download an entry form here.
For all entry related queries, email: scott.thompson@retailtechinnovationhub.com
Astra Tech taps AiFi AI tech as it opens first autonomous B Store at Abu Dhabi’s Sky Tower
Astra Tech, a UAE-based technology investment and development group, has launched its first fully autonomous store in Abu Dhabi’s Sky Tower.
Powered by AiFI computer vision technology, B Store also enables shoppers to pay for their purchases by using their faces.
Astra Tech acquired UAE FinTech PayBy last year, and this location uses the firm’s FacePay PoS technology for biometric payment authentication.
Upon approaching the entry gates, the customer is greeted with an ELO screen displaying a message, "Tap or Scan to Enter." They have the option to pay using the PoS machine by tapping their card or utilising FacePay.
The ELO screen will then initiate a question about their receipt. When selecting their preferred option, the gates open, granting access to the store..
Inside the store, customers can comfortably choose their items. Upon leaving, they receive a text message on the provided phone number, expressing gratitude for their trip and informing them that their receipt is being processed.
A subsequent message contains a hyperlink, allowing customers to click and view their receipt.
MKM Building Supplies picks up MACH Alliance award for headless technology powered website
MKM Building Supplies has won a 2023 MACH Impact Award from the MACH Alliance for its work with Brave Bison Commerce, Vue Storefront, BigCommerce and Bloomreach, on its new website, built with headless technology.
The MACH Impact Awards recognise the most innovative and impactful technology projects globally that utilise a MACH (microservices-based, API-first, Cloud native SaaS, Headless) strategy.
The aforementioned project involved re-platforming the former MKM website to BigCommerce. Brave Bison, a media, marketing, and technology company, led the integration of the overall solution.
It enlisted the front-end solution Vue Storefront to implement the headless architecture and collaborated with commerce experience provider Bloomreach to drive personalisation across the site.
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