Starring TikTok, Contentstack, and Volumental: Check out last week’s most read RTIH retail technology articles
These are the RTIH articles that caught your fancy last week, including a social commerce first in London, an immersive journey into world of 3D content creation and visualisation, and the rapid emergence of e-commerce rivals Temu and Shein causing mobile problems for Amazon.
TikTok claims social commerce first as it teams with Sook to launch pop up shop on Oxford Street, London
Last week, TikTok hit London’s Oxford Street, working with Sook to open a pop up shop.
In a LinkedIn post, Lin Chen, Electronics Category Lead, Social E-Commerce, TikTok Shop, said: “What an incredible week it has been! We did it!”
For a span of seven days, we unveiled the world's first physical TikTok shop on London's bustling Oxford Street. We showcased a revolutionary shopping experience that seamlessly merged offline and online social commerce in a delightful and interactive manner.”
She added: “Throughout these seven days, we focused on three primary product categories: technology, home and living, and books. We invited existing merchants who have gained popularity in trending TikTok communities such as #Coffeetok, #TechTok, #FoodTok, #HairTok, and #HomeTok”
In addition, TikTok showcased products from the likes of Swan Products, RKW, Beauty Works, Cookology, and Nothing. Creators were able to scan a QR code to directly buy or sell products on TikTok Shop.
Chen added: “We had the pleasure of welcoming some prominent brands. They visited our shop to learn about the operation of TikTok Shop, how to engage with creators, and unlock the enormous potential of social selling using their existing physical infrastructure.”
“We were also thrilled to host top TikTok creators and have the esteemed Gadget Show host, Jason Bradbury, interact with merchants and their latest products.”
She concluded: “Social commerce is indeed a thriving reality, and we are here to support businesses navigate this exciting frontier.”
3D Cloud by Marxent preps immersive journey into world of 3D content creation and visualisation
3D Cloud by Marxent is inviting people to join it for a webinar providing a crash course on how 3D art is created with a focus on furniture and interiors.
In an online post, the US-based company says: “We'll discuss the life of a pixel and the creation of meshes, textures, materials, and shaders that feed into the different rendering engines available to create the final imagery.”
“We will explore the different types of rendering technology and concepts used in modern art pipelines and review some examples of the strengths and weaknesses of each approach relating to furniture production at scale. We'll end with best practices and things to keep in mind if considering your own 3D initiatives.”
SPAR ICS selects Vue Storefront and Contentstack for online composable commerce technology deployment
The SPAR Austria group - SPAR (including INTERSPAR and Maximarkt), Hervis and SES Spar European Shopping Center - is upgrading its INTERSPAR Austria online shop with composable commerce technology.
The group’s IT unit, SPAR ICS, selected Vue Storefront and Contentstack for this.
“We recognised the need for a more innovative e-commerce solution” says Andreas Kranabitl, Managing Director, SPAR ICS.
“The partnership with Vue Storefront and Contentstack allows us to leverage the latest web technologies, achieve superior performance, and provide an exceptional shopping experience to customers while maintaining the agility and flexibility to adapt to changing market demands.”
Featuring Adyen, Yoobic, and BigCommerce: RTIH presents last week’s biggest retail technology plays at a glance
RTIH rounds up the stand out retail systems deals, launches, deployments and pilots from the past seven days. Including Printemps, SPAR International, Morrisons, Rituals, PetCo, Aldi, and John Lewis Partnership.
Algori raises €3.3 million as it aims to modernise FMCG market research across Europe
Algori, a data insights startup for the consumer goods vertical, has secured €3.3 million in funding.
The seed investment was co-led by Shilling Capital and Change Ventures, and joined by Flashpoint VC.
The round also featured several angel investors, including former Numerator board member and Infoscout CEO Jared Schrieber, who led Numerator to a $1.5 billion exit to Kantar.
It takes Algori’s total funding to €4.3 million.
Simbe Robotics raises $28 million Series B to accelerate global expansion and product innovation
Simbe, which leverages AI and robotics to provide retailers with real-time insights into inventory and operations, has announced a Series B equity financing round of $28 million, led by Eclipse.
“We're honoured to be supported by an investor like Eclipse, with a team that recognises technology's incredible potential to significantly enhance retail operations, as well as greatly improve the customer experience,” says Brad Bogolea, CEO and Co-founder, Simbe.
“Elevating the retail experience for everyone — retailers, their associates, and customers — through AI and robotics is the foundation of Simbe’s mission, and this funding will enable us to share this vision and reimagined experience with more retail partners around the world.”
Jigsaw selects Voyado retail technology for personalisation, loyalty and sustainability push
Jigsaw has announced Voyado as its new solution for customer loyalty and marketing automation.
The tie up is Sweden-based Voyado’s first UK customer win.
"We've made great progress with increasingly personalised marketing that reflects the unique relationship we have with our customers. We're excited to bring Voyado's impressive technology onboard to take us to the next level by creating truly exceptional experiences online and in-store," says Nicole Mason, Marketing Director at Jigsaw.
"This is an important win for us in a challenging business landscape. Jigsaw is a unique and well loved British brand with a strong identity and clear sense of who its customers are.”
Apple announces go live for Tap to Pay on iPhone contactless payments in the UK
Small businesses and people selling stuff at car boot sales or markets in the UK can now accept contactless payments in person directly on their iPhones, instead of needing to connect to a card reader.
Customers will be able to pay via a conventional contactless payment card, or via Apple Pay on their own iPhone or Apple Watch.
The launch of Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone scheme in the UK involves use of a payment processing iOS app, with users needing at least an iPhone XS handset that runs iOS 16.4 or newer.
New Balance taps Volumental 3D foot scanner solution for concept store launch in Singapore
New Balance recently opened a concept store in Singapore, featuring a Volumental 3D foot scanner in the fitting area.
Since partnering with Volumental in 2017, the retailer says that it has scanned the feet of more than one million shoppers worldwide.
The scan, which takes less than five seconds, provides employees with detailed information about a customer’s feet, helping them find a shoe that’s sure to fit.
Volumental claims that the solution helps brands and retailers to: reduce return rates by 18%; increase footwear sales by 20%; achieve email capture rates of 71%.
GWS research: Amazon UK loses one million daily mobile app users as Temu and Shein snap at its heels
GWS research, involving 5,200 Brits, reveals that, since the start of the year, Amazon has lost over one million daily mobile app users in the UK. In January 2023 around 9.3 million daily shoppers used its app, a figure that has since declined to 8.3 million.
Temu, which launched in April 2023, saw its daily mobile user numbers grow sharply in one month’s time to around 3.5 million. However, since May 2023, its growth has plateaued with similar numbers of users on the app today.
Shein has also seen impressive growth in 2023, doubling its daily users from one to two million over the past six months.
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