Rapid grocery delivery blues: Check out last week’s most read RTIH retail technology articles
These are the RTIH articles that caught your fancy last week, including Jigsaw, Getir, Amplience, Ikea, Ocado, NewStore, AO, and Decathlon.
‘Woefully overvalued’ grocery delivery firm Getir chases hefty funding as UK departure rumours abound
Rapid grocery delivery venture, Getir, is looking to wrap up a major funding round that it hopes will kill rumours about its solvency.
According to a report by Sky News, the capital injection will be led by Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, although it is expected to involve a smaller sum than the $500 million reported several months ago.
The move comes amid rumours that the Turkey-based company may be about to put its British operation into administration and that it is about to pull out of the country.
Amplience brings in retail technology veteran Anthony Lye as new Chief Executive Officer
AI content specialist Amplience has appointed Anthony Lye as its new Chief Executive Officer.
He says: “Customers tell us they need agile solutions that embrace AI and allow each brand to dynamically generate persuasive content and media across various channels to create seamless customer experiences.”
“Ensuring all touchpoints provide the rich and engaging shopping experiences that delights customers and delivers performance is what we will provide.”
Lye comes to Amplience from Palantir Technologies where, as Global Head, he has been responsible for expanding its Apollo service and the company’s Growth Business Unit and its artificial intelligence strategy.
Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President and General Manager at NetApp, a data storage and management company where he built the Public Cloud Business Unit.
Other roles have included Board Member at Spoken Communications, EVP and Chief Cloud Officer at Guidewire Software, and he is also an Operating Advisor at Bessemer Venture Partners and is on the board of trustees for the University of Bath in England.
Ikea rolls out SES-imagotag VUSION IoT cloud platform and electronic shelf labels across European stores
SES-imagotag has entered into an agreement with Ikea to deploy its VUSION IoT Cloud platform and smart electronic shelf labels.
The first part of the contract spans over 110 stores in six European countries.
The roll-out builds on a partnership forged between the two companies over the past years.
Retail technology innovation of the week: Ocado Retail makes major UK recycling and circular economy move
Retail Technology Innovation of the Week is a new series from RTIH highlighting stand out deployments, launches, and initiatives.
Every week, we will showcase forward thinking tech plays that have impressed our Editor and the Retail Technology Innovations Report judging panel, in the run up to the publication of the 2024 report early next year.
We’re kicking things off with Ocado Retail.
For the first time, its customers will receive a 20p monetary reward for scanning and recycling packaging using their smartphones. The retailer has teamed up with Polytag and Bower to deliver the initiative,
Amazon Fresh Just Walk Out technology powered convenience store coming to Moorgate, London
Amazon Fresh is gearing up to open a checkout-free store at Moorgate in the City of London.
This will be situated next to a big Marks & Spencer store and not far from a Tesco GetGo autonomous location in Chiswell Street.
Amazon Fresh stores initially involved a customer scanning a code in the Amazon app at an entry barrier.
The barrier then opened, enabling people to enter, pick items and walk out, receiving a receipt shortly after leaving.
The ‘frictionless’ process has been rejigged, however, with the two most recent stores binning the entry gates, and instead requiring customers to scan the app or a payment card as they exit. The entry barrier has also been ditched at the Angel and Islington, London stores.
Amazon did not respond to our request for comment as to the Moorgate location’s set up.
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.”
Who is on the judging panel for the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards? Read on and all will be revealed
The fifth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards is now open for entries, with a judging panel made up of retail tech big hitters who have worked at the likes of Starbucks, Situ Live, Ted Baker, Boots, EY, IGD, Office Depot, and Selfridges.
The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud by Marxent, and Goodays, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Deadline for 2023 submissions is Friday, 27th October, with winners being revealed at an exclusive event at the Barbican in central London on Wednesday, 29th November.
Entries are free and you can submit in multiple categories.
For FAQs and entry forms, click here.
Sweaty Betty deploys NewStore mobile first omnichannel platform in UK and Ireland stores
Sweaty Betty has rolled out NewStore’s mPOS solution in 73 stores across the UK and Ireland.
By replacing its legacy PoS with this tech, the London-based brand now runs its retail operations entirely on iPhone, laying the groundwork for its omnichannel transformation.
"Sweaty Betty has quickly grown from a small London boutique to an international business. During this process, we recognised the importance of providing a seamless and scalable omnichannel experience for our customers and store colleagues," says Simon Pakenham-Walsh, Chief Technology Officer, Sweaty Betty.
"We selected NewStore because its platform does not carry the complex technical debt of the industry’s legacy solutions, and the company's vision aligns perfectly with our strategy, which includes having an extensible, modern, and API first technology stack."
Emily Maitlis slams electricals retailer AO after ‘depressing beyond belief’ online delivery experience
Online delivery can be a cruel mistress. Get it right and you’re the hero of the day, but mess up and you will pay the price in this social media obsessed age.
By way of example, yesterday Emily Maitlis, a British journalist, documentary filmmaker, and former newsreader for the BBC, took to Twitter to lambast online retailer AO for a poor customer experience.
“Please save yourself the heartache of ever dealing with @ao for electrical deliveries. No show. No delivery,” she said.
“For a fridge that they promised to install two weeks ago. - and confirmed with us four times over the phone on separate calls. Depressing beyond belief.”
Ouch.
Decathlon launches Smartsize offering for online shoppers with solution now live in 25 countries
Decathlon has developed a Smartsize tool for use on its e-commerce website.
In a LinkedIn post, Jerome Dubreuil, Global Chief Digital Officer, Executive Team member, said: “Has this ever happened to you? You order a shirt online, and when it arrives, it fits and looks completely different on you than it did on the model pictured on the website.”
“Don't worry, you're not alone. An Ipsos survey reveals that 59% of shoppers have experienced dissatisfaction with their online purchases for this exact reason.”
He added: “Recognising the challenges faced by online shoppers, we've developed the Smartsize tool. This intuitive tool, accessible on our e-commerce website, is designed to find the perfect fit for your body type.”
“Our data shows that without the Smartsize recommendation tool, the conversion rate drops by 3.5%. Already live in 25 countries, it reduces returns and helps us cut down on our carbon footprint.”
“Moreover, with 68,600,000 measurements gathered from 11 touch points and 7,150,000 members across 71 countries, we are improving the way we create our sports gear to be closer to our customers and provide them with the right sizes.”
“Shopping online has never been easier or more environmentally friendly.”
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