RTIH gets physical as we publish the latest issue of our retail technology magazine

The fifth issue of Retail Technology Innovation Hub (RTIH) magazine is now available.

This edition focuses on physical stores in a post-Covid world.

Download the magazine here.

Within its pages, you will find a rundown of the top ‘future of bricks and mortar retail’ tech launches and deployments from the first six months of the year, including Walmart, Asda, A.S. Watson Group, Amazon, Aldi, EE, Puma, and Coach.

In addition, we ask: is checkout-free retail's next to next normal?

Or is the constant drive by retailers to innovate via autonomous technology deployments failing to deliver what their customers want and need?

Be sure to check out an article by Ron Delnevo, Chair of the UK Payment Choice Alliance, who argues that cashless autonomous checkout shopping should not be the way of the future.

“Cash is the only method that always works; every retailer has experienced card and digital downtime – cash never goes down,” he states.

Finally, don’t miss regular contributor Mike Cadden’s latest piece for RTIH, in which he discusses how the store should be at the centre of post-Covid hybrid retail strategies.

“Human beings are intrinsically social animals, as the cliché goes, “people buy from other people” and there has certainly been a desire for customers to return to retail as a personal experience, to get back that experiential element of the consumer journey. We’ve already seen that many shoppers are not happy with the drive to convenience at all costs in-store,” he writes.

“They have the option of uber-convenience online if they want it. What the return to physical retail is showing is that consumers want something more from their (mainly) hedonic shopping experience, they want a connection, an experience.”

2023 RTIH Innovation Awards

Physical retail will be a key part of the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards.

Our Bricks and Mortar Innovation award, sponsored by CADS, will go to a retailer enabling physical spaces to thrive via innovative technology, even as online shopping continues to grow. 

We’re looking for examples of reducing friction in the customer journey, offering improved experiences, and blurring the lines between channels.

Deadline for 2023 submissions is Friday, 27th October, with the winner being revealed at an exclusive event at the Barbican in central London on Wednesday, 29th November.

Download an entry form here.

For all entry related queries, email: scott.thompson@retailtechinnovationhub.com