Starring Mars, Valtech, and commercetools: RTIH’s biggest retail technology articles on LinkedIn right now
We’re big fans of LinkedIn and are busy building an amazing community of retail tech enthusiasts on the social media platform. These are the articles that are currently on their radars, including Volumental, FootJoy, Aptos, Co-op, Uber Eats, Dsquared2, Astound Commerce, and Under Armour.
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.”
Mars teams with Valtech and commercetools for composable commerce powered D2C initiative
Mars is laying claim to “the world’s most comprehensive example of composable commerce in play for multi-brand enterprises going direct-to-consumer (D2C)”.
As a result of the deployed solution, delivered by Valtech in collaboration with commercetools, Mars claims to have boosted incremental in-year revenue for a leading snacking D2C proposition by 20% YoY.
“With our composable commerce platform, we now have the technology foundation to support mms.com, the largest D2C business in Mars Snacking,” says Jarid Lukin, Global Senior Director at M&M’S.
“This technology not only improves our ability to offer personalised M&M’S to consumers and businesses, but it also gives us the speed and agility to launch new value propositions to celebrate those you care about in a fun and meaningful way.”
Volumental technology powers FootJoy FitLab experience at 2023 British Open Championship
The British Open Championship took place last weekend, with FootJoy returning as sponsor of the Open Camping Village.
As part of its sponsorship, the retailer offered visitors access to its FitLab experience, powered by Volumental’s foot scanner.
This gives golfers of all levels the chance to find perfect fitting footwear, and to better understand their own plates of meat.
Retail technology big hitter Aptos appoints Chief Information Officer and Global General Manager
Aptos reports that Jeremy Grunzweig has been promoted to General Manager of its global business unit.
The company recently welcomed a new executive — Jason James — to its ranks. Serving as CIO, James brings with him over two decades of experience in cloud operations, cybersecurity, IT infrastructure and digital transformation.
Our robot friends in the north: RTIH runs you through the week's coolest retail technology plays
RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his top ‘future of retail’ tech launches and deployments from the past week, including teakisle.com, autonomous grocery deliveries in Leeds, a virtual try-on shopping experience in airports, and a new Amazon Just Walk Out tech powered store in London.
Luxury apparel brand Dsquared2 enlists Astound Commerce for launch of online flagship store
Dsquared2 has partnered with Astound Commerce to launch a new online flagship store.
Eager to exercise complete ownership over its online storefront and e-commerce operations, Dsquared2 says it wanted to provide “a high touch, fully localised, and seamless online experience where customers in every market enjoyed the same level of service and convenience if shopping locally”.
It required a swift turnaround time to implement its D2C solution, just 16 weeks.
Astound leveraged its proprietary accelerator, Launch360: Storefront, to reduce cost and speed time to market, upgrading the company’s legacy Salesforce Commerce Cloud implementation to a fast, modern reference architecture.
Co-op and Uber Eats tie up delivers rewards for retailer’s members and their communities
Co-op and Uber Eats’ online grocery partnership is set to give rewards to the convenience retailer’s customers.
The move is a first for Uber Eats in the UK, and will be available from over 1,000 Co-op stores this month.
Shoppers, who are members of Co-op, will be able to both earn rewards and also make a difference in their community, by adding their membership number into the Uber Eats app at checkout.
As a co-operative, Co-op is owned by its members who, when purchasing selected Co-op groceries, earn rewards for themselves (2p in every pound spent on own brand products) and for communities, with the retailer giving the same amount to help support local causes and community projects across the UK.
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.
London’s brilliant: Under Armour deploys connected fitting rooms at new Oxford Street store
Under Armour has unveiled a new Brand House on London’s Oxford Street.
The location, which opened on 20th July, is the latest in a series of Brand House openings following Westfield Stratford, Battersea Power Station, and Liverpool ONE.
The design of the Oxford Street store is inspired by the City of London and the London Underground. Existing structural elements in the space are cladded with hand crafted local tiles in black and white, with the brand logo applied to represent how Under Armour is strongly connected with London and its athletes.
"This renowned retail location represents our dedication to delivering an exceptional retail experience to our valued customers, and we are thrilled to join the esteemed brands already on Oxford Street,” says Kara Trent, Managing Director EMEA at Under Armour.
“We are a growth brand, and the Oxford Street Brand House marks an exciting milestone for Under Armour as we expand our presence in the UK and the wider EMEA region."
Check out our LinkedIn page here.
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