Fun in the virtual sun: 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 Lacoste, Emperia, Sweaty Betty, Dynamic Yield, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Goodays, MAPCO, Grabango, Getir, and RELEX Solutions.
Lacoste
Emperia has announced the launch of Lacoste’s new summer virtual store.
Containing elements exclusively available to Le Club Lacoste and its UNDW3 (Web3) members, the brand says it is aiming to “create a deep sense of community and shopper loyalty appreciation by offering a unique retail experience that extends beyond its physical stores”.
Strolling from the beach and straight into the crocodile mouth, shoppers will be able to explore Lacoste’s latest summer collection of clothes, shoes and accessories.
A short elevator journey leads the users to an outdoor space, featuring additional product offering, all in a pool deck setting that overlooks the beach.
Throughout the experience, visitors will be able to explore a crocodile scavenger hunt that leads them to an underwater VIP space, accessible exclusively to Le Club Lacoste and UNDW3 members, unlocked by an e-mail login or a Lacoste NFT.
Sweaty Betty
UK activewear retailer, Sweaty Betty, says it has seen a 62% revenue uplift in six months after using Dynamic Yield’s data driven, artificial intelligence (AI) approach and marketing technology to make better recommendations and online quizzes to get to know the customer better.
TOMS
Footwear and lifestyle brand TOMS has selected Cart.com as its US fulfilment partner.
“Cart.com’s technology leadership and innovation culture make them an ideal partner for us, delivering on our standard of best-in-class service to every consumer we serve, in a complex inventory, supply chain and fulfilment environment,” says Magnus Wedhammar, CEO at TOMS.
“Cart.com’s software enabled inventory, 3PL and fulfilment capabilities will enable us to deliver best-in-class fulfilment, from checkout through the last mile, across our global product line.”
Lavazza
Lavazza has launched a new store on the BigCommerce platform to support sales in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Through distributor Bluespresso, the brand offers coffee products to both consumers and business customers in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Its new site for the Netherlands and Belgium, developed by BigCommerce partner rb2, uses a composable commerce architecture and technology integrations.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has shared the first results of its implementation of the Goodays customer experience management platform across 50 shopping centres in 11 different countries – including its Westfield London locations.
The Connect offering was deployed by the group in summer 2022 as part of a drive to re-establish a strong, emotional bond with customers after the disconnect caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It provides customers at each shopping centre with a system to instantly leave feedback through a wide range of touchpoints – from in-centre QR codes at reception areas to digital and social channels.
Feedback is then routed to each centre team in real-time to take action and make better, data-based decisions on behalf of customers. The solution also enables the group to boost its reputation on public platforms such as Google My Business and Trip Advisor.
Criteo, Brandcrush and Phuzion Media
Criteo and its Brandcrush subsidiary have announced an image recognition tech powered partnership with Phuzion Media, allowing shoppers to find and buy products in-store and via print media using their mobile camera.
This eliminates the need for QR codes, watermarking, or any changes to the creative.
“The Phuzion platform is the natural downstream extension to our media inventory management solution,” says Matt Hurle, Co-founder and Sales Director, Brandcrush.
“Together with Criteo, we handle the buying and selling of omnichannel retail media and Phuzion makes it shoppable and plugs the data gap. It’s a win for the retailer, brand, and consumer alike.”
Liberty London
John Lewis
Anthropics Technology, makers of the AI powered Zyler solution, has announced a partnership with John Lewis and rental specialist HURR, to introduce virtual try-on technology to the UK retailer’s fashion rental website.
The site, which lets customers rent dresses for a selected amount of time, now enables people to see how the dress looks on them online via a “Try it On” feature.
They upload a headshot and sizing information to try the outfit on virtually, from the comfort of their own home.
New Look
GXO’s Clicklink service has been selected by fashion retailer New Look to manage its Click & Collect network serving all mainland UK stores.
“We’re delighted that New Look has chosen to partner with us to enhance its Click & Collect offering through our industry leading Clicklink service,” says Richard Ball, Managing Director, Clicklink, GXO.
“One of Clicklink’s chief benefits is speed. We offer next-day in-store delivery and enable the majority of New Look’s returns to re-enter inventory the following day, enabling faster consumer refunds and maximising customer revenues and margins through improved inventory turn and higher full priced sales.”
“Clicklink will improve the experience for New Look’s online customers. Last year, for example, it was still processing customer orders on 23rd December for next day delivery on 24th December. We're committed to providing this high level of service to New Look all year round.”
Hongkong Post
Hongkong Post has teamed up with Geek+ to implement its first robotic packet sorting system.
Geek+'s proprietary sorting and mobile robots have enabled Hongkong Post to simplify the overall workflow and achieve a more efficient and accurate sorting process in comparison to the traditional manual way of doing things which is more labour intensive.
The sorting capacity of the robotic system can reach up to 1,000 packets per hour.
MAPCO
MAPCO has launched its second checkout-free store.
The Grabango powered location can be found in Nashville, Tennessee.
"We’re thrilled to bring Grabango’s seamless checkout experience to additional Nashville customers, who want quick and efficient visits,” says Frederic Chaveyriat, CEO at MAPCO.
“We are seeing an increasing number of our shoppers opt for this faster, convenient checkout option, furthering our commitment to offering MAPCO customers a better break when they shop in-store."
Grabango uses computer vision to eliminate two of the biggest pain points experienced by shoppers - waiting in line and scanning items.
Its system doesn’t require shelf sensors, changes to store layout, or product mix, and operates in large format stores.
Dsquared2
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.
Getir
Rapid grocery delivery firm, Getir, is partnering with RELEX Solutions.
This will see it gain an integrated suite of capabilities, including forecasting, replenishment and allocation, new inventory optimisation, clearance optimisation, and promotion forecasting.
RELEX tech will be used in all of Getir’s stores and distribution centres worldwide to enhance product availability and freshness while reducing food waste.
RELEX is also teaming up with delivery partner DemandTex, a consulting group that provides analytics and implementation services to retailers around the globe. This will play a significant role in implementing the solution and providing local support for Getir.
Amazon
Mars
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.”
Shiseido Japan
Bambuser has announced a new contract with Japanese global beauty conglomerate Shiseido.
The agreement to use Bambuser’s shoppable, two way video calling solution, One-to-One, will enable Shiseido Japan to provide a private and personalised online consultation service in addition to creating conversion opportunities.
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