Connected shoppers and common AI use cases: RTIH presents the retail technology week in numbers
Do you like numbers? Do you like retail systems news? Then this is the article for you. Including Blanka, EE, Amazon, PredictSpring, Tesco, Salesforce, and The Diamond Lab.
13 and 10,000…Walmart is teaming up with Alphabet owned Wing to offer drone delivery from two stores in the Dallas area in the coming months, adding to its existing footprint of 11 hubs in Texas.
“Two years ago, we embarked on a journey to make the convenience of drone delivery a reality for our customers. Over that time we’ve grown to offer it across seven states and 36 stores, completing more than 10,000 safe deliveries,” says Prathibha Rajashekhar, SVP Innovation & Automation, Walmart U.S.
“Today, we’re continuing that momentum by teaming up with Wing, an on-demand drone delivery provider powered by Google’s parent company, Alphabet. The service will be offered from two stores in the Dallas metro area in the coming months, enabling us to reach an additional 60,000 homes.”
$2 million…Blanka, a North America-based private label beauty and wellness platform, has closed a $2 million seed funding round.
This was led by Dundee Venture Capital, with participation from Storytime Capital, Disruption Ventures and other investors including Fatima Yusuf, former executive at Shopify, and Manica Blain, founder of Top Knot Ventures.
Founded in 2021 by Kaylee Astle, Doug Long, and Adam Chuntz, Blanka claims to do away with high manufacturing minimums, long production lead times, and analogue order forms. It enables a new beauty brand to be launched in under an hour, for less than $200.
2…EE has opened a new Experience store in Kent’s Bluewater Shopping Centre.
The second of the company’s new concept stores showcases various experience zones and room sets, with each area curated to give shoppers a taste of future living and demonstrate how cutting-edge technology and connectivity can enhance their everyday lives.
The store, which is moving from EE’s existing space on the ground floor of Bluewater, is located on the first floor and combines two existing units to create what is pitched as “an open and dynamic tech filled space”.
18…Amazon has opened a new Just Walk Out technology powered Amazon Fresh convenience grocery store in Moorgate, London.
There are now 18 of these locations in the UK - 17 of which are in London, and the other at Sevenoaks in Kent. Way off the original target of 200+ by the end of 2025.
To enter the Moorgate store, customers walk through a non-gated entrance and shop for what they need.
At the end of their trip, they can either scan their in-store code (via the Amazon app) at the exit gate or pay by tapping their credit or debit card.
106…Children’s fashion brand Janie and Jack has integrated PredictSpring’s Modern PoS solution into 106 of its stores across the US.
“We are a design house with every kid at its heart, and we are thrilled to continue meeting the needs of our customers through the integration of PredictSpring's Modern PoS system,” says Mo Beig, Executive Vice President and CFO at Janie and Jack.
“The transition from our legacy PoS system to PredictSpring’s Modern PoS has revolutionised our ability to provide highly personalised, fast, and seamless omnichannel journeys to our valued customers.”
82% of consumers across the UK and US find AI useful in shopping situations, according to Criteo research.
The company surveyed 2,387 consumers in July. By market, these included 1,178 in the UK and 1,209 in the US.
Among the most common AI use cases were identifying the best price for a product (40%), querying features of a product (38%) and identifying products within a set budget (33%).
£450,000…UK jewellery brand, The Diamond Lab, has secured £450,000 of funding.
Steered by founder Jamie Amelia Patel, the London-based business, self-funded up until this point, has secured its first round of private financing; a £450,000 Series A, led by investor James Shulman.
Patel has forecasted £3.8 million in sales during its first year through international e-commerce, a London flagship store, and several brand partnerships due to be announced in the coming months.
The company will open its immersive bricks and mortar store located on New Bond Street by November.
Further lab grown diamond jewellery designs will also add to its three existing collections, including the exclusive Selfridges Yellow Diamond line.
1…Lafayette College, in partnership with Parkhurst Dining, is introducing Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology just in time for the new academic year, becoming the first Lehigh Valley college or university to offer the option on its campus.
2,500…Cash strapped Turkish rapid grocery delivery firm Getir has announced a global restructuring initiative, with plans to cut 2,500 jobs across five countries, or 10.9% of its total workforce.
It will continue to operate in Turkey, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States.
The company last month announced its exit from Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
500…Tesco has unveiled its 500th home delivery electric van.
This will go into service at the grocery giant’s Sheffield Extra store, making this location the first in Yorkshire to have a fully electric fleet. It runs 14 home delivery vans, making 2,500 deliveries each week.
Since Tesco introduced its first EV home delivery van in 2020 in Greater London, the EVs have replaced 15 million diesel delivery miles.
More than 30 Tesco stores and centres are now operating fully electric home delivery vans across the UK.
Tesco’s fleet of 5,500 home delivery vans deliver to 150,000 customers across the UK every day.
As part of its ambition to become carbon neutral in the UK by 2035, it has committed to operating a fully electric home delivery fleet in the UK by the end of 2030.
2,400 and 1,125…Salesforce has released its annual Connected Shoppers report featuring feedback from 2,400 shoppers and 1,125 retail decision makers in 18 countries, including the United Kingdom.
This finds that generative artificial intelligence is already making an impact on retail, with more shoppers turning to it for purchase inspiration.
UK data highlights from the research include: 93% of UK retailers say they’re investing more than ever in AI, as continued uptake of the technology sees 35% of UK shoppers expressing an interest in using generative AI to research and recommend new appliances and electronics.
53% of UK shoppers report having made a purchase on social media - up from 6% in 2021.
Two thirds of UK transactions will take place over digital channels in 2023, a figure expected to rise to 64% in 2025.
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