Starring Gopuff, McDonald’s, and Grubhub: RTIH runs you through the week's coolest retail technology plays
RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his top ‘future of retail’ systems launches and deployments from the past week, including checkout out free stores, autonomous deliveries, and a fast food giant crossing paths with the God of Mischief.
McDonald's and Disney+
Ahead of the release of Marvel Studios’ Loki Season 2, the Disney+ series has teamed up with McDonald’s, which makes an appearance on the show’s timeline.
McDonald’s latest campaign, the As Featured in Meal, showcases a collection of fan favourite menu items that have appeared over the past few decades across film, television, and music, which also now includes crossing paths with the God of Mischief.
As part of this, the fast food giant has transported a Brooklyn, New York store back to 1982 as seen in the upcoming Loki season. This is running from Wednesday, 30th August through to Friday, 1st September.
Grubhub and Amazon
Grubhub Campus reports that Amazon's Just Walk Out technology is now available at Loyola University Maryland, the first Grubhub partnered campus to deploy the offering.
Students scan a QR code in the Grubhub app to enter a convenience store, and the technology detects what shoppers take from or return to the shelves.
They can then leave without having to wait in line and the payment will automatically be deducted from their meal plan, declining account balance or other stored payment methods linked to their Grubhub account.
"Our installation with Amazon's Just Walk Out technology is another example of how we are strengthening our relationship with our campus partners with cost saving technology and driving student adoption," says Eric Ferguson, Chief Operations Officer at Grubhub.
"The services and products we provide for our campus partners are designed to enhance and improve the dining experience, and we're excited to offer this innovative and frictionless technology to our campus partners.”
Gopuff
Rapid grocery delivery big hitter Gopuff has announced the launch of its Ads platform in the UK.
“For two years, the world’s largest CPGs and most exciting emerging brands – from PepsiCo to Liquid Death – have leveraged Gopuff Ads to reach our young, engaged customers and drive incremental sales in the US,” says Daniel Folkman, Senior Vice President of Business at Gopuff.
“Now, we’re thrilled to introduce Gopuff Ads, a platform that has powered 4x return on ad spend for our US advertisers, to brands reaching UK customers.”
With Gopuff’s direct API integration into CitrusAd’s retail media technology, brands can target its UK customers via Sponsored Search, Sponsored Carousel and Promoted Product Placement ads.
The platform allows partners to plan, buy, measure, and manage their ads.
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Boots UK
Boots UK will open a new beauty only store later this year at London’s Battersea Power Station.
In a LinkedIn post, Paula Bobbett, Chief Digital Officer at Boots UK, said: “This has been months in the making. As an 11,200 sq ft supersize beauty studio, it will be a new destination for beauty lovers to try out new products, looks and trends.”
“More than 250 cosmetics, skincare and haircare brands will be available, including several new UK exclusive brands and ranges from diverse and female owned brands.”
“We will also be making good use of our leadership in healthcare and expertise in skin, with skin specialist pharmacists and qualified dermatologists on hand to offer advice.”
All products will be available online and for next day home delivery or Click and Collect at over 1,600 Boots stores.
Virtual skincare and beauty consultations from the store’s experts will also be available on boots.com.
Grubhub and Cartken
Cartken reports that, through its partnership with Grubhub, more than 50,000 autonomous deliveries have been made via its robots on the University of Arizona’s campus during the ‘22 - ‘23 school year.
Said robots first debuted on the University of Arizona’s campus in August 2022, just in time for the start of the school year.
The University of Arizona had an existing partnership with Grubhub Campus Dining that allows students to use their meal plans to order food from on-campus restaurants via the Grubhub app for pickup.
Through Cartken’s partnership with Grubhub, students are able to select robot delivery as an option when ordering from on campus restaurants.
The university’s more than 40,000 students can now order from 12 on-site restaurants and campus dining facilities and receive their order autonomously at one of the 60 drop-off stations throughout the nearly 400 acre campus.
University of San Diego
The University of San Diego has retrofitted a Smart Market mini-convenience store located within its Knauss Center for Business Education with AiFi technology.
This allows shoppers to select food and drink items and walk out without waiting in line or scanning to pay.
Customers scan a dedicated store app upon entry to identify themselves.
JUXTA
JUXTA reports that its inaugural product, Nomad, an autonomous, portable micro store, is now available throughout the USA.
The startup says that Nomad will “help retailers take their brand beyond the traditional bricks and mortar convenience store, allowing them to get closer to consumers than ever before”.
Amazon and Shopify
Newegg
Newegg, an online retailer specialising in technology products, has deployed Geek+’s shelf to person picking system that uses autonomous mobile robots (AMR) in its Ontario, California, warehouse.
The robots operate within a designated area before lifting and carrying mobile shelves to workstations where employees pick and scan products to prepare them for shipping to customers.
The Geek+ system includes 24,360 storage locations for products within hundreds of shelves.
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