Exploring the potential of virtual commerce: 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 adidas, Walmart, EE, eBay UK, Amazon, Whole Foods Market, Stop & Shop, IKI, 3D Cloud by Marxent, and DoorDash.
Geek+ and adidas
Geek+ and adidas have announced the opening of an automated warehousing and distribution centre in Suzhou, China.
Covering an area of 139,000 square metres, this can process more than one million pieces per day, with the capacity to hold ten million pieces of apparel and footwear in its facilities.
Geek+'s robot solution addressed various challenges faced in adidas' logistics and warehousing operations.
This included customisations for item location detection, enhancing operational safety and aligning with human-machine collaboration needs.
It also optimised robot handling efficiency through intelligent scheduling logic, elevating overall efficiency and improving the work experience for logistics centre employees, thereby increasing worker retention.
Otrium and Bleckmann
Digital fashion outlet Otrium has launched a garment refurbishment and repair programme for damaged returns following a pilot scheme.
The initiative is being run in partnership with Bleckmann, a specialist in supply chain management for fashion and lifestyle brands.
Most of the returns that Otrium currently receives can be easily restored and put back on sale. However, in rare cases, returned items are damaged.
“Preventing waste is an important part of Otrium’s DNA, and thanks to our partnership with Bleckmann and their Renewal Workshop team, we can now repair the majority of damaged returns and put them back into circulation,” says Kevin Carolan, Director of Logistics at Otrium.
“We are happy that we can use our position in the fashion supply chain to create lasting change and accelerate towards our mission of reducing the volume of garments that go to landfill.”
EE
EE has opened the doors of its new Experience store, alongside former Manchester City player Ellen White, in the Trafford Centre.
Visitors will be able to explore various ‘experience zones’ and ‘room sets’, with each area curated to give customers a taste of future connected living.
Ocado Group
eBay UK
eBay UK is launching The Authenticity Lab, pitched as a first of its kind multi-sensory experience in London that puts sneakerheads' knowledge to the test.
Curated by Niko B, FD From The Future and Magdi, eBay says that it is pulling back the curtains behind its Authenticity Guarantee programme.
Through sound, touch, taste, sight and smell and the exclusive sixth “Sneaker Sense'', the pop-up will challenge people on their sneaker knowledge and give them a chance to get their hands on the most coveted pairs including Union Jordan 4s and New Balance JJJounds.
Launching outside King’s Cross Station, people can visit The Lab on Friday 22nd and Saturday 26th, between the hours of 9am - 5pm and 10 am - 6pm, respectively. It also travels to Sneakerness London for 48 hours the following weekend, 30th September - 1st October.
Newfoundland and Zapp
Newfoundland, a provider of at home, self-diagnostic tests in the UK, and rapid delivery firm, Zapp, have announced a new partnership in London.
Customers can now quickly test for various illnesses and diseases, while also knowing that Zapp has them covered with various personal health and hygiene products, over-the-counter medicines, and everyday essentials.
Amazon
Amazon has announced a new capability to its Just Walk Out technology that will enable relevant stores to start selling clothes.
This leverages RFID, supplied by Avery Dennison, and enables customers to grab clothes, hats, shoes etc, and walk out of the store through an exit gate (even while wearing their purchases) by tapping their credit or debit card, or hovering their palm over an Amazon One palm recognition device.
It is currently available at Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks.
“Delivering a great fan experience is central to everything we do here at Lumen Field, and our customers love the convenience of Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology,” says Zach Hensley, Seahawks Vice President of Operations and General Manager at Lumen Field.
“Eight of our concessions locations are already using Just Walk Out technology and seeing great results.”
“Now, we are excited to be the first NFL stadium with an RFID enabled Just Walk Out technology store so fans can grab their favourite hats, jerseys, and more, and simply walk out. We are seeing great traction for this new store, and our fans are enjoying the experience.”
Whole Foods Market
London-based Forest has launched a partnership with Whole Foods Market UK, allowing the retailer to highlight its store-based promotions within the shared eBike app.
Forest created the AdTech map function, a ‘Point of Interest’, to allow partner companies to showcase their products, services and discounts within its home page map.
Whole Foods Market’s Point of Interest will become a permanent feature of the map during the period of the partnership, reinforcing the brand every time a rider uses the dockless eBikes.
The launch of the partnership is the inaugural Point of Interest tie-up for the micromobility company which has developed the AdTech feature itself.
Walmart
Earlier this year, Walmart teamed up with game developer FUN-GI on House Flip, a mobile game available on iOS and Android that allows players to renovate and sell virtual homes.
It initially started with the ability for players to virtually test certain Glidden paint colours sold at Walmart, generating more than 12 million impressions for that brand over the first six months.
This month, the retailer will introduce the ability to purchase physical items contextually and natively in the game - either the same ones people use to decorate their virtual house or ones they discover while playing the game - using their Walmart account without leaving the virtual world.
It is also adding new décor items from Mainstays and Better Homes and Gardens in the Walmart in-game landmark that players can browse and purchase.
Walmart has also entered the virtual fashion segment with its clothing brand Scoop, taking over the fashion space, Runway Z, within the mobile virtual world Zepeto.
3D Cloud by Marxent
Athletic Propulsion Labs
Luxury performance trainer brand, Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL), has worked with True Fit to achieve a boost in e-commerce revenue while reducing fit related returns from those customers leveraging the latter’s recommendations.
APL first began its partnership with True Fit as it scaled its direct to consumer (DTC) business, with the goal of offering its shoppers fit guidance.
It now leverages True Fit’s Fashion Genome platform to provide fit recommendations powered by the demographics, fit preferences and buying behaviours of millions of global shoppers, and then enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI).
This data delivers high fidelity size and fit guidance to 100% of traffic, from zero click product size guidance for all traffic to personalised fit recommendations to shoppers who register and create a True Fit profile.
The partnership increased conversions resulting in a 2% uptick in site-wide revenue. APL also reports a 5% reduction in returns from shoppers leveraging True Fit.
Stop & Shop
Badger Technologies is working with Stop & Shop, an Ahold Delhaize USA company, to expand its use of Marty the Robot at more than 300 stores throughout the US Northeast.
The robot now conducts product checks to help ensure greater on-shelf availability for customers by alerting store associates when items need re-stocking. Marty also detects misplaced items while continuing the usual task of spotting potential floor hazards and spills.
Badger Technologies’ autonomous robots were rolled out at Stop & Shop stores starting in January 2019.
DoorDash and Aldi
“In addition to giving merchants a new way to reach customers, on-demand alcohol delivery helps partners grow their business. On DoorDash, adding alcohol may increase grocers’ average order value by up to 30%. Order values for US convenience orders were on average over 50% higher when alcohol was added,” says Fuad Hannon, Vice President of New Verticals at DoorDash.
“We’ve worked hard to build a trusted alcohol ordering and delivery experience. The expansion of our partnership with Aldi reinforces our commitment to provide growth opportunities for local merchants, while simultaneously providing a safe, high quality experience for customers.”
IKI
Pixevia has partnered with IKI, a member of REWE Group, to launch a fifth autonomous store in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The IKI GO store is located next to the Green Bridge public transport stop. It is the seventh location overall powered by Pixevia technology.
Contained in a small format pavilion, it operates without staff for approximately 95% of its opening hours, only requiring occasional restocking.
Shoppers can choose from over 200 items – from hot coffee beverages and chilled ready-to-eat meals to ice creams, snacks, drinks, and essential non-food items.
The store features Pixevia’s proprietary real-time checkout technology, which allows customers to enter by tapping a payment card.
People take what items they want from the shelves while cameras and shelf sensors compile a virtual shopping basket. They then tap the same payment card to exit the store, and receive a real-time receipt which can be printed upon leaving.
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