Canada goes checkout-free: RTIH’s biggest retail technology news stories of the week
It’s Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past five days, including Walmart, La-Z-Boy, 3D Cloud by Marxent, AllSaints, Getir, Uber Eats, and Amazon.
1. Walmart works with POCLab on The Cultureverse, a metaverse celebration of 50th anniversary of hip hop
A new immersive, gamified virtual experience, The Cultureverse, has launched, celebrating the last 50 years of hip hop music and the genre's impact on culture.
The result of a collaboration between Walmart and Web3 creative studio POCLab, this is now available on Spatial.
In a LinkedIn post, Justin Breton, Director of Brand Experiences & Strategic Partnerships at Walmart, said: “The Cultureverse, which authentically aligns with our mission to supercharge the potential of black creators physically, digitally, and now virtually, aims to amplify the narratives of those that are unrepresented within the metaverse and Web3 and proudly features the unique voices and stories of more than 25 black and brown creators from music, fashion, art, and more.”
He added: “More specifically, Walmart commissioned four artists to create works of art that draw inspiration from the question: “What does Black & Unlimited mean to you?” This initiative provided them with a canvas to express their creative individualism through a new medium. You can experience and read about these larger than avatar works of art in the Black & Unlimited Gallery.”
Walmart is also powering the Main Stage, with the aim of elevating the voices and perspectives of individuals who have influenced culture and are driving the continued evolution of hip hop through consistent programming of virtual panels, fireside chats etc.
A shoppable Rock The Bells exhibit, virtual fashion popup, interactive Jet Magazine archive are also available to explore.
2. Getir and Uber Eats shake hands on pan-European rapid grocery delivery partnership
Turkish rapid grocery delivery firm, Getir, and Uber have announced a new partnership that will enable customers in several European countries to use the Uber Eats app to order from Getir’s product offering.
This will go live in UK stores today, and across other European countries in the coming weeks, providing Uber Eats users with access to over 2,000 products, with deliveries expected to be made in minutes.
As part of the partnership, Uber Eats customers will also have the option to shop from Gorillas stores in the near future.
The roll-out of Getir stores onto the Uber Eats app will be completed in a few weeks from now, when it is claimed millions of users across Europe will be able to have groceries delivered on-demand via the tie up.
Orders will be fulfilled by Getir couriers.
3. Retail technology big hitters: introducing the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards judging panel
We’re pleased to announce our judging panel for the 2023 RTIH Innovation Awards, with a stellar line up coming from the likes of Starbucks, Boots, Just Hotter, IGD, EY, Marie Curie, Selfridges, and Situ Live.
2023 judges as follows:
Mike Cadden, Interim Chief Technology Officer, Marie Curie
Peter Waugh, Director, International Digital (EMEA, LAC & AP), Starbucks
Carole Kingsbury, Former Director of IT, Ted Baker
Christine Russo, Industry Analyst and Retail Influencer
Paula Bobbett, Chief Digital Officer, Boots
Sarah Curran, Founder & Chief Menopause Officer, Just Hotter
Warren Richmond, Founder and CEO, Situ LIve
Matt Bradley, Director and Founder, Retail Technology Show
Scott Thompson, Editor and Founder, Retail Technology Innovation Hub
Toby Pickard, Global Insight Leader, IGD
Matt Taylor, Technology Transformation Leader at EY, Retail and Consumer Products
Simon Taylor, Chief Commercial Officer, PMC Retail
Amodini Chhabra, Investor, Compass Digital Ventures
Gary Newbury, Supply Chain Advisor and Delivery Executive
Nadine Neatrour, Marketing Director, Selfridges
David Polinchock, Co-Founder/President, Unified Brand Experience Lab
DON’T DELAY, ENTER TODAY!
The fifth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards is now open for entries.
Sponsored by PMC, CADS, 3D Cloud by Marxent, and Goodays, it celebrates 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 Centre in central London on Wednesday, 29th November.
Entries are free and you can submit in multiple categories.
For FAQs and entry forms, click here.
4. Amazon Just Walk Out technology expands to Canada, building on US, UK and Australian roll-outs
Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology has landed in Canada. It will first become available at two Canadian arenas - Scotiabank Saddledome, home of the NHL’s Calgary Flames on 29th September, and Scotiabank Arena, home of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and the NBA’s Toronto Raptors on 10th October.
More locations will roll out the technology in the coming months. Canada joins the US, UK, and Australia as nations offering checkout-free shopping experiences for consumers.
It will be available at Market 213 in Scotiabank Saddledome and at Grains and Greens (100 Level) and Molson Market (300 Level) locations in Scotiabank Arena.
To enter the store, fans use their credit or debit card at the entry gate. Just Walk Out technology associates the shopper with their payment instrument, and detects the items taken from or returned to store shelves.
When guests have completed their visit, they leave and the payment instrument will be charged for the items they took with them. Shortly after exiting, customers will be able to access their receipt online.
5. La-Z-Boy works with 3D Cloud by Marxent as it taps web-based augmented technology
Furniture retailer La-Z-Boy reports that 3D product configuration and WebAR OnDemand technology is now available on its website. Powered by 3D Cloud by Marxent, the initiative is part of La-Z-Boy's Century Vision strategic plan.
The company is investing in a range of new shopping and brand experiences for both digital platforms and bricks and mortar environments.
It says that the upgraded product configurators and the addition of appless AR provide an immersive brand experience that bridges online product research with the in-store experience.
With over 29 million possible configurations available to consumers, WebAR OnDemand aims to bring a new level of convenience to shoppers who want to research, configure, and plan furniture purchases online before visiting a physical retail location.
The approach uses 3D Cloud WebAR OnDemand to automate 3D content creation and deploy WebAR at scale.
6. ALDI Nord taps shopreme technology as it tests out self-checkout solutions in Dutch stores
shopreme is working with ALDI Nord on a project across several stores in the Netherlands that involves scan and go, self-checkout kiosks and exit terminals.
The initiative marks the first instance of ALDI Nord testing self-checkout solutions in its stores.
It includes integrating the shopreme SDK into the ALDI customer app. Customers can now use the app to scan products and make payments using such methods as iDEAL, debit cards, credit cards, Google Pay and Apple Pay.
This process culminates with issuing a digital receipt within the app, enabling customers to leave the store by scanning an exit code at the shopreme vector terminal which opens the checkout gate.
An alternative options sees customers scan their products at the shopreme matrix self-checkout kiosk. This dispenses an exit code receipt that opens the vector exit terminal to leave the store after payment.
7. British fashion retailer AllSaints embraces NewStore mobile first vision with mPOS and app roll-outs
AllSaints is set to roll-out NewStore’s mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) in more than 200 stores globally.
The British fashion retailer previously selected NewStore to replace its homegrown direct-to-consumer mobile app.
"Our goal has always been to create customer journeys that are effortless and contemporary. To do this, we needed a modular yet comprehensive omnichannel platform that could empower us to innovate and adapt," says James Reid, Chief Innovation Officer, AllSaints.
"We originally selected NewStore to build our consumer app, but that was just the beginning. By expanding our partnership, we are elevating the overall customer experience and future-proofing our technology strategy at the same time."
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