Including Diebold Nixdorf and RELEX Solutions: 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 Asda, Simply Fresh, Bob Evans, Holland and Barrett, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Sainsbury’s, Armani Group, and Everlane.
Everlane
Shopify’s ShopPay solution has made an appearance on a non-Shopify website, with some industry observers predicting the end of one-click checkout businesses.
Everlane’s website now has an express checkout that features the offering alongside Apple Pay and PayPal.
GRIDSERVE and Simply Fresh
GRIDSERVE and Simply Fresh have brought Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology to the London Gatwick Electric Forecourt, which is pitched as the first of its kind to open at any of Europe’s international airports.
The location features 30 EV charging bays and a Simply Fresh Little Fresh convenience store with Just Walk Out technology, where guests can shop while recharging their vehicles.
Just Walk Out is made possible by artificial intelligence like computer vision and deep learning techniques, including generative AI, to accurately determine who took what in any retail environment.
Amazon says that it built synthetic datasets to mimic millions of realistic shopping scenarios, including variations in store format, lighting conditions, and even crowds of shoppers, to ensure accuracy in any environment.
Diebold Nixdorf
Diebold Nixdorf has kicked off the roll-out of its new AI-based checkout solutions, as first seen at NRF 2024 last week.
This knows if shoppers are intentionally or unintentionally miss-scanning, if a product doesn’t match its label, or if a customer accidentally left milk in the cart without paying, plus more than a dozen other sources of loss at self-service checkouts.
It will complement Diebold Nixdorf's other AI-based solutions, which reduce friction during fresh produce scanning and age verification for restricted sales.
According to a press release: “Bringing these technologies together on a single platform will result in one of the most holistic anti-shrink solutions on the market – with great ability to scale.”
“Diebold Nixdorf can deploy its new AI powered solutions for retailers, without disruption, through its existing in-store integrations.”
Asda
SMG has landed a deal to manage the retail media planning and retail media operations functions of UK grocery retailer Asda.
Previously managed by GIG Retail for the past eight years, SMG’s appointment comes at a time as Asda plans to expand its retail media network via more stores, new digital channels, and propositions.
With 19.7 million households in Britain shopping at the supermarket chain last year, with 80% of customers shopping both online and in-store and with a rewards programme, SMG will use Asda’s customer data to create omnichannel campaigns helping brands reach the right audience through the right touchpoints whether that be social, digital, TV, or in-store.
SMG’s proprietary software product Plan-Apps will be embedded into Asda’s technology stack..
Auchan Retail France
Auchan Retail France has expanded its supply chain footprint with RELEX Solutions.
Since 2019, it has been working with the company on a supply chain transformation project to optimise inventory, increase availability, and improve customer service in physical stores.
It is now extending the use of RELEX to food e-commerce (Drives and Home Delivery) in 2024, including delivery flow smoothing and fresh produce optimisation capabilities.
Bob Evans
Bob Evans, a family style restaurant chain with 437 locations in the US, has selected PAR's loyalty and offer solution Punchh.
This will provide customers with personalised offers and rewards through the Bob Evans app, including family deals, value offers, and convenient online takeout options.
Galeries Lafayette UAE
Nuvei has inked a deal to provide payments for Galeries Lafayette UAE’s e-commerce platform.
Galeries Lafayette UAE is a subsidiary of French Department Stores, situated in Dubai Mall.
Nuvei says it will be enhancing Galeries Lafayette UAE’s payment capabilities, facilitating its expansion into global markets and driving better authorisation rates.
It is leveraging its smart routing capabilities and 3D Secure (3DS) technology integration to increase transaction success rates while maintaining a strong stance on security.
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Jumpmind has announced the deployment of its cloud native, mobile first Point of Sale (PoS) and CX Connect interactive customer engagement solution at Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide.
Running CX Connect interactive customer displays on iPad devices, store associates can provide one to one personalised customer engagement.
The solution compliments Build-A-Bear’s implementation of the Jumpmind Commerce PoS solution, allowing staff to collaborate with guests as they make their own unique furry friends.
The company has completed its Jumpmind roll-out in Build-A-Bear Workshop stores in the US, Canada, and the UK, and will roll-out the tech to stores in additional geographies in the new year.
THG and Holland & Barrett
THG has landed a deal with Holland & Barrett to send online orders to the health brand’s customers.
Holland & Barrett will use its Ingenuity platform, which works together with warehouses to manage online sales.
“We feel this is a true demonstration of how the THG Ingenuity platform can provide incremental services to established brands, delivering operational excellence, becoming world class at a fraction of the cost and in a fraction of the time,” says Chief Executive Matthew Moulding.
The deal will last for three years and covers the UK and Ireland.
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Sainsbury’s
StrongPoint has been selected by Sainsbury’s to supply order picking technology for online grocery orders fulfilled manually in-store.
Sainsbury’s is the UK’s second largest grocery retailer with over 1,400 supermarkets and convenience stores across the country, employing more than 152,000 people.
“StrongPoint is focused on serving the unique needs of grocery retailers and providing the very best e-commerce technologies. Our grocery e-commerce order picking solution is truly world class,” says Jacob Tveraabak, CEO at StrongPoint.
“The fact that we now serve the UK’s second largest grocery retailer is a perfect testament to the quality of our solution.”
Boggi Milano
Italian fashion house, Boggi Milano, has chosen XY Retail as its preferred platform for unified commerce.
As a result, it will introduce a mobile Point of Sale (PoS) into its network of 218 stores in 40 countries, and will enjoy the benefits of a unified commerce system, with upgrades, expansion to new regions, and the ability to rapidly integrate new functionalities.
"Choosing XY Retail aligns perfectly with Boggi Milano's vision of providing a seamless and sophisticated shopping experience. Their comprehensive platform allows us to manage our operations more efficiently and cater to our customers' evolving needs", says Marco Benasedo, CIO at Boggi Milano.
"We are particularly excited about the possibilities that a fully functional mobile POS will bring to our stores, enhancing our ability to offer personalised services to our clients."
Toolstation
Toolstation has launched a new loyalty programme, the Toolstation Club, offering customers who sign up 5% off all orders alongside exclusive discounts, deals, and prize giveaways.
The 5% offer will be available to customers throughout the first month of their Toolstation Club membership, and will automatically be taken off all orders with no restrictions on basket size or price.
Upon completion of the first month, customers that spend £75 or more each month afterwards will continue to benefit from the discount.
They will also be eligible for future prize draws, product deals, discounts and competitions throughout the year once they become a Toolstation Club member.
Armani Group
XY Retail has been chosen as the unified commerce platform for the Armani Group in a deal covering operations for the brands Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani, Armani Exchange, and Armani Casa across over 20 countries and more than 700 stores.
This encompasses a suite of solutions, including Point of Sale (PoS), and Order Management System (OMS).
The aim here is to smoothly integrate the front office and back office, creating a unified commerce experience for both customers and retailer teams across the online and offline business channels.
Moss Bros
Moss (aka Moss Bros) has selected OneStock’s Order Management System to continue its digital transformation push as it looks to create a world class shopping experience for its customers.
Romulus Grigoras, Co-founder and CEO at OneStock, says: “Great achievement and a big thank you to the teams at Moss Bros, Xiatech and OneStock working hand in hand to deliver a great project and above all, amazing business results.”
Evermile and Tide
Evermile, a delivery platform built for local businesses, has announced a partnership with Tide, a UK business financial platform.
This promises to deliver “game-changing cost efficiencies and enhanced delivery management for local merchants across the UK, unlocking access to advanced tech and operational capabilities that were only available to larger retailers and e-commerce brands until now”.
Merchants who use the Evermile and Tide platforms together can keep track of operational overheads, while simplifying and optimising delivery options to find the best partner based on availability, price and performance.
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