Google on the ropes and Shein on the rise: RTIH rustles up the retail technology week in numbers
Do you like numbers? Do you like retail systems news? Then this is the article for you. Including Retail Technology Show 2025, IMRG, M&S, Google, Shein, Amazon, Holland & Barrett, Unilever, Specsavers, Schuh, Daemon, Just Eat, Waitrose, and the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards.
2…There are only two weeks left to submit your entries for the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards.
Deadline for submissions is Friday, 25th October.
The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, Retail Technology Show 2025, Brightpearl by Sage’s Lightning 50, and Business France celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
It's free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.
Download our handy guide to entering the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards.
Key 2024 dates:
Friday, 25th October: Award entry deadline
Tuesday, 29th October: 2024 shortlist revealed
30th October-6th November: Judging days
Thursday, 21st November: Winners announced at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, to be held at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London.
For all entry related queries, please email our Editor and Founder, Scott Thompson: scott.thompson@retailtechinnovationhub.com
£1.55 billion…Shein’s UK business generated revenues of £1.55 billion over 2023, up from £1.12 billion the prior year.
It also reported an annual profit of £18.7 million, nearly doubling the £9.8 million made last year.
The Chinese founded fast fashion online retailer is reportedly looking to list on London’s stock markets. A potential flotation has been estimated to value the business at around $66 billion.
200…Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology is now available in 200+ stores globally. The checkout-free shopping solution can be found in locations on the likes of college campuses, and in stadiums, airports, and hospitals.
229…In the coming weeks, millions of Just Eat Takeaway.com customers will be able to order their favourite food and drink to be delivered in 30 minutes or less from 229 Waitrose & Partners locations across the UK.
They will be able to order from thousands of items, including the revamped premium range Waitrose No. 1 and essential Waitrose. In addition, Waitrose Duchy Organic, fresh ready meals, free-from and vegan ranges, British brands including Gail’s Bakery and Deliciously Ella, plus wines, beers and spirits, will all be available.
Claire Pointon, Managing Director for the UK and Ireland at Just Eat, says: “Many of today’s consumers no longer consider speed a luxury but a necessity. This is supported by Just Eat's own research - three in four people who have ordered on-demand groceries believe it will become a part of their daily lives.”
“Just Eat is proud to be leading this change and so we’re thrilled to be adding Waitrose to our list of grocery partners, strengthening the choice and value available for customers on the platform - whenever, and wherever, they need us.”
1%… The US government is considering whether to ask a judge to break up search engine giant Google.
The Department of Justice has indicated this could include "structural requirements” to prevent Google from maintaining its search monopoly. It follows a court ruling in August which found that the company had maintained its dominance of online search through illegal practices.
Susannah Streeter, Head of Money and Markets, Hargreaves Lansdown, says: ‘’Regulation has been hovering like a dark cloud over Google owner Alphabet for years, so shareholders have been pretty sanguine after this latest twist in its tussles with lawmakers.”
“Shares dipped less than 1% in pre-market trading, with sentiment overall having warmed back up towards tech stocks, with interest rate cuts still eyed, which would buoy the value of potential earnings. It’s likely that this latest regulation rigmarole will result in a multi-year period of appeals and will end in a series of concessions rather than a full breakup.”
She adds: “Even if Google’s power is diminished and it’s not able to be the default search engine on devices owned by big tech giants, its sheer might of reputation in the world of search is likely to propel users towards it, nonetheless.”
“The power of Google over the second quarter indicates that its already harnessing AI technology to deliver improvements and get more fingers searching and more eyes on screen. Advertisers are also seeing benefits in terms of higher engagement.”
“It’s early days but given Alphabet’s super-deep pockets to pour into these new technologies, and its increasing dominance in the Cloud business, Google looks set to stay well positioned to take advantages of future developments. Nevertheless, rivals are still nipping at its heels, and competition is intensifying from the likes of Amazon, which already has a ready well of customers who use the site to search for products.”
“It’s far from clear who will be the winners. as the AI juggernaut continues to rumble, and it could well be an upstart rival rather than a regulator which poses the greatest risk to Google’s search dominance.’’
80%…Launched on World Sight Day, research commissioned by Roland DG, a provider of digital printing solutions, reveals that millions of visually impaired people face a daily challenge of navigating supermarket aisles due to the inconsistent and sparse use of accessible packaging.
80% of food brands admit that they do not incorporate Braille or tactile symbols across all of their packaging, leaving visually impaired individuals unable to understand what they are purchasing and consuming.
The research - which surveyed 500 senior packaging decision makers across Europe - found 70% of brands also fail to use modern digital solutions, like NaviLens or QR codes, on all their products. This inconsistency creates serious challenges, especially for consumers with allergies or dietary restrictions who rely on accessible labelling to make safe choices.
5…Retail Technology Show 2025 has announced the first five members of its advisory board.
These are:
Katya Denike, Chief Product Officer at Holland & Barrett.
Claire Hennah, Beauty & Wellbeing Chief Customer Officer & Digital Commerce Officer at Unilever.
Justin Lodge, Chief Digital Officer at Schuh.
Dean Sanderson-Williams, GM at Specsavers.
Adam Cotgreave, Chief Customer & Transformation Officer at Seasalt Cornwall.
In a LinkedIn post, RTS 2025 said: “Our creators play a pivotal role in curating world class content, ensuring the event delivers invaluable insights and inspiration for retail, leisure, and hospitality professionals. This is just the beginning! Stay tuned for the next wave of stars joining the show.”
3.2%…Online retail grew by +3.2% year-on-year in September 2024, the first growth since April 2021, according to UK e-commerce association IMRG. The first two weeks of September drove the market's overall revenue increase.
Clothing retailers experienced their first monthly YoY growth in two years, whilst optimism is increasing among retailers ahead of the crucial Black Friday and Christmas trading seasons.
The September results can be attributed to several online product categories achieving big revenue spikes, most notably across health and beauty, gifting, clothing, and home and garden.
Standout performers included accessories and hobbies (+21.6%), makeup (+21.3%), fragrance (+18.4%), footwear (+13.5%), and haircare (+11.3%).
£750,000…Glasgow-based specialist workforce optimisation software provider, Corporate Modelling Services, has secured £750,000 in equity funding from the Investment Fund for Scotland, managed by Maven Capital Partners and delivered by the British Business Bank.
CMS helps clients to boost their back office operational efficiency and improve the end customer experience through the implementation of a suite of workforce optimisation technologies, delivered through its platform, OPX.
77%…Research released by Yocuda shows that 77% of shoppers in the UK would be more likely to switch to digital receipts if they knew how many trees were cut down to produce the paper versions (200,000 trees are cut down annually just for receipts in the UK).
1,015 consumers in the UK and 1,013 in France were surveyed for this.
87% of 18-25-year-olds would opt for digital receipts in an effort to reduce the environmental impact of paper ones.
93%…A new report from RELEX Solutions and Incisiv looks into the current state of pricing and promotions in the retail sector across the US, UK, France, and Germany. The study highlights the increasing importance of strategic pricing and promotional strategies as both retailers and shoppers navigate an economically challenging landscape.
The report, based on a survey of 179 retail executives, underscores the growing pressure on retailers to adapt to heightened price sensitivity among consumers.
Findings indicate that 93% of shoppers now demand more value from their spending, with 84% stating that price is a crucial factor in their purchasing decisions. In response 87% of retailers used more aggressive discounting strategies to maintain sales volumes and customer loyalty.
60% of Brits still prefer a traditional checkout with a cashier when shopping in-store, according to research released by Daemon. This figure climbs to 71% among Baby Boomers, compared to just 59% of Millennials and 46% of GenZ.
56% of GenZ favour service assisted checkouts, a preference that declines with age, with only 51% of Millennials and 40% of Baby Boomers opting for this method.
As retailers introduce innovations like Scan and Go, Click and Collect, and Just Walk Out, many customers still value human interaction at the checkout. Only 26% preferred Scan and Go, 14% chose Click and Collect, and just 5% opted for Just Walk Out.
While in-store shopping preferences lean towards human interaction, the online customer experience appears to be in disarray.
The data reveals that 57% of consumers find long response times to be the most frustrating aspect of contacting online customer service. This is followed closely by difficulties in resolving issues or complaints (42%) and unfriendly or unhelpful staff (29%).
1…M&S has announced the initial results from what is pitched as the first retailer run ‘autonomous field’ trial, which will see it selling lower carbon parsnips later this year.
In partnership with supplier, Huntapac, the first fully autonomously farmed parsnips will be available in selected M&S stores this November.
The technology enabling this includes two robots for bed forming, planting and weeding, two different types of drone to monitor and maintain crop health, and the latest scientific testing on soil health and carbon impact.
AI was used to monitor and improve crop health and autonomous technology can reduce weather impact.
For example, in March this year, following the wettest six months in England since 18711, the team were able to get in and plant the field with the autonomous robot which wouldn’t have been possible with a traditional tractor.
This has also contributed to an increase in quality and number of parsnips and reduced waste, with a 16% higher yield of grade one vegetables compared to Huntapac’s other parsnip fields.
71 UK retail CEOs, including big hitters such as Asda, M&S, The Co-op, and Matalan, have written to the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, stating that “now is the time to level the playing field between industries”.
In an open letter coordinated by the British Retail Consortium, they have called on the newly elected Labour government to introduce a Retail Rates Corrector as part of their commitment to reforming the business rates system.
The Retail Rates Corrector - a 20% downward adjustment in business rates paid on retail properties - aims to redress the imbalance that sees the retail industry pay 7.4% of all business taxes (£33 billion), a share 1.5 times greater than its share of the overall economy (5% GDP).
This tax burden holds back investment in people and places - directly affecting the three million people employed by the industry, and the 2.7 million additional people employed within the supply chain, the BRC argues.
It also matters for the tens of millions of shoppers all over the country and the communities they live in.
71%…New research released by the Booksellers Association (BA) has found that booksellers are readers’ top choice when it comes to knowledgeable sources of book recommendations.
1,001 Brits were surveyed by this. 71% think a bookseller at a physical store is knowledgeable when it comes to making book recommendations.
Booksellers score higher knowledge than any other source of book recommendations, surpassing family and friends (whom are deemed knowledgeable by 65% of the sample), book clubs (62%), online reviews (61%), social media influencers (39%), and AI recommendations (39%).
1…Aramark Healthcare+ has launched a new store at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology and located near the main café dining area.
This marks the first Texas hospital to implement Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology and the second fully autonomous micro market within Houston Methodist. The 150 square foot store provides a variety of convenience snacks, beverages, healthy options, and microwaveable frozen meals.
David Hanson, Vice President of Operations at Aramark Healthcare+, says: “The Aramark Healthcare+ team is thrilled to work with Houston Methodist to open Amazon’s first Just Walk Out hospital location in the state.”
“This store underscores our commitment to delivering cutting-edge innovation and unparalleled experiences to patients, caregivers, and guests 24/7.”
People enter by swiping their credit card at the entry gate. The technology tracks items taken from or returned to the shelves. Upon completion, guests can leave without waiting in line, and the chosen payment method is automatically charged.
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