Training days with an AI twist: RTIH runs through September’s coolest retail technology plays

RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his stand out ‘future of retail’ systems deployments and launches from September, including Tesco, Shopify, Roblox, GO Outdoors, Volumental, Brico Depôt Iberia, HomeByMe, Wakefern Food Corp, Simbe, Haribo, Attensi, Honeywell, and Qualcomm.

Tesco

Transcend Retail Solutions, a Tesco subsidiary led by its Strategy Director Oliver Vogt, is providing the UK supermarket giant’s software and hardware to international grocers, leveraging its vast experience in this space to enable them to fulfil online orders from their own stores.

According to The Sunday Times, a first deal has been signed with New Zealand’s biggest grocery retailer, Foodstuffs North Island, and talks are being held with other companies.

Tesco currently handles more than a million online orders a week, 85% of which are picked from its supermarkets.

“Our solutions are tried and tested,” Vogt told The Sunday Times. “We set up Transcend because we truly believe we have something to offer the market.”

Foodstuffs is tapping Tesco’s cloud-based picking software, which receives online orders and then maps, on handheld devices, the most efficient route for staff to pick the items from supermarket shelves.

The technology is live in two stores, operating under the PAK’nSAVE and New World brands, and plans are afoot to expand the roll-out across 150 locations. Transcend will also be able to deploy micro fulfilment centres inside retailers’ stores.

Tesco’s new venture sees it square up to UK rival Ocado, whose Ocado Solutions spin off offers smart e-commerce technology to global retailers.

Shopify and Roblox

Virtual gaming platform Roblox has its sights set firmly on the e-commerce space.

It has announced a global partnership with Shopify that will allow creators of Roblox experiences, including brands and retailers, to sell physical goods directly within the platform via Shopify’s checkout.

In a LinkedIn post, Harley Finkelstein, Shopify President, says: “It’s official: we are the first commerce integration partner on Roblox. This year we’re piloting integrating our world class Checkout into Roblox, with a larger launch coming in early 2025.”

“Soon, you’ll be able to shop physical products like clothing, accessories and collectables designed by your favourite creators and brands, all within Roblox, powered by Shopify. This means that developers, creators, and brands who are on Shopify can sell directly within their Roblox games.”

i love it

Ella d’Amato, the former interim CEO of online marketplace Notonthehighstreet, has co-founded i love it.

Founded last year, the venture is aiming to ‘rewrite commerce for good’, by tapping AI to create a recommendation led video and image shopping app that rewards users for their genuine product endorsements. 

d’Amato comments: “92% of shoppers trust word-of-mouth more than ads. Be it your friend who knows everything about skincare and running, or that one who knows every restaurant - think about how many times you buy off a friend's recommendation versus an ad.”

“At the same time, brands are telling us that word of mouth is more effective than traditional marketing and the cost of marketing today is making it hard for brands to trade effectively online. Clearly, the most valuable thing for all is genuine endorsement.”

“The issue is, those people tend to get nothing in return. We believe that brands would much rather pay a loyal customer than the likes of Meta and Google. And people would much rather shop from someone they trust.”

Currently in beta mode, i love it is focusing on the fitness space, allowing users to shop, share recommendations, and earn. The platform currently lays claim to over 10,000 products, with plans to expand into other areas in the future. 

GO Outdoors

GO Outdoors recently opened a new store in York, boasting 125,000 sq ft of space with over 380 brands covering walking, camping and caravanning, watersports, running, fishing, horse riding, climbing, and cycling.

The retailer has developed a KUDOS RUN initiative and integrated Volumental’s 3D foot scanning and dynamic gait analysis technology as the centrepiece of its GO Fit Station.

Shoppers are able to scan their feet, walk across the dynamic pressure plate, and get personalised recommendations on their ideal type, style, and size of running shoes.

In a LinkedIn post, Volumental said: “Kudos to the entire GO Outdoors team for creating an exceptional retail experience that puts the customer first. Their commitment to innovation and delivering the right fit is a shining example of how forward-thinking retailers are elevating the in-store journey.”

Brico Depôt Iberia

Brico Depôt Iberia (part of Kingfisher Group) has launched a HomeByMe powered 3D planning tool that lets users design kitchens and cabinets.

This solution, which has gone live on the brand’s website, creates customised projects tailored to users' needs. No downloads or licenses involved, and it’s available on any device. Real-time information on stocks and prices is also provided.

Daniel O’Meara, Northern Europe & ANZ Sales Manager 3DVIA Dassault Systemes (owner of HomeByMe), says: “Kingfisher Group continues to choose HomeByMe Enterprise as the preferred partner for 3D automated kitchen and storage design and planning solutions across Europe.”

“DIY retail and technology at its best! Congratulations to all the teams involved.”

Wakefern Food Corp.

Simbe reports an expansion of its partnership with Wakefern Food Corp., the largest retailer owned supermarket cooperative in the US.

This involves use of the former’s AI and automation solution, Tally.

In a LinkedIn post, Simbe said: “This is an important milestone on our journey to improve visibility across the retail ecosystem.”

“Nearly 70 new ShopRite stores across ShopRite and Inserra Supermarkets stores now leverage our store intelligence to delight shoppers and empower store teams while improving business performance.

Attensi

Attensi, a specialist in game-based simulation training, has unveiled Attensi RealTalk, pitched as the first roleplay training solution to incorporate Agentic AI1 and AI free-form dialogue with realistic, virtual humans.

It comes as new research (involving 2,139 people in the US and UK) shows that 75% of employees have experienced anxiety due to difficult workplace conversations and 72% would welcome training on how to handle difficult conversations in the workplace, rising to 87% for Gen Z.

And a majority would welcome this training from an AI virtual roleplay trainer, rather than their manager.

When asked if they would prefer roleplay training from their manager or an AI Virtual trainer, employees were evenly split at 38% each way. 24% expressed no preference between the AI trainer and the human manager.

75% reported that they have experienced anxiety in handling difficult workplace conversations, with 63% having felt this in the last two years and 33% as recently as the last six months.

This is even more stark for Gen Z and Millennials at 39% and 38% respectively.

The more they use AI, the more likely employees are to fear it taking some or all of their jobs, but they are also the most likely to welcome AI to help them train to be better at their jobs.

Attensi RealTalk enables employees to engage in realistic and challenging conversations in roleplay scenarios, interacting with AI powered virtual humans across a wide range of disciplines including: Sales roles; Customer service; Coaching.

Haribo

Confectionery brand, Haribo, has partnered with newly launched consumer experience specialist, Agency 72, to unveil an in-airport activation: the ‘Giant Wheel of Fortune and the Uncover More Fun game’.

This experience, powered by Agency 72’s Retail+ digital consumer experience platform, is pitched at travellers in airports across the UK and Europe.

The ‘Giant Wheel of Fortune’ and ‘Uncover More Fun’ mobile game offers a blend of physical and digital engagement.

Shoppers can try their luck at the in-store ‘wheel of fortune’ or scan a QR code to access the digital version of the game. Prizes range from Haribo branded goodies to the chance to win everyone’s favourite Goldbears.

The campaign kicked off at Paris Orly Airport with an Olympics theme, and is set to roll-out to other major hubs including Warsaw Chopin Airport. Later this year, the activation will also touch down in Argentina.

Honeywell and Qualcomm

Honeywell is working to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) enabled Multi-Modal Intelligent Agent for its mobile devices powered by Qualcomm Technologies. The agent will allow workers and customers in the distribution centre and retail industries to interact naturally with their handheld devices through voice, pictures, and barcodes.

Workers will be able to enter data into the technology and then receive practical answers to queries like, "Do we have the gluten-free variant of this product in stock?" or "Where can I find this particular item in the store?" 

Depending on the question, users will receive responses in the form of an image, video, spoken response, text answer, or a combination of several modalities.