Featuring Bambuser, Augmodo, and Vroom Delivery: this week's coolest retail tech plays
RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his top ‘future of retail’ systems launches and deployments from the past week, including Zara, Ameba, CarrefourSA, Simbe, Starbucks, Dubit, Serve Robotics, Wing, Franprix, Cleveland Browns, Aramark Sports + Entertainment, eBay, and Wicket.
Zara
Video commerce platform specialist Bambuser has announced a live shopping partnership with Zara.
In a LinkedIn post, Louise Blomqvist, President of EMEA at Bambuser, said: “Last week marked a historic moment for our teams, and I couldn’t more proud to share that we’ve partnered with one of the world’s most iconic fashion brands, Zara, for their very first ZaraStreaming.”
“Our collaboration is a testament to the power of innovation and how technology can transform the retail experience. By combining Zara’s dedication to brand and image with our streaming capabilities, we’ve created an interactive, real-time shopping experience both exciting and engaging for customers worldwide.”
Hosted by mother-daughter duo, Cindy Crawford and Kaia Gerber, who brought a Zara collection to life, this offered personal styling tips, with the aim of making the experience engaging and relatable. It was directed by David Lowery and styled by Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele.
Blomqvist concluded: “Thank you to the incredible teams at Bambuser and Zara for making this possible, and to our global community for embracing the power of video shopping with us.”
Ameba
Ameba, an AI driven platform helping companies manage and unlock growth from their complex supply chains, has announced a $7.1 million seed round led by Hedosophia. European early-stage investor Visionaries Club reinvested, having led Ameba’s pre-seed round, and Anamcara also participated.
Ameba’s team of supply chain, AI, quant and deep-tech specialists is led by founders Cedrik Hoffmann, former Supply Chain Director and Co-founder at e-commerce firm VALOREO, and Craig Massie, a former Palantir engineer who built the S&P 500 firm’s data privacy tool.
The firm’s platform uses AI on top of existing software to give brands real-time, bespoke insights into their global supply chains. It automates the extraction of data in multiple languages from sprawling sources – emails, WhatsApps, PDFs, Excel and more – and brings it into a single “source of truth” platform.
With insights into the source and status of every product on a chain, brands can predict disruptions; react to bottlenecks; and get enhanced visibility into their sustainability efforts.
"Brands today face intense pressure to meet rapid shifts in consumer trends while delivering on expectations for fast, low-cost, and sustainable supply chains,” says Hoffmann.
“Many of the biggest names in fashion still manage their supply chain data on Excel and communicate with suppliers via email or WhatsApp. We want to transform customers’ operations while meeting them where they are today. With Ameba, we’re turning supply chains from bottlenecks into engines of growth.”
Augmodo
Augmodo, a real-time inventory and task tracker using wearable SmartBadges to create live 3D store maps, has raised $5.3 million in seed funding. The round was led by Lerer Hippeau, with participation from Dunnhumby Ventures, NewFare Partners and Simple Food Ventures.
Seattle-based Augmodo’s proprietary SmartBadges are powered by a Spatial AI assistant for store associates, which recommends actions and tasks to increase efficiencies, including restocking shelves, placing orders and improving compliance, saving stores time and money and improving retailer, associate, brand and shopper experiences.
“Artificial intelligence is already changing retail, and new advances in AR and spatial computing are about to completely transform the physical world of shopping as we know it,” says Ross Finman, Founder and CEO at Augmodo.
“We’re deploying our technology across the world’s most innovative retailers to provide their associates with Spatial AI assistants, empowering their workforces to drive revenue and improve shopping experiences for all parties, making store associates even more valuable to their employers.”
Walmart
This month, SpongeBob fans will be able to unlock the Rainbow SpongeBob back accessory for their Roblox avatar. Additional free virtual items will drop in November and December, including a Jellyfish Surfing Patrick & Clarineting Squidward, respectively.
And to celebrate the free virtual items and 25th anniversary of SpongeBob, Walmart is inviting fans to go underwater in Bikini Bottom with the reskin of its Walmart Discovered augmented reality experience.
People will be able to see the free virtual item, complete a quest for free UGC, and try on and buy seasonal UGC.
Justin Breton, Head of Brand Marketing Innovation at Walmart, says: “This is the first time any brand has partnered with an IP to provide a series of collectible free virtual items with the purchase of a Roblox gift card, bringing this fandom something special for the holiday season.”
“And a shoutout to our partners at Paramount and Nickelodeon for their enthusiasm and willingness to do something new and exciting for our customers and their fans of SpongeBob.”
Starbucks
Dubit has opened Starbucks’ first four virtual stores in some of the most popular Roblox role playing games.
These are available to Roblox fans from 13 markets across Asia Pacific.
The virtual stores are inspired by physical locations and set across virtual cities on Roblox like Bilberry City, Theme Park HeideLand, Seaboard City, and NewSmith. People can order a beverage from green apron partners, chat with fellow users, and embark on a treasure hunt.
They will journey through a map to search for ten coffee inspired collectible items, unlocking exclusive in-game rewards along the way. In-game achievements can be redeemed for real-world rewards at select Starbucks stores across eight markets, including Cambodia, Laos, Hong Kong & Macau, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand.
“Come visit and enjoy a virtual coffee in our virtual third place. There are 35,000 UGC items up for grabs, and even more real-world prizes courtesy of Starbucks from free customisations to free coffees,” says Matthew Warneford, CEO at Dubit, which has created Gamer Rewards, pitched as the first loyalty programme for Roblox that lets players earn in-game rewards and redeem them off-platform, and also Gamer Retail to power immersive in-game retail experiences for brands.
Warneford adds: “I’m hugely excited. This year we’ve seen meaningful real-world outcomes from Roblox. Last month, we drove 15,000 people into real-world stores here in the UK.”
“Earlier this year, we delivered a 22% increase in sales velocity for one of America’s most popular lunchtime snacks. Roblox drives real-world results, and will for Starbucks too.”
“The campaign is geo-locked to APAC regions. Thanks Starbucks! And a big thank you to our amazing game partners: Seaboard City, Bilberry City, New Smith, and Theme Park HeideLand.”
Serve Robotics and Wing
Serve Robotics, an autonomous sidewalk delivery specialist, and Wing Aviation, an on-demand drone delivery provider, have announced a pilot partnership.
In the coming months, select Wing deliveries will be picked up by a Serve delivery robot from the restaurant's curbside and delivered to a Wing drone AutoLoader a few blocks away, for aerial delivery to customers as much as six miles away.
"We're excited to partner with Wing to offer a multi-modal delivery experience that expands our market from roughly half of all food deliveries that are within two miles of a restaurant, to offering 30 minute autonomous delivery across an entire city," says Dr. Ali Kashani, CEO and Co-founder at Serve Robotics.
"Together, Serve and Wing share an ambitious vision for reliable and affordable robotic delivery at scale. Our end-to-end robotic delivery solution will be the most efficient mode for the significant majority of deliveries."
Cleveland Browns, Aramark Sports + Entertainment and Wicket
Building on the Cleveland Browns’ Express Beer concept, the American football club, along with Aramark Sports + Entertainment and Wicket, have collaborated with technology partners Tapin2 and Mashgin on a deployment of Express Access grab and go concessions at Huntington Bank Field.
This includes facial authentication for payment for both food and beverage and age verification on alcohol purchases for guests 21+ using a valid, government issued ID.
“As the sports industry evolves, so must the gameday experience. Fans want to enjoy everything their stadium offers without missing any action,” says Alicia Woznicki, Vice President of Design and Development, Aramark Sports + Entertainment.
“The success of Express Beer at the Browns’ stadium showed us that fans are interested and willing to enrol in the digital age verification process, which gave us the confidence to expand on a much larger scale and introduce a comprehensive food and beverage programme with the same capabilities.”
New for the 2024 NFL season, the Express Access offering provides building wide coverage, allowing fans to utilise the grab and go concessions model no matter where they are seated in the stadium.
Carrefour SA
US-based Simbe has announced international expansion into Turkey with CarrefourSA, a subsidiary of Sabanci Holding and Carrefour which operates in over 1,200 stores in 64 provinces and employs a workforce of 15,000.
This comes on the heels of new and expanded deployments with Northeast Grocery, TOPS Friendly Markets, Price Chopper Supermarkets-Market 32, SpartanNash, and Wakefern Food Corp.
CarrefourSA deployed Simbe’s Tally AI and automation solution into select stores this summer. Tally operates three times a day, scanning store aisles to ensure items are stocked and tagged properly.
The robot captures images of products and shelves and processes them in near real-time, which allows store personnel to quickly replenish any missing items. Additionally, Tally monitors and addresses issues related to incorrect labelling that customers may encounter during their shopping experience.
Burger King UK and Uber
Uber Direct, Uber’s white label delivery solution, has announced an exclusive partnership with Burger King UK, to provide its customers with rapid deliveries through the fast food chain’s app.
The app also rewards customers with exclusive delivery deals and the opportunity to earn loyalty points with each order.
Delivery orders placed through the Burger King UK app will leverage the same technology and courier network that powers Uber Eats. Uber’s technology provides customers with real-time tracking from their local restaurant to their delivery address and 24/7 customer support for orders, should they need it.
The first phase of the roll-out has begun, with full deployment expected across the Burger King UK estate by the end of the year.
Vroom Delivery and Uber
Vroom Delivery has partnered with Uber to enable alcohol delivery for its convenience retailers in Pennsylvania via the Uber Direct platform.
Retailers will be able to offer alcohol delivery on their apps and websites to consumers through Vroom Delivery’s first-party ordering software, with orders delivered by Uber couriers.
Orders must adhere to all state requirements. For example, there are regulatory limits on the volume of beer and wine that can be placed in a single order that must be enforced by the online ordering platform, Vroom Delivery. couriers delivering via Uber Direct are also required to attain physical or digital permits to deliver alcohol.
“Helping retailers meet their customers’ expectations and grow their businesses through their own channels is at the heart of what Uber Direct offers," says Bernie Huddlestun, General Manager of Uber Direct for US and Canada.
"Research shows 75% of consumers expect express delivery as an option. By working with Vroom Delivery to help make alcohol delivery possible for Pennsylvania retailers in a seamless way, we look forward to helping local businesses meet their customers’ expectations and continue to grow.”
Franprix
A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions Corp. has received an order to deploy its new Cust2Mate 3.0 smart shopping carts at an additional 10 Franprix stores in Paris, France in Q4 2024. This follows on from a deployment in August.
In addition to AI technology, self-scanning, and in-cart payments for a "pick and go" experience, A2Z Cust2Mate's 3.0 smart shopping carts include several new features, such as a shopping list which is automatically updated as the shopper progresses and advanced retail media capabilities such as in-store location-based advertising and customised advertising targeting both, on cart and historic shopping purchases, as well as the shopping list and other triggers.
Gadi Graus, CEO at A2Z Cust2Mate, says: "We are proud and delighted to expand the deployment of our smart carts to additional Franprix stores; a testament to the superior shopping experience and customer satisfaction our smart carts provide to shoppers and the added value we bring to retailers."
Asda
Asda is extending its partnership with Too Good To Go, a surplus food marketplace.
Too Good To Go offers any surplus, but still edible, food to app users in the form of ‘Surprise Bags’ for them to purchase from local retailers.
The digital platform will now be available to use across nearly 1,000 sites, including Asda supermarket and Asda Express stores, as well as foodservice sites located in Asda stores such as LEON, Greggs, Sbarro and Subway.
Customers will be able to purchase surplus stock at a fraction of its original price via the Too Good To Go app. As part of a Surprise Bag, a variety of food items will be available, including chilled items, ready meals, food to go, prepared fruit or salads, bakery products, or produce with use-by dates such as dairy, meat, fish or poultry.
Surprise Bags from Asda Supermarkets will be available for £3.30 and will include minimum £9 worth of goods. Bags from Asda Express, LEON, Greggs, Sbarro and Subway will also be available. The bags will vary in price depending on the contents, but could include breakfast items, lunch, and dinner food, and also a cakes and pastries bag.
The roll-out follows a trial across a number of Asda’s supermarkets, convenience stores and foodservice sites. Since forming the original partnership with Too Good To Go in 2021 through the former EG Group convenience sites, over 2,000,000 kilograms of perfectly good food has been saved from going to waste.
Pricer
In-store automation and communication solutions provider, Pricer, has announced its participation in the SELECT (Sustainable Electronics for Energy Harvesting Applications) project, which has received funding through the Eurostars programme, pitched at SMEs collaborating on Research & Development (R&D) projects.
The SELECT initiative brings together innovators from across Europe to develop a scalable platform for energy harvesting technologies, aimed at reducing the environmental impact of electronic devices.
Pricer is focused on the development of batteryless electronic shelf labels (ESLs) for use in retailers’ stores. By leveraging energy harvesting technologies, these are designed to operate without traditional batteries, and instead draw power from indoor ambient light.
“We are excited to be part of the SELECT project and to work alongside some of Europe’s top innovators in this field,” says Chris Chalkitis, Chief Digital Officer at Pricer.
“This project represents a significant step forward in our efforts to develop sustainable, energy-efficient solutions for our customers. We believe that the advancements made through this collaboration will have a lasting positive impact on both the environment and the retail industry.”
eBay UK and Luxe Collective
eBay UK has launched a new consignment service for luxury items, giving users access to expert sellers who will list and sell their items on their behalf.
To power the service, eBay has partnered with Luxe Collective.
Launching initially for designer handbags, eBay can now help consumers to list and sell their new and pre-owned handbags from top brands across all price points including Chanel, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton.
From its launch in the US, items sold through eBay consignment are seeing significantly higher final sale prices, than those listed traditionally on eBay. For example, a small quilted Chanel 19 flap bag sold for over 45% more than the average sales price for similar bags on the marketplace.
eBay and Luxe Collective handle every component once they receive the item – from photography to pricing.
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