Retail technology innovation of the week: Augmodo brings spatial computing to global retailers at scale

Retail Technology Innovation of the Week is a series brought to you by RTIH, and sponsored by 3D Cloud, highlighting stand out deployments, launches, and initiatives by retailers and tech suppliers.

Every week, we will showcase forward thinking tech plays that have impressed our Editor and the Retail Technology Innovations Report judging panel, alongside the publication of the 2024 report.

So far, we’ve flagged up sterling work being done by Ocado Retail, Decathlon, Lacoste, Downtown Spirits, TalkShopLive, Huck’s, Rovertown, Wing, Nobody’s Child, IKI, Pixevia, A.L.C., Archive, Therabody, Outform, Kingfisher, PMC, Boots UK, Ocula Technologies, Grace O'Malley Irish Whiskey, Metacask, Ikea, Carrefour Belgium, Matalan, and McDonald’s.

And this week we’re focusing on Augmodo, which recently 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.”

“Our retail associates are our best assets, and they have critical job responsibilities on store floors, such as selecting e-commerce orders, stocking shelves, updating promotions and assisting customers,” says Mark Finocchiaro, Managing Partner, CIO & Director at Chemist Warehouse, Australia's largest pharmacy retailer with 535 locations in Australia and internationally.

“That’s why we’ve aligned with Augmodo - associates simply wear the SmartBadges as part of their uniform and they’re able to instantly capture invaluable shelf information multiple times per day and cut down on tedious, time-consuming tasks.”

SpatialView is Augmodo’s analytics platform for retail executives and brand partners, which provides real-time visibility into shelf conditions.

“Instead of traveling endlessly to store locations, or viewing week- or month-old data, business leaders can see inside any store from their laptop. It's a source of truth for what’s really happening at the shelf, all in real-time. It’s a game changer,” says Finocchiaro.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Augmodo as they bring spatial computing to retail at scale and modernise the labour workforce,” says Isabelle Phelps, Partner at Lerer Hippeau.

“Augmodo’s system can be implemented in retail stores in less than 20 minutes, costs 100x less than alternatives and requires no operational changes for managers and associates. Ross and team are well positioned to deploy this technology thoughtfully and rapidly, for the benefit of all constituencies.”

The aforementioned funding will power several pilots in 2024, with both brands and retailers. Augmodo has filed four patents to date and will use this capital to scale pilots and continue building the business.

”We’re excited to work with leading retailers and brands on several pilots in multiple countries to develop Spatial AI purpose built for retail use, which will save millions of dollars related to auditing, non-compliance and inefficiencies, so retailers and brands can pass those savings to consumers,” says Finman.

“Developments in AI technology are finally moving quickly enough to be applied productively to the retail arena - and this is just the beginning.”

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

AI is a key focus area for the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards, which is now open for entries.

The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, Retail Technology Show 2025, 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.

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.