Autonomous and retail media firsts: RTIH rolls out the biggest retail technology news stories of the week

It’s Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past five days, including Tesco, Coca-Cola, Glovo, Mars, Polytag, Ocado, Coles Supermarkets, Instacart, Burberry, and Majid Al Futtaim.

1. QR codes and hashtags key as Tesco grocery delivery vans receive a Coca-Cola festive makeover

Tesco Media and Insight Platform has launched an exclusive campaign with Coca-Cola, with the aim of spreading festive cheer and pushing the hashtag #ActsOfKindness.

As a Tesco Media first, a number of Tesco vans will receive a Coca-Cola Christmas makeover this Christmas season.

Each van wrap invites interaction with a QR code for a chance to win a festive hamper. When people spot a van, they can join in with the hashtag #ISAWSANTA.

In a LinkedIn post, Tesco Media and Insight Platform said: “This campaign is a fantastic team effort between Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Tesco, and Tesco Media. Huge thanks to everyone who made it happen. Here’s to a season of joy, kindness, and holiday magic!”

2. Focus on retail media as Glovo and Mars expand global partnership across Europe, Central Asia, Africa

Glovo, a multi-category delivery app, and Mars, the snacking, food and pet care big hitter, have announced the expansion of their global partnership focusing on retail media strategies across more than five markets, including key countries like Spain, Italy and Poland.

The pair say that the partnership has seen strong results in only one year, with more than 50% growth achieved by Mars products within Glovo, and has set goals to grow the business by the end of 2030.

As retail media becomes one of Glovo’s biggest bets inside the platform, it will play a central role in the next phase of the partnership. Glovo will offer Mars exclusive benefits such as early access to new advertising solutions, covering the user from awareness to conversion, and media data sharing.

These efforts are designed to help Mars accelerate its digital strategy, covering the full marketing funnel with winning strategies in place across all involved markets. The partnership also provides an opportunity for deeper integration between Glovo and Mars’ media teams. 

This year, Glovo has seen an increase of 47% in the snacking category, which includes ice creams, chocolate, and other sweets, and a 51% increase in the petcare category across markets.

3. DPD lays claim to UK first as company launches autonomous ‘locker on wheels' robot deliveries

DPD says it has become the first UK parcel delivery company to deploy Ottonomy's multi-compartment, fully autonomous ‘locker' robot, Ottobot.  

Larger than DPD's existing autonomous delivery robots, this has a maximum payload of 70kg, eight separate compartments that can carry parcel of varying sizes and can also facilitate collections.  

The robot features four-wheel powered swerve drive with independent steering and suspension, while multiple sensors including light detection and ranging ‘lidars' and cameras, and software enable it to navigate the most complex environments autonomously. 

DPD's first locker robot will be deployed in Milton Keynes, where the company has been operating autonomous robot deliveries since July 2022, which have also since been rolled out in Raunds, Bristol and Lincoln. 

The Ottobot will be based at the firm’s Milton Keynes depot in Knowlhill and will navigate the city's traffic free Redway network to access nearby residential neighbourhoods. The additional compartments not only enable up to eight separate deliveries each time it leaves the depot, but can also accommodate larger parcels in two 38lt compartments. 

4. 7-Eleven expands partnership with Gulp Radio, pitched as one of North America’s largest commercial radio networks

7-Eleven has announced an expanded deployment of Gulp Radio programming to 5,000 stores across the US by the end of 2024 and more than 12,000 stores by the end of 2025, which includes all 7-Eleven Speedway and Stripes locations nationwide.

Currently, in more than 4,000 stores, Gulp Radio network offers an opportunity to influence the shopper at the point of purchase by deploying advertising and messaging via in-store audio.

The Gulp Radio network’s expansion is the result of an extended partnership with audio retail media platform Qsic, which has allowed 7-Eleven to more quickly develop and bring audio messaging to market.

Through Qsic’s AI powered creative audio development, 7-Eleven more efficiently generates localised audio advertisements that reach target audiences during peak times, backed by first-party data to measure the impact and determine revenue lift. On average, 7-Eleven store locations with Gulp Radio network (or programming or broadcasting) capability have experienced between 5 – 9% overall sales lift.  

5. Grocery technology company Instacart and Coles Supermarkets to launch smart trolleys in Australia

Instacart and Australia’s Coles Supermarkets have announced that Caper Carts, the former’s AI powered smart trolleys, will be coming to Melbourne, starting in early 2025 with its Richmond Traders location in Victoria. This marks Instacart’s first retail partnership that brings Caper Carts to the APAC region.

Customers can grab a trolley at the store’s entrance and start shopping. Caper Carts are equipped with AI, cameras, and a built-in scale, which work together to automatically recognise items as they are added to the trolley.

They enable customers to bag as they shop and watch their running total. At the end of their shopping, customers can checkout directly from the trolley. 

Caper Carts will sync to Coles’ Flybuys rewards programme, allowing customers to earn points as they shop.

People can scan their Flybuys card or Coles app to instantly access personalised offers and view in-store specials on the trolley’s digital screen. Equipped with gamified capabilities, customers will also have the chance to win discounts by spinning a digital wheel on the trolley’s screen at checkout.

“As the first retailer in Australia to introduce AI powered trolleys, we’re excited to offer our customers a convenient and engaging way to shop in-store, helping them save time, manage their budget, and checkout faster – or at their own pace,” says Coles Chief Digital Officer, Ben Hassing.

“The Coles smart trolley illustrates our omnichannel approach, leveraging digital capabilities to enrich the in-store experience. We are committed to testing and learning through innovative solutions to make sure we are delivering on customer needs, increasing convenience, and helping customers discover more value through their shop at Coles.”

6. Polytag QR code technology expands to more than 60 Ocado own brand food, drink and household products

Polytag has bolstered its partnership with Ocado Retail, with the online grocery retailer expanding its range of products that use the firm’s technology.

Over 60 of Ocado’s food, drink, and household product ranges now feature Polytag’s Digital Link QR codes, enabling consumers to delve deeper into product information and sustainability practices with a simple scan.

The expanded range of Polytag enabled packaging follows the success of the project Polytag ran with Ocado Retail in 2023 to deliver a nationwide digital deposit return scheme (DDRS) trial.

Over eight weeks, 20,000 20p rewards were given to consumers that had purchased - and recycled - Ocado's milk bottles via standard kerbside collection methods. Post-trial surveys revealed that 93% of the pilot users felt ‘positively’ towards the idea of a DDRS in the UK. 

The initiative will now see the online grocer package dry food and cleaning products in refillable containers to reduce single-use plastic and encourage reuse behaviours. Polytag’s QR codes will be used to educate customers on how to take part in the refill scheme and return their products.

7. Burberry taps latest in web 3D and augmented reality technology for first virtual scarf try on experience

Burberry has announced a new immersive AR experience.

This festive season, it is launching its first virtual scarf try on offering.

In a LinkedIn post, Seema Kukadia, Digital Innovation Manager at Burberry, said: “Using the latest in web 3D and augmented reality technology, our new immersive experience encourages customers to virtually explore Burberry’s iconic scarves and visualise how the brand's best known accessory will look.”

Available online via Burberry.com and in select stores, customers can use their mobile phone camera to view the scarf styled on themselves in real-time.

The experience has been developed in partnership with WANNA, a provider of AR and 3D experiences for luxury brands.

8. Boots becomes the first retailer to tap LiveRamp omnichannel retail media partnership with Criteo in UK

LiveRamp has announced a tie up with Criteo, and Boots is onboard as a launch partner.

Uniting Boots’ Advantage Card data with online exposure and offline sales data, the collaboration aims to provide advertisers with more transparent attribution across the retailer’s digital and physical retail environments for improved ROAS.

Ollie Shayer, Omni-Media Director, Boots UK and Boots Media Group, says: “I am proud Boots is at the forefront of this groundbreaking collaboration with two of our key retail media partners. As omnichannel behaviour among consumers accelerates, we now possess unparalleled insights into our customers' shopping journeys.”

“This powerful partnership empowers our brand partners to fully grasp the true omnichannel impact of their on-site activities on Boots.com, driving enhanced performance and deeper consumer understanding."

9. Marks and Spencer ramps up Beauty Takeback Scheme, in partnership with HANDLE, as retailer adds 60 more stores

M&S has expanded its Beauty Takeback Scheme, in partnership with HANDLE, to an additional 60 stores across the UK, bringing the total number to 100. 

Dedicated beauty takeback scheme boxes are now available in new locations including Birmingham Bullring, Cardiff, and Inverness.

Launched in June 2023 as part of the retailer’s Plan A roadmap to Net Zero, the scheme enables customers to recycle any form of plastic or aluminium beauty packaging - from bottles and tubes to caps, pumps, and tubs – from any retailer, by dropping their used beauty packaging into boxes located within the store’s beauty section.  

Since launching, the scheme has processed over 1.6 tonnes of beauty packaging which otherwise might have ended up in landfill.  As part of M&S’ partnership with HANDLE, this year it has produced a wide-toothed hair comb, made from at least 98% of the recycled packaging collected by M&S. The comb will be available to purchase online and in selected stores for £8.  

10. Majid Al Futtaim Precision Media business enhances engagement between brands and shoppers using AI

Majid Al Futtaim, a shopping mall, communities, retail, and leisure specialist across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, has announced the launch of Precision Media, a new digital business offering that leverages AI powered technology to improve the way brands engage with customers. 

The business offers a suite of retail media solutions, including in-store touchpoints across the Group’s 450 Carrefour and retail grocery stores in 13 different countries around the region: in addition to its numerous, e-commerce assets.

Precision Media also provides partner brands with offsite advertising solutions, enabling engagement with Majid Al Futtaim consumers on partner networks, outside of the Group’s ecosystem.   

More than 150 brands and advertising agencies are currently accessing Precision Media, leveraging Majid Al Futtaim’s network to drive tailored outreach to millions of potential consumers, including the 600 million annual visitors to its physical assets, 270 million online sessions, and the 20.5 million members subscribed to both Majid Al Futtaim’s SHARE loyalty programme and MyClub platform.