Vinted under fire and Sainsbury's at a crossroads: check out our most read retail technology articles from 2024
Check out the articles on this here website that caught your fancy during a hugely eventful 2024, including the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards, Walmart, unspun, Ocado, Tesco, CoreAI, Iceland, and Jellycat.
2024 RTIH Innovation Awards winners announced, including Currys, Ikea, Iceland, Clarks, Tesco, and Super-Pharm
Last month, we announced the winners from the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards, sponsored by Vista Technology Support, CADS, 3D Cloud, SCALA, Brightpearl by Sage’s Lightning 50, Retail Technology Show 2025, and Business France.
Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”
He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”
“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”
Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended last month’s gathering.
Ocado customers left fuming as online grocery retailer says sorry and cancels deliveries at last minute
Ocado customers took to social media in October to vent spleen after the online grocery retailer cancelled deliveries at late notice.
In an email sent to customers, Laura Harricks, Chief Customer Officer, Ocado Retail, said: “We’re very sorry, but we’re unable to deliver your Ocado order. Of course, you won’t be charged for this order.”
She added: “You can rebook the same order if you like. Just log in to ocado.com as normal and select ‘Rebook’ to choose a new date and time.To make it up to you, here’s a £20.00 voucher. It’s valid until 16/12/2024. Thank you for your understanding. Sincerest apologies.”
Harricks did not give a reason for the cancellations (more on that later in this article), but on X, Ocado’s customer service peeps told one disgruntled customer: “There is an operational reason preventing us from picking and packing the order, which is why the order has been cancelled. If you'd like to discuss this further, please DM us.”
The aforementioned email, somewhat unsurprisingly, resulted in an onslaught of unhappy shoppers.
Karen Garner said on X: “Order cancelled at short notice tonight for 6am delivery. Not much notice.”
“Shops shut so cannot go out now When I wanted to cancel at short notice you were not understanding at all - going to be charged for the items that had not even left the depot. Double standards.”
Walmart and unspun team on 3D fabric weaving technology to reduce waste and boost US manufacturing
Walmart has announced a pilot project with unspun, a fashion tech company using 3D weaving technology, a collaboration that, if successful, could help reduce the environmental impact of garment production, offer a more sustainable process for meeting apparel demand and support the companies’ commitment to shift more textile manufacturing back to the US.
Out of its micro factory in Oakland, California, unspun’s technology aims to more quickly and efficiently transform yarn into garments.
The pilot project addresses concerns about waste in the apparel industry driven primarily by fabric loss from traditional flat weaving, cutting and garment assembly, and from discarded extra inventory built to meet growing consumer demand and fashion trends.
These issues, combined with the emissions generated from transporting garments and fabrics supplied offshore, have created demand for more sustainable apparel manufacturing supply chain solutions.
Tesco sets sights on Ocado by offering its store pick technology to international grocery businesses
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.
Exceptional Jellycat fish and chips pop up at Selfridges London praised for creative store experience
A new and globally exclusive collection featured characters inspired by the British dish.
Customers could book a slot and make their order from Jellycat’s Fish & Chips van in the Selfridges Toyshop on floor four.
The pop-up received a rave review from Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant, Top 100 RTIH Retail Technology Influencer and former Amazon executive.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “I must admit that when I first saw the video that I have posted, I thought I was watching an actual restaurant in action. However, as the video continued to play, I realised that what I was watching was stuffed toys being sold. The fish with a smile on its face gave it away.”
He added: “I believe Jellycat has the most creative store experience I’ve ever seen for any product. The stuffed animals, colours, wrapping, bags and stickers - it is truly exceptional and brilliant.”
“I’m amazed that The Walt Disney Company, Netflix, Amazon or Walmart hasn’t partnered with Jellycat. A TV series or destination shops should be explored.”
The time is now for Sainsbury’s as UK grocery giant eyes huge potential for growth and market share gains
Sainsbury’s has more potential for growth and market share gains than any other grocer in the UK.
At present, however, there is too much focus on reducing costs and not enough focus on innovation.
Channel 4 Dispatches focuses on dark side of Vinted including fake products and misogynistic websites
A new Channel 4 Dispatches investigation aired on UK TV this year, entitled Vinted’s Dirty Laundry, in which journalist Ellie Flynn took a look into the darker side of the online marketplace for buying, selling, and exchanging new and secondhand items.
Despite going against Vinted’s terms and conditions, the documentary flags a significant number of fake products being sold on the platform.
Flynn also found that there were users who were selling prohibited products, such as open and used beauty items. Recalled products were also in circulation, such as baby sleeping bags and self-feeding baby pillows, as well as some prescription drugs.
Some users have also experienced harassment, hateful language and inappropriate and unwanted messages and images, including a man who suffered threats of violence over a cancelled order.
Elsewhere, Flynn discovered a website where people stole images of women demonstrating and selling items on Vinted and sexualised them alongside derogatory comments..
One of these women, 28-year-old Lydia, appears on the TV programme and comments: “It’s very disturbing. I had no idea this was happening, and it has made me feel extremely unsafe.”
The site, which went by the absolutely foul name of Vinted Sluts and had the tagline ‘When you sell your clothes, but you want the attention’, has now been closed down.
The 2024 RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List goes live, sponsored by 3D Cloud
The latest edition of the RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List arrived in April, sponsored by 3D Cloud, showcasing the people who made a splash in 2023 and were set for a barnstorming 2024.
RTIH scoured the retail technology world to find the most influential figures for this comprehensive list of people and trends that shape the industry and help drive it forward.
We’re living in unprecedented times.
The Covid-19 outbreak and cost-of-living crisis have driven a seismic change in shopping habits.
We are seeing retailers taking innovative technologies like AR, AI, and spatial computing, and finding ways to use them to make customer experiences more exciting and dynamic.
Which is where the RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List comes in, presented, we should stress, in no particular order.
Such disruption requires new ways of problem solving and thought leaders who can both evangelise and execute on the likes of digital transformation and omnichannel success.
We hope you enjoy reading through it and, as always, if you would like to give feedback or believe that there are some glaring omissions, please feel free to get in touch.
Download the list in pdf format here.
New chapter for former Amazon and Deliveroo exec Devesh Mishra as he becomes President of CoreAI at Keystone
Keystone has announced the appointment of Devesh Mishra as President and Chief Product and Technology Officer at CoreAI as the company looks to lead in innovation in artificial intelligence.
Prior to joining Keystone, Mishra spent 16 years at Amazon, where he held several senior positions, most notably as Vice President, Global Supply Chain.
In this role, he led a team across engineering, data science, and product management, managing a supply chain that spanned 185 markets, and leveraging data analytics, predictive technology, and machine learning.
Most recently, he served as the Chief Product and Technology Officer at Deliveroo, where he was responsible for overseeing the company's tech organisation, including engineering, data science, design, and product development functions.
Iceland and CALM partner on Missed Birthdays installation at Westfield White City to combat youth suicide
The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation (IFCF) have unveiled an installation of 6,929 birthday balloons in Westfield shopping centre, marking the missed birthdays of young people lost to suicide.
Suicide is now the leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24 in the UK, with data revealing that two fifths of those people aged between 18-34 have experienced a mental health crisis or suicidal thoughts over the past five years.
Earlier this year, Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation pledged £300,000 in funding which could help CALM have over 37,000 life saving conversations via their helpline –and now the retailer has donated an additional £350,000 and joined forces with CALM for the aforementioned installation.
The Missed Birthdays installation at Westfield White City, London, marked the launch of a new report from CALM which reveals that only 20% of parents and adults in the UK have discussed suicide with children aged 16-23.
CALM’s new research found that 60% of young people are more likely to speak to a friend, while 51% would avoid speaking to a parent or trusted adult for help with a mental health crisis or suicidal thoughts as they don’t want to worry them.
The charity has created tailored guides to support trusted adults in having conversations with young people aged 15-24, who are experiencing a higher suicide rate than ever.
Continue reading…