Including Square, Uncrowd, and Rithum: RTIH presents the retail technology week in numbers
Do you like numbers? Do you like retail systems news? Then this is the article for you. Including online challengers, biometric payments, supermarket success stories, the future of commerce, and a farewell to plastic packaging.
While shoppers are open to expanding their options, Amazon holds their trust with 42% saying they trust the US giant versus 34% for a brand's direct-to-consumer website, and 21% for other private marketplaces.
This is according to research by Rithum, an e-commerce company formerly known as CommerceHub and ChannelAdvisor. The firm surveyed 1,000 consumers and 250 e-commerce decision makers in the UK.
4…Square has released its fourth annual Future of Commerce report, featuring analysis on how business owners and consumers are considering the evolution of the restaurant, retail, and beauty industries, offering insights on how these businesses are shifting – and how consumers are responding – with diversification and automation coming out as key trends to consider in 2024.
Square surveyed thousands of UK business owners and consumers, as well as gaining insights from the United States, Canada and Australia.
Samina Hussain-Letch - Executive Director, Square UK, says: “For UK businesses, the future is looking cautiously optimistic, with retailers and restaurateurs feeling positive about growth.”
95% and 23%…New research from SOTI finds that, while 95% of UK consumers have used in-store tech, only 23% believe in-store devices – such as kiosks, tablets, scanners and mobile computers – enhance their experience.
The data suggests this is having a knock-on effect on enthusiasm for AI powered retail tech, with only 20% of consumers excited for its arrival in the market.
7…Infosys has signed a seven-year deal with Musgrave, an Irish food retail, wholesale and foodservice company.
As part of this collaboration, Infosys will help automate Musgrave's IT operations by leveraging its AI and cloud offerings, Topaz and Cobalt.
Through its Cognitive First framework, Infosys will aim to enable digital experiences and boost operational efficiencies by integrating artificial intelligence, machine learning, knowledge management, and cognitive automation capabilities to amplify enterprise intelligence across the value chain for Musgrave.
81% and 53%…Storyblok has released research which reveals that the absence of apps from major streamers could seriously undermine the success of Apple’s imminent Vision Pro launch.
The company’s survey of 500 consumers who are very familiar with details about Apple Vision Pro show that 81% are concerned that the absence of apps from major streamers could implicate the device’s content experiences. Of these, 53% stated they are very concerned.
138%…Juniper Research is forecasting a substantial growth of 138% in the number of transactions carried out via biometric enabled PoS terminals, up from 19.5 billion in 2023.
It says that in-store biometrics can enable a better consumer experience; allowing retailers to create a highly differentiated physical offering.
This differentiation is key for the under pressure bricks and mortar retail sector, which faces stronger than ever competition from e-commerce, alongside reduced consumer spending, due to the cost-of-living crisis in many markets.
£2 million…Fuel Ventures has led a £2 million funding round for customer experience platform PRIMIS.
The idea of PRIMIS was first considered in 2020 when CEO and founder, Rebecca Griffiths, pictured below, stepped into the post-purchase customer experience world and saw gaps in the solutions being offered.
In the past 18 months, the startup has launched three products, the main being PRIMIS Track.
It has also signed a partnership agreement with a large UK carrier to support its post-purchase comms journey. The team has grown from a single founder to eight people, including a CPO and COO.
3,000…Dollar General is teaming with Shelf Engine for a US roll-out of its automated AI ordering technology for produce.
By the end of fiscal year 2023, this collaboration will see Shelf Engine's AI tech implemented in approximately 3,000 stores.
This follows a two phased pilot that began in December 2022 of Shelf Engine’s offering in more than 400 Dollar General stores.
Its platform is designed to generate orders, with a goal of optimising in-stock levels that directly contribute to providing Dollar General customers with the freshest food possible.
£1.5 million…The Coconut Collab, a British born business which produces a range of, yep, you’ve guessed it, coconut-based products, has closed a Series B funding round, securing a £1.5 million investment.
This comes from its existing shareholders, including Ground Force Capital, a VC in the US.
The Coconut Collab will use the cash as it transitions from its initial startup phase to a scaling phase. The primary focus is on the UK and Europe, with the aim to disrupt the market and establish a more mainstream presence.
The company was founded by British entrepreneur James Averdieck following the sale of his first venture, Gü Desserts, in 2010. In 2013, he acquired a UK-based ice cream manufacturer, laying the groundwork for the launch of The Coconut Collab.
$3.3 million…Krepling, an e-commerce channel management platform, has raised a $3.3 million seed round and launched a centralised universal builder, with the aim of offering merchants a consolidation of tools and services to foster personalised customer experiences.
The round includes LAUNCH, Brickyard, Front Porch Ventures, 11 Tribes Ventures, Colabora Ventures, and Broadshade Investments.
The funding will be used to further expand the Krepling team in several departments and enhance the capabilities of simplifying e-commerce integrations, without the need for outside agencies or developers.
The startup has raised $4.3 million to date with its first round announced in November 2022.
The 23-year-old CEO and co-founder, Liam Gerada, built Krepling with his younger brother, Travis (20 years old) based on being merchants themselves - owning a DTC sneakers business.
12…Uncrowd, a technology firm that uses observational data to compare customer experiences between brands, has announced 12 customer experience awards for UK supermarkets, according to data gathered in December.
The awards recognise which retailers did best on 12 different areas of customer experience in-store.
Sainsbury’s won on loyalty programme, marketing and strategy, with its Nectar scheme being best communicated out of all the retailers.
Tesco was observed to be the easiest store to shop, while Morrisons came out on top for product presentation, with its fresh deli counters helping to inspire shoppers with seasonal treats.
Aldi did best on price - how customers experience prices in-store.
M&S won across inspiration, presentation of premium products and how well stores operated. Lidl triumphed in the availability of value basics for shoppers.
Asda did well on in-store staff standards. And lastly, Waitrose came out on top for product choice.
30…Mars and Einride, a freight technology company, are partnering to bring a fleet of 300 electric and digitally optimised, heavy duty trucks to the former’s network across Europe by 2030.
Across Europe it is estimated that the electric operations will save 20,000 metric tons of CO2e each year by 2030, which accounts for roughly a 10% reduction in Mars Europe’s road transport GHG emissions annually.
The first delivery happened last week, with Einride’s freight capacity offering deployed with two electric trucks and charging points powered by its operating system Saga.
The route is between the Mars Petcare factory in Verden, Germany and its distribution centre in Minden, Germany, which are approximately 90 km (56 miles) apart.
Following Germany’s lead, the partnership will begin expanding across Europe first with routes in the UK and the Netherlands expected to follow later in 2024. These fully electric operations will be complemented with an autonomous pilot, implemented in 2025.
Continue reading…