Winning the loyalty game: RTIH’s biggest retail technology articles on LinkedIn this week

We’re big fans of LinkedIn and are busy building an amazing community of retail tech enthusiasts on the social media platform. These are the articles that are currently on their radars, including Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, Kammac, Gander, Pricer, Vista Technology Support, AiFi, BigCommerce, EE, and Teamwork Commerce.

Aramark Collegiate Hospitality opens Amazon Just Walk Out tech powered store at Lesley University

An Amazon Just Walk Out technology powered store has opened at Lesley University in the US.

Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Its students can now experience a frictionless shopping experience on campus, with the likes of snacks and drinks available to buy.

In a LinkedIn post, Brisbane Vaillancourt, Regional Vice President at Aramark Collegiate Hospitality, said: “Today (Friday, 16th February) we opened our first Just Walk Out Store in the Northeast, at Lesley University. Students can now access fresh food, 24/7 and use their meal plan.”

Technology sure is changing the game in higher ed and it’s tons of fun being a part of it!”

3PL provider Kammac appoints new CEO and Director of Procurement and Facilities Management

Following its acquisition by the Elanders group in November last year, third-party logistics (3PL) provider Kammac has announced appointments to its senior management team as the business focuses on building its presence in e-commerce fulfilment services and developing new sectors.

Retail technology business Gander appoints Damien Corcoran as Chief Operating Officer

Gander, a specialist in preventing food waste, has appointed Damien Corcoran as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO).

The Isle of Man-based company launched in 2019 and has since expanded across the UK and Australia with plans in place for ongoing global roll-out.

Gander claims that it has helped hundreds of grocery retailers to reduce food waste, enhance their sustainability credentials, improve their bottom line and save millions of food items from going to waste.

Retail technology veteran Glenn Faulkner moves on up at autonomous stores specialist AiFi

Glenn Faulkner has taken on the role of Hardware Product Manager at checkout-free stores firm AiFi.

Faulkner joined the company in 2020, as Technical Program Manager, and was most recently Solutions Architect.

Prior to AiFi, he was Client Delivery Analyst at Bossa Nova Robotics.

His CV also includes stints as E-commerce Manager at J E James Cycles and IT Infrastructure Engineer at Maplin Electronics.

He is also part of the RTIH Top 100 Retail Tech Influencers List.

‘Composable and headless sites’: Bestway Europe launches Italy and France on BigCommerce platform

Bestway Europe, a producer of sporting and leisure products, has launched Bestway Italy and France on BigCommerce’s e-commerce platform.

"Our mission is to establish ourselves as a frontrunner in the digital landscape, providing unparalleled customer service to our loyal shoppers in Italy, France and across Europe,” says Simone Zesi, CEO at Bestway Europe.

“We recognise the significance of digital transformation in reshaping industries, and our unwavering commitment to digital innovation enables us to deliver exceptional value, meet evolving customer needs and solidify our position as a leader in the market.”

“Embracing this transformation is not only crucial to our success, but also essential in staying ahead of the competition and ensuring our customers receive the best possible solutions."

Retail Insight brings in former Confused.com executive Andy Brockway as its new CTO

Retail Insight, a provider of store operations execution software, has announced the appointment of Software as a Service (SaaS) industry veteran, Andy Brockway, as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). 

The move comes as part of growth plans to accelerate its product roadmap and innovation strategy for its suite of software solutions pitched at retailers and their CPG partners.

A founding member of Confused.com, Brockway played a vital role in the creation and scaling of the price comparison website for insurance and financial services. 

Over more than two decades, he held various positions that helped shape the organisation's tech landscape, which concluded with his tenure as CTO between 2017 and 2023.

British fashion brand REISS deploys Teamwork Commerce mobile Point of Sale across all US stores

Teamwork Commerce has deployed its mobile Point of Sale (PoS) solution to REISS, the British fashion brand, in all of its US bricks and mortar stores.

The technology has gone live in nine locations across the country.

Independent PMSi survey scores UK-based company Vista Technology Support 9.8 out of 10

Vista Technology Support recently appointed independent industry analysts PMSi to complete a market survey interviewing its tier 1 and tier 2 customers in retail and hospitality businesses. The survey also included tier 1 retailers that are currently not Vista customers.

The result of the survey was a 9.8 out of a possible 10 and Vista outperformed its competitors in several areas, including the unique capability to provide a full end-to-end suite of IT services to its customers.

Retail Technology Show research flags power of supermarket loyalty member pricing programmes

With supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, M&S and Co-op following Tesco’s lead, launching discounted prices exclusively for loyalty scheme members, the popularity of these programmes has risen among price conscious shoppers, according to research from Retail Technology Show (RTS).

However, while discount driven consumers are flocking to sign-up to access member only offers, there remains concern around the use of their data and the fairness of a dual pricing system. 

A survey of over 1,000 shoppers by RTS, which takes place at London Olympia on 24th and 25th April, revealed 73% feel loyalty prices are an effective way to encourage them to sign-up as a member. 

Hooters of America picks PAR Technology as single PoS, restaurant back office and loyalty provider

ParTech reports that Hooters of America, the franchisor behind the Hooters and Hoots Wings brands, has selected PAR Brink PoS and PAR Data Central to enhance its table service operational efficiency and order accuracy in 367 Hooters restaurants across 36 states and 18 countries.

Hooters is an existing customer of PAR’s loyalty solution, PAR Punchh.

Italian food firm Prezzemolo & Vitale rolls out Pricer in-store automation solution to London stores

Italian delicatessen brand, Prezzemolo & Vitale (P&V), has selected Pricer as its provider of in-store automation and communication solution based on electronic shelf labels (ESLs), rolling out digital shelf labels in all its London stores.

Retail technology innovation of the week: EE aims to be ‘UK’s most personal, customer focused brand’

Retail Technology Innovation of the Week is a new series brought to you by RTIH and sponsored by 3D Cloud by Marxent, 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, in the run up to the publication of the 2024 report in March.

So far, we’ve showcased work being done by Ocado Retail, Decathlon, Lacoste, Downtown Spirits, TalkShopLive, Huck’s, Rovertown, Wing, McDonald’s, Google Cloud. Nobody’s Child, IKI, Pixevia, Walmart, A.L.C., Archive, Therabody, Outform, Kingfisher, PMC, Żabka Polska, Boots UK, Ocula Technologies, Grace O'Malley Irish Whiskey, Metacask, Ikea, Carrefour Belgium, HMV, Worldpay from FIS, and FreedomPay.

And this week we’re focusing on EE which last week unveiled its latest Experience store alongside former Newcastle United player Shay Given in the Metrocentre, Gateshead, one of Europe’s largest indoor mall style shopping centres.

This is the fourth of EE’s Experience stores and the first of more than ten brand new Experience and Experience Local locations set to open in the UK over the next year.

The announcement comes as EE commits to investing £6 million in the British high street in the next 12 months.

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