Amazon’s adventures in Hollywood: these are RTIH’s most read retail technology articles from last week
Check out the articles on this here website that caught your fancy this past week, including Amazon, Deliveroo, Ann Summers, Dollar General, Secret Sales, REWE Group, and White Stuff.
Road House remake director Doug Liman slams Amazon as online giant preps streaming release
Doug Liman, the director of the remake of 80’s cult classic, Road House, is set to boycott the film’s premiere after Amazon Prime Video binned a cinema run and opted for a streaming only release.
The movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal as an ex-UFC fighter who ends up working in a roadhouse in the Florida Keys, and soon discovers that things are not as they seem.
In an open letter published by Deadline, Liman, whose CV includes The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Edge of Tomorrow, and American Made, said that he will not be attending the film’s premiere in Texas at the SXSW festival in March.
“The movie is fantastic, maybe my best, and I’m sure it will bring the house down and possibly have the audience dancing in their seats during the end credits. But I will not be there,” he writes.
“My plan had been to silently protest Amazon’s decision to stream a movie so clearly made for the big screen.
But Amazon is hurting way more than just me and my film. If I don’t speak up about Amazon, who will?”
Deliveroo connects with e-commerce tech firm Rokt to expand retail media with non-endemic offers
Rokt, an e-commerce technology company that uses machine learning and AI to serve relevant offers to shoppers, has announced a partnership with delivery giant Deliveroo on the order tracker page.
Deliveroo has been building its retail media network since launching its advertising platform in 2021.
As part of its newly developed advertising platform, it will now integrate with Rokt, which allows brands to capture the attention of customers directly on e-commerce confirmation pages.
This means that advertisers in the Rokt Ads network can now access Deliveroo's audiences, and Deliveroo can provide the most relevant third-party offers to customers on their order confirmation page.
White Stuff makes BigCommerce move to keep pace with customer expectations and evolving shopping habits
BigCommerce has announced the launch of White Stuff, a British fashion and lifestyle brand, on its platform.
“We now have more flexibility to do everything we want in the short-term, and we are ready to adapt to whatever the future holds,” says Steve Borg, Technology and Transformation Director at White Stuff.
Established in 1985 and with over 110 physical stores, White Stuff, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, had prioritised its bricks and mortar stores, but realised it needed to invest in its e-commerce operations and improve agility to keep pace with customer expectations and evolving shopping habits.
Former Amazon exec rubbishes Instacart claim that future of grocery shopping is Caper smart carts
Instacart is on a mission to revolutionise grocery shopping with its Caper smart carts, according to media reports.
The carts, which contain touchscreens, can display advertisements and games that encourage customers to buy more. “Ultimately, where we want to take it is Pokémon GO," an executive recently commented.
Complete nonsense, according to Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive.
Dollar General and Shelf Engine to deploy automated AI powered ordering for produce across US stores
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.
Sex toys and lingerie retailer Ann Summers picks Evri to handle all its business-to-customer parcels
Ann Summers, a lingerie and sex toys retailer, has awarded Evri a multi-million-pound delivery contract.
It has been selected as the sole partner to handle all of Ann Summers’ business-to-customer parcels including delivery pick-up, drop-off (PUDO) and returns.
Evri has a network of more than 13,000 PUDO locations including ParcelShops and lockers.
According to the company, delivery to ParcelShops, which are often located in Tesco Express stores, Post Office branches or independent convenience stores, and usually within a ten-minute walk, typically reduces carbon by 45% compared to a traditional home delivery.
Delivery to ParcelShops can also be a more discreet way to receive a parcel, if you, ahem, catch our drift.
Other sustainability initiatives include the use of electric delivery bikes, bio-methane fuelled vehicles and electric ParcelShop vans.
Customers can also upgrade to next day or Sunday delivery with a one-hour or two-hour delivery window. In-flight diversions, branded customer communications and delivery photo for every parcel will typically come as standard.
This announcement follows news in September 2023 that Ann Summers hit over £100 million turnover and revealed plans to open more stores across the UK.
Secret Sales appoints former Accenture MD Anthony Farrow as Chief Technology Officer
Secret Sales, a platform and marketplace for off-price retail in fashion, sportswear and beauty, has appointed Anthony Farrow as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
Farrow was previously a Managing Director at professional services company, Accenture.
In 2015 the firm acquired The Javelin Group, where he had served as CTO, to spearhead its work in digital retail transformation.
For 23 years, Farrow has worked with various fashion brands, including Burberry and The Kering Group, helping to design and implement retail solutions.
His appointment at Secret Sales marks the first time the consultant transitions to the brand side. In his new role, he will lead the advancement of AI and emerging technologies to enhance the platform's efficiency for retailers, brands, and customers.
This involves the implementation of serverless architecture, refining search capabilities, and integrating AI driven product attributes.
SOTI - underwhelming store experiences temper consumer excitement for AI powered retail technology
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.
SOTI surveyed 11,000 global consumers, including 2,000 in the UK.
It found that retailers are failing to meet shoppers’ expectations for in-store tech, with security concerns and lack of staff support compounding consumer dissatisfaction.
When provided with a list of several in-store device options – including self-serve checkouts, in-store tablets and PoS devices – only handheld store scanners were considered by the majority of respondents (51%) to improve the shopping experience.
Common tech complaints included issues with self-serve checkouts (51%) and a lack of guidance on how to use various in-store technology (46%).
Biometric payments 'make stores more distinctive destinations for shoppers, boosting their resilience'
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.
REWE Group addresses labour shortages with automated fresh food solution from Cimcorp
REWE Group has partnered with Cimcorp on a project involving an automated fulfilment system for fruit and vegetables at the REWE logistics centre in Oranienburg, Germany, approximately 50 km north of Berlin.
Cimcorp’s intralogistics solution provides order picking for fresh products in plastic crates. The agreement also includes a 24/7 customer support contract.
“Fruit and vegetables are an extremely important commodity group for our customers,” says Lars Sibel, Director SCM and Logistics at Rewe Markt.
“But characterised by heavy physical labour in the warehouses, which makes it difficult to recruit personnel.”
“Cimcorp offers a unique solution to automate fruit and vegetable picking and alleviate physical labor for warehouse workers and thereby ensure the reliable delivery of fruit and vegetables to stores in the future as well.”
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