EE talks the future of high street retail: RTIH’s 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 the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards, Walmart, Retail Technology Show 2024, The Very Group, and Polytag.
1. 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards opens for submissions, with winners to be announced in November
The sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards is now open for entries.
The awards celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world, with winners being announced during a glittering ceremony at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on Thursday, 21st November.
This year, we’re bringing you two new categories: AI Innovation and Sustainable Retail Innovation.
AI Innovation
After a barrage of hype, the retail space is now seeing many examples of artificial intelligence creating value and efficiency.
This award will highlight AI projects across the omnichannel retail landscape that have gone beyond the proof-of-concept stage, scaling and delivering results.
Sustainable Retail Innovation
Traditionally, the biggest problem with sustainable technology solutions has been in the relatively high cost of implementation, often meaning that scaling them was not viable.
Things change, however, with incentives, targets and climate pledges as well as the rapid iteration of innovative technologies driving down costs in various areas.
This award will go to a retailer or brand that has worked with technology suppliers to put sustainability at the core of its values. The winning entry will show how a company has boosted its green credentials whilst also demonstrating the tangible business benefits of sustainable practices.
2. 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.
3. Recycling technology firm Polytag builds on Ocado Retail, Aldi, Co-op tie-ups with Series A funding round
Polytag has secured Series A seed funding for its mission to transform the recycling industry across the UK and Europe.
The undisclosed investment builds on partnerships with major UK retailers, including Ocado Retail, Aldi, and Co-op.
Polytag's technology offers real-time visibility and insights into single-use packaging throughout its lifecycle. Using its QR codes and Invisible UV Tags, the solutions enable FMCG brands to track and incentivise plastic packaging recycling.
The funding is led by Collateral Good, a climate first venture capital firm based in Switzerland, and co-led by Knop Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in startups that are building a better world.
The combined investment will fund the wider installation of Polytag’s Invisible UV Tag readers in material recovery facilities across the continent, offering a larger range of brands real-time insights on where, when, and how much of its packaging is being recycled.
4. EE: future of retail on the high street involves getting personal and offering mix of real life and digital experiences
Blending in real life with digital, giving customers unforgettable experiences and being personal – that's the future of retail on the high street. So says Asif Aziz, Retail Director, EE/BT Group.
In a LinkedIn post, he observed: “Great to have had the opportunity to talk about all this and more alongside Joanne Hayward (Vice President Convenience Europe at bp) on the 'Stores of Tomorrow' panel at LIVE 2024: Retail Week x The Grocer.”
He added: “The investment we're making in our bricks and mortar stores with EE is part of our drive to reinvent retail in telco, putting customer experience, community focus and innovation at the heart of our strategy to be the most personal, customer focused brand in the UK.”
“A real pleasure to have shared ideas and been inspired by other leaders in our industry, too – as well as catch up with a few familiar faces!”
5. ’Opportunity to innovate within ethical boundaries’: Ikea welcomes adoption of EU Artificial Intelligence Act
It is now expected to be rubber stamped by a council of ministers, becoming law within weeks. The act will come into force in stages, with various deadlines for compliance over the next three years.
The move has been welcomed by Ikea.
In a LinkedIn post, Parag Parekh, Chief Digital Officer at Ingka Group | Ikea, said: “Our journey with AI at Ikea has been guided by a vision to create better homes, lives, and a sustainable planet.”
“Today we welcome the adoption of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, which reinforces our mission to use AI not only to advance our business but to do so with a profound sense of accountability to our customers, co-workers, and the environment.”
“It underscores our belief that the future of AI is not just about technological advancement, but about building trust in technology by prioritising transparency, fairness, and human agency.”
6. Retail Technology Show 2024 names Charles Tyrwhitt Founder and Chairman Nick Wheeler as headline keynote
Retail Technology Show reports that Nick Wheeler, Founder, Chairman and Owner of Charles Tyrwhitt, will be one of its 2024 headline speakers as part of its conference programme.
The event takes place at London Olympia on 24th and 25th April.
Wheeler will deliver a keynote session on the Headline Stage on day two, which will explore how to lead a workforce from one person to a thousand.
He will draw from his experience establishing his shirt and menswear brand, Charles Tyrwhitt, which he started in 1990 as a fledgling mail order business ranging just eight shirts and ties, and scaled into an international multi-channel retailer and leading British menswear brand with £330 million of sales forecast in 2024.
7. The Very Group hosts artificial intelligence immersion day as online retailer shows off new GenAI chatbot
Multi-brand online retailer, The Very Group, this week brought the entire company together for an event entitled, Very Con: AI in Action.
In a LinkedIn post, Matt Grest, CIO at The Very Group, said: “It’s always going to be a big call to bring the whole company together for an AI immersion day, but as a business we have made huge strides over the last 12 months in powering the business using genuine AI and I really wanted to keep up the momentum and bring more colleagues into the fold.”
He added: “We had a fantastic day where we were able to outline our strategic ambitions, we had colleagues demonstrating how we’re already leveraging genuine AI across the business and saw many great demonstrations from our valued partners in Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Samsung Electronics, Meta and Multiverse - great energy in the office all day from everyone.”
The big reveal of the day was the launch of VeryGPT, a generative AI chatBot that will be available to all employees.
Grest said: “This gives everyone access to a new tool that they can use to support their daily activities, in a safe and secure environment with appropriate guardrails.”
“We’ve already been able to demonstrate some amazing productivity gains from colleagues using VeryGPT during our internal trial, and I can’t wait to see what colleagues are going to do with this now that it’s rolled out to all.”
8. The Retail Trust taps AI to improve staff mental health and prove value of wellbeing strategies
Retail industry charity, the Retail Trust, has developed a generative AI powered dashboard to help retailers including FatFace and Next improve staff mental health and prove the value of their wellbeing strategies.
The new ‘happiness dashboard’, built in partnership with a handful of retail employers and the Retail Trust’s technology partner BJSS, allows companies to track staff wellbeing trends and improve the effectiveness of support.
The platform works by identifying trends around which Retail Trust wellbeing services employees are using to generate recommendations on how to improve engagement, reduce levels of absenteeism or presenteeism, and increase staff retention.
It also shows each employer exactly how much initiatives to improve mental health are saving their business and the economy, by calculating the financial value of fewer staff calling in sick, working while unwell, quitting their jobs or turning to the NHS as a result.
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