The Very Group goes all in on AI as RTIH rolls out this week's coolest retail technology plays
RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his top ‘future of retail’ systems launches and deployments from the past week, including Jisp, Walmart, Global Fashion Agenda, PDS Ventures, Pinterest, the Retail Trust, and The Very Group.
Jisp
In a review of its Scan & Save app’s performance through February, Jisp says it found that the total number of registered users had increased by 8% on the previous month – a rise which, it claims, points to shoppers trying to find new ways to stretch their grocery budgets amid the cost-of-living crisis.
February saw significant increases in the core metrics across the app, with scans, taps and redemptions up 45%, 43% and 42% respectively versus January.
When compared to the same period in 2023 the impact of the cost-of-living crisis is even more pronounced with increases of 150%, 177% and 174% across the same metrics.
With the Scan & Save app, shoppers can make savings on grocery lines in convenience stores. The amount people saved in February was up 38% on the previous month and up 144% on the same period in ’23.
Retailers have also been benefitting from the upturn in users and user interactions. Retail sales for February were up 27% on January ’24 returning over £500k in the month, bringing retail revenue to almost £1 million in the first two months of the year.
Total retail sales reached £3.5 million for 2023, with Jisp confident that 2024 is on track to significantly outperform the previous year’s figures.
The Very Group
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.”
The Retail Trust
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.
Walmart and unspun
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.
Global Fashion Agenda and PDS Ventures
Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), a non-profit organisation focused on the transition to a net positive fashion industry, has collaborated with PDS Ventures, to launch a new Trailblazer Programme.
The initiative seeks to identify fashion’s most promising early-stage innovators and support them on their journey to scale.
As part of this, PDS Ventures will award one participant an investment of up to $200,000.
The winner will also receive commercial and operational support from PDS Group’s Positive Materials - a textile company and strategic research partner supporting the development and acceleration of low impact textile innovation through collaboration between early-stage startups, supply chain partners and brands.
Further scaling opportunities will be gained through access to PDS Limited’s extensive global supply chain.
Pinterest is building on its hair pattern search and skin tone ranges offerings to introduce its latest inclusive product, called body type ranges, firstly in the US and later to roll-out in the UK.
The new tool allows users to refine their searches for women’s fashion and wedding ideas by different body types, so they can see themselves represented in the inspiration they are seeking.
Walmart (yep, them again)
Walmart has launched an Express On-Demand Early Morning Delivery offering, starting at 6 a.m.
Customers will be able to order products such as baby items, home appliances and work clothes to be delivered in as little as 30 minutes.
Walmart will also add live bait to the service in mid-March from more than 3,000 locations.
In an online post, the US retail giant said: “Our commitment to convenience extends beyond just the early hours. It’s about making shopping seamless for the customer.”
“With features like Late-Night Express Delivery, Live Shopper for real-time communication with Shoppers and On-Demand Delivery for same-day convenience, Walmart prioritises putting the power in the customers' hands. It’s a superpower that’s simple – all customers need to do is open our app or Walmart.com and begin selecting their items.”
“And for Walmart+ members, standard delivery is always free.”
It added: “As we continue to innovate and accelerate, the message is clear: Shopping should be personal and as tailored to fit your lifestyle as those freshly delivered work shirts.”
“With On-Demand Early Morning Delivery and a suite of other convenient options, we’re making sure you have what you need, when you need it so you can reclaim your time no matter what the clock says.”
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