BigCommerce and Shopify go toe to toe: RTIH’s biggest retail technology news stories of the week
It’s Thursday, the Easter 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 Amazon, Stripe, Royal Mail, Sainsbury’s, Shopify, BigCommerce, Kingfisher, Morrisons, and Wendy’s.
1. Amazon taps Stripe Terminal to power payments for Just Walk Out retail technology in Australia and Canada
FinTech big hitter, Stripe, has announced an expansion of its Amazon partnership by powering payments for retailers using Just Walk Out technology in Australia and Canada.
The solution enables people to enter a store by using their credit card or mobile wallet at the entry gate.
The technology detects what shoppers take from or return to shelves and creates a virtual shopping session.
When they’re finished, they can leave the store without waiting in line. Their chosen payment method gets charged for the items taken.
Merchants in Australia and Canada use Stripe Terminal’s WisePad3 reader attached to physical entry gates, and Stripe automatically processes the payment after the guest leaves.
Stripe Connect will programmatically route payments from shoppers directly to businesses using Just Walk Out technology.
2. The online gloves are off: BigCommerce CEO Brent Bellm slams “baseless” Shopify total cost of ownership claims
Brent Bellm, Chief Executive Officer at BigCommerce, has taken to social media to hit out at e-commerce rival Shopify.
Last week, the latter flagged up a study claiming that it has the best total cost of ownership in commerce.
“We are better value because where our competitors put their complexity onto the backs of their customers, we absorb complexity for you. Our product is intentionally designed to be easy to use, manage, customise, and deploy,” said Harley Finkelstein, President at Shopify.
“Shopify has better value, better product, better services - end of story. With us, you’ll move faster, operate better, and get the best converting checkout in the world. If you're not choosing Shopify... you are intentionally deciding to pay 36% more and get less.”
This did not sit well with Bellm.
In a LinkedIn post, he slammed the company for making “more baseless claims against its competitors - this time related to total cost of ownership - without providing information or citing sources regarding their data sample sizes, methodology, TCO calculation details, or even which firm evaluated the data.”
3. Royal Mail notches up a first as it launches partnership with parcel locker operator Quadient
Royal Mail has launched a new partnership with Quadient, giving its customers access to parcel lockers for the first time.
The first lockers will launch in Coventry in April, with further locations opening in the following months.
Around 1,500 are expected by the end of the year, with further plans for 3,000 across the UK.
The lockers will initially allow customers to drop off returns and pre-paid parcels before being expanded so that customers can have items delivered to them for pick up.
The partnership with Quadient adds to the recent announcement that Royal Mail customers will be able to use up to 5,000 Collect+ stores to drop off and collect parcels.
Together, this will increase the number of locations where customers can drop off parcels to more than 21,000, including 3,000 lockers, 11,500 Post Office branches, 5,000 Collect+ stores, 1,200 Royal Mail Customer Service Points and 1,200 parcel postboxes.
4. The SSE Arena, Belfast achieves a checkout-free shopping first with Amazon Just Walk Out technology tie up
The SSE Arena, Belfast has announced a collaboration with Amazon to implement the US online giant’s Just Walk Out technology at the venue, making it the first indoor arena in Europe to offer checkout-free shopping.
This will be located on the first floor and named PAY & AWAY.
Guests will enter by using their chosen contactless payment method at the entry gate, with the technology then detecting what customers take from or return to the shelves and creating a virtual shopping session.
When they complete their shopping experience, they can leave without waiting in line, and their chosen payment method will be charged for the items taken.
5. The time is now for Sainsbury’s as UK grocery giant eyes huge potential for growth and market share gains
Sainsbury’s has more potential for growth and market share gains than any other grocer in the UK.
At present, however, there is too much focus on reducing costs and not enough focus on innovation.
That’s the view of Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “Although the size of the United States grocery market is around $850 billion annually, I believe the most fiercely competitive grocery market is that of Great Britain, with a market size of $295 billion.”
The market is dominated by four British retailers with a long history of operating in the country: Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, and Asda.
Ladd commented: “I’m often asked which of the grocery retailers in the UK do I admire the most and who do I believe has the most potential.”
“In my opinion, Sainsbury’s has more potential for growth and market share gains than any other grocer in the UK. I’ve also stated several times that if Amazon wants to acquire a grocery retailer in the UK, they should acquire Sainsbury’s.”
6. B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher taps GenAI as it builds data led omnichannel customer experience
Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix, yesterday announced full year results for FY23/24, with Tom Betts, Group Data Director, taking to social media to flag up progress being made on his side of the business.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “Respect and congratulations to all teams contributing to these results. I am proud of the huge progress we've made together on building data capabilities as we "build a data led customer experience" under the Powered by Kingfisher strategy.”
He added: “We're using data and AI to drive top-line growth, streamline operations, strengthen margins and generate new income streams. This has required substantial collaboration between business, tech and data teams across group and our retail banners.”
7. Morrisons enlists savi as grocery giant overhauls how brand coupons are scanned and processed in its stores
savi has announced the roll-out of its digital coupon clearing technology into Morrisons.
The supermarket chain becomes the first retailer to implement this platform in the UK (it is already in use in Europe).
A spokesperson for Morrisons says: “Our partnership with savi supports our commitment to using digital technology to provide easy, accessible, and convenient services for customers.”
“Giving shoppers the power to redeem mobile coupon offers in-store is yet another way in which Morrisons strives to serve its customers better.”
savi’s digital platform connects retailers and brands by providing real-time coupon validation and settlement for paper and mobile coupons.
8. 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards opens for entries and boosts focus on AI, sustainability and inclusivity
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 three new categories: AI Innovation, Sustainable Retail Innovation, and Inclusive Technology Innovation.
9. PAR Technology Punchh offering selected as loyalty platform provider for fast food giant Wendy’s
Wendy’s has selected PARTech’s loyalty and offer solution, PAR Punchh, to advance its customer engagement efforts.
Wendy’s will leverage PAR Punchh’s AI driven platform and Punchh Enterprise Support to boost its loyalty programme for customers who visit any of its nearly 6,500 locations across the United States and Canada.
It is looking to add gamified experiences, targeted offers designed to bring “great food for a great value” to its customers, and exclusive promotions tailored to individual customer preferences.
10. Asian inspired food specialist itsu boosts employee training as it rolls out new Attensi AI features
itsu, a healthy eating restaurant, is expanding across Europe with the help of Attensi AI, reducing the time it takes to make and translate training content.
By using Attensi AI, the International Training Manager at itsu has overcome several time-consuming barriers that previously added months in content creation time for staff training in multiple locations.
The company says that, as it expands at pace, its training team is now confident that their geographically dispersed colleagues are up-to-date with seasonal and changing training needs across the business.
AI features including automated voice-overs, auto-translations, creative prompts, and co-pilots enable a faster and more efficient roll-out of training across the whole itsu network, providing the same high standards of training in every region.
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