Featuring Walmart, Superdrug, and TalkShopLive: 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 Gophr, Who Gives A Crap, Packfleet, Puma, Google Cloud, Co-op, Agility Robotics, Princess Polly, and Matalan.
Princess Polly
True Fit has partnered with Princess Polly to build AI powered size and fit recommendations into shopper journeys as the latter looks to increase conversions and drive down returns.
Originally launched in Australia, Princess Polly now offers on-trend, affordable fashion to shoppers in the UK and US.
With aspirations to drive sustainable business growth, it will leverage True Fit’s AI platform, which connects data from 82 million shoppers and 20,000+ brands to give people size recommendations based on their unique fit preferences.
Walmart
Walmart is enhancing its Beauty Virtual Try-On feature, which launched last year, so that it now includes hair colour products.
The tool allows people to experiment with various colour cosmetics and hair shades in real-time.
With a focus on providing personalised experiences, users can find their perfect match and make purchases, all within a digital platform.
Customers can now preview nearly 500 hair colour products via Walmart’s iOS app featuring formulations from brands like Madison Reed, Revlon and Wella, with more products and brands to come.
Puma
Sports company Puma is to deploy Google Cloud’s data, analytics and AI solutions as it looks to make its online retail experience more efficient, agile, and more personalised for customers worldwide.
This will pave the way for the likes of generative AI shopping assistants, virtual try-ons, and AI driven loyalty programmes.
The collaboration will see Puma shift parts of its e-commerce ecosystem, including Puma.com, to Google Cloud and build out a global e-commerce data platform.
Early results have driven significant customer experience improvements, including a 19% increase in average order value, as a result of Puma using Google Analytics and BigQuery to better understand and tailor content to customers.
In addition, using Apigee and BigQuery, Puma has been able to access real-time inventory levels up to four times faster, helping shoppers find the exact products they wish to buy at the nearest possible stores.
Sudi’s Stores
Jisp’s Scan & Save loyalty and rewards offering is now live with Sudheesh Pallikulangara, whose business Sudi’s Stores has eight sites across the northwest of England.
These are predominantly in the Blackpool and Lytham St Annes area, offering customers a broad convenience range and services. Scan & Save will bring discounts and loyalty rewards to help manage customers’ shopping budgets.
Sam Halliwell, Operations Manager overseeing the eight stores, says: “We’ve been researching the market and had seen the benefits Jisp Scan & Save could bring to a retail operation.”
“Given the cost-of-living crisis we felt it was the right time to bring it into our estate, both as a way of rewarding our customers with great deals and loyalty payments and helping to grow our sales and profitability.”
Boxbar
UK startup Boxbar recently launched what is pitched as the world’s first ever automated self-serve, full menu drinks solution.
As part of spreading the word, it has hosted its first Demo Day Pub Takeover, at The Mitre in Central London.
In a LinkedIn post, the company said: “We loved showing everyone how our terminals work and chatting about your businesses over a few Boxbar fresh pints.”
“The day was such a success that we might have to do another... But in the mean time, if you didn't manage to make it down and would like to book in for a demo, get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.”
“And not forgetting to give a big shout out to our new friends at The Mitre, Lancaster Gate for being great hosts.”
The aforementioned solution allows event organisers and venue operators to serve up to eight different beverage types all from the same terminal.
It has the ability to serve beers (including Guinness), ciders, wines, cocktails, spirit and mixers and soft drinks from a single terminal.
Superdrug
Superdrug reports that Gophr will provide its pharmacy delivery service. This will allow the delivery of prescriptions across the UK to people who choose Superdrug to provide their medication.
Gophr’s strong standard operating procedures, its ability to track and trace all home deliveries digitally from store to door and how it would offer a best-in-class doorstep experience were cited as major factors in Superdrug’s decision.
The doorstep experience must replicate the security protocols that take place in the pharmacy itself and there are layers of protection in delivery to uphold standards ensuring that prescription medicines are given directly to the people they are intended for.
Amazon
Amazon has launched a new checkout-free store in partnership with Aramark Collegiate Hospitality at North Park University in Chicago, USA.
In a LinkedIn post, Cameron Schelhorn Salem, Senior Technical Business Development at Amazon Web Services (AWS), said: “The new Viking Market powered by Just Walk Out technology and AWS is in the newly remodelled Commuter Lounge, providing commuter students a place to gather and shop with their meal plan (powered by Grubhub) for quick snacks, beverages, university apparel, and more.”
Co-op
Co-op has announced expanded access to its online shop, accessed via the retailer’s app, through a new partnership with Uber Direct, Uber’s white label delivery solution.
This will enable Co-op member-owners and customers to order groceries via Co-op’s own online shop, with rapid delivery locally through Uber Eats’ delivery network.
Co-op has been growing its e-commerce business through both its own online shop and strategic partnerships.
The trial with Uber Direct will initially enable an additional 50 Co-op stores to offer quick online home delivery as the latter aims to grow the access and reach of its own online shop to around 1,000 stores by the end of the year.
The move supports its ambition to accelerate its share of the quick commerce market to more than 30%, and sits alongside its partnerships with online home delivery platforms including Uber Eats where groceries and everyday essentials are available to order from approaching 1,100 Co-op stores.
Its online strategy is centred on quick convenience from its stores which are well placed at the heart of communities, with online orders picked fresh in local stores.
Co-op has estimated that more than 80% of the UK population now has access to its products through either its own online shop or, the delivery platforms it partners with.
TalkShopLive
Video commerce and retail media enablement platform TalkShopLive has announced the launch of its new Shoppable Simulcast feature with Instagram.
The product officially debuted yesterday with a livestream featuring Grammy nominated artist, producer, songwriter, and actor Benny Blanco.
This featured Blanco preparing recipes from his new cookbook and entertaining guide, titled Open Wide, and also stream edin association with TalkShopLive media partner Billboard. Blanco also signed copies of his book.
The live event was embedded across multiple destinations, including Billboard.com and Billboard’s Instagram and Facebook page, Blanco’s Instagram and Facebook page, TalkShop.Live and across TalkShopLive’s content distribution network.
Any TalkShopLive stream can be simulcasted on a seller’s Instagram account while still keeping the shopping element intact. The Instagram integration comes after TalkShopLive launched its Shoppable Simulcast product and first destination with Meta on Facebook.
Agility Robotics
Agility Robotics, creator of the bipedal Mobile Manipulation Robot (MMR) called Digit, has announced the appointment of Peggy Johnson as Chief Executive Officer.
Agility is pitched as the only humanoid robot company with a factory on a path to mass production, and Digit is the world’s only bipedal robot currently delivering productive work for customers.
It is also said to be the only deployment ready bipedal robot that is engineered to comply with OSHA’s safety standards and demonstrated to run large AI models to adapt dynamically to new tasks.
Agility’s announced partners, which presently include Amazon and GXO, a pure play contract logistics provider, are using Digit to increase productivity and safety while saving their workforces from difficult and repetitive tasks.
Who Gives A Crap
Sustainable toilet paper brand Who Gives A Crap is partnering with all-electric courier Packfleet to provide carbon-neutral deliveries to London loos.
Every order within the M25 will be taken care of by Packfleet, and London-based customers will get free delivery with orders that exceed £20.
Aided by Packfleet’s live map tracking, Who Gives a Crap’s London customers can follow every step of their bog roll’s journey – also gaining the option to change the time their parcel arrives and the address it is delivered to on delivery day.
Dexory and DB Schenker
Dexory has announced the first deployment of its robotics and artificial intelligence solution in the United States.
Its technology is now in use at one of DB Schenker’s sites in Utah. This follows Dexory’s expansion announcement into the North American market in early February.
Urban Value Corner Store and JUXTA
Urban Value Corner Store (UVCS) has selected JUXTA for its autonomous micro market strategy within luxury apartment communities.
The pair are partnering to join JUXTA’s newest initiative, project name ‘Nest’ – an autonomous micro market kit for indoor environments – with Urban Value's brand presence in upscale living environments.
Matalan
Matalan, a fashion and homeware omnichannel value retailer, has announced the launch of a new Generative AI (GenAI) tool.
Matalan has partnered with Kin + Carta on the GenAI and Large Language Model (LLM) offering, which creates detailed product descriptions for items listed on its website.
The move is pitched as the first time a UK retailer has used AI in this way and forms an important part of Matalan’s digital transformation journey.
The tool will be implemented across all departments, including clothing and homeware. According to a press release: “As well as making shopping online with Matalan even easier, it is expected to deliver a 4x increase in productivity.”
REWE Group
German retailer REWE Group has inked a deal with Israeli startup Catch to test Catch AI, a platform that operates across the likes of smart carts, smartphones, and self-checkout kiosks.
In the first phase of the agreement, the solution has been implemented in 110 carts at supermarket REWE Center, located in Cologne.
Each cart will be equipped with a tablet delivering a smart personal assistant to shoppers.
This allows people to scan their handwritten shopping lists or digitally transfer their shopping lists using a tablet. It does not require registration or app download, enabling anonymity throughout the shopping process.
Catch was founded in 2022 by Shlomi Dayan, CEO, and Itai Lishner, CTO, both former executives at Trax.
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