Starring Coach, Pricer, SML, and Wolt: Check out our biggest retail technology articles on LinkedIn this week
We’re big fans of LinkedIn and are busy building an amazing community of retail tech enthusiasts on the social media platform. As we head towards the 20,000 followers mark, these are the articles that are currently on their radars, including RELEX Solutions, Retail Technology Show 2024, AiFi, Shopsense AI, PervasID, Gophr, NewStore, Lily AI, and SuperOrdinary.
Lily AI opens first international office in London to support roster of retailers and brands in UK and Europe
Lily AI, a US-based company specialising in AI solutions for retailers and brands, has announced the opening of a London office as the base for its EMEA business.
“Fuelled by our accelerated growth in the US, we are bullish on bringing our robust capabilities to retailers and brands across Europe,” says Purva Gupta, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Lily AI.
“In the UK, we are seeing both e-commerce leaders and brand marketers embracing our proven, customer centric approach to shopping experiences and conversion, and we are only at the beginning of this surging global demand curve.”
Leading the European expansion, Christopher Roye, former Head of Global Sales at Astound Commerce, has been named Senior Director EMEA, and will report directly to Ahmed Naiem, President, Lily AI.
Additionally, Terry Hunter and Martin Newman, two UK-based digital commerce veterans, have been added to the advisory board to share their expertise in the global e-commerce landscape.
It’s time to face the facts: heavily hyped in-store smart carts are just not that “smart” (but they still could be)
Alas, poor Yorick…NO. It is a far, far better thing that I do…NO. Don’t shoot the messenger…YES (that’s it). Here goes: smart carts are just not that “smart” (but they could be).
So says supply chain consultant Gregg London.
RELEX Solutions: retailers must transform approaches to supply chain management by embracing AI and ML
A new study by RELEX Solutions reveals that, while 57% of retailers and CPG companies plan to invest in predictive and generative AI in the next three to five years,
AI and machine learning ranked just fifth in importance for overall technology spend behind enhancing e-commerce capabilities, improving inventory management, demand forecasting, and leveraging data analytics.
The report was conducted by Researchscape and surveyed 285 retail, CPG, and wholesale leaders globally.
Overall, respondents rated rapidly shifting consumer demand volatility (55%), global events and disruptions (50%), and inaccurate sense of customer specific demand (43%) as the biggest threats to improving supply chain efficiency and accuracy over the next three years.
94% of respondents also said they have been impacted by social media influencing or "de-influencing" over the last 12-24 months – another sign that anticipating and sensing demand surges across all channels will be especially critical to success.
Australian brands Universal Store and Perfect Stranger select NewStore omnichannel retail technology
Universal Store Holdings is to deploy NewStore’s Omnichannel PoS solution across the company’s retail banners in Australia.
The roll-out will span two brands, Universal Store and Perfect Stranger, and 89 stores, replacing each organisation’s legacy PoS systems.
The NewStore platform will allow each retailer to provide a more personalised level of service by consolidating customer, order, and inventory data into an iOS app.
As a result, each brand’s store teams will be able to assist and check out customers from anywhere on the store floor, using only an iPhone.
Pricer, ProGlove, Shopopop and ReachFive amongst Retail Technology Show 2024 Innovation Awards finalists
The Retail Technology Show Innovation Awards finalists have been announced.
Retail Technology Show 2024 will take place at London’s Olympia on 24th and 25th April.
The “ten trailblazing solutions who are leading the charge in retail innovation, poised to drive businesses forward and ignite competitive advantage” are as follows:
🌟Flip
🌟Scaleflex
🌟Shopopop
🌟Teamwork Commerce
🌟Pricer
🌟Find & Order
🌟Orquest
🌟ProGlove
🌟ReachFive
🌟Solink
The winner will be revealed at the BIG Retail Party, happening from 4.30pm on day one of RTS 2024 at the Champagne Bar.
AiFi teams with GS Draft System Solutions on launch of frictionless Michelob Ultra Grill Market stadium store
AiFi has partnered with GS Draft System Solutions to launch a frictionless shopping Michelob Ultra Grill Market at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
People are able to pour and pay for fresh draft beers, via self-serve TapWalls, as well as grab hot food items, candy, and packaged snacks without having to wait in line.
"Stadiums and large live event venues are the perfect setting for autonomous retail, and AiFi is proud to play a part in shaping the fan's enjoyment while in attendance," says Steve Carlin, CEO at AiFi.
"As live events continue to garner larger and larger crowds, we're helping stadiums and retailers embrace tech forward solutions that help fans minimise the time in concessions and merchandise lines to get them back to the action faster.”
“This new autonomous drink lane and market is just the latest example of how our flexible technology solution is leading that charge and our commitment to improving the fan experience."
Finnish food delivery and technology company Wolt goes live with Wolt Ads service following beta period
Wolt has announced the launch of its own advertising service, Wolt Ads.
Following a beta period, the company is now looking to scale this across its 27 markets.
“We’re delighted to be able to introduce Wolt Ads to more partners. Over the past months, we’ve seen our partners record significant growth in their sales and return on advertising spend,” says Catalina Salazar, Global Head at Wolt Ads.
“While it’s still very early for us in this area, the initial results and feedback from our partners are extremely encouraging and give us confidence that we’re on the right track.”
Wolt, which was acquired by DoorDash in 2022, currently has over 36 million registered users across 27 markets and over 500 cities.
Plus Retail teams with commercetools, Contentful, OutSystems to launch new e-commerce platform
PLUS Retail, the third largest service supermarket organisation in the Netherlands, has gone live with a new e-commerce platform.
In a LinkedIn post, Arvid Nieuwsma, Head of Product at PLUS Retail, said that this was inspired by the MACH Alliance.
“We created a headless and composable architecture, as this empowers us to differentiate locally on store level, and keeping up with the day-to-day innovation/best-of-breed choices,” he commented.
Key features: E2E event driven composable architecture, new e-commerce backbone courtesy of commercetools, new CMS (Contentful), new CIAM application (Thales Digital Identity and Security), and new headless front-end (OutSystems).
Nieuwsma said: “One of our ambitions was a faster time to market with features, in order to offer direct value and impact to our end customer. Thanks to feature toggle development and low code velocity we achieved this.”
“Second ambition was to be more flexible to make future choices in the underlying application landscape that better meet the needs, without having to overhaul the entire architecture.”
“Can you imagine the possibilities in differentiation on a local store level in terms of assortment, promotions and loyalty programmes?”
He concluded: “We are over the moon that the time has come to accelerate on feature development, on value for the customer, our entrepreneurs and stores with this tech stack.”
Joanna Williams brings TikTok data analytics and online retail expertise to consumer brand accelerator SuperOrdinary
SuperOrdinary, a Los Angeles headquartered company that works behind the scenes to help American and European consumer brands scale on marketplaces like Amazon, sell through social commerce and break into the Chinese market, has announced a new appointment.
In a LinkedIn post, Julian Reis, CEO and Founder, said: “I am thrilled to announce Joanna Williams as our newest addition to our family. Joining us as Senior Vice President of Creator Commerce, she will spearhead the development of our Creator Commerce strategy.”
Williams has been a fashion ghost writer for some of the world's biggest celebrities such as Rihanna and Zendaya, Instagram influencers, and creators.
Amazon pulling Just Walk Out checkout-free tech from Fresh stores shows how iterative innovation evolves
To label Amazon’s Just Walk Out frictionless shopping technology initiative a failure is naive at best and at worst a complete misunderstanding of tech creativity. So says Brand L. Elverston, Founder/Principal at Elverston Consulting.
Pricer gears up to unveil new connected store solutions at Retail Technology Show 2024
Pricer will showcase new connected stores solutions at Retail Technology Show 2024, taking place at London’s Olympia on 24th and 25th April.
Exhibiting at booth #6E18, the company will present its latest shelf-edge automation and communication solutions that serve the smart retail market, with new applications for grocery, fashion and DIY retail as well as retail media networks (RMNs).
Based on electronic shelf labels (ESLs), Pricer aims to digitally awaken the shelf-edge in real-time to improve store operations - from on shelf availability to dynamic pricing and retail media capabilities – as well as empowering retailers’ omnichannel offerings, including store within a store, efficient picking of store-fulfilled e-commerce orders and advanced replenishment.
Shopsense AI launches retail media platform for broadcasters with Paramount Global onboard as partner
Shopsense AI has launched an AI powered retail media platform, with Paramount Global as its inaugural partner.
Shopsense says that its patent pending technology unlocks new advertising and incremental revenue opportunities for broadcast and streaming networks by making content seamlessly shoppable within their own apps and e-commerce sites.
Paramount Global will debut the new mobile shopping experience during the CMT Music Awards red carpet pre-show coverage airing on CMT on Sunday, 7th April. The live CMT Music Awards will air on CBS and Paramount+ directly following the red carpet coverage.
“Paramount’s premium entertainment content consistently influences consumer shopping journeys,” says John Halley, President at Paramount Advertising.
“TV is no longer just a top-of-the-funnel awareness generator. It is a 1:1 vehicle that brings the full funnel to the living room. We’re thrilled to launch with the Shopsense AI platform at the CMT Music Awards to capitalise on fandom and see it expressed through commerce.”
Landmark Group connects with SML for item level RFID solutions across Middle East stores and distribution centres
SML RFID has been appointed by Middle East retail conglomerate, Landmark Group, as its strategic partner to deploy item level RFID solutions in its 600+ stores and 10 distribution centres across the MENA region.
Headquartered in Dubai, Landmark Group has over 2,200 stores across 21 countries and delivers products across categories including apparel, footwear, lifestyle, cosmetics, and home furnishing.
As part of the partnership, SML is providing RFID tags and has numerous sites live with its solutions and when fully rolled out will be in all of Landmark’s sites across all Gulf Cooperation Councils (GCC) countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman) Egypt and Jordan.
RFID technology company PervasID takes wraps off TrackMaster 2X with major UK fashion retailer onboard
PervasID has launched TrackMaster 2X. Using the company’s passive (battery free) RFID reader technology, this automates inventory and asset tracking in near real-time.
Retailers can now accurately monitor and locate goods within their stores using existing tags, eliminating the need for labour intensive manual handheld scanning, PervasID claims.
The solution is being rolled out by an (unnamed) fashion retailer in the UK, said to be a major player.
Gophr, Diamond Logistics Birmingham and Charging Angels team on speedy laptop power charger deliveries
Same-day delivery service Gophr and Diamond Logistics Birmingham have partnered with Charging Angels, a provider of laptop power chargers.
The latter is leveraging Gophr's nationwide courier network and Diamond Logistics' Birmingham Despatchlab technology to offer urgent charger deliveries to customers in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and beyond - mirroring services already seen in London and Reading.
Charging Angels is an authorised reseller for brands such as Dell, HP, Microsoft, Lenovo, and Targus.
With Gophr's Shopify integration, its customers can order chargers on its Shopify store and receive Gophr's same-day delivery option.
Luxury fashion brand Coach focuses on circular economy as it launches its first Coachtopia store in China
Coach has opened its first Coachtopia store in China, located at Haitang Bay Sanya (Hainan).
Coachtopia is a sub-brand launched in 2023 and focused on circular craft and collaborative creativity.
In a LinkedIn post, Giovanni Zaccariello, SVP Global Visual Experience at Coach, said: “The installation is fully circular from all the materials used to make the structure, to the neons, to the artist furniture, to the hangers and the Bustforms. Congrats team Coach!”
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