Influencers to the left of me, influencers to the right: RTIH presents the retail technology week in numbers
Do you like numbers? Do you like retail systems news? Then this is the article for you. Including Wolt, Criteo, HappySignals, Rohlik Group, PayComplete, Orquest, FreedomPay, Retail Technology Show 2024, and Marks and Spencer.
10…Artificial intelligence driven in-store workforce scheduling solution, Orquest, has been announced as the winner of the 2024 Innovation Awards by Retail Technology Show 2024, which took place at London Olympia this week.
Announced at the BIG Retail Party at the end of day one, Orquest was chosen from a shortlist of ten companies also selected as finalists as part of the 2024 Innovation Awards programme, which champions best-in-class technologies and solutions.
Each year, the RTS Innovation Awards seek out the foremost examples of future forward innovation from across the RTS show floor, selecting those disruptive technologies that that can transform retailers’ operations – from building sustainable retailing practices, to next-generation in-store solutions and new retail formats.
Powered by AI, Orquest’s in-store workforce scheduling solution and smart planning capabilities simplify store and HR management processes to improve retail interactions at every level of the business.
It aims to enhance retail operational efficiency, foster frontline team well-being and deliver an optimised customer experience.
100…The latest edition of the RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List has arrived, sponsored by 3D Cloud by Marxent. Here are the people who made a splash in 2023 and are set for a barnstorming 2024.
RTIH has scoured the retail technology world to find the most influential figures for this comprehensive list of people and trends that shape the industry and help drive it forward.
We’re living in unprecedented times. The Covid-19 outbreak and cost-of-living crisis have driven a seismic change in shopping habits.
We are seeing retailers taking innovative technologies like AR, AI, and spatial computing, and finding ways to use them to make customer experiences more exciting and dynamic.
Which is where the RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List comes in, presented, we should stress, in no particular order.
Such disruption requires new ways of problem solving and thought leaders who can both evangelise and execute on the likes of digital transformation and omnichannel success.
We hope you enjoy reading through it and, as always, if you would like to give feedback or believe that there are some glaring omissions, please feel free to get in touch via the form at the end of this article.
Many thanks to 3D Cloud by Marxent, which provides 3D product visualisation software trusted by top furniture and DIY retailers, for sponsoring it.
Download the list in pdf format here.
Or read via Issuu here.
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84% of UK consumers feel the adverts they see could better reflect environmentally sustainable travel and shopping choices, according to research published by Criteo.
The company surveyed 6,755 consumers in March and April, including 1,116 in the UK.
With the uptake of artificially intelligent chat apps, shoppers increasingly see AI as part of the solution.
Most consumers estimate AI could save them multiple hours, even days, when planning a holiday (66%), finding the right gift for someone (63%) or completing their weekly grocery shop (57%).
In tandem, 47% are open to the idea of promoted links taking their personal ethical and sustainable shopping preferences into consideration.
In fact, within the next couple of years 41% of those surveyed expect AI will be able to help them find suitable products based on sustainable or ethical production.
28%…Intuit and Mailchimp have released a new report, The Science of Loyalty, focused on the drivers behind consumer behaviour and insights that marketers can take to build loyalty and cultivate meaningful relationships between their brand and its customer base.
Brand loyalty is often depicted as devotion – a narrative of customer affection and fidelity. However, the findings revealed a deeper truth.
Sourced from a survey of 4,000 consumers across the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK, including 1,000 consumers in the UK, the results revealed that re-purchasing behaviour is not merely a manifestation of consumer adoration and steadfast commitment, but the result of subconscious decision-making.
The research unearthed that 28% of UK repeat brand purchases occur because they’re part of a routine – a testament to the power of habit. Furthermore, a fifth of re-purchases (20%) occur simply because a brand or product was readily available and 3% due to the inconvenience of switching.
€12 million…HappySignals has secured a €12 million funding round led by Mandatum Asset Management and with participation from existing investors Nauta and Vendep Capital.
The cash will fuel sales, marketing, and product development for global expansion in the IT experience management (ITXM) market.
HappySignals was founded in Finland during 2014 and works with the likes of PepsiCo, Fujitsu, and Reckitt.
147,000…JYSK has chosen Willy Naessens Netherlands as the contractor for its new distribution centre in the Netherlands.
The automated facility, spanning 147,000 square metres, will be situated in Lelystad. Construction will soon commence to convert the current temporary distribution centre in Lelystad to a full size DC.
The project will be certified according to the international sustainability standard LEED, with JYSK aiming for the highest level.
1.6 billion…M&S is calling on the public to donate their unwearable clothing, alongside their wearable clothing, through the trial of a free postal donation service, in partnership with Oxfam.
It is estimated that UK homes contain 1.6 billion items of unworn clothing which have the potential to be used, re-used or recycled.
However, new research conducted on behalf of M&S found that one third of the UK doesn’t know what to do with clothes that cannot be re-worn – with three in yen consumers admitting to disposing of unwearable clothes in their household waste bin.
The bag, which is made from 100% recycled plastic, allows for preloved clothing to be separated into two groups - those that are good quality and wearable and those that are unwearable - but equally too good to waste - and return them for free via a local courier where they will then go directly to Oxfam to be resold, reused, or recycled.
€10 billion…European e-commerce grocery delivery firm Rohlik Group has gone live with Knuspr.de in Berlin, Germany, powered by an automated warehouse and AutoStore technology.
This is part of its plan to reach €10 billion in revenue by 2030 and to expand into 15 additional German cities. The service reaches across the entire Berlin area, extending to neighbouring Potsdam and parts of Brandenburg, and operates from a Schönefeld distribution centre.
"In my experience in the online grocery industry, it is only a true leader who can transition a brand, automate a warehouse and launch with a large SKU range in four months,” says Vineta Bajaj, Group CFO at Rohlik Group, and formerly of Ocado Group.
“I'm extremely proud of what Rohlik Group is doing as a business, and excited about our future.”
$13 million…Pipedream has announced a $13 million seed raise led by Starship Ventures as it continues to scale underground logistics for its customers.
There was also participation from Cortado Ventures, Myelin Ventures and other angels and firms.
The capital will be used to speed up delivery of Instant Pickup to its customers and to begin construction on the first large scale middle mile network in a city.
In an online post, Garrett McCurrach, CEO at Pipedream, said: “Our long-term goal is to make hyperlogistics a reality by the end of this decade. Hyperlogistics is achieved when people in a city can receive things in under ten minutes for less than a dollar and send back that item just as easily as it was received.”
“To do this, we need to make moving goods around a city and through buildings, as easy and painless as it is to move water.”
That’s according to a new research report from cash management solutions provider PayComplete which surveyed 490 cash processing and management decision-makers within the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors from the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
However, regardless of this staying power and continuing popularity with consumers, many businesses are still stuck with out of date manual processes for handling, storage, counting and reporting.
It has been found that 41% of companies still use manual cash handling processes, leading to many businesses spending over £400,000 a year on excessive security costs which could be slashed with the introduction of new CashTech solutions.
Globally, cash usage remains resilient, with estimates of $40 trillion of physical cash in circulation.
1 and 2…Finnish food delivery and technology company Wolt has announced the launch of Double Order, a feature that allows customers to order from two restaurants or stores at the same time with one delivery fee.
Kaisa Salakka, VP Consumer Product, Wolt, says: “Let's face it, we've all been there. Whether your taste buds are torn between pizza and doughnuts, or you fancy sushi but need to do the weekly grocery shop, now you can have both while paying one delivery fee.”
Customers can place their first order as usual.
After tapping the 'add more for less' button at the bottom of the app screen, the Wolt app suggests nearby additional stores, ranging from restaurants and groceries to pharmacies and pet supplies, which can be bundled into the first order.
The new feature builds on earlier tests in Helsinki, Finland, and will be rolled out to more Wolt cities across other countries soon.
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