Generative AI chatbots and footwear scanning solutions: last week’s biggest retail technology plays at a glance
RTIH rounds up the stand out retail systems deals, launches, deployments and pilots from the past seven days. Including The Estée Lauder Companies, B&Q, Gas N Wash, Snappy Shopper, Wesco, Waitrose & Partners, Primark, and FedEx Express.
Primark
Primark is to expand its Click & Collect service to all its 184 stores in Great Britain by the end of 2025, following an 18-month trial.
It will also add new categories and products available to buy via Click & Collect. The changes will be phased, with new products including home and lifestyle going live now, with men’s to follow.
The first new stores to offer Click & Collect will launch towards the end of the year, with more details on the locations to be announced nearer the time
After launching in November 2022 in 25 stores in the North West of England, North Wales and Yorkshire, the service expanded to more stores in and around London in autumn 2023. It is currently offered in 57 Primark stores in Great Britain, primarily offering a selection of women and kids clothing and accessories.
Paul Marchant, Chief Executive at Primark, says: “We will always be committed to offering the very best value and that’s made possible because of our simple and cost-efficient business model centred around our stores.”
“Our trial of Click & Collect over the last 18 months has been about understanding how we can offer our customers greater convenience to shop with us wherever they are, but in a way that complements our business and our stores.”
“We’re now confident that we’ve found a model that can do both and support us with our plans to grow the business.”
“The feedback from our customers has been positive as they really value the convenience our service offers and we’re also seeing it’s reaching new customers too. I am excited to see this expand and give more people more reasons to choose Primark and discover the great value and ranges we have in-store.”
The Estée Lauder Companies and Microsoft
The Estée Lauder Companies and Microsoft Corp. have announced the creation of an AI Innovation Lab as an expansion of their global strategic relationship.
Leveraging generative AI capabilities in Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service, the companies will work together to develop solutions for ELC’s more than 20 prestige beauty brands with the aim of creating closer consumer connections and increasing speed to market with local relevancy.
The pair have created an internal facing generative AI chatbot to enhance marketing effectiveness globally.
The tool utilises advanced conversational AI technology to navigate and further leverage ELC’s proprietary and database of product and claim data, allowing brands to launch locally relevant campaigns more rapidly.
ELC and Microsoft are applying generative AI tools in research and development for quicker product development, allowing scientists and product development specialists to respond to emerging product and ingredient trends more rapidly.
B&Q
Rithum has been appointed by UK home improvement retailer, B&Q, to support its online marketplace expansion by reducing the time it takes for brands to be onboarded to its website.
Philip Hall, Managing Director for EMEA at Rithum, says: “Consumers are more often than not shopping around for the best price, and even traditionally bricks and mortar sectors are becoming more present online.”
“Home improvement became a big focus during lockdown and being able to bring new products online quickly and efficiently will be essential to success as trends evolve.”
“Our collaboration will mean B&Q can easily expand its inventory catalogue and strengthen customer and supplier relations.”
“Tools like automated SKU conversion, product discovery, and supplier and product performance insights give them the flexibility to launch and manage any partnership model. All essential factors in helping to support growth.”
Gas N Wash
Gas N Wash, a family owned chain providing fuel, convenience, and carwash needs in Chicago’s suburbs, has unveiled an enhanced mobile app and rewards programme.
Following a soft launch in 2023 and a migration to a new loyalty provider earlier this year, the app now ranks amongst the top 5% on Rovertown’s platform, based on average monthly active users per store.
“With over 30 locations, launching an app and updated rewards programme wasn’t about checking boxes. We understood the importance of doing this right,” says Laura Krawisz, VP of Marketing at Gas N Wash.
“Our team is working diligently to build an app centric and loyalty focused culture, and we’re proud of what we’ve achieved.”
Snappy Shopper and Gander
Retail tech firm Gander has reported the results of a trial undertaken with Snappy Shopper, a specialist in the Q-commerce convenience grocery sector.
This integrated Gander into the Snappy Shopper home delivery app.
Snappy Shopper customers were able to purchase reduced to clear items from Gander for delivery as part of their normal shop.
This meant stores on the trial were reducing food waste as well as offering customers the opportunity to buy a selection of fresh food at reduced prices. The offers from Gander were updated in real-time every day.
The trial, conducted since April last year, saw Gander and Snappy Shopper launch a move in five SPAR Scotland stores.
Wesco
Wesco, a US convenience store chain founded in 1952 and based in Western Michigan, reports a milestone in its delivery service operations.
Offering this at approximately 35 of its 55 locations, it achieved 43% growth in delivery in 2023 and surpassed the $3 million milestone with a total of $3.1 million in annualised sales.
“We believe delivery is an important piece of this industry’s future, and we want to lead the way,” says Nancy Westgate-Systema, President at Wesco.
“It’s all about serving customers on their terms, in the most convenient way possible. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved and look forward to continued growth in this important area of our business.”
FedEx Express
FedEx Express has teamed up with Zonos to help UK and EU online retailers by creating transparency on customs processes and charges.
This collaboration emerges at a time when, according to a 2023 study conducted by Juniper Research, cross-border e-commerce transactions are expected to surge by 107%, reaching €3.4 trillion (£2.68 trillion) over the next five years.
A 2021 Statista survey found that 59% of consumers expect to pay additional fees or duties upon delivery that were not previously disclosed to them, and 66% expect their international purchases to arrive later than promised.
By leveraging Zonos’ cross-border technology and FedEx’s logistics network and services, the collaboration addresses customer concerns by helping to eliminate unexpected charges and reduce shipping delays.
Waitrose & Partners
Reapp has added Waitrose & Partners to the list of major UK retailers available on its AI driven platform, Reapp Insights.
This helps brands and retailers understand what products are selling, where and when.
Through the use of artificial intelligence, it utilises factors such as temperature and trends to help inform decisions at shelf-edge.
The news means brands in Waitrose stores can clearly understand performance across the estate at store and SKU level, as well as garnering the ability to react to underperformance of promotional activity live within the cycle of a promotion.
Brands can ensure shelves are stocked at all times through peak periods, as well as being able to track NPD sales, with the ability to identify non-selling stores.
Other major UK retailers available through Reapp Insights include Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Co-op, Poundland, and Marks & Spencer.
G.H. Bass EU
G.H. Bass EU has launched a web-based solution powered by ReaLift that allows shoppers to receive their ideal shoe size by scanning their feet on their mobile devices.
Upon clicking the call to action button on a product page, shoppers are redirected to a web application experience that gives them step-by-step instructions on how to use the application to scan their feet.
Once the shopper scans their feet, they are redirected to the original page where they receive their ideal shoe size and foot dimensions.
Once scanned, their measurements are saved via their local storage so they do not have to scan again and can visit other pages to receive their ideal size in different styles.
The solution scans the shopper's feet using their mobile device and any credit card sized card in their wallet or purse. ReaLift says 74% of shoppers who use the experience do not use cards with identification or currency associated with them.
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