Immerse yourself in the world of Bruce Wayne: RTIH pulls together 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 eBay, Starbucks, Jisp, REWE Group, L'Oréal China, Amazon, and WelcoMe.
Sainsbury’s and Microsoft
Sainsbury’s and Microsoft have announced a new five-year strategic partnership, using the latter’s artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities and Sainsbury's datasets to help accelerate the retailer's recently announced Next Level Sainsbury’s strategy.
The tie up aims to improve store operations, drive greater efficiency for colleagues and provide customers with more efficient and effective service, delivering stronger returns for shareholders under Sainsbury's Save and Invest To Win programme.
The Mills Fabrica
The Mills Fabrica, a specialist in sustainable techstyle and agrifood innovation, has launched a new flagship industry exhibition, Planet Saving Innovations.
This spotlights 10 startups’ technologies to solve fashion’s sustainability challenges and takes place at Fabrica X, the company's innovation gallery and concept store in King’s Cross, London.
The ventures on display have embraced fungi, natural collagen byproducts, microorganisms and enzymes to replace plastics, chemicals and fossil fuels in the manufacturing of textiles and high performance materials.
These include:
unspun, who will unveil an installation designed by Tom Kendall, paying homage to Vega, with the world’s first 3D weaving technology for apparel. unspun’s proprietary 3D weaving and digital fit technology is pitched as the fastest, cleanest and most cost-efficient way to make woven apparel, with more than 50% emission reductions compared to standard production.
eBay
eBay has announced a new ‘resell on eBay’ feature that enables users to list their clothing on the platform in a couple of clicks of a button.
Developed as part of eBay’s commitment to creating easier ways for brands and buyers to participate in the circular fashion economy, this will be built into Certilogo’s (acquired by eBay in 2023) Secure by Design digital ID, accessible by scanning a connected product’s smart label.
Italian outerwear and lifestyle brand Save The Duck will be the first brand to pilot the new feature, with its connected garments featuring the new resell button rolling out from May.
eBay plans to expand the service to other brands using the Certilogo Digital ID in the near future, with the goal of making it a default function of its Secure by Design technology.
Jisp and HELL Energy
Jisp has announced a new partnership with FMCG brand HELL Energy.
The tie up brings a direct to store buying and distribution service to retailers, utilising Jisp’s app-based technology, in a move that aims to build closer working relationships with retailers for HELL.
Retailers can order its products through the Jisp app direct from the brand’s Walsall depot, with a delivery area initially covering the East and West Midlands, Derbyshire and west into the Bristol area.
The service will reward retailers with special pricing and loyalty rewards, with promotions from HELL then extending into the shopper app to complete the engagement with the end consumer.
WelcoMe
Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products and Relevance International
Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products (WBDGCP) and Relevance International’s Brand Experience & Partnerships division have announced what is pitched as a first of its kind, collaborative luxury brand ecosystem that immerses customers in a shoppable, story driven experience supported by an exclusive digital marketplace.
The concept, in which the top brands in their verticals are curated within digital and theatrical environments inspired by film and pop cultural IP, is launching with the Wayne Enterprises Experience.
Consumers are brought into the world of DC’s Bruce Wayne, the billionaire civilian persona of Batman, via a scripted story that plays out live in a secret New York City location, as well as online through a companion site: BruceWayneX.com.
Products, including many limited editions and capsule collections created only for the Wayne Enterprises Experience, are inspired by and immersed in the world of Bruce Wayne, who has access to the best of the best of tech, fashion, automobiles, art, multimedia, watercraft, residences etc etc.
Starbucks
Starbucks is rolling out its Mobile Order to Table offering to a select number of UK stores.
Customers can open the retailer’s mobile app and place an order and pay for it without having to wait in a queue. It will then be delivered to their table.
In a LinkedIn post, Laurent Picalausa, Digital Product Lead at Starbucks, said: “Very exciting feature for our customers, and our store partners.”
“We have stores in Edinburgh, Oxford Street (London), Marble Arch (London), Canary Wharf (London) among many others currently using the feature via the Starbucks app. Go try it!”
L'Oréal China
Hai Robotics has announced the inauguration of L'Oréal's SMART Fulfillment Centre in Suzhou, China.
Located inside Suzhou Industrial Park and with an area of 46,000 square metres, this houses Hai's goods-to-person solution, HaiPick System 1, including 39 HaiPick A42 Multi-Layer Autonomous Case-handling Mobile Robots (ACR), as well as HaiPort and conveyor picking workstations.
The facility will be a key hub in the beauty brand's handling of D2C and B2B orders in Mainland China.
L'Oréal says that it is now able to handle orders with elevated flexibility, efficiency and scalability, without compromising on intelligence and sustainability for its supply chain operations.
Amazon
CBORD, a provider of higher education automation solutions, has announced the integration of Amazon's Just Walk Out (JWO) technology at Kent State University in Ohio.
Students, faculty and staff at Kent State University can now complete their shopping without waiting in line.
Upon exiting the store, the purchase amount is automatically deducted from their campus funds account. And they can receive an itemised receipt via email shortly after they depart.
"We are thrilled to introduce Amazon's Just Walk Out technology at Kent State University, offering students, faculty and staff a cutting-edge shopping experience,” says Dan Park, CBORD’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
“This integration underscores our commitment to innovation and providing seamless solutions that enhance campus life. We look forward to seeing the positive impact this technology will have on the Kent State community."
REWE Group
EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg has opened a NextLevel Ladepark EV charging station in Chemnitz, Germany.
This includes a Reckon AI powered REWE Ready microstore.
In a LinkedIn post, Francisco Vasconcelos, COO at Reckon.ai, said: “Another state-of-the-art microstore, powered by Reckon.ai.”
“Last week was the official opening of EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg NextLevel Ladepark in Chemnitz. This EV charging station has 24 high power charging points and is the first of many.”
He added: “With game changing developments to address different aspects of sustainability, the customers of this charging station have a 24/7 fully autonomous microstore from REWE Ready with approximately 200 products.”
Conad
Sensei, a Portugal-based provider of autonomous store technology, has announced a deal in the Italian market with the opening of the country’s second autonomous supermarket.
Located in the historic centre of Trento, Conad’s new neighbourhood store TuDay Prendi & Vai promises a faster and more convenient shopping experience without the need to queue or scan products.
Sensei, which has autonomous stores across Europe and South America, has teamed up with the DAO cooperative that manages Conad in the provinces of Trento, Bolzano, Vicenza and Verona.
The opening comes six months after the launch of a first store, located in Verona, for the same client. This has so far pulled in more than 90,000 people.
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