Starring Laws of Motion, Starbucks, and eBay: RTIH’s most read retail technology articles from last week
Check out the articles on this here website that caught your fancy last week, including Dunnes Stores, Tesco Ireland, Aldi Ireland, Kwayga, Ordergroove, Heineken, Blue Yonder, Wolt, Sainsbury’s, Microsoft, and the 2014 RTIH Innovation Awards.
Sainsbury’s and Microsoft connect as grocery giant looks to boost customer and colleague experience with artificial intelligence
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.
US startup Laws of Motion scores $5 million in seed funding for AI FitTech licensing for brands and retailers
Laws of Motion, a specialist in AI sizing technology for e-commerce brands and retailers, has raised $5 million in seed funding from Corazon Capital, with participation from The Scout Program at Sequoia Capital, Leadout Capital, and serial entrepreneurs in the consumer tech and fashion industry, including Raine Group Senior Consumer Advisor Eva Jeanbart-Lorenzotti and John Howard, Co-Managing Partner of Irving Place Capital and a board member of Good American, Skims, and Frame.
This funding will enable the company to expand beyond its direct-to-consumer business with the launch of an AI sizing technology licensing solution.
It will also support its expansion into new markets, as well as the growth of its engineering, R&D, and licensing operations teams.
AI powered self-checkout kiosks and automated warehouse systems: last week’s biggest retail technology plays at a glance
RTIH rounds up the stand out retail tech deals, launches, deployments and pilots from the past seven days. Including Conad, Currys, Munro Footwear Group, Misen, Balsam Brands, JYSK, Marvel Stadium, Sensei, Mashgin, and Microsoft.
Comment: retailers must tread cautiously as they embrace artificial intelligence amidst digital transformation pushes
Customers’ wallets are under severe pressure and price is now at the forefront of most buying decisions.
Therefore, retailers are looking again at their digital transformation efforts to reduce cost, inefficiencies and improve customer engagement. Fortunately, over the last 18 months we have seen significant new tools to support these efforts in the shape of the rise of AI and LLMs.
At the forefront of this transformation are AI powered systems equipped with advanced natural language processing (NLP) capabilities.
Retail technology analyst and influencer Natalie Berg added to 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards judging panel
The awards celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our 2024 winners will be announced at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, which will be held at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ on Thursday, 21st November.
Entry forms and FAQs can be found here.
Natalie delivers valuable insights on the trends shaping the global retail sector, with a particular focus on the convergence of physical and digital commerce.
She is passionate about how retailers can enhance the customer experience and has co-authored two books on retail, including Amazon: How the World’s Most Relentless Retailer Will Continue to Revolutionise Commerce.
Natalie hosts the Retail Disrupted podcast and is a regular keynote speaker on the retail conference circuit.
She is an objective TV and radio commentator with frequent appearances on the BBC, Bloomberg and Sky News, and also writes a guest column for Retail Week and Forbes.
In addition to her media work, she is an elected member of the KPMG Retail Think Tank where she provides quarterly insights and analysis on the health of the UK retail sector.
Starbucks UK rolls out Mobile Order to Table solution at select stores including London and Scotland locations
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. Their coffee etc 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!”
eBay taps Certilogo digital ID technology to give brands a new way to encourage circularity of products
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.
Dunnes Stores, Tesco Ireland and Aldi Ireland tap Kwayga retail technology to combat cost of living crisis
Dunnes Stores, Tesco Ireland and Aldi Ireland are partnering with Kwayga, a B2B supplier sourcing engine in the food and drink sector, to employ AI driven strategies enabling the accessibility of good quality products at sustainable prices.
Kwayga says that, with its AI data driven technology, buyers can cut sourcing times by 40% and increase the market visibility and trusted engagement for their buyers with potential new suppliers tenfold across Europe.
Mike McGrath, Kwayga CEO, says: "We're thrilled to support Ireland's leading supermarkets in their mission to offer unparalleled value and quality to their customers.”
“This collaboration underlines the power of technology to make a real difference in the lives of consumers, particularly in these challenging times. We're proud to be part of this pioneering approach to retail."
Heineken taps Blue Yonder retail technology as beer brand looks to improve demand planning
Heineken has announced a supply chain planning capability partnership with Blue Yonder.
The global brewer will implement Blue Yonder Cognitive Demand Planning, a cloud native, microservices-based SaaS solution, that utilises artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to improve forecast accuracy and reduce bias by considering dynamic external and internal variables.
Heineken has been implementing Blue Yonder solutions for multiple years.
It has selected the company as one of its current major supply chain solution providers, as it looks to future proof its demand planning process and leverage AI/ML, autonomous scenario planning, planning process orchestration and solution extensibility.
A logical next step: Wolt makes delivery fleet available for orders outside its own platform via API integration
Finnish delivery service Wolt is opening its platform with the new service Wolt Drive.
This provides its logistics offering to other businesses, enabling deliveries within 35 minutes. In a nutshell, every store, service provider, or e-commerce merchant can now access Wolt's delivery network in Vienna.
Customers can now select the Wolt Drive option when shopping online at Sacher.
Other businesses include mel&koffie, Schachtelwirt, and Ginza Yipin.
Matthias Winkler, CEO at Sacher Hotels, says: “An original Sacher Torte delivered to your home within one hour? This is now available in Vienna.”
“The trend towards rapid delivery has long since arrived in Vienna. By integrating Wolt as a delivery option into our own online store, we can not only easily meet this customer demand but also rely on a professional delivery infrastructure without having to build our own resources.”
“At the same time, we maintain our operational autonomy: the customer orders directly from us, Wolt handles the logistics.”
US-based Ordergroove brings its subscription technology platform for brands and retailers to the UK
Ordergroove, a subscription technology platform for brands and retailers, has announced its expansion into the United Kingdom.
UK brands including Halfords, Hotel Chocolat and Lily’s Kitchen have been long-standing Ordergroove customers.
In recent months, the company says it has seen an influx in interest from British retailers looking to revamp their subscriber experiences, driving the technology provider to officially expand into the UK.
The likes of Molton Brown, Untamed, Philip Kingsley, YuMove, Augustinus Bader and FlowerBX are now set to launch new and improved subscriber experiences.
Ordergroove supports numerous such experiences including subscribe save, bundles, rotating clubs, prepaid and membership.
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