Festival firsts, food recovery efforts, and in-store challenges: 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 Xiatech, OneStock, Asda, VoCoVo, Nosto, Adobe, Safeway, Divert, Zippin, and MINISO.
1…A new checkout-free store debuted at this year’s French Open. Launched in collaboration between Zippin, Sodexo Live!, and Fujitsu, this represents the first public autonomous store in France.
Housed in a historic building at the Auteuil Greenhouses near Court Simonne-Mathieu, the 630 square foot store offers a variety of cold sandwiches, pre-packaged beverages, and snacks.
Tennis fans tap a payment method to enter, select their items, and leave. Zippin’s checkout-free platform uses AI, computer vision, and sensor fusion to accurately determine purchases and automatically bill shoppers upon exiting the store. There are no lines, no scanning, and no mobile app required.
This follows on from a Zippin powered American Express Shop at the US Open during the past two years.
2…Xiatech, the company behind Xfuze, an AI powered composable hyper-integration platform, and distributed order management specialists, OneStock, have launched the second annual Business Value of MACH Technologies Survey.
Supported by Mapp, Mercaux, Optimove, Pimberly, Sitoo and the MACH Alliance, and running under the Power of MACH brand, the purpose of this global survey is to develop the most comprehensive benchmark into the value of composability and, specifically, MACH technologies, which has witnessed significant adoption over the last four years.
Gartner estimates that by 2027, at least 60% of new B2C and B2B digital commerce solutions, developed for the cloud, will be aligned with MACH architecture principles.
The company surveyed 2,000 Brits.
Among the highly valued features of showrooms are test drives, with 64% of buyers still wanting a hands on experience with the vehicle. However, when asked what features they’d like to see in future showrooms, 40% of respondents listed virtual test drives.
The research also found that a fifth of UK car buyers would trust a virtual test drive.
The most popular options for virtual test drive locations are 72% off road, 65% on a racetrack and 48% along a beach. Some want to go even further afield – 14% said they’d want to test drive a car on Mars.
20%…Safeway, which is operated by Albertsons Companies, has announced results from the implementation of Divert’s solution to reduce wasted food and accelerate food recovery efforts.
In three months, Safeway increased its food donations by 20%, reducing the edible food going to waste by an average of 1,252 pounds per store per month.
“We are committed to help put food on the table to nourish our neighbours in need,” says Karl Schroeder, President of Safeway’s Northern California Division.
“Divert is a critical partner in helping us increase our food recovery efforts, sharing strategies and key insights across our business to drive immediate results. We value their tailored, collaborative approach to food recovery.”
This took place at Parklife 2024 in the UK.
In a LinkedIn post, the company said: “What can we say? WOW! Over the weekend, as well as running several other events and venue installations across the country, we teamed up with Parklife and delivered the world’s largest self-serve auto-pouring festival bar dispensing a full drinks menu.”
This featured: 35 terminals, two bars, ten products, including beer, cider, spirit and mixers, Prosecco and the world’s first self-serve automated Aperol Spritz cocktail bar.
2,000…With store associates reporting more demanding customers post-pandemic, new Scandit research exposes key growth opportunities for retailers and establishes a critical link between technology, productivity, and worker and customer experiences, and the impact this has on profitability - especially for an industry with tight margins.
The company’s report asked 2,000 global retail store associates about the attributes they’re looking for in scanning related technology.
Respondents value tools that help them tackle inefficient or time-consuming tasks over more hyped technologies like AI, particularly when interacting with customers and when a sale is at stake.
£7.9 billion…New research from Adobe, powered by Adobe Analytics, reveals modest growth in online spending in May, buoyed by increased spending on England team merchandise, TVs and clothing as UK consumers prepared for the summer holidays and Euro 2024.
In total, Brits spent £7.9 billion online in May 2024, a 2.1% increase on the £7.8 billion spent in same period last year.
With the UEFA European Championships kicking off this week, online sales of England football shirts and other team merchandise increased 115% in May compared with normal levels, as fans prepare to support the national team, with spending accelerating towards the end of the month.
Adobe Analytics also recorded an uplift of 14.4% in spending on TVs compared with normal levels as armchair fans prepare to tune in at home. During the first week of June, spending on England team merchandise was up 639% compared with normal levels and rose 144.49% from the week prior.
After rising 9.8% in the year to April, online grocery prices settled in May, rising by 1.7% YoY. In contrast, the apparel and electronics categories continued to experience heavy discounting, resulting in a -5.7% overall change in the online rate of inflation.
35% and 58%…Asda workers have been stabbed, punched and threatened with syringes, according to a survey by GMB which shows one in three has been attacked at work.
GMB is a recognised union in Asda stores and warehouses, with over 6,000 members.
In its poll of almost 1,000 Asda staff, workers revealed how they had been spat at, suffered broken bones, been hit with bottles and had death threats against them and their children.
Delivery drivers have been chased by people in cars and been confronted by customers in the nude, while store workers have had watermelons and joints of gammon thrown at them.
In total, 339 people (35%) said they had been a victim of verbal or physical violence whilst carrying out their job role.
The results of the survey also saw 58% of respondents said they had suffered injury or illness at work
1 and 90…Heritage jewellery and watch accessories brand WOLF has opened its first ever pop-up store in Covent Garden, London.
Open to consumers from Wednesday 5th June, this is the continuation of the many activations and launches being conducted by the company as part of its year long celebration to mark its 190th anniversary.
The 945 sq ft pop-up store is pitched as an immersive space for WOLF to showcase and sell its products and collections.
1 and 27…Lifestyle retailer MINISO has opened its first location at Bluewater Shopping Centre in Dartford, Kent.
Located on the Lower Thames Walk, opposite Foot Locker, this spans over 2,000 sq ft and features MINISO's best selling products
It will also be among the few stores in the UK to include its latest Beauty and & Self-care range, such as face masks, hand creams, and lip masks.
The new opening is the retailer’s 27th store in the UK and follows the launch of its other shopping centre locations in Westfield Stratford City, Westfield White City, Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre and Brent Cross.
52% of US and UK online shoppers have purchased at least one product from an e-commerce store in another country in the last 12 months, with the desire for lower prices being the most popular trigger.
That’s according to a survey of 2,000 shoppers commissioned by Nosto.
At the same time, however, 92% admit to concerns about shopping cross-border, with e-commerce returns problems (50%) and fears over products being poor quality (47%) or fake (46%) among the top worries.
85%…Amid a dramatic rise in retail-crime, 85% of small retail store owners admit to having challenges with communication in-store, exacerbated by team members having no way to speak with each other discreetly without customers overhearing confidential exchanges.
That’s according to research by VoCoVo, who polled over 200 UK decision-makers of small store and independent retailers.
Security and safety is a major challenge for small retailers, with crime across UK convenience stores estimated to cost £125 million a year, according to the ACS Crime Report 2023.
The same report uncovered that one-third of shoppers have witnessed violence or abuse towards shop workers in the past year.
Despite the pressing need for secure and instant communication, 49% of small store retailer workers rely on texting or apps like WhatsApp to communicate with eachother in-store.
This is followed by calling each other on mobile phones (46%), which are often personal devices, and worryingly, ‘waving, pointing and facial expressions’ is the third most common (43%).
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