Robots on the rise and loyalty reimagined: 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 GXO Logistics, Agility Robotics, Netto, Trotters Childrenswear, ShipEngine, Long John Silver’s, WSS, Aptos, Asda, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Macy’s.

GXO Logistics and Agility Robotics

GXO Logistics and Agility Robotics, creator of the bipedal mobile manipulation robot (MMR) Digit, have signed a multi-year agreement to begin deploying Digit in the former’s logistics operations.

The tie up, which follows a proof-of-concept pilot in late 2023, is pitched as both the industry’s first formal commercial deployment of humanoid robots and first Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) deployment of humanoid robots.

“We’re building on the success of last year’s groundbreaking pilot with Agility by deploying fully operational Digit humanoids into a live warehouse environment,” says Adrian Stoch, Chief Automation Officer, GXO.

“Our R&D approach is to partner with developers all over the world to help them build and validate practical use cases that improve the working environment for our employees while optimising operations for our customers.”

“Agility shares this philosophy, and Digit is the perfect addition to work alongside our people in our fulfilment centre. We’re delighted to progress our partnership through this critical milestone.”

Trotters Childrenswear

ShipEngine has been selected by Trotters Childrenswear to lead its delivery operations across the UK.

It says that it has implemented ShipEngine’s API solution to automate shipping, increase business efficiency and ultimately provide its customers with an exceptional e-commerce experience.   

Having initially used ShipEngine’s more small and medium focused sister brand, ShipStation, for shipping in the UK, as Trotters Childrenswear scaled and grew its e-commerce businesses, it required a more complex automated solution that could be directly built into its technology stack.

The aforementioned API simplifies shipping for Trotters Childrenswear and removes integration headaches and costs, providing access to over 100 local and global carriers.

Trotters Childrenswear is now able to process 30% more orders per day without any additional overheads, reduce administration associated with processing online orders and increase efficiency.

Netto

VusionGroup has announced the roll-out of its smart digital labels and solutions at Netto, the Danish discount grocery chain owned by Salling Group.

Salling Group, a partner of VusionGroup for more than 15 years, will deploy SESimagotag’s digital labels and the VusionCloud platform across its 550 Netto locations from Q3 2024 to Q2 2025.

As a result, Netto will be able to display product information, promotions and branding elements.

“We are constantly striving to improve the customer experience in our stores. The solutions from VusionGroup will allow us to provide our customers with clearer product information, more impactful promotions, and a more modern store environment for an enhanced shopping experience,” comments Alan Jensen, Executive Vice President, IT & Digital of Salling Group.

Glovo

Spain-based delivery app Glovo has launched Glovo Brands Ads Manager, a new platform that aims to help brands realise the full potential of retail media.

It says that brands and media agencies will be able to take full control of their retail media operations and independently plan, execute and optimise their campaigns through a self-service management tool.

Media agency Mindshare is already harnessing the platform in 11 markets to enable its clients to advertise their merchandise to consumers on the Glovo app, including Unilever. 

Marketers and media agencies can use Glovo Brands Ads Manager to power their campaigns via consumer searches, homepage listings, banners and sponsored placements to reach consumers across the entire marketing funnel. 

Foot Locker

Foot Locker has launched its reimagined loyalty programme, FLX Rewards, across North America. 

Kim Waldmann, Global Chief Customer Officer, says: “It all started by listening intently to our customers, and they were super clear on what they wanted from us - access to sneaker heat, exclusive rewards, and recognition of their loyalty in the form of cash back.”

“And so that’s what we delivered, showcasing our commitment to deepening customer relationships and expanding sneaker culture to more consumers across the globe.”

Later this year, meanwhile, Foot Locker will launch a new mobile app featuring real-time product launch updates, enhanced storytelling, a streamlined shopping experience and a forthcoming “Store Mode,” with the aim of enabling a more seamless omnichannel experience and connectivity for team members.

Waldmann concludes: “I am incredibly proud of the teams that worked to deliver these customer centric innovations, both significant milestones in our overall Lace Up plan.”

Walgreens Boots Alliance

Supply chain management solution provider, TradeBeyond, reports that Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Global Sourcing has selected its platform to optimise and standardise the company’s operations across its retail brands and to leverage more innovative and agile sourcing practices. 

This will be used to manage numerous processes within WBA’s Global Sourcing function, as well as overall sourcing and order management follow up.

It will also replace several legacy and redundant systems with the aim of creating digital efficiencies, unifying processes, and facilitating data transparency and integrity. 

Dunelm

Dunelm has announced the roll-out of omnichannel gift cards, in partnership with Stored Value Solutions (SVS).

In a LinkedIn post, Thiago Palharini, Senior Product Manager at Dunelm, said: “This huge project touched virtually every system in the company, and it took a massive team effort to pull off.”

“Now, you can buy Dunelm gift cards online and in-store, which can be used both ways. Perfect for gifting to someone you love.”

“A special shoutout to our fantastic teams in customer care, FinTech, order management, marketing, finance, and customer comms.”

“So proud to be part of these teams and deliver something that has the potential to be a game-changer for our business!”

Malc Berg, SVP Business and Account Development Executive at SVS, commented: “Great to be working with Dunelm. Superb achievement. Huge congrats to all involved. We’re proud to be in partnership with you.”

ICONIC London

Digital first make-up brand, ICONIC London, has partnered with Wunderkind, a performance marketing solution that scales one-to-one messages for retailers, to grow its direct-to-consumer (DTC) capabilities and drive online revenue growth.

Founded in 2015, ICONIC London is known for its ‘glowy’ make-up products,  designed to help wearers feel as good as they look with instant, ‘instagrammable’ effects. 

The brand was born on social media and is a favourite among celebrities, including Beyoncé and Khloe Kardashian, celebrity make-up artists and social influencers.  

It has amassed over 1.7 million followers on Instagram and more than 288k followers on TikTok.  

ICONIC London’s growth has historically been propelled forward partly by key partnerships,including with LookFantastic in the UK and with beauty giants Sephora and ULTA Beauty in the US.  

However, since the pandemic, when the brand saw growth of its DTC business, there’s been an increased drive to develop the channel further through greater ownership of customer data and first-party audiences.

This has become an even greater priority in the context of increased competition as other beauty brands also increasingly seek to pivot to DTC models using social media engagement.

Additionally, because ICONIC London’s products and campaigns go viral so frequently on social media, this generates high volumes of traffic to its website - the majority of which is anonymous.  

Whilst this is ostensibly a great problem to have, the challenge is that anonymous visitors can’t be re-engaged and retargeted directly.  

It was therefore critical to be able to capture all that demand, ensuring new website visitors are opted in to the brand’s marketing communications, while also accurately identifying anonymised return customers, to better re-target and convert them in future campaigns.

ICONIC London partnered with Wunderkind to help address this challenge.

Long John Silver’s

Long John Silver’s has partnered with Attentive, Bikky, Plein Air, and Sparkfly to implement a digital and in-store customer experience across more than 300 corporate stores and participating franchisees.

This will leverage a suite of platforms including Attentive’s CRM and SMS Messaging; Bikky’s Customer Data Platform; Plein Air’s Web and Mobile App; and Sparkfly’s Offer Management, Loyalty, Digital Wallet, and PoS Middleware Platform, with the aim of creating more meaningful messages, offers, and digital experiences for LJS guests.

“We're dedicated to delivering treasured moments for our customers,” says Jason Antony, Director of Digital Marketing at Long John Silver’s.

“By incorporating this cutting-edge technology into one 360° engagement ecosystem, we're excited to seamlessly blend the online and in-store experience and cater to today’s modern, digital first consumer.”

Mercaux

Mercaux, an in-store customer experience platform, has launched a BYOD solution, designed to alleviate CAPEX pressures and elevate customer interactions.

This leverages the retailer's existing investment in hardware, or alternatively, makes use of the store associates own smartphone devices, be it Apple, Android, or Windows, for deployment in less than a month.

Key highlights:

• Deploy on any web enabled device, including Apple, Android, and Windows platforms.

• Access Mercaux’s Assisted Selling and Clienteling solutions for customer engagement.

• Go live with the BYOD solution in as little as one month, leveraging existing hardware or store associate smartphones.

WSS

WSS is to deploy Aptos ONE PoS across 100+ stores in the United States.

Built on the Aptos ONE microservices-based platform, this is a mobile first application that aims to streamline and enhance in-store experiences for WSS’ shoppers and associates and reduce the hardware footprint in each location.

Founded in 1984 and acquired by Foot Locker, in 2021, WSS is a footwear, apparel and accessories retailer that offers top sportswear and private label brands.

For nearly a decade, it has leveraged Aptos software to support its retail operations.

This includes the use of solutions to manage inventory (Merchandising), engage customers (PoS, CRM), fulfil orders (OMS), audit transactions (Sales Audit) and analyse business performance (Analytics). 

Asda

Asda has completed the roll-out of new NCR Point of Sale (PoS) software across its store estate.

In a LinkedIn post, Kevin Besford, Senior Director - Retail Future at Asda, said: “A huge thank you to everyone involved in this extremely ambitious project.”

He added: “This commitment is driving us forward as we continue to build our brand new Asda digital landscape. An even bigger thank you to all our store colleagues who’ve continued to work extremely hard in serving our customers through this time of change.”

“A massive well done to everyone involved in the Asda front end programme, a massive cross functional effort to mobilise across 612 stores.”

The project included 16,674 checkouts, 6,211 physical installs, 27,888 scan and go devices updated, with deployment peaking at 42 stores per week, and over 30,000 colleagues newly trained.

Besford concluded: “An amazing collaboration across the Retail, Tech and NCR teams to get this done.”

Forage and DoorDash

Payments firm, Forage, and food delivery big hitter DoorDash have announced a partnership to expand SNAP/EBT acceptance on the latter’s platform.

Since launching support for SNAP/EBT payments in 2023, over 1.1 million over consumers have added their SNAP/EBT cards to DoorDash.

Forage says that its “seamless integration, enhanced reliability, and dedicated SNAP experts help to accelerate the USDA authorisation process for merchants on DoorDash, reducing the time it takes for them to start accepting SNAP/EBT on the app”.

Through this partnership, consumers can order SNAP eligible groceries from more merchants while using their SNAP benefits on DoorDash.

Moschino

YOOBIC, an AI powered frontline employee experience platform, has partnered with Italian fashion house Moschino.

The collaboration is central to a new learning and development programme from the luxury brand, with YOOBIC’s digital workplace solution being used for staff training and communications across Moschino’s 150+ global retail locations.

With YOOBIC implemented, Moschino’s learning landscape has been boosted, with course completion rates increasing to 98%.

Gone are the days of hours sat at computers plowing through digital workbooks and exercises - instead, frontline employees can now access bespoke bite-sized mobile training anytime, anywhere via YOOBIC’s iOS and Android app.

Short-form videos, images, quizzes, and other interactive content aim to keep learning stimulating and engaging, even during brief moments between serving shoppers.

Macy’s

Macy’s has announced go live for a major PoS checkout modernisation project.

In a LinkedIn post, Naga Tirumala Rao Chillapalli, Technical Engineering Manager at Macy’s, said: “Modernising Point of Sale is no small feat, involving the replacement of registers, modernising PoS applications, and backend integrations.”

“It requires extensive collaboration between product, business, change management, software vendors, store leadership, and cross-functional teams.”

He added: “In my role as a manager, this project has been both a challenge and a triumph. I've had the privilege of overseeing multiple facets of the project, from development to Enactor configurations, environments, PoS labs, testing, SRE and QA automation. It's been a journey of growth and learning, and I'm immensely proud of the progress we've made together.”

“I couldn't be prouder of my team and the entire project team. This achievement is a testament to the incredible teamwork, dedication, and collaboration of everyone involved.”

“Together, we have overcome challenges, embraced change, and delivered a solution that will drive positive impact for our customers and store colleagues.”

The new Point of Sale systems are now live at Macy’s Mall of Georgia.

Chillapalli concluded: “We will continue to build on this momentum, innovate, and deliver exceptional experiences for our customers and colleagues.”

Walgreens Boots Alliance

Walgreens Boots Alliance has deployed Zebra Technolgies’ Workcloud Actionable Intelligence software to enhance operational compliance and the company’s ability to identify and combat shrink.

It selected Zebra’s Modern Store framework to improve asset protection, better equip employees with technology, and optimise operational visibility in its network of 8,000 locations across 50 states.

As an essential retailer carrying critical healthcare products and prescription medications, Walgreens needed an intuitive analytics solution to uncover issues and resolve areas of loss in real-time.

“Recognising the advantages of today's digital technologies, we implemented Zebra’s leading-edge software and hardware solutions to streamline our operations and better support our employees and customers,” says Tim Bailey, Senior Manager, Asset Protection Solutions, Walgreens Boots Alliance.

“The integration of Zebra's solutions has yielded positive outcomes, empowering our business with tools to enhance associate engagement, improve inventory accuracy, and elevate the customer experience.”

Ocean Outdoor

Ocean Outdoor has completed its premium digital out of home (DOOH) network in St James Quarter Edinburgh ahead of a series of international summer sports fixtures that started with the Euros and ends with the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Two new portrait DOOH screens launching on 24th June are the first large format pedestrianised full motion screens to become available in Edinburgh.

Positioned inside the leisure and retail destination, The Screen @ St James Quarter Multrees Walk and The Screen @ St James Quarter Princes Street complement Ocean’s existing Loop network of 31 portrait D6s and one D6 totem.

The launch partner is Old Mout Cider with Moutopia, a national branding campaign that transports people to a fruity island fantasy. The campaign was planned through Dentsu X and Posterscope. 

The two screens precede the arrival of Team GB’s official fan zone, presented in association with Ocean, which opens to the public at St James Quarter from 26th July for the duration of the Paris Olympics.

GoCardless and Celigo

Bank payment company GoCardless has announced a partnership with integration and automation platform Celigo.

Leveraging Celigo’s integration platform (iPaaS) will enable GoCardless to build integrations between its payment platform and the back-end systems commonly used by businesses today.

The aim here is to open up new opportunities to acquire customers in all of its markets, without the need to build custom integrations into hundreds of platforms. 

The partnership will allow businesses to incorporate GoCardless bank payments into the software they use everyday, from finance and procurement tools to shipping and fulfilment platforms, allowing merchants to automate and optimise business processes while benefiting from a faster, cheaper and more secure way to get paid.

Petit Bateau

Centric Software reports that Petit Bateau has selected Centric Market Intelligence to execute its data driven pricing strategy.

Founded in Troyes in 1893, Petit Bateau operates in 55 countries, through a network of e-commerce sites and more than 350 Points of Sale.

Faced with a range of market challenges including rising raw material costs, such as the rising cost of cotton, a falling birth rate in Europe and an explosion in the second hand market, it needed a high performance, intuitive competitive market intelligence (CMI) solution.

It is vital for the brand to have in-depth, real-time analysis on assortments and prices, as well as robust data on product trends. Petit Bateau’s objective is to remain competitive with a more strategic assortment and pricing architecture to maintain its appeal to customers.