Including Zippin, WelcoMe, and LoudCrowd: check out our biggest retail technology articles on LinkedIn this week
We’re big fans of LinkedIn and are busy building an amazing community of retail tech enthusiasts on the social media platform. As we head towards the 20,000 followers mark, these are the articles that are currently on their radars, including Currys, Snapchat, Selfridges, UNTUCKit, Fortnum & Mason, Aptos, and the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards.
Up, up, and away: MGI Caribe and Zippin partner on first checkout-free stores to open in Puerto Rico
MGI Caribe and Zippin have announced a new checkout-free store coming soon to Luis Munoz Marin International Airport SJU Airport in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
With Zippin's technology, guests can enter with a credit card, pick their items, and be on their way, without the need to scan anything or wait in a queue.
The Quick Bites store will be situated in Terminal A, with another checkout-free location opening in the next few months.
These will be the first checkout-free stores to open in Puerto Rico.
Currys boosts shopping experience for those with disabilities as it extends WelcoMe trial to London stores
A purpose built web app, the platform works by allowing shoppers with a disability to register an in-person store visit, online.
Through filling out a quick form indicating any specific disability related needs or information, and an estimated date/time of arrival, stores are then notified of the upcoming visit giving them the opportunity to prepare for and accommodate any specific requirements etc.
The tool also gives retail partners access to pointers and best practice techniques to help accommodate anybody, specific to certain disabilities.
This was piloted across 20 Currys stores around the Birmingham region, including: Birmingham Castle Vale, Birmingham Highgate, Birmingham Selly Oak, Burton, Cannock, Kidderminster, Leicester Fosse, Leicester St Georges, Loughborough, Merry Hill Retail Park, Shrewsbury, Solihull, Stafford, Stoke Festival Park, Stoke Longton, Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Telford, Wednesbury J9 and Wolverhampton.
And this week, WelcoMe will be launched at a further 20 stores across London.
North and South: Dr. Christian Bock focuses on shaping the future of shopping as he heads to Aldi Süd
Dr. Christian Bock is joining Aldi Süd in August where, he says in a LinkedIn post, he is “looking forward to taking the customer experience and shopping experience to the next level together with my new colleagues”.
He was previously at Aldi Nord where he held the position of Team Lead Store Computer Vision.
In a LinkedIn post, Bock said: “The focus is on the strategic and innovative orientation in connection with technology and business.”
“The aim is to continue to position Aldi Süd as an innovative and future oriented market leader and to offer customers a unique and unforgettable shopping experience. I and we will give everything together for this.”
He added: “I am convinced that we can achieve an enormous amount through close cooperation and the joint use of state-of-the-art technologies and the maximum business focus in combination with the best possible processes.”
“I am looking forward to the new challenges and the exciting task of shaping the future of shopping together with the new colleagues at Aldi Süd.”
New job title TBC.
Alan Dickson, Principal Technology Partner for Retail, BT/EE joins 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 in Central London on Thursday, 21st November.
Entry forms and FAQs can be found here.
Alan is a senior technology strategy and innovation leader with over 20 year's experience in the telco industry.
He is concept owner and programme lead for EE/BT's Retail IT Refresh, delivering an SD WAN network and a full replacement of all in-store trading devices, enabling the stores to trade wirelessly.
Alan delivered UK retails first digital identity verification solution in a physical retail environment.
He is passionate about making life easier using technology, and an incredibly proud dad to three teenage daughters.
Snapchat connects with sports fans as its AR locker room comes to life at Selfridges Oxford Street London store
Snapchat has launched a sports themed augmented reality (AR) Locker Room at Selfridges’ store on Oxford Street, London
The pop-up will be available throughout July and August, offering AR Mirror experiences.
Shoppers will be able to virtually try on their favourite sports kits, interact with top sports brands and experiment with AR lenses. They can also see their appearance in a custom Team Selfridges Sportopia football kit.
A QR code will let them save and share their favourite looks with friends and family.
Snapchat Senior Marketing Director of EMEA, Kate Bird, says: “We are delighted to see our AR locker room come to life in an iconic shopping destination like Selfridges.’
“Sports fans are no longer just the people flooding the stadiums - there’s a much larger digital audience, and new tech like AR is continually changing the way people engage with sport.”
“To connect with the next generation of fans, sports teams, channels and brands have to meet them where they are – and our immersive Locker Room experience demonstrates how Snapchat is helping brands to connect with digital communities and getting people closer to the games they love.”
Tea, biscuits and preserves: Fortnum & Mason launches Fortnum's Dispatch online subscription service
Fortnum & Mason has launched Fortnum's Dispatch, a new subscription service for customers, allowing them to order some of the retailer’s best known products on repeat.
In a LinkedIn post, Lisa Camm, Head of Digital Transformation at Fortnum & Mason, said: “It is not often that the digital team get to work on something related to our key products (tea, biscuits and preserves), this has been so rewarding and we've snacked on a biscuit or two.”
She added: “Available exclusively online, it is a great gift, or a treat for yourself. This is just the start of our Fortnum's Dispatch offering and we are hoping to add more functionality and products in the future.”
“Top tip from myself: if you order toffolosus try putting them in the fridge for extra crunch and chew! (Sorry FoodTech and buying teams, I know it isn't recommended to store chocolate under 16 degrees!)”
Irish luxury retailer Brown Thomas Arnotts gears up to deploy Aptos Sales Audit and CRM solutions
Brown Thomas Arnotts, an Irish luxury retailer, is upgrading to the latest versions of Aptos’ Sales Audit and CRM solutions.
Once deployed, it says it will benefit from new capabilities that unlock greater levels of customer engagement and loyalty whilst promoting omnichannel agility.
Aptos Sales Audit and CRM will be delivered via SaaS.
Part of the Selfridges Group, Brown Thomas Arnotts encompasses two Irish luxury retailers - Brown Thomas and Arnotts.
Brown Thomas operates five department stores in Dublin, Dundrum, Cork, Limerick, and Galway, along with a BT2 store in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.
Arnotts, Ireland’s oldest and largest department store, spans 300,000 square feet and features a wide range of designer brands in fashion, beauty, homewares, and more.
To achieve a holistic view of its retail business, Brown Thomas Arnotts will leverage Aptos’ Sales Audit solution. This system consolidates all of Brown Thomas Arnotts’ transaction data, validates and processes that data, and then feeds clean data to various systems and functions across the enterprise.
Kammac Bergen Logistics tie up targets logistics and fulfilment services for UK fashion and lifestyle industries
Elanders Group businesses, Kammac and Bergen Logistics, have formed a new partnership to deliver logistics and fulfilment services for the UK’s fashion and lifestyle industries.
The collaboration includes utilising Bergen Logistics specialised value added service offerings (VAS) in the high-end apparel market alongside Kammac's scalable retail solutions and support.
The partnership aims to enhance services for apparel brands of all sizes across the UK with a wide range of offerings, including warehousing, distribution, storage, e-commerce fulfilment, contract packing, and pre-retail work.
Spearheading the initiative is Kevin Rogers, Head of Bergen Logistics UK, pictured below.
He says: "We understand the current challenges faced by the fashion and lifestyle industries and the importance of a reliable 3PL partner to support brands in navigating these complexities.”
"Whether operating under the Kammac or Bergen model, we are dedicated to providing solutions tailored to our clients' specific needs.”
“Our goal is to ensure exceptional service for the end consumer, be it e-commerce fulfilment, retail replenishment, complete omnichannel fulfilment, final mile delivery, reverse logistics, or value-added services."
Skipify hires payment industry veterans from Visa, Airbnb, PayPal as company's new COO and VP of Sales
Skipify, a PayTech firm focused on the checkout experience, has announced the appointment of Sam Shrauger as its new Chief Operating Officer and Lucy Morse as Vice President of Enterprise Sales.
Shrauger most recently served as Global Head of Payments and Chairman and CEO at Airbnb Payments.
Prior to that, he was the Senior Vice President of Digital and Consumer Products at Visa, where he played an instrumental role in designing and deploying Visa’s entire digital product and services portfolio.
Earlier, he also served as the VP of Global Product and Design at PayPal, responsible for defining, designing, and commercialising all of its P2P, consumer payment, merchant acceptance, and digital products globally.
Morse joins from PayPal, where she led enterprise level revenue strategies and focused on expanding strategic merchant relationships. Prior to that, she spent a decade at Microsoft as a senior sales leader.
Understanding physical traffic: Men's apparel brand UNTUCKit taps RetailNext in-store analytics platform
UNTUCKit has announced a partnership with RetailNext.
Founded in 2011 by Chris Riccobono after he struggled to find a shirt that looked good untucked, UNTUCKit was known first as a digitally native brand, but has rapidly increased its global store estate since opening in New York in 2015, taking its network to 88 outlets, including one in London, with more on the way.
As a digital first brand, UNTUCKit was used to accessing a wealth of insight from across its e-commerce operations to improve online performance.
However, as the brand grew its store footprint, it felt it lacked access to data from its store estate, especially around store traffic and in-store conversion reporting. This, in turn, was limiting its ability to track, analyse and improve bricks and mortar operations and performance.
Sandra Scibelli, Head of US Retail at UNTUCKit, says: “We needed data to identify pockets of opportunity where we were performing well, and understand what we should do about it, as well as where we could improve. As we started growing, it was clear that we needed one source of truth.”
Focus on influencers as online fashion retailer boohoo taps LoudCrowd technology for social commerce journey
In 2022, LoudCrowd started working with boohoo to scale the online retailer’s influencer programmes.
In a LinkedIn post, Gary Garofalo, CEO at LoudCrowd, said: “They were already working with hundreds of influencers in a one-to-one capacity. And like most brands, they had roughly reached their capacity in cost/effort.”
“We were able to set up automated creator programs and scale their relationships into the thousands. Now, we're taking the next step and giving all of those creators their own storefronts on the respective boohoo properties.”
He added: “With the content machine in place, it's time to shift the focus to monetisation. Now boohoo will be getting the full funnel benefit of working with creators. Top of funnel brand awareness, and a best-in-class conversion experiences with our native creator storefronts.
“Congrats to Stephanie Riddell (Senior Influencer & PR Manager at boohoo), Edith Batchelor (Senior Digital Marketing Manager) and team! Excited to be part of boohoo’s social commerce journey.”
Continue reading...