Starring Superdrug, Boca Rosa, Watsons Malaysia: 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 Walmart, Zippin, Currys, WelcoMe, Snap, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, and boohoo.
Boca Rosa
Banuba reports that it has played a pivotal role in the success of Brazilian cosmetic brand Boca Rosa's pre-launch.
The event, held over four hours, saw the latter sell 64,413 items, totalling more than $900,000 in sales.
Banuba's virtual try-on functionality (VTO) boosted the beauty shopping experience for over 1.1 million attendees.
By leveraging this technology, customers were able to virtually test Boca Rosa's cosmetics, allowing them to visualise how the products would look on them before making a purchase. The integration was facilitated by metaKosmos, a Brazilian technology company and partner of Banuba.
The virtual try-on feature powered 1.73 million try-on sessions conducted during the event.
Walmart
Walmart has announced a grocery network transformation, inclusive of five new high-tech perishable distribution centres (PDC), expansions to four existing facilities and the first retrofit of a PDC.
In a blog post, Dave Guggina, EVP Supply Chain, Walmart U.S., says: “Our business is growing. Walmart is the largest grocery retailer in the US, with our grocery network supporting over 4,600 stores with a massive pickup and delivery business that continues to grow as customers seek the convenience and value we offer.”
“That’s why we’re adding state-of-the-art tech to our facilities: to enable greater speed and capacity that allows us to serve customers even more reliably.”
“For example, these high-tech DCs can store double the number of cases and process more than twice the volume of a traditional perishable DC, more than doubling the number of cases processed per hour.”
Lidl GB
In what is pitched as a UK supermarket first, Lidl GB customers charging their electric vehicles will soon be able to pay via rewards app, Lidl Plus.
This follows an investment of over £15 million into the retailer’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure since 2017. It now has over 370 charging points across its stores, including 300 rapid chargers. The transition will start this summer and be rolled out nationwide by the end of the year.
Chief Development Officer, Richard Taylor, says: “Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at Lidl.”
“Since we opened our first store 30 years ago, Lidl has contributed to a shift in the way that people shop for their groceries, and this is the latest example of how we’re doing just that, so that we can further enhance our customers’ shopping experience.”
Snap and Selfridges
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.”
Zippin
Zippin has announced the opening of a new Zippin Walk-Up store at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs.
This marks the second such location launched at the venue with Aramark Sports + Entertainment.
The store opened in Section 109 this week during a COPA América game and offers an assortment of freshly prepared hot foods, snacks, and beverages.
Currys
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.
Superdrug
This is available to play for a limited time and us made up of three games themed around some of Superdrug’s own brand ranges, ProCare, Fruity and Solait.
Exclusive Obbies see players battle spinning electric toothbrushes, bounce across ProCare toothpaste tubes and fly across floss highwire, before moving onto the Fruity game.
The latter challenges players with fruity shaped obstacles before they go onto vote for their favourite Fruity flavour. The final game is a Solait summer and travel themed obstacle game which quizzes players on their suncare knowledge.
On completing all three games, users will enter a virtual Superdrug store, where the 60th birthday celebrations will begin.
Players can explore the concept store, listen to the in-store DJ and get the chance to win Superdrug branded UGCs to dress their avatar.
Those who complete all games will receive a code to redeem a free Fruity shower gel of their choice in any Superdrug store nationwide.
Since we published our article in May, the folks at Superdrug have been in touch to provide the following update:
Nearly one million have played the Obby thus far
The main objective has been to create a positive brand experience for gamers who may be interacting with Superdrug for the first time
The games focus on creating a fun and educative space for young gamers, with educational sections on the importance of oral care and sun care
Superdrug has had over 35k UGC items redeemed and 2,000 Fruity gels redeemed in its stores.
Fortnum & Mason
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!)”
boohoo
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.”
Watsons Malaysia
To mark its 30th anniversary, Watsons Malaysia has announced the launch of its first ever Watsons branded airplane in collaboration with AirAsia.
Watsons says that it is “the first retailer in Malaysia to bring health and beauty to the skies”.
The airplane will start serving passengers from mid-July onwards at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2, and it will feature Watsons' branding, in-flight shopping opportunities, and various in-flight engagement activities.
Dr. Malina Ngai, Group CEO at AS Watson Group, says: “I’m excited to officiate the launch of our partnership with AirAsia to have our first ever Watsons branded airplane as a special initiative of the 30th anniversary. What led us to this partnership is our shared belief that 'Sky is Not the Limit' – our passion to serve our customers has no limits, and anything is possible for us.”
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