Including Galp, Asda, Volvic, Ikea, and Lowe’s: RTIH runs through June’s coolest retail technology plays

RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his stand out ‘future of retail’ systems deployments from June, including Sensei, GXO Logistics, Agility Robotics, Walmart, The O2, Amazon, Harley, Sawhorse Productions and Metavertising.

Colibri

Colibri has announced the opening of the first autonomous store on one of Grupo Brisa’s highways in Portugal, under the Colibri Express banner.

Located in Colibri de Pombal, A1, towards Lisbon, this is the result of a partnership with Sensei.

José Maria Almeida Lima, General Manager at Brisa Service Areas, says: “Customers can access a wide variety of products and only three steps are needed to make the purchase: the customer opens the door with their bank card, chooses the products they want and leaves, with the possibility of receiving the invoice in digital format."

In a LinkedIn post, Sensei said: “The first ever autonomous store on a motorway in Portugal! A non-stop pit stop. With no waiting lines. Always on the move.”

“Now, if you’re on the fly like a Colibri (the fastest bird in the world, how convenient!), we make sure you have no time to waste. While Brisa takes care of the road, together with Colibri, we take care of the journey.”

Galp

Portuguese multinational energy corporation, Galp, has gone live with its new Smart Store offering at Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics in Portugal.

The autonomous location is powered by Sensei’s technology.

In a LinkedIn post, Maria Estarreja, Executive Director Retail Innovation Lab (RIL) at Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, said: “I have the pleasure to announce that we opened last week at Católica Lisbon an autonomous Galp Smart Store, that will allow us to provide improved services to our dear students and, at the same time, will be a research lab for the RIL.”

She added: “This project was only possible due to the hard work and collaboration of the RIL and Católica Lisbon, Galp and Sensei.”

“I would like to thank all the teams enrolled in this project, as well as send a special thank you to Ana Casaca (Global Head of Innovation at Galp) and Joana Rafael (COO at Sensei) for dreaming with us.”

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.”

Walmart

In April, we reported that Walmart was now able to sell physical goods directly to users inside Roblox.

Walmart Discovered users can have real-life items shipped directly to their doorsteps.

They are greeted with a new storefront showcasing virtual twins of select items sold at physical Walmart stores. The feature is gated specifically to users aged 13 or older in the United States only.

Walmart is now launching a Walmart Discovered AR experience, built in partnership with Sawhorse Productions and Metavertising.

In a LinkedIn post, Walmart Director of Brand Experiences and Strategic Partnerships Justin Breton, said: “It’s important for us to continue identifying new, innovative ways to deepen our relationship with our Roblox community.”

“That’s why, today, we’re launching the Walmart Discovered AR Experience, the first ever immersive AR experience that allows customers to step inside Walmart Discovered in the real-world.”

Customers can shop trending user generated content, discover indie experiences, and see the month’s free virtual item (with the purchase of a Roblox gift card from Walmart.

The featured UGC and experiences are made by and sourced from the retailer’s community on Roblox.

It has also partnered with Flaunt, a Roblox loyalty platform, to power monthly quests that connect the AR experience with the on-platform experience.

Breton said: “It introduces cross-platform gamification and provides our customers with an element of surprise and delight once a quest is complete.”

He concluded: “Customers can easily access the Walmart Discovered AR Experience on their mobile phones by scanning a QR code on the Roblox gift card display in stores nationwide, visiting a dedicated Roblox gift card landing page on Walmart.com, or joining our growing Discord server for early access to our monthly quest.”

The O2 and Amazon

The O2 will be one of more than a dozen third-party locations in the UK to offer Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology by the end of this year.

It will be the first indoor arena in England to use the solution, with a new store allowing people to tap their card or mobile wallet, grab their chosen drinks and snacks, and quickly get back to their seats.

The O2 adds to a growing list of UK venues that have opened stores powered by Just Walk Out technology, including ExCel London and The SSE Arena.

Jon Jenkins, Vice President, Just Walk Out technology, says: “We have stores in corporate headquarters like Bentley Motors and Santander Bank, as well as our own Amazon headquarters in London.”

“We’re also in hospitals and universities, including stores at Telford Hospital and Sussex University, and we recently launched a store at Gridserve’s EV Station at Gatwick Airport, with more Gridserve stores coming later this year.”

“By the end of 2024, we expect to be in more than a dozen third-party stores in the UK, as well as in all 20 UK Amazon Fresh stores.”

Volvic

Wavemaker UK, Global and DOOH.com have collaborated on a 3D programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH) ad campaign for the launch of a new Touch of Fruit Sparkling range from Volvic.

For the next seven weeks, commuters and passers-by at Kings Cross and Waterloo London Underground stations will see Touch of Fruit Sparkling 3D cans popping out from digital screens.

The experience includes digital outdoor ads situated in close proximity to stockists, encouraging consumers to discover the new sparkling fruity flavoured drinks at their earliest convenience. 

The campaign marks the first time a 3D DOOH campaign has been programmatically bought and activated and it has been made possible thanks to the offering from Global via its Digital Ad Exchange (DAX). 

REWE Group

REWE Group has opened its first autonomous PENNY store in Romania.

The 349 square metre location can be found in Bucharest.

In a LinkedIn post, Christoph Eltze, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at REWE Group, said: “After more than 80,000 hours of work and 4,000 hours of testing with a team of more than 50 colleagues, the time has finally come: the first autonomous PENNY store has been launched in Bucharest – not only in Romania, but worldwide.”

Eltze added that in Germany, REWE Group are pioneers with hybrid test stores in Cologne, Berlin, Hamburg and Düsseldorf as well as a store with fully autonomous check-out via REWE Pick&Go in Munich.

In Lithuania, it was the first to launch autonomous stores with IKI Go a year and a half ago – and to this day is the only one in the country with five locations.

Ikea

Ikea is opening a virtual store on Roblox, marking its first foray into mainstream gaming and also becoming the first brand to launch paid work on the platform.

Going live on 24th June, the Co-Worker Game allows players to experience working in the retailer’s virtual universe. People will, according to a press release, “be able to live their home furnishing dreams and get paid for it, with a limited number of paid roles available”.

The immersive experience gives players the opportunity to experience Ikea’s approach to careers where, to quote the aforementioned press release, “non-linear career journeys are the norm and lateral moves across departments are commonplace”.

Lowe’s

Lowe's says it is the first home improvement retailer to offer customers an in-store, Apple Vision Pro powered experience, with a pilot set to launch in three test markets this month.

Customers can try Lowe's Style Studio for Apple Vision Pro firsthand, allowing them to visualise and design their dream kitchens using spatial computing and the help of an associate.

"Lowe's has a history of breaking new ground in our industry, and being the first home improvement retailer to offer an Apple Vision Pro experience in select stores is an exciting step in our omnichannel journey," says Seemantini Godbole, Lowe's Executive Vice President, Chief Digital and Information Officer.

"We believe Apple Vision Pro can enhance in-store kitchen design experiences, empowering our customers to visualise their dream kitchens using advanced spatial computing technology."

Asda

Harley, a London-based company developing a real-time generative AI (GenAI) platform for data driven decision-making, reports a successful proof of concept delivered with Asda.

Harley's platform provides Asda's leadership with live, actionable insights, enabling executives to make quicker and more informed decisions.

Simon Jury, VP of Data & Analytics at Asda, says: "Harley's real-time AI solution is the future of how people are going to interact with data.”

“By integrating into Asda’s data ecosystem, the collaboration unlocks new levels of operational agility through rapid data driven decision-making, setting a new standard within the retail industry."

“Harley’s engine offers rapid insights into your data, helping influence the highest-level decisions within an organisation,” says Alex Banks, Co-Founder and CEO at Harley.

“This collaboration underscores our shared commitment to redefining retail excellence, proving that the right data at the right time can be a game-changer in how businesses respond to market dynamics.”

“We look forward to working alongside Asda, where I’m confident data driven insights become the cornerstone of competitive advantage in this fast changing sector.”