Theft, payments trends, and on-road delivery robots: 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 Avery Dennison, UK Finance, Accenture, Gcore, Blank Street, Ikea, Tesco, Ralph Lauren, Lincolnshire Co-op, Pets at Home, and Impact Analytics.

64% and 42%…According to new research, 64% of large retailers in the UK and US agree that the impact of theft has reached a crisis point. In addition, 42% believe that theft is more of a concern today than it was 12 months ago. 

The research, commissioned by Avery Dennison, collates the views of 300 senior retail leaders in the UK and US representing brands with 200+ stores.

Theft was found to be the leading business concern. When asked to list their top five business challenges, the most cited responses were addressing the impact of theft (36%), optimising omnichannel (27%), increased operating costs (27%), improving staff efficiencies (26%), and retaining customers (24%).

In response to these challenges, many retailers are fighting back with a combination of anti-theft and loss prevention measures. 53% say 3% to 4% of their total IT budget is allocated to retail theft detection and prevention, while 23% are allocating 5% to 6% of their total IT spend.

For 57% of the retail leaders surveyed, these budgets equate to an increase in spend over the last two years, however, 33% still believe the resources allocated are insufficient. 

Retailers have been deploying a myriad of high-tech and low-tech measures to tackle an increase in theft, in addition to security guards. From RFID tags to body worn cameras to facial recognition technology, they are using a combination of solutions for a holistic approach.

€60 million…Exoticca, a traveltech platform for multi-day tour packages, has closed a €60 million Series D round led by Quadrille Capital, with participation from new investors including All Iron and ICF and existing backers 14W, Mangrove, Bonsai Partners, Sabadell and Aldea.

Multi-day tour packages, a sector worth over €100 billion, is one of the last segments of the travel industry still dominated by traditional tour operators with very low levels of digitisation, the company says.

This prevents travel agencies from offering real-time pricing and availability for complex packages and, as a result, customers experience a cumbersome and time-consuming purchasing process.

Exoticca’s bespoke technology connects all the different services (flights, hotels, meals, transfers, transportation and activities) required to book multi-day tours, connecting local companies at destination  with travel agencies and other online players and therefore provides the broadest scope for tour package distribution.

By digitising all parts of the booking process, Exoticca claims to have cut the process of booking complex long-haul trips down to just minutes and can guarantee its customers the best prices, bringing costs down by around 30% compared to competitors.

18.3 billion…UK Finance has released its latest Payment Markets Report, produced in collaboration with Accenture, which shows payments trends for the UK in 2023 and gives forecast projections for the next decade.

During 2023, there were 18.3 billion contactless payments made in the UK, an increase of 7% (2022: 17.0 billion). In total, contactless payments represented 38% of all payments made in the UK.

This covers both the use of physical cards and cards loaded onto mobile phones or other devices, such as watches, which are then used to initiate contactless payments. 

Looking specifically at mobile contactless payments, there was a marked increase in the number of people who reported being registered for mobile contactless payments (e.g., Apple Pay or Google Pay): now 42% of the adult population, up from 30% in 2022.   

In terms of usage, one third of adults used mobile contactless payments at least once a month in 2023. 

Mobile contactless payments benefit from additional security features, such as biometric authorisation of individual payments, and do not have upper value limits on the amount of an individual payment (currently £100 for contactless payments made using a physical card). 

Given that mobile phone penetration is above 90% in the UK, there is room for mobile contactless payments to continue to increase in usage, although we expect that this is mainly likely to be reflected in a migration of payments from contactless cards to mobile contactless devices. 

$60 million…Gcore, a global edge AI, cloud, network, and security solutions provider, has secured $60 million in Series A funding from institutional and strategic investors.

Led by Wargaming, and with participation from Constructor Capital and Han River (HRZ), this marks the company’s first external capital raise since its inception more than ten years ago.

The funds will be invested in Gcore’s technology and platform, including AI servers powered by NVIDIA GPUs.

3…Blank Street will open its third store in Manchester on Saturday 27th July. This will be located in The Trafford Centre, opposite the new Sephora store. 

The venture opened in the UK in 2022 and now has 34 locations across London and Manchester.

Customers will be able to try out the recently launched summer menu, including the Mango Passionfruit Matcha and Watermelon Matcha Spritz.

1…Vayu Robotics has announced the release of what is pitched as the world’s first on-road delivery robot that combines AI foundation models with lidar less, low cost passive sensors. 

This operates autonomously without pre-mapping the roads it intends to drive on and is capable of navigating inside stores, on city streets, and unloading packages on driveways or porches, carrying up to 100 lbs at under 20mph.

Vayu was co-founded by three veterans from the robotics and mobility industry, Anand Gopalan, former CEO who took lidar supplier Velodyne public in 2020, Mahesh Krishnamurthi, formerly of Apple SPG and Lyft, and Nitish Srivastava, also from Apple SPG and Geoffrey Hinton’s AI lab in the University of Toronto.

Hinton is also an advisor to the company.

2,400…Co-op has partnered with Bunzl Retail Supplies to help tackle shopfloor waste and save 132 tonnes of plastic annually in its 2,400 stores.

In what is pitched as a retailer first move, it is rolling out new shroud coverings for existing backhaul waste cages.

This will see Co-op moving away from single use stretch-wrap plastic film typically used for cages, which hold shopfloor waste, such as packaging and cardboard. 

The reusable shrouds, which have an expected lifespan of up to five years, are made from recycled plastic and are wrapped around the waste cages via Velcro straps to hold all the contents securely, without the possibility of loose waste falling from the cages.

By removing the need for plastic film wrap and cardboard inner tubes, the solution is expected to save 132 tonnes of plastic and 19 tonnes of paper in its first year, increasing in year two to 176 tonnes of plastic and 19 tonnes of paper saved.

7…Lincolnshire Co-op has signed a seven-year agreement with Xiatech.

Lincolnshire Co-op, one of the UK’s largest Co-operatives with 300,000 members and more than 220 outlets in Lincolnshire and surrounding counties, will use Xfuze, Xiatech’s MACH certified composable integration, data and analytics platform, to modernise its legacy system landscape and create a single view of all operational data and provide AI powered analytics.  

4…Impact Analytics, a specialist in AI powered planning, merchandising and pricing solutions for the retail, grocery, manufacturing and CPG industries, has announced additions to its leadership team.

The company has appointed Maggie Williams Dryden as Vice President and Global Head of Marketing and created three other new business development positions that, it says, “reflect its commitment to accelerating strategic global growth as the use of AI in retail hits an inflection point”.

100…Ikea has opened its 100th mobile pick-up point, following a UK wide roll-out. The service is free of charge for orders over £100 and costs £5 for orders below that amount.

The expansion comes as the retailer reports that almost 40% of its total sales are made through online purchases.

Customers can use the offering at Tesco stores by placing their order on Ikea.com, through the retailer’s app or with the assistance of an Ikea co-worker, either remotely or in-store.

Orders are available from next-day and can be collected at a customer’s local participating Tesco store within one of two daily collection windows.

The scheme was initially piloted in 2022 before a national roll-out began late last year.

Ikea now plans to open an additional 100 pick-up points, with half of them due to open this year.

1 and 4…British omnichannel retailer Pets at Home has launched the first of four concept stores.

This is situated in Anlaby, Hull, with Pets at Home using sustainable materials in the construction build, PoS and signage.

It has also introduced digital experiences that aim to deliver easier routes to its expertise, advice and extended ranges.

In a LinkedIn post, Helen Fraser, Group Development Director at Pets at Home, said: “I was lucky enough to be there for the grand opening and there is a lot to be excited about.”

“We’ve elevated colleague and consumer experiences across Nutrition and Pet Health, trialled new impulse kit to drive incremental sales, placed in spotlight displays to showcase innovation and/or provide education, and created a localised welcome with Pets Foundation activation.”

She added: “We’ve been supported in delivery by some great designers, suppliers and contractors - particular shoutout to True Story, ITAB UK, Key Group, Image Technique, and Mitchell & Co.”

“This has been a massively collaborative project across the organisation, but special mention to my development teams who have worked tirelessly to ensure even the smallest of details were landed well.”

7…Ralph Lauren reports that Christopher Conrad has joined the business as Chief Digital and Technology Officer. He succeeds Janet Sherlock, who will retire in September.  

Conrad previously served as SVP and CIO at Levi Strauss & Co. for seven years. He has also held technology leadership positions at Billabong, Lululemon and American Eagle.