Starship Technologies turns ten and Amazon hits 30: 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 Jisp, Sainsbury’s, Yodel, Aura Futures, Rohlik Group, EE, Zippin, Starbucks, Amazon Just Walk Out tech, GXO Logistics, and Agility Robotics.

30…Amazon turns 30 today.

Natalie Berg, Retail Analyst and Founder, NBK Retail, and a member of the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards judging panel, says: “They’ve revolutionised the way we shop, democratising e-commerce and forcing the industry to raise its game. Hands down the most influential retailer of the 21st century thanks to a relentless dissatisfaction with the status quo.”

She adds: “They just surpassed $2 trillion in market cap through ruthless efficiencies and by weaving themselves into the fabric of our everyday lives but what comes next?”

“With the Temus, Sheins and TikToks of the world closing in, with AI and tech helping legacy retailers to level the playing field, with stores repositioned as powerful digital assets, and with the broader move towards immersive digital commerce, I’m reminded of this quote from Jeff Bezos: If you look at large companies, their lifespans tend to be 30+ years, not 100+ years.”

10…Autonomous delivery services specialist, Starship Technologies, celebrated its tenth anniversary this week.

The company was born in Estonia and now operates commercially in the UK, US, Estonia, Germany, Denmark and Finland.

Ahti Heinla, Co-founder and CEO, says: “In 2014, two guys sat in a room with a whiteboard and an idea. Fresh out of Skype, Janus (Friis) and I were thinking, ‘What next?’ In logistics, we saw a sector that desperately needed a technological revolution. We could see the trends in last mile and we knew we could build something that would meet a growing need.”

He adds: “When we founded Starship, we had a dream that we could bring robot delivery to people across the globe. We wanted to make last mile delivery ethical, sustainable and profitable - that’s not an easy task.”

“Ten years later, thousands of Starship robots serve people and communities in six nations, delivering hot food and groceries for household names.”

“They’re replacing car journeys, reducing carbon emissions and making people smile along the way. We’ve grown from an idea to a scalable and profitable delivery solution - and there’s much more to come as we expand to new markets, nations and partners.”

£2.2 million…Jisp reports rapid growth in the first half of 2024. Retail sales through its app topped £2.2 million, up 79% on the same period in 2023.

It says it is confident in finishing the year ahead of 2023 by year end, with the business having reported retail sales of £3.5 million for the whole of 2023. The growth means Scan & Save has now earned retailers £5.8 million since launch.

Shopper savings through the app have also seen growth with over £541,000 saved by shoppers in the first part of 2024, up 63% on the same period of 2023. It means shoppers are on track to save over a million in

2024 through Scan & Save, with £1.8 million having been saved since launch.

Total scans of the app’s AR vouchers also saw an upturn of 97% versus H1 figures for 2023. Voucher taps and redemptions through Scan & Save were also up 100% and 99% respectively.

The number of stores trading with Jisp at the half year point also saw a jump of 59% versus the same period in 2023.

54% of Brits aged 16+ are reselling items on online marketplaces, creating £7 billion in revenue a year, according to new research from Yodel.

The company surveyed 2,000 people and found that the 29.5 million ‘microsellers’ across the UK are earning an average of £246 a year, with 74% having started in the last five years.

People in Wales are earning the most, with microsellers making an average of £538 a year, followed by Greater London (£405) and the East Midlands (£242).

With the sharp rise in second-hand selling online, Yodel has seen customer-to-customer volumes surge by more than 200% in the last two years.

The most common reason for buying second-hand was saving money (69%), with being more eco-friendly (37%), and buying items no longer being produced (21%), also being key considerations.

1 and 2…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.

2…Starbucks reports that two of its large New York cafes with Amazon's Just Walk Out technology have been upgraded to a more intuitive system, making it easier for its Green Apron partners to offer exclusive merchandise and food, and for customers to enjoy a seamless smartphone experience.

Customers can now tap into the lounge area, order with the Starbucks app, and walk out with their snacks and coffee without waiting in line.

In a LinkedIn post, Jessica Mills, Senior Director, Global Growth and Development at Starbucks, said: “For me, this journey began five years ago. On my first day back from maternity leave on 2nd July 2019, I was asked how we could partner with Amazon Go products and Just Walk Out technology.”

“This led to a deeper study on creating effortless experiences, culminating in the opening of two unique stores in New York City in November 2021 and July 2022. These stores serve as incubators and learning centres, with several programmes and insights being scaled across Starbucks.”

She added: “It has been an epic experience, and I am confident that the learnings will continue in this next chapter.”

£4 million…Zedify, a UK-based cargo bike delivery network, has secured a £4 million investment from Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, Mercia Ventures which was investing from its own funds and from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), and Green Angel Ventures.

The cash will enable the company to expand into more cities in the UK, including the launch of a new Midlands hub in October this year.

It also plans to enhance its technology and significantly expand its teams of riders, sales and customer care staff. Zedify expects to create 80 new jobs, including 20 in the new Midlands hub, and to triple its turnover in the year ahead.

Founded in 2018, it works with major retail brands including Zara along with parcel carriers and independent businesses to provide more sustainable last mile deliveries using cargo bikes.

Currently delivering in Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Norwich and Plymouth, it plans to operate in 51 UK towns and cities within the next five years.

2.6% and 4.8%…Sainsbury’s this week released figures for the 16 weeks ending 22nd June.

Eleanor Simpson-Gould, Senior Retail Analyst at GlobalData, says: “Sainsbury's Q1 performance has been undermined by its persistently underperforming non-food segment.”

“While like-for-like sales did rise 2.6% for the 16 weeks ending 22nd June, this was driven by its grocery division. Within its food segment, sales rose 4.8%, against inflation averaging approximately 2%.”

“This result highlights decent volume growth for the supermarket chain during the period and suggests a strong start to its new financial year for food and grocery.”

She adds: “Sainsbury's has enhanced its competitive pricing strategy this quarter, expanding its price-matching initiative to include 650 products aligned with Aldi. Additionally, the grocer has incorporated 1,000 items into its ‘Low Everyday Prices’ proposition, reinforcing its commitment to providing customers with value.”

“The emphasis on competitive pricing will be essential to preserve positive sales momentum in H1 and increase its appeal to consumers looking to trade up and away from discounters as their budgets feel less stretched.”

“The grocer's private label range ‘Taste the Difference’ (up 14%) was bolstered by 400 new summer products. These items emphasise innovative combinations of traditional picnic and barbecue favourites, featuring chilli cheese hot dog sausages and honey & feta filo straws.”

“While focusing on price matching and innovation are common trends among UK grocers, Sainsbury's has invested in improving product availability via its migration to enhanced food forecasting, which will be completed this summer.”

“The investment is essential for the grocer and will strengthen Sainsbury’s agility to ensure products are where they need to be at the right time.

Sainsbury’s Next Level Strategy, which aims to address its challenging non-food proposition, has failed to improve poor results from clothing, general merchandise and Argos divisions.

The retailer reported a 4.3% decline in UK general merchandise and clothing sales in Q1, alongside a 6.2% decrease in Argos sales. While an unseasonably cold start to the summer would have been detrimental, adversely affecting outdoor furniture and home and garden sales, not all the blame can be placed on the weather.

Despite encouraging updates on the expansion of Sainsbury’s Lego range and new supplier fulfilment strategies to enhance product availability, the grocer must do more on its promise to introduce new product categories, says Simpson-Gould.

She concludes: “This will be essential to compete with non-food specialists and generate the positive sales momentum needed to reverse the entrenched slump in non-food sales.”

“Sainsbury's has acknowledged that customers are more cautious when shopping for general merchandise categories, and promotional events and sales have found resonance. However, it must tread carefully to avoid eroding profit margins.”

50%…New research by retail experiences brand, Aura Futures, has revealed that, although 49% of UK retailers view lowered consumer spending as the sector’s biggest challenge over the next 12 months, 50% plan to open new store locations during the next two years, with 68% putting their faith in consumer experiences to revive flagging footfall. 

According to the 301 retail managers and c-suite executives surveyed, 58% of their retail sales are still conducted in-store, but declining footfall remains a significant problem.

The research showed that 66% of businesses view attracting Millennials and Gen Z consumers into stores with immersive, physical experiences as the best way to counter declining footfall, with areas of investment falling into five main categories:

• Intelligent digital signage (45%)

• Immersive experiences interactive displays (35%)

• Custom LED displays (32%)

• Sensory marketing (24%)

• Smart content integration company wide content broadcast (24%)

$170 million…European food retail technology and online grocery firm, Rohlik Group, has raised $170 million in fresh growth capital.

The investment was led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), alongside existing investors Sofina, Index Ventures, Quadrille, and TCF Capital and complemented by growth capital funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) under its Scale-Up Initiative.

The cash will be used to fuel Rohlik’s expansion plans in DACH and CEE, where the company aims to establish its presence in more than ten additional cities by 2030. 

Founded in 2014 in the Czech Republic, it now delivers over a million orders per month, and served over 800,000 customers in 2023. It has now reached profitability in Munich, having already done so in the Czech Republic and Hungary.

1…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.”

2…EE last week unveiled a second Experience store in Manchester.

A year on from the launch of the first Experience store in the city’s Trafford Centre, which to date has resulted in a 25% boost in footfall compared to previous stores in the area, the city is now the first to have two of the new store formats, as part of a commitment by EE to invest £6 million in bricks and mortar retail this year.

Situated on 33 Market Street, it has been specifically designed to guide visitors through the latest innovations across four key areas – game, work, learn and home – featured in dedicated Experience Zones and a Tech Home area.