Featuring parcelLab, Snappy Shopper, and Zitcha: 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 East of England Co-op, Trust Retail, Walmart, Flying Tiger Copenhagen, Olio, Gander, Emperia, TerryWhite Chemmart, and Avery Dennison.

East of England Co-op deploys Trust Retail Inventory and Stock Management solution across its stores

Trust Retail reports that it is implementing its Inventory and Stock Management solution across the East of England Co-operative’s (East of England Co-op) food stores.

East of England Co-op is the largest independent retailer in the eastern England region spanning communities across Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire.

It sought to upgrade its stock and inventory management system and so turned to Trust Retail for a project that included its newest store outside Chelmsford station.

This caters to over 12,300 commuters daily and was praised on TikTok as “the UK’s coolest Co-op.” The new Trust Retail system will streamline order management, provide real-time inventory visibility, and optimise operations.

The stock and inventory management technology will integrate with the existing Trust Retail EPoS used across store checkouts.

Key benefits will include reductions in manual processes, increased efficiencies in utilisation of store/headquarter resources, accurate real-time inventory tracking, streamlined order management, enhanced visibility, and improved integrations. 

It will also be critical to helping the retailer continue its commitment to less wastage and continued efforts to keep edible food in the food chain.

Last year, the regional co-operative reported it had saved the equivalent of more than 25,882 meals from going to waste, avoiding 69,881.4kg of CO2e emissions.

Post-purchase software provider parcelLab announces tech veteran Giles Whiting as new CEO

parcelLab, a post-purchase customer experience platform, has announced the appointment of Giles Whiting as CEO.

Tobias Buxhoidt, Executive Chairman and Chief Innovation Officer at parcelLab, says: “After joining us as President at the beginning of the year, he has already become instrumental in running this company. With our huge growth plans, I could not think of someone better to help scale this business even further.”

He adds: “We have seen tremendous growth this year, with the team reaching 200 colleagues, and a roster of amazing clients in the US with the likes of True Classic, YETI, and Chico’s;  and the EU with the likes of John Lewis, H&M, Farfetch, and BOSE.”

“We are helping brands grow by delivering innovative and highly differentiated post-purchase experiences and creating customers for life.”

“And, as AI continues to shift consumer expectations in  e-commerce we are delivering innovative features, like Returns Forecast and Trending Late, to meet and exceed those expectations. As we prepare for the next level of growth, we are extending our executive team to include Giles to get us there.”

Whiting most recently served as Managing Director and COO at Forsta (acquired by Press Ganey) where he led sales, customer success, global operations, and strategic initiatives.

Snappy Shopper and Allwyn UK team up for UK National Lottery scratch cards online delivery first

Rapid delivery specialist Snappy Shopper has announced a partnership with Allwyn UK, operator of the UK National Lottery.

As a result of the tie up, independent shops now have the opportunity to sell National Lottery scratch cards online for delivery for the first time.

Previously, only major supermarkets had been allowed to sell scratch cards for home delivery due to age restricted sale requirements from regulator the Gambling Commission.

However, Allwyn said following ‘a successful trial’ with a small number of retailers, all Snappy Shopper partnered National Lottery stores can now offer the service.

Olio teams with Gander as it steps up fight against food waste with launch of new Deals section on its app

Local sharing app Olio is launching a new Deals section in partnership with reduced to clear SaaS platform Gander.

This gives food businesses a way to drive discounted food sales in-store, by showing Olio’s four million UK users cut price groceries at participating stores in their local area. 

Users of Olio’s app can browse yellow sticker deals at Gander’s list of partner retail groups, including Morrisons Channel Islands, Filco Market, Pricewatch Group and Sewell on the Go, displaying branded products from Nisa, Morrisons Daily and  Co-op.

App users can add their favourite deals to a watchlist on Olio to keep an eye on availability, and then head into the store to purchase them as normal. 

Tessa Clarke, CEO and Co-founder at Olio, says: “We’re thrilled to be working with Gander to offer our community one more way to fight food waste - and save money while they’re at it. We’re looking forward to helping retailers stop even more food from ending up in the bin.”  

Danish retailer Flying Tiger Copenhagen expands use of Xiatech Xfuze retail technology platform

Flying Tiger Copenhagen has renewed its partnership with Xiatech, the company behind Xfuze, a MACH certified composable integration and data management platform.

The Danish retailer, which operates 900+ stores around the world, will expand its use of Xfuze as part of a digital transformation push 

This includes expansion across its network of franchise and owned stores, boosting the way the company uses data, and embedding AI driven analytics and process orchestration throughout the organisation. 

The multi-year contract follows four years of a partnership when Flying Tiger Copenhagen selected Xiatech to accelerate the company’s integration and data centric digital transformation programme. 

“Xiatech has strengthened our technology foundation substantially, and they will continue to do so as Flying Tiger Copenhagen’s strategic integration partner. We look forward to continuing our successful partnership for years to come,” says Martin Jermiin, CEO, Flying Tiger Copenhagen.

IKI and REWE digital bring Baltic retail technology firms and investors together for Startup Night event

The second IKI x REWE digital Retail Startup Night has been announced.

The initiative focuses on Baltic retail tech startups and investors.

IKI and REWE digital will be hosting an event, taking place in the city of Vilnius on 4th September.

In a LinkedIn post, Anika Vooes, Chief Acceleration Manager at REWE digital, said: “Are you interested in discovering how REWE Group collaborates with startups and expanding your network?”

“Join us in Vilnius for: an exiting pitch event featuring cutting-edge technology startups; fresh insights into the evolving retail landscape; prime networking opportunities with key ecosystem players and retail experts.”

She concluded: “Don't miss this chance to innovate and connect with industry leaders. DM me to express your interest. Let’s shape the future of retail together!”

Australian pharmacy brand TerryWhite Chemmart moves into retail media space with Zitcha powered network

Australian community pharmacy brand, TerryWhite Chemmart, has announced the launch of a retail media network called ‘TWC Connect’, leveraging Zitcha technology.

The latter’s platform was selected following a competitive pitch and will enable new opportunities in onsite and offsite media channels including Facebook, YouTube and Google, for TerryWhite Chemmart (TWC), with the potential to expand the offering into other channels on the horizon.

TWC’s brand partners will soon be able to use Zitcha’s automated platform to deliver greater segmentation, targeting and personalisation at scale. Closed-loop attribution through the platform also enables greater visibility and performance on advertising spend.

TWC, which has 600 community pharmacies across Australia, has recently upgraded and integrated its Rewards Plus loyalty programme of more than two million members, into the myTWC app.

In addition, major TWC brand partners such as Bayer, L’Oreal and Unilever are already existing users of Zitcha’s platform.

Virtual dorm rooms: Emperia powered Walmart Realm experience reinvents back to college shopping

Walmart Realm, Walmart’s immersive commerce experience, is enabling college students to explore and shop five virtual dorm rooms inspired by social trends and curated by their favourite creators.

These trends, inspired by Pinterest Predicts and TikTok, include:

Sanrio curated by @jellybean.celine – a fantastical cotton candy and rainbow escape

Serene Retreat curated by @studymoofin – a cozy and comfortable soft living oasis

Royal curated by @trinityanitahh – serving smart and eclectic with a preppy, regal twist

Y2K curated by @thebeekid – a throwback to trends and products from the early 2000s

LoFi curated by @august (NPC RA) – a gamer’s paradise inspired by neon lights and arcades

Each dorm also includes a mini game, such as Byte-sized Crush in Y2K, surprises, like transporting inside a doll house in Royal, and native social content from the aforementioned creators, including @jellybelly.celine highlighting her curated products in Sanrio.

College students can also find and take advantage of a limited time Walmart+ student offer.

Avery Dennison examines scale of retail theft crisis and flags importance of high and low tech measures

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. 

City Chic taps Cart.com third-party logistics and retail technology solutions and Dallas warehouse facility

Sydney-based City Chic, an omnichannel, plus-sized fashion brand, has selected Cart.com as its US fulfilment partner.

It will leverage Cart.com’s third-party logistics (3PL) and technology solutions and Dallas warehouse facility to improve efficiency and customer experience for order fulfilment across the US.

“We’re proud to partner with City Chic, an omnichannel fashion brand that has cultivated a loyal customer base around the world,” says Joe Barth, Chief Logistics Officer at Cart.com.

“This latest partnership underscores Cart.com’s strength in serving leading global apparel brands through our modern logistics technology and warehouse facilities that can scale as they grow.”