Marks and Spencer targets members of the 2am club: check out 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 Amazon, M&S, Tesco, Carrefour Belgium, Hugo Boss, Instacart, Zara, Circ, JD Sports Israel, CITY Furniture, and Beavertown Brewery.

Zara and Circ

Zara Women has released a new collection using Circ fibers from textile waste.

Available on Zara.com in the US and other select markets, this features four pieces in clean, minimalist silhouettes that are constructed from fabric that uses only Circ Lyocell, which has the look and feel of silk.

The collection is the second from Zara and Circ’s collaboration, which started with an investment in 2023 from Zara’s parent, Inditex, in order to scale technologies to accelerate circularity across the entire fashion industry.

“For us, success is when circularity is the default, with no compromise on quality or design,” says Peter Majeranowski, CEO at Circ.

“Our latest collection with Zara builds on our goal of creating a model for widespread adoption of sustainable materials. This partnership also reinforces the long-term potential of Circ and Inditex to work together to improve product circularity for the fashion industry, while demonstrating our product quality.”

CITY Furniture

American retailer CITY Furniture has announced a partnership with 3D Cloud.

Starting with 3D Cloud 360 Spins and 3D Cloud WebAR in 2024, CITY will integrate the full suite of 3D Cloud's visualisation tools for furniture over the next six to eight months.

"3D Cloud are experts at understanding the customer's journey and have developed best in class technology to help address customer's pain points," says Andrew Koenig, CEO at CITY Furniture.

"We're excited to offer our customers an engaging shopping experience that seamlessly combines online and in-store elements. This partnership allows us to create a unique experience that not only attracts our customers but also guides them in making confident purchasing decisions, setting a new industry standard."

Woolworths Supermarkets

Woolworths Supermarkets is piloting a scan-as-you-go trolley system at a store in Sydney, marking a first for the Australian market.

The technology, developed in collaboration with Hanshow, enables shoppers to scan groceries at their trolley using the Everyday Rewards card and a touchscreen device.

Customers still have to pay at the checkout, but further down the line they might be able to swipe their cards and pay at their trolley.

If the trial is successful, Woolworths says it would look at expanding the smart carts to all Australian stories.

Amazon

Amazon has been given the green light to test fly drones beyond a human controller’s line of sight in the UK.

It is one of six organisations taking part in a trial led by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Sophie O’Sullivan, Director of Future of Flight at the CAA, says: “These innovative trials mark a significant step forward in integrating drones safely into UK airspace.”

“By supporting projects ranging from consumer deliveries to critical infrastructure inspections, we are gathering essential data to shape future policies and regulations.”

“Our goal is to make drone operations beyond visual line of sight a safe and everyday reality, contributing to the modernisation of UK airspace and the incorporation of new technology into our skies.”

Amazon said last year it wanted to launch home deliveries via drones in the UK and Italy before the end of 2024. It already offers this in parts of the US.

M&S

M&S has launched its first ever baby club – ‘the parent hood’ – exclusive to members of its loyalty programme, Sparks.

This, according to the retailer, offers members the opportunity to save up to £250 each year.

It is pitched as an opportunity to foster a community and acquire and nurture both new and existing family customers, increase frequency of shop and drive greater cross-purchasing opportunities amongst customers who don’t currently shop other categories.

Alexandra Dimitriu, Director of Kidswear at M&S, says: “Our customers trust us for the hand-me-down quality of our kids clothing and with our growing style credentials and a presence in so many communities, there is so much opportunity to grow our market share through appealing to new customers and introducing existing customers to more of what we have to offer.”  

“As a mum, I’m incredibly excited to be launching M&S’ first baby club - the proposition we’ve created by remaining laser focused on what baby – and parents - need, when they need it, is something I wish I had access to when I was a member of the 2am club!”

Sharry Cramond, Director of Loyalty, Food Marketing and Masterbrand, says: “The M&S baby club is the first of our special interest clubs for Sparks members, and we have big ambitions to make it the very best baby club in the country by bringing together the very best of M&S – from food, to clothing, to our cafes – and be a one stop shop for the UK’s incredible community of parents.”

Tesco

Tesco is introducing digital passports for its clothing range in response to an incoming EU sustainability crackdown.

The retailer has applied the tool to each item in its F&F offering, providing shoppers with information about the products, including where their materials were sourced.

Carrefour Belgium

After a trial period, Carrefour Belgium is implementing a new AI powered tracking tool on a large scale.

“The new tool will help us streamline operations, reduce costs and improve profitability”, its New Technology Manager Benoît Moreau says. “Thanks to integrated intelligent discounting and full control over shelf stock, it will play a key role in our strategy to reduce waste and improve economic performance.”

Carrefour says it can monitor inventory levels in real-time and predict demand fluctuations to reduce risks of over or understocking. The tool can also analyse consumer preferences, buying behaviour and inventory trends. The aim is also to simplify employees’ daily workflows and ultimately save up to 60 minutes of work time per day per store.

Hugo Boss

Hugo Boss has unveiled a 3D printing powered facade at its Boss location at İstinyePark Shopping Centre in Istanbul, Turkey.

In a LinkedIn post, Victoria Schneyer, VP Global Store Design at Hugo Boss, said: “There is a space in the architecture of certain projects where it pays off to invest in strong collaborations to push the envelope and create something unique. Why does this matter you might ask?”

“Because then you manage to try and test new ways of thinking and re-inventing and because those collaborations bring together the very best of contributors - architects, engineers, and craftspeople to work towards the stunning result.”

She added: “The new Boss facade at İstinyePark Shopping Center Istanbul is such an example: a 3D printed, interlocking paneling structure that resembles a woven fabric pattern, wraps down from the buildings’ architrave, and welcomes the customer into the store.”

“It creates a bespoke identity that connects back to the brand’s craftsmanship, attention to detail, and aesthetics.”

Arda Biomaterials and Beavertown Brewery

Arda Biomaterials, which turns spent brewery grain into leather like materials, has partnered with Beavertown Brewery to create an upcoming branded collection of accessories.

This collaboration marks the second major partnership for Arda in recent months, following the launch of a leather like concept handbag with BEEN London, which was displayed at the Future Fabrics Expo in June.

The first pieces in the Beavertown X Arda collection are card holders displaying Beavertown’s iconic skull and bones design.

The collaboration’s initial production is a limited run of eight pieces. The card holders will be on display at Beavertown’s pop-up at London’s Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.

Instacart

Ibotta, which provides digital promotions and performance marketing solutions for CPG brands, and Instacart, a grocery technology company in North America, have announced a partnership to provide the latter’s customers with access to the former’s catalogue of digital coupons.

By joining the Ibotta Performance Network (IPN), Instacart is looking to deliver more coupons that are timely and relevant to its consumers, helping consumers save money on their everyday purchases.

Going forward, Ibotta will be Instacart's preferred third-party coupon provider across all eligible categories of items on its mobile app and website.

For CPG brands, this new partnership aims to create an enhanced opportunity to reach consumers across Instacart’s marketplace of more than 1,500 retail banners with a footprint of more than 85,000 stores across North America.

In addition, CPG brands can continue to leverage Instacart’s retail media network to drive product discovery and incremental sales by connecting to consumers who are directly at the point of purchase.

Amazon

Amazon has launched a new robotics powered fulfilment centre at Gateway45, Leeds.

This will employ more than 2,000 people by November and recruitment continues for a variety of roles including engineers, HR and IT professionals through to health and safety and finance specialists, as well as the team members who pick, pack and ship customer orders.

The facility utilises technology across three floors of Amazon Robotics to stow, pick and ship customer orders.

The building is located in close proximity to an Amazon delivery station and an Amazon Robotics sortation centre, and less than ten miles from the Wakefield fulfilment centre which started operations in October 2022.

Richard Thompson, Amazon’s Regional Director, says: “West Yorkshire is an important region for us, with more than 3,800 small- and medium-sized enterprise selling partners, and I am delighted to confirm our ongoing commitment with this £500 million investment in a new, state-of-the-art fulfilment centre in Leeds.

JD Sports Israel

JD Sports Israel has launched new digital kiosks in its stores.

In a LinkedIn post, Hay Dick, Head of E-commerce at JD Sports Israel, said: “After months of hard work, collaboration, and countless hours of work, our digital kiosks are now available in JD Sports physical stores.”

“This project has been one of the most complex and rewarding experiences I’ve worked on, alongside our incredible development partners at WeDev Technologies, together we’ve crafted a solution that enhances the in-store shopping experience in a big way.”

He added: “Ever walked into a store and couldn’t find the product you wanted in the right size, colour, or model? Our new kiosk is here to solve that problem.”

“It's directly connected to our e-commerce website, providing real-time access to our entire inventory. Now, if the product you’re looking for isn’t on the shelf, you can easily locate it through the kiosk and even place an order on the spot and get it right to your door.”

Dick concluded: “This project is a testament to the power of innovation and collaboration. I’m incredibly proud of the work our team has done to bring this to life, and I can’t wait to see how it transforms the shopping experience for our customers offline and online.”

“Here’s to making shopping easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable.”