Starring Trigo, Greggs, Aldi Nord, and Currys: RTIH’s biggest retail technology articles in July
These are the RTIH retail systems articles that caught your fancy during July, including REWE Group, Marketplacer, Tesco, Co-op, Walmart, Roblox, Vista Technology Support, dunnhumby, WelcoMe, and the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards is now open for entries
The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, and Retail Technology Show 2025, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.
This year, we’re bringing you three new categories: AI Innovation, Sustainable Retail Innovation, and Inclusive Technology Innovation.
Key 2024 dates
Friday, 25th October: Award entry deadline
Tuesday, 29th October: 2024 shortlist revealed
30th October-6th November: Judging days
Thursday, 21st November: Winners announced at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, to be held at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London.
Greggs and Monzo team on sausage roll ATM in Newcastle: 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 Bambuser, Trigo, Simbe, Wing, DoorDash, Walmart, Evigence, Retail Insight, Amazon, Metaverse Group, and Super League.
Trigo powered REWE Pick&Go store in Hamburg pitched as Europe’s largest computer vision-based supermarket
REWE Group reports that a location in Hamburg launched Pick&Go for customers this month.
Powered by Trigo technology, the store, which clocks in at 1.200 square metres in floor space and features 20.000 items, is pitched as Europe’s largest computer vision-based supermarket.
It is also the first REWE Pick&Go store in northern Germany, and offers four ways to pay for purchases: cashless via Pick&Go via app; scanning and paying at the self-checkout terminal; shopping via computer vision support without scanning at the self-checkout terminal; standard payment process at the cash register.
A highlight is that the Pick&Go system now also covers the service counter for the first time.
Customers have the opportunity to purchase fresh meat, cheese and sausage products without having to wait at the checkout afterwards.
Walmart, e.l.f. beauty and Roblox team up to build the future of shopping, making it immersive, 3D and social
Walmart is helping to expand real-world commerce on Roblox through a partnership with e.l.f. beauty’s e.l.f. UP! experience on the platform.
Users (13+ in the US) can now visit e.l.f. UP! and purchase three cruelty free products from Walmart.com directly on Roblox.
And similar to real-world commerce in Walmart Discovered, the purchase of a real-world item in e.l.f. UP! includes a virtual twin created by a Roblox creator, with the aim of making the experience more native to the platform.
“e.l.f. UP! has been lightning in a bottle since day one and continues to surpass all expectations, especially among our Gen Z community,” says Kory Marchisotto, Chief Marketing Officer, e.l.f. Beauty.
“Testing commerce on Roblox is the next evolution in our journey of merging beauty with immersive platforms.
We are teaching the Roblox community - and communities in digital spaces everywhere - about social commerce with purpose. Our community deeply values our superpower of cruelty free products.”
“Through the e.l.f. UP! Pet Adoption Center, we’ve learned how essential this superpower is, shaping our approach in this space.”
Vista Technology Support acquires Irish retail technology support company Store Computer Technology
Vista Technology Support has announced the acquisition of Store Computer Technology (SCT) for an undisclosed sum.
Vista says that the move further expands its retail and hospitality support capabilities in Ireland and Europe and will strengthen its position as a leading independent retail IT services provider.
SCT was established in 1994 by John Hogan.
It has grown substantially over three decades and now provides IT service desk, in-store technology maintenance and technology refresh projects to some of the most well known Irish and international retail and hospitality brands.
With its head office, service desk, staging centre and warehouses based in Dublin, forward stock locations and field service engineers located throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland, SCT is well established and provides a tried and trusted service support model to over 7,000 retail and hospitality locations throughout the country.
Vista’s M&A activity was led by Lucy Mayer, Vista’s Commercial Director. She has extensive experience in M&A and corporate finance, having previously held senior positions at PWC and Development Bank of Wales.
Co-op hooks up with Walmart Commerce Technologies to support retailer's online grocery push
Co-op is gearing up to work with Walmart Commerce Technologies, implementing its online fulfilment technology, Store Assist, to enhance the convenience retailer’s colleague and customer experience and support quick commerce growth ambitions.
The Store Assist app allows retailers to manage pickup, third-party marketplace, ship-from-store, and last mile delivery orders all in one place.
According to those involved, a streamlined omnichannel fulfilment workflow will enhance in-store processes and operations, remove the need for colleagues to switch between quick commerce apps or different devices, and allows for faster delivery times.
Store Assist technology will have a focus on: ease of use; scalability; specialised and tailored use to meet the diverse demands of grocery fulfilment and, a unified platform to simplify systems as online orders are picked fresh in the local Co-op store, and delivered quickly and conveniently in the community.
It’s Auf Wiedersehen Aldi Nord as store computer vision specialist Christian Bock departs for new challenge
Dr. Christian Bock is departing Aldi Nord where he held the position of Team Lead Store Computer Vision.
Bock has also worked at companies including REWE Digital and Telefónica Germany.
Tesco taps new dunnhumby AI powered Assortment solution for localised ranging in retailer's stores
dunnhumby is introducing new AI powered assortment technology. This is being used by Tesco to improve customer shopping experiences through smarter product selection.
It enables retailers to:
Create localised ranges, down to store specific level
Develop space aware ranges and planograms
Implement a more efficient, end-to-end process
“In today’s dynamic retail landscape, keeping up with customer expectations while outpacing local competition is crucial,” says Jenn Dabbelt, Global Head of Product, dunnhumby.
“Our new Assortment tool, powered by advanced AI, allows retailers to build store-specific ranges centred on what the customer wants.”
“This supercharges retailers’ ability to deliver by streamlining the entire process from end to end, helping them bring to life exceptional experiences for customers.”
UK’s biggest grocer Tesco partners with Marketplacer to launch its new online marketplace
Marketplacer has partnered with Tesco to launch its new online marketplace.
Powered by Marketplacer’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology, this offers Tesco customers access to more third-party products online that complement its existing range, with the aim of giving people a one-stop-shop for everything they may need.
The project, which commenced in June, will continue to expand, with the addition of further third-party sellers, over the months to come. Marketplacer’s platform will enable the supermarket to find and connect products from third party sellers at scale.
Peter Filcek, Marketplace Director at Tesco, says: “We knew that we wanted to open up access to a wider range of products for Tesco customers; we could see customers were searching for products that we didn't sell, and that we could be front of mind for.”
“It became clear that exploring this advanced technology for industry partnerships would be advantageous for the customer experience and ensure a seamless integration experience for our seller partners.”
Currys boosts shopping experience for those with disabilities as it extends WelcoMe trial to London stores
A purpose built web app, the platform works by allowing shoppers with a disability to register an in-person store visit, online.
Through filling out a quick form indicating any specific disability related needs or information, and an estimated date/time of arrival, stores are then notified of the upcoming visit giving them the opportunity to prepare for and accommodate any specific requirements etc.
The tool also gives retail partners access to pointers and best practice techniques to help accommodate anybody, specific to certain disabilities.
This was piloted across 20 Currys stores around the Birmingham region, including: Birmingham Castle Vale, Birmingham Highgate, Birmingham Selly Oak, Burton, Cannock, Kidderminster, Leicester Fosse, Leicester St Georges, Loughborough, Merry Hill Retail Park, Shrewsbury, Solihull, Stafford, Stoke Festival Park, Stoke Longton, Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Telford, Wednesbury J9 and Wolverhampton.
And this month, WelcoMe was launched at a further 20 stores across London.
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