Starring Tesco, Primark, and Footasylum: here 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 HomeByMe, NewStore, Retail247, Mint Velvet, Ocula Technologies, Jisp, Reveni, and Jigsaw.
Primark launches self-checkouts in Llandudno, Harlow, Mullingar stores and ramps up Click and Collect drive
It is also adding new categories and products available to buy via Click & Collect. The changes will be phased, with new products including home and lifestyle going live now, with men’s to follow.
After debuting in November 2022 in 25 stores in the North West of England, North Wales and Yorkshire, the service expanded to more stores in and around London in autumn 2023.
It is currently offered in 57 Primark stores in Great Britain, primarily offering a selection of women and kids clothing and accessories.
The first new stores to offer Click & Collect are launching towards the end of this year.
Elsewhere, Primark is continuing its deployment of self-checkouts. Its Truro, Broughton Park, Oxford Street East, and Chester stores officially went live with the tech last month.
HomeByMe research focuses on supercharging home improvement customer experiences
Home improvement retailers are under constant scrutiny today. Every customer interaction, whether online or in-store, is a chance to earn a positive review – or risk a negative one. And a staggering 95% of consumers read online reviews as part of their purchasing journey for home products (Brand Rated).
So, how can furniture and DIY retailers consistently deliver top quality customer experiences?
The answer lies in innovation, personalisation, and a seamless omnichannel approach. HomeByMe research shows that digital first companies are 64% more likely to have exceeded their top business goals.
Hello Aberdeen as Footasylum goes live with another NewStore and Adyen technology powered mobile PoS store
Footasylum has opened its second fully mobile PoS store (no fixed till points), powered by NewStore and Adyen using Apple Tap to Pay and other FinTech solutions to drive physical conversions.
The store is located in Aberdeen with more locations set to follow this year.
Unified commerce specialist NewStore appoints retail technology veteran Pat Deskin as Chief Revenue Officer
NewStore, a unified commerce platform, has announced the appointment of Pat Deskin as its Chief Revenue Officer.
Deskin brings extensive enterprise SaaS sales leadership experience to the company. Early in his career, he spent several years with Series A companies prior to a 12-year stint at Oracle.
He then went on to hold executive sales positions at Zuora, Salsify, and Bluecore.
“Pat’s experience in guiding high performing sales organisations makes him an ideal addition to our leadership team as we enter our next phase of growth,” says Mike DeSimone, CEO, NewStore.
“His proven ability to scale businesses will be instrumental as we continue to advance our vision and meet the evolving needs of global retail brands.”
British fashion retailer Jigsaw tackles returns challenges with deployment of Reveni Instant Refunds solution
Jigsaw has deployed technology from returns management specialist Reveni.
In a LinkedIn post, Fernando Pedraz, Co-founder and CEO at Reveni, said: “Since their inception, Jigsaw has evolved into a bastion of British fashion, known for its elegant designs. Our growth from a small team to a category creator mirrors Jigsaw's journey of setting style benchmarks.”
He added: “They chose Reveni to turn returns into a loyalty lever by integrating our cutting-edge Instant Refunds which are increasing the repurchase rate. We've also streamlined Jigsaw's reverse logistics operations, elevating the shopping experience for Jigsaw's customers.”
UK retail technology firm Jisp launches Scan & Save white label loyalty and rewards proposition
It says that the move comes in light of the lack of loyalty schemes available to retailers outside of the large multiple supermarket groups.
Having created a loyalty and rewards platform that worked in both a wholesale and retail environment, Jisp felt the time was right to open the solution up to other businesses who wished to run a loyalty scheme, but did not have the technology or resources to do so themselves.
The white label offering allows businesses to utilise the technology and solutions developed and tested through Scan & Save over the past three years, while aligning the scheme to their own brand.
Tesco sets sights on Ocado by offering its store pick technology to international grocery businesses
Transcend Retail Solutions, a Tesco subsidiary led by its Strategy Director Oliver Vogt, is providing the UK supermarket giant’s software and hardware to international grocers, leveraging its vast experience in this space to enable them to fulfil online orders from their own stores.
According to The Sunday Times, a first deal has been signed with New Zealand’s biggest grocery retailer, Foodstuffs North Island, and talks are being held with other companies.
Tesco currently handles more than a million online orders a week, 85% of which are picked from its supermarkets.
“Our solutions are tried and tested,” Vogt told The Sunday Times. “We set up Transcend because we truly believe we have something to offer the market.”
Foodstuffs is tapping Tesco’s cloud-based picking software, which receives online orders and then maps, on handheld devices, the most efficient route for staff to pick the items from supermarket shelves.
The technology is live in two stores, operating under the PAK’nSAVE and New World brands, and plans are afoot to expand the roll-out across 150 locations. Transcend will also be able to deploy micro fulfilment centres inside retailers’ stores.
Tesco’s new venture sees it square up to UK rival Ocado, whose Ocado Solutions spin off offers smart e-commerce technology to global retailers.
British fashion brand Mint Velvet picks Retail247 solution to enhance data management and efficiency
Retail247 has announced the selection of Origin as the product platform for Mint Velvet.
The British fashion brand chose Origin to streamline its product data journey.
The first phase of deployment includes Channel Syndication. Origin connects retailers with their channel partners, streamlining the data sharing process and shortening the time needed to launch with a new partner.
Martin Schofield, CEO at Retail247, says: “It’s fantastic that Mint Velvet have chosen Origin to manage elements of their product data.”
“We’re thrilled to be working with such an iconic brand and welcome them to our growing list of clients. This partnership highlights Origin's value in enhancing data management and efficiency, and we look forward to supporting Mint Velvet’s growth.”
Immersive and engaging online experiences: Best Home Furnishings brings products to life with 3D Cloud platform
Best Home Furnishings has announced a partnership with 3D Cloud, a provider of 3D digital asset management and product visualisation solutions for furniture retailers and manufacturers.
The collaboration aims to boost the online shopping experience with realistic 3D furniture content, 3D product configurators, and product renders.
3D Cloud allows Best Home to use the same assets and content for both its public facing website and password protected dealer tools portal.
“We continually seek innovative ways to enhance our customers' shopping experiences," says Brian Lange, President at Best Home Furnishings.
"Partnering with 3D Cloud allows us to offer our customers a unique and interactive way to engage with our products online. The ability to view furniture in 3D, rotate it 360 degrees, and see high quality renders will undoubtedly elevate the confidence level of consumers looking for custom furniture."
"We were looking for a partner that could bring our products to life, and value the details. The 3D models came out looking realistic and comfortable, plush, and inviting. They don't look stiff and cartoony like furniture models often do," adds Lange.
Praetura Ventures Operational Partner Mark Roberts joins board of RTIH Innovation Awards winner Ocula Technologies
Ocula Technologies has added Mark Roberts, Operational Partner at Praetura Ventures, to its board.
In a LinkedIn post, Roberts said: “I’m delighted to be joining the board of Ocula Technologies, who are helping e-commerce retailers improve search and conversion performance with embedded AI.”
“Thank you to Thomas McKenna (CEO, Ocula Technologies), Greg Fletcher (CTO and Co-founder), Louise Stewart-Murray (VP of Operations) and the rest of the Ocula team for sharing the exciting plans to level the playing field of AI powered SEO and CRO... something I know first-hand can make a massive difference to e-commerce retailers.”
“I’m really looking forward to being part of this journey - what a great addition to the Praetura Ventures investment portfolio.”
Amazon adds Morrisons More Points to Morrisons on Amazon store and rolls out new features
Amazon and Morrisons reports that customers can now earn MorePoints - Morrison’s loyalty scheme - when shopping on the Morrisons on Amazon store.
These can be claimed back as Morrisons More Card Fivers to spend either in the UK grocery retailer’s stores or on its website.
A launch deal will see five points available on every eligible Morrisons product, as well as 500 points for customers who register their loyalty account and spend £70 in a single order during the first two weeks after registration.
Elsewhere, Amazon has announced the introduction of ‘Grocery Day’ which means that customers can now book a recurring weekly delivery slot, with their basket pre-filled with their regular items.
It has also introduced a delivery pre-reservation feature allowing people to reserve a slot up front for a period of up to 60 minutes to ensure they can secure the delivery time that suits them the best.
The announcement comes as Morrisons and Amazon launch Morrisons on Amazon in Oxford.
Carter research: US shoppers becoming more informed and intentional about their online privacy choices
The 2024 Digital Consumer Insights Survey issued by Carter in partnership with Ipsos, looked at how consumers interact with online platforms, and their perceptions of data privacy, and found that 53% of online shoppers say they are familiar with what they are agreeing to when they accept cookies.
A total of 1,000 Americans were surveyed for this.
Highlights:
66% of online shoppers typically accept cookies, with those ages 18-34 being most likely to accept them (79%)
24% of respondents are influenced by personalised advertisements when shopping online, including 34% of those online shoppers being ages 18-34, and 33% being weekly online shoppers
Primary reasons for accepting cookies include: access to full online features (53%), enhanced user experience (43%), remembering login information (34%), and personalised content (27%)
58% of respondents are familiar with what data is being collected by companies online through cookies, with weekly online shoppers being more knowledgeable at 66%. However, only 15% of people are very familiar with the data companies are collecting
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