Life’s a picnic for Travis Kalanick: RTIH rolls out the biggest retail technology news stories of the week
It’s Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past five days, including Retail Technology Show 2025, Deliveroo, Not On The High Street, River Island, InPost UK, Just Eat, Lovehoney, Pret A Manger, 3D Cloud, and DPD.
1. Retail Technology Show 2025 website goes live as leading event makes move from London Olympia to ExCel
The new Retail Technology Show website has gone live, ahead of the 2025 event, set to take place at London ExCel on 2nd-3rd April.
Retail Technology Show 2024, which took place at London Olympia in April, welcomed over 12,500 retail professionals to its two-day event, an increase of attendee numbers by +28% year-on-year.
Described by Charles Tyrwhitt’s Nick Wheeler as “eye opening”, the organisers (Nineteen) delivered their biggest innovation showcase to date, with 400+ technology providers and innovators exhibiting across two exhibition halls.
Nourished’s CEO, Melissa Snover, pointed to the sheer breadth and depth of the technologies being showcased this year, commenting: “there’s a huge amount of different people from all elements of retail, and some incredible technologies coming out.”
2. Travis Kalanick's digital food court Picnic is now serving San Francisco and Mountain View
“It’s just like using a food delivery app, but we bring everyone’s order together at the same time,” according to a Picnic spokesperson.
The LA-based venture is now serving San Francisco and Mountain View. It’s the next big thing, according to Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive.
Picnic’s business model aligns with City Storage Systems’ stated goal to make food delivery “more affordable, higher quality and convenient for everyone.” The wide selection and low prices are driving business to CloudKitchens and Otter - also part of City Storage Systems (CSS), he noted in a LinkedIn post.
3. ‘Game changing’ technology firm 3D Cloud bags $20 million growth capital infusion from Bellini Capital
3D Cloud (formerly Marxent), a specialist in 3D digital asset management for 3D product visualisation, has announced a $20 million growth capital investment led by Arnie Bellini of Bellini Capital.
"Retailers and manufacturers are flocking to 3D Cloud, drawn by its pioneering cloud-based design and visualisation software that outperforms traditional solutions by a factor of five," says Bellini.
"This game-changing technology enables retailers to deliver hyper-personalised, on-demand services like never before. I'm excited to be part of this journey as 3D Cloud continues to drive innovation and lead the market.”
"We're pleased once again to have the support of Arnie Bellini and Bellini Capital. Arnie's mentorship and counsel have been invaluable to our team," says Beck Besecker, CEO and Co-Founder at 3D Cloud, whose clients include CITY Furniture, Best Home Furnishings, and Flexstee.
"Arnie is a long-term thinker who understands the real challenges of bringing new tech to market and how to mature an organisation from a startup to a sustainable business that not only delivers value to customers but also understands its responsibility to team members and the broader community. Arnie's energy and enthusiasm are unmatched. We're thrilled to have his support."
4. Honeywell teams with Qualcomm to develop retail focused artificial intelligence powered mobile assistant
Honeywell is working to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) enabled Multi-Modal Intelligent Agent for its mobile devices powered by Qualcomm Technologies. The agent will allow workers and customers in the distribution centre and retail industries to interact naturally with their handheld devices through voice, pictures, and barcodes.
Workers will be able to enter data into the technology and then receive practical answers to queries like, "Do we have the gluten-free variant of this product in stock?" or "Where can I find this particular item in the store?"
Depending on the question, users will receive responses in the form of an image, video, spoken response, text answer, or a combination of several modalities.
5. Deliveroo connects with online retailer Not On The High Street to offer Londoners personalised gifts in minutes
Deliveroo has partnered with Not On The High Street to provide personalised gifts on demand.
Starting with the London area, the tie up will allow users to order from independent small brands through Not On The High Street listed directly on the Deliveroo app.
Leanne Rothell, Chief Executive at Not On The High Street, says: “We are delighted to partner with Deliveroo to expand their gifting range. We are dedicated to championing small brands and connecting customers with the range of high-quality, distinctive and thoughtful products that they offer.”
“Not only does this collaboration with Deliveroo offer an incredible opportunity for our small brand Partners to reach a wider audience, but it allows customers to find something special to mark any occasion, even at the very last minute.”
6. Just Eat announces rapid delivery partnership with sexual happiness online retailer Lovehoney
Just Eat is partnering with Lovehoney, an online retailer specialising in adult sex toys and lingerie, to offer its products to consumers as part of the former’s move into self-care.
The collaboration will kick off in the United Kingdom (Just Eat), Austria (Lieferando) and Denmark (Just Eat) through different local retailers in each market.
Lovehoney, whose tagline is "the sexual happiness people”, will offer a variety of top selling products, including the Womanizer, We-Vibe, ROMP and Fifty Shades of Grey ranges.
Exclusive offers and discounts will be available to consumers across key moments such as Halloween, Black Friday and Christmas, and will include free gifts on orders over €50 (or equivalent) from launch, while stocks last.
Orders will be delivered discreetly through Just Eat’s delivery network, with 18+ age verification measures in place.
7. Bringing customers a delivery game-changer: Fashion retailer River Island offers InPost at online checkout
River Island has announced a partnership with parcel locker specialist InPost UK.
In a LinkedIn post, the latter said: “By offering InPost at checkout, River Island customers can now enjoy the convenience of collecting their parcels from a nearby locker at a time that suits them. It’s a win-win for shoppers – no more missed deliveries or waiting around – just a smooth, reliable delivery solution.”
“We're really excited to team up with River Island to bring their customers a delivery game-changer.”
8. Geopost owned DPD announces Lincoln as fourth location for UK autonomous robot deliveries
Parcel delivery company DPD has announced plans to launch autonomous robot deliveries in Lincoln as part of a nationwide roll-out that could see up to 30 UK depots operating robots in their locality.
DPD, which is part of Geopost, first introduced robots in Milton Keynes in July 2022, and they are now also out delivering parcels to DPD customers in Raunds and Bristol with more locations to follow this year.
Based at DPD's Lincoln depot at St Modwens Park, they will deliver to the nearby village of Witham St Hughs, via the existing network of footpaths.
The robots, which have a battery life of up to 12 hours and can deliver within a mile radius of the depot, operate autonomously once they have completed the mapping process, during which they are fully supervised and controlled by remote control.
DPD parcel recipients in Witham St Hughs will receive an SMS when the robot is outside their property and can then use a secure one-time pin code to open the robot and access their parcel. Once the compartment is closed, the robot will either continue to its next delivery or return to the depot. They can complete up to 30 deliveries a day.
DPD has worked with Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) on the initiative in Witham St Hughs.
9. Food and coffee chain Pret A Manger taps YOOBIC tech to support frontline teams and global expansion
Pret A Manger is partnering with digital workplace specialist YOOBIC.
By deploying the company’s suite of tools across 525 shops in 15 international markets, Pret says it is enabling its team to deliver consistently excellent brand experiences while prioritising customer and employee safety at every step of the way.
Over the next three to five years, it plans to double its total footprint to more than 1,000 shops through a growing global network of franchise partnerships.
That's where YOOBIC comes in. By bringing to life some of Pret's extensively documented standard operating procedures into a unified virtual hub, it gives frontline teams immediate access to the digital tools and information they need to succeed, while enabling senior leaders to maintain full visibility into and control over its global operations.
Pret's team members are currently using the tech to monitor and manage over 65,000 monthly tasks across the company's network of shops, with full tracking of task completion, follow up action items, and compliance rates.
10. Migros Supermarkt’s Andy Baldauf added to 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards judging panel
Andy is an expert in stationary and digital retail structures with over 20 years of experience.
He has held strategic management positions at renowned national corporations, international SMEs and startups. With an academic background in marketing and digital business, specialising in innovation management, he has in-depth expertise.
As a recognised top retail expert and keynote speaker, he shares his knowledge on a regular basis. His strategic approaches have made him a LinkedIn Top Voice, where he presents his expertise to a worldwide audience.
Welcome onboard, Andy!
DON’T DELAY, ENTER TODAY!
There are only four weeks left to submit your entries for the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards.
Deadline for submissions is Friday, 25th October.
The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, Retail Technology Show 2025, and Business France celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
It's free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.
Download our handy guide to entering the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards.
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.
For all entry related queries, email our Editor, Scott Thompson: scott.thompson@retailtechinnovationhub.com
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