Starring Vinted, Jellycat, and Primark: RTIH’s biggest retail technology articles during August
These are the RTIH retail systems articles that caught your fancy during August, including Woolworths Group, Takeoff Technologies, Oak + Fort, EY, Shopify, Ocado, Hanshow, Mattel, and the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards.
Online marketplace Vinted sparks outrage among sellers as it ushers in new postage option changes
Vinted, an online marketplace for secondhand clothes, recently implemented changes that upset many of its sellers. The platform altered its settings so sellers could no longer deactivate specific postage options.
Before this change, sellers had the flexibility to select preferred postage options when listing an item for sale.
For instance, they could choose to avoid using Yodel and opt for InPost and Royal Mail instead.
Now, the choice of postage provider is solely at the buyer's discretion, a shift that has caused significant discontent among the seller community. The change has led to a surge of complaints on social media platforms, with users expressing frustration and confusion.
Exceptional Jellycat fish and chips pop up at Selfridges London praised for creative store experience
A new and globally exclusive collection features characters inspired by the British dish.
Customers can book a slot and make their order from Jellycat’s Fish & Chips van in the Selfridges Toyshop on floor four.
The pop-up has received a rave review from Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant, Top 100 RTIH Retail Technology Influencer and former Amazon executive.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “I must admit that when I first saw the video that I have posted, I thought I was watching an actual restaurant in action. However, as the video continued to play, I realised that what I was watching was stuffed toys being sold. The fish with a smile on its face gave it away.”
He added: “I believe Jellycat has the most creative store experience I’ve ever seen for any product. The stuffed animals, colours, wrapping, bags and stickers - it is truly exceptional and brilliant.”
“I’m amazed that The Walt Disney Company, Netflix, Amazon or Walmart hasn’t partnered with Jellycat. A TV series or destination shops should be explored.”
Woolworths Group in talks to acquire assets of micro-fulfilment centres firm Takeoff Technologies for $2.5 million
Woolworths Group is working on deal to acquire Takeoff Technologies’ assets for $2.5 million.
The Woolworths Group news was broken on LinkedIn by Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive, who cited unnamed sources.
Ladd commented: “There are still details being worked out. Note: Woolworths DID NOT buy the company Takeoff Technologies - they only acquired its assets. Takeoff Technologies is effectively out of business.”
He added: “I'm not surprised that the Woolworths Group was the winning bidder as they plan on continuing to utilise Takeoff’s micro-fulfilment centres to fulfil online grocery orders.”
Toy giant Mattel appoints industry veteran Sai Koorapati Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Toy and family entertainment company, Mattel, reports that Sai Koorapati has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.
Anthony DiSilvestro, CFO at Mattel, says: “We are thrilled to welcome Sai to our leadership team at Mattel.”
“He brings to our company a strong track record leading digital transformations and proven experience across enterprise applications, customer facing systems, and cybersecurity tools.”
“We look forward to the benefit of Sai’s expertise navigating complex technological landscapes and empowering innovation at Mattel.”
In his role, Koorapati oversees all aspects of Mattel’s technology innovation and implementation, including shared platforms, software and hardware development, artificial intelligence (AI), and connected product design and creation.
He also leads Mattel’s online security and privacy.
The sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards is now open for entries
The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, Retail Technology Show 2025, and Business France, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
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.
Canadian lifestyle brand Oak + Fort enlists EY to build out Shopify unified commerce solution across its stores
Oak + Fort and its 40+ retail stores in the US and Canada are now powered by Shopify and Shopify PoS.
The retailer partnered with EY to build this out.
In a post on X, Harley Finkelstein, Shopify President, said: “This is a big deal. Oak + Fort wanted a unified solution so they could bring their entire business under one roof to work together seamlessly and help fuel their expansion.”
He added: “Shopify was the obvious choice and they partnered with EY to build it out. We are the best unified commerce solution on the planet. That’s why the biggest brands are coming to us.”
Comment: Chris Riegel, CEO and Founder of STRATACACHE, talks the new hot digital media opportunity
This year, over $140 billion will be spent on digital retail advertising globally.
Amazon likely captures more profit from its advertising services than through the fulfilment of products. Retail media is being hailed by many as a gold rush, and with these numbers, it is obvious why.
Many retailers are opening up their businesses to drive more opportunities to reach key audiences (and even more importantly key new revenue pools) through retail media advertising.
Seeing this gold rush, one could argue that a frontier that has yet to be fully explored and mined is the store itself. Since the end of the pandemic, online growth has plateaued, and still 93% of all retail dollars are spent in a physical store.
With their in-store offering, retailers can give advertisers something both illusive and extremely lucrative: accurate, attributable, and immediately actionable data on what drives a shopper conversion and how effective their advertising spend is.
Ocado rolls out same-day deliveries as UK online grocery big hitter offers its customers Express It slots
Ocado has contacted its customers to inform them that same-day deliveries are now available.
In an email, it said: “Need ingredients for tonight’s supper or just craving your favourite snack? Express It.”
“Yep, same-day deliveries are now a thing and we’ve aptly named them Express It Slots. Here’s the gist: you’ll find these new same-day slots on the usual booking page and you have until 11am to book a delivery for after 4pm the same day. All onboard?”
RTIH tested out the service and found that, at 8am on Saturday, 17th August, the earliest slot available was 4.30-5.30pm at a cost of £5.99. There were also slots on offer for later that evening at £4.99.
Primark preps London Oxford Street West go live as value retailer continues self-checkout technology push
Primark is continuing its deployment of self-checkouts with a major go live in August.
The programme started in 2022 and has seen roll-outs at such stores as Sheffield, West Bromwich, Basingstoke, Kingston and Milton Keynes.
In a LinkedIn post, dated Friday, 16th August, Kerry Hooley, Project Retail Implementation Lead at Primark, said: “It has been a bustling week for Primark, particularly in self-checkouts.”
“This week, the Truro, Broughton Park, Oxford Street East, and Chester stores officially launched their new self-checkouts. Oxford Street West has had excellent training sessions and is ready for next week's go live.”
“Thank you and congratulations to everyone involved for their hard work and dedication in making this successful for our stores.”
Woolworths Supermarkets works with Hanshow on launch of smart carts pilot at Sydney, Australia store
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.
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