Unforgettable store experiences and Gen AI powered fragrance finders: 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 Nespresso UK, HIVED, Asda, Holland & Barrett, Provenance, Ogee, ODP Corporation, Bath & Body Works, Decathlon, Just Eat, and REWE Group.

MediaMarkt

MediaMarkt, a German multinational chain of stores selling consumer electronics with over 1,000 locations in ten countries in Europe, has announced the newest addition within the retailer’s ‘Lighthouse' concept.

This is pitched as a store that brings together technology, innovation and experience in a way you won't find anywhere else.

In a LinkedIn post, Remko Rijnders, COO at MediamarktSaturn Retail Group and CEO at Mediamarkt BeNeLux, said: “Tech Village Hamburg not only offers an unparalleled experience, but also demonstrates the power of our innovation and vision for the future.”

“Our goal is to create unforgettable shopping experiences, exactly what our customers need.”

Ochama

Ochama, the European omnichannel retail brand of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, has announced an expansion of its pickup point network in the Paris region to improve fulfilment efficiency across France.

Leveraging JD Logistics’ warehouse in Paris, this enables customers to collect their orders as soon as the day after ordering, starting from 2nd September.

Additionally, Ochama now offers next-day home delivery for over 1,000 selected items, including food and beverages, both fresh and frozen, as well as electronics and home goods.

Footasylum

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.

Amazon

Amazon will deploy its Just Walk Out technology at more on-campus convenience stores in 2024.

This will bring the worldwide total of Just Walk Out campus c-stores to more than 30 across three countries.

Customers can scan a credit card when they walk in, select items and leave. Their account will be charged and a receipt emailed to them.

ODP Corporation

The ODP Corporation has announced the implementation of Gen AI technology across its US network of Office Depot and OfficeMax stores.

The ODP Personal Assistant, an internally developed AI application that leverages the same technology as ChatGPT and maintains all data within ODP's environment, launched earlier this year to thousands of associates across all business units.

Based on early successes, the decision was made to integrate comprehensive knowledge bases into the application, to help associates obtain quick answers to common questions to enhance the service provided to customers.

A retail knowledge base was developed and has been accessible since December 2023 on store computers and handheld devices used by store associates.

"We are thrilled about the potential of Gen AI to revolutionise our customers’ experience," says Gerry Smith, CEO at The ODP Corporation.

"This approach highlights our dedication to technological advancement and enhances our ability to streamline activities and tasks within our stores. We’re committed to further exploring transformative AI applications across our entire organisation."

Asda

Asda has announced that customers in six locations will now be able to purchase refurbished TVs in what is being pitched as a first for a UK supermarket.   

The grocery giant has launched a trial which has seen it refurbish three models of returned HD LED Smart Sharp and Polaroid TVs at its ERC (electrical returns centre) using recycled materials - and they will now be sold in its stores from as little as £100.   

Customers in Folkestone, Leeds, Glasgow, Sunderland and Ellesmere Port, will be able to pick up one of three sizes of the TVs, including a 32”, 40” and 50”. 

Energy ratings, barcodes and images have all printed been on the box for the TVs, which have been re-packaged to make clear to customers that they are refurbished.  

Recommended retail price for a new HD LED 50” Smart Polaroid TV is £240, meaning customers could make a saving of up to £80 should they opt for a refurbished model for £160.

Holland & Barrett

Holland & Barrett has partnered with Provenance, a sustainability data platform.

It says that the collaboration positions it as one of the first UK high street retailers to embed validated and transparent sustainability claims in the customer journey.

Provenance validated claims will begin appearing across Holland & Barrett’s online channels in the UK and Ireland giving its trustworthy information to help them make informed purchasing decisions.

Provenance claims will now feature on the product pages of Holland & Barrett’s Own Label vitamins, food and sports nutrition products, as well as on branded products from customer favourites like Weleda, Westlab, Pukka Herbs, Grass & Co, and Faith in Nature.

Guy Farmer, Commercial Trading Director at Holland & Barrett, comments: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Provenance to further meet the growing consumer demand for transparent sustainability claims.”

“Our customers have always looked to us for natural, ethical and sustainable products and this initiative reinforces our commitment to sustainability whilst also providing our suppliers with powerful tools to build trust and loyalty with our customers around the claims they are making.”

“Brands that validate their claims with Provenance will be well-positioned to stand out, attract eco-conscious consumers, and ultimately help drive more sales through our platform.”

Provenance’s platform and framework of green claims also enables both Holland & Barrett and its brands to navigate the increasingly complex regulatory landscape surrounding sustainability claims and how they must be evidenced, including the UK’s Green Claims Code.

Farmer adds: “Our partnership with Provenance is also a vital compliance measure for our business. We require all future suppliers to use Provenance to validate any sustainability claims they wish to make.”

“To support our existing suppliers in making this change we have offered a sponsored limited membership to Provenance and we’re delighted that many of them have already onboarded with the platform.”

“Over time we believe Provenance will be more than a compliance measure for our suppliers, it will be a strategic growth initiative designed to harness the power of sustainability as a lever for market success, both with Holland & Barrett and as they scale their businesses.”

Nespresso UK and HIVED

Nespresso UK has partnered with HIVED, an all electric delivery service, on sustainable coffee orders in London.

The aim of the tie up is to enhance the customer experience while notably reducing carbon emissions.

Nespresso customers can now track their orders in real-time, receive live updates, and access instant customer support through HIVED's platform.

The partnership will seek to reduce carbon emissions by up to 76% per parcel, potentially saving over 10,000kg of CO2 emissions monthly across approximately 60,000 Nespresso deliveries in London.

Murvah Iqbal, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, HIVED, says: “Nespresso is an incredible cup of coffee, and we are delighted to be working as its delivery partner. Londoners can now get their coffee moments with an elevated and more sustainable delivery experience, at the same time.”

“As we continue to expand our operations across London and beyond, this partnership is a great example of how HIVED can support major brands like Nespresso, through its fast, reliable and uncomplicated delivery experience for customers.”

Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works will launch a Gen AI powered fragrance finder called Gingham Genius later this year.

“Our technology roadmap is on track and we're putting in place the foundational tools and systems needed to support future growth while enabling new capabilities that will increase customer engagement and provide a more seamless shopping experience across channels,” says CEO Gina Boswell.

The fragrance finder features a conversational interface where customers can describe a scent or candle and the tool will provide personalised recommendations.

The Very Group

The Very Group, operator of digital retailer Very, has launched training to develop its data professionals through a new degree level data academy.

It says that the initiative will aim to further improve the retailer’s data capability to support decisions that enhance the customer experience, increase efficiency and productivity, and unlock growth opportunities.

The programme will be delivered by Multiverse, which has trained more than 16,000 apprentices in data and digital skills since 2016.

The data academy will see 11 data professionals initially enrol onto a 39-month degree-level Advanced Data Fellowship course, which will build on their existing skills and give them more in-depth data analysis training.

Rob McCormick, Head of Data at The Very Group, says: “As data has become such an important part of business decision-making, our data teams are in high demand, which can restrict the time spent on more strategic initiatives.”

“Through our partnership with Multiverse, we’re confident that we can increase efficiency and productivity through data and automation, benefitting our digital brands and our four-and-a-half million active customers.”

Amazon

Amazon is now offering same-day grocery delivery from select Metropolitan Market locations serving customers in the Greater Seattle area.

Customers in Sammamish, Queen Anne, Tacoma and Crown Hill can now place grocery orders online.

To celebrate the launch, Amazon is offering Prime members free delivery on their first three orders of $10 or more.

It is also expanding its existing grocery delivery service with Weis Markets to six additional stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York (Hillsborough, NJ, Doylestown, PA, York, PA, Lititz, PA, Milton, PA, and Binghamton, NY).

“By teaming up with well loved grocers like Metropolitan Market, we’re offering our customers in the Greater Seattle area even more selection, value, and convenience as they shop for their favourite foods online,” says Christian Seitel, Amazon’s Head of U.S. Grocery Partnerships.

“We look forward to expanding our two-hour delivery window offering to more Metropolitan Market and Weis Markets locations in the future.” 

Just Eat and REWE Group

Just Eat has announced a nationwide partnership with REWE Group, one of Germany’s largest supermarket chains.

Customers in the country can now have groceries delivered to their homes within 45 minutes. The service is initially available in over 40 cities.

In a LinkedIn post, Just Eat said: “The offer expands Lieferando's (the brand name the company uses in Germany and Austria) marketplace with one of the strongest brands in the food retail sector.”

“Customers can order from a wide range of more than 3,000 products - from fresh food and everyday goods for cooking, as an ingredient, side dish or snack - giving them even more choice and convenience when using Lieferando.”

“With this partnership, we are the first food ordering platform in the industry to welcome one of Germany's largest food retailers to our marketplace. With this new partnership, we are adding REWE's product diversity to our service portfolio,” says Lennard Neubauer, Managing Director at Lieferando.

Gander

SaaS-based food waste reduction system Gander has signed up to WRAP’s Courtauld Commitment 2030.

This is a voluntary agreement which brings together a broad range of organisations involved in the food system to make food and drink production - and consumption - more sustainable.

As such it enables collaborative action across the entire UK food chain to deliver farm-to-fork reductions in food waste, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water stress that will help the UK food and drink sector achieve global environmental goals.

Decathlon and Be.EV.

Decathlon Stockport has received a new 15-bay ultra-rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging hub, installed by Be.EV. 

It’s the largest such hub in Stockport, and is located just minutes from the M60.

On Sunday (8th September), Be.EV is celebrating the launch by offering drivers who use their Be.EV app half price charging between 12pm and 2pm, and free Padel taster sessions at the nearby Soul Padel courts.

Drivers will also be able to try out the latest electric bikes courtesy of Decathlon, and will receive a £5 voucher to use in-store when they charge their car at the event.  

Stockport Porsche is also bringing a Porsche Taycan to the event, with drivers able to experience the vehicle and book test drives. 

Octopus Electric Vehicles will also be at the event, with drivers able to learn about Vehicle to Load technology, and how to use their EV to power appliances at home and on camping trips. 

The ultra-rapid chargers can add up to 165 miles of range in a short 20-minute stop (compared to several hours on a 7kW fast charger) - a solution that matches Decathlon’s customer dwell time of approximately 30 minutes. 

Amazon

Amazon has hired Covariant’s founders, Pieter Abbeel, Peter Chen, and Rocky Duan, and is licensing the company’s robotic foundation models.

In an online post, Amazon says: “Covariant is a Bay Area-based company that builds advanced AI models that enable robots to see, reason, and act on the world around them, supporting a number of different warehouse automation tasks.”

“What we admire about the Covariant team is their iterative and customer focused approach to developing technologies that solve the toughest challenges in warehouse automation and their deep understanding of that end-to-end process.”

“Through our agreement, Amazon is receiving a non-exclusive license to Covariant’s robotic foundation models. Its models will help drive new ways to generalise how our robotic systems learn and provide dynamic opportunities for how we use automation to make our operations safer and better deliver for customers.”

“As part of this effort, Amazon plans to grow its AI and robotics team in the Bay Area to tap into world class talent and advance the latest in automation.”

Abbeel, Chen, Duan, and a group of research scientists and engineers (around a quarter of Covariant’s current employees) will join Amazon’s Fulfilment Technologies & Robotics Team to help drive the development and implementation of Covariant’s technology within Amazon’s operations and continue to develop innovative AI solutions.