Including Walkbase, Poundland, Currys: last week’s biggest retail technology plays at a glance

RTIH rounds up the stand out retail systems deals, launches, deployments and pilots from the past seven days. Including Buckle, Aptos, Wolt, AppsFlyer, Boden, ZigZag, Jabra, Lloyds Pharmacy, and  Jumpmind.

Lloyds Pharmacy

Lloyds Pharmacy has announced the launch of a supply chain transformation initiative in collaboration with Slimstock. It is adopting the firm's AI powered planning platform across its 80 strong pharmacy network.

Jan-Pieter Hallema, Managing Director at Lloyds Pharmacy, says: “As an essential part of local communities, we strive to offer our patients and their families the very best support for all their health and wellbeing needs. Our supply chain, therefore, plays a pivotal role in helping us deliver exceptional patient care and a superior customer experience.”

Lloyds Pharmacy will adopt Slimstock’s Slim4 platform to centralise its forecasting, ordering and replenishment process as part of the transformation initiative. “This will allow our pharmacy teams to dedicate more time to what matters most: supporting the local communities we serve,” says Hallema.

Buckle

US speciality retailer Buckle has selected Aptos ONE as its new Point of Sale (PoS) platform.

Headquartered in Kearney, Nebraska, it offers a curated mix of on-trend apparel, accessories and footwear, and operates 440+ retail stores in 42 states. Known as a denim destination, each store carries a wide selection of fits, styles and finishes from leading denim brands, including Buckle’s exclusive brand, BKE.

It has been leveraging Aptos software since 2018 and is moving from its Windows-based PoS system to Aptos ONE, which is a mobile first application.

“This is an extremely cohesive system, offering advanced store operations and guest engagement capabilities within a flexible platform,” says Brandon Hauff, Vice President of IT at Buckle. “With the Aptos ONE app, our teammates have everything they need to add value to the guest experience, including guest insights, product details, inventory information and loyalty status. 

“Our mission is to create the most enjoyable experience possible for those shopping with us and those working for us. Our investment in Aptos ONE supports that mission, bringing to life an experience that is relevant, informed and frictionless.” 

Walkbase

STRATACACHE company Walkbase, an in-store analytics solutions provider for retailers, has unveiled new millimeter wave sensor technology.

On display last week at NRF in New York, it provides retailers and premises owners a way to accurately measure in-store customer behaviour without collecting or divulging the personal identifying information (PII) of customers. 

“For retailers looking to track shopper activity in their store, without the risk of collecting unauthorised data, the millimeter wave solution is essential," says Ben Reynolds, Vice President Business Development, Walkbase.

“This is the first time that millimeter wave technology has been used in retail and, after years of development, we are so proud to be sharing Walkbase’s highly scalable solution with retailers and brands attending NRF.”

Poundland

Poundland this week said it was “investing significantly in security enhancements” as it launched its ‘Against Retail Crime’ initiative.

Part of the investment will go to supporting its 800-plus strong store estate, ensuring it’s “equipped with anti-theft innovation to deter shoplifting” and with “communication headsets to allow its people to communicate quickly when incidents occur and take action swiftly and safely”. 

WSS

WSS has deployed Aptos ONE PoS across its store operations and customer engagement strategies. Dozens of WSS stores went live on it immediately prior to the holiday shopping period, with the remainder set to adopt the solution in early 2025. 

Based in Gardena, California, WSS is a subsidiary of Foot Locker and operates more than 140 stores nationwide.

“We are a visionary organisation, and our technology investments reflect that,” says Sarah Derba, Senior Director, Information Technology, at WSS. “Modern software architectures are important to us, and so is field performance. When evaluating PoS systems, we put a lot of consideration into questions like ‘how is this going to perform in the field?’ and ‘is this going to make the job easier and better for our employees?’”

“Now that we’re live with Aptos ONE, we’re seeing firsthand the positive impact that it has on employee and customer satisfaction and the overall energy in our stores,” Derba adds. “WSS employees can ring up transactions, add loyalty points, access real-time inventory and customer data, complete omnichannel orders, and much more – all from a single, mobile-first device.” 

“What has impressed us the most has been the speed and ease of serving customers, and the speed and ease to configure, update and deploy the application. Aptos ONE proves that enterprise grade PoS applications can be fast and easy to use while still offering deep functionality. Our adoption of Aptos ONE has been fantastic.”

Boden

Boden has switched to ZigZag to manage its global returns.

Colin Dawes, Head of Logistics at Boden, comments: "We switched to ZigZag as our returns provider not only to make savings across our supply chain, but more importantly to improve our customer's returns experience with technical and data driven excellence.”

“It’s been an eye opener for us in understanding how our customer base differs from the rest of the market. We want our returns policy to be a true reflection of what our customers need and now we have another layer of visibility to inform our approach."

Jabra

Jabra has launched Jabra Perform 75, a new Bluetooth headset designed specifically for shift workers in retail environments.  

Integrating with frontline worker applications on handheld devices, this offers hands free, instant access to critical information, allowing associates to stay focused on their tasks while delivering excellent product knowledge and a better in-store customer experience.  

Perform 75 has been designed with a dedicated button on the headset that integrates with push-to-talk (PTT) capabilities delivered directly by the handheld device. 

With a press of the button, users can instantly communicate handsfree, solving queries and problems, while continuing their tasks like staffing the checkout and stocking shelves. Compatible with many leading platforms, including Microsoft, Zebra Technologies, Zello, it also offers out-of-the-box functionality for work that is heads up and virtually hands free. 

Currys

Currys has announced the expansion of Currys Connected Media into all its UK&I stores. It has partnered with in-store media specialist PRN (a STRATACACHE company) on this.

The retailer will, as a result, enable brands to advertise on displays within its stores. Powered by PRN’s technology, the networked screens will deliver targeted adverts. With over 100 screens in many locations, the national network hopes to deliver around 40 million annual impressions.

This opportunity is available to brands sold in all Currys’ 297 UK&I stores, as well as to other brands wanting to connect with its shoppers.

The proposition is a key element of the broader Currys Connected Media landscape.

Wolt

AppsFlyer, a specialist in data collaboration solutions, marketing measurement, and data analytics, has announced a partnership with Wolt, which operates in the local commerce and delivery space.

Through the tie up, Wolt Ads - Wolt’s retail media solution - will utilise AppsFlyer’s Data Collaboration Platform (DCP) to share and collaborate on first-party data with advertisers and partners securely. 

Brands will be able to leverage Wolt's data to create precise and tactical audience segments, and accurately measure campaign performance. By leveraging AppsFlyer’s capabilities, Wolt Ads now enables brand partners to independently build segments using their audience expertise and measure campaign performance at a highly granular level, connecting sales back to campaigns.

“AppsFlyer’s partnership with Wolt Ads has transformed retail media’s capabilities for us,” says Catalina Salazar, Global Head of Wolt Ads.

“The solution helped us not only enable audience creation for our brand partners, but also measurement of the media plan end-to-end across our in-app and off-app touchpoints. This innovation enhances precision and most importantly, drives measurable outcomes, making it a game-changer for how we deliver value to our partners and their customers across 29 markets.”

DTLR and Shoe Palace

Jumpmind is partnering with DTLR and Shoe Palace to power mobile retail experiences for both customers and store associates throughout 450 store locations in the US. 

DTLR/VILLA and Shoe Palace were recently acquired by JD Sports, a multi-channel retailer of branded sports and casual wear with over 3,000 stores in 32 territories worldwide. In North America, the JD Sports family of brands also includes The Finish Line and Hibbett Sports.

JD Sports is organising its retail technology around the composable architecture paradigm - a cloud-based collection of integrated solutions to promote agility, innovation and flexibility.

The retailers will leverage Jumpmind Commerce to power mobile Point of Sale, along with Jumpmind Inventory.

“The move to Jumpmind Commerce for Point of Sale on mobile devices is part of a larger initiative to modernise our stores and elevate the shopping experience for our customers,” says DTLR/VILLA CEO Todd Kirssin.

“We’re moving to larger store footprints so we can carry more of the hottest sportswear and streetwear brands; mobilising access to information and processes will help associates stay close to customers and provide a rich and rewarding shopping experience.”