Hugo Boss harnesses power of AI: 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 Co-op, YEEP!, New Look, SheerLuxe, Eurocell, Peak AI, Mountain Warehouse, BigCommerce, AiFi, Mastercard, and Levy Restaurants.
Co-op and YEEP!
YEEP! has partnered with Co-op in a move that will see its parcel lockers installed at 30 of the UK convenience retailer’s stores.
The first lockers to be trialled at Co-op stores will include locations in: Bletchley; Wigan Road, Bolton; Bromyard and Kington (Herefordshire); Castle Douglas (Dumfries and Galloway); Edwinstowe, Stanton Hill and Selston (Nottinghamshire); Kidwelly (Carmarthenshire) and Rainhill, with ambitions to grow the number of lockers during 2025.
George Hayworth, Head of Quick Commerce (Q Comm) Development, Co-op, says: “Partnering with Yeep! enables Co-op to further expand its network of safe, secure and convenient parcel lockers.”
“The parcel lockers form part of Co-op’s approach to develop added services and enhanced convenience - creating a compelling customer offer to ensure our stores are a convenient destination not only for groceries but for a range of services that meet the needs of local communities. Helping local residents, commuters and time-pressed consumers pick up or return parcels at a time that suits them, quickly, easily and conveniently.”
New Look
Medallia and Higher Oak are working with New Look to improve customer experience (CX) across its UK and Republic of Ireland operations.
Powered by Medallia’s technology and delivered by Higher Oak, a new CX programme can now capture customer feedback across New Look’s stores, website, app, and contact centre.
The retailer wanted to expand the offering beyond its in-store process. Higher Oak designed the new strategy and built and tested the programme within Medallia Experience Cloud.
Text analytics powered by Medallia's artificial intelligence has been deployed to uncover recurring themes within customer feedback, enabling each department to make informed decisions regarding their remit.
For fast paced teams like the delivery and returns department, the platform’s capacity for real-time data updates has been valuable for addressing evolving customer needs.
“Medallia’s cutting-edge technology and pedigree within the retail sector, coupled with Higher Oak’s extensive experience, made them the ideal partners to help us realise our vision for the future of New Look,” says Craig Diggins, Head of Customer Planning, Data Analysis and E-commerce at New Look.
“We’ve been able to hit the ground running, with the collaboration equipping us with the tools needed to enhance every customer interaction, whether in-store or online. We are looking forward to further exploring the platform to drive positive change for our customers.”
SheerLuxe
UK luxury lifestyle brand, SheerLuxe, has announced a partnership with C-Screens, a TV Out-of-Home (TVOOH) network.
This will see SheerLuxe’s curated editorial and video content showcased on C-Screens' large format screens, offering an immersive experience for shoppers in key retail destinations such as Lakeside and MetroCentre. This project adds to existing premium content partnerships that C-Screens hold with brands such as TikTok and Lounges.TV.
“We’re thrilled to be working with SheerLuxe to bring their fresh, dynamic content to our screens,” says Steve Chambers, CCO at C-Screens.
“Our goal is to entertain, inspire, and captivate visitors in retail environments, and SheerLuxe’s engaging content perfectly aligns with our mission to enhance the out-of-home media experience for audiences. For advertisers, this partnership offers a unique opportunity to reach a premium, fashion conscious audience at key moments during their retail journey.”
“The immersive, high impact content on our screens provides brands with a powerful platform to connect with consumers in ways that drive brand visibility, engagement, and, ultimately, purchase decisions.”
Hugo Boss
Hugo Boss has launched AI powered product content live across its e-commerce platforms globally.
“This isn’t just about leveraging cutting-edge technology, it’s about delivering meaningful innovation that drives tangible results for our customers and our business,” says Jan Philipp Wintjes, Executive Vice President Global Omnichannel.
He adds: “By harnessing the power of AI, the Hugo Boss Web3 & Immersive Experiences team is pioneering the use of advanced AI tools in image and video creation. This launch represents a future where technology seamlessly meets creativity and precision. This is AI in action, not as a concept, but as a catalyst for growth, efficiency, and improved customer experiences.”
AiFi, Mastercard, and Levy Restaurants
Powered by Mastercard, stocked by Levy Restaurants, and featuring AiFi technology, this lets people grab what they need without waiting in line or checking out. The QuickServe store will track their movements as they shop and pick up products. Once they've made their selection and departed, the system automatically debits their card.
The store is located at TOPCOURT, a new immersive fan experience.
Eurocell
Eurocell, a UK manufacturer, distributor, and recycler of UPVC window, door, conservatory, and roofline systems, says it has overhauled and optimised its inventory management through its partnership with Peak.
Using artificial intelligence, it has streamlined inventory management across its network of over 220 branches.
With a diverse product range spanning traded, manufactured, and made to order goods, Eurocell faced the challenge of balancing inventory levels across its nationwide network of over 220 branches.
Peak AI’s Inventory AI solution was deployed to address these challenges. Harnessing real-time inventory tracking and AI powered demand forecasting, Peak’s algorithms provided dynamic restocking targets tailored to Eurocell’s operational needs.
These targets were integrated into Eurocell’s ERP system, and have enabled optimised stock levels across the entire branch network, enhanced visibility of inventory for branch managers and accurate demand signals for better forecasting and recommendations.
Mountain Warehouse
BigCommerce has announced a partnership with Mountain Warehouse as the outdoor retailer migrates from a custom built online solution to its headless platform.
It will leverage BigCommerce's Catalyst and Makeswift solutions across three brands and multiple markets.
“After a thorough evaluation, we chose BigCommerce because it will provide us with reliable, out of the box features and still allow us to customise our e-commerce experience, thanks to its strong API framework. This gave us the best combination of time to market and product flexibility to support our internal resources," says Simon Neale, Chief Technology Officer at Mountain Warehouse.
Cutler and Gross
Voyado has announced a partnership with Cutler and Gross, a British luxury eyewear brand, to improve its omnichannel customer engagement and support its growth plans.
Max Etheridge, Director of Sales UK and Ireland at Voyado, comments: "We're thrilled to partner with Cutler and Gross, a brand synonymous with British style and craftsmanship. This collaboration marks the beginning of an exciting journey, where our expertise in retail technology will perfectly support the brand’s vision for growth, and together, we'll create a tailored customer journey that reflects their premium messaging."
“This new partnership, whilst strengthening our position in the luxury and premium fashion space, also showcases our growing capabilities in this market. I’ve seen a huge change in what drives customer loyalty over the last decade and now, we’re able to work closely with retailers, in any sector, to uncover what loyalty now looks like and how they can build it for their brand.”
thortful
thortful has launched a new Face Swap feature on its mobile app, allowing users to swap faces with their favourite (and least favourite) celebrities, characters and personalities.
To create greetings cards, thortful integrates templates designed and uploaded by its 6,000+ local creators and technology. The process begins by analysing the photo you upload, detecting key facial features like eyes, nose, mouth, and overall face shape.
These features are then digitally extracted and adjusted to match the pose, lighting, and style of the chosen card design. The technology blends your face into the design. Customer privacy is also prioritised, by ensuring that no photos are stored with third parties, nor are they used to train any AI face swap models.
Dentsu and Co-op
Dentsu and Co-op have launched a UK wide initiative to pre-load the Co-op membership application directly onto all Samsung O2 Telefónica devices.
By automatically installing the app at the Point of Sale on over 20,000 Samsung devices each week, Co-op says it is able to reach a vast audience without relying on traditional download driven marketing campaigns.
Co-op is also working with dentsu agency Carat UK to implement an outcome-based media buying strategy which compliments its pre-load initiative.
By ensuring that media spend is being directly tied to measurable outcomes such as number of application installs and level of user engagement, the business has seen a 46% reduction in Android cost-per-acquisition (CPA).
The pre-load advertisement channel, which was initially developed by Digital Turbine, is pitched as a UK first, streamlining the download process to encourage wider collaboration across telecom providers, manufacturers and brands.
Metrocentre
Metrocentre is one of the UK’s largest shopping and entertainment destinations, with an intricate layout that can overwhelm visitors and pose operational challenges.
Living Map has simplified navigation by implementing a digital mapping solution accessible via the former’s website and 13 interactive kiosks, located throughout the site.
The solution also improves accessibility with stair free routing options, and aims to optimise foot traffic, and support staff, while also using data analytics to drive smarter decisions for the retail space.
Toom Baumarkt
Toom Baumarkt is to implement Revionics’ AI powered solutions. Once deployed, its Base Price and Markdown applications will allow Toom to deliver competitive pricing across its retail business, while increasing automation, scale and efficiency within its pricing function.
With more than 300 stores in its portfolio (toom Baumarkt, B1 Discount Baumarkt and Klee Gartenfachmarkt), around 18,000 employees and gross sales of 3.1 billion euros, Toom is one of the leading players in the German DIY sector. The company is part of REWE Group.
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