Including Vinted, Westwing, Harrods, and Next: 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 Shopify, Patchworks, Pflanzen-Kölle Gartencenter, Adore Beauty, bpost, Vallarta Supermarkets, EG Americq, Quorso, Deichmann, and Valspar.

Adore Beauty

With the launch of its first physical stores, Adore Beauty is expanding its retail media offering across onsite, offsite, and in-store - powered by Zitcha’s plaform

This means opportunities for its 300+ brand partners to connect with over 800,000 beauty shoppers wherever they choose to browse and buy. "Retail media is a key growth area as we expand our omnichannel strategy. Zitcha allows us to improve efficiency and deliver more value to our customers and brand partners," says Dan Ferguson, CMO at Adore Beauty.

"By integrating onsite, offsite, and in-store retail media, Adore Beauty is creating a more connected experience for brands and shoppers alike," says Nick Hinsley, CRO at Zitcha.

Fabletics

Active and lifestyle wear brand, Fabletics, is tapping Blue Yonder’s SaaS-based supply chain planning solutions, including demand planning, allocation and replenishment, merchandise financial planning, and size scaling.

“Retailers today find it increasingly challenging to manage demand planning, allocation, replenishment, and forecasting due to supply chain disruptions such as labour shortages and rising inflation," says Vince Beacom, President, Global Retail, Blue Yonder.

"Fabletics is taking the first step in transforming their business to better meet the needs of their consumers and internal teams to expand globally and support their manufacturing process as a result. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of their transformation along with our partner Plantensive and look forward to working with Fabletics further as they continue to evolve as a global brand."

Westwing

Furniture retailer Westwing has gone live with the Patchworks unified technology stack as part of a migration from an in-house e-commerce platform to Shopify.

In a LinkedIn post, Jim Herbert, CEO at Patchworks, said: "It's fair to say I am stoked by this one! This was a self build by the Westwing team using our training materials and supported by our tech team, and the iterative approach mentioned in Shopify's case study meant that not only did site one launch in less than three months, we've lived through their first BFCM weekend on the new stack and saw the power of modern auto-scaling SaaS architecture first hand."

He added: "I will talk briefly to Patchworks' MACH Alliance membership here as well. A requirement was for us to support publish subscribe patterns and events (RabbitMQ) and our micro-service architecture made moving the roadmap to accelerate this requirement much easier than legacy iPaaS solutions and we delivered it on time, and have many clients now using this."

“Shout out to Braze (Westwing used our connector builder for this as it wasn't in the marketplace at the time), Snowflake and Salsify as our integrated partners."

Vinted

PayTech firm Checkout.com has announced a partnership with Vinted, a European online marketplace for second hand fashion. 

A key component of the tie up is the former’s Intelligent Acceptance offering, which aims to deliver a boost in acceptance rates by applying bespoke AI optimisations tailored to Vinted’s specific traffic patterns.

This has reduced failed transactions, driving greater engagement on the platform. As a result, Vinted reports  a 4.15% overall acceptance rate uplift on payments processed by Checkout.com  in 2024.

The latter’s regulatory expertise and localised acquiring network across Europe have been critical in enabling Vinted to navigate complex market demands. The partnership ensures compliance with region specific regulations while supporting local currencies.

Modestas Tursa, VP Payments, at Vinted, says: “Delivering exceptional digital experiences is core to our mission of making second hand first choice, and our partnership with Checkout.com has been instrumental in helping us achieve that. Its powerful technology and deep expertise across European and UK markets allow us to scale confidently while achieving high performance payments and delivering the digital experience our users expect.”

Deichmann SE

Deichmann SE has selected Ivalua’s platform to digitalise source-to-pay (S2P) processes.

Founded over 100 years ago in Essen, Germany, where it is still headquartered, Deichmann SE is Europe’s largest shoe retailer. With over 49,000 employees and about 4,700 shops, it operates in 34 countries. In 2023, it generated gross revenue of 8.7 billion euros.

It opted for Ivalua’s unified spend management platform to achieve four key goals: Consolidate and streamline S2P operations; Increase automation and reduce manual efforts; Enhance transparency and gain access to powerful data and insights; Improve collaboration with internal teams and suppliers.

Pflanzen-Kölle Gartencenter

Pflanzen-Kölle Gartencenter has launched retail7’s cloud-native checkout solution.

The first store in Heilbronn, Germany is now live. "From day one, the retail7 solution has impressed our employees, and together with the company's team, we have successfully mastered the pilot launch," says Jessica Stock of Pflanzen-Kölle.

Valspar

Valspar, a manufacturer of paint and coatings, has launched a couples colour matching tool that allows customers to discover the perfect colour palette.

After uploading the desired photo, and selecting the colours from the picture, customers will then need to find the closest Valspar colour match on the website, or take the picture to a B&Q store, where the Valspar team will scan the sample and create the custom colour recipe. 

Once the colour has been matched to the sample, people can choose the exact type of paint needed. The in-store teams can help select the right product for the desired project, and will then mix the colour formula into a tin of paint to take home. Additionally, customers can name and save the custom colour in the in-store system so they can visit any B&Q and mix another tin at any time.

Lucy Steele, Senior Brand Manager at Valspar, says: “Moving in with a partner is no easy task, learning to compromise and make decisions can be difficult for a lot of couples. The colour matching tool is about finding the perfect colour match, with their perfect match. Building a colour scheme that suits both tastes will not only help stop some arguments, but also help create a home that is perfectly unique."

EG America

Quorso has announced a partnership with EG America, a convenience store retailer in the US. This will see its technology deployed throughout the company’s more than 1,500 retail and fuel locations.

Its Intelligent Management solution consolidates siloed solutions, like tasks, surveys, performance analytics, and exception reporting, into a single platform that aims to drive store performance at every level.

“Quorso is a significant enhancement from legacy reporting and traditional task management systems,” says Elizabeth Pierce, COO, EG America. “The platform enables us to take a more personalised, data driven approach to operational improvements in every store. It also drastically reduces the overwhelming amount of data that our store teams have to process”.

METRO Markets

European wholesale marketplace, METRO Markets, reports a digital transformation project powered by Storyblok. 

Launched in 2019, it was developed to provide a wide range of non-food products for the hotel, restaurant, and catering industries.

Following a period of growth, with over 600,000 products and thousands of customers using the platform for their restaurants, food stalls, hotels, bars, and more, it became clear to METRO Markets that its website was no longer up to the job.

Its outdated in-house CMS was cumbersome and difficult to maintain, creating bottlenecks and severely limiting the scope for new features and innovation. Storyblok was selected as the best external CMS fit to support its growth and ambitions by enabling a much more flexible way to add content and visuals and, in turn, make the business more scalable.

Australia Post

Australia Post in partnership with reo, powered by oOh!media, is gearing up to trial its first in-store screen retail media network across 60 Victorian locations.

The aim here is to engage its customers at pivotal moments, whether they’re sending or collecting a parcel, or using other Australia Post services.

Providing advertisers with opportunities to deliver targeted and contextual messaging, reo’s retail media solution includes hardware, software, and services. Australia Post will use reo’s sales team to assist with the media sales.

Aimee Dixon, General Manager Enterprise Brand and Retail Marketing at Australia Post, says: “Our network of retail outlets offer’s brands an innovative way to engage with consumers. By leveraging our physical footprint, we are excited to expand the value we deliver to businesses across Australia, starting with a rollout in 60 locations in Victoria. Our collaboration with reo is a key part of this strategy, allowing us to connect brands with customers through dynamic in-store media solutions.” 

Harrods

Luxury department store, Harrods, has appointed Incubeta to manage its global digital marketing account.

The partnership will focus on accelerating digital growth and footfall for the luxury retailer among its highest value customers across key markets - the UK, US, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and three further markets in Asia. This will cover pay-per-click (PPC), SEO, paid media, and digital PR. 

This includes maximising the return from its digital investment to drive sales across its Knightsbridge store in London, online, its app, the Rewards loyalty programme, and its five UK-based H Beauty stores.

Incubeta will deploy its proprietary Seamless Search platform, an AI powered solution. By analysing multiple data signals in real-time, this aims to ensure that Harrods' digital spend is allocated with precision, optimising each campaign for maximum efficiency and impact. Incubeta will also work closely with it to leverage partnerships with brands.

Pricewatch Group

NearSt has announced a new solutions for UK convenience retailers that automatically connects their EPoS systems and in-store inventory to major delivery platforms such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Just Eat. 

"This technology represents an important step forward for convenience retail," says Nick Brackenbury, Co-founder and CEO at NearSt.

"We're empowering local retailers with capabilities that were previously out of reach. With our extensive network of over 150 Point of Sale partners alongside our last mile delivery integrations, we enable retailers to seamlessly transform their last mile offering into a genuine competitive advantage and revenue driver."

Pricewatch Group - operating stores under Morrisons Daily, Nisa, Gulf, and BP brands - was the first retailer to leverage NearSt’s real-time local inventory feeds with delivery platforms, starting in September 2024.

Atheon Analytics

Atheon Analytics owned SKUtrak is launching a new analytics tool which applies machine learning to give brands 360° visibility on their promotions, combining data from the past, with future projections.

The company says that SKUtrak Promote, which is built on TruDemand, SKUtrak’s intelligence layer, eliminates mitigating factors like cannibalisation and availability, giving brands the chance to build up a realistic picture of promotional performance.

“The magic of SKUtrak Promote is the deep and detailed picture it builds from many variables rather than the normal surface level view,” says Guy Cuthbert, Atheon CEO. “Working from a shallow summary reduces the chances of optimising future campaigns and increases the risk of wasted investment. By simulating the likely effects of all promotional tactics, SKUtrak Promote provides CPGs with the rich and nuanced insights they need to plan, evaluate and decide their promotional strategy.”

Vallarta Supermarkets

Vallarta Supermarkets has expanded its use of RELEX Solutions technology. Last year, Vallarta selected RELEX to implement space and assortment planning across its 56 stores and over 30,000 SKUs. Building on this, Vallarta’s AI powered expansion aims to bring enhanced accuracy to its pricing strategies and boost sales and profitability.

It previously managed pricing and promotions through a legacy system.

"Providing fresh, authentic food to our communities is central to our mission. Expanding our use of RELEX allows us to enhance pricing and promotions with greater accuracy, delivering customer value while protecting our margins,” says John Sellers, SVP of Merchandising, Vallarta Supermarkets.

“This decision is an important part of our growth, giving us the insights we need to make smarter decisions in pricing and promotions. We’re confident RELEX will support our sustainable growth and enable us to keep meeting our shoppers’ evolving needs.”

Next

Next, a British omnichannel clothing, footwear and home products retailer, will focus in 2025 on replatforming its mobile commerce offering to a native app.

In a LinkedIn post, Jessica Bennett, Lead Product Owner at Next, said that the move marks the beginning of "a new and thrilling phase in our journey".

She also shared some key milestones achieved by the Mobile Apps team over the past six months. This included the delivery of 13 planned projects and successful completion of 12 unplanned projects.

Celtic & Co.

British heritage fashion brand Celtic & Co. has been selected by two US online retailers to launch its SS25 collection. 

Working in collaboration with e-commerce platform Refined Networks, its womenswear will be live online with Nordstrom and Macy’s by the end of February. 

Zoe Bray, Managing Director at Celtic & Co., says: “We’re very excited to be working with two such iconic retailers in the US. It’s our biggest international market outside of the UK, and being available online with Nordstrom and Macy’s will help us reach new customers and provide learnings to be able to expand our presence in the US even further.” 

bpost

KEBA has been selected as the exclusive supplier of parcel lockers for bpost, Belgium’s national postal service, for 2025.

For the past three years, the pair have collaborated on automated parcel delivery solutions.

Laurens Himpe, Chief Automated Parcel Officer at bpost, says: “We have set high ambitions to remain the number one player in Belgium at upmost convenience for its inhabitants and businesses. The historic investments in the automated offering act like our corner stones. That’s why we are happy to partner up to realise this growth with expert partners like KEBA."