Showcasing smart solutions: these are our biggest retail technology articles on LinkedIn right now
We’re big fans of LinkedIn and are busy building an amazing community of retail tech enthusiasts on the social media platform. As we power towards the 25,000 followers mark, these are the articles that are currently on their radars, including Co-op, Deliveroo, Barron McCann, Currys, Deloitte, Pricer, Focal Systems, RELEX Solutions, TPP Retail, Hightouch, NearSt, Westwing, and Patchworks.
UK convenience retailer Co-op member reports that price savings are now available via Deliveroo
Co-op is now offering the same member price benefits for online orders via Deliveroo as in-store.
This has been introduced across approaching 100 key lines and everyday essentials, with savings of up to 28%, and on average almost 20%.
Co-op started the year with a new ad campaign showing how its members will always get lower prices on the items they buy the most. Around 1,300 of its stores act as local fulfilment hubs in the community for online orders placed via Deliveroo. Member-owners shopping via the platform need to add their membership number at the checkout.
Chris Conway, Co-op’s eCommerce Director, says: “Growing and innovating our online channels is a fundamental part of our convenience approach. As a co-operative, membership is what makes us different, and we work to create value for our member-owners who are at the very heart of our business.”
“We are committed to offering great value, deals and promotions for everyone to enjoy, along with a focus on providing savings to those who own our business, our members, with member price benefits across an extensive range and choice of everyday essentials online as well as in-store.”
Barron McCann showcases transformative retail technology with launch of innovation hub at Derby HQ
UK-based Barron McCann has created an innovation hub showcasing advanced technologies transforming the retail, stadium and hospitality sectors.
The company, which lists Pets at Home, Papa Johns and Iceland among its clients, has launched the facility in its Derby headquarters for customers and partners. It covers the likes of loss prevention and smart checkouts, hospitality Point of Sale solutions, colleague safety measures and sustainable initiatives like EV chargers. They are all designed to enhance customer experiences, boost operational efficiency and drive sustainability.
The hub also strengthens Barron McCann’s partnership with schools and universities by creating opportunities for students to learn and use the latest technologies. Companies being showcased include VoCoVo, 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards winners and spcialists in wireless headset communication and specialists in WiFi solutions InCaptiv.
SML, which annually provides three billion radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to the retail sector, has a stand in the centre alongside Bizerba, specialists in hardware and software for the retail and logistics industries. The hub also features a working bar which is designed to showcase the technology delivered by Kappture, a software provider specialising in cloud-based Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS) and mobile payment systems.
From the smart retail solutions such as automated checkouts to the networking and infrastructure cabling, the space was built by the company’s in-house specialists. It also features the latest green technologies and promotes life cycle management and hardware recycling solutions.
Retail technology tie up as Pricer and Focal Systems announce in-store digitalisation strategic collaboration
Pricer and Focal Systems have annnounced a partnership focused on accelerating the digitisation and optimisation of physical retail stores.
This brings together Pricer’s dynamic pricing and shelf-edge communication expertise with 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards winner Focal Systems’ computer vision and product availability solutions.
By integrating Focal Systems’ AI powered shelf vision cameras with Pricer’s electronic shelf label (ESL) platform, retailers will benefit from real-time shelf insights, which power automated detection and alerting of out-of-stock or low items to achieve rapid replenishment.
Meanwhile, dynamic task automation from the combined solution streamlines store staff workflows, prioritising tasks to improve operational efficiency and productivity among store associates, with patented camera-based out-of-stock detection and communication solutions optimising replenishment, as well as delivering shelf-edge intelligence to support in-store analytics.
Hightouch bags $80m Series C at $1.2bn valuation as it brings AI decisioning to retail marketers
Hightouch, a composable CDP and AI decisioning platform, has raised an $80 million Series C investment round at a valuation of $1.2 billion. This was led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from NVC, Amplify Ventures, ICONIQ Growth, and Bain Capital Ventures. Sapphire Ventures Partner Rajeev Dham will join the Hightouch board.
The investment will help drive adoption of the company’s AI Decisioning product which lets marketers identify a business goal and then lets AI agents deliver the one to one experience that will achieve it. AI Decisioning and Hightouch’s composable CDP product have brought in enterprise customers like PetSmart, Spotify, and Accor Hotels.
“We’ve talked about 1:1 personalisation for years, but it’s not possible with the way marketers work today. Everything is too slow, too manual, and usually results in customers receiving a blizzard of irrelevant communications,” says Tejas Manohar, Co-founder and Co-CEO at Hightouch.
“Our vision is to use AI to help marketers break free of manual work. Instead of building rigid calendars and static journeys that are inherently impersonal, marketers can simply enter goals like ‘drive repeat purchases and subscriptions’ and let AI agents decide what to do next at a 1:1 level. It’s a reimaginin
Bright Minds Capital Partners announces investment in AI powered retail technology company NearSt
Bright Minds Capital Partners has made an undisclosed investment in NearSt, an AI driven platform that aims to get people back into physical stores by connecting local inventory to the web.
"We invest in companies that set trends," says David Holme, Founder and Executive Chairman. "NearSt is transforming the visibility of local businesses, ensuring they thrive in the digital age. Their Al driven approach aligns perfectly with our vision of technology as a force for real-world impact."
Nick Brackenbury, CEO at NearSt, adds: “The future of commerce is local, and bridging the physical and digital worlds of retail is key to unlocking its full potential. Bright Minds Capital Partners shares our vision for empowering retailers through technology, and their investment will accelerate our ability to expand our platform and bring our local inventory feed technology to more customers and businesses worldwide."
Deloitte encouraging employees to recycle tech for free through Currys Cash for Trash and trade-in initiatives
Currys is supporting Deloitte’s new Recycle for Good launch, enabling the latter’s 25,000 UK people to recycle their old tech and electricals at the former’s stores.
Deloitte is encouraging its people to do so for free through Currys Cash for Trash and trade-in initiatives. By doing so, they will also receive at least a £5 Currys voucher, regardless of where and when the tech was originally purchased.
The UK retailer plans to then return some of the collected tech that might be reusable back to Deloitte, so the firm can donate it through its device donation scheme as part of its commitment to digital inclusion.
The collaboration builds upon Deloitte’s existing programme, which sees all its retired laptops recycled and donated to charities and schools. Deloitte says that it has thus far provided over 17,500 refurbished laptops to those who need them the most.
Furniture retailer Westwing launches on Patchworks technology platform as it migrates to Shopify
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."
EcoVista delivers the goods with digital signage upgrade to East Kilbride shopping centre in Scotland
EcoVista, a specialist in large format LED and digital signage displays, has partnered with retail media firm Limited Space on an upgrade project at East Kilbride shopping centre, Scotland’s largest undercover shopping and leisure destination.
The project is part of Limited Space's Orbit network - pitched as the UK’s most extensive large format digital signage network within malls - designed to modernise advertising assets, enhance visual engagement and elevate the shopper experience.
The upgrade includes a combination of digital kiosks and a large format LED display, integrated into the centre’s architecture. To meet sustainability goals, the installation used recycled materials and locally manufactured components.
RTS 2025 flags consumers only shopping with retailers offering lower prices to loyalty scheme members
With Co-op the latest retailer to announce it was extending membership pricing to its Deliveroo customers last week, a survey of over 1,000 UK shoppers by RTS suggests 54% feel that, because so many retailers now offer ‘members only’ loyalty pricing, they now regard it as the ‘norm’ and no longer consider it a true perk.
However, despite fatigue setting in and widespread availability, a growing number of consumers now expect this perk to be offered by retailers. 28% will only shop with retailers who offer special discounts for loyalty members, up +5% year-on-year.
72% agreed that members’ pricing is an effective way of encouraging them to sign-up to loyalty schemes, and a further 50% would be less likely to sign up if loyalty programmes didn’t offer members only pricing. A further 48% said lack of these discounts would make them less likely to use their loyalty card or retain their membership.
East of England Co-op taps RELEX Space for Category Management to boost shelf space allocation processes
RELEX Solutions is laying claim to a new approach to category reviews with RELEX Space for Category Management. Built within a cloud native interface, this enables retailers to optimise merchandising plans to deliver the right products at the right time and place.
Automating and optimising planogram updates using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), this reduces time-consuming manual processes and enables retailers to reflect current sales trends, customer preferences, and seasonal variations.
RELEX Space for Category Management also fosters cross-functional collaboration, allowing supply chain and merchandising teams to plan and develop the category management strategy, and make decisions seamlessly.
“Retailers often struggle with the sheer volume of sales, inventory, and customer behaviour data required for effective category management and space planning. Couple that with needing to determine optimal shelf space allocation for each category to maximise sales and profitability, and you have a complex challenge to solve," says Tommi Ylinen, Chief Product Officer at RELEX Solutions.
“Our new capabilities address these challenges through a unified approach, which helps to improve inventory and on-shelf availability through data driven decision-making, while boosting sales and meeting consumer demand.”
TPP Retail buys stake in InFormed Software which allows firms to create, copy, and deploy operational documentation
Technology and software business, TPP Retail Group, has acquired a one-third stake in InFormed Software. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
InFormed allows businesses to create, copy, and instantly deploy operational documentation such as workflow recording, task reporting, compliance checks, and health and safety forms through its document creation and replacement software.
“We’re excited to partner with the InFormed team, recognising the strong synergy between our technologies and our shared commitment to solving critical challenges for our customers.” says James Ussher-Smith, Managing Director at TPP Retail Group.
FuturMaster buys PlaniSense to boost analytics, supply chain optimisation, real-time scheduling expertise
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
FuturMaster says that the merger strengthens its expertise in analytics, AI driven supply chain optimisation, and real-time scheduling. By integrating PlaniSense’s technology into its Bloom platform, it aims to offer a market solution that enhances precision, responsiveness, and operational performance for manufacturers worldwide.
Among the companies that work with FuturMaster and PlaniSense are Heineken, L’Oréal, Forvia, LVMH, and Bel. The new combined platform will be deployed in over 90 countries.
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