Morrisons taps StrongPoint in-store solution: 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 Omnium, Temu, Carrefour, Fanatics, Coop Danmark, TCS, Rakuten France, Mirakl, shoezone, Ocado Group, Morrisons, Sheike, and El Rio Grande Latin Market.

Morrisons

Morrisons is testing out StrongPoint Vensafe technology that enables shoppers to select nicotine quitting products via a touchscreen and collect them from a vending machine when they exit the store.

The Select, Pay, Collect scheme is being trialled at Dukinfield in Greater Manchester. Shoppers pick from a range of the products at a screen before receiving a printed ticket which can be scanned and paid for at checkout.

They then receive another printed ticket, which is scanned at a vending machine near the store exit. Once scanned, the machine dispenses the chosen product.

Fanatics and Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball and Fanatics have opened the largest ever MLB Ballpark Store in Tokyo ahead of the 2025 MLB Tokyo Series, located at Prism Hall in Tokyo Dome. 

This made its debut at 5:30am on Friday, will have 700 staff members serving fans, and will be one of several MLB retail locations in the city, including official stores at Miyashita Park and the Tokyo Skytree.

Fanatics and the MLB expect around 100,000 fans to visit the stores before the Chicago Cubs and LA Dodgers face each other in the final game of the series on Wednesday.  

Spanning 31,000 square feet, the new store has 140 tills. With more than 300 products available for sale, it will offer a variety of popular MLB items and many specifically designed with the Japanese fan in mind.

Coop Norge

Coop Norge has selected Omnium as its order management system (OMS) provider as part of its omnichannel transformation strategy.

The retailer has 1 250+ stores, a big membership base, and an e-commerce presence, and needed an OMS that matched its scale, complexity, and ambitions.

“We have chosen Omnium as our OMS provider due to their strong value proposition and seamless fit in our tech architecture,” says Rune Gustafsson of Coop Norge.

“This partnership will be key in optimising and streamlining our order management, strengthening Coop’s market position, and enhancing the shopping experience for our customers and members. It’s also especially exciting that Omnium is a Norwegian company with a strong local presence and deep expertise in the Nordic market. We look forward to an exciting partnership.”

Carrefour

Carrefour reports that its new mobile app is now available on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

In a LinkedIn post, Matthieu Ullens, Director E-commerce, Data and Digital Transformation at Carrefour Belgium, said: “Designed with an omnichannel approach, it makes shopping easier and faster, whether you’re in-store or shopping online.”

“With a store first design and a range of amazing features, the app is built to simplify the lives of our customers across smartphones and tablets alike. A huge thank you to the dedicated teams who have been working tirelessly on this for over a year. Your hard work is what made this launch possible.”

Ocado Group

Ocado Intelligent Automation (OIA), part of Ocado Group, has introduced Porter AMR, a pallet moving AMR that navigates warehouses to automate several warehouse workflows such as cross-docking, bulk-item picking, putaway, and pallet movement.

OIA’s patented system directed software orchestrates each Porter autonomous pallet moving robot–or a whole fleet of them - to reduce travel times and avoid warehouse congestion. Ocado’s Fulfillment Execution System (FES) groups orders to maximise case picking, optimise route plans and reduce steps between picks. Meanwhile, machine learning prioritises and plans pallet stacking intelligently to avoid product damage.

“Porter from OIA automates low value, manual tasks and fosters a more productive workplace by supporting associates, increasing case picking rates, and automating the movement of high volumes of inventory,” says Jeff Larson, Director of Solutions Design for Ocado Mobile Robot System at OIA.

“Companies in third-party logistics, retail, e-commerce, distribution, and healthcare can maximise warehouse productivity and scale operations up or down easily without depending on manual forklifts and expensive certified forklift drivers.” 

Coop Danmark

Tata Consultancy Services has extended its partnership with Coop Danmark to support the core business system of the consumer goods retailer. By managing Coop’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform on SAP S/4HANA, TCS aims to enable efficient operations for the retailer and consistent shopping experiences for customers across 900 plus stores.

TCS has been supporting Coop Danmark’s digital transformation journey and adoption of the SAP S/4HANA enterprise resource planning platform for the past five years. Through this extended engagement, it will continue supporting Coop’s ERP to further stabilise, optimise and enhance its central digital core system.

Lars Ole Dybdal, Chief Technology Officer, Coop Danmark, comments: “We are building the Coop of the future and using the latest technology to offer a shopping experience customers will keep coming back for. To realise our vision, our digital transformation must continue.  We are delighted to extend our strategic partnership with TCS to accelerate our journey, innovate, and create value for our two million members.”

One of the largest implementations of its kind in the Nordics, the move to SAP S/4HANA has standardised business processes throughout Coop’s retail operations, from in-store operations or supply chain management. The aim now is to tap machine learning, artificial intelligence and other technologies while continuing to scale up automation and innovation initiatives along with increased efficiency.

Temu

Temu has announced a partnership agreement with Correos, the national postal service of Spain, that aims to enhance delivery services and improve the fulfillment process for customers across the country.

As part of the collaboration, the pair will optimise fulfillment solutions to continuously speed up deliveries and also expand service options, through the offices and distribution network of Correos, so that consumers can pick up packages at times of their convenience. The partnership also ensures 100% country coverage including Canary and Balearic Islands, as well as Ceuta and Melilla.

Since its launch in Spain in March 2023, Temu has offered a range of products across over 600 categories, from household items to electronics to gardening tools. By connecting customers directly with manufacturers, its model aims to reduce costs and inefficiencies typically seen in traditional retail supply chains without compromising quality.

Rakuten France

Rakuten France has chosen Mirakl Ads, Mirakl’s retail media solution, to integrate into its digital ecosystem and power its digital advertising strategy.

It is now leveraging the AI powered technology of Mirakl Ads, having managed retail media in-house since 2013.

"Retail media has been part of Rakuten’s DNA since the beginning," says Matthieu Denime, Sales Director at Rakuten France. "Shifting to Mirakl Ads equips us with the tools necessary to keep on effectively engaging our sellers, advertisers and clients to drive business growth." 

The collaboration kicked off with a proof of concept from July 2024 to October 2024, showcasing Mirakl Ads' performance with +83% higher ad response rates, +60% in ad inventory fill rates, +53% stronger monetisation performance, and +25% more relevant impressions.

Sheike

Sheike has deployed Refundid’s Instant Exchanges online shopping solution.

In a LinkedIn post, Joel Aaron, Co-founder and CPO at Refundid, said: “This is a huge milestone as online exchanges weren't previously available. But now, thanks to our Instant Exchange solution, we've made it possible and helped to streamline the exchange process.”

He added: “No new integrations needed - there are no logistical changes required. No requirement to hold stock. The risk model follows that of the Instant Refund - Refundid takes on 100% of the risk. Guarantees that every instant payment is associated with a re-purchase - money stays in the business. This feature is designed to offer a smooth, quick, and hassle free experience for Sheike's customers. Invoicing, billing, and reconciliation remain the same as Refundid – nothing new for your finance team to learn.”

El Rio Grande Latin Market

El Rio Grande Latin Market, grocery chain specialising in Latin American products with locations across Texas, has selected RELEX Solutions to help with its pricing and promotions optimisation strategy.

By moving away from manual processes to an AI powered solution, it aims to offer more competitive prices, increase promotional effectiveness, and improve the overall shopping experience for their customers.

“As a grocer serving a diverse and dynamic customer base, we need to ensure our pricing and promotions are both competitive and data-driven,” says Guillermo Washington, COO at El Rio Grande Latin Market.

“RELEX gives us the ability to replace manual guesswork with AI driven insights, helping us plan smarter promotions, optimise pricing, and provide better value to our customers. This investment will play a key role in strengthening our business for the future.”

Starship Technologies and foodora

Starship Technologies, a specialist in autonomous delivery services, has announced a partnership with foodora, a Swedish quick commerce platform

Starship’s fleet of fully electric delivery robots are now delivering foodora orders, starting in Stockholm. Initially, there will be a small fleet of 15 robots in the city, with more robots gradually rolling out to meet demand.

The robots will pick up orders from foodora market stores located on Högbergsgatan in Södermalm and Bangatan in Solna, with a range of up to 3km. Customers in these areas can order in the company’s app and have their items delivered within minutes.

“We see enormous potential for our autonomous delivery robots in Sweden. This collaboration with foodora makes it possible to offer fast and sustainable deliveries to Swedish consumers. We look forward to expanding and transforming how people have their food delivered,” says Ahti Heinla, Co-founder and CEO at Starship Technologies.

shoezone

shoezone, an online and in-store footwear retailer, has launched a new app, available to shoppers on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. 

The aim here is to improve customers’ digital shopping experience with new features, including wishlist functions and an interactive returns portal. It was produced in conjunction with mobile app developers, Swipe & Tap.

Customers will be able to choose from a wide selection of own and name brand styles. The app features the same intuitive filtering functions on the retailer's website, allowing customers to search products by different promotions, including shoezone’s ongoing ‘2 pairs of shoes for £10’ and an extensive clearance outlet section.

Customers will receive a personalised shopping experience through exclusive discounts, with integration across shoezone’s store network. Its express delivery service - offering free next day delivery at no minimum spend - is also fully integrated into the app.

The offering sees an expansion of shoezone’s marketing capabilities, facilitating push notifications to users, which look to be a significant focus for 2025. Since launch, this approach has proven successful, with a conversion rate 17% higher than email.