Including Currys, AO, Dressmann, and Morrisons: 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 Zebra Technologies, HIVED, Simba Sleep, NCR Voyix, Riskified, Lucchese Bootmaker, Teamwork Commerce, Holland & Barrett, Tesco, Unilever, Digimarc, and Samsara.

Unilever

Digimarc is laying claim to one of the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry's largest global implementations of GS1 Digital Link enabled 2D barcodes with Unilever. 

The roll-out looks to put Unilever at the forefront of the retail industry’s preparation for Sunrise 2027, when 2D barcodes become standard at Point of Sale worldwide. It will also make the company one of the first to anticipate and adopt the European Union’s Digital Product Passport (DPP) regulation.

"We are proud to be leading the industry in pioneering how we help democratise access to product information," says Aaron Rajan, Vice President - Consumer Technology, Unilever.

"Deploying innovative solutions such as Digimarc Europe means that our unmissably superior brands not only keep pace with technological advancements but also shape the future of retail. Our multi-phased roll-out will ultimately integrate 2D barcodes across 45,000 products (SKUs), spanning iconic brands such as Dove, Vaseline, Hellmann’s and Knorr.”

Currys

Zebra Technologies says it has saved 900 management hours over a two-month period at UK electronics and tech retailer Currys. 

Currys, which operates 296 retail stores across the UK and Ireland, wanted to improve scheduling, communication and task allocation.

“At many branches, task management and workforce allocation weren’t as effective as they could be,” says Brad Porter, Process Product Support Manager at Currys. “Store managers were spending excessive time manually adjusting colleagues’ schedules, leading to inconsistent availability.”

Using Zebra Technologies’ scheduling and task management software, Currys was able to give its frontline workers more time to spend on customer service, improve workload distribution and implement certifications for job roles. 

“During the busiest shopping season, we were able to cut store schedule edits by 8,000 per week, preventing a total of 90,000 edits from November to the end of December,” adds Nathan Holland, Workforce Management Systems Development and Insight Analyst at Currys. “That has saved us approximately 900 management hours which were reallocated to customer-facing activities.”

Currys has since expanded its use of Workcloud Task Management to include the coordination of a number of operational and promotional activities beyond compliance tasks. Zebra Technologies says this will enable targeted task distribution, reduce email clutter and ensure relevant information reaches the right people at the right time. 

The software also gives visibility to all levels of the business, allowing teams to identify and resolve issues. Currys has also improved resource allocation by mapping out annual operational plans and aligning staff resources with business objectives and compliance requirements. 

Julian Bowen

Julian Bowen has announced a partnership with Slimstock.

The UK furniture wholesaler is a supply chain partner to retailers, with customers including Next and Dunelm.

Backed by Swedish investment company, Storskogen, Julian Bowen offers customers service from design to doorstep. By adopting Slimstock’s supply chain planning platform, Slim4, the business aims to enhance product availability, underpinning its growth objectives.

Mark Pickup, Buying Director at Julian Bowen, says: “We recognised very quickly that Slimstock would be the perfect partner to help us make a step change in our supply chain planning capability as the retail marketplace evolves rapidly.”

HIVED

Parcel delivery company HIVED has opened a new depot site in West London. 

Situated at SEGRO Park Hayes, this can handle up to 40,000 parcels per day and will initially employ 45 staff. 

Murvah Iqbal, CEO and Co-founder at HIVED, says: “We were founded with a commitment to improve the parcel delivery experience by putting end consumers first with our tech enabled platform. With our innovative parcel sortation system, which can intelligently flex to accommodate rapid increases in parcel volume as expected in the next year for our service, alongside heavier diversification of postcodes, this expanded site allows us to be all the more effective and efficient in delivering quality to Londoners. 

"This latest expansion is also proof that our multi-site logistics model, with purpose built technology designed for the e-commerce age, is scalable nationally. The next step for HIVED will be to replicate the same levels of service we provide to retailers and customers across other parts of the UK.”

AO

AO says that it has achieved 16% annual cost savings and reduced road incidents across its 1,000+ fleet of commercial vehicles by implementing AI and fleet management solutions from Samsara.

These vehicles are equipped with telematics technology and AI dash cams, with visibility of the entire fleet provided through Samsara’s Connected Operations Platform.

Driver time has been saved by replacing manual vehicle walkarounds carried out with paper and pen with intuitive digital walkarounds using a driver app. Proactive, AI driven vehicle maintenance has delivered 31% cost savings annually and an 8% reduction in tyre spend, despite completing more miles. And insurance premiums have reduced by 25% due to lower accident rates.

Shaun Carter, Regional Manager at AO, comments: “Samsara is central to our operations, saving us time, helping us keep costs down, and making life easier for our drivers. We’ve got a single source of truth to monitor driver performance, track our fleet of vehicles, and provide training to the drivers that need it most.”

Skechers

Skechers has deployed Luna, an AI powered retail assistant created by We Are Social, at its new store in Punggol Coast Mall, Singapore.

Customers can converse with Luna through an interactive kiosk in-store or via Telegram, receiving real-time personalised style advice and product recommendations. Using real-time data from the conversation, Luna acts as a personal stylist, suggesting garments based on the customer’s current outfit or helping them piece together a look from the rack based on their preferences.

The month long activation celebrates Skechers’ new store opening in the heart of the Punggol Digital District.

Irene Lee, Senior General Manager, Skechers Singapore, says: “As a comfort technology brand, harnessing new and innovative solutions to connect with our customers is part of our DNA. With the opening of our new store in Punggol Digital District, it enhances customers' retail journey with a unique, social, and interactive experience with Luna." 

Morrisons

UK grocery giant Morrisons has selected NCR Voyix to provide its stores with PoS solutions powered by the NCR Voyix Commerce Platform.

It is expanding an existing partnership by rolling out this new technology at over 13,000 checkout lanes across nearly 500 stores in a five-year contract.

As part of the deal, Morrisons' refreshed software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology stack will be supported by NCR Voyix Edge, enabling it to deploy new features and software updates. This will provide it with real-time, actionable, and predictive insights.

The new software will continue to be supported by the NCR Voyix Managed Service.

"We are very pleased to have chosen NCR Voyix as our commerce solutions and services partner to help us further improve our retail technology as we seek to operate with greater agility and efficiency for the benefit of our customers now and well into the future," says Martin Dawson, Group Retail Director of Morrisons.

Simba Sleep

British brand, Simba Sleep, reports that its long standing partnership with Riskified has played a crucial role in its global success, enabling it to safeguard online transactions from payment fraud and chargebacks and deliver a seamless, secure shopping experience to customers.

“Our mission has always been to give customers the best night’s sleep possible,” says Russell Alexander, Finance Manager at Simba Sleep. “As we expanded globally, it was essential that we maintained a secure, seamless shopping experience for our customers. Fraud was a growing concern, and we needed a solution that allowed us to protect our customers’ transactions without compromising their shopping experience.”

Riskified’s AI powered fraud prevention platform has been instrumental in enabling Simba Sleep to fight fraud effectively. By instantly reviewing transactions and flagging high risk orders, the platform ensures legitimate purchases are approved in real-time. This allows Simba to focus on what matters most: delivering quality products and exceptional customer service, while minimising chargebacks and fraudulent activity.

Lucchese Bootmaker

Retail management solution specialist Teamwork Commerce has partnered with Lucchese Bootmaker, an American manufacturer and retailer of cowboy boots and western apparel, with a focus on its in-store operations.

The tie up will see Teamwork Commerce deploy its omnichannel retail solution across over 100 Point of Sale devices.

This will enable associates to move freely throughout the store, engaging with customers wherever they are. Using cloud technology that supports a centralised database with real-time data across all channels, the solution provides in-store associates with access to information required to deliver a connected and personalised shopping experience. 

Lucchese will also leverage Teamwork’s partnership with Adyen to streamline payments. Teamwork’s integration of Adyen’s Pay-by-Link functionality will give additional checkout options. Customers can use their preferred payment methods on branded, secure pages optimised for any device.

Holland & Barrett

Holland & Barrett has launched a single aisle and self-checkout location at a Tesco store in Crewe.

In a LInkedIn post, Reanne Johnson, Retail Team Leader at Holland & Barrett, said: "Single aisle? Maximum impact. Introducing our latest single aisle and self-checkout store at the fabulous Tesco Crewe.”

“A small but powerful shop located in a single aisle of the Tesco delivering a powerhouse of wellness to everyone, meaning you can get more than you bargained for with your weekly shop. Big thank you to all involved in delivering another fantastic store."

Holland & Barrett is aiming to open a total of 50 new stores this year, including eight concessions in Tesco stores.

Dressmann

Dressmann, a chain of men's clothing stores owned by Varner Gruppen, is expanding its online store to Denmark, Austria and Germany.

In addition to those countries, it also delivers to Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

In a LinkedIn post, Sofia Öberg, Marketing Specialist at Dressmann, said: "This investment is proof of our belief and strong desire to create value for more customers, take even larger market shares and put Dressmann on the map internationally. We hope that this is the start of a new era in Europe and that our knowledge and passion for service can create a positive impact in these markets."