These are the RTIH retail systems articles that caught your fancy during September, including Shop.com, the 2021 RTIH Innovation Awards, Buyk, Glovo, and Amazon Fresh.
Ten retail technology investments that should be on your radar
These companies are leading the way in providing innovative retail systems powered customer experiences, including Shop.com, Majid Al Futtaim, Asda, Amazon, Glovo and wilko.
Startup interview: Slava Bocharov, Co-Founder and CEO, Buyk
RTIH gets the lowdown on Buyk, a new service promising grocery delivery from dark store to doorstep within 15 minutes. The venture has just soft launched in Manhattan, with ambitions to expand across the US and beyond.
Majid Al Futtaim opens Carrefour City+ just walk out store
Majid Al Futtaim, which owns and operates shopping malls, retail, and leisure establishments in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has announced the launch of checkout free store, Carrefour City+.
A first for Carrefour worldwide and opening today in Mall of the Emirates, this taps AiFi powered artificial intelligence technology.
Glovo boosts Q-Commerce division with grocery acquisitions
Spanish on-demand delivery venture, Glovo, has reached an agreement to acquire grocery companies Lola Market and Mercadão.
Lola Market operates in Spain while Mercadão is exclusive to Portugal. Between them, they have a portfolio of over 30 partners across the two countries.
Glovo says that the acquisitions complement its growth strategy and strengthen its Q-Commerce division following the recent deal to buy Delivery Hero’s businesses in Eastern Europe and the €100 million partnership with Swiss-based real estate firm, Stoneweg.
2021 RTIH Innovation Awards: enter today
The third edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards is now open for submissions.
The awards, sponsored by PMC, StoreSpace, Critizr, Marxent and QVALON, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
The 2021 categories can be found here and you have until Friday, 5th November to get your entries in.
Sixth Amazon Fresh store opens in Dalston, London
Amazon has opened an Amazon Fresh location in Dalston, London.
Situated at 28-31 Kingsland High Street, it is the sixth such UK convenience store to feature Just Walk Out Shopping tech, which was pioneered at the Amazon Go offering in the States.
The other five are in Camden, Ealing, Wembley Park, White City and Canary Wharf.
wilko invests £3m in autonomous deliveries venture StreetDrone
wilko, a British high street chain which sells homewares and household goods, has announced a £3 million investment in UK autonomous delivery company, StreetDrone.
The investment, which is part of a wider multi-million-pound pre-Series A round, will enable StreetDrone to accelerate the development of its delivery vehicle and systems.
The plan is to bring autonomous deliveries to Wilko consumers by the end of 2023.
Oh Polly targets digital natives with InPost Instant Returns service
Fashion brand Oh Polly has signed up to InPost’s QR code-based Instant Returns service. This was launched earlier in the year.
There is no need for online shoppers to print a label at home when returning items, or at the drop off point. Instead, they scan their QR code at an InPost locker and hand the parcel over.
Missguided, New Look and schuh have also added Instant Returns to their online offerings.
Shop.com turns on crypto payments via BitPay tie up
US-based e-commerce platform Shop.com is getting into the cryptocurrency payments game.
The company, which is owned by Market America, has partnered with BitPay, enabling it to accept payments in several cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum and Litecoin, as well as five USD pegged stablecoins.
The BitPay integration is available in all the countries where Market America operates, which includes the US, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, UK, Singapore and Malaysia.
Reviews and CX insights venture Feefo buys competitor Reevoo
Customer reviews and insights platform, Feefo, has acquired rival business Reevoo.
Feefo was founded in 2010 with offices in London and Petersfield. Reevoo launched in 2005 and is based in London.
The two companies currently support 4,000 brands globally, including Kia, BA Holidays, Saga Group, Expedia and Currys PC World.
