These are the RTIH items you loved last week, including Amazon, Uber Eats, Co-op, Boots, Deliveroo, Nike, AiFi and SPAR.
Amazon Stops Pushing Tech-Powered Just Walk Out Cashierless Stores
Amazon has put the brakes on the expansion of its checkout-free convenience stores in the UK, due to sales falling short of expectations and fit-out costs being many times higher than with a standard location.
According to a report by The Sunday Times, the US giant is understood to have walked away from talks at dozens of sites for Amazon Fresh stores and halted its search for more locations.
There will still be a handful of openings this year in locations where Amazon had already committed to a lease.
Amazon’s brick-and-mortar store strategy is in flux. That is why
The aforementioned Amazon Fresh checkout-less UK store slowdown is part of a larger move, notes Celia Van Wickel, Senior Director, Digital Commerce at Kantar.
Reality bites as the cost of Amazon Just Walk Out technology hits home
Experiments like Amazon Fresh’s tech-powered Just Walk Out stores will never work at scale for “normal” retailers.
This is the opinion of Sigurður Ari Sigurjónsson, Director of Business Development at LS Retail.
Uber Eats and Co-op agree fast online delivery tie-up
The Co-op and Uber Eats have teamed up as part of the retailer’s plans to expand its online on-demand home delivery service.
Through the partnership, shoppers will be able to order via the Uber Eats app from around 1,000 Co-op grocery stores by the end of the year, with groceries delivered in just 30 minutes.
With the phased rollout starting this week, customers can use the Uber Eats app to choose from over 6,000 products stocked in local Co-op stores.
With select produce fresh from local stores, the service is available for a complete grocery store, as well as on-demand refills and forgotten items, meal ideas and desserts for evenings at home.
Last week’s biggest retail tech plays out at a glance
RTIH recaps prominent retail technology deals, deployments and pilots from the past seven days. With Cainz Corporation, AiFi, Pinterest, Waitrose, Frasers Group, Gopuff and JD.com.
AiFi launches first autonomous store in Japan with Cainz Corporation
Japan’s Cainz Corporation, a home improvement chain with 230 stores, has announced a new stand-alone location, called Cainz Mobile Store, on the first floor of its headquarters in Honjo City, Saitama.
The computer vision technology implemented in the store, powered by US-based AiFi, will allow customers to purchase Cainz-branded household products and groceries without having to go through a checkout or checkout themselves.
This will be rolled out in the near future and may expand to other locations in the future.
SPAR taps VisionR shopper analytics technology
Dublin-based startup VisionR has announced a deal with SPAR to leverage in-store, shopper-driven insights across its 48-country retail network.
With an additional solution, VisionR’s Scout technology uses computer vision and machine learning to turn real-world shopper experiences into reliable online data that retailers can access through VisionR’s app.
Scout anonymously breaks down shoppers into walk-ins, purchase groups, shopper profile, store duration, product engagement, penetration and spend.
Using this information, retailers can make informed decisions about marketing, sales and operations.
Amazon Fresh makes key appointments in physical stores
Claire Peters has been named Vice President, Worldwide Amazon Fresh and Peter Bowrey Vice President, Amazon Fresh Store Operations.
Peters joins from Woolworths Supermarkets where she served as Managing Director.
Her CV also includes a stint as Chief Operating Officer at Tesco Stores.
Bowrey, meanwhile, has worked for Tesco for over 30 years in various capacities and internationally.
Most recently, he was retail director at Boots.
Boots expands Deliveroo tie-up after trial in 14 stores
Boots has extended its partnership with Deliveroo to 125 stores across the UK.
Customers will now have access, via the Deliveroo app, to an expanded range of 750 products delivered to their door within minutes, following a trial in 14 stores.
The boots are now available through Deliveroo for the first time to customers in cities including Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, Bristol, Sheffield, Coventry, Plymouth, Exeter, Middlesbrough, York, Aberdeen and Inverness.
More stores are also offering the service in existing regions, including London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds and Edinburgh.
Nike wants BUCK for 50th anniversary augmented reality experience
In celebration of Nike’s 50th anniversary, BUCK has partnered with the company’s Global Brand Experience team to bring its past, present and future to life through a WebAR experience.
Powered by Zappar’s ZapWorks platform, this provides a portal to the Nike Archives Department for visitors to Nike stores.