Reports

Robots take over routine tasks at retail companies that have tagged all products on the sales floor with RFID. In addition to Kmart Australia and Adler Modemärkte, French sporting goods retailer Decathlon in Germany is also planning to use the Tory RFID inventory robot from MetraLabs to automatically record inventory in more than twelve stores. This should relieve employees of…

German retailers see the greatest need for action in the use of mobile devices with checkout functions as well as self-checkouts and self-scanning systems. This is the result of EHI’s study POS Systems 2022. Overall, the number of cash registers used in retail is continuously decreasing. At the same time, systems are faced with growing tasks.

Migros plans to enable its customers to self-scan with smartphones in almost all its grocery stores by the end of March 2022. Under the name subitoGo, the newly developed application of the Swiss retail market leader complements self-scanning with proprietary handheld devices and stationary self-checkouts. Migros works with the same software for all forms of scanning and checkout as it…

With its GK Go store, which launched last week in Schöneck, GK is showing a different approach to the hot topic scanless store technology. Together with its partners Hitachi and Shekel Ltd, the in-store experts show that real-time processing of shopping is also possible in scanless stores, bringing transparency and interaction to customers’ smartphone — while they shop.

With touchscreen displays instead of Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL), the Latvian retail company Spirits&Wine brings online shop content to the shelves. And it earns money with it – the use of the displays is paid for by the suppliers of branded goods. Spirits&Wine owner Andris Lukins had the technology developed in his own start-up Vivid Tech – and is now…

Since January 2020, retailers and restaurants in Germany have been legally obliged to issue receipts, a major annoyance for the industry. Digital receipts are a way to avoid the additional burden on the environment.

Retail companies aim to test innovations faster in unvarnished real-world use. What they expect from their core technology suppliers is: more openness. Preferably in the style of Apple and Google's app policy, they should enable start-ups to develop on their platforms and provide add-ons. A wish that does not go unheard.

A nine-member independent jury has selected this year's winners of the Reta Awards on behalf of the EHI Retail Institute. Winners in five categories include retail companies such as E.Leclerc, Edeka, Fressnapf, Ikea, Rewe, Salling Group and Tegut.

Consumers want more transparency. Product scanner apps for shoppers' smartphones are booming. However, the evaluation of a product can only be as good as the quality of the data set available in the app. It is worth taking a look at the cooperation between the French pioneers Alkemics and Yuka.

Tests in some stores and even framework agreements with technology suppliers are not yet proof that electronic labels will soon be seen in all stores. Retailers will only achieve a rapid ROI if they use the labels to react more dynamically to market developments with intelligent price optimisation solutions, to optimise in-store processes or to offer customers significant additional benefits.