Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Including GO Outdoors, Ocado, and Tesco: the biggest retail technology news stories of the week — Retail Technology Innovation Hub

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3, Puma partners with Payrails on online payments and seamless checkout experiences for global shoppers

Payrails has announced a partnership with Puma to improve the sports brand’s online shopping experience for customers.

The collaboration will mean shoppers have a wider variety of payment options and receive a more seamless buying experience – no matter where they live in the world or with what method they choose to pay.

Puma will also benefit from improved payment authorisation rates and will be able to enter new markets faster while better serving existing ones.

Payrails says that it enables enterprises to build, operate, and scale payment solutions without the need for costly and complex in-house infrastructure.

Its modular technology and payment provider agnostic approach will integrate with Puma’s existing systems – reducing technical complexity and improving operational efficiency.

Payrails’ technology will support the integration of multiple payment service providers (PSPs) and alternative payment methods (APMs) across different regions. Its automatic payment routing intelligently directs payments to the most appropriate provider based on factors such as processing fees, purchase location, transaction value, and risk.

Through this partnership, Puma customers shopping online will benefit from localised experiences, featuring dynamic payment pages customised to their specific needs. This includes a suite of personalised payment options and an improved, user-friendly checkout experience.

4. FT Live: Future of Retail 2024 review – Tesco CEO Ken Murphy talks about the seismic impact of AI

“AI will revolutionise how customers interact with retailers. It will be seismic,” said Ken Murphy, CEO at Tesco, at FT Live: Future of Retail 2024, taking place this week at Convene in the City of London.

“There have been waves of technology disruption historically. We are on the cusp of another one with AI,” said Murphy in conversation with moderator, Laura Onita, Retail Correspondent at the Financial Times, during the opening session of the conference. “AI will impact every facet of our business.”   

Murphy argued that we’re already on the fourth or fifth generation of AI, starting in the late 2000s and moving into machine learning applications last decade to improve supply chains, promotions in retail and so on.

“AI has already had a huge impact,” he commented. “But we’re now into the generative AI era with ChatGPT and the like, which is even more powerful.”

“You still need to be careful and have good oversight when introducing it. But it is developing so fast you do need to embrace it. Allow yourself to make mistakes in a controlled environment.”

5. Co-op launches 24 hour delivery service in Leeds, London and Manchester via Deliveroo, Just Eat, Uber Eats

Co-op is launching 24-hour delivery from stores in city centre locations, via its partners Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats.

New research from the UK convenience retailer shows that over 40% of quick commerce shoppers would use a 11pm to 5am delivery service if available.

This figure rises to around almost one in two consumers aged between 18-44, with the service most popular for Gen Z shoppers aged 18-24 (52.3%) who are most likely to use the offering.

Further research suggested that those in London were most likely to use it (55.2%) with the data showing that those in Wales were least likely (26.47%). An estimated six million UK adults believe the main reason for this was due to their work pattern or shift.  

The 24 hour service is launching this month in Leeds, London and Manchester stores where there is strong online grocery demand at non-traditional times, with stores selected based on the local demographic, a concentration of delivery driver availability and where stores are already staffed around the clock for replenishment purposes.

In addition, Co-op has also extended its online availability in more than 1,600 stores within the store’s existing opening hours, helping more customers to shop later in the evening. This is part of its ambition to reach more than a one-third share of the quick commerce market.

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