Global Retail Innovations - July 2021

GlobalData’s Global Retail Innovations report introduces some key recent innovations from retailers across the globe.

The report discusses the following innovations in detail:

• In-Store Technologies: Sam's Club, a chain of retail stores owned by Wal-Mart's members-only retail warehouse club, has introduced a new app feature, Scan & Ship. This makes it easy for customers to purchase high-value items such as household items to carry home in their car. The internally developed scan and ship feature is Sam's latest addition. Club's Scan & Go app is currently being tested in three locations in the United States. This feature allows customers to scan the barcode of the desired product on the display along with the barcode of the store, make a payment, select a courier option and deliver directly to their home. This option is offered for difficult-to-carry products such as patio furniture, TV, grill, mattress, playset
• Convergence of Retail Channels: Inditex's Spanish clothing brand, Zara, has launched a store mode feature in all stores in the UK. This feature was first tested in nine locations in London. At the beginning of 2021, customers will be able to remotely check in to a UK store to see the different products and sizes available at that particular store. Also, store mode also allows shoppers to use the click-and-go feature to purchase items remotely and collect them in-store on the same day. Customers can scan and receive the QR code in the store product, and also use the store mode feature to locate the product displayed online in the store using the pathfinding feature
• Engaging Customers: Walmart introduced a new augmented reality shopping experience. The AR gamification experience that is based on Netflix’s Waffles + Mochi children’s show is currently available in all Walmart stores through September 2021. To participate in the event, The Hidden World of Waffles + Mochi, customers need to scan a QR code placed on in-store standees with their smartphones, and image-recognition technology enables them to hunt for nine different characters hiding in the stores’ grocery aisles. Subsequently, as customers locate each character in the store, they can earn badges and unlock more games, recipes, stories and clips from the Walmart website. Consumers can also activate the experience through ‘The Hidden World of Waffles + Mochi’ website at home using their smartphone
• Innovative Promotions: Burberry, a renowned British luxury fashion house, released a video game developed by its in-house development team, B Surf, to promote its TB monogram summer collection. B Surf is a multiplayer game that lets players dress up their characters in the brand's outfits before grabbing a surfboard and challenging friends to a race around a track. To promote the game, Burberry is offering daily prizes to players, including a limited-edition TB surfboard and branded bucket hats. Moreover, players can also better engage with the game through various digital rewards such as an augmented reality (AR) in-game character and face filter. The game is made available on Burberry's website, luxury shopping site Farfetch and messaging app WeChat

This edition of Global Retail Innovations includes examples where retailers went the extra mile to provide a better shopping experience for their customers.

Download our report to get a more detailed analysis of the Global Innovations market.