It’s Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here’s your briefing on the most important stories from the past five days, including Roku, Currys, Primark, Sainsbury’s, SAP, Accenture, AWS, Amazon, Morrisons, and Ikea.
1. Streaming giant Roku and omnichannel technology retailer Currys kick off first of its kind retail media partnership
Roku has launched the first stage of its partnership with Currys Connected Media, the retail media network offshoot of omnichannel tech retailer, Currys, to run Connected TV (CTV) video ads on its platform.
In a first of its kind partnership for Roku UK, Currys and its partner brands will be able to access Roku Media ad inventory, starting with videos ads and expanding to other creative ad formats.
Launched late last year, Currys Connected Media enables the retailer’s partner brands to leverage its first-party data to understand, reach, and engage customers.
The aforementioned tie up enables Currys and its partner brands to reach customers across all Roku streaming devices in the UK, including streaming players and Roku TV models.
“Combining our expertise in TV streaming advertising with Currys’ leadership as an omnichannel tech retailer, we believe this partnership can combine the power of retail media and streaming video to help brands improve the effectiveness of their marketing investment,” says Richard Halton, Country Manager at Roku UK.
2. Shopify pilots integration of Checkout solution into gaming platform Roblox with larger launch set for 2025
Virtual gaming platform Roblox has its sights set firmly on the e-commerce space.
It has announced a global partnership with Shopify that will allow creators of Roblox experiences, including brands and retailers, to sell physical goods directly within the platform via Shopify’s checkout.
In a LinkedIn post, Harley Finkelstein, Shopify President, says: “It’s official: we are the first commerce integration partner on Roblox. This year we’re piloting integrating our world class Checkout into Roblox, with a larger launch coming in early 2025.”
“Soon, you’ll be able to shop physical products like clothing, accessories and collectables designed by your favourite creators and brands, all within Roblox, powered by Shopify. This means that developers, creators, and brands who are on Shopify can sell directly within their Roblox games.”
3. Tesco sets sights on Ocado by offering its store pick technology to international grocery businesses
Transcend Retail Solutions, a Tesco subsidiary led by its Strategy Director Oliver Vogt, is providing the UK supermarket giant’s software and hardware to international grocers, leveraging its vast experience in this space to enable them to fulfil online orders from their own stores.
According to The Sunday Times, a first deal has been signed with New Zealand’s biggest grocery retailer, Foodstuffs North Island, and talks are being held with other companies.
Tesco currently handles more than a million online orders a week, 85% of which are picked from its supermarkets.
“Our solutions are tried and tested,” Vogt told The Sunday Times. “We set up Transcend because we truly believe we have something to offer the market.”
Foodstuffs is tapping Tesco’s cloud-based picking software, which receives online orders and then maps, on handheld devices, the most efficient route for staff to pick the items from supermarket shelves.
The technology is live in two stores, operating under the PAK’nSAVE and New World brands, and plans are afoot to expand the roll-out across 150 locations. Transcend will also be able to deploy micro fulfilment centres inside retailers’ stores.
Tesco’s new venture sees it square up to UK rival Ocado, whose Ocado Solutions spin off offers smart e-commerce technology to global retailers.
