These retailers and brands are leading the way in providing technology and experiences that are one step ahead of their customers’ expectations.

1. Furniture Village

UK retailer Furniture Village has gone live with Hullabalook’s Stickers technology on its online store.

This aims to increase product discovery by visualising how things look together.

2. Made.com

Online furniture retailer Made’s Charing Cross Road, London showroom is closed to physical customers amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The pureplay has therefore been offering virtual appointments and interior style advice. 

And it has now launched a shop window that showcases its Spring creative scheme, with customers able to check it out via Zoom.

3. MUJI

Japanese lifestyle brand MUJI has gone live with MishiPay’s Scan, Pay & Go mobile self-checkout solution in Sweden.

4. Mars Wrigley

Mars Wrigley and Wakefern Food Corp. are partnering with Savioke to test out a robotic kiosk that delivers products to shoppers at a ShopRite store in Monroe, New York.

The pilot is part of Mars Wrigley's Launchpad programme, which was established in 2017 and has delivered 60 pilots with over 300 startups.

5. Instacart

US grocery delivery service Instacart is reportedly looking into the use of robotic warehouses to fulfil its orders.

It currently uses more than 500,000 gig workers for this.

According to a FT article, citing several people familiar with discussions, Instacart has initially expressed a desire to open as many as 50 micro-fulfilment centres across the US in about a year. 

6. TAG Heuer

Swiss luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer has launched a monthly podcast and an online magazine. 

Under the title, The Edge, the two platforms will explore such subjects as heritage, lifestyle, and travel.

7. X5 Retail Group

Russian food retailer, X5 Retail Group, has announced that Perekrestok shoppers can use the supermarket chain’s mobile app to opt out of paper receipts.

They will instead receive e-receipts as part of X5’s Zero Waste initiative. 

8. Majid Al Futtaim

Majid Al Futtaim, which owns and operates shopping malls, retail, and leisure establishments in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has joined IBM Food Trust, a blockchain-enabled initiative run on IBM Cloud. 

As a result, Carrefour UAE, which the aforementioned company owns and operates, will, according to a press release, become “the first retailer in the region to offer new levels of insight and transparency to its customers about the provenance of their food via end-to-end visibility on products throughout its supply chain”.

9. LVMH

LVMH has launched the sixth edition of its La Maison Des Startups LVMH incubator programme.

It is also inviting startups to enter its customer experience innovation awards.

10. Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters has been using JRNI Appointments across its Anthropologie and BHLDN brands to deliver new ways of connecting with customers during the coronavirus pandemic.

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