The Retail Tech Roundup compiles technology news across the supply chain, manufacturing, retail, e-commerce, logistics and fulfillment sectors.
Inventory management
VF Corp./Scandit
VF Corp., parent company of active lifestyle brands including Vans, The North Face, Timberland and Dickies, adopted smart devices powered by Scandit Smart Data Capture to aid store associates.
Previously, corporate policy dictated that store associates would only scan and check 10 percent of received items, which led to stock inaccuracies. Using Scandit, every item is scanned and checked, elevating inventory accuracy and preventing orders from being canceled.
According to the retailer, inventory inaccuracies caused 15 percent of online orders to be canceled due to stock shortages during the pandemic, when e-commerce orders accelerated. Additionally, wait times for customers could be up to 15 minutes when visiting a store to collect an order, creating disruption and customer dissatisfaction.
Store associates used dedicated scanning devices to perform store operations tasks, but they offered no real-time feedback and involved scanning items, then manually comparing the scanned data to system data. Errors forced the store associate to return to the stockroom and check what was scanned to correct discrepancies, causing bottlenecks and slowing down processes.
VF Corp replaced the legacy scanners with smartphones and built a new application powered by Scandit to deliver data capture capabilities, integrating Scandit Barcode Scanning SDK and linked the application to SAP Fiori.
Using the Scandit-powered smart devices for three services: ship from store, BOPIS (buy online, pickup in store) and ROBIS (reserve online, buy in store)—ultimately resulting in more reliable mobile scanning and full inventory visibility. Store assistants know exactly where an item is in store, even if it hasn’t been fully processed and moved to the shop floor, VF says.
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“Firstly, with Scandit every process is now happening in real time,” Andrea Comi, global director, digital and technology, DTC, VF Corporation, in a statement. “Second, store associates are going beyond agreed SLAs for receiving goods as it is faster and easier—resulting in superior stock accuracy. And third, we can complete all the omnichannel processes closer to the customer.”
Returns
Kohl’s/Inmar/Narvar
Kohl’s is expanding on its existing returns capabilities with the introduction of The Return Drop @ Kohl’s, a feature that allows shoppers to make package-less and label-free returns from select retailers and brands at its more than 1,100 store locations nationwide.
As part of a new partnership with Inmar Post-Purchase Solutions and Narvar, customers can return merchandise from a growing selection of partner brands, including Carhartt, Hanes, Levi’s and more inside Kohl’s stores. By partnering with Kohl’s, retailers can leverage the department store extensive national store network, extending their physical footprint without the overhead costs associated with operating additional locations.
“Providing shoppers with convenient services is critical to Kohl’s ongoing commitment to the customer experience,” said Gregg Barta, executive vice president of supply chain and logistics at Kohl’s. “Not only will The Return Drop @ Kohl’s remove friction for customers, but it will also provide operational benefits and efficiencies to participating retailers and brands.”
The Return Drop @ Kohl’s is built to simplify the return process in an effort to make it hassle-free for all customers. After initiating a return through the original retailer, shoppers can select “Kohl’s Drop Off” to download a QR code powered by Narvar.
The QR code can be brought to any Kohl’s store nationwide along with the eligible merchandise—no box or label is required. The consolidated returns are then sent to Inmar Post-Purchase Solutions for final destination dispositioning.
“This initiative not only enhances our overall shopper journey but also reinforces our dedication to meeting the evolving expectations of today’s consumers,” Anna Cole, D2C director of global digital ops at Carhartt.
Shopify/Happy Returns/Loop
Happy Returns and Loop have expanded their partnership to bolster the returns experience for Shopify brands, with the former integrating in-person, box-free, label-free returns capabilities with the latter’s returns portal.
While Loop and Happy Returns have been working together for more than two years, both companies are making additional investments to improve the returns experience for shared customers and to ensure as many brands as possible can leverage Happy Returns’ logistics and returns network alongside Loop’ returns software, automation and analytics offerings.
“The optionality of Loop and the convenience of Return Bars is incredible. Together, they offer a more streamlined customer experience in today’s day and age, where nobody has a printer,” says Audra Shipstad, customer experience manager at athleisure brand Vitality. “It makes the user experience so much better in the long run.”
For more than seven years, Loop has been focused on software innovation to optimize post-purchase experiences for modern brands. Already representing 15 percent of Shopify’s gross merchandise value (GMV), Loop has been the clear choice for over 3,500 of the world’s most popular brands.
Through the partnership, Shopify merchants can gain more customization and control with Loop Workflows, which allow merchants to personalize their return policies to maximize margins.
Additionally, the partnership offers sophisticated exchange options, including different priced exchanges and instant exchanges, which can drive specific outcomes and improve customer satisfaction.
Brands can leverage third-party logistics integrations that enable faster returns processing in the warehouse, as well as item grading and disposition data to help them better understand their returns and mitigate fraud. Users can also order, returns and exchange tracking to deliver maximum transparency and customer satisfaction.
ReturnBear
Reverse logistics solution ReturnBear is expanding its operations into the U.K. market in July.
ReturnBear’s network gives brands access to package-free, label-free, instant refund locations, and is backed by human return verification to protect retailers from returns fraud.
Starting with just 10 locations in Canada in 2022, ReturnBear expanded to offer brands access to 1,000 Canadian store locations, with two processing hubs in Canada and the U.S., respectively.
The U.K. network expansion will allow ReturnBear to provide the same customer convenience and brand profitability improvements in the market. ReturnBear’s platform is built to provide automated self-serve returns and optimized logistics strategies like consolidated cross-border brand shipments.
The expansion coincides with ReturnBear extending its support to clients such as Bond-Eye Swimwear and sunglasses seller Sol Kyst in the U.K. market.
“The global response to our brand and products has been phenomenal. Being an inclusive brand with multiple size offerings, creating an easy exchange and return process has remained a top priority for us,” said Meghan Victoria, founder and CEO of Sol Kyst. “We are really looking forward to enhancing our return offering for our customers in the U.K. with ReturnBear, knowing it will increase the positive experiences for our customers as well as our business.”
Delivery
Academy Sports + Outdoors/Doordash
Academy Sports + Outdoors announced a new exclusive partnership with DoorDash to offer on-demand delivery from Academy’s 285 stores across 19 states during the upcoming back-to-school season.
Products can be ordered directly through the DoorDash app, helping consumers easily pursue their sports and outdoors passions by shopping for items they need delivered on the same day, in under an hour on average.
“Academy Sports + Outdoors is continually looking for ways to help our customers get to the fun faster, and we believe this partnership with DoorDash will provide them with a new option to get the gear they need,” said Chad Fox, executive vice president and chief customer officer, Academy Sports + Outdoors. “We’re excited to partner with the leading local commerce platform to give our customers another convenient way to get the products they need quickly so they can have fun out there.”
All locations will also be available on DashPass, DoorDash’s membership program that offers members a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fee on eligible orders from thousands of restaurants, grocery and convenience stores nationwide.
E-commerce
Authentic Brands Group/Cart.com
Authentic Brands Group, the global brand development firm that owns brands like Reebok, Brooks Brothers and Forever 21, has partnered with technology-enabled unified commerce platform and third-party logistics (3PL) provider Cart.com.
Through the partnership, Cart.com will provide omnichannel customer support and merchant of record services across portions of its portfolio of e-commerce brands, which also include Aeropostale, Barneys New York and Eddie Bauer.
Cart.com’s customer engagement solution is designed to assist with inbound and outbound telesales as well as provide omnichannel support across text, email, phone, live chat, social media and more. The company works with brands to customize tools and workflows to optimize the customer experience, retain their customers and increase upsell and cross-sell potential in every engagement.
Cart.com’s merchant of record services manages the complexity of online payments for the lifecycle of orders. The company supports payment and sales tax collection, consumer and data regulation compliance, chargeback management and fraud prevention, simplifying payments infrastructure and reconciliation for brands. Cart.com currently supports over $8 billion in gross merchandise value and operates 14 omnichannel facilities nationwide totaling over 8.5 million square feet of space.
“We are thrilled to announce this partnership with Cart.com,” said Adam Kronengold, chief digital officer at Authentic. “Cart.com’s platform and ability to scale quickly to meet the evolving needs of brands competing in a complex e-commerce environment make them an ideal partner as we continue to find ways to grow and innovate.”
Debenhams/Fabric
Debenhams, the 243-year-old European department store that was reimagined as a direct-to-consumer retailer in 2021 after being acquired by Boohoo, has selected composable commerce platform Fabric to power its product catalog across 11 brands.
This strategic move supports Debenhams’s growth across all brands in an effort to enhance its online shopping experience for shoppers and ease-of-use for merchandisers. Debenhams increased its catalog to 3 million SKUs with Fabric, which in turn has allowed the company to serve multiple stores and merchandise over 7,000 collections across thousands of categories.
“Fabric’s innovative and modern platform has transformed how we manage and deliver products across any channel, allowing us to significantly scale our offering and provide the best experience for shoppers,” said Dan Finley, CEO of Debenhams. “With Fabric, we have the flexibility and business agility to make real-time changes and merchandise our products at the speed our business demands.”
Migrating from its legacy system, Debenhams implemented Fabric’s enterprise solution to boost data quality, reduce manual entry and streamline operations, all within a three-week timeframe. Debenhams now has a central hub for product data, across both first-party and third-party vendors, streamlining workflows and providing standardized data across all sources.
Debenhams’s merchandisers can centralize, organize and deliver data efficiently and in real time in Fabric’s easy-to-use operator console. And now, with the Fabric platform, they can incrementally integrate new commerce services, fully aligned with their evolving business requirements.
Buy now, pay later
Afterpay
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider Afterpay has added a batch of new brands that will be available for consumers to pay in installments this summer. U.S. shoppers will be able to choose Afterpay at checkout to shop fro, Helzberg Diamonds, Journeys, Rawlings Sporting Goods and Zenni Optical.
“We want to make shopping at Journeys, in store and online, as easy and convenient as possible for our customers and expanding our payment options is one of the ways we can do that,” said John Tighe, senior vice president of digital commerce, Journeys, in a statement. “The addition of Afterpay will provide the Journeys’ customer with a new and flexible buy now, pay later payment option.”
According to Afterpay, BNPL platforms were rated by four in five users as an effective solution to alleviating financial stress throughout the payment journey.
Afterpay has customer protections built-in to the platform to prevent consumers from overextending themselves and revolving into debt such as freezing accounts after one missed payment and capping late fees. As a result, 98 percent of all Afterpay Pay in 4 purchases incurred no late fees and 95 percent of installments were paid on time, the company says.
Zilch
U.K,-based buy now, pay later firm Zilch raised 100 million pounds ($125 million) in debt financing arranged by Deutsche Bank.
The financing will enable Zilch to grow its business and accelerate Zilch’s ability to create and launch new products for a broader base of customers, with the company saying it plans to go public in the next 12 to 24 months.
The company said the deal with Deutsche Bank came with more flexible terms and would enable it to draw down up to $315 million of credit in total, including from different banks.
In just under four years, Zilch has amassed over 4 million customers and now processes more than 10 million monthly payments. The platform has already generated over 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) in commerce and saved its customers more than 450 million pounds ($570 million) in fees and interest through its “ad-subsidization” model, as it works to eliminate the high cost of consumer credit.
The firm reported revenues of 30 million pounds ($38 million) in the 12 months ended March 2023. Losses totaled 71.7 million pounds ($90.8 million), marginally down from a 2022 loss of 78.3 million pounds ($99.1 million).