RTIH has published an in-depth 2022 RTIH Innovation Awards review, running through the winners and highly commended submissions and including photos from our awards ceremony and the thoughts of our judging panel.
Check it out here.
Sponsored by PMC, 3D Cloud by Marxent, CADS, FreedomPay, and Critzr, the awards celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
We received a record number of submissions in 2022 across 14 categories (you can find a full rundown of the 2022 shortlists here).
Our winners and highly commended companies were announced during the aforementioned sold out event that took place in central London during December and was attended by retailers, tech suppliers, members of our judging panel, and sponsors.
Check out the 2022 RTIH Innovation Awards hall of fame below.
As for the 2023 event, we’ve got big plans, including an overhaul of the judging criteria, and a move to a bigger venue for our central London event.
We’ll be accepting submissions from April onwards, with the deadline being early November and the winners being announced at said event in December.
Stay tuned for further updates over the next couple of months.
Bricks and Mortar Innovation – Sponsored by CADS
Shortlist:
Brain Corp
Deep North
Jigsaw and Mercaux
MiniGo
Musgrave and Pricer
Nudie Jeans and Sitoo
Ribble Cycles
Sook
WINNER: Sook
Sook takes vacant retail spaces and fits them out with a modular, digital fit-out which can be rented by any occupier by the hour.
The screens allow anyone to rapidly create a bespoke environment to showcase a product or service using digital content.
Sook maximises the utility of empty spaces with a platform that drives access for everyone (Retail, Amenity, Community, Wellness, Art, Meetup, Education) at the same time as creating sustainable revenue for landlords.
The company gathers analytics for all of its occupiers which allows them to best understand how to use physical space as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Category 2:
Supply Chain Innovation
Shortlist:
1MRobotics
Berkshire Grey
Fashinza
Focal
ProGlove
Quiet Platforms
Tapestry and e2open
Tesco/Starship Technologies
WINNER: Fashinza
Amidst the supply chain challenges and disruptions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, one company is on a mission to digitise the supply chain to make it more efficient, transparent, fast and sustainable.
Fashinza, an AI driven B2B marketplace and real-time global supply chain platform for fashion brands and retailers, has emerged to offer solutions for clients including Forever 21, Spencer’s and Clovia.
Category 3:
Payments Innovation – Sponsored by FreedomPay
Shortlist:
BEL
CellPoint Digital
Compass Group/AiFi
Grabango
InComm
Zippin
WINNER: Compass Group/AiFi
Compass Group UK&I has introduced its first ever completely frictionless store.
The store, pitched as a first for not only the UK, but across the whole foodservices sector in Europe, uses AI powered computer vision technology from AiFi, allowing shoppers to purchase items without having to wait in line or stop to scan or pay.
Category 4:
Most Innovative UK Retailer – Sponsored by Critizr
Shortlist:
B&Q
Boots UK & Ireland
Currys
Marks and Spencer
Tesco
The Very Group
WINNER: B&Q
B&Q is at the forefront of cutting-edge 3D visualisation, planning, and design technology. In 2022, it announced the largest and most comprehensive roll-out of 3D home improvement design experiences in the market today.
The retailer didn’t just deploy an app or service. It designed and deployed an entire 3D strategy that aligns with changing consumer behaviour.
It lays claim to being the first retailer to move away from an incumbent software solution that the industry has been using since the 1980s to a single SaaS-based kitchen, bathroom and bedroom/storage design platform for consumers and stores alike.
The benefit is a comprehensive and seamless design experience that puts customers at the centre. The initiative also includes a 3D kitchen, bathroom, and storage planner with virtual reality capabilities in addition to a series of mobile 3D product configurators for other products.
Category 5:
Most Innovative Retailer (Rest of World)
Shortlist:
Amazon
A.S. Watson Group
Carrefour
Fanatics
Ikea
Walmart
WINNER: Walmart
Further details here.
Category 6:
Most Innovative Pureplay
Shortlist:
boohoo
FarFetch
PrettyLittleThing
Secret Sales
Vinted
WINNER: Secret Sales
Further details here.
Category 7:
Omnichannel Retail Initiative of the Year
Shortlist:
emiigo
Furniture Village/Red Ant
Jisp
Lightspeed
Printemps
Ribble Cycles
Volumental
Zitcha
WINNER: Ribble Cycles
Ribble Cycles is at the forefront of the phygital revolution, creating a seamless omnichannel customer experience through the integration of physical retail brand showrooms and an e-commerce website.
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Volumental
Volumental not only scans a consumer’s feet in a footwear retailer and matches them with perfect fitting shoes in the styles they want, but also uses the data to improve the shopping experience in-store and online.
Category 8:
Technology Vendor of the Year (UK)
Shortlist:
Anthill
Jisp
LoyaltyLion
Red Ant
Retail247
Rotageek
Xiatech
Zyler
WINNER: Rotageek
Rotageek is changing scheduling with its rota software.
But even creating schedules digitally doesn’t guarantee they’re as optimised as possible for both the workforce and the organisation. Enter Autoscheduler, the company’s algorithm-based, AI driven solution that makes the impossible possible.
Used by leading retailers, it builds on the features of Rotageek’s fundamental digital scheduling solution, to automate and optimise retail rotas in the click of a button.
Category 9:
Technology Vendor of the Year (Rest of World)
Shortlist:
Lily AI
Loop
Mason
Nsign.tv
Obsess
Scanbot
ShipStation
SWIPEBY
WINNER: Obsess
Obsess is disrupting experiential e-commerce, using VR and AR technologies to give leading brands an entry point into the metaverse.
Founder and CEO Neha Singh and her team create immersive, 3D virtual store experiences for retailers and brands globally, including Ralph Lauren, Coach, NBCUniversal, Tommy Hilfiger, General Mills, NARS, Charlotte Tilbury, and American Girl.
Category 10:
Startup of the year (UK)
Shortlist:
be Retail Social
HyperFinity
Ocula Technologies
Personify XP
SeeChange
SEIKK
WINNER: HyperFinity
HyperFinity uses decision intelligence to help retailers sell the right products, to the right people, for the right price.
Retailers tap Its software platform to make great commercial decisions across product range, pricing and promotion, marketing and media, e-commerce and supply chain.
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ocula Technologies
Ocula Technologies is a SaaS startup with the goal of allowing all retailers the opportunity to harness the power of AI to enable data driven decisions and quickly optimise its platform.
It wants to give retailers without in-house data science teams, the ability to access the benefits of AI and not get left behind by the likes of Amazon and Alibaba.
Category 11:
Startup of the Year (Rest of World)
Shortlist:
Avataar
Cart.com
CM Robotics
ConverSight
Flowcode
refive
Serve Robotics
Shipium
Spacee
Zipline
WINNER: Cart.com
Omair Tariq founded Cart.com in November 2020 to level the playing field in e-commerce for brands of all sizes seeking to compete with the digital giants who dominate this trillion dollar channel.
The company brought to market an e-commerce-as-a-service platform that today supports 6,000 brands and 29 million products for retailers that range from adidas, Guess and Bare Minerals to born in the pandemic brands like HalfDays and Rowing Blazers.
The offering includes search and social feed management, omnichannel management, digital advertising, inventory management, online storefront and fulfilment.
Category 12:
Technology Implementation of the Year (UK)
Shortlist:
Astrid & Miyu and LoyaltyLion
boohoo/Akeneo
Currys/Movable Ink
Motor Fuel Group/TLM Technologies
Pets at Home/TPP Retail
Skinnydip London/Wunderkind
VST/dunnhumby
WINNER: Pets at Home/TPP Retail
For many years, Pets at Home has invested in providing store colleagues with technology solutions to help serve customers’ pet care needs. This resulted in store teams having multiple devices and many different technologies to use.
The objective of the shortlisted project was to re-imagine the store colleague experience and introduce a new solution based on creating a single device experience with a suite of in-house developed applications for customer facing and operational needs.
The Pets at Home team, with the support of technology partner, TPP Retail, has developed and delivered an entire software product from scratch within 18 months. Leveraging a single solution for all in-store applications, including apps to support buying a pet or joining a flea-subscription programme.
Category 13
Technology implementation of the year (rest of world)
Shortlist:
Assa Abloy/Akeneo
DoorDash/Social Mobile
MANO/MoEngage
NOBULL/Bluecore
Norrøna/Sitoo
Walmart/Focal
WINNER: MANO/MoEngage
MANO is an e-commerce brand specialising in ultra-fast grocery delivery in Africa.
In a market relatively new to the concept of grocery delivery apps, MANO is making its mark through its customer centric approach and its focus on facilitating a frictionless experience.
Through personalisation, powered by MoEngage, it increased app activation rates by 51%, grew engagement by 27% and saw a two-fold increase in sales.
HIGHLY COMMENDED: NOBULL/Bluecore
NOBULL enlisted Bluecore with the goal of customising customer communications based on any product component, such as style, material, or type of product, to turn its one time buyers into not just repeat customers, but also true brand loyalists.
Category 14
Best Retailer/Technology Supplier Relationship
Shortlist:
Afresh/CUB
Carrefour/Pricer
Clekt/Spurs
Lounge Underwear/Patchworks
MillerKnoll/Marxent
Studenac/Wolt
Ted Baker/THRIVE
Vivino/AfterShip
WINNER: Ted Baker/THRIVE
Ted Baker has launched THRIVE’s Learning & Skills Platform.
Before, its learning methods were outdated. With 2,300+ employees spanning 560 global locations, 70% of whom aren’t desk-based, it couldn’t engage its people with important comms, learning opportunities, or each other.
Today, THRIVE has become the backbone of learning, communication and collaboration, helping the company achieve its goal of a united, engaged workforce across all locations, with content to support their personal lives and mental health too.
Category 15
Overall Winner
WINNER: Sook
See Bricks and Mortar Innovation category for further details.
Category 16
RTIH Editor’s Choice Award – SPONSORED BY 3D CLOUD BY MARXENT
WINNERS: Jisp, Red Ant, Retail247
Jisp
Jisp, a money saving and rewards app, works across in-store, in-app and socially to connect shoppers to brands at local convenience stores in the UK.
In just one year, Jisp has seen thousands of shoppers make over 500,000 scans in-store, with 330,000 money saving vouchers issued and 292,000 redemptions made. Retailers offering Scan & Save have up to 1,200 shoppers using Jisp and achieving over £5,500 every week in RSV, helping them drive footfall, spend, frequency and loyalty.
Also, customers have saved over £345,000 from redemptions and have won a total of £10,000 in prize money from Scan & Save’s competition Scan a Grand.
Retailers reward shoppers through Jisp, FOC, and this drives stronger engagement and sales to this store.
Once a shopper redeems 25 products, they receive a £2.50 voucher to spend only in that store – regardless of the value of redeemed products.
Once they reach 25, it resets and they can get another £2.50 to spend again and again. This is pitched as a Clubcard for independent convenience with a twist. It’s store specific.
Retail247
In the past year, Retail247 has launched its stock solution Quantum.
The company designed and built it from the ground up. Whilst many of the transactions it creates, processes, and manages are recognisable, it operates in a framework where stock accuracy is considered to be critical, and selling channels are all of equal relevance and importance.
Quantum is already proving popular with retailers, and Reiss and Crew Clothing are using the platform and reporting significant business benefits from it.
Red Ant
Red Ant partnered with Furniture Village to create an endless aisle and clientelling solution which would allow customers to browse and shop across multiple channels.
Its solution enhances the customer’s journey across multiple channels – in-store, on the website, or live chatting with an agent. Red Ant integrated current data and systems into its RetailOS platform, to create a personalised omnichannel experience.
The solution was piloted in five stores within eight weeks and rolled out to the rest of its 52 stores within months.
