Leading retailers have given their view on the most innovative retail technologies set to launch on the British market in 2014.
Google Glass took the top spot, closely followed by DPD ‘Follow my Parcel‘ and InPost/ London Underground lockers. The tech, which retails for £1,000, is still in the early stages of adoption but has “significant potential for retailers.”
Fast growing DPD, who work with Asos, offer a 15 minute delivery service which allows consumers to track deliveries in real time on mobile or desktop devices.
The panel consisted of senior directors from Boohoo.com, Marks and Spencer, Tesco and Monsoon Accessorize. The scoring was based on four criteria: how innovative it is, potential influence across the sector, commercial potential and the potential benefit to customers.
PayPal‘s and Starbucks pre-ordering apps, which eliminates queuing, also scored highly as a cashless society becomes ever closer.
In-store technology from Waitrose, Argos, Uniqlo and N Brown also impressed the judges.
“Our panel of experts has highlighted the greatest strengths in the digital area of retail,” said Glynn Davis, the author of the report. “With the increasing importance of digital technologies, the study maps out the direction in which the retail sector is headed.”
“The retail landscape is evolving constantly and our panel of experts have highlighted what the strongest digital innovations of the moment are,” commented Guy Chiswick, MD of Webloyalty Northern Europe who sponsored the report.
