This week stories spanned everything from Pokémon cards and personalised loyalty to new store concepts and rising shop prices.
Here’s what you might have missed.
JD Sports puts personalised loyalty to the test
JD Sports has worked with HyperFinity to understand whether more relevant offers or bigger incentives are more effective at driving loyalty spend.
The trials found that personalisation consistently performed better than simply increasing the value of an incentive. The findings will now help JD Sports shape its future loyalty strategy, including how offers are tailored to different customer segments.
LoyaltyLion looks beyond the Black Friday discount
With peak season approaching, LoyaltyLion announced a special Black Friday edition of Loyalty Connect featuring speakers from Shopify, ILIA Beauty, Hillberg & Berk and Medik8.
The event will explore how brands can turn the influx of Black Friday shoppers into longer-term customers. New LoyaltyLion research found that 54% of consumers are more likely to join a loyalty programme during Black Friday and Cyber Monday or a similar sales period.
Bodycare brings content creation to the high street
Bodycare is continuing its high street comeback with a new Studio Store at Highcross Leicester.
Following openings in Sheffield and Derby, the latest location will combine health and beauty retail with a free Creator Studio for local creators, charities, schools and community groups.
H&M expands its use of AI inventory technology
H&M Group has expanded GreyOrange’s inventory technology across hundreds of stores on three continents.
The gStore platform combines software with RFID and computer vision to give the retailer greater visibility over individual products. It is designed to improve inventory accuracy, replenishment and omnichannel fulfilment.
Morrisons strengthens its omnichannel data strategy
Morrisons has partnered with NIQ to improve how it uses customer, product and market data across supermarkets, ecommerce, convenience and emerging retail channels.
The retailer will gain access to automated reporting, self-service analytics and AI-enabled tools intended to help its teams identify trends and make commercial decisions more quickly.
eBay responds to the trading-card boom
eBay has introduced a UK trading-card price guide using up to two years of completed marketplace transactions.
Collectors can scan cards through the eBay app and review recent sales information for franchises including Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh!. The launch comes after UK searches for Pokémon on eBay exceeded six million in July.
Rentd turns rent into rewards
UK fintech Rentd has launched an app that allows renters to earn points from their rent and everyday spending.
The platform connects users with shopping rewards from 5,000 brands and lets them redeem points against flights and hotels. It marks Rentd’s move from its original proptech model towards a broader banking, rewards and travel proposition.
Tech on Toast becomes Stacked
Hospitality technology platform Tech on Toast has rebranded as Stacked, bringing its advisory, marketplace, media, events and recruitment operations under one identity.
The company said the new name would make its proposition clearer for hospitality operators seeking independent support with technology and digital transformation.
Shop price inflation reaches a two-year high
UK shop prices rose by 1.5% year-on-year in August, according to the latest BRC-NIQ Shop Price Monitor.
Food and non-food inflation both accelerated as higher energy, commodity and input costs began feeding through to retail prices. The BRC warned that rising operating costs are limiting retailers’ ability to absorb further increases.
Why successful retail AI starts with the foundations
In this week’s opinion piece, UiPath’s Catherine Frame explores how retailers can use AI and automation to improve efficiency, decision-making and operational resilience.
She argues that businesses must address their underlying data, technology and workflows before expecting AI to transform their operations.
