It’s Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here’s your briefing on the most important stories from the past five days, including Tesco, Aldi Nord, Trigo, Zapp, Uber Eats, and the 2022 RTIH Innovation Awards.
1. Currys invests in robotic suits to help deliver for Black Friday and holiday season
UK tech retailer, Currys, says it has invested over £250,000 in a fleet of robotic exoskeleton suits to help colleagues from logistics partner, GXO, work safely and efficiently through the festive period.
The suits, which are being used at Currys’ facility in Newark, will help people carry out their physical day to day tasks, with the aim of putting less pressure on their joints and muscles while lifting heavy loads.
The Newark site will help deliver 8.7 million units of stock to all 309 of its stores this Black Friday period.
The robotic suits are worn like a small backpack and give colleagues at least 10 tonnes of relief over the course of a typical working shift — with up to 30kg of assistance to the lower back per lift.
Made with ultralight carbon fibre, the waterproof exoskeleton incorporates the AI-based Smart Safety Companion ergonomics early warning system to alert of signs of poor posture and incorrect lifting practices in real-time.
2. All eyes on Fulham as Tesco opens another Trigo powered London checkout free store
Tesco has announced the opening of a fourth Trigo powered store in London.
The hybrid autonomous store is located in the Fulham Reach real estate development.
While still in the capital, it has shoppers with different needs than the on the go shopper which is typical of
Tesco’s other Trigo powered locations in Central London High Holborn and Chiswell.
The grocery giant says that it is catering to a new subset of customers who use the location for their weekly shopping trips, with larger basket sizes.
