Augmented reality is the technology for retailers to watch in 2010, according to a new report by Ovum. Whether for online, mobile or kiosk, the company says that it is witnessing innovation from which the future standard augmented reality (AR) applications for retail will grow
The Garden Centre Group has upgraded its existing mobile stock control infrastructure with an enterprise mobility platform from Codegate.
The new solution has been rolled out across the company’s 121 UK retail outlets and runs on Motorola MC3090 rugged hand held terminals
Waterstone’s has signed a contract with Maxymiser to drive an improvement in onsite conversion rates and revenues. Waterstones.com is set to go live with the company’s conversion management solution in February
DPD has become the first parcels company to provide customers with a one hour window for their home deliveries. The company has invested £2 million over the last two years developing the technology needed for this service
E-commerce solutions provider, Art Technology Group (ATG) has reported record financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 2009. The full year 2009 stood at $179.4 million, compared with 2008 revenue of $164.6 million
Interflora has increased orders through Facebook with the help of online marketing company RedEye. After just one month of the flower retailer launching a page on the social networking site, it has attracted over 700 fans and assisted in 60 orders
JDA Software Group has completed the acquisition of i2 Technologies in a transaction valued at approximately $604 million. JDA says that the deal solidifies its position as one of the world’s leading providers of supply chain management and pricing solutions
Blockbuster has completed its roll-out of RedPrairie’s Execution Management solution in 500 stores. The movie and game entertainment giant also has plans to implement the solution in its remaining outlets
Retailers face a serious risk of customer churn in attempting to sell between channels, according to the 2010 Multi-channel Retail Report from e-commerce provider, GSI Commerce. The data also revealed an opportunity for multi-channel retailers to convert seemingly negative customer experiences into sales
Paramount Restaurant Group has launched a customer insight programme in 74 of its restaurants. The programme, utilising an Emphatica solution, involves diners being invited to give feedback on their experience through a dedicated website by receiving a business card invitation with their receipt
ASOS has been announced as the winner of the first ever Golden Chariot award, created by Snow Valley to celebrate excellence in online retail delivery. The award was presented to the ASOS team at the launch party last week for Snow Valley’s 2010 Online Retail Delivery Report
SportsDirect.com is implementing a solution to schedule staff, manage absence and process payroll. The retailer has selected Kronos for Retail as part of a project consisting of two phases. Phase one is complete, resulting in consistent rules to manage the workforce in every store
Barclaycard is gearing up to launch a retail rewards scheme, Barclaycard Freedom, in March. The new loyalty programme will be available to over eight million cardholders who will be able to earn rewards in shops, restaurants and online outlets across the UK, without having to do or pay anything to join
The Co-operative Group is launching a drive to sell its EPoS and store management system, developed in-house, to other retailers. The system, InControl-Evolution, was created by the Group’s software development team and is operational in 3,000 stores around the UK, including food and pharmacy branches
Emailvision is working with Agent Provocateur to implement a more sophisticated and targeted email strategy that will grow its online revenues. The luxury lingerie brand recently bought the campaign development process in-house, and Emailvision’s on demand SaaS platform, Campaign Commander, was introduced
The latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail sales index have been released, providing an overview of the Christmas period and 2009 as a whole. UK shoppers spent £5.46 billion online in December, 17 per cent up on December 2008
Proud Cabaret, the latest venture from husband and wife team Danielle and Alex Proud, has signed a three-year deal to outsource all its IT infrastructure to Fifosys. The venue has just opened on the corner of Mark Lane and Dunster Court in the City of London
Lakeland has renewed its EPoS service and maintenance agreement with Vista Retail Support. Vista will continue to support the retailer of homeware and kitchen products over the next three years across its 44 sites, providing service on 215 lanes of in-store EPoS, while also supporting 44 PCs in its back office environment
BVG-Airflo is investing in behavioural email as it looks to optimise its marketing activity. The online retailer of clothing, footwear, household and fishing tackle products has appointed RedEye to help improve conversion and increase ROI
Laithwaites Wine relaunches its website today and is now incorporating ratings and reviews - offering peer to peer recommendations of over 1,300 products. Bazaarvoice has been appointed by the UK’s largest independent wine merchant to implement its hosted Ratings & Reviews solution
PMC has provided web usability testing for both the Carpetright and Sleepright e-commerce platforms. Key to this was the retail systems specialist’s use of eye-tracking technology to identify how people used and reacted to the sites
House of Fraser is to outsource its IT support to Capgemini UK in a seven-year contract. The deal covers management of data centre services, applications support and development, service desk, desktop support and third party services
Sainsburys has announced a new project to improve the layout of products in its stores, using JDA space optimisation software. The grocery giant is adopting similar software currently in use at such rivals as Asda, Tesco and the Co-operative Group
Microsoft has announced a strategic alliance with Intel to deliver improved platforms for the digital signage industry. The aim is to provide retailers with digital in-store advertisements that interact with the customer
Gomez has launched a new tool which helps online retailers calculate how much revenue they are potentially risking as a result of slow web page load times. The free calculator was launched this week at the National Retail Federation Big Show in New York
Debenhams has selected Isotrak’s Active Transport Management System (ATMS) to provide HGV tracking and telematics functionality throughout its UK mainland delivery fleet
Retail Systems has launched the website for its 2010 Multi-Channel Summit, which will take place in September at The IoD Hub in London. The one day conference will cover such areas as m-commerce, social networking and the retail technologies available to multi-channel retailers
Faith Shoes is now using MetaPack to manage the distribution from its online stores
Figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reveal that a shop theft occurred nearly once every minute in 2009 - landing businesses with a £1.1 billion bill, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year
Webcredible has been appointed by JD Sports for a usability testing project on its website
Mills Group is implementing two new systems from Torex across its 82 stores. The convenience store retailer has signed up for the Workforce Management and Business Analytics solutions
Honeywell has announced performance enhancements available on all Stratos 2400 five-sided, 360°-bioptic scanners, enabling cashiers to increase speed and precision when scanning GS1 DataBar and high density barcodes
Figures issued by Retail Decisions (ReD) and IMRG show that 2009 online retail sales were at an estimated £49.8 billion, up 21 per cent from 2008
Marks and Spencer has chosen Quantum Retail’s software solution, Q, to manage the end-to-end inventory forecasting, replenishment and order planning needs for its food division
TGW Systems Integration and Crisplant have been awarded a contract to install a warehouse and distribution system in the new Logistics Centre North for clothing retailer, Bestseller, in Haderslev, Denmark
Fujitsu has signed a three-year deal with EPoS Distributor, making it the first UK distributor of Fujitsu’s PoS retail hardware products
The Moss Bros website is being re-platformed with DediPower, which is managing the site on a dedicated server, ensuring 24/7 support and the capacity to handle a high level of traffic
Metapack has released stats from its e-commerce Tracker 100, covering the past few weeks
The number of people admitting to shoplifting has declined by almost eight per cent over the past 12 months, according to the Sixth Annual Retail Crime Survey by G4S Secure Solutions (UK)
Robert Dyas has gone live with 110 of OKI’s B6500 A4 mono printers
Point International has acquired Commidea, the UK-based card payment processing solution provider
Kitbag has appointed FMG to create an interactive catalogue on behalf of FCBarcelona
Ascension, which has opened its first bricks and mortar store in London’s West End, has implemented Futura’s EPoS and retail management system
IndigoVision's IP Video system has been deployed at the arc shopping centre in Bury St Edmonds, which opened its doors in March
Gap's Oxford Street store is utilising the Infinite Plasma videowall from PSCo to bring its adverts in-store during the Christmas period.
Blacks Leisure Group is embarking on a customer insight programme in 208 of its Blacks and Millets stores, with the help of Empathica
Barclays and Barclaycard have now issued over five million contactless-enabled cards in the UK
There is significantly more optimism and hope for the future in the fashion and lifestyle sector, compared with last year, as the focus begins to shift from cost reduction to investment
A Suit that Fits.com has been involved in the launch of a new free application from T-Mobile, shareAnywhere
Sanderson has installed the latest release of StoreVision at Toys 'N' Tuck, improving estate communication, providing specialist business reports and enhancing the in-store experience
BT Fresca has won a three-year contract to provide the new website and e-commerce platform for Snow+Rock
Portaltech has launched its new iPhone application, StripeyLines
She Said has invested in new PoS technology from J2 Retail Systems and LOIS System
The new Panasonic 85" plasma screen has just been released and PSCo has taken on the distribution
PXtech has won the contract to supply an EPoS solution for burgeoning chain, Snog Pure Frozen Yogurt
Gerry Weber has rolled out RFID technology combining inventory management and loss prevention
Hungarian retailer CBA has implemented ZBD's e-paper solution in its Mogyoród store, near Budapest
Infosys and Waitrose have co-developed a new multi-channel web platform, the aim of which is to deliver a fully integrated online experience for waitrose.com
Poundstrecher has selected Vodat International to provide its MPLS (multi protocol label switching) network solution across its 335 stores
Asda has decreased its onsite bounce rates by 18 per cent as part of its drive to refine web content and design based on real customer behaviour
New womenswear retailer, Mint Velvet, has signed up for a managed solution that includes Retail Assist's Merret merchandising and warehousing system, Triquestra's Infinity PoS, plus a complete IT support service
Torex is transferring its UK hardware maintenance and warehousing and logistics operations to Phoenix IT Services from 1 February 2010
Leapfrog Research & Planning has been retained to manage all research services for Tesco Customer Question Time (CQT) in a 12-month contract
Boots Opticians is expanding its Customer Care Measure (CCM) programme with Empathica across the newly merged business with Dollond & Aitchison (D&A)
Halfords has chosen Manhattan Associates as its technology partner to support its future distribution network
Comet has dramatically improved IT service provision to 10,000 employees with Hornbill's Supportworks ITSM
Salmon has implemented a new e-commerce platform for Pets at Home, which is looking to grow its online business in the next three years
Eroski Group, Spain's third largest retailer, has selected i2 solutions for the modeling, planning and execution of its inbound and outbound transportation operations
Ted Baker is implementing retail merchandise planning software from Maple Lake
New supermarket, Haldanes Stores, has selected VoiteQ's VPoS solution
Mothercare is adopting the web-based net.tickIT sign and ticketing solution from Pierhouse
99p Stores has selected Futura's retail management solution to replace Torex's DOS based system in all of its 116 stores
Google is launching Google Commerce Search to power fast and accurate search on retailers' websites with the aim of increasing conversion rate of sales
Vee24 this week launches the veedesk, which aims to revolutionise the way in which retailers interact with their online customers
The Co-operative Group is implementing Axway's B2B solutions for process automation and collaboration
Shop Direct has selected Teradata to consolidate and integrate significant volumes of data from different sources across the business onto a single active Enterprise Data Warehouse platform
A year on from JDA's last, aborted attempt to acquire supply chain software vendor i2 Technologies, the two firms have announced plans to merge
Primark has signed a deal for Island Pacific Planning licenses and services
House of Fraser, Iceland and Republic and technology suppliers such as K3, Intelligent Retail and Retail Manager Solutions were amongst the winners at the 2009 Retail Systems Awards, which took place last week at London's Grosvenor House Hotel
JD Sports Fashion has selected software from SPSS to enhance store sales forecasting as it continues to grow its network of stores across the UK
eBay owned price comparison site Shopping.com UK has announced the launch of a new customer product review service, free to its online retail partners
Trespass has selected Vocollect voice technology, to be implemented by VoiteQ, at its Glasgow-based distribution facility
Wipro Retail has been chosen to implement an Oracle retail solution at Central Madeirense, Venezuela's largest supermarket chain
George Davies has chosen the Buyerplan merchandise planning and product development solution from Decision Systems for his GIVe venture
Sterling Commerce has announced the global launch of its Always in Stock solution, in an effort to make the 'out-of-stock' challenge for retailers a thing of the past
TJ Hughes has implemented Torex PoS across 52 of its department stores in the UK
EAT will roll-out contactless technology and payment across its 100 stores from mid-November
To celebrate ten years of online ordering in the UK, Domino's has launched two new initiatives - the Pizza Tracker and an iPhone ordering app
Tesco is aiming to improve security of goods in transit with Secureseal's tamper-evident trailer seals
Brown Thomas, the Ireland-based lifestyle and fashion stores, has reduced time taken to backup a full server from 1.5 hours to 15 minutes using Acronis
One in three UK consumers have tried shopping using the web on their mobile phone but 28 per cent of those have found it a difficult way to shop
Charles Clinkard has renewed its contract with Vodat International, who will continue to provide its MPLS network to all stores for EFT, VOIP, polling and general communications
Summit Media is to handle all pay-per-click (PPC) requirements for Comet
Shine Marketing has contributed to the online element of GIVe, the new womenswear label launched by George Davies
alworths, the new chain of general merchandise stores, is utilising Futura's retail management solution
PCMS has become an official European reseller for Postilion payments solution
Bookpoint is to install voice technology from VoiteQ, incorporating a voice-directed work solution from Vocollect
Cadbury World has installed a new digital signage solution
Sears has launched the world's first fully interactive, integrated online-only catalogue on Ceros
Asda has been using driveExperience from Empathica to find out what customers think of its 367 stores
Barratts Priceless is rolling out customer reviews across its portfolio of six specialist shoe websites
EAST has gone live with the multi-channel business system, Prologic CIMS V7.7
Eurostop is helping Punkyfish add a new customer loyalty system to its offering
everywine.co.uk has implemented Locayta ESP technology to underpin its merchandising strategy on its website, which has just been relaunched
Since implementing Retail Enterprise Suite from Episys, Fortnum & Mason has witnessed a dramatic reduction in the cost of printing its in-store signage
House of Fraser has implemented anti-theft solutions from Checkpoint Systems
Jane Norman has engaged Retail Assist to provide an out-of-hours help desk to support its 101 UK stores
Tesco has introduced Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management solution (WMS) at its UK fulfilment centre for Tesco Wine by the Case at Brackmills, Northampton
Marks and Spencer has signed a deal for Secure from Sysrepublic to help tackle fraud, theft and shrink across its store portfolio
Mothercare is aiming to enhance its merchandise planning, speed international growth and improve productivity with the addition of Torex Merchandise Planning
New Look has hired Zone to create its first ever weekly online interactive TV show, to be distributed via a branded YouTube channel
Peak Performance is utilising GSI Commerce technology as it launches its e-commerce platform throughout Europe this week
Phones 4u has selected Oracle Retail to enhance customer service and support growth in the UK and Northern Ireland
Sock Shop has launched a new viral game, Sock It, created by digital agency TAMBA
The store remains the key driver of customer satisfaction and retail revenues, despite the trend towards online shopping
Tesco has selected CA ecoSoftware as part of its commitment to drive down carbon emissions across its global operations
Tesco has appointed Inovis as the service provider for the onboarding of its grocery and non-food suppliers onto its electronic data interchange (EDI) platform
Punch Taverns has partnered with The Cloud to enable its licensees to provide Wi-Fi to their customers for free
Barbour has chosen a fully integrated HP BladeSystem infrastructure as part of a project to renew its ERP system
eSpares, having implemented Bazaarvoice's Ratings & Reviews last year, recently tested the impact of customer reviews on the conversion rate of its products
Coachwise has selected Maginus to design and build four new websites
Poundland is upgrading its integrated EPoS payment solution with contactless technology
Many UK retailers are neglecting to include added-value content and features on their websites, according to a new study from dotCommerce
DSG international is to implement Torex's Productivity Management tools across all the stores it operates in the UK
Footasylum has signed a three-year deal with Vista Retail Support to support the EPoS estate across its 18 UK stores
Forzieri reports a significant sales lift and reduction in production costs and returns following implementation of Adobe Scene 7's Dynamic Imaging and Visual Configurator technology
GIVe, the womenswear fashion label being launched by George Davies, has selected K3 to implement a multi-channel solution that will support the website, retail stores and concession partners, and call centres
Maginus has been selected as one of the first UK distributors of Microsoft's new Dynamics PoS solution, Microsoft Dynamics PoS 2009
Retailers' IT budgets have been slashed by about 20 per cent over the past year, down from 1.3 per cent to 1.1 per cent as a percentage of sales, according to the latest Martec International IT in Retail report
Faith has signed a deal with Mobile Interactive Technology (MIT) to license its MIDAS solution for one year, enabling the retailer to manage all its SMS mobile marketing activity in-house
Nordstrom has selected Oracle Retail Size Profile Optimisation to help maximise sales and improve customer service
The full range of PayPoint services is now available throughout Martin McColl, following roll-out of its terminals to almost 1,300 locations
Peacocks has extended its EPoS service and maintenance agreement with Vista Retail Support
The Channel Islands Co-Operative Society has chosen the web-based net.tickIT solution from Pierhouse to create promotional material for all food stores in the group
The Entertainer is deploying smartMARKETER eChannel to improve its email and digital marketing capability
William Hill customers can now use online cash solution, paysafecard, when spending money
Asda has introduced online customer ratings and reviews to its non-food product range
ASOS.com is using eGain Mail to improve the efficiency and quality of customer service
Bay Tree Food Company has implemented data synchronisation technology to communicate its product information with House of Fraser
Blackwell has implemented YESpay's EMBOSS solution to provide chip and PIN payments across its 160 EPoS tills in 50 UK stores
Charles Vogele has implemented Checkpoint Systems\' Merchandise Visibility solution
Debenhams has implemented anti-fraud solutions from 192business
CyberSource is working with Debenhams Direct to assist it with the secure processing and management of its online transactions
Carrefour has signed a five-year, Euro 180 million agreement for IBM to take over the transformation, management and maintenance of its IT infrastructure and associated applications in France
Internacionale has doubled its use of Vocollect voice-picking technology at its Bellshill warehouse
NTT Europe Online is providing a bespoke hosting platform for a new mobile banking service, MoBank, which launches this week
Next is using SPSS predictive analytics software to improve its marketing strategies
Fujitsu Technology Solutions has partnered with Tata Consultancy Services to deliver a PRIMERGY BladeFrame-based dynamic infrastructure to Phones4U, alongside NetApp V-Series storage
Thomas Pink and Warehouse are the first UK businesses to utilise BT Expedite's Integrated Store multi-channel system
Woolworths has selected The Hut Group to run the entertainment section of its new website, which launched last week
