The chief information officer (CIO) of River Island has said that the retailer is prioritising self-checkout and RFID in its stores.

At the Retail Technology Show in London, Simon Pakenham-Walsh, who has in recent weeks joined River Island after serving as CIO at Sweaty Betty, said that self-checkout gives its store employees a better experience because they can focus more on the customer.

He also said that self-checkout, which now has 60 per cent adoption across the business, boosts company revenue and is better for its existing technology systems because it is “flexible”.

RFID

River Island has invested heavily in RFID, with the technology already having been rolled out across the company, boosting stock accuracy to 98 per cent from around 70 per cent. Pakenham-Walsh said that the retailer also has plans to introduce the technology across its care labels.

Intelligent fitting rooms

The company is also trialling screens in its fitting rooms. These screens can show a customer the items they have tried on, whilst also allowing them to interact with store associates.

The CIO said that this technology can result in 40 per cent less returns, with customers also 50 per cent more likely to buy an item if they ask a store associate for another product or size whilst in the fitting room.

The Retail Technology Show is taking place at Olympia, London on 24 and 25 April.

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