RTIH runs you through the week’s coolest retail technology plays — Retail Technology Innovation Hub

Asda

Groceries from Asda’s Gillingham Pier, Old Kent Road and Sheffield Chaucer stores will now be fulfilled by electric vehicles, giving over 345,000 households in the store catchment areas access to a greener delivery choice.

The vehicles can run for up to 120 miles per charge, requiring seven hours recharge time.

Asda, which was named UK Retailer of the Year at the 2021 RTIH Innovation Awards, says that using these electric vehicles will save over 400,000 CO2 (kg) per year.

Customers in Cardiff Bay and Leith will also soon be able to have their groceries delivered by a fully electric fleet as the retailer has committed to turning a further two stores electric by the end of the year.

The move represents the first stage of Asda’s ambition to completely remove diesel vehicles from its grocery home delivery fleet by 2028.

These plans are part of its wider strategy to half its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as part of its Courtauld commitments.

Faherty

Faherty, a clothing and lifestyle brand, and Archive have partnered to launch Second Wave.

The new resale programme allows customers to buy and sell preloved Faherty clothing through a peer-to-peer marketplace site and will also list repaired and renewed brand owned inventory.

“We have always been committed to greater circularity and we are thrilled to partner with Archive to launch Second Wave,” says Kerry Docherty, Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer, Faherty.

“The programme will give our customers multiple ways to shop for, enjoy and extend the lives of preloved Faherty items. Because long lasting quality is at the core of what we do, we believe our product only gets better with age.”

“Resale is a natural next step in our growth as a brand that has always taken its responsibility to our customers and the planet seriously.”

Shopify

Shopify is making its Shop Pay checkout offering available to enterprise retailers not on its platform.

The roll-out is made possible through Commerce Components by Shopify (CCS), which launched in 2023.

Shopify and Adyen will partner to pursue enterprise clients based in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and enhance the latter’s existing integration to accelerate enterprise connectivity and features.

Shop Pay lets customers save their email address, credit card, and shipping and billing information.

This can save customers time when they check-out, especially if they’ve already opted in to Shop Pay on any Shopify store. If a store offers a local pickup or delivery option, then people can also choose that option.