Street Smart Retail, an EIT Digital supported High Impact Initiative (HII) is coming to an end after three years of intense work, and it's time to take stock of the what has been achieved. More than 50 service solutions were sold to key customers in Europe, North America, Asia and selected Latin American countries.
The initiative was launched in 2015 - after a preparation phase in 2014 - with the goal of creating and commercializing omnichannel experiences on top of a Digital Retail Suite (a modular platform enabling virtual and physical actions based on data from several sources including customer-originated data).
The aim of Street Smart Retail was to bring completely new digital capacity to shop owners in the new retail landscape, enabling them to leverage opportunities coming from omnichannel retailing including new products, services and the creation of new jobs.
A number of products and services were created in the process: the innovative solutions range from using augmented and virtual reality tools in the layout of stores and for promotional display, to inventory management and store management systems.
Partners such as Italian company Reply, for instance, created an app to help customers find their way around Ostermann shops (the largest furnishing company in Germany). BT Italia set up interactive pop-up stores where customers make use of "augmented" dressing rooms and have their moves tracked by sensors that deliver precious information about their shopping behaviors.
"The digital transformation has already shaped the retail sector in an irrevocable way. EIT Digital and partners have now created tools and solutions for retail chains or even smaller merchants so they can provide new level of services to their customers in a scalable and affordable manner," Digital Industry Leader at EIT Digital, Petri Liuha says.
Other outstanding examples of innovations created in the framework of the HII include WCards and OliSignage, two products launched by Italian company Olivetti, part of TIM Group. WCards is a Digital marketing platform that provides shop managers to create e-loyalty programs, e-coupons, e-scratch&win, social word-of-mouth campaigns and proximity marketing actions to monitor sales promotion, performance, analyse common customer behavioural patterns, and respond with targeted products and services. WCards is connected to OliSignage, a Digital Signage solution with Interactive functionality powered by TIM Innovation's "InStore" technology.
Finnish company Fuvvr, also part of Street Smart Retail, created virtual worlds where shopping take place in unusual and inspiring settings, such as the snowy hills of Lapland.
ThinkInside, another start-up launched by the HII created RetailerIN, an innovative in-store analytics platform, which allows to analyse customers behaviour in stores and use this knowledge to optimise store operations and increase profitability.
Spaceify, an University of Helsinki spin-off also launched by the HII, developed a disruptive technology for self check-out payments, similar to Amazon Go, allowing customers to buy in-store without the need of an additional mobile application.
"Overall, more than 50 service solutions of in-store shopping experiences for events, malls, chains and brands were sold in the last three years in Italy, Germany, Finland, Norway, UK, Holland, Luxembourg, Spain, China, Canada and US, Brazil and Chile," Street Smart Retail's activity leader Sandro Battisti says.
Clients included big brands such as Microsoft, IBM, FCA, Clear Channel, Auchan Gallerie, S-Group, Tinaba and Santander Bank.Street Smart retail team will launch a spin-off that will focus on scale-up of business solutions on top of Digital Retail Suite via in-store support of sales assistants to increase revenue and conversion rates.
