Page 30 - Demo

EVENTS EUROSHOP’S TOP PICKS Several key trends emerged at EuroShop in Dusseldorf, Germany, which is promoted as the world’s biggest retail expo, yet the emerging themes relevant for retailers the world over, particularly for those in Australia, were tech and sustainability. IBy Shop! ANZ General Manager Carla Bridge. n discussions with my Shop! prepared using a mechanical process colleagues from around the without chemicals or water, with the world during a visit to EuroShop, paper having a textured surface with it became clear that Australian an organic appearance. Major brands retailers are falling behind in tech including Milka, Bud (Budweiser) and sustainability. While retailers and brands in this market have begun to recognise the importance of green and environmental considerations, both in-store and in the operation of businesses, when compared with global peers we still have a long way to go. From energy efficient lighting solutions to in-store policies and carbon neutral options, two of the most impressive products on the EuroShop floor were specifically for use by POP displays – an industry that traditionally generates plenty of waste materials but is striving to reduce this. EcoVision Corr-A-Clip Harrison’s EcoVision Corr-A-Clips are cutting edge ecofriendly components for temporary displays made entirely from fibre instead of the traditional material of plastic. The clips are a gamechanger for the temporary display market, being both 100 per cent recyclable and compostable. The patent pending design uses a natural fibre that decomposes within 90 days and can go into the same recycling stream as the cardboard display it is attached to. In addition to this, the natural fibre is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified. Holbox grass paper Holbox is a producer of POP displays and has developed a raw board material made of grass paper. The product is constructed from 30 per cent grass and 70 per cent recycled paper. To create the paper, green grass cuttings are and Corona are using the product, as well as Holbox’s sustainability ID, a QR code printed on the side of displays that allows shoppers to view the environmental credentials of the display, including FSC certifications and cardboard and ink types used. Voice commerce Voice assistant technology hasn’t been seen in Australian retail stores in any meaningful way yet, but if predictions are anything to go by, we can expect to see an exponential increase in our stores in the next three years. Piggybacking off Amazon’s Alexa technology, companies such as those offering online software are trialling voice commerce in German supermarkets to assist shoppers with such tasks as locating products and current specials in-store, printing recipes, determining which products to pair, and the origin of items. Primarily voice commerce is best suited to discovery and selection tasks, with voice payments still a way off. By the end of 2022, voice commerce is tipped to be worth more than US$40bn ($67bn) in the US alone. Mettler Toledo Freshway T AI scale Mettler Toledo has developed a scale for weighing fresh produce that uses AI to recognise a product type, eliminating the guessing game of what fruit is what, as well as helping retailers to catch out customers trying to pass more expensive items of produce off as cheaper ones on the scale. Still in the pilot phase and not currently in use in retail stores, the self- service scale incorporates a traditional scale with AI to recognise the product and a digital screen that can also provide an opportunity for in-store promotions and cross selling. It also features an audio component throughout the process to give additional information. 28 RETAIL WORLD APR, 2020