Retail Tech: Myntra Debuts Virtual Influencer ‘Maya,’ SMCP Scales Unified Commerce

Glenn Taylor
·15 min read

The weekly Retail Tech Roundup compiles technology news across the supply chain, manufacturing, retail, e-commerce, logistics and fulfillment sectors.

Omnichannel

Shinola/Filson/NewStore

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Filson and Shinola, two American lifestyle brands owned by Bedrock Manufacturing Co., have selected mobile-first omnichannel retail cloud platform NewStore to modernize their in-store experiences. Both brands will implement the NewStore mobile point-of-sale, order management and store inventory solutions to create seamless, unified customer journeys across all touch points.

“It was an easy decision to go with NewStore after assessing various omnichannel solutions. On top of the company’s proven track record of working with game-changing retailers, the platform can be implemented at a pace that aligns with the unique needs of our brands. The company also has a strong network of technology partners, which was important to us,” said Rob Sayre, chief information officer, Bedrock Manufacturing Co., in a statement. “NewStore’s experience and expertise will be invaluable for both Filson and Shinola as we bring this project to life, and our partnership will only get stronger as we grow our portfolio of retail brands.”

Filson, known for its rugged outdoor apparel and accessories, and Shinola, which sells handcrafted watches, jewelry and leather goods, will leverage the NewStore platform’s omnichannel capabilities, including mobile checkout, endless aisle, store fulfillment, buy online pickup in-store (BOPIS), buy online return in-store (BORIS) and more.

“Our brands are committed to providing customers with the highest quality products and experiences. By rolling out NewStore at Filson and Shinola, we will dramatically improve how shoppers interact with both businesses,” added Jonathon Pop, principal architect, Bedrock Manufacturing Co., in a statement. “The partnership will streamline operations, improve inventory accuracy, and help our retailers gain valuable insights about their customers, all while offering a more unified shopping experience.”

With the NewStore platform, Filson and Shinola want their associates to provide a more personalized level of service by consolidating customer, order and inventory data into one iOS app. Store employees will be equipped with iPhones, enabling them to access real-time data, assist customers more efficiently and process transactions from anywhere on the store floor.

SMCP/Openbravo

Paris-based luxury fashion company SMCP Group, which owns Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot and Fursac, has rolled out cloud-based unified commerce platform Openbravo in nearly 200 stores in France and the Netherlands.

As the summer kicks off, that number will increase to roughly 350, with the platform being offered in countries including Ireland. All of the company’s 1,600 stores across 46 countries will eventually deploy Openbravo to manage store operations of the four group brands.

SMCP selected Openbravo to accelerate its unified commerce strategy and strengthen its shopping experience and personalized services. The new solution will help SMCP to gain centralized management and visibility of all stores and POS terminals from one single point and facilitate the deployment of new features and faster innovation sharing across brands.

“We chose Openbravo because of its modular, cloud-based technology and its broad unified commerce coverage. We are betting on a fast-growing company that offers us a true strategic partnership. With a strong focus on the future, we believe that the Openbravo solution will give us agility to innovate for our customers and achieve our business objectives,” said Marie-Caroline Bénézet, director of operations and transformation at SMCP.

With the platform, SMCP aims to support a more efficient variety of shopping scenarios and options. These include unified commerce services such as ship-from-store, more flexible management of prices and in-store operations, as well as enhanced payment options through Openbravo’s certified connector with Adyen. The new solution will help the retailer to improve visibility and management of in-store inventory during all daily and end-of-season operations.

The project will also include integration with legacy systems facilitated by Openbravo’s web-services-based API.

Lightspeed

Lightspeed Commerce has launched a series of new omnichannel features in its flagship Lightspeed Retail platform to help high gross transaction value (GTV) merchants weather today’s economy.

New features include a B2B catalog that will give retailers access to supplier inventory data to help streamline product management; a scanner app that turns iOS and Android devices into an inventory management tool, enabling stock look-up, counting and order fulfillment; and a module for customers to update pricing across multiple outlets at once so they can stay agile in response to inflation and rapidly evolving supplier pricing.

Merchants now have access to a full omnichannel marketing suite integrated with their POS and e-commerce solution to ensure their marketing efforts are driving sales, including advanced customer segmentation and more detailed ROI and campaign reporting.

The technology’s enhanced e-commerce features include improved data visibility and funnel management to help merchants increase ROI, and expanded internationalization capabilities to unlock markets across borders and omnichannel payments with a translatable storefront and custom, multi-lingual checkout fields.

Lightspeed is also adding new security and user permissions capabilities that can give owners and managers flexibility in share controls, allowing retailers to adjust permissions for different staff roles.

Finally, Lightspeed’s unified payments and POS platform can reduce complexity for retailers by streamlining support, simplifying bookkeeping and providing deeper insights through reporting. The platform offers daily visibility of cash flow reconciliation within a brand’s POS, and includes supporting hardware that can help reduce fraud and errors.

Influencer marketing

Myntra

Indian e-commerce fashion platform Myntra has debuted a virtual fashion influencer named Maya to promote its latest offerings ahead of its End of Reason Sale event starting June 1.

“Maya” is a virtual student and influencer based in Bengaluru who showcases new launches via her own Instagram account @maya_unlimited, which shares her fashion picks and artificial daily life.

Maya is already incorporated into the Studio section on the Myntra app, and can help the retailer collaborate with brands and other partners to showcase products during Myntra app live sessions.

“With her distinct fashion sense and trendsetting prowess, Maya is poised to captivate and inspire our fashion-forward shoppers like never before,” said Sunder Balasubramanian, chief marketing officer of Myntra, in a statement. “As pioneers in the space, we understand the need to marry global advancements with what’s keeping the next-gen excited, and reimagine the landscape every now and then. The launch of Maya solidifies that position further by harnessing the potential of the immersive Myntra virtual universe to engage our Gen Z shoppers more effectively, right in time for EORS-18.”

Currently, Myntra houses more 6,000 Indian and international fashion and lifestyle brands on its platform and has services over 19,000 pin codes, or zip codes, across the country.

Virtual try-on

Zyler

Zyler, a software company that provides AI-powered virtual try-on solutions for retail environments, has launched a website plugin designed to allow retailers to integrate the Zyler virtual try-on system with their websites.

The system involves copying code into a given web page, which allows customers to use virtual try-on technology by providing a headshot and basic measurement info to the system.

For activation, the retailer needs to supply images of a model wearing the garments they desire to make available for virtual try-on to Zyler, which will process the images accordingly to enable system activation.

Logistics

GXO Logistics/Bigblue

GXO Logistics has expanded its partnership with Bigblue to help the company outsource its warehouse logistics capabilities in France. Bigblue, which offers brands and online stores fulfillment services, started its partnership with GXO in Spain in a shared space facility.

According to Paul Mohan, managing director of continental Europe, GXO, both companies have significant experience in sectors including the fashion, beauty and wellness fields. GXO is using its scale, technology and expertise to optimize Bigblue’s warehouse operations.

In France, Bigblue will occupy part of a large scale GXO facility in Tigery, where the company expects to handle several million orders annually. Bigblue offers services that cover the entire value chain, from the shopping experience to after-sales service, as well as the automatic management of shipments from any sales channel (e.g., web, marketplace, traditional retail).

By partnering with GXO, Bigblue’s logistics operations will use specialized technology to effectively manage periods of peak demand, deliver a high degree of accuracy and provide customers with an optimal delivery experience.

Prime Penguin/ShipBob

Prime Penguin, the Swedish integration platform for e-commerce logistics, has entered a
collaboration with third-party logistics (3PL) provider ShipBob.

This strategic collaboration is part of Prime Penguin’s commitment to facilitate growth and international expansion for Nordic brands. The collaboration also is geared to benefit the other way around, so that global e-commerce businesses can increase their presence for consumers in the Nordics, where Prime Penguin integrates with a large network of established logistics companies.

Prime Penguin is an integration platform specifically designed to streamline logistics management for e-commerce companies. With a wide range of pre-built integrations for over 40 systems and an open ecosystem of partners, the company aims to help e-commerce businesses adjust their tech stack and warehouses to align with changing business and market conditions, avoiding being stuck with expensive processes.

Shipstation/FedEx

ShipStation, a cloud-based e-commerce shipping solution, has announced that Canadian small business merchants can now benefit from a new alliance agreement with FedEx, with the company’s shipping services now available through ShipStation Carrier.

This new offering allows small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) e-commerce businesses in Canada to access FedEx shipping services via ShipStation.

The integration includes discounted rates across multiple FedEx services, including those most used by small businesses.

ShipStation’s integration with FedEx enables improved order fulfillment and tracking, in an effort to make it easier for businesses to manage their shipping processes. The platform also offers features like batch label printing, branded tracking, and customizable packing slips to streamline shipping processes even further.

The multi-channel and multi-carrier platform offers a multitude of integrations, with more than 300 partnerships with shopping carts, marketplaces, carriers and fulfillment services, including USPS, UPS, FedEx, Amazon, Shopify and BigCommerce.

Infoplus Commerce/EHub

Logistics and supply chain software providers Infoplus Commerce and EHub have teamed up to offer a comprehensive solution for help companies enhance their warehousing capabilities. The partnership is designed to provide customers with access competitive shipping rates, while offering a robust warehouse management software (WMS).

The integration between the two systems will allow customers to manage their inventory, orders and shipping from a single platform, with real-time updates and tracking information. With access to more competitive shipping rates, customers are able to save on shipping costs and increase their margins. Customers can also benefit from the wealth of data available through the combined system, enabling them to make informed decisions about their operations and supply chain management.

Infoplus Commerce is a provider of cloud-based WMS designed to streamline the entire order fulfillment process, from inventory management to shipping and returns. The WMS offers omni-order management and cutting-edge automation capabilities, as well as established integrations and customization.

EHub connects shippers with carriers, shopping carts and marketplaces to provide flexibility and competitive advantage through a dynamic API. The EHub solutions aim to provide businesses with cost savings and new revenue through competitive rates, responsive customer services, pre-negotiated shipping contracts and the company’s EHub Network.

Delivery

OneRail/Quadient

OneRail, a provider of last-mile omnichannel fulfillment solutions, has partnered with global parcel locker operator Quadient to enable brands to offer smart lockers as part of their delivery experiences.

Integrated with OneRail’s Omnipoint platform, the Parcel Pending by Quadient smart locker system can be incorporated into the existing order fulfillment process of retailers, enabling them to offer more efficient and reliable delivery options to their customers. The collaboration also can provide greater flexibility for delivery drivers to pick up products, all while maintaining the visual integrity of the retail location.

From an operational standpoint, the integrated solution enables drivers to scan a code with their smartphone to pick up products from a locker 24/7, bypassing the traditional and cumbersome process of business hour constraints, waiting on the retailer or wholesaler to locate and stage orders, or wait in a line behind other customers or drivers.

The integrated solution will result in reduced operating expenses for shippers and greater velocity for fleets. This new partnership also benefits retailers and wholesalers by freeing up time for associates to perform other tasks such as helping customers in the store, or other vital warehouse operations.

For Quadient, the partnership will also expand the availability and accessibility of its parcel locker service to some of the largest U.S. brands across major industries, with the added convenience of offering efficient data exchange, order management, and tracking between the different systems.

Conversational commerce

Zendesk

Customer service software Zendesk unveiled Conversational Commerce, a solution designed to connect brands with shoppers throughout their digital customer experience (CX) journey in order to provide direct support, marketing, and sales all from within a conversation.

The new Conversational Commerce capabilities equip companies with service personalization, so that agents can action abandoned carts, support active carts, inform customers on nearby stock to complete purchases and share feature promotions in the moment to create stellar personalized experiences.

Using the technology, agents can potentially identify new revenue opportunities by understanding a shopper’s complete purchase history, merchandise preferences and browsing journey—all of which can drive new options through product recommendations for cross-sell and upsell.

Businesses can use AI to automate conversions and recommendations supported by over 1,400 pre-built apps and integrations designed to unify SKU, inventory and location data for product tracking. Additionally, they can connect disparate systems for a 360-degree view of the customer.

Zendesk is deepening its partnerships with Meta’s WhatsApp and Shopify to further enhance businesses’ CX strategies and empower them to create a better shopping journey for their customers.

The combination of Zendesk and Meta’s WhatsApp will give businesses the ability to communicate with customers and offer a buying experience without ever having to leave the conversation.

When used in unison, Zendesk’s Conversational Commerce and Shopify’s e-commerce platform can allow agents to incorporate product catalogs, checkout processes and promotions into their CX management approaches.

The launch came as the customer relationship management (CRM) technology provider unveiled it cut 8 percent of its workforce, or approximately 320 employees, citing the lack of improvement in current macroeconomic conditions.

Payments

Radial

E-commerce fulfillment solutions provider Radial, Inc., has unveiled its newly rebranded Radial Payment Solutions, a suite of products designed to transform payment processing, tax compliance and fraud prevention for businesses.

With Radial’s fully managed solutions, e-commerce retailers can optimize payment and fraud management operations, eliminate false declines, handle tax compliance and protect themselves against chargeback fraud.

“Radial is an excellent partner in their payment, tax and fraud offerings. Using their solutions, we have substantially grown revenue. Also, we have avoided a large amount of cost through their best-in-class fraud protection,” said Bill Quinn, senior vice president, marketing and digital of Hibbett Sports.

Radial Payment Solutions offers a range of features and benefits designed to meet the diverse needs of e-commerce brands and retailers. By accepting payments across the e-commerce ecosystem, reducing operating costs, increasing conversions and providing preferred payment options, Radial wants to enable brands and retailers to enhance their customer experience while accurately collecting taxes and preventing fraud.

With a track record of processing over $4.9 billion in payments and boasting a 98.9 percent fraud approval rate, Radial says that its optimized payments system can instill confidence in e-commerce brands and retailers. The Radial Fraud Zero service, a fully outsourced fraud management solution, collaborates with existing payment providers to eliminate fraud risks. Brands and retailers can also protect their operations and customers with Radial Fraud Insights, which provides risk-level ratings for every order.

Additionally, Radial serves as a partner for enhanced tax compliance, with software capable of simplifying regulatory requirements through tailored rules, worldwide tax rate management and customized tax reports.

Magic

Magic, a crypto “wallet-as-a-service (WaaS)” provider, has raised $52 million in a strategic funding round led by PayPal Ventures, with participation from Cherubic, Synchrony, KX, Northzone and Volt Capital. The new round brings the total raised to more than $80 million.

The tool offers a white label version of its crypto wallet, allowing corporate clients to provide wallets to customers who may be unfamiliar with the complexities of Web3—a term often used to describe decentralized applications on the Internet, usually tied to concepts like the metaverse and the blockchain.

Magic wants to enable Web3 mass adoption among businesses, with sights set on serving as the de facto WaaS provider for companies that are searching for safer and easier ways to bring their customers over to web3. Magic provides an enterprise grade solution to Web3 migration that can help brands potentially open up lucrative new avenues from customer loyalty programs and digital collectibles to employee recognition, ticketing, memberships and more.

Magic’s customers stretch across retail, music, fashion and gaming, with its biggest name brands including Macy’s and Mattel. Macy’s has leveraged Magic by incorporating the firm’s crypto wallets into digital Thanksgiving Day parade activities.

With this new funding, the company is focused on expanding use cases, and making deeper integrations within the E.U. and Asia Pacific.

Magic is built to provide more secure and near-instant non-custodial wallet creation. Once Magic’s software development kits (SDK) is implemented in a vendor’s code base, wallets can be instantaneously user-created through existing email, social or SMS logins. In using these logins, the technology is designed to remove the need for seed phrases and browser extensions, which can often convolute the process of creating a crypto wallet for beginners.

The firm’s patented technology allows for unparalleled scalability and provides users with complete control over their assets. While many crypto wallet providers may require login via mobile, Magic is accessible from any user device, whether it be the phone, desktop or tablet.

To date, Magic has generated more than 20 million unique wallets and its SDK is used by over 130,000 developers. Magic’s scalability produces upwards of 2,000 wallets per second.

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