Retail Tech: Amazon Expands ‘Pay With Your Palm’, Poshmark Debuts Visual Search

Glenn Taylor
·14 min read

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

In-store checkout

Amazon/Whole Foods

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Amazon is bringing its Amazon One palm recognition service to all 500+ Whole Foods Market stores in the U.S. by the end of the year, the e-commerce giant revealed in a blog post.

It already offers Amazon One in more than 400 sporting venues, airport stores and quick service restaurant locations. Developed by Amazon Web Services, the palm recognition service can be used for identification, payment, Prime loyalty benefits and entry to stores, and has been used more than 3 million times.

Whole Foods Market customers use the system hover their palm over an Amazon One device. For Prime members who link their Amazon One profile with their Amazon account, savings will automatically be applied.

Amazon One is currently available at more than 200 Whole Foods Market stores in the U.S.

First-time Amazon One users can pre-enroll online with their credit or debit card, Amazon account, and mobile number, and the process takes roughly a minute. They can then complete the enrollment process in seconds by scanning their palm over an Amazon One device the next time they visit a participating Whole Foods Market store—or anywhere Amazon One is available.

Once enrolled, Amazon Prime members will automatically see savings and other Prime member benefits applied to their Whole Foods Market store purchases. Alternatively, customers can also enroll for Amazon One in the store using one of the devices with their credit card and phone number.

“We are always looking for new ways to delight our customers and improve the shopping experience,” said Leandro Balbinot, chief technology officer at Whole Foods Market in a statement. “Since we’ve introduced Amazon One at Whole Foods Market stores over the past two years, we’ve seen that customers love the convenience it provides, and we’re excited to bring Amazon One to all of our customers across the U.S.”

Amazon One uses multiple characteristics of a palm to identify each person who uses the service. Cameras in the hardware capture surface-area details like lines and ridges, as well as subcutaneous features such as vein patterns. No two palms are alike, so Amazon analyzes multiple attributes and select the most distinct identifiers to create a unique palm signature.

Amazon One can helps businesses speed up their identification and payment processes, enable customers to more easily link to and access their loyalty programs, verify age and provide secure access to sports and entertainment venues, office buildings, and more.

The technology has partnerships with American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa and major banks across the U.S., enabling cardholders to use Amazon One and gain potential benefits.

Unlike a credit card or password, an Amazon One palm signature can’t be replicated to impersonate a customer. That’s because Amazon One does not use raw palm images to identify a person. Instead, it looks at both the palm and underlying vein structure to create a unique numerical, vector representation—called a “palm signature”—for identity matching.

Customer palm data is protected in the AWS Cloud. AWS is backed by more than 300 cloud security tools and 100,000 security partners from around the world. In addition, Amazon One is protected by multiple security controls and has tamper-detection capabilities that will render the device unusable if meddled with, Amazon says.

Visual search

Poshmark

Poshmark, a peer-to-peer fashion resale marketplace, has unveiled a Posh Lens, a new feature that lets shoppers search for secondhand styles with just a photo.

Posh Lens is designed to make it easier to discover styles, offering a more simple and quicker way to source secondhand fashion and recreate looks from influencers, boutiques or fashionable friends.

App users tap the Posh Lens icon in the search bar from either the main feed or the Shop tab or navigate to Posh Lens via the Sell tab.

From there, users can take or upload a photo from their phone to find a similar item without needing to describe or know the exact name of the product, brand or style. Poshmark recommends using an image that is clear, centered inside the frame and taken against a simple background.

From there, Poshmark will offer search results similar to the photo, enabling users to browse search results to shop available listings.

Posh Lens is currently available for some of the most popular categories on Poshmark, including women’s and men’s apparel, shoes and bags, populating results that match or closely match the searched image.

For shoppers, Posh Lens aims to bring the real-world aspects of shopping online, allowing them to find fashion that catches their eye, and discover new closets and styles, while benefiting from resale’s lower price point. For sellers, Posh Lens can make it easier for their listings to be surfaced with interested buyers and helps drive traffic to their closets.

Posh Lens leverages visual search technology and AI-based capabilities developed by parent company Naver, South Korea’s largest internet company. The first feature developed since Poshmark’s union with Naver in January 2023, Posh Lens brings smart lens image recognition and image-based search to Poshmark’s marketplace for the first time. Together, the companies are focused on becoming the global leader in online fashion resale, collaborating on features that create a more seamless online resale experience and encourage participation in the circular economy.

“The launch of Posh Lens is just the beginning of how we are working with Naver to deliver new innovation to the Poshmark community,” said Manish Chandra, founder and CEO of Poshmark. “Our sellers have curated an extensive and unique catalog of merchandise, and Posh Lens offers shoppers the ability to turn their inspiration into reality and track down special pieces with a single photo. We’re also thrilled to bring Posh Lens to our community on the heels of introducing live shopping through Posh Shows – these innovations are giving consumers exciting new ways to search, shop and find style inspiration on Poshmark.”

Demand planning

O9 Solutions

O9 Solutions, an enterprise AI software platform provider for transforming supply chain planning and demand forecasting for global enterprises, raised $116 million for a $3.7 billion valuation.

General Atlantic’s BeyondNetZero, the inaugural companion fund for the growth equity firm’s climate investing efforts, led the round, with other participants including additional existing investors KKR and Generation Investment Management.

The investment follows a period in which o9 saw 55 percent year-over-year growth in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in the company’s fiscal second quarter. This is on top of a reported 67 percent year-over-year ARR growth in the first quarter and 65 percent growth in the metric throughout 2022.

The capital will be used to expand AI capabilities for o9’s growing retail customers base, which includes Levi’s, New Balance, URBN, Estée Lauder, Walmart Canada and more.

The company, founded in 2009 by Chakri Gottemukkala and Sanjiv Sidhu, launched its cloud-based software in 2014 and experienced notable growth during the Covid-19 pandemic, as supply chain management software was in high demand amid accelerated e-commerce spending.

It plans to invest most of the $116 million into its AI-powered business platform called the Digital Brain, which uses a live digital model of a company’s extended operations to predict demand and balance it with supply. The money also will be used to expand the company’s presence in Europe, Japan, New Zealand and in newer regions like Brazil.

In conjunction with the transaction, o9 also announced that General Atlantic operating partner and business executive Gary Reiner has joined the company’s board of directors.

Returns

Geodis/Happy Returns

Geodis, a global transport, logistics and supply chain management company, has integrated Geodis eLogistics, its digitally centered e-Commerce distribution and fulfillment solution, and Happy Returns, the PayPal-owned returns software and reverse logistics company.

Now Geodis eLogistics retailers have additional ways to enable a more seamless post-purchase returns process that can enhance the overall customer experience.

Happy Returns provides end-to-end returns solutions for online merchants through a combination of returns software and reverse logistics. With Happy Returns, shoppers can initiate returns and exchanges and drop off box-free, label-free returns using its network of nearly 9,000 Return Bar locations nationwide.

Merchants using Happy Returns can provide returns experiences that encourage shoppers to make exchanges and complete new orders during the returns process, which has helped enable brands to retain up to 50 percent of revenue, the company says.

Geodis eLogistics has joined Happy Returns’ Preferred Partner Program as its inaugural Elite member. The custom integration provides Geodis eLogistics retailers with visibility into the journey of each return, including status updates on Return Bar returns as they are dropped off, consolidated at a Happy Returns Hub and then shipped back to the merchant. Because return shipments are aggregated with Happy Returns, Geodis eLogistics customers can efficiently track return shipments and streamline processing once the shipments are received.

The benefits of this strategic relationship provide Geodis eLogistics customers with a more intelligent returns experience designed to deliver greater visibility throughout the return journey. Additionally, Happy Returns aligns with Geodis’ customer service goals by initiating immediate refunds to shoppers. The returns company also links up with Geodis’ sustainability goals by offering box-free, label-free returns that are then aggregated and shipped from the Return Bar in reusable totes to reduce cardboard waste compared to traditional mail returns.

Leveraging its 80-year history with large, enterprise brands, Geodis introduced its eLogistics solution in late 2021 to cater to small and medium-sized businesses and enterprise brands alike that may require a faster, more nimble e-Commerce fulfillment solution to support their needs. With four strategic nodes in Nashville; Indiana; California; and New Jersey, Geodis says its eLogistics business provides two-day shipping to 91 percent of the U.S. mainland population. The Geodis eLogistics facilities complement the company’s more than 230 sites across the U.S. alone.

Coolibar/ReverseLogix

Coolibar, a seller of sun protective apparel and accessories, has tapped the ReverseLogix Returns Management System (RMS) to improve returns management processes and customer service.

Previously reliant on manual, time-consuming processes and tasks, Coolibar wanted a solution to streamline and improve returns. It chose ReverseLogix to manage its more than 100,000 annual returns.

Today, Coolibar customers have a more intuitive online returns portal from which they can begin a product return, while the warehouse has gained visibility into inbound items. Once received, Coolibar employees are processing returns 50 percent faster than before due to ReverseLogix’s optimized user interface and customized workflows. The RMS’ comprehensive tracking and analytics unlocks returns trends, pinpoints inefficiencies, and helps Coolibar address issues proactively for maximum service and speed.

“To keep pace with our growth and meet customers’ needs, we knew our returns operations had to go to the next level,” said Greg Morrison, IT project manager at Coolibar, in a statement. “We can now offer a returns experience that reflects the level of service and ease that our customers expect from us. Our employees are happier because they can do their jobs more quickly and easily. It’s a win-win, and ReverseLogix has been a terrific partner for us every step of the way.”

PLM

Rino Sports/Centric

Sneaker manufacturer Rino Sports has selected Centric Software’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution.

Founded in 1989, Rino Sports is located in the shoe manufacturing region of Putian, China. Rino Sports provides professional services and high-quality products for many international and domestic brands, such as Anta. Rino Sports produces 10 million pairs of shoes annually, with an output value of more than 1 billion yuan ($139 million).

This year, Rino Sports plans to officially launch “intelligent” production lines and promote the digital transformation of the footwear industry with the help of Centric Software.

The PLM software provider offers enterprise solutions built to plan, design, develop, source, price and sell products such as apparel, footwear, luxury, sporting goods, furniture, home décor, consumer electronics, cosmetics, and food and beverage to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.

Rino Sports is implementing Centric PLM to achieve R&D digitalization. The entire R&D process is currently based on manual data entry, resulting in long meeting times, inefficient report production, difficulties in tracking product development, a lack of multi-dimensional costing analysis and challenges related to sharing and acquiring data between teams.

“The main business process of Rino’s entire R&D center will be upgraded. Centric PLM will take the lead in building a unified information and digital platform,” said Wang Lu, director of Rino Sports Industry Rino Academy. “It will enable us to connect with flexible digital factories, closely follow the market and respond quickly, achieve cost reductions, increase efficiency and use big data to support decision-making, truly realizing ‘Rino Intelligent Manufacturing’.”

Rino Sports selected Centric Software due to its deep apparel and footwear industry expertise, as well as the features and flexibility of Centric PLM. Teams from Centric and Rino will collaborate closely to fully understand Rino’s business needs and future vision and ensure the smooth implementation of the PLM project.

“Since 2018, Rino has gradually upgraded ways of working using digital systems. The PLM project is another important advance in innovation at Rino, reflecting the forward-thinking spirit of our teams,” said Lin Jinyang, chairman of Rino Sports. “We hope that all employees can devote themselves to the implementation process.”

RFID

Impinj

Impinj, an RFID and Internet of Things (IoT) technology provider, has released the Impinj M800 series of RAIN RFID tag chips, which are designed to meet enterprise needs for item connectivity in global IoT deployments.

The new M800 series delivers readability in enterprise deployments and can offer enhanced tag reliability and manufacturability. The new chips are designed to demonstrate Impinj’s commitment to increase the speed, distance and reliability at which a RAIN RFID system can discover, engage and protect connected items.

Impinj’s M800 series tag chips’ low power consumption and unmatched readability allow businesses to use a single, small tag across a broad range of items—apparel, shoes, home goods and other general merchandise—within their global operations. The chips can improve the performance of RAIN RFID deployments, whether they occur in retail, the supply chain or logistics.

Comprised of the M830 and M850 tag chips, the series is designed to improve features of the Impinj M700 series such as improving tag readability and enhancing tag reliability and manufacturability. With 30 percent lower power consumption, wider tuning range and tighter radio-frequency stability, the Impinj M800 series enables reliable reading of small tags at higher volume and speed. The chips’ new shape and antenna connections were designed to improve tag quality, deployability and performance.

The chips also include Impinj Protected Mode to protect consumer privacy while improving retail self-checkout and loss prevention.

Impinj’s platform comprises RAIN RFID tag chips, reader chips, readers, cloud services and a global partner ecosystem. The company has shipped more than 85 billion tag chips.

Logistics

Osa Commerce

Osa Commerce, a supply chain technology provider for brands, retailers, and third and fourth-party logistics (3PLs and 4PLs) partners, has entered two new strategic partnerships with e-commerce platform Acenda and automated fulfillment integrator Techdinamics.

Osa Commerce provides a comprehensive suite of e-commerce solutions, including inventory management, order fulfillment, marketing automation and customer engagement. Ascenda’s e-commerce platform can help businesses manage their product catalogs, process orders, integrate with various sales channels and leverage advanced analytics to gain valuable insights into their performance. With this partnership, Osa Commerce and Acenda aim to help customers streamline operations, optimize efficiency, maximize profitability and improve supply chain visibility.

This collaboration combines Osa Commerce’s advanced orchestration and execution capabilities and Acenda’s deep expertise in curated demand channel connectivity to create a single source of truth, support and hub for coordination that Osa’s customers need.

Osa is partnering with Techdinamics to better empower brands, retailers and 3PLs in executing their digital innovation strategies.

The companies cited data from the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) in saying that two- to three-day delivery is the baseline expectation for more than 90 percent of consumers, with 30 percent expecting same-day delivery. As businesses grapple with increased demands from consumers, they need better supply chain visibility.

This collaboration leverages Osa’s Unified Commerce Collaborative Visibility Platform alongside innovative integration and fulfillment technology solutions for greater order visibility. Osa Commerce’s ecosystem approach, combined with last-mile delivery and shipment analytics, will drive operational optimization, cost savings and revenue growth through a collaborative ecosystem model, harnessing the collective potential of people, process and platform.

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