Flatpack furniture giant Ikea is deploying the Vusion IoT cloud platform and digital shelf labels in a first wave of 110 stores across six European countries.

French firm SES-Imagotag has entered an agreement with the Swedish furniture retailer to deploy its Vusion IoT cloud platform and smart electronic shelf labels. The first tranche of this contract spans more than 110 stores in six countries.

This roll-out builds on the successful partnership between the two companies over the past years. The technology developed by SES-Imagotag will play a key role in the digitalisation of the retailers’ stores, enabling a faster digital transformation towards a better shopper experience in store and a more sustainable business model putting stores at the heart of its ecommerce strategy, notably with plans to deliver most online orders out of physical stores.

To achieve this, both companies have collaborated to develop a method that fits the global retailer’s specific hardware and software needs.

The Vusion platform will let the retailer connect with shoppers at the shelf and provide them with in-store digital services to enhance their experience and improve overall satisfaction. Shop assistants will save time in stores as a result of process automation and be able to refocus on higher-value-added tasks.

It should also improve the productivity of in-store fulfilment of online orders. Moreover, the roll-out will be accelerated thanks to the seamless integration of Vusion with the existing in-store wireless infrastructure managed by Aruba, resulting in lower investments and operating costs as well as a reduced carbon footprint.

“This partnership is a clear demonstration of our strategy creating momentum in the market,” said Sébastien Fourcy, senior executive vice president at SES-Imagotag. “Retailers everywhere need to ensure a seamless transformation of their physical stores into high-value digital assets, while becoming more automated, data-driven and connected in real time to suppliers and consumers. Our Vusion platform enables them to do that, and we are proud to collaborate with such a global, prestigious retailer on their omnichannel and sustainability strategy. We have built a very close partnership with them, and this win clearly recognises our unique assets and expertise, as well as the value provided by our innovative portfolio. We are excited to increase our market penetration in the homeware retail segment, while also strengthening our leadership in Europe.”