Transport for London launches retail innovation competition

Transport for London (TfL) has launched a new innovation competition which challenges businesses to come up with a concept that ‘reimagines’ a retail space for customers who travel using the transport network every day.

TfL is one of London’s largest landowners with more than 2,000 commercial units across its estate, including around 800 commercial railway arches and meanwhile spaces, and the competition offers the winner the chance to pilot and test out their innovative concept in one of TfL’s units for a year, with a value of up to £100,000.

TfL says entries must use technology to meet the needs of TfL’s customers and ‘push the boundaries of retail.’

Rikesh Shah, Head of Commercial Innovation at TfL, said: ‘This is one of a number of new approaches to innovation we are taking in TfL to access the value and creativity from innovative companies in London.

‘Other initiatives include the pioneering London RoadLab initiative, which includes quickly developing products that could have a positive and widespread impact right across the capital’s road network, and our Open Innovation pilot with Bosch.’

TfL is currently working with StreetDots, an online street trading platform that gives small businesses the opportunity to trade at transport hubs across the capital.

It lets users use a smartphone app to choose a pitch or ‘dot’ for a few hours at a time, which they say removes the ‘hassle’ of finding a permanent unit.

The deadline for entries is midday BST on 21st June 2019. For more information visit here.

Photo credit – Pixabay.