Amazon Breaks Speed Limit
Amazon announced that its UK Prime service delivered over 1.6 billion items same‑day or next‑day in 2025, the fastest pace in its history. The milestone reflects a 22% increase over 2024 and underscores the company’s expanded fulfillment footprint across the country. Amazon attributes the acceleration to advanced AI‑driven routing, additional micro‑fulfillment centers, and a larger pool of gig‑partner couriers. The surge places pressure on rivals to match delivery expectations.
Toshiba Global Commerce Announces Retail IT Partner
Toshiba Global Commerce has awarded Smart CT a contract to deliver IT maintenance and support for 32 major UK high‑street retailers. The partnership covers hardware, software, and network services across the retailers' point‑of‑sale and back‑office systems. Smart CT will manage...
The Vitamin Shoppe Adds AI Advisor
The Vitamin Shoppe launched its first Innovation Store featuring an AI‑powered advisor that guides shoppers through supplement selection. The digital assistant draws on a proprietary knowledge base and real‑time inventory data to deliver personalized recommendations. Integrated with the retailer’s loyalty...
Gumtree Secures Onboarding for Growth
Gumtree announced a strategic onboarding partnership aimed at accelerating its entry into the home‑services market. The collaboration introduces automated verification, streamlined listing creation, and promotional placement tools for service providers. Gumtree projects a 30% increase in home‑services listings within the...
Shoppers Still Wary of AI Agents
Adoption of AI-powered shopping assistants is accelerating, yet most consumers remain hesitant to let these agents complete purchases autonomously. Recent surveys show that trust gaps center on payment handling, with many shoppers fearing fraud or loss of control. The friction...
McCabes Goes Digital
Ireland’s leading pharmacy chain McCabes announced a transformative digitisation programme that has streamlined operations across its 150 stores. The initiative automated inventory tracking, prescription processing and workforce scheduling, delivering thousands of staff‑hour savings. It also secured more than €100,000 of...
PODCAST: What to Look Out for in 2026!
In a recent podcast, analyst Miya Knights outlines the retail technology landscape poised for 2026. She highlights AI‑powered personalization, edge computing for instant inventory visibility, and immersive AR/VR shopping as key drivers. Knights also stresses the growing importance of sustainable...
Subdued Goes Bold with Global Expansion
Italian fashion brand Subdued is teaming up with its tech partner for international expansion
Amazon Upgrades RFID Lanes
Amazon announced a next‑generation RFID lane system that is fully portable and can be installed in a matter of hours rather than weeks. The new lanes retain the high‑accuracy scanning capabilities of earlier models while shedding the need for permanent...
Coach Arrives at The Sims
Luxury fashion brand Coach announced a partnership with Electronic Arts’ The Sims franchise, introducing a line of virtual clothing, accessories, and home décor for players. The collection will be available for purchase through The Sims’ in‑game store, marking Coach’s first...
NRF 2026: Innovations Showcase
At NRF 2026 in New York, a wave of retail startups announced they are building next‑generation AI commerce platforms. The firms highlighted advanced machine‑learning models for personalization, inventory optimization, and automated checkout. Miya Knights of Retail Technology Publisher noted that...
JD Sports Embraces AI Shopping
JD Sports Fashion plc announced that its online and mobile channels will now incorporate AI‑driven search and purchase capabilities for footwear, apparel and accessories. The generative‑AI tool interprets natural‑language queries and instantly surfaces product recommendations, aiming to streamline the shopper...
NRF 2026: AI Development Gets Practical
At NRF 2026, technology vendors emphasized moving AI from hype to practical applications in retail back‑office functions and store operations. They argue that AI’s potential—automated inventory management, demand forecasting, and labor scheduling—can only be realized if retailers first modernize their...
NRF 2026: LVMH Puts "Quiet Tech" To Work
At NRF 2026, LVMH unveiled a "quiet tech" strategy that embeds digital tools into its luxury ecosystem without eclipsing the brand’s artisanal heritage. The approach leverages AI, RFID, and augmented‑reality to streamline inventory, enhance traceability, and enrich the client experience....
Coat Paints Adds AI Feature
Paint brand Coat Paints has unveiled a new AI-powered colour visualiser
Walmart Adds AI Leader to Board
Walmart announced the appointment of Shishir Mehrotra, the chief executive of AI‑focused productivity suite Superhuman, to its board of directors. The move underscores Walmart's intent to embed advanced artificial‑intelligence capabilities across its retail operations. Mehrotra brings deep expertise in generative...
NRF 2026: Retail's Big Show Puts Agentic AI Centre Stage
The NRF 2026 Retail’s Big Show highlighted agentic AI as the year’s headline technology, with major retailers and solution providers unveiling tools that can autonomously make decisions on pricing, inventory and customer engagement. Demonstrations ranged from AI‑driven demand forecasting engines...
United Supermarkets Brings Back Interactive Loyalty
United Supermarkets, together with TCC Global, has relaunched its interactive "28-Day Challenge" loyalty campaign across the United, Albertsons Market, Market Street and Amigos banners. The program delivers weekly shopping challenges, digital coupons and personalized rewards through a mobile interface. TCC...
e.l.f Beauty Launches Roblox Game
Cosmetics brand e.l.f Beauty has launched a new makeup game Glow Up! On Roblox
UK Retail Innovation Council Reveals 2026 Agenda
The UK Retail Innovation Council has unveiled its 2026 agenda, outlining the strategic priorities its Executive Committee will tackle in early 2026. The roadmap emphasizes AI‑driven personalization, sustainable sourcing, and deeper omnichannel integration. It also flags supply‑chain resilience, real‑time data...
2025 Holiday Shopping Went AI
The Liveops 2025 Holiday AI & Customer Service Report shows the U.S. holiday season became the first fully AI‑driven shopping period. AI chatbots answered roughly 40% of consumer queries, while voice assistants processed 15% of purchases. Personalized AI recommendation engines...
Fyffes Campaign Goes Bananas
Banana distributor Fyffes announced that its newly launched consumer brand, Trudi’s, has delivered strong market performance following a coordinated video advertising and digital signage campaign. The initiative drove a double‑digit increase in sales and lifted brand awareness across key retail...
Zales Sparkles with New Store Concept
US jewellery retailer Zales has launched a new next-gen store concept – The Edit
Currys Upgrades Payment Tech
UK retailer Currys announced a partnership with payment processor Stripe to overhaul its checkout infrastructure. The integration will replace legacy systems with Stripe's unified payments platform, enabling faster, more secure transactions across online and in‑store channels. Currys expects the upgrade...
Walmart Expands Drone Delivery
Walmart has expanded its use of drone delivery in the US with tech partner Wing
Walmart Switches to Nasdaq
After decades on the NYSE, retail behemoth Walmart has debuted on the Nasdaq stock market