Robots in Luxembourg and future stores in London: running you through this week's coolest retail technology plays

RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his top ‘future of retail’ systems launches and deployments from the past week, including Auchan Luxembourg, Exotec, Hudson Nonstop, Amazon, Ocean Outdoor, adidas, Tahina, AiFi, Walmart, One Stop and Snappy Shopper.

Tahina

Tahina has released the final designs for its autonomous food store which is set to launch in London during Q2 2025.

“Our dishes have been developed by an executive chef with a wealth of experience acquired through fine dining European establishments to the top premium casual British groups. Unlike a lot of ‘fast’ food, Tahina uses quality ingredients to create grab and go food that’s truly delicious,” says Emilio Malik, one of the founders of Tahina who is also behind the West End restaurant Lazeez Lebanese Tapas, which has been a fixture of Mayfair’s Duke Street for 16 years.

The flagship store will be fully autonomous via a range of technology, including AI, intelligent weight shelves, motion detector sensors and cloud computing.

“The world is changing rapidly and we’ve crafted Tahina around these new ways of living,” says Malik. “Our store is tech driven, using the latest developments in autonomous retail and AI to provide a seamless and simple experience for our customers.”

He adds that, due to the ‘plug and play’ nature of the store, the concept can easily be rolled out across multiple sites.

Auchan Luxembourg

Auchan Retail Luxembourg has become the first retailer in Luxembourg to use Exotec's Skypod system, with deployment in its Dudelange warehouse.

At Auchan’s site, Exotec has installed 37 robots in the facility to automate order processing, with the aim of making the workload of warehouse employees lighter and more pleasant.

The installation consists of metres high racks in which the Skypod robots autonomously manoeuvre in all directions to extract products from 15,300 bins. They then take these to one of three picking stations, where the order is completed.

Rémy Malchirand, EVP Sales Western Europe, at Exotec says: “By automating warehouse activities, Auchan has significantly increased the quality and reliability of the order picking process, saving employees from a lot of walking and lifting and significantly improving working conditions.”

“This is fully in line with our human first philosophy, in which we constantly make efforts to make work in the warehouse as comfortable and safe as possible.”

Hudson Nonstop and Amazon

A new Hudson Nonstop store, powered by Amazon's Just Walk Out technology, is now open in terminal four at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Travellers can enter the 803 square-foot store by using their credit card, mobile wallet, or their palm, via Amazon One. The store has a selection of snacks and beverages, travel essentials, tech needs, local treats, magazines, and more.

AiFi

Spatial intelligence and autonomous solutions specialist, AiFi, has announced its growth in the stadium sector, serving customers with frictionless checkout in 20 sports stadiums.

One month into the 2024/2025 NFL season, ticket sales are already 38% higher than last season’s start, according to data from StubHub’s 2024 NFL Season Preview. With larger crowds packing into stadiums, the common pain point of long wait times for concessions and merchandise will only exacerbate, taking more game watching time away from fans.

AiFi’s frictionless checkout solution aims to reduce long lines and get fans quickly back in their seats. With checkout-free options in seven NFL stadiums and 13 total stores within these stadiums, the shopping experience for a quick bite or drink is smoother and faster. 

The company is also growing and evolving into new sectors. It is deploying new applications of its camera led spatial intelligence platform, which tracks people and objects through space to unlock data and insights for businesses and operations including autonomous checkout, safety and compliance, consumer behaviour analysis, dwell time reports, and out of stock notifications.

One Stop and Snappy Shopper

Snappy Shopper, a UK-based convenience quick commerce marketplace, has announced the launch of 250 stores nationwide with One Stop.  

Over 250 One Stop locations across England and Wales are now available on the Snappy Shopper platform. 

Mike Callachan, CEO at Snappy Shopper, says: "We are incredibly excited to join forces with One Stop. Our mission has always been to provide exceptional convenience and value to our customers and this collaboration enables us to expand our reach and offer even more choices to communities across England and Wales. Together, we are setting a new standard for quick commerce in the retail industry." 

Walmart

Walmart is integrating prescription medications and general merchandise into one single order for delivery across the US.   

The new offering is now live in six states: Arkansas, Missouri, New York, Nevada, South Carolina and Wisconsin. By the end of January 2025, Walmart's Pharmacy Delivery is expected to be available in 49 states, reaching tens of millions of customers. It is available for both new prescriptions along with medication refills.  

"Our extensive footprint across the nation combined with our deep expertise in pharmacy uniquely positions us to make a profound impact in the communities we serve," says Kevin Host, Senior Vice President of Pharmacy at Walmart U.S.

“We understand that health care is not a one size fits all solution. It’s hyper-local. Each community has unique needs. This new offering allows us to continue serving customers while also giving more time back to our pharmacies for high touch health services.”  

Amazon

A number of NBA arenas are solving the issue of long lines at concessions with Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, with eight new checkout-free stores powered by the solution opening at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (home of the Indiana Pacers), Spectrum Center (home of the Charlotte Hornets), Scotiabank Arena (home of the Toronto Raptors), Crypto.com Arena (home of the LA Lakers), and Paycom Center (home of the Oklahoma City Thunder).

These will leverage Just Walk Out’s new multi-modal AI foundation model, which keeps track of the items customers take or return to shelves. To shop, customers tap a credit card or mobile wallet to open the gates, take what they want, and exit the store.

With these new openings, Just Walk Out technology now powers more than 100 stores in sports stadiums across the US, UK, Australia, and Canada.

Ocean Outdoor and adidas

Ocean Outdoor has launched The Screen on Carnaby.

Measuring 6m x 3m, this landscape screen (provided by Daktronics) is positioned above The London Palladium Wall of Fame which is opposite the north entrance to Soho’s Carnaby Street and the luxury retailer Liberty.

The Carnaby location forms a “golden triangle” for brands when combined with Ocean’s large format screen in the heart of Soho’s Leicester Square and Piccadilly Lights in Piccadilly Circus.

It launches with Carnaby resident adidas featuring the FW24 Originals campaign. Planned through EssenceMediacom, this runs until 31st October.

Ocean Outdoor Chief Revenue Officer Nick Shaw says: “The timing couldn’t be better to be launching a new screen in the heart of London’s premium retail. The fight for the consumer pound will be fierce this Christmas, so a platform for brands capturing audiences in Soho, Regent Street and Oxford Circus is going to be a great addition for advertiser choice.”

Future Stores

A new retail store opens its doors on Oxford Street this week, ahead of its official launch on 30th October, with those behind it promising a new era that blends the latest technology powered by Intel, bricks and mortar as well as state of the art graphics.

Future Stores is laying claim to a £20 million investment in a personalised experience that, according to a press release, is “as fluid as a social media feed, featuring a rotating lineup of brand ‘showcases’ or ‘activations’ that will change every two to six weeks”.

Intel is the first brand to take on the space, and will host an interactive, immersive and technology fuelled activation. Consumers can get hands on with the firm’s newly launched AI PCs and play games live in-store from 30th October.

Upon entering the two floor space, that spans an entire Oxford Street block, shoppers are met with 400m² of high definition Micro LED displays, monumental billboards, and cameras. Here, consumers connect with brands through live demos, tutorials, and showcases led by influencers and creators.

This experience is also complemented by insight and data, that shows, dwell time, customer journey as well as traffic both inside and outside the store. Other measurements such as gender and sentiment will be quick to follow in the new year. 

Bear Robotics

Bear Robotics has unveiled the Carti 100 robot for logistics and warehouse operations.

“We are not just part of the robotics revolution; we are pioneers shaping the future of logistics,” says John Ha, CEO and Co-founder.

“Carti 100 represents a major leap in warehouse automation, boosting efficiency and productivity worldwide. This product release reflects our commitment to building a future where technology and human potential seamlessly integrate, enabling industries to thrive in a dynamic marketplace.”