StrongPoint and VusionGroup come together: RTIH presents last week’s biggest retail technology plays at a glance
RTIH rounds up the stand out retail systems deals, launches, deployments and pilots from the past seven days. Including Smashie, Diebold Nixdorf, Belkin, Amazon, Puma, Sitoo, Best Buy, The Fresh Market, VusionGroup, Halfords, Aptos, Soludos, Volumental, Sobeys, and Pricer.
Walmart
Some Walmart store employees are now wearing body cameras as part of a pilot programme that is focused on worker safety and not loss prevention or theft.
The retailer is currently testing this out at a a few stores in the Dallas area.
“While we don’t talk about the specifics of our security measures, we are always looking at new and innovative technology used across the retail industry,” Walmart said in a statement. “This is a pilot we are testing in one market, and we will evaluate the results before making any longer-term decisions.”
Ecity Electronics
Ecity Electronics, a subsidiary of Albatha Group, has teamed up with Hanshow and Emitt Technologies to bring Nebular Pro electronic shelf labels (ESLs) to its Dubai locations.
By adopting Hanshow's ESL solutions and cloud management platform, it says it is taking significant strides to: streamline pricing processes; enhance omnichannel mobile store operations; support sustainability by reducing - and aiming to eliminate - paper labels.
Puma
Puma has chosen Sitoo to power its stores globally and enable the provision of a unified shopping experience to customers.
The sports brand says that the move will bring all its stores together with one seamless global solution, with the aim of simplifying processes, integrating physical and digital commerce, and enabling store associates to provide the best possible customer service.
“Before choosing Sitoo, we conducted a comprehensive review of all available solutions in the market,” says Baris Bölükbasi, Senior Director Global Retail at Puma Group. “After an extensive evaluation, we concluded that Sitoo was the best choice for us. The roll-out in our UK stores has already delivered good results, confirming that Sitoo is the right partner to help us achieve our goals.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Puma, one of the most iconic and biggest brands in the world,” says Jens Levin, CEO and Co-Founder at Sitoo.
“This partnership and the trust it has placed in us, is a testament to the strength of our solution. We look forward to working together to shape the future of retail and create exceptional experiences for Puma’s customers around the globe.”
StrongPoint and VusionGroup
StrongPoint, a retail technology provider, reports an international, multifaceted partnership with VusionGroup, a specialist in digitalisation solutions for physical commerce.
This will see VusionGroup integrate StrongPoint’s end-to-end e-commerce platform into its Retail IoT Cloud platform, making it available to retailers internationally. Additionally, the latter will serve as a value added reseller of the former’s retail technology solutions, starting from 28th June 2025.
“This partnership is an incredible opportunity for StrongPoint to bring its e-commerce solutions to an international stage, reaching regions far beyond our core markets. For StrongPoint, as a VusionGroup partner, it will allow us to offer our current and future customers across our nine markets an even broader range of in-store digital retail technologies. This is truly a milestone moment in the history of StrongPoint,” says Jacob Tveraabak, CEO at StrongPoint.
“Enabling physical retailers to increase their e-commerce performance through store digitalisation is one of the key pillars of our strategy, and this partnership represents a wonderful opportunity to accelerate that. By integrating StrongPoint’s e-commerce technology into our platform, we are not only enhancing our offering but also enabling our customers to unlock new levels of efficiency, profitability and growth potential in a rapidly evolving retail landscape,” says Sébastien Fourcy, SEVP EMEA at VusionGroup.
Smashie
Leveraging the DN Series EASY ONE, customers can select, order and pay for their gourmet burgers in a fully self-service mode at the counter, reducing waiting times and enhancing overall service efficiency.
Lorenza Sbarbaro, Director Southern Europe Retail at Diebold Nixdorf, says: “The integration of Diebold Nixdorf’s self-service solutions at Smashie’s Udine restaurant underscores our commitment to delivering a seamless and modern customer experience.”
“The DN Series EASY ONE is tailored to meet the specific demands of the restaurant industry, emphasising speed, simplicity and autonomy for both staff and customers. We are proud to support Smashie’s innovative vision and help redefine consumer interaction in fast food dining.”
Lumene Group
Lumene Group is expanding its use of RELEX Solutions supply chain planning software. This new phase sees the implementation of full supply planning capabilities including master production planning and production scheduling.
Lumene Group will also migrate to machine learning-based forecasting.
Victoria's Secret
Global-e has been selected by Victoria's Secret to help bolster its e-commerce strategy in key international markets, namely, Canada and leading European markets such as Germany and France, with better insights, customer experience, logistics and flexibility.
In addition, partnering with Global-e has enabled the brand to launch an end-to-end localised shopping experience in over 100 markets across the globe.
"We look forward to working closely with Victoria's Secret and supporting their global D2C strategy, utilising our experience and data backed knowledge working with hundreds of leading global enterprise clients," says Matthew Merrilees, CEO North America at Global-e.
Belkin
Amazon reports that Buy with Prime, its direct to customer (DTC) offering, is now available on Belkin.com, a specialist in consumer electronics accessories.
With Buy with Prime, US-based Prime members can shop directly from a brand’s online store using the likes of fast, free delivery, easy returns, 24/7 support with participating brands, and a convenient checkout experience.
"For over 40 years, we have placed our customers at the heart of everything we do, ensuring their needs remain our top priority," says Will Sieck, Vice President of Sales at Belkin.
"A seamless shopping experience is essential, and through the trust of Prime, we are confident in delivering US consumers a premium, high quality shopping experience that aligns with the exceptional standards of our California designed products."
Best Buy
Rokt has announced a partnership with Best Buy Ads Canada.
Best Buy Ads Canada will use its technology to power relevant messages from third-party brands, whose products and services the company does not directly sell itself, on the confirmation page of the Best Buy Canada e-commerce site.
"Our partnership with Rokt gives us a new way to enhance the online customer experience by presenting shoppers with offers and messages that are relevant to them," says Tara Wilkinson, Director of Strategy, Best Buy Canada.
"Ad personalisation is critical to the online customer experience. Rokt's technology delivers superior ad engagement which speaks directly to relevance, and that's why we chose to partner with Rokt - their offering is refreshingly unique."
The Fresh Market
VusionGroup has been selected by The Fresh Market, an American fresh food and specialty grocery chain, to digitalise both signage and inventory management of its physical stores.
The tie up will bring in a suite of Vusion 360 technology solutions, including digital shelf labels, VusionCloud, Captana’s computer vision and AI technology, and Memory Store Analytics to all 166 locations across the United States, marking the first Vusion 360 roll-out in North America.
The aim here is to improve merchandising, inventory management, product quality, and efficiency while minimising waste. Additionally, using Cisco Meraki infrastructure already in place in stores, The Fresh Market will automatically connect VusionGroup’s IoT to existing access points, eliminating the need for additional hardware and reducing both the carbon footprint and operational costs.
“We're thrilled to team up with VusionGroup and introduce their technology to The Fresh Market. With this integration, we're transforming our stores into fast and efficient spaces.” says Brian Johnson, COO at The Fresh Market. “This partnership not only shows our dedication to elevating the shopping experience for our guests but also reflects our commitment to supporting our incredible team members.”
Bec + Bridge
Refundid has announced a partnership with Bec + Bridge.
The company now has tie ups with over 200+ retailers across Australia, USA, and New Zealand, including Country Road Group, Adore Beauty, Princess Polly, PE Nation, DISSH, and Culture Kings.
Refundid helps them provide customers with a range of return options. This includes the instant refund, where it fronts their refund within seconds of lodging their return online, at no risk to the retailer.
Halfords
Halfords has extended its use of Aptos software to support its customer engagement and store operations strategies. The retailer is leveraging upgraded versions of the firm’s PoS, CRM and Sales Audit applications.
“We view the customer journey in a very holistic way,” says Adam Gerrard, Chief Data & Information Officer at Halfords. “With the majority of people in the UK living in close proximity to a Halfords location, we leverage our store network to connect on a deeper level with customers through unrivalled expertise and services and an unbeatable range of products.”
“We recognise the importance of taking a digital-first approach.” Gerrard adds, “We have made it easier than ever for people to find us online, and we’ve invested in high performance websites. The greatest benefit is then linking up digital and store experiences in a way that is completely seamless for the customer.”
“For example, a customer browsing online for a product can quickly and easily arrange for Click and Collect at their local store. We view Aptos as an omnichannel technology specialist, and we are pleased to continue our long standing partnership with this firm.”
KFC Vietnam
Momos has partnered with KFC Vietnam across all 227 of its locations.
The company said in a LinkedIn post: “KFC Vietnam’s dedication to putting customers first shines through as they adopt our AI Review Manager to enhance customer engagement and operational excellence."
"It is set to: Automate 99%+ of customer interactions; Respond to 100% of customer feedback; Save hundreds of hours; Drive significant cost savings. This partnership underscores KFC Vietnam’s commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences at every touchpoint "
Bloomingdale’s
Lucky has announced a partnership with American luxury department store Bloomingdale’s.
This enables luxury brands to connect their DTC websites with Bloomingdales' in-store inventory.
Online shoppers can now instantly check the availability of their favourite luxury products at their local Bloomingdales stores while browsing their preferred brand's website. They can make purchases through Bloomingdale’s for same-day pickup or delivery.
Grupo Juguetron
Grupo Juguetron, a Mexican company with over 114 stores across 28 states, has selected RELEX Solutions to implement demand forecasting and replenishment capabilities.
The latter will service Juguetron’s distribution centre and stores, with the aim of driving greater efficiency in its supply chain and enabling better planning for promotions, events, and seasonal demand.
Soludos
Soludos is deploying Volumental's 3D foot scanning technology.
In a LinkedIn post, Volumental said: "Born in NYC and now calling Austin home, Soludos creates wanderlust inspired footwear that moves you through the world with style and ease. Together, we're making sure their online customers can focus on what matters most - deciding where their next adventure will take them, knowing their shoes will fit just right."
Sobeys
After a first wave of 50 stores, Sobeys is entering into an agreement with Pricer’s partner, JRTech Solutions, for an expected deployment of five million electronic shelf labels across Canada at an expected order value of 485 MSEK.
The initial order from Sobeys for deployment of ESLs in 50 of its stores, that was reported in June as an order from a Tier 1 North American grocery retailer, was the first large scale full-store deployment of four colour labels in North America.
Sobeys is one of the largest grocery chains in North America with over 1,500 grocery and pharmacy stores.
The roll-out of Pricer’s in-store automation and communication solution, consisting of the cloud-based platform Pricer Plaza and electronic shelf labels, is expected to be completed by 30th April 2026.
LA Foods
Henderson Technology has announced the 1,000th installation of its EPoS system, EDGEPoS, at LA Foods on Uxbridge Road, London.
EDGEPoS was first piloted in 2011. LA Foods, co-owned by Tabrez Hussain and his family, has a retail history dating back to 1990 when his father established the business. Since the late 2000s, he and his brothers have expanded the company, which now operates 13 stores.
Hussain says: “We chose EDGEPoS because we wanted a system that could make our store operations more streamlined and automated. The self-checkouts, suggested ordering, and electronic shelf labels (ESELs) were particularly appealing, and while we haven’t yet rolled out ESELs, we are excited about their potential.”
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