Robots cook meals and deliver groceries in Germany: October's coolest retail technology plays
RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his stand out ‘future of retail’ technology deployments and launches from October, including REWE Group, Circus, Just Around The Corner, Louis Vuitton, Veloq, Frasers Group, commercetools, Zalando, Raising Cane's, Emperia, Walmart, OpenAI, NOS Cinemas, Sensei, Ikea, and Amazon.
REWE Group and Circus
Circus SE reports the launch of Fresh & Smart, a new REWE Region West segment, powered by Circus’ autonomous AI robotics system CA-1.
REWE Region West, the part of the REWE Group responsible for Western Germany, is among the global launch partners of the CA-1 Series 4.
The first Fresh & Smart location opens this week in Düsseldorf Heerdt, with the pair laying claim to the world’s first integration of AI powered autonomous cooking robotics inside a supermarket. Additional locations are in the works and under construction.
Customers are promised restaurant quality meals prepared live and on-demand by Circus’ CA-1 Series 4, the company’s first serially produced autonomous cooking robot. Main dishes are available from €6 and accessible to all customers in-store.
EY and Just Around The Corner
Just Around The Corner has announced the launch of an autonomous store in conjunction with EY Portugal.
The company was launched by former Sensei executive Miguel Murta Cardoso with the aim of "simplifying your day by bringing the best of modern retail closer to you".
The Portugal-based startup specialises in autonomous mini-markets that are open 24/7 and situated in offices and condominiums, offering the likes of snacks, meals, milk and bread, frozen, fresh, drinks, hygiene and cleaning products.
In a LinkedIn post, Cardoso said: “The opening of this new store marks more than a point of convenience: it is an important step in our expansion strategy. With this opening, we prove that it is possible to scale the Corner model to new cities, and that our concept of autonomous and smart stores has the potential to go far beyond Lisbon... and even Portugal.”
He added: “We remain focused on making people's daily lives simpler and more practical, offering access to essential and healthy products, always just a few steps away. A special thank you to the EY team for their trust and for believing in our vision.”
Louis Vuitton
Perfect Corp. has announced a collaboration with Louis Vuitton, part of the LVMH group, for the debut of the Maison’s first full makeup collection branded La Beauté Louis Vuitton.
The tie up brings AI and AR powered experiences to consumers across 33 countries via web, mobile app, and WeChat in China, with virtual try-on (VTO) technology integrated at launch.
The makeup line includes eight eyeshadow palettes, 65 lipstick shades across three finishes - satin, matte, and balm - and 24 curated makeup looks. At the core of the digital experience is Perfect Corp.'s beauty tech suite, which has been customised to support Louis Vuitton’s approach to luxury beauty.
Harmons
Simbe reports deployment of Tally, its autonomous shelf-scanning robot, at Harmons, an independent grocer in Utah, USA.
Following a five store roll-out, Tally is now live across 17 of Harmons locations.
The robot captures real-time, shelf-level data on product availability, pricing and placement, with the aim of enabling Harmons to achieve cleaner data, better execution and minimise out of stock inventory.
“It’s not uncommon for associates to have been part of the Harmons’ grocer family for 20, 30, even 40 years, and we wanted to ensure we were introducing tech to fit their world,” says Bruce Hatch, Chief Information Officer at Harmons.
“Our goal for Tally was to empower and support our associates while also improving our operations and the customer experience. Simbe proved to be the perfect partner. Tally provides reliable, actionable data that helps our teams execute better, reduce missed sales opportunities, protect margin, and allow us to focus on what matters the most, our customers. It’s an essential part of how we continue evolving our business while staying true to our values.”
Sklum
Dassault Systèmes reports that its HomeByMe solutions are enabling the European online furniture and décor retailer Sklum to offer 3D shopping experiences.
Sklum has launched the HomeByMe Product Configurator on its website. Shoppers can customise sofas, wardrobes and bathrooms directly on the site, seeking ideas and inspiration from a wide range of options in terms of colours, fabrics, materials and sizes, and matching features to their individual preferences.
“Using a 3D web product configurator is attractive for consumers, and the lifelike 3D rendering enables us to better highlight the quality of our products. HomeByMe provides capabilities to generate interactivity and visibility while showcasing ready to purchase products. That helps us accelerate our e-commerce business by increasing our conversion rates and our average basket size, setting us apart in a competitive industry,” says Oana Matei, Chief Marketing Officer at Sklum.
Goddiva
Goddiva, a UK-based fashion e-commerce brand, has launched a shopping assistant called Goddiva Al.
Powered by OpenAl GPT-5 and LangChain technology, the aim is to enable customers to interact with the brand naturally, from "Show me a pink maxi under £100 for a wedding guest" to "Track my order."
The assistant understands intent, context, and tone to deliver instant results across product discovery, order support, and returns.
“We believe outfit discovery should feel personal, intuitive, and fun," says Mina Melikova, Chief Executive Officer at Goddiva. "Goddiva Al blends the empathy of a stylist with the intelligence of technology, guiding customers effortlessly from inspiration to checkout."
This is now fully integrated with the retailer’s website and order systems, offering the likes of real-time order tracking with courier updates and individualised discount prompts triggered by referral or browsing source.
“Our goal was to build intelligent empathy,” says Yathu Kanagaratnam, Head of Technology and AI Strategy at Goddiva. “Goddiva AI doesn’t just respond, it remembers, learns, and evolves with every interaction.”
Rohlik Group
Sereact, a specialist in AI driven robotics, and Rohlik Group, a European online grocer, are teaming up.
A roll-out begins with 24 robots across Rohlik’s German and Austrian brands - Knuspr and Gurkerl - operating in Berlin and Vienna fulfilment centres, with Frankfurt to follow. The programme is designed to expand quickly, with both companies aiming to deploy more than 100 robots as the partnership grows.
This will allow Rohlik to optimise key parameters such as throughput, reliability, and the coordination between fresh and dry food zones.
“Rohlik is showing how AI robotics can scale beyond pilots and single sites,” says Ralf Gulde, CEO at Sereact. “With 24 additional robots committed and a roadmap targeting more than 100 across its European network, Rohlik is setting a new benchmark for what large scale robotic fulfilment can look like in grocery e-commerce.”
Grubhub, Avride and Wonder
Grubhub is expanding its partnership with Avride to launch a robot delivery pilot for customers ordering from Wonder's Jersey City location.
This marks the first time Grubhub has offered autonomous delivery in its marketplace outside of college campuses - and the first time Wonder is bringing robot delivery to its customers.
During the pilot, customers can place orders from Wonder's Jersey City location through the Grubhub platform as usual. If an eligible delivery address is within a set range of the restaurant, they will have the option to choose delivery via an Avride robot.
Following the pilot, Grubhub plans to implement any learnings and expand autonomous delivery to additional markets nationwide.
Amazon
Amazon has unveiled new smart glasses designed to assist drivers in navigating their routes and completing deliveries.
The AI powered technology provides hands free navigation, package scanning, and hazard detection directly in drivers’ field of view, eliminating the need to look down at their smartphones while making deliveries.
The glasses feature computer vision technology that guides drivers from their vehicles to customers’ doorsteps with turn by turn walking navigation.
“I felt safer the whole time because the glasses have the info right in my field of view,” says Kaleb M., who works for Maddox Logistics Corporation in Omaha, Nebraska, and tested the technology. “Instead of having to look down at a phone, you can keep your eyes forward and look past the display - you’re always focused on what’s ahead.”
Elsewhere, Blue Jay coordinates multiple robotic arms to pick, stow, and consolidate items in one streamlined workspace, with the aim of reducing repetitive lifting and reaching by employees while accelerating delivery speeds.
And Project Eluna acts like an extra teammate for operations managers, using agentic AI to anticipate bottlenecks and provide data backed recommendations.
Blue Jay is currently being tested in South Carolina and Project Eluna is launching this holiday season in Tennessee.
Ikea
The experience has gone live in 17 countries: Spain, Czech, Hungary, Slovakia, Portugal, Korea, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Italy, Australia, Canada, and Japan, with plans to expand to additional markets by the end of the year.
By FY26, Ikea aims to generate over 1.75 million kitchen projects annually while significantly reducing times for appointments.
“This is a complete rethinking of how people plan and buy their kitchens. It makes the process inspiring, accessible, and truly customer centric,” says Parag Parekh, Global CDO, Ikea Retail (Ingka Group).
Customers can explore the new kitchen planning experience directly through the Ikea app or the web.
Zalando
Nomagic, a provider of AI powered robotics for warehouses and the fulfilment sector, has been selected by Zalando as the online fashion and lifestyle retailer looks to boost operational excellence at its fulfilment centres and support employees with daily tasks.
The robots (named Richard) carry out item level picking, scanning and induction to automated pocket sorters.
Following a pilot project that included an average of 10 000 picks/day, a total of nine robots will be live in 2025, with a double digit number planned for deployment in 2026. Zalando has also made a minority investment into Nomagic as part of its previously announced $44 million Series B round.
Veloq
Veloq, an automation company within Czech online grocer, Rohlik Group, has unveiled a new AI driven grocery fulfilment centre in Vienna.
The launch also marks the announcement of a global partnership with AutoStore.
The facility is pitched as the first AutoStore grid worldwide to integrate real-time expedition, automatically sorting picked orders by delivery route. According to those involved, this eliminates manual sorting and increases throughput while reducing time, labour and cost. It can also be adapted to different fulfillment formats, from large central hubs to smaller purpose built sites, lowering the threshold for retailers to adopt automation.
Orders from a range of up to 20,000 SKUs, can now be routed for delivery in under 30 minutes. These SKUs represent individual products including fresh produce, bakery and pharmacy.
Under the agreement, Veloq will deploy AutoStore technology with its proprietary software to help grocers tap the same automation that has powered Rohlik’s growth over the past decade.
Frasers Group
Frasers Group is set to become the first major European retailer to deploy commercetools’ agentic commerce offering - including AI Hub and the Agent Gateway - enabling shoppers to discover and purchase products from its retail ecosystem (which includes Sports Direct) directly within AI shopping channels such as ChatGPT via the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP).
"The digital customer ecosystem is evolving faster than ever before, and so are customers’ expectations,” says David Clark, Chief Customer Officer at Frasers Group.
“With this partnership, Frasers Group is now at the forefront of this evolution to deliver enhanced customer experiences across ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity – including native checkout in ChatGPT - across Sports Direct, FLANNELS and FRASERS. This marks a shift in our digital capabilities, delivering an even more intuitive and personalised shopping experience for our consumers.”
“Crucially, it builds on our group wide investment into cutting-edge MACH architecture to lead the group into a new era of seamless agentic commerce.”
Raising Cane’s
Raising Cane’s is inviting customers to step inside a haunted version of its restaurants in partnership with Emperia. It has created its first ever haunted restaurant Halloween virtual experience, an interactive, limited time digital adventure anchored around a collectible Cane’s glow in the dark cup.
Designed to bridge the real life experience with the digital world, this features:
Gear Room - browse exclusive Cane’s merch in a virtual shopping experience and discover a mystical crystal ball. Customers can answer five questions about their Halloween habits to reveal a personalised Cane’s Horoscope - their spooky alter ego for the season.
Capture the Bats Game: Four hidden bats haunt the restaurant. Each discovery unlocks progress, and completing the set delivers a digital reward straight to your inbox.
Arcade Machine: Step up to Cane’s very own retro style arcade. Play the Cryptic Combos Game and advance beyond level one to unlock additional rewards via email.
Menus with a Twist: Just like in a real Cane’s, menus are placed throughout the haunted restaurant, letting customers order their favourite meals. By creating an immersive platform, Cane’s says it can now extend seasonal celebrations and retail moments into dynamic digital spaces - connecting physical products, like the glow in the dark cup, with interactive play, rewards, and social sharing opportunities.
Customers can explore the Haunted Cane’s experience starting 15th October by scanning the QR code on their limited edition Halloween cup.
Walmart
Walmart has announced a new partnership with OpenAI that will start with allowing customers and members to soon shop with the US retail giant through ChatGPT using Instant Checkout.
“For many years now, e-commerce shopping experiences have consisted of a search bar and a long list of item responses. That is about to change. There is a native AI experience coming that is multi-media, personalised and contextual. We are running towards that more enjoyable and convenient future with Sparky and through partnerships including this important step with OpenAI,” says Doug McMillon, President and CEO at Walmart.
“We’re excited to partner with Walmart to make everyday purchases a little simpler. It’s just one way AI will help people every day under our work together,” says Sam Altman, Co-founder and CEO at OpenAI.
REWE
Starship Technologies reports the launch of its delivery robots in Germany with REWE.
These are hitting the streets of Hamburg. A REWE Lieferbot service is now live in Barmbek, offering thousands of households grocery deliveries, delivered in minutes.
In a LinkedIn post, Lisa Johnson, VP, Global Public Affairs & Corporate Communications, said: “We are going live with the second largest retailer in Germany, our good friends at REWE.”
“It's been an interesting public affairs ride (to say the least!). Like many countries, Germany has developed laws to cover large, fast, passenger vehicles that travel on roads. Smaller autonomous devices - like our robots - don't fall neatly into a category.”
She added: “This is the sort of market entry public affairs puzzle we love to solve. It takes creativity, persistence and dynamic cross-functional teams that are ready pivot at the drop of a hat.”
“As I've been travelling Germany, speaking to different cities, states and officials there's been such enthusiasm for innovation, and a clear want to make sure that national regulations encourage responsible tech companies to invest and scale. We're looking forward to working on this in the coming weeks and months.”
NOS Cinemas
Portugal’s NOS Cinemas is piloting a new store within a store concept, developed by Sensei, which works through its 5G and is being tested at its NorteShopping location.
With no checkouts, no need to order products or register them, this uses machine vision algorithms and sensors to detect interactions with the shelves and, through artificial intelligence, identify the items recalled.
This pilot project is part of a Smart Retail consortium, implemented under a Recovery and Resilience Plan, which aims to develop, demonstrate and industrialise technologies to create innovative retail formats that improve the consumer experience.
Revolve Group
Revolve Group has launched a Zelig AI powered ‘Build a Look’ fashion experience, allowing shoppers to create a digital closet and mix and match outfits virtually for the first time on the brand’s e-commerce site.
The platform aims to solve the challenge in online shopping of reducing high return rates, improving product discovery and offering greater personalisation. Zelig’s AI renders garments on models with lifelike accuracy, capturing how fabrics drape, proportions shift, and textures layer using thousands of proprietary data points.
By combining GenAI and computer vision with the expertise of celebrity stylists, the platform enables shoppers to create looks through interactive recommendations and occasion-based prompts.
Walmart
Wiliot reports a collaboration with Walmart involving the US retail giant’s supply chain operations.
The pair are laying claim to the first large scale deployment of ambient IoT technology in the retail sector, with millions of Wiliot IoT Pixels being integrated throughout Walmart’s supply chain.
The aim is to dramatically enhance supply chain efficiency, inventory accuracy, and cold chain compliance.
“With Walmart, we are advancing supply chain performance at an unprecedented scale,” says Tal Tamir, CEO at Wiliot. “This nationwide deployment adds a new layer of digitisation to Walmart’s supply chain, empowering associates with real-time insights and automation that drive greater efficiency, accuracy, and responsiveness.”
“It’s a testament to the power of ambient IoT and artificial intelligence to help retailers operate smarter, move faster, and deliver stronger outcomes for their business, their associates, and their customers.”
BOSS
EPAM Systems has teamed with BOSS on an immersive spatial experience, powered by Apple Vision Pro and pitched at motorsport fans.
"We're pleased to strengthen our strategic partnership with BOSS and bring an innovative spatial racing experience to life through Apple Vision Pro," says Balazs Fejes, CEO & President, EPAM.
"This initiative transcends traditional engagement by harnessing the power of immersive storytelling, making the exclusive world of motorsports accessible to a global audience of fans and consumers. It's more than just viewing - it's about creating truly unforgettable moments that redefine the intersection of premium fashion, luxury retail, sport and technology."
Launching ahead of the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2025, the in-store activation debuted in specially designed installations at select BOSS locations across seven cities: London, Paris, Düsseldorf, Barcelona, Las Vegas, Dubai and Singapore.
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