Rethinking checkout free stores: our most read retail technology articles from last week
Check out our most clicked retail technology articles from last week, including Amazon, Varner, Sitoo, Barron McCann, Retail247, VITA, nShift, REWE Group, Everseen, Rezolve Ai, the ETIH Awards 2026, and the RTIH AI in Retail Awards.
Amazon should divest its retail business and focus on likes of AI, banking, aerospace and defence
Would Amazon be stronger without retail? If it surgically expands into the right industries, yes. That’s the view of Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive.
In a LinkedIn post, Ladd notes that the company’s retail operations now account for less than 40% of its total business. Amazon Web Services (AWS), advertising, Prime, and logistics are where the real margins live. Retail, on the other hand, remains a low margin, capital intensive, and highly regulated business.
Amazon has been a retailer since the firm was founded on 5th July 1994. However, in Q3 2025, it generated $73 billion from online and physical store sales, and $107 billion from AWS, subscriptions, third party seller fees, and advertising - 60% of Amazon is providing services rather than selling products.
“What does this mean? In my opinion, I believe it should divest its retail business. I estimate its retail, marketplace (3P) fees, advertising tied to retail search, and retail data assets support a valuation of $200 billion to $300 billion,” he commented.
“Amazon could retain 20% to 30% of its retail business and spin it off. But why divest or spin off retail?Imagine an Amazon that no longer fights in the trenches of e-commerce but instead focuses on aerospace and defence, space and satellites, AI, banking and finance, and pharmaceuticals - industries with 10–30x the margin potential of retail.”
Neve Jewels Group's Graham Broomfield joins RTIH AI in Retail Awards judging panel
We're hugely pleased to announce the addition of Graham Broomfield to the judging panel for the RTIH AI in Retail Awards, sponsored by 3D Cloud and EdTech Innovation Hub.
Graham is a retail and digital leader with 25 years’ experience scaling global consumer brands.
As COO at Neve Jewels Group, he has overseen international expansion, brand transformation, and the development of high performing teams across stores, e-commerce, and operations.
His work focuses on building customer centred cultures, modern retail systems, and commercially resilient growth models. Graham also advises retail and technology businesses on strategy and leadership.
He is passionate about elevating customer experience, developing people, and creating meaningful, long-term value.
Welcome onboard, Graham!
Don't delay, enter today!
The RTIH AI in Retail Awards is now open for entries. Deadline for submissions is Friday, 5th December. It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.
Check out categories and entry forms here.
As we witness a digital transformation revolution across all channels, AI tools are reshaping the omnichannel game, from personalising customer experiences to optimising inventory, uncovering insights into consumer behaviour, and enhancing the human element of retailers' businesses.
With 2025 set to be the year when AI and especially gen AI shake off the ‘heavily hyped’ tag and become embedded in retail business processes, our newly launched awards celebrate global technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world and the resulting benefits for retailers, shoppers and employees.
Our 2025 winners will be those companies who not only recognise the potential of AI, but also make it usable in everyday work - resulting in more efficiency and innovation in all areas.
Winners will be announced at an evening event at The Barbican in Central London on Thursday, 29th January. This will kick off with a drinks reception in the stunning Conservatory, followed by a three course meal, and awards ceremony in the Garden Room.
ETIH Awards 2026 shines a light on higher education campus physical retail technology innovation
RTIH’s sister site, EdTech Innovation Hub, recently announced the launch of its inaugural ETIH Innovation Awards, celebrating excellence in global education technology, with a particular focus on workforce development, AI integration, and innovative learning solutions across all stages of education.
The awards recognise the companies, platforms, and individuals driving innovation and transformation in this fast moving space, whether through personalised learning, upskilling tools, or powerful digital platforms that prepare students and professionals for the future.
Categories include Campus Retail Innovation. This focuses on technology deployments enabling retail experiences to thrive on educational establishment campuses, even as online shopping continues to grow.
ETIH is looking for examples of cutting-edge technology that reduces friction in the customer journey, appealing to tech savvy students and staff members, and catering to their fast paced lives - for instance, checkout-free stores, contactless payments, and autonomous deliveries.
Further details (including entry forms) here.
Joe White departs Zebra Technologies to take on CEO role at retail AI specialist Everseen
Everseen, a specialist in Vision AI solutions for the retail industry, has announced the appointment of Joe White as Chief Executive Officer.
Greg Clark, Managing Partner of Crosspoint Capital, Vivek Mani, Managing Director of Crosspoint Capital, and Alan O’Herlihy, Founder of Everseen, will continue to serve on the company’s board and work with White as Everseen focuses on its next phase of growth.
“Joe brings deep expertise in product leadership, customer-centric innovation, and global execution to the role having led teams at Zebra, Motorola, and Symbol which deliver foundational technologies - machine vision, RFID, barcode scanning, and mobile computing - to the world’s largest businesses,” says Clark.
“Joe’s ability to drive enterprise grade innovation at scale makes him ideally suited to lead the company into its next phase of growth as we extend Everseen’s AI leadership with new agentic value propositions that will move the needle for our retail customers.”
“Joe’s leadership is the perfect complement to Everseen’s exceptional R&D and customer-first approach. Under his leadership, Everseen will continue to advance its mission to make store operations more intelligent, efficient, and maximise ROI for retailers around the world.”
REWE Group's Jan Kunath: checkout-free stores face a rethink as a hybrid world prevails
It's a question put out there recently by Jan Kunath, Deputy CEO at REWE Group.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: "Recently, there have been increasing reports that manless store concepts in the UK, USA and Europe are closing again or will not be rolled out further. Certainly not, but in practice there are differences in customer acceptance depending on various criteria."
He noted that 60 to 70% of consumers in Europe are still critical of unmanned charging. But he believes that the hybrid world will prevail, one in which the customer will choose between human service and autonomous purchasing.
"The success story of self-checkout checkouts is a good example of how it can develop. It only takes time: In countries such as Lithuania, for example, the usage rate is already well over 50%. The mix of efficiency, control and trust in technology convinces customers," he commented.
"For me, one thing is certain. The supermarket of the future will therefore continue to be an exciting field of experimentation that will show many more new innovative solutions."
"But for me it is also clear. Between automation and personal customer contact, it remains to be seen which concepts are suitable for everyday use. And it will continue to be "humanised" in many supermarkets."
Varner deploys Sitoo PoS solution on Zebra Technologies handheld mobile devices across its stores
Scandinavian fashion retailer, Varner, reports an estate wide roll-out of Sitoo's PoS solution on Zebra Technologies' handheld mobile devices, allowing staff to serve customers anywhere in the store.
Instead of being tied to fixed tills, staff can now move freely - checking stock, completing purchases or helping with Click & Collect orders. They also have access to real-time product and customer data, including previous purchases and loyalty membership details, at their fingertips.
This has been well received by Varner’s customers, with 93% now confident about completing mobile payments anywhere in the store, while internal feedback showed rapid adoption by store staff, with 89% rating Sitoo as highly user-friendly. 68% of associates now frequently use it to check product information, while 32% use it to look up customer memberships.
Barron McCann acquires majority stake in UK-based retail technology specialist Retail247
Technology services specialist Barron McCann has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Retail247, a software provider that works with brands including Reiss, Crew Clothing, and Mint Velvet.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Retail247’s platforms - including the Origin product information management solution and Archean, stock and order management platform - will now line up alongside Barron McCann’s existing software suite, which features Merret Pro, a merchandise and warehouse management ERP, and Charity PoS and gift aid management software.
Scott Watson, Managing Director at Barron McCann, says: “Retail247 is a natural fit for our wider service and solutions portfolio, and this acquisition represents a key step in our expansion strategy.”
“We are continuing to enhance the overall value we deliver to our customers across the group as we continue with our mission to provide a unified approach to technology solutions.”
The deal forms part of Barron McCann’s wider growth strategy, supported by a £50 million group portfolio that includes businesses in managed IT services, helpdesk, structured cabling, digital security, charity retail software, and HR and employment law advisory.
Howe Gu announces exit from Microsoft for SVP Partnerships Ecosystems role at Rezolve Ai
Howe Gu has joined Rezolve Ai (a specialist in conversational commerce for retail and e-commerce) as Senior Vice President of Partnerships & Ecosystems.
He was previously at Microsoft where he spent seven and a half years, holding various roles, most recently EMEA Head & MD, RCG Industry & Partner Sales. Gu has also worked at PwC and Deloitte.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “For nearly a year during my time at Microsoft, I had the privilege of working alongside the Rezolve AI team, gaining a firsthand look at their vision, technology, and drive. That experience made it clear that Rezolve AI is a company redefining what’s possible at the intersection of commerce and artificial intelligence - and I couldn’t be more thrilled to officially join the team”
He added that the company is “transforming the way global brands engage with their customers through its AI first platform, delivering human level conversational experiences, smarter product discovery, seamless checkout, and unified customer journeys.”
Cosmetics retailer VITA makes rapid delivery a key part of online checkout experience
Norwegian cosmetics retailer VITA has made rapid home delivery a key part of its new e-commerce checkout experience.
This guarantees in-store Click and Collect shopping in 30 minutes and next-day delivery to larger parts of Norway. The company has implemented nShift’s delivery management and experience platform to power this offering.
nShift connects VITA’s e-commerce platform with its warehouse and delivery carriers, so new orders are processed automatically and at speed. Using the software, VITA’s delivery managers can track the status of each delivery and monitor carriers’ overall performance.
The technology also helps VITA to add new options, such as Click and Collect, out of home, and express deliveries.
The next day full basket delivery has had its day: this week's biggest retail technology stories
Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past week, including Snappy Group, Vineta Bajaj, Jysk, Enactor, Everseen, Varner, Sitoo, Kingfisher, Asda, Uber Direct, Barron McCann, Retail247, SALESmanago, Mango, Levy Merchandising, and Amazon.
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