Primark splashes the cash: our biggest retail technology articles on LinkedIn right now

We’re big fans of LinkedIn and are busy building an amazing community of retail tech enthusiasts on the social media platform. As we power towards the 30,000 followers mark, these are the articles that are currently on their radars, including Lush, PMC, Talon.One, Auchan Retail, IBM, Diebold Nixdorf, VoCoVo, and the RTIH AI in Retail Awards.

UK-based PMC opens Innovation & Delivery Centre in India following recent backing from BGF

British retail technology specialist PMC has officially opened a new Innovation & Delivery Centre (IDC) in Alembic City, Vadodara, India.

Home to over 400 technologists, the 35,000 sq ft facility is designed to accelerate PMC’s delivery of unified commerce, cloud, engineering and managed services. It will support the doubling of scale within the company’s India team and play a pivotal role in enabling large scale transformation programmes for retail and commerce clients worldwide.

The launch follows PMC’s recent backing from BGF, which invested in the business in June, providing growth capital and strategic support to help it scale.

“This is a visionary investment in the future of commerce technology,” says Richard Lowe, CEO at PMC. “Our new IDC in Alembic reflects our long-term commitment to building a global technology ecosystem where collaboration drives innovation and simplifies complexity for our clients worldwide.”

VoCoVo boosts senior leadership team to support its international growth and AI powered CX plans

Retail communications specialist, VoCoVo, has announced two key senior appointments.

Dan Creed joins the C-Suite as Chief People Officer, while Theo Theodorou has been appointed Customer Experience (CX) Director.

Creed will focus on strengthening employee engagement, well being and talent development with the aim of fostering a high performance culture that scales in line with VoCoVo’s expansion and growth plans.

Bringing 25 years of HR leadership in scaling technology businesses such as TM Group (UK) and Celesio to the role, he joins from CV Library, where he served as People and Culture Director.

Creed says: “Fast growth opportunities are where my passion lies, and VoCoVo is an incredibly exciting phase of growth. The business has already invested heavily in its people, building a highly talented and engaged team. My focus now is to build on that foundation, strengthening our high performance culture and implementing the frameworks and tools that will help our people thrive.”

Retail Technology Show 2026 open for registrations as event returns to London ExCel in April

Registration is now open for the 2026 edition of Retail Technology Show. Taking place on 22nd and 23rd April at London’s ExCeL, RTS is gearing up to welcome over 16,000 senior retail professionals to the event.

With a new disco theme, RTS 2026 will bring together retail’s movers and shakers and the hottest tech redefining the sector, helping retailers harness disruption to fuel growth and power long-term performance.

Over 450 tech providers will showcase solutions covering every part of retail - from agentic AI and retail media to supply chain evolution and next-gen customer engagement and loyalty.

As well as Start Up Superstars, which spotlights new tech from the startup community, it will also feature a new dedicated Cyber & Loss Prevention Zone. This will feature cutting-edge innovation to help retailers navigate rising cyber risk, prevent loss, reduce crime and keep colleagues and customers safe.

The conference programme, meanwhile, will provide a platform for retail’s brightest minds to discuss the hottest topics and issues shaping the sector. 125+ industry experts - from retail leaders and brand trailblazers to thought leaders, analysts and influencers - will take to the stage, covering key topics selected and vetted by an advisory board.

Auchan Retail works with IBM Consulting on smart green pallets roll-out in warehouses and stores

Auchan Retail is rolling out 50,000 IBM Smart Green Pallets across warehouses and stores.

The pallets are recyclable, lighter than standard offerings, and fitted with connected sensors that track geolocation, temperature and shocks in real-time.

The technology allows the retailer to: better preserve the freshness and quality of products, especially refrigerated products; limit the risk of food waste; reduce the emissions linked to our logistics flows and therefore the environmental impact; improve the daily life of the teams, thanks to lighter and easier to handle pallets.

Franck Descamps, Director of Logistics Procurement at Auchan Retail, says: "We are taking a new step towards a more responsible, more connected and future oriented supply chain."

Primark launches proof of concept for cash and card payments self-checkouts at its York store

Primark has gone live with a proof of concept for self-checkouts that accept both cash and card payments at its store in York.

The retailer started to roll-out self-checkouts across its stores in 2022. But while some shoppers welcomed the quicker and easier process, others were unhappy about the limited number of traditional tills and the inability to pay with cash.

So it’s no great surprise to that this trial is getting underway, and it will be interesting to see whether it will move beyond the York store and across the UK estate.

In a LinkedIn post, Connor Button, Product Leader at Primark, said: “An amazing thing happened in York this week; the launch of our proof of concept for cash amd card self-checkouts.”

He added: “A fantastic initiative where Technology and Retail Operations have collaborated together to deliver an innovative and cost effective solution that will drive learnings on customer behaviour and operational execution.”

“I'm excited on the positive impact this will have on further elevating our great customer and colleague experience. It has been great working with so many talented people to deliver a fantastic outcome.”

East of England Co-op goes live with Snappy Shopper on demand delivery service in Food stores

East of England Co-op reports the relaunch of Snappy Shopper’s on demand delivery service in five of its Food stores. It says that this is part of a renewed focus on enhanced accessibility and flexibility for customers across its region.

In a LinkedIn post, the retailer said: “The new partnership sees Snappy Shopper orders fulfilled through a technical agreement with Nash who will coordinate deliveries on our behalf. This approach provides a more scalable, sustainable and efficient delivery model, allowing us to expand our reach.”

It added: “We relaunched last Monday and we can already see our members and customers are delighted to have Snappy Shopper back in our Barking Road, Costessey, Earls Colne, Mersea Road and Rushmere Food stores.”

Author, podcast host and event speaker Andrew Grill joins 2026 RTIH AI in Retail Awards judging panel

We're hugely pleased to announce the addition of Andrew Grill to the judging panel for the RTIH AI in Retail Awards, sponsored by 3D Cloud and EdTech Innovation Hub.

Andrew is a leading AI expert, combining over 30 years’ experience at IBM and high tech startups with degrees in engineering and business strategy. He was a Global Managing Partner at IBM, and works with C-suite teams at Kingfisher, Shell, Dell, Intel, Vodafone and the NHS.

Andrew has delivered over 600 keynotes in 50 countries on generative AI, quantum computing, and digital transformation and in 2025, he was named to the AI 100 UK List for responsible AI. He is the author of the international best seller Digitally Curious, hosts a popular podcast, and appears regularly on BBC, Sky News, and in major publications.

Welcome onboard, Andrew!

Don't delay, enter today!

Time is running out to enter 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.

European drugstore chain ROSSMANN connects with Diebold Nixdorf for market entry in Switzerland

Diebold Nixdorf reports that it has supported the Swiss market expansion of ROSSMANN, one of Europe's largest drugstore chains.

The scope of support includes managed services provided via the company’s eServices portal and retail technologies such as self-checkout and PoS systems. 

The roll-out of services and retail technology to the first stores in Switzerland is based on a jointly created model for operating, monitoring and servicing ROSSMANN’s store technology infrastructure in Germany.

Since beginning its partnership in 2021, Diebold Nixdorf has supported over 2,350 German ROSSMANN stores with PoS systems, self-service checkouts and related services.

A recent expansion of the collaboration - now encompassing the entire German store hardware infrastructure and additional services, including software installation and inventory management - created the blueprint in Switzerland that will serve as a basis for future expansion in other European locations.

Over the next two years, plans are to connect additional end devices to the eServices portal, including ROSSMANN's back office PCs. These are currently being replaced with DN Series BEETLE M2110 PoS systems.

German DIY retailer OBI deploys VusionGroup digital tech solutions in 200+ stores

VusionGroup reports a new deployment of its technologies with OBI Germany, a provider of home improvement supplies, across over 200 stores.

"We are constantly looking for ways to optimise the in-store experience for our customers and to empower our store teams with state-of-the-art tools. Partnering with VusionGroup allows us to significantly optimise our in-store processes, ensuring our staff can focus on delivering even better customer service,” comments Stefanie Kristes, Senior Expert, Retail & Enterprise Solutions, at OBI.

OBI will implement VusionGroup's electronic shelf labels (integrated into the existing Cisco-Meraki wireless infrastructure) and VusionCloud platform. These solutions will streamline price changes and enable OBI to deploy information to its associates in stores through ESLs, directly at the shelf-edge. It will also reduce manual efforts, and improve overall efficiency.

Lush works with Talon.One on launch of 'truly omnichannel' app-based rewards programme

British cosmetics retailer Lush has gone live with a new rewards club offering. It worked with Talon.One to bring this to market.

Customers can download its app, earn points when they shop with Lush and unlock rewards. They will also get first access to shop new product launches on the app.

It will also be possible to get rewarded for each item of eligible plastic packaging they return to stores.

In a LinkedIn post, Taniya De Abrew, Global Head of Digital Marketing & Programmes at Lush, said: “The Lush Rewards Programme has officially launched in the UK and key markets. It has taken over three years of work and a significant collaborative effort from teams across the business to bring it to life.”

She added: “I first met Nindi Kalsi and the Talon.One team at Braze Forge London in 2022, who helped us finally build a truly omnichannel solution - with our app at the centre of the experience. Our customers have been asking for a rewards programme for decades, and I couldn’t be prouder to see it live today. A huge thank you to the Lush teams who have and are continuing to launch this worldwide."