Seaside stores, food waste fails, and AI issues: RTIH presents the retail technology week in numbers

Do you like numbers? Do you like retail systems news? Then this is the article for you. Including Whole Foods Market, MoEngage, GS1 UK, Gap, Worldpay, Simba, Bensons for Beds, MINISO, LeMieux, Uber Technologies, Kroger, Co-op Media Network, M&S, Zalando, Wickes, and Gophr.

21...Marks and Spencer has extended its partnership with Zalando through a new agreement with ZEOS, the fashion platform’s B2B logistics unit, to manage its entire direct-to-consumer online operation in continental Europe.

The move will cover 21 markets and build on M&S’s existing collaboration with Zalando Fulfilment Solutions, first established in 2022.

ZEOS, created in 2023 within Zalando SE, provides logistics and technology tools that enable brands and retailers to manage multi-channel e-commerce operations across Europe. Its infrastructure includes 12 logistics centres, around 20 returns sites, and more than 40 local transport providers.

Mark Lemming, Managing Director of International at M&S, says: “Having reset the International business to reshape M&S for global growth, we’re focusing on bigger, better partnerships, which enable us to bring the best of M&S to the world.”

50...Chinese pop culture lifestyle retailer, MINISO, is gearing up to open its latest UK store, this time on North Street, Brighton.

The new 138m2 retail space continues its expansion on these shores, following launches this year including Glasgow Central, Croydon, Kingston, Braehead, Liverpool and, more recently, its 50th one in Milton Keynes.

The company will open the doors to its Brighton store on 8th November at 12pm. This marks its second location in the city, following Churchill Square.

It promises an extensive range of products, including Vinyl Plush, blind boxes, plush toys, beauty essentials, lifestyle accessories, and snacks. In addition, customers will have access to exclusive licensed collections featuring brands such as Hello Kitty and Friends, Disney, Sylvanian Families and Harry Potter.

10,000 and 12,000...Whole Foods Market’s new concept store in Plymouth Meeting, PA, USA combines its natural and organic products with Amazon’s name brand groceries and household essentials, with the aim of allowing customers to complete their entire shopping list in one location.

The store features a 10,000-square foot automated micro-fulfillment centre that houses over 12,000 unique items, enabling customers to order additional products via QR codes while shopping in-store or through online delivery and pickup options.

Amazon says that it plans to refine and expand the offering to additional stores over time.

"We've always taken pride in offering a wide selection of natural and organic products, but we understand our customers appreciate the convenience of one stop shopping," says Jason Buechel, Vice President of Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores and CEO at Whole Foods Market.

"We're making grocery shopping more convenient for customers by thoughtfully blending our grocery offerings and leveraging new fulfillment capabilities in creative ways. This new concept store experience allows customers to get everything on their shopping list in one convenient stop or one online order, combining quality with convenience while still delivering the exceptional shopping experience customers expect."

77%...Most UK e-commerce retailers are failing to get AI right, despite consumers becoming increasingly accustomed to using the technology in online shopping, according to new research commissioned by Quickfire Digital.

This is based on a sample of 2,005 Brits nd 201 online retailers (10+ employees).

77% of retailers admit there are areas where their AI initiatives need work, while 27% of consumers say they haven’t had any positive experiences with AI at all. 

At the same time, around a third of consumers value automated returns/refund systems (33%), AI generated product descriptions or images (32%), and AI powered customer support (31%).

However, with the UK e-commerce sector having invested an estimated £120 million in AI technologies in 2024, roughly £92 million of that spend could be at risk of underperformance - a figure rising to £230 million by 2030 if current trends continue.

Despite consumers becoming increasingly familiar with AI in online shopping, friction remains a barrier: 37% of shoppers abandon purchases due to complicated checkouts, 19% dislike being forced to use a chatbot, and high delivery fees remain the top deterrent (54%). 

Two-thirds of US consumers feel a surge of anxiety after clicking buy, according to Narvar’s 2025 State of Post-Purchase Report.

Rising theft, delivery failures, and inconsistent communication have turned the post-purchase experience into one of the biggest sources of friction and risk for retailers working to protect both margins and loyalty.

3,461 US online shoppers were surveyed by Narvar. 41% have had a package stolen, and 40% abandoned a purchase in the past year because they feared it would be.

74% experienced a late delivery in the past year, and 86% encountered at least one issue. After even a single bad experience, 60% of 18–29-year-olds say they won’t shop again with that retailer, compared with only 17% of shoppers 60 and over.

54% of North American retailers can’t keep up with the pace of technology change, while 49% say they struggle to quantify return on their in-store tech investments and 37% feel conflicted about whether new tech will be beneficial or distracting.

That’s according to research conducted by Retail Systems Research (RSR) and sponsored by Jumpmind.

112 respondents were surveyed for this (retail executives and store managers) with a geographic presence in: United States 98%, Canada 21%, UK 10%, Europe 5%, Latin America 4%, Middle East and Africa 1%, and Asia/Pacific 1%.

Despite the growth of digital commerce, many retailers still look to stores as their primary growth strategy, as approximately 80% of all retail sales still take place in-store. Yet many admit their in-store technology lags in delivering what today’s customers expect. 34% say they cannot keep up with consumer adoption of new technologies and 31% admit existing systems simply aren’t up to the challenge of serving today’s customers and employees.

$100 million...MoEngage, a customer engagement specialist that works with brands including Domino’s, Travelodge and FoodHub, has secured $100 million in funding, led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and A91 Partners.

This brings total funding to date to $250 million.

In a LinkedIn post, Raviteja Dodda, Founder at MoEngage, said: “This milestone means a lot. It reflects the trust our customers place in us, the hard work our team puts in every day, and the progress we’ve made together.”

He added: “When Yashwanth Kumar and I started MoEngage 11 years ago, we had a simple goal: help brands truly understand and engage their customers. That mission still drives us. What’s changed is the scale - today, more than 1,350 brands across 75 countries use MoEngage to connect with their audiences in meaningful, timely, and personal ways.”

“Many of these brands have moved away from legacy marketing clouds to work with us, and we’re seeing strong adoption of our Merlin AI suite of agents, which are purpose-built for marketers.”

He concluded: “Global expansion hasn’t been easy, being a first-time SaaS founding team. I am proud to share that we have built a diverse global footprint, with a revenue mix across North America, Europe and the Middle East, India, and South East Asia regions, with North America now contributing the largest share. We’ve come a long way, and there’s so much more to build.”

1...LeMieux has announced the launch of its first ever mobile app, combining a points-based rewards program, an interactive community hub, and what is pitched as a first of its kind equestrian events calendar.

Members can earn rosettes by completing challenges within the app’s community platform - unlocking exclusive rewards, earn coins, and level ups as they go. These points give users access to members only benefits, limited edition products and collaborations, invitations to exclusive Q&A sessions with top riders and influencers, and the chance to join product testing panels and give feedback on future design.

The community platform, meanwhile, offers chatrooms where equestrians can share their passion for horses, seek advice, and support one another. Users can also explore a shoppable gallery of tagged LeMieux looks for outfit inspiration, featuring real riders and friends of the brand from around the world.

Riders in the UK and US can enter a date and location to instantly discover local competitions and events near them.

“We’ve always known how strong and vibrant our community is. This app is our way of bringing everyone together - to listen to them, and to give them a place where they can truly be part of the brand,” says Dan Mahoney, CEO at LeMieux.

45%...As Brits prepare to hunt down Black Friday deals, many are ready to let AI do the legwork, according to research from Worldpay. From finding the lowest prices to picking products that match your style, smart shopping bots could soon be helping us spend billions online, the company claims.

AI shopping assistants might still be new, but Brits are already warming to the idea. One in three of the 2,000 UK shoppers surveyed would be happy to have a smart bot browse on their behalf - and that jumps to 45% among younger shoppers aged 18 to 34.

Fast forward to 2030, and shoppers expect around 7% of their total online purchases to be made this way meaning AI agents could be behind as much as £29 billion of online spending.

According to Worldpay, 61% of Brits would want an AI assistant that helps balance and quality, while 60% said they would rely on an AI agent to hunt down the lowest prices. 43% say they’d like their AI to tailor picks to their personal tastes.

Many shoppers want their AI to reflect their values too. A third say they’d like their digital assistant to favour trusted brands, while others want it to look for loyalty rewards (31%) or choose products that are ethically or sustainably sourced (23%).

11%...With Black Friday and Christmas shopping season looming, TSB is urging consumers to remain vigilant to purchase fraud, as cases spike by 11%.

The bank’s data reveals that purchase scams now account for 63% of all bank transfer fraud cases reported by its customers - up from 52% in 2024.

It also recorded an 11% year-on-year increase in the volumes of purchase fraud cases between January and September 2025, with victims losing an average of £452 per scam.

It is a key driver of fraud cases across the banking sector, as UK Finance data recently revealed that purchase scams account for 72% of all fraud cases, and at a cost of £53 million in the first half of this year.

TSB is calling on social media companies to take urgent action - specifically, with the introduction of secure payment platforms to allow consumers to pay safely. Unlike traditional bank transfers, which rely heavily on trust and can leave victims vulnerable to scammers who vanish after receiving payment.

Social media platforms continue to be the origin of the vast majority of purchase fraud with scammers advertising fake listings of popular or hard to find items. Facebook accounts for three-fifths of all TSB purchase fraud cases, followed by Instagram (12%), WhatsApp (11%), Snapchat and Tik Tok (5%), X (4%), Gumtree (2%) and Telegram (1%). 

50...Simba has announced the expansion of its partnership with UK retailer Bensons for Beds.

Its mattresses and accessories, first introduced in 20 Bensons stores in May this year, will now be available in 50 locations nationwide.

Steve Reid, CEO at Simba, says: “Our initial roll-out with Bensons has been a real success, with strong demand and great feedback from customers discovering Simba products in-store.”

“Building on that momentum, we’re delighted to be expanding into more locations nationwide. This next phase means even more people will have the chance to experience Simba’s award winning products first-hand. Together we’re making world class sleep more accessible.”

51% of UK shoppers say they’ve unknowingly bought out of date food from supermarkets, as new research from GS1 UK finds £11.8 billion worth of groceries are thrown away each year.

2,000 people were surveyed for this.

The average adult in the UK throws away groceries worth £17.90 a month - the equivalent of £214.27 every year. 49% said food goes off before they can use it, a third forget what’s in their fridge and one in five misjudge portion sizes.

Three-quarters believe clearer labelling would help reduce waste, and 71% say supermarkets must do more to tackle the issue. Consumers also want retailers to act more responsibly with unsold stock - 72% want food nearing its use-by date donated to charities and 69% support discounting near expiry items. A third want better inventory and demand forecasting.

1,000...Co-op Media Network (CMN) has completed a roll-out of 1,000 front of store screens.

These installations - combined with kiosk, self-service and customer-facing screens at manned tills - will take the total number of screens across Co-op’s 2,300 stores to 15,871, making it one of the largest digital advertising screen footprints of any UK grocery retailer.

CMN announced that it was to install 300 front of store digital screens last October, a figure that has now increased by over 230%, with the 1,000th recently installed in Newton Stewart, Scotland. The network offers advertisers the ability to work with CMN on in-store campaigns.

77% and 23%...Attacks on retail workers are ‘completely horrifying’, the GMB union has said in response to a new survey by the Retail Trust. This shows that 77% shop staff have experienced intimidating behaviour in the past year and 23% were physically assaulted.  

A further 43% said they are being abused or attacked every week, a 10% rise on last year. 

During a recent GMB survey, meanwhile, Asda workers said they had been: stabbed, punched and threatened with syringes; spat at, suffered broken bones, been hit with bottles and had death threats against them and their children; delivery drivers had been chased by people in cars and been confronted by customers in the nude; store workers have had watermelons and joints of gammon thrown at them. 

150...UK home improvement retailer, Wickes, has partnered with last mile delivery specialist Gophr to launch its Wickes Rapid service across 150 stores nationwide. This same-day delivery offering promises to bring DIY essentials and trade materials directly to homes and job sites in as little as two to three hours.

Customers will have access to Wickes’ full store, with same-day delivery options ranging from motorbikes (smaller items such as tools) to large vans (big ticket orders including timber and flooring). 

Gophr provides two to three hour delivery slots with live GPS tracking, proof of delivery and real-time notifications. Orders can be placed seven days a week during store opening hours.

The delivery experience is also powered by Metapack, which connects Wickes’ online checkout with Gophr’s courier network. Acting as the delivery management system, Metapack automatically allocates orders and provides full visibility for both customers and store teams. 

£26.9 billion...UK shoppers are set to spend a record breaking £26.9 billion online in November and December (up 4.2% YoY), with Black Friday alone topping £1.19 billion, according to Adobe Analytics data.

Cyber Weekend will pull in almost £1 billion a day. Sales are projected to reach £3.8 billion, the equivalent to more than £39.5 million every hour over the four-day shopping event 

Traffic to retail sites from GenAI sources is, meanwhile,expected to be up 410% compared with the 2024 holiday season as shoppers turn to AI for gift inspiration, deal hunting, and making sure presents arrive on time.  

Mobile devices will continue to add to their majority share of online spending during the 2025 holiday season, setting a new record for amount spent and share of spend.​ £15.3 billion will be spent via mobile devices in November and December, up 5.5% on last years' £14.5 billion. ​Mobile revenue share during the holiday season is forecast to be 56.7% of total online spending, edging up from 56% last year. 

20.9%...Just 20.9% of UK shoppers say Gap still resonates with them, according to a new study of over 1,000 people from The Harris Poll UK.

The findings come as Gap prepares to re-enter the British high street, with plans to open new physical stores alongside its existing online presence.

After closing all its UK locations in 2021, it is seeking a comeback through a partnership with Next, which will see new “store-in-store” concepts opening across select retail locations.  

However, the data suggests Gap faces an uphill challenge in winning back consumer affection. 21.1% of shoppers say they have missed seeing it on the high street, and only 27.7% would be likely to shop there in the future. Nostalgia alone may not be enough to drive its revival, with only 12% of respondents saying they have missed trying on clothes in Gap stores.

When asked about the brand’s fit for today’s market, 79.1% said the retailer no longer resonates with modern consumers. Despite this, the idea that its style is “out of date” drew a more mixed response, with 13.3% agreeing but a large 86.7% disagreeing - perhaps signalling uncertainty or indifference rather than outright rejection.

£600,000...The East of England Co-op says it has invested over £600,000 in a project to replace all its existing self-checkouts (SCOs) across its Food store estate with new units from Trust Retail. 

The SCOs were piloted in the retailer’s Food store on Vernon Street in Ipswich, where, it says, the technology has already improved transaction efficiency and customer satisfaction.

The roll-out is being supported by software and IT company QCom and will standardise the East of England Co-op's self-checkout experience.

Beyond a more modern look and improved customer experience, Trust Retail’s SCO solution has the potential to improve the retailer’s shrinkage through in-built camera technology, as well as headset integration for colleagues and age verification technology, both to help reduce customer waiting times. 

2,600...Uber Technologies and The Kroger Co. have announced an expanded relationship.

Beginning early 2026, customers can shop and schedule delivery from more than 2,600 stores across all Kroger banners including Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Smith’s, Fry’s, Harris Teeter, Mariano’s, and more directly through the Uber Eats app.

Kroger Boost members can get an extended free trial of Uber One for 6% cash back and automatic surge savings on rides, $0 delivery fees, and up to 10% off all Uber Eats orders. Uber One members will also be able to try an extended free trial of Boost, including 2X fuel points on all purchases and $0 delivery fee for orders placed on Kroger.com or in the retailer’s app.

Uber Eats’ restaurant selection will be integrated directly on the Kroger app, allowing customers to place their weekly grocery order and also order dinner from a local restaurant in said app. Kroger will be the first retailer where customers can access their favourite fresh food and exclusive Our Brands products alongside hundreds of thousands of restaurants, with $0 delivery fees and reduced service fees for all Boost members.

The companies will also collaborate to build retail media experiences for brands.

46%...A new Sophos report, involving a survey of 361 IT and cybersecurity leaders across 16 countries, reveals that 46% of retail ransomware incidents were traced to an unknown security gap.

Among organisations that had data encrypted, 58% paid the ransom to get their data back - the second highest payment rate in five years.

Key findings from the report:

• 46% of attacks began with an unknown security gap (top operational factor)

• 30% of attacks exploited known vulnerabilities (top technical root cause, third year running)

• 58% of victims with encrypted data paid; 48% of attacks resulted in encryption (five-year low)

• Median ransom demand doubled to $2 million from 2024; average payment increased 5% to $1 million