AI innovation and ransomware threats: our most read retail technology articles from last week
Check out our most clicked retail technology articles from last week, including M&S, TikTok Shop, Tesco, SML Group, Sophos, Wonder, RETaiL AI, Snappy Group, Amazon, and the RTIH AI in Retail Awards.
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.
Snappy Group adds Holland & Barrett CFO and former Ocado Group executive Vineta Bajaj to board
Snappy Group, the company behind Snappy Shopper and Hungrrr, has appointed Vineta Bajaj, Group CFO at Holland & Barrett and former executive at Ocado Group, to its board as a Non-Executive Director.
“Convenience is being redefined,” says Bajaj. “It’s no longer just about speed. It’s about service, sustainability, and accessibility. Customers want grocery shopping that fits their lives: 24/7 ordering, loyalty, transparency and support for their local community. The next day full basket delivery had its moment, and that was yesterday.”
Bajaj will join a board that also includes Justin King, former CEO at Sainsbury’s.
“The future of q-commerce is technology that drives profitable, local growth,” she adds.
At Ocado Group, she played a key role in global expansion and capital raises totalling nearly $2 billion. At Rohlik Group she helped double revenues past $1 billion while overseeing strategic investment and transformation.
Snappy Group, the company behind @SnappyShopperUK, has appointed Vineta Bajaj, Group CFO at Holland & Barrett and former executive at Ocado Group, to its board as a Non-Executive Director @gregdeacon #RetailTech #RetailJobs https://t.co/cahwxMePWe
— Retail Technology Innovation Hub (@RTIH_RetailTech) November 7, 2025
Victoria Gutierrez departs Sysco to join Marc Lore's Wonder as Chief Merchandising Officer
Wonder, a food delivery and technology startup founded in 2018 and fronted by former Walmart U.S. eCommerce executive, Marc Lore, has appointed Victoria Gutierrez as Chief Merchandising Officer.
She joins from Sysco where she served as SVP and Chief Merchandising Officer.
Sysco specialises in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home.
In a LinkedIn post, Tony Hoggett, CEO at Wonder, said: “As I hit my one-year anniversary at Wonder, I’m thrilled to share some exciting news. Victoria most recently served as SVP-Chief Merchandising Officer at Sysco, where she led sourcing, pricing, private label, digital strategy, and sustainability - helping grow its e-commerce business to $20 billion+ and private brands to $22 billion+. Before that, she was at BCG specialising in grocery merchandising strategy and analytics.”
He added: “As we scale across the Northeast and begin expanding into new regions across the US, our sourcing and merchandising strategy have never been more important - Victoria’s leadership and expertise will be key to our next phase of growth.”
RTIH Innovation Awards winner RETaiL AI announces go live for RaiD10 Data-Cube solution
The evolved solution is a consolidation of the company’s product offering that enables retailers to instantly deploy and adapt smart audio networks in their stores to influence and analyse consumer behaviour, deter theft and ensure adherence by customers and staff.
Key benefits include an AI engine that:
Drives promotional and brand awareness and Influences customers with hyper-targeted promotions at Point of Sale.
Provides unparalleled promotions, compliance and adherence analytics. Details real-time demographics analytics and customer flow heatmapping.
Delivers audible in-store “suspicious behaviour” alerts with near instant video evidence.
Auto completes police reports and upload evidence packs to police with multi-angle CCTV evidence including videos of theft, discarded stock, walkouts and offender exit.
Allocates adherence tasks to shifts and/or specific staff members or managers.
Tracks number of customers currently in stores/estates and triggers promotional audio when busy, or staff adherence and task alerts when quiet.
RaiD10 also allows retailers to add, remove and scale any module on-demand while enjoying best in class technical and management support at the touch of a button.
M&S official TikTok Shop launches as a pilot initially featuring a curated range of beauty products
M&S has officially gone live on TikTok Shop. Initially launching as a pilot, this is part of the retailer’s focus to broaden appeal and make it easier for customers to discover and shop whenever, wherever and however they like.
The shop will initially range a curated selection of beauty products, from skincare heroes, including £6 Apothecary Hand Lotion and the retailer’s SKINKIND range (from £7.50) to home fragrance favourites, like the £10 Discover (three million bottles sound and counting).
M&S says that the move comes at a time when it is capturing the attention of the TikTok community with products including this year’s Christmas decorations range, a trench jacket from its summer collection and animal print collarless jacket going viral, leading them to sell out.
Other products that have gone viral include M&S haircare and bodywash, along with disinfectant and laundry offerings. The hashtag #marksandspencer has racked up 104.2k posts on TikTok.
2025 RTIH Innovation Awards winners announced, including Tesco, White Stuff, and EE
VoCoVo, Everseen, Sensei, Gander, Iceland, Olio, Trust Retail, East of England Co-op, Lekkerland SE, Poq, Mamas & Papas, Varner, Sitoo, and Zebra Technologies were among the winners last month at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, sponsored by Vista Technology Support, STRATACACHE, VenHub, 3D Cloud, EdTech Innovation Hub, and Retail Technology Show.
We received a record number of entries this year and many fantastic examples of the continued resilience and dynamism of the retail space during hugely challenging times.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC in Central London and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our 2025 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended last month's gathering.
2025 RTIH Innovation Awards winners announced. Congrats to our winners including @poqcommerce @LiveRamp @Nextail_co @currys @hanshowofficial and thanks to our sponsors, judges, event attendees and the legend that is @tiffstevenson for hosting #RTIHAwards25 https://t.co/YtWksWh6NE
— Retail Technology Innovation Hub (@RTIH_RetailTech) October 17, 2025
Tesco taps trial measurement technology to see how shoppers are engaging with retailer's digital screens
Tesco is deploying trial measurement technology in some of its stores to understand how people are engaging with its digital screens.
With thanks to Bryan Roberts, Retail Futures Senior Partner at IGD, for bringing this to our attention.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: "Interesting to see some trial measurement tech in place in Tesco, presumably capturing dwell time and assessing which digital screen ads are hitting the spot. Retail media measurement is going to be a massive theme over the next few years and it is no surprise to see Tesco at the forefront."
AI cheerleader Amazon has never understood what physical retail stores are about and never will
“I still think if you look at the worldwide market segment share of retail, still 80% to 85% of it lives in physical stores,” he said. “That equation is going to flip over time. And I think AI is going to only accelerate that.”
To quote Mandy Rice-Davies, the British model and showgirl best known for her association with Christine Keeler and her role in the Profumo affair during the 1960s: "Well, he would say that, wouldn't he?"
RFID and supply chain technology firm SML Group bags FountainVest and CPE as new investors
SML Group, a specialist in RFID and brand identification solutions, reports that FountainVest and CPE have joined as new shareholders. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
SML is a supply chain and digital transformation partner to various apparel and retail brands. The company specialises in delivering end-to-end solutions across RFID, digital product passports (DPP), factory care solutions (FCS), digital IDs and tags and labels.
Ignatius K.C. Lau, Chief Executive Officer at SML Group, comments: “2024 marked the most successful year in our history, and 2025 has continued our growth journey despite global challenges. These milestones reflect the strength of our strategy, the dedication of our people, and our ability to adapt and execute with excellence.”
“The investment from FountainVest and CPE is a powerful validation of what we have built over the last four decades and a catalyst for the next phase. We will continue to evolve with determination - advancing innovation, strengthening leadership, and investing in our people.”
Rishi Pardal, incoming Chairman at SML Group, says: “SML’s greatest strength lies in its people - their creativity, commitment, and customer-first mindset. As we enter this next phase, our focus will remain on attracting and empowering talent, investing in innovation, and preserving our agility to ensure we are well prepared to serve our customers as they embrace a digitally enabled future.”
Retailers trace ransomware incidents to unknown security gaps as demands and payments rise
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
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