Holograms, drones, and robots: presenting last week’s biggest technology plays at a glance

RTIH rounds up the stand out retail systems deals, launches, deployments and pilots from the past seven days. Including Mango, VITA, Tesco, Whole Foods Market, M&S, Zalando, Morrisons, TCS, Kroger, Instacart, Wickes, Gophr, Intel, and Walmart.

Mango

Mango has partnered with TextileGenesis, a Lectra company, to boost traceability across its global supply chain.

Using TextileGenesis’ 6D traceability platform, Mango says that it now tracks thousands of tonnes of sustainable fibres and over 40 million product units, engaging more than 1,000 suppliers in 23 countries.

“Achieving such transparency presents a significant challenge for brands such as Mango, given the complexity of their global supply chains,” says TextileGenesis CEO, Amit Gautam.

“Ensuring accurate traceability requires an advanced solution capable of providing detailed insights and verifiable data throughout every stage of production. We are happy to help Mango achieve their sustainability goals by embracing traceability and creating a transparent value chain.”

VITA

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.

M&S and Zalando

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.”

Whole Foods Market

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."

Wildberries

Wildberries has begun testing drone delivery of orders placed on its online marketplace. The first unmanned deliveries were carried out from a logistics centre to one of its pickup points in St. Petersburg, Russia.

This was tested out with the support of the St. Petersburg Transport Committee, using a certified domestic unmanned aircraft system. The trials included a route featuring multiple landing points.

“We are continuously working to make the delivery process as fast and convenient as possible for our customers,” says Maxim Kim, Head of Wildberries’s Pickup Point Development Department. “Drone assisted delivery is one of the innovations we are testing and believe in, particularly for hard to reach regions.”

Wildberries processes more than 20 million orders daily through its online marketplace. To enhance the speed and efficiency of order delivery, the company is expanding its logistics infrastructure across Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other markets, while also piloting various technologies.

Tesco and Just Eat

Just Eat Go, Just Eat’s white label service, has announced a new partnership with Tesco involving the UK grocery giant’s on-demand service Whoosh.

In addition to Whoosh, the tie up will see Just Eat Go power rapid delivery services across One Stop and Booker’s symbol brands such as Premier. 

Tom Baxter, Commercial Director for Just Eat Go, says: “Our new partnership with Tesco demonstrates the diverse range of retailers who are utilising our service, from community retailers such as One Stop, to big brand grocers including Tesco Whoosh.”

“With Just Eat Go we empower our partner brands to respond even more quickly to the rising demand for rapid fulfillment, something that will be particularly important as we head towards the busy festive season.” 

EKO

StrongPoint has expanded its collaboration with Swedish retailer, EKO, which has chosen the ShopFlow Logistics cloud-based solution to be rolled out in its stores. This will be deployed in all 16 EKO hyper markets during 2026.

ShopFlow Logistics is used for logistics management, offering control over inventory, stocktaking, orders, goods reception, stock adjustments, waste, and breakage etc. With real-time updates, EKO can provide its customers accurate stock availability for online orders.

“After a thorough market evaluation, we selected StrongPoint as our supplier to ensure a reliable, secure, and efficient solution that fits our store concept. StrongPoint’s ShopFlow Logistics is the best solution on the market, which made it an easy choice for us,” says Fredrik Franzén, IT Chef at EKO.

Tisson

Tissot, a Swiss luxury watch brand owned by the Swatch Group, is rolling out holograms in 40 stores worldwide. And it all started from a conversation at a trade show.

In a LinkedIn post, Kiryl Chykeyuk, CEO and Founder at HYPERVSN, said:  “It happened at ISE in Barcelona.  I was speaking on a panel about tech trends. It was the first big event after Covid and the energy in the room was incredible.”

He added: “It felt great - and strangely emotional - to be around people again, hearing laughter and conversations. Tissot was in the audience. After the panel, they stopped by our booth , curious about how holograms could fit into retail storytelling. We talked about emotion, storytelling - and how great brands don't just show their story, they make people feel it.”

That chat turned into a partnership. Now new Tissot stores open with a built in HYPERVSN hologram experience.

Chykeyuk concluded: “40 stores globally - Vienna, Istanbul, Milan, Florida, Montreal, Sydney. That one conversation at a trade show became a rollout across multiple counties. It’s a reminder that one real conversation can scale globally - if the vision is shared.”

Bensons for Beds

Snap Finance UK has partnered with Bensons for Beds. Leveraging Snap’s technology, the collaboration focuses on affordable PoS finance, with the aim of providing smarter, more flexible ways to shop. 

Bensons for Beds customers have access to Snap’s virtual Visa card - supported by Apple Pay and Google Pay - and Snap Wallet app, enabling contactless payments and visibility of monthly payments.

Andy Smith, CEO at Snap Finance UK, says: "Our solutions play a vital role in supporting customers unable to access mainstream credit, providing tailored repayment options suited to their needs to enable fairer access to essential, quality purchases. We're thrilled to partner with Bensons for Beds to support more customers.”

“Our ability to turn declines into approvals for eligible customers, delivered via our simple and convenient virtual card product, will not only convert more sales but also build a strong, trusted partnership that enhances the overall shopping and finance experience for Bensons for Beds customers."

schuh, LK Bennett, and GO Outdoors

Buy now pay later specialist, Clearpay, has announced the addition of schuh, LK Bennett, and GO Outdoors to its merchant portfolio.

Customers shopping in-store and online with schuh and LK Bennett, and online with GO Outdoors, can now use Clearpay to spread the cost of their purchases across four interest free instalments paid in six weeks. 

Claudia Nappo, Chief Operating Officer at LK Bennett, says: “We’re thrilled to introduce our partnership with Clearpay, giving our shoppers greater flexibility at checkout. This collaboration brings an added level of ease and freedom to how our customers shop, helping them express their style on their terms.”

Justin Lodge, Chief Digital Director at schuh, says:  “We're all about meeting customers where they are - whether that’s the latest trainer drop or offering flexible ways to pay. By teaming up with Clearpay, we’re allowing our customers to shop smarter and manage their budgets with confidence.”

LeMieux

LeMieux has announced the launch of its first ever mobile app, combining a points-based rewards programme, 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.

Morrisons

Tata Consultancy Services has expanded its decade long partnership with Morrisons. As part of this agreement, TCS will help align operations across key business functions including retail, e-commerce, and marketing, increase efficiency, and accelerate Morrisons’ digital transformation.

It will deliver end-to-end engineering services - application design development, testing, and maintenance services, modernising the legacy platforms, and embedding AI powered solutions to improve service outcomes. 

TCS will also set up an automation factory and a Business Intelligent Command Centre (BICC) with the aim of enabling a 360-degree operation view, proactive issue resolution, and more data driven decision-making.

These changes are designed to not only reduce service disruptions, manual interventions, and response time, but also deliver more consistent and engaging customer experience for shoppers. Further, TCS will be responsible for transforming the digital platforms in the areas of loyalty, marketing, e-commerce, and retail for Morrisons.

This effort supports the grocer’s renewed operating model through AI, automation, and software engineering excellence to deliver new digital products at speed and bring industry leading solutions to retail. With this initiative, Morrisons says it has been able to consolidate its vendor base and improve synergy across business areas.

Kroger and Instacart

The Kroger Co. and Instacart have announced an expanded relationship involving increased access to Express Delivery and new, agentic shopping experiences.

The tie up reaffirms Instacart as Kroger's primary delivery fulfillment partner across Kroger.com and the retailer’s app, powering delivery from nearly 2,700 stores across more than 20 banners in the US. The pair will also open new opportunities for CPG companies to reach customers with messages and offers through engagement and retail media options.

Kroger will be one of the first retailers to offer customers access to Instacart's AI assistant, Cart Assistant, which it will offer to customers shopping on the Kroger iOS mobile app. This helps customers find meal inspiration, build carts faster with favourite items, and plan meals more easily.

Omy Laboratoires

Canadian dermoskincare brand Omy Laboratoires has teamed up with Antavo to launch Le Lab, a loyalty programme that rewards customers for engagement, referrals, and skin health challenges.

This introduces a four tier system: Discovery, Exploration, Expertise, and Elite, where progress is tied to lifetime purchase value and subscription activity. 

“Partnering with Antavo has allowed us to bring our vision for Le Lab to life - an experience where every action, not just purchases, is rewarded. This collaboration helps us celebrate our customers’ unique skincare journeys while staying true to our mission of personalisation, inclusion, and innovation,” says Laurent Bronsard of Omy Laboratoires.

Tails.com

Delivery platform, Metapack, has announced a partnership with Tails.com, a UK pet food subscription service.

Founded in Richmond in 2014, Tails.com says it can now offer pet owners greater shipping choice and price transparency at checkout, while also driving down its fulfilment costs.

Equipped with real-time data and operational insights powered by Metapack, it is now more easily able to refine fulfilment processes for faster shipping, reduced failed deliveries and improved purchase conversion rates at checkout.

“Streamlining our tech stack with Metapack’s capabilities has significantly improved our visibility across the entire distribution journey - from fulfilment through to final delivery. The platform’s transparency and reliability position Tails.com to be more agile and responsive to opportunities within the courier market,” says Maxime Thomas, Head of UK Operations at Tails.com.

Merco

Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions reports that Merco, a supermarket chain in northern Mexico, is implementing its MxP Self-Checkout offering in stores across the region.

The partnership began with a pilot programme in select stores. Merco is now exploring adding Toshiba’s ELERA Security Suite with computer vision and AI powered loss prevention and produce recognition.

"Merco has always been a retail innovator in Monterrey, Mexico. I believe our investment in Toshiba’s self-checkout technology demonstrates our continued commitment to always put the customer first and enhance the service and experience when customers visit our stores,” says Eduardo Lozano, CIO/CFO at Merco.

M&S

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.

Co-op

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.

Liquid Death, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and Hain Celestial

Ibotta has announced LiveLift, a tool designed to help consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands maximise the profitability of their promotions.

Companies including Liquid Death, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and Hain Celestial have taken part in campaigns during the solution’s pilot phase.

"LiveLift brings the principles of performance marketing such as flexibility and responsiveness to promotions, giving marketers an enhanced ability to set incremental sales targets, measure and optimise campaigns in an ongoing way to drive profitable revenue growth and expand market share,” says Bryan Leach, CEO and Founder at Ibotta.

“Marketers have come to expect precise measurement in their digital marketing efforts, but historically did not have access to the same level of capabilities for digital promotions. LiveLift enables brands to reinvent their national promotion strategy, allowing them to drive incremental volume at scale with control and efficiency.”

“We’re energised by strategic partners like Ibotta that are a precise mix of innovation and tactical execution, and that ultimately help drive revenue growth for our company, including increases in sales and quicker purchase cycles we saw during our LiveLift pilot,” says Benoit Vatere, Chief Media Officer at Liquid Death.

“LiveLift gives us an enhanced ability to measure incremental sales lift, ultimately empowering us to make better informed investment decisions on an ongoing basis.” . 

Topps Tiles

Topps Tiles has completed the roll-out of Cegid Retail Store Excellence, a task management and retail operations platform, across its 297 stores in the UK.

Before implementing the solution, it faced challenges ensuring that product on promotion was merchandised accurately and consistently across its store network.

Whilst it does have area managers responsible for store standards, there is an inevitable delay between store visits, leaving head office with limited visibility into how promotions were being executed and store teams without a clear way to demonstrate compliance.

“Some stores were fantastic at bringing promotions to life, while others needed more support,” says Sarah Kite, Retail Support Manager at Topps Tiles.

“The problem was visibility. We couldn’t see in real time what was happening on the shop floor, and our reporting process using Excel spreadsheets was incredibly time consuming. Now, with Cegid Retail Store Excellence, we can see what’s working and share best practice across the business.” 

Wickes

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. 

Intel

Intel has launched its Experience store for the 2025 winter holiday shopping season, beginning in New York City and expanding to London, Munich, Paris, and Seoul over the next week.

Building on a London activation in 2024, the store will feature new interactive AI PC exhibitions from Intel technology partners including ASUS, Acer, Dell, Google, HP, Lenovo, LG, Microsoft, MSI, and Samsung.

Retail partners include Best Buy (New York), Curry’s (London), NBB/Cyberport/Media Markt (Munich), Boulanger (Paris), and Coupang/Gmarket/NAVER (Seoul).

In a LinkedIn post, Adam Born, Vice President - Sales Enablement & Retail Programmes, said: “I was honoured to attend the ribbon cutting and opening of the Intel Experience Store in New York City, a space designed to showcase cutting-edge technology, breakthrough AI innovations, and immersive gaming experiences.”

He added: “Best Buy and Intel have been partners for decades, and this launch is a great example of how collaboration drives innovation and creates memorable experiences for customers. If you’re in the city over the next month, I highly recommend stopping by to explore the interactive demos firsthand. The store is located at 1251 Avenue of the Americas, don’t miss it!”

Tesco

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."

Walmart

Platforms like ZEPETO are reshaping how Gen Z discovers and buys from brands.

So says Justin Breton, Head of Brand Partnerships & Emerging Experiences.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: "Our latest ZEPETO update features a new No Boundaries drop and a Halloween themed brand shop, each designed to spark creativity and self-expression in one of Gen Z’s most dynamic virtual spaces."

He noted that nearly half of Gen Z engages in immersive worlds and they say that virtual experiences directly influence what they purchase IRL. "With immersive commerce now fully integrated, users can seamlessly move from inspiration to transaction, all without leaving the experience," he added.

Breton concluded: "The future of commerce isn’t about where people shop... It’s about where they connect with the brands they love, and how those connections convert into positive brand reappraisal and business growth."