Robots in Leeds and grab and go stores in Lisbon: this week's biggest retail technology stories
It's Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail tech space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past few days, including New Look, Walgreens, Rokt, Instacart, Abercrombie & Fitch Co, Nedap, Sensei, RTS 2026, Jysk, Uber Eats, and Starship Technologies.
1. Digital milestone for fashion retailer New Look as it wraps SAP Commerce Cloud migration project
New Look has completed its migration to SAP Commerce Cloud, pitched as a major milestone in the retailer’s ongoing digital transformation journey.
Building on existing deployments of SAP Emarsys and S/4HANA Finance, the new platform unifies customer, product, sales and finance data with the aim of enabling targeted engagement, boosted sales and reduced costs.
As part of its broader investment in data, AI and digital infrastructure, New Look partnered with SAP and Accenture to modernise its commerce platform and better reach, convert and retain customers.
Building on the £30 million capital investment announced earlier this year to accelerate its digital growth, the project consolidated and cleansed disparate customer data into a single platform.
2. RTIH AI in Retail Awards finalists announced, including Ikea, Instacart, IBM, AWS, and AutoStore
We're pleased to present the finalists and shortlists for the inaugural RTIH AI in Retail Awards, sponsored by 3D Cloud, EdTech Innovation Hub, and Retail Technology Show.
Congratulations to all those who made it through the initial submission process. We received a huge number of impressive entries highlighting companies across the retail landscape who are not only recognising the potential of AI, but also making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and innovation in all areas.
It’s now over to our judging panel who will decide the winners to be announced at the RTIH AI in Retail Awards Ceremony, taking place 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, presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Lucy Porter.
To book your place at the RTIH AI in Retail Awards Ceremony, click here.
3. Walgreens Advertising Group expands AI powered retail media ecosystem with Rokt partnership
Walgreens Advertising Group, the retail media arm of Walgreens, has announced an expansion of its retail media ecosystem with Rokt.
The agreement enables non-endemic brands to reach millions of Walgreens consumers on Walgreens.com’s order confirmation page.
"We are committed to connecting brands with one of the most loyal and engaged consumer bases in the country,” says Abishake Subramanian, Group Vice President, Consumer Marketing, Loyalty and Walgreens Advertising Group.
“By expanding our retail media ecosystem with AI powered capabilities, we’re giving advertisers new ways to engage customers in meaningful moments while creating incremental value for Walgreens.”
4. Grocery retail technology firm Instacart claims first of kind integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT
Instacart says that it is the first grocery partner to launch an app on ChatGPT and the first to offer an embedded, end-to-end shopping and Instant Checkout, all within the context of a ChatGPT conversation.
The aim here is to make it easier for people to go from meal inspiration to doorstep delivery, using Instacart’s real-time grocery network and fulfillment capabilities with the help of OpenAI frontier model capabilities.
“Instacart and ChatGPT are redefining what’s possible in AI powered shopping,” says Anirban Kundu, Chief Technology Officer at Instacart.
“Built on Agentic Commerce Protocol, this experience brings intelligent, real-time support to one of the most essential parts of daily life: getting groceries to feed your family.”
“Together, we’re creating a seamless and secure way for people to turn simple conversations into real-world action, helping customers go from inspiration to a full cart delivered from the store to their door with ease.”
“With the Instacart app directly in ChatGPT, users can go from meal planning to checkout in a single, seamless conversation,” says Nick Turley, VP, Head of ChatGPT. “It’s another step toward bringing our vision to life - where AI delivers helpful suggestions and connects directly to real-world services, saving people time and effort in their everyday lives.”
The Instacart ChatGPT app experience with Instant Checkout is currently available on desktop and mobile web; the Instacart ChatGPT app is available on iOS and Android, with Instant Checkout rolling out to these native platforms in the coming weeks.
5. Coborn's taps Revionics AI solutions for price and promotions optimisation across stores
Coborn’s is deploying Revionics' AI Pricing Platform across its supermarket brands.
“Delivering freshness and value to our communities has been our mission since 1921,” says Scott Winburn, Senior Director of Pricing Strategy at Coborn’s. “As we accelerate our growth journey - which includes operating more banners in expanded markets - our pricing strategy must be agile, localised and customer centric.”
He adds: “In this fast paced retail environment, you’re either innovating or you’re getting passed by those that are. For Coborn’s to be successful for another 100 years, we recognise that advanced technologies - including AI for pricing and promotion - are essential for delivering the best possible experience to our guests."
“With Revionics’ AI Pricing Platform, we can tailor our pricing strategies to reflect guests’ unique preferences and buying patterns across all our banners and communities. By bringing more science, scale and precision into our processes, Coborn’s will become even more effective at ensuring we’re priced right on the items our guests care about most.”
6. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. expands Nedap iD Cloud Store technology partnership following 15 store pilot
Nedap’s iD Cloud platform is being implemented across numerous Abercrombie & Fitch stores in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and the Asia-Pacific region (APAC).
Following a 15-store pilot, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (A&F Co.) began deploying the iD Cloud Store solution in June, with full implementation scheduled to be completed later this month. The roll-out is part of a move to improve omnichannel fulfillment, inventory accuracy and on-shelf product availability.
“Inventory visibility is crucial to serving our customers seamlessly, both digitally and in-store,” says Lauren Morr, Senior Vice President of Digital Operations at Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
“We chose Nedap not only for their innovative and advanced technology, but also because of the dedicated expertise within their iD Cloud community. The partnership enables us to optimise our operations with increased inventory accuracy and visibility.”
7. Sensei notches up a retail first as autonomous Pharma&Go healthcare store goes live in Lisbon, Portugal
Sensei reports that it is equipping what is pitched as the first 100% autonomous healthcare store in Europe.
Located in Parque das Nações, in Lisbon, the new Pharma&Go store is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
With 90m² and a grab and go model, shoppers can check in with a bank card at the entrance and move freely around the space, which is organised like a conventional store.
The technology implemented, based on artificial intelligence and computer vision, operates without personal cameras, biometric identification or the collection of data that could compromise privacy. Products taken from the shelves are identified in real-time, as is the automatic updating of each customer’s digital basket. Upon exit, the amount is charged to the card, with no need to use a checkout.
“The opening of the first 100% autonomous healthcare store in Europe shows how artificial intelligence and computer vision can transform entire sectors, creating faster, more convenient and safer ways to shop. For Sensei, it is an important milestone to apply this technology to a segment as sensitive as health and well-being, reinforcing our mission to make retail smarter and more human centric,” says Vasco Portugal, CEO and Co-founder at Sensei.
9. TALA Founder Grace Beverley set to headline at Retail Technology Show 2026 during April
Grace Beverley has been confirmed to headline at Retail Technology Show 2026, which will take place on 22nd and 23rd April at London’s ExCeL.
Founder of activewear brand TALA, fitness tech firm Shreddy, and personal organisation specialist The Productivity Method and Co-founder of AI company Retrograde, Beverley has a global following of over three million people. She has raised over $14 million in seed and Series A funding for both TALA and Retrograde in rounds led by venture capital funds.
Launched in 2019, TALA creates activewear and athleisure from recycled and upcycled materials. Alongside its DTC online channel, Beverley recently opened a second store at Westfield London, building on a first one in Carnaby Street.
Beverley is also a speaker and podcast host and was first named in Forbes 30 Under 30’s retail and e-commerce list at just 23 years of age. Her first book Working Hard, Hardly Working was a Sunday Times number one bestseller. Her podcast of the same name has a reach of over 100 million people and hasn’t left Spotify’s top five in the business charts.
Speaking at RTS 2026, Beverley will draw on her experience of launching, running and growing multi-channel brands which operate across distinctly different sectors and connect with wide ranging audiences.
10. Uber Eats and Starship Technologies team up to bring robot deliveries to people of Leeds
Uber Eats and Starship Technologies are launching autonomous robot deliveries in Leeds.
A fleet of green robots will help to deliver winter warmer meals and festive essentials for locals in the Headingley, Burley and Hyde Park areas of the city in December and beyond.
“It’s brilliant to see autonomous innovation supporting one of our busiest times of year,” says Saskia de Jongh, EMEA General Manager at Uber.
“It’s so exciting that our new global partnership with Starship Technologies will first launch in Leeds, meaning we can offer local customers a fast new way to get what they need delivered - whether that’s a piping hot Pad Thai or party food essentials.”
Starship’s battery powered robots travel mainly on pavements. They have saved over 700 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere in Europe so far, according to Starship, with the average delivery using as little energy as it takes to boil a kettle for a cup of tea.
“We’re incredibly excited to be one of the first restaurants in Leeds to use Starship’s innovative delivery robots with Uber Eats, yet another exciting new adventure in the twenty years we’ve been running our restaurant,” says Mark Burnard, Co-owner of Jino's Thai Cafe in Leeds.
“It’s a fantastic way to keep up with the demand for our much loved dishes, especially our classic Pad Thai and any festive specials we roll out this winter. This cutting-edge technology will help us keep delivering more fresh, hot meals to our loyal customers.”
10. GTT announces partnership to accelerate Jysk digital transformation and international expansion push
GTT Communications, a networking and security as a service provider, has announced a partnership with home furnishing retailer Jysk.
This is pitched as an essential step in Jysk’s digital transformation, creating a high performance network built on GTT’s global tier 1 backbone and WAN capabilities.
The solution combines ethernet and cloud connect services with the aim of delivering secure, low latency connectivity across stores, warehouses and cloud environments, supporting the retailer’s unified commerce strategy through its ongoing roll-out of a single omnichannel platform connecting stores, e-commerce, customer service centers and delivery operations across the globe.
Jysk, part of the family owned Lars Larsen Group, has grown its footprint to operate more than 3,600 stores and web shops across 50 countries, with further expansion planned. To underpin this, the company is investing more than DKK 2 billion in IT infrastructure, connectivity and cloud initiatives over the coming years.
Continue reading…