Including Kenvue, Unilever, and Spangle: our most read retail technology articles from last week

Check out the articles on this here website that caught your fancy last week, including Asda, Co-op, Uber Eats, CeX, Just Eat Takeaway.com, Temu, Google, Buynomics, and Amazon.

Kenvue holds ribbon cutting ceremony for new HQ featuring Insights Lab and Virtual Experience Room

Kenvue, the company behind brands such as Neutrogena, Listerine, Aveeno, and Tylenol, has held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new 290,000 sq. ft. global headquarters in Summit, New Jersey.

The firm, which marked the start of construction of its 100,000 sq. ft. Science and Innovation Lab at a ceremony last year, has officially moved its headquarters from Skillman to Summit, New Jersey.

An Insights Lab, a high tech, multi-room experience, is designed to transform how Kenvue develops, tests, and showcases its products.

A Virtual Experience Room immerses users in a 270-degree digital retail environment, allowing real-time feedback on in-store execution. A Sensory Lab enables rapid prototyping and consumer testing, ensuring products meet evolving consumer needs. A Design Lab brings human centered design to life through advanced 3D and 2D modeling.

The new headquarters also provides the company with proximity to talent across major areas, such as life science, data, technology, and marketing.

Unilever doubles down on influencers in response to shifts in media consumption habits and tech adoption

Unilever is gearing up to hire more social media influencers to market its products because consumers are “suspicious” of corporate branding.

“Messages of brands coming from corporations are suspicious messages,” said new Chief Executive Fernando Fernandez, in his first public comments since taking over from ousted predecessor Hein Schumacher at the beginning of the month. “Creating marketing activity systems in which others can speak for your brand at scale is very important.”

“Unilever's decision to amplify its social media investment and influencer collaborations is a strategic response to shifts in our media consumption habits and tech adoption. Increasingly we’re swapping traditional media for digital media and rejecting - or even blocking - advertising formats that interrupt our user experience. Brands now have to work harder to earn user attention," says Thomas Walters, Europe CEO and Co-Founder at Billion Dollar Boy, a creator agency and partner to Unilever brands.   

This shift is encouraging more brands to pivot away from broad brush, one way ad spots via TV, radio and OOH channels and instead invest more in personalised social media first advertising. As a result, global social ad spend worldwide is projected to grow by almost 10% to a value of $433.28 billion by 2030. But, amid an escalating competition for consumer attention online, how do brands stand out among the crowd and ensure their investment goes further?

“Unilever’s solution is to double down on creators. They recognise that consumers trust people, not ads. As we enter a new era of advocacy driven marketing, leveraging the social authority and cultural relevance of creators can help brands to meet their audiences in the digital communities in which they exist and connect with them in a more deep, and meaningful way.”

Bold move as Amazon shakes up physical retail strategy with Just Walk Out technology stalling in real world

Amazon’s recent announcement that it is merging the corporate teams behind its Amazon Go and Fresh stores is a bold move that signals a shift in focus - streamlining operations and integrating its cashierless technology across both formats. But it also hints at the challenges it faces in cracking the competitive grocery and convenience store markets.

So says Sumeet Goenka, Founder and CEO at YALLO Group.

“The merger brings together the teams responsible for the high tech Go convenience stores, known for their Just Walk Out shopping experience, and the larger Fresh grocery stores, which have struggled to gain momentum. By combining forces, Amazon aims to leverage its cutting-edge tech, like Just Walk Out and Dash Cart, to create a more seamless and efficient shopping experience across its physical stores. It’s a smart play to cut costs and double down on what works.”

The consolidation comes as Amazon reevaluates its bricks and mortar ambitions. The company has already closed some underperforming Fresh and Go locations, suggesting a pivot from rapid expansion to a more measured, profitability focused approach. It’s a reminder that even a tech giant like Amazon isn’t immune to the challenges of traditional retail, Goenka observes.

He adds: “For the retail industry, this move is a fascinating case study. Amazon’s cashierless technology was once seen as a game changer, but scaling it in the real world has proven tougher than expected. Competitors in the grocery and convenience space will be watching closely to see how Amazon’s strategy evolves. Will this merger lead to a more cohesive and successful retail model, or is it a sign that Amazon’s physical store dreams are losing steam?”

“One thing’s for sure: Amazon’s decision reflects the growing importance of operational efficiency and tech integration in retail. It’s a high-stakes experiment that could influence how other players in the industry approach innovation and expansion. For now, Amazon’s retail story is far from over - it’s just entering a new chapter.”

Temu tackles online shoppers' banner blindlesss as e-commerce giant deploys new technology from Google

Temu is integrating new technology from Google that enables e-commerce sites and others to dim the area around on-screen dialogues, so that shoppers don’t miss them.   

It says that its adoption of the technology is already helping to offset shoppers’ “banner blindness” - aka the phenomenon by which as much as 86% of internet users tend to overlook popups or dialogues, even if they’re from the site they’re engaging with.

Google reports that, using its new feature, Temu has reduced invalid screen touches by about 5%. For Temu, whose dialogues work to progress shoppers toward checkout, track products from their favourite stores and select their region, this will minimise accidental dismissals and equate to more completed purchases.

Temu has implemented the feature into its desktop experience, as well as its Android app. Part of Jetpack WindowManager 1.4, developers can choose to dim only the dialogue container or the entire task window, with the aim of creating a more seamless and cohesive interface.

Madrona and Streamlined Ventures back AI powered e-commerce startup Spangle with $6 million seed round

Spangle has secured a $6 million seed round featuring Madrona and Streamlined Ventures.

The company is fronted by Maju Kuruvilla, who last year departed controversial one click checkout startup Bolt. It focuses on creating custom landing pages for online shoppers based on what they searched for or clicked on.

In a LinkedIn post, Spangle said: “Brands are spending millions to drive online traffic - yet the cost of every visit keeps climbing. When 40% of that paid traffic lands on generic, one size fits all experiences, ROAS hits a downward spiral.”

“To bridge the customer experience gap, we deliver self-optimising shopping journeys that are contextually relevant and adaptive based on consumer engagement in real-time. Powered by cutting-edge agentic AI and our proprietary ProductGPT, we help brands turn expensive traffic into profitable customers.”

Second-hand gaming specialist CeX agrees 'game changing' rapid delivery tie up with Just Eat Takeaway.com

CeX, a British retailer focused on pre-owned video games, DVDs, Blu-rays and consumer electronics, now lets customers order items on Just Eat Takeaway.com.

It's the latest non-food option on the latter's app, and covers games, consoles, cables and controllers for rapid delivery.

"We're delighted to expand the reach of CeX to millions of Just Eat customers, making it even faster for them to get the tech treats on demand," says CeX boss David Butler.

"This partnership is a real game changer. Bringing tech and gaming to those that need it right now from all stores nationwide (almost 400 locations). A dream team collaboration and shout out to everyone that has supported to make it happen," says Monica Brennan, Strategic Partnerships Manager - Grocery & Retail at Just Eat.

AI powered pricing and revenue optimisation firm Buynomics secures $30 million in Series B funding

Buynomics, a specialist in AI powered pricing and revenue optimisation founded in 2018, has raised $30 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Forestay Capital, with participation from Anais Ventures, VI Partners, and existing investors Insight Partners, Seedcamp, DvH Ventures, and Tomahawk Ventures.

The cash will support global expansion, with a focus on North America, and enhance Buynomics’ Virtual Shoppers AI technology.

"We see immense potential in Buynomics’ AI technology to redefine commercial decision making," says Jonas Jeandupeux, Principal at Forestay Capital. "Their data driven approach is already changing the mindset on how companies optimise revenue and pricing strategies."

Former Asda executive Dan Owens hits out at 'sensationalist' Telegraph coverage of epic technology transformation

Dan Owens, former Group Product Manager/Head of Product for E-commerce Fulfilment at Asda, has taken to social media to slam The Telegraph after it published an article entitled ‘Asda sacks staff behind Mohsen Issa's IT upgrade disaster’.

This focused on Asda launching a fresh round of job cuts as the grocery giant reeled from a botched £800 million IT upgrade that had been championed by Issa.

In a LinkedIn post, Owens, who now serves as Head of Digital Product - Supply Chain and Last Mile Fulfilment, said: "I've really struggled with this headline over the last few days, and my personal opinion is that it's incredibly sensationalist and unfair journalism from The Telegraph. There has been much written about Asda (the company) in recent years, and I'm not aiming to add to that discourse, I want to talk about the people."

"This week, and back in November, hundreds of people - humans: with lives, families, ambitions, feelings - left a business that they have undoubtedly given their all to. These were people who took on the challenge the business laid at their feet, many of them on secondment from other roles, to work on Europe's largest tech transformation, without any real experience of doing it.  Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But that was what we were asked to do."

He added: "I was there, I saw it: they did it brilliantly, they gave it their all, they operated with a drive and a passion to do the best by the business and it's customers, they were committed to building a platform for the future. Then, they lose their jobs and headlines like this get published. We cannot and should not forget about the human impact when we decide to talk about something. Language matters."

Co-op and Uber Eats shake hands on new three-year rapid grocery deliveries partnership renewal

Uber Eats and Co-op have announced a three-year extension of their quick commerce partnership.

The tie up, which started in 2022, has seen the number of Co-op stores where Uber Eats is available increase to more than 1,300.

The retailer will now extend its work with Uber Direct - Uber’s white label last mile delivery service. Uber Direct already offers a delivery service from Co-op’s own online shop, and will now work with Co-op on deliveries for orders placed via the convenience retailer’s newly launched app, Peckish, which is dedicated to supporting independent local grocery retailers in communities across the UK.   

Co-op will also continue to offer member price savings for Uber Eats users. Uber Eats was the first delivery platform to include these savings, with the former’s more than six million member-owners able to access them on approaching 200 products when ordering groceries and everyday essentials through Uber’s app.

Chris Conway, Co-op Quick Commerce Director, says: “Growing our quick commerce channel is a core part of our strategic approach, and I am delighted to extend and deepen our successful partnership with Uber Eats. Innovation is fundamental to our approach, whether extending reach and choice, creating value through member price savings, or, delivering the Peckish app to give independent grocery retailers a voice online.”

Lucy Jones says farewell to the green machine Asda as she joins SAP consultancy Resulting IT

Lucy Jones has left Asda where she has spent the last eight years, joining from Tesco and most recently serving as Project Manager. She is now heading to SAP consultancy, Resulting IT.

In a LinkedIn post, she said: "After seven and a bit years at Asda, the time has come to say goodbye to the green machine. It’s been an amazing journey full of growth, learning, and a fair share of challenges along the way."

"I started out as a graduate in Gosforth, and never could have imagined all the incredible opportunities that would come my way. I’ve had the chance to work across multiple departments in Asda House, and each experience has taught me something new. One of the standout moments for me was working on the innovation store, trialling things like holograms and personalised chocolate machines, with way too many nights spent at the Holiday Inn Express in Stevenage."

She added: "I’m also incredibly proud to have been part of the Future Programme, where I helped project manage the conversion of our convenience estate. It’s been an incredible achievement to see all 799 stores now fully converted onto the new systems.”

“Along the way, I’ve made some incredible friends who I know I’ll keep for life. A massive thank you to all my colleagues, suppliers, and everyone who’s been part of my journey. Your support, teamwork, and collaboration have meant so much, and I’ve learned a lot from every single one of you."

"Now, I’m looking forward to two weeks off with a few trips away before starting off my next chapter at Resulting IT as a Delivery Manager."