Stylyze co-founder Lisa Perrone Cirelli joins Amazon: our biggest retail technology articles on LinkedIn right now

We’re big fans of LinkedIn and are busy building an amazing community of retail tech enthusiasts on the social media platform. As we power towards the 25,000 followers mark, these are the articles that are currently on their radars, including Lori's Gifts, AiFi, Currys, Vinted Go, B&Q, BrandSwap, Guitar Center, ShopAi, Road Runner Sports, Aptos, AutoStore, East of England Co-op, and PoundFun.

Stylyze co-founder Lisa Perrone Cirelli joins Amazon as Principal Product Marketing Manager on fashion and fitness team

Lisa Perrone Cirelli has joined Amazon and taken on the role of Principal Product Marketing Manager.

She previously co-founded Stylyze, which was acquired by Neiman Marcus Group, leading to her serving as Director, Product, Recommendations and Personalisation at the company.

In a LinkedIn post, she said: "After an incredible journey building Stylyze, pioneering the complex challenge of outfitting at scale, I’ve had the honour of shaping transformative experiences for retailers and customers alike.”

“Alongside my partner, mentor, and friend Kristen Miller, we built technology that helped people feel more confident in what they wear and how they shop. Seeing that vision recognised through an acquisition by Neiman Marcus was truly a dream come true."

She added: "Over the last 3.5 years at Neiman Marcus, ’ve had the privilege of leading innovative recommendation and personalisation initiatives and partnering with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to shape the future of AI powered shopping.”

“I’m deeply proud of what our teams accomplished: delivering measurable business impact, crafting luxury digital experiences, and pushing the boundaries of what personalisation can mean in a luxury setting. I’m incredibly grateful for the trust, freedom, and support I was given to build what hadn’t existed before."

"Today marks an exciting new chapter. I’m proud to announce that I’m joining Amazon as a Principal Product Marketing Manager on the Fashion and Fitness team. At Amazon, I’ll continue that mission - blending innovation, AI, and deep customer obsession to create best-in-class shopping experiences.”

“I’m bringing with me a passion for building with purpose, a love for personalisation at scale, and a drive to craft meaningful, differentiated journeys that truly resonate. I can’t wait to shape what’s next!"

AutoStore OnePointOne robotic vertical farm taps automated cubic storage, supplying Whole Foods Market stores

AutoStore and OnePointOne have unveiled what is pitched as the world’s first robotic vertical farm. Utilising automated cubic storage, this is supplying select Whole Foods Market stores with leafy greens and herbs.

At Opollo Farm, robots move crops through a precision controlled environment, adjusting their position to deliver a balance of water and nutrients. The result is harvest ready greens in 15 days - about half the time of traditional farming - and grown just miles from where they're consumed.

Opollo Farm is designed to tackle some of the biggest challenges in agriculture today: labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, water scarcity, and the demand for fresher, locally grown food.

“We’re constantly exploring new ways to bring fresh, sustainable food to our customers,” says Chris Petroulakis, Category Merchant for Produce at Whole Foods Market. “Opollo Farm is a perfect example of how advanced technology can revolutionise local agriculture, helping to deliver high quality, locally grown produce right to our stores faster and fresher than ever before.”

Hospital retail specialist Lori's Gifts taps AiFi tech for launch of AI powered checkout-free gift shop

US retailer Lori's Gifts has introduced GO Market by Lori’s, its first ever AI powered hospital gift shop, created in partnership with AiFi.

These will open 24/7 in small hospitals where a staffed store is not financially feasible.

They range from 500 to about 700 square feet - about half the size of a staffed location - and stock everything from flowers and sundries to snacks and apparel. Half of the customers will be hospital staff, so a store open 24/7 can accommodate the night crew.

In a LinkedIn post, Lori's Gifts, which operates more than 250 stores in 34 states, said: "We are paving the way for the future of hospital retail - blending innovation and empathy to better support caregivers, patients, and guests across the country.”

“GO Market delivers a completely checkout-free shopping experience using computer vision. No lines, no registers - just grab what you need and go. With 24/7 access, the store is always open. Whether it’s a late night snack, a last minute gift, or a much needed moment of comfort, GO Market is there - on their time."

The first store is now open at Medical City Decatur in Texas, with a second coming soon to Mount Carmel Dublin in Ohio and more locations on the horizon.

James Frith MP connects with Currys to discuss retail crime, digital inclusion and technology investment

James Frith, Member of Parliament for Bury North, visited Currys at Woodfields Retail Park in Bury recently to meet the retailer's store colleagues, and hear about combatting rising retail crime, as well as helping to eradicate digital poverty.

Currys is investing a record amount in store safety measures, including the introduction of VoCoVo headsets to keep colleagues better connected and therefore safer on the shopfloor.

During the visit, Frith observed the new headsets in action, as well as hearing firsthand from store colleagues the impact it’s had on helping them feel safe.

He also heard about Currys’ efforts on a local and national scale to help tackle digital poverty alongside charity partner the Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) through Pennies donations in-store. This allows customers to donate to the DPA when buying products, with the milestone of two million customer donations reached in December 2024, totalling over £700k nationwide.

As part of its support for the DPA, and its goal of helping eradicate digital poverty by 2030, Currys announced in March that it will donate a proportion of every online sale of refurbished tech, across its mobile and computing categories, to the DPA, the funds going towards helping those living in digital poverty across the UK.

Vinted Go on hunt for artists in Spain and Portugal as it looks to make parcel lockers cool

Vinted Go, the shipping brand of Vinted, an online consumer-to-consumer marketplace for buying, selling, and exchanging new or secondhand items, is on a mission to make parcel lockers cool.

In a LinkedIn post, Deimante Valanc, Product Manager at Vinted Go, said: “Do you think parcel lockers are an eyesore? Here is how you can change that. Vinted Go invites artists in Spain and Portugal to transform functional infrastructure into vibrant public art.”

Art on Lockers is a new project that celebrates sustainability, local culture, and community identity. Selected artworks will appear on parcel lockers in cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, and Porto, Valanc added.

East of England Co-op saved 1.8 million meals from landfill in 2024 thanks to Retail Insight partnership

East of England Co-op says that it is moving closer to its goal of eliminating edible food waste by 2030 by working with Retail Insight. Last year, the latter’s AI powered markdown solution helped the cooperative prevent 1.8 million meals from entering landfill.

The pair worked together to deploy an expiry date management feature. Prompted Markdowns is a part of Retail Insight’s WasteInsight solution and was rolled out to all of East of England Co-op's food stores in September 2024.

It automates the identification of products nearing expiry, alerting staff members to focus only on products where action is needed.  The implementation also aligned with the retailer’s goals to simplify its reduced to clear (RTC) processes, reduce operational costs, and reduce food waste.  

B&Q enlists BrandSwap for retail media move as retailer adds post-checkout rewards at DIY.com

BrandSwap has been appointed by home improvement retailer B&Q to deliver post-checkout rewards to shoppers at diy.com. 

B&Q will use the firm’s advertiser network and retail media platform to add exclusive rewards from brand partners such as Apple, Sky, and The AA to its order confirmation page.

The initiative will tap BrandSwap's real-time relevance capabilities, which recommend rewards based on shopper purchase. For example, customers buying appliances will be able to redeem offers on cleaning products from smol, and those making kitchen-related purchases will see rewards from Pact Coffee.

B&Q will use the same functionality to create tailored retail media opportunities, allowing advertisers to target shoppers purchasing in specific categories and locations. 

The Kindr Company founder Kate Thompson takes on Head of Social and Content at online toy retailer PoundFun

UK online toy retailer PoundFun has appointed Kate Thompson as Head of Social & Content.

Thompson previously founded The Kindr Company, a specialist in alcohol free sanitiser.

"With a wealth of knowledge and experience in marketing and business, Kate joins us full time as our Head of Social & Content," says Rob Owlett, Founder at PoundFun. "This announcement has been two years in the making and I am unbelievably excited that we have managed to add Kate to the team."

"Having worked with Rob on various projects over past few years, including his invaluable help with The Kindr Company, I’m delighted to have finally joined the team at PoundFun full time. I’m excited to immerse myself into the world of toys, games, gifts, sweets and so much more coming soon," Thompson comments.

The appointment follows on from the launch of a £2 million investment round, which aims to fuel expansion, create over 200 jobs in Keighley, and position the business for a projected £60 million valuation by 2027. 

The company was created to provide affordable high quality toys from trusted brands amid rising costs. Offering over 800 items at £1 or less, including ranges from LEGO, Barbie, Marvel, and Disney, PoundFun has shipped more than 143,000 orders since launching in July 2023. It has grown to £3.9 million in sales, with no outside capital and a 32.18% repeat customer rate. 

Road Runner Sports gears up to deploy mobile first PoS platform from Aptos across stores in the USA

Road Runner Sports is set to roll-out Aptos ONE, a mobile first PoS platform.

This will extend across its 50+ retail stores in the United States. Aptos ONE will work with the retailer’s existing SaaS applications from Aptos - Merchandising, OMS, CRM and Sales Audit - with the aim of providing highly personalised customer service, real-time inventory availability and connected offline/online interactions.

"We’ve redefined the traditional shoe buying experience - from our groundbreaking shoe-fitting technology to our comprehensive membership program to our curated assortment of top brands,” says Tom Compogiannis, Chief Financial Officer at Road Runner Sports.

“We’re always looking for ways to elevate our customers’ journey with us, which led to our interest in Aptos ONE.

“With Aptos ONE, our team members will have everything they need to serve shoppers - whether that’s mobile checkout, looking up real-time inventory and placing an order for an item not at that store, accessing customer profile and loyalty information, processing returns, checking order status and much more - all on a single device.” 

“We are proud of the experience we offer in our stores today, and we believe that equipping our team members with this next-gen PoS solution is going to make our store experience even better. With Aptos ONE, we can offer shoppers more personalised, streamlined and informed service - without ever leaving their side or asking them to wait in line. Aptos ONE has the power to transform customer and team member interactions.”

Guitar Center boosts allocation and store replenishment planning processes with RELEX Solutions tech

Guitar Center, a retailer of musical instruments, accessories, and lessons, has chosen RELEX Solutions to strengthen its allocation and store replenishment planning processes.

Its tech will support Guitar Center’s network of more than 300 stores and multiple distribution centres across North America, with the aim of enabling improved product availability while reducing inventory levels across 7,000+ SKUs. 

By leveraging RELEX for AI driven replenishment capabilities, Guitar Center aims to improve product availability, ensuring the right products are accessible in all stores.  This initiative addresses challenges with previous disparate systems that led to excess inventory and stockouts, enabling Guitar Center to align their inventory more effectively with customer demand. 

The RELEX platform will provide real-time visibility into inventory levels, allowing for more accurate and timely store replenishment decisions. This will help minimise stockouts and overstock situations, ensuring that customers can always find the products they need. Additionally, the automation of replenishment processes will free up staff to focus on more strategic tasks.

ShopAi claims world first integrated AI video conferencing platform with real-time translation and intelligence

ShopAi has announced the launch of its video conferencing system, integrating real-time multilingual translation, dual AI assistance, and dynamic data visualisation, all within its web-based SAAS platform.

This builds on its conversational AI platform. "Business has always been global, but effective communication hasn't," says Ilann Hepworth, CEO at ShopAi and former Jisp Managing Director. "Our platform eliminates the friction points in multilingual business meetings while adding intelligence that makes every conversation more productive."

ShopAi's system delivers multilingual communication where participants speak in their native language and hear others in their preferred language through real-time audio translation.

Including HyperFinity, Centra, and IXI: 12 retail technology funding rounds you need to know about

RTIH rounds up 12 retail tech ventures who have recently secured significant investments in their businesses, including specialists in data analytics and AI, e-commerce software platforms, and inventory optimisation and execution solutions.