Coach hits Roblox, Amazon and Gopuff connect, and Velon goes live: RTIH flags up this week's coolest retail technology plays

RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his top ‘future of retail’ systems launches and deployments from the past week, including Oh Polly, Snappy Shopper, Walgreens, DoorDash, Wing, Loblaw Companies, AutoStore, OnePointOne, Amazon UK, Gopuff, Vinted, Walmart, and Whole Foods Market.

Gopuff and Amazon UK

Amazon UK has announced a partnership with Gopuff. Initially available to its customers in Birmingham and Salford, Gopuff will offer thousands of grocery products including alcohol and snacks, which will be delivered to by the US quick commerce big hitter in under 60 minutes, and as fast as 15 minutes, available 24/7.

Russell Jones, Director of Grocery Partnerships at Amazon, says: “Working with grocery retail partners is an important part of our offering, giving customers more choice and more convenient options to have groceries delivered from their favourite stores and brands, ordered via our website. We are excited to bring Gopuff to Amazon customers and to offer our Prime members even more savings, with free delivery on their first order over £20 and other great value discounts.” 

Coach

Coach is making a number of virtual products available on Roblox for a limited time this week.

The Marketplace is where people can go to buy most of the clothes and items that they use to customise their avatars.

In a LinkedIn post, Giovanni Zaccariello, SVP Global Visual Experience at Coach, said: "Be one of the first to unlock limited virtual bags, accessories, and fits for your avatar. What a great way to self-express. We have only launched for three days and it’s great to see Tabby being everyone's favourite virtual bag. Kudos David Lehman (Digital Director at Coach), Qinru Z. (Digital Designer), and Cynthia Bryan (Co-founder of Cycymymy)."

Oh Polly

Oh Polly celebrates its 10th birthday this week, with founder Mike Branney taking to social media to share some stats of what the pureplay fashion brand has achieved in that time.

This includes: - 6.4 million followers on Instagram;- 4.9 million followers on TikTok; Over two billion views across social in the last five years.

Reckon.ai

Autonomous retail specialist Reckon.ai has been granted a European patent that validates the uniqueness of its core technology powering AI driven smart cabinets.

In a LinkedIn post, Ana Pinto, CEO at Reckon.ai, said: "Being granted with a European patent is a huge milestone for our team and is a powerful validation of what we've always believed in and worked for: the uniqueness of the core technology behind our AI powered smart cabinets."

She added: "We’ve been pioneers in this space - one of the first to create and deliver truly intelligent, autonomous retail units - and this patent reinforces our role as innovators shaping the future of unattended retail.”

“This recognition adds a new layer of strength and trust for our partners, investors, customers, and fuels our ambition for what’s coming next. Thank you to everyone who’s been part of this journey, from the very beginning to where we are now. We've told you - we're just getting started."

Wing and DoorDash

DoorDash and Wing are introducing drone delivery to Charlotte, NC for the first time.

Starting this week, eligible DoorDash customers within about four miles of The Arboretum Shopping Center in southern Charlotte can order from a selection of local and national restaurants and choose to have their items delivered by drone.

The lineup includes Curry Junction, Matcha Cafe Maiko, Joa Korean food, and Panera Bread - the city's first national partner available for drone delivery.

DoorDash and Wing first launched this service together in Australia in 2022. Since then, it has landed in the US and parts of Southwest Virginia, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and now Charlotte. Plans are afoot to expand to additional neighbourhoods later this year.

“Autonomous delivery will help shape the future of local logistics, and we’re proud to introduce drone delivery to Charlotte for the first time with Wing,” says Harrison Shih, Head of Product at DoorDash Labs.

“What makes this launch special isn’t just the technology, it’s the experience. Whether it’s your favourite Panera sandwich, a savory snack from DashMart, or a local matcha latte on DoorDash, there’s something special about watching your order arrive by air in minutes. DoorDash and Wing aren’t just delivering faster, we’re delivering what’s next.”

East of England Co-op

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.  

Velon

Michael Gabay, who co-founded and was President at autonomous stores specialist Trigo, has taken the wraps off his new venture, Velon, which provides procurement and supply chain teams with AI employees.

He stepped down from Trigo last year to pursue this, with his brother and co-founder Daniel now leading the company with a loss prevention focus.

Earlier this year, he commented: "I’m excited to welcome 2025 with news of a new amazing venture, new team, exciting collaborations, and dreams of building a new disruptive, advanced, category leader company."

He added: "We're under the radar currently, I'd just say technology has the power to empower us to work smarter and innovate faster in ways we’ve only just begun to imagine.”

“A big thank you to all my friends - my partners Dor Israeli (Director of Technology at Quantum Machines), Elon Hait (CEO at Artemis Defense Solutions) and Jason Busch (Managing Director and Co-founder at MetailMiner), our design partners, tech partners, and investors, for your support, friendship and inspiration. I’m thrilled for what lies ahead. Stay tuned!!"

Snappy Shopper

UK quick commerce platform Snappy Shopper has teamed up with disability discount service Purpl to trial a new grocery initiative for disabled households. The partnership offers eligible users 25 percent off their first order and free delivery for three months.

Snappy Shopper operates through a mix of its own marketplace and white label solutions, connecting local convenience retailers with customers via app and web. The business works with more than 1,800 retail and hospitality clients, including major high street names like Spar, Premier, Nisa and Booker.

According to Scope, disabled households in the UK face an average of £1,010 in additional monthly costs compared to non-disabled households. The collaboration aims to provide a more affordable and accessible online shopping experience to those impacted.

To access the discount, users must register with Purpl and provide proof of disability, such as a Blue Badge or Personal Independence Payment documentation. Once verified, a unique discount code is issued for use on Snappy Shopper’s app or website. Delivery is available in 30 to 60 minutes or via Click and Collect.

AutoStore, OnePointOne and Whole Foods Market

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.”

Majid Al Futtaim

Majid Al Futtaim, the exclusive operator of Carrefour in the UAE, and its retail media network, Precision Media, have partnered with Swiss-based Advertima to deploy AI powered audience activation and measurement across ten flagship hypermarkets.

Plans are afoot for expansion across its UAE hypermarket and supermarket network in the coming months.

Arun Chandra Mohan, Chief Digital Officer at Majid Al Futtaim Retail, comments: “Our partnership with Advertima reflects our strategic ambition to shape the future of retail media in the region. We are merging real-time in-store intelligence with online audience data, unlocking smarter, more precise ways for our brand partners to connect with customers.”

“This milestone reinforces our dedication to innovation and to crafting immersive experiences. It also marks a transformative phase for retail media, effectively bridging physical and digital commerce to enable a unified customer journey and measurable impact across the ecosystem.”

Walgreens

Walgreens is expanding the number of stores served by its micro-fulfillment centres to fill thousands of prescriptions for patients who take medications to manage or treat diabetes, high blood pressure or other conditions. 

It first rolled out the MFCs  in 2021, but paused expansion in 2023 to focus on gathering feedback and improving performance at existing sites. It now plans to have its 11 MFCs serve more than 5,000 stores by the end of the year, up from 4,800 in February and 4,300 in October 2023. As of February, the centres handled 40% of the prescription volume on average at supported pharmacies.

This is the biggest opportunity out there for Walgreens and Sycamore Partners, according to Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive.

In a LinkedIn post, he notes that, in 2015, Walgreen's market value was $100 nillion. In 2019, the value of the company had decreased to the point where KKR made an offer to acquire it or $77 billion. In March, Walgreens agreed to be taken private by Sycamore Partners for $10 billion.

Walgreens currently has more than 310,000 employees globally and 12,500 retail pharmacy locations across the US, Europe and Latin America.

Ladd comments: "Like CVS, Walgreens has shifted from opening new stores to closing hundreds of underperforming locations to shore up profits. Both companies are racing to stay relevant as online retailers lure away customers and patients increasingly opt for fast home delivery over traditional pharmacy visits. Sycamore Partners claims they’re confident in Walgreens pharmacy led retail store model. Bad idea. Walgreens must go direct to customers and minimise the use of their stores. Will it happen?"

"Walgreens is doing something brilliant that, if leveraged properly, will transform the company - it is expanding the use of MFCs, which use robots to fill thousands of prescriptions for patients who take medications to manage or treat diabetes, high blood pressure and other conditions. That translates to around 16 million prescriptions filled each month across the different sites."

TrusTrace

TrusTrace, a platform for supply chain traceability and compliance data management, has launched a new data hub designed to help retailers and brands gain real-time insights into their supply chains, streamline compliance and respond to growing demand for transparency and sustainability.

Using artificial intelligence (AI), the new platform brings together supplier, brand, and third-party data to provide a single, reliable source of information. TrusTrace says the tool will help retailers make faster, more confident decisions as it significantly increases data reliability and insight quality.

It also allows for seamless data reuse, allowing stored data to be repurposed across multiple business goals.

Decathlon

Decathlon UK has announced a tie up with Planet Patrol as its official new charity of the year for 2025, who will be working alongside ongoing partner, ParkPlay.

Planet Patrol is a non-profit dedicated to addressing environmental and human health issues caused by pollution, by facilitating and amplifying people powered data to inform solutions. It gathers critical evidence of litter and water pollution via its free app.

The tie up will see Decathlon UK and Planet Patrol working together on key environmental initiatives, the first being a national virtual mission.

Kicking off on 1st May, this calls upon the public to use the Planet Patrol app to log their litter collection efforts, aiming to gather 10,000 pieces across the UK by the end of October and collectively measure the positive impact. All are invited to join, with prizes and incentives on offer for those actively participating.

In addition, Decathlon and Planet Patrol will be hosting a Big Paddle Clean Up event in London on 31st May, as part of National Governing Body Paddle UK’s annual environmental campaign, combining paddleboarding with litter collection and water quality testing. Further details and event signup links to be announced soon.

Schroders Capital and Be.EV

Schroders Capital has agreed a partnership with Be.EV which will see more than 200 ultra-rapid EV charging bays installed across 22 of the former's managed retail and leisure properties in the UK.

The £20 million investment will see Be.EV fully fund the installation and maintenance of charging solutions at sites managed by five Schroders Capital real estate funds, including Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust and Schroders Capital UK Real Estate Fund.

Be.EV will install ultra-rapid Kempower chargers (up to 300kW) capable of delivering up to 325 miles of range in as little as 20 minutes on some of the UK’s most prominent retail and leisure parks, where retailers include Sainsburys, Aldi, Lidl, Costa Coffee, KFC, McDonalds, Nandos, Pizza Express, Starbucks, Marks & Spencer and Ikea.

Be.EV is majority owned by Octopus Energy Generation’s £1.5 billion Sky Fund, which has pledged £110 million of funding. The charging hubs, the majority featuring six to 12 charging bays, will be leased on a 20-year agreement with index linked market rents.

Legal agreements have been exchanged on the first three locations, with further exchanges expected imminently.

Asos and InPost

InPost UK has launched what is pitched as the UK’s first nationwide next-day delivery service to lockers, in partnership with Asos.

The service, available exclusively to the online fashion retailer’s customers, offers next-day collection from InPost’s network of lockers and parcel shops for the first time. Shoppers will be able to select these lockers at checkout as their primary OOH delivery option. This is available to all Asos customers, and is free of charge for Premier customers.

The launch follows a series of moves by InPost to accelerate its growth and enhance its infrastructure in the UK, the Polish firm’s fastest growing market. In April, InPost announced the acquisition of UK parcel delivery firm Yodel, enabling the company to step into the position of the third largest agnostic logistics player in the country.

Lori's Gifts

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.

Loblaw Companies

Thanks to the rise of generative and agentic AI, we’ve entered the era of truly individualised retail. So says Lauren Steinberg, EVP, Chief Digital Officer at Loblaw Companies.

In a LinkedIn post, she said: "If we're honest, most personalisation out there today is just segmentation. But our p13n team at Loblaw Digital has rewritten the rules, not slotting people into buckets, but building for one person at a time, in real-time."

"Six months ago, our new approach to personalisation wasn’t just a technical stretch, it was cost prohibitive. But thanks to the rapid evolution of AI, both the tech and the economics have finally caught up to our ambition."

Now, when an authenticated customer visits PC Express, an LLM assembles their individual profile using historical transactional and behavioural data. That profile infers things like family size, dietary preferences, lifestyle traits; even how adventurous their palate might be.

And from there, agents generate themes based on intent. An abstraction engine links those themes to product concepts. A vector search layer finds real SKUs that match the abstract. The retailer's reco engine re-ranks the outputs based on personal affinity.

All of this happens before the customer has even scrolled. In that instant, the page is composed, built just for them, with personalised carousels, one to one product recommendations, and dynamic curated content like shoppable recipes.

As a result, add-to-carts are up 3.82%, bounce rate is down 16.03%, conversion rate up 3.25%, and average order value up by $3.

Steinberg concluded: "I don’t say this lightly, but I genuinely don’t think many teams, even globally, are doing this kind of work in digital retail right now. What this team has pulled off is bold, technically brilliant, and deeply customer centric. I’m so proud of them.”

“And this is just the beginning. Thanks to generative and agentic AI, we’ve entered the era of truly individualised retail. And it’s so much more than calling you by your first name."

Firehouse Subs

Momos reports that its technology is now live at 1,350+ Firehouse Subs locations across North America.

The company offers an AI Customer Copilot solution for multi-location brands. It powers the entire customer stack, across reputation management, customer experience, customer service, and marketing, and automates everything with AI, from one platform

Firehouse Subs is a fast casual restaurant chain based in Jacksonville, Florida, that specialises in submarine sandwiches. It was founded in 1994 in Jacksonville, Florida by former firefighter brothers Chris and Robin Sorensen..

In a LInkedIn post, Nick Nguyen, Growth Product Manager at Momos, said: “Our global team worked together to execute a pilot that turned into a full confidence national launch. My personal highlight: reuniting with former RBI teammates to make this happen.”

He added: “We’ve already seen amazing results from the nationwide roll-out: +0.5pt increase in Google rating; ~2x more Google reviews; +7ppt guest satisfaction (OSAT); 60% more survey responses, completed 2x faster; High engagement from franchisees to be able to manage Google Ratings, 3PD Reviews, Surveys, and Cases - all from a single inbox and dashboard.”

ShopAi

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.

Vinted

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.

Walmart

Walmart and Alquist have announced the completion of a second 3D Concrete Print (3DCP) project at the US retail giant’s Owens Cross Roads, Ala., Supercenter.

In Alabama, the five-person Alquist team, utilising two 3DCP systems, printed the 16 foot high walls on the expansion in 75 hours during seven operational days, which, the company claims, is significantly faster than traditional building methods.

“In a commercial construction world that pays so much attention to project timelines and costs, our work with Walmart shows that 3D printing isn’t just a novelty – it’s an innovation ready to scale,” says Patrick Callahan, CEO, Alquist 3D. “With this second project, we’re demonstrating how retail expansions can be faster, more cost-effective, and less wasteful, paving the way for broader adoption in large scale builds.”

Badger Technologies

Badger Technologies has announced the launch of its new Digital Teammate platform.

This is powered by the company's multipurpose autonomous robot, with capabilities that aim to enhance employee productivity through mobile data and analytics, computer vision, and artificial intelligence.

It complements Badger Technologies’ existing solutions by incorporating RFID detection, enabling advertising through retail media networks, and expanding the company’s data and analytics platform.

Through the mobile app, teammates from the associate to the c-suite, have access to prioritised tasks, data and insights.

“Badger Technologies' robots seamlessly integrate computer vision and artificial intelligence to work as a digital teammate alongside employees in complex environments. These robots can extend staff operations and produce critical data that increase efficiencies and improve shopping experiences, creating long lasting value for our customers,” says Emil Martinez, CEO at Badger Technologies.

SharkNinja and TikTok Shop

SharkNinja collaborated with TikTok Shop UK last week for the product design and technology company's first ever Brand Day.

In a LinkedIn post, TikTok Shop said: "As the first tech brand to hold a Brand Day on TikTok Shop, this marks a huge step forward for both SharkNinja and the platform, showcasing the growing power of LIVE as a sales channel."

Highlights included: 12 hours of LIVE with creators, featuring exclusive deals and the viral Blast product bundle; New product launch – the outdoor oven bundle at up to 40% off.

TikTok Shop added: "This event gives SharkNinja a chance to engage with their audience and also showcases how livestreaming is revolutionising direct-to-consumer sales and creating new avenues for brands to build community and drive engagement."