The emergence of the AI consumer: 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 Glance, EE, Simbe, AutoStore, Roblox, Delaware North, e.l.f. Beauty, Shopify, Walmart, Carrefour Belgium, Deliverect, and Mattel.
Glance
Glance, a consumer technology company backed by Google, Jio Platforms, and Mithril Capital, and an unconsolidated subsidiary of InMobi, has unveiled Glance AI, an AI native commerce platform.
The aim here is to move online shopping beyond search to an inspiration led discovery experience.
Glance says that it is focused on the emergence of the ‘AI consumer’, one who doesn't wait to browse, but expects the technology to understand them, imagine for them, and spark desire even before they know what they want.
The standalone app launches today worldwide on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store, with deeper integrations rolling out to Android handset makers and telecom operators. While the initial model is trained on fashion, plans are afoot to extend the same experience to categories such as beauty, accessories, and travel later this year.
Nestlé
Nestlé has partnered with WHS Media to launch what is pitched as a first of its kind experiential retail media campaign promoting its Essentia Alkaline Water.
The campaign, which is targeting travellers at some of the USA’s busiest airports, includes immersive in-store experiences including full store takeovers at ten locations, a complete terminal takeover at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport Terminal E and an interactive basketball arcade experience, also inside LaGuardia Airport.
The three-week initiative kicked off on 8th May. Shoppers will engage with Nestlé Essentia branding through a variety of high impact touchpoints, including WHS Media’s in-store digital screen network, in-store audio, front-of-store pop-up displays, floor decals, and other creative placements throughout the stores.
Mattel
Mattel has partnered with Uken Games to develop Mattel Match: Toybox Unlocked, marking the first ever IP crossover mobile game for the company.
Developed as part of Mattel’s 80th anniversary campaign, the game features Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, UNO, Thomas & Friends, Masters of the Universe, among others.
Players will journey through themed levels in a puzzle adventure, matching characters, toys and items from across Mattel’s portfolio and digging through a jumbled toybox to find trios before time runs out. As users advance, new and familiar items are revealed, unlocking additional layers of the firm’s toy universe, brought to life through animations.
Pellenc ST and Polytag
Pellenc ST, a specialist in the design and manufacturing of intelligent sorting and quality control solutions for the waste and recycling industry, and Polytag, a data platform provider focusing on packaging information within the circular economy, have joined forces.
By combining Pellenc ST’s expertise in sensor-based sorting with Polytag’s data management, the tie up enables real-time tracking and optimisation of packaging waste through the recycling process from MRF to recyclers.
Each packaging item is embedded with invisible printed UV watermarks, in the form of a GS1 open standard data matrices. As it enters the recycling stream, a detection unit instantly captures its associated data. The system executes precise sorting actions based on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and UV watermarks.
EE
EE this week opened the doors of its first East Midlands Experience store in Nottingham’s Victoria Centre. Local legend and former footballer Viv Anderson cut the ribbon and welcomed the first visitors to the new experiential retail space.
The Experience location is EE’s first of 2025 and forms part of a £3 million investment this year into bricks and mortar concept stores. It features zones themed around four key areas – Game, Work, Learn, and Home – along with a Tech Home area showcasing the future of connected living.
The latter allows customers to visualise their ideal connected home setup with smart TVs, lighting, security systems and EE’s fast broadband, complemented by advice from EE’s staff.
Anderson says: “As a techie and someone born and raised in Nottingham, I’m thrilled that EE has opened a new space in the heart of the city. Innovative spaces like this give people the opportunity to get hands-on with the technology that’s shaping our future."
“Nottingham has always been full of talent and creativity, and with the support of EE’s in-store guides, anyone can seek tailored advice to make the most out of their tech and devices. I can’t wait to see how it sparks ambition in the next generation.”
Harmons Grocery
US retailer Harmons Grocery has deployed autonomous Tally robots from Simbe to scan inventory and verify prices in stores.
These are currently in use at 17 locations in Utah, with the aim of better supporting store teams and improving shelf accuracy.
The roll-out comes as Simbe announces advancements to Simbe Vision, its AI powered computer vision technology.
"The most successful retailers are leveraging real-time, AI powered insights to drive execution excellence," says Brad Bogolea, Co-Founder and CEO at Simbe. "What sets industry leaders apart is how they're combining cutting-edge computer vision with our Store Intelligence platform to identify the next best action for their teams. Together, we are enabling faster, smarter decision-making exactly when it matters most, creating a competitive advantage in today's challenging retail environment."
Walgreens
Walgreens has opened a new micro-fulfillment centre (MFC) in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
This facility aims to streamline prescription processing and reduce administrative tasks, freeing up pharmacists to focus more on delivering personalised care to their patients. It will support nearly 200 Walgreens stores across the Midwest, including 145 in Minnesota alone, and is expected to process approximately 13 million prescriptions each year.
"Walgreens’ investment in micro-fulfillment centres is another strategic step toward a brighter future for community pharmacy,” says Rick Gates, Chief Pharmacy Officer at Walgreens. “Research shows that Americans want more health services at their local pharmacy, and micro-fulfillment centres help us meet those needs by allowing our pharmacists do what they do best: spend more time with patients.”
Walgreens’ network of 12 micro-fulfillment centres now supports over 5,000 stores across the country, fulfilling more than 3.5 million prescriptions weekly.
Kayanee
Kayanee, a women’s sportswear brand from Saudi Arabia, is implementing digital signage solutions, with DENEVA as its primary CMS, and in collaboration with Mood Media.
One of the key milestones of this project was the implementation at Kayanee's flagship store in Solitaire Mall, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), where various digital tools have been incorporated to enhance customer interaction and optimise product presentation.
Among the standout solutions is Mirandda, DENEVA's smart mirror. This device allows customers to view real-time information about garments, receive personalised recommendations, and complete purchases without leaving the fitting room. Additionally, this experience has been enhanced by the integration of Kayanee's online store, connected to Shopify, offering immediate access to its digital catalogue.
Lekkerland
Lekkerland, REWE Group’s specialist in convenience solutions, has partnered with VusionGroup for a project involving its network of autonomous 24/7 smart kiosks that leverage self-checkout technology across Germany.
Located in clinics, workplaces, and public spaces, these mini-stores are now equipped with VusionGroup’s solutions, enabling GDPR compliant real-time shelf monitoring, cloud-based pricing, promotions, and stock management - all remotely controlled from Lekkerland’s headquarters in Frechen.
By integrating VusionGroup’s Cloud platform, digital price tags, and AI powered shelf monitoring technology, Lekkerland says that it gains complete visibility into every product on every shelf. The system enables pricing and promotion updates, accurate restocking alerts, and item level performance insights.
AutoStore and Medline
AutoStore reports that it has surpassed 300 installations across North America.
The 300th system is located at Medline’s new site in Aurora, Colorado. Implemented in collaboration with Swisslog, this builds on a relationship that began more than a decade ago, when Medline became AutoStore’s very first North American customer.
Today, Medline operates over 20 AutoStore systems across the US, deploying 1,990 robots to support high throughput fulfillment and enable next-day delivery to 95% of its customers nationwide.
“Every AutoStore system is more than a warehouse upgrade; it’s a high throughput advantage. We are a promise that businesses can move faster, serve better, and keep up with a world that does not slow down,” says Keith White, Chief Commercial Officer at AutoStore. “Passing this milestone shows that fulfillment is not just a back-end operation anymore. It is a front-line advantage. Our customers are using AutoStore to stay ahead, no matter how fast demand moves.”
Circ
Textile-to-textile recycling specialist Circ has shared plans to open what is pitched as the first industrial scale facility dedicated to recycling used polycotton textiles into new materials.
Announced by President Emmanuel Macron at the 2025 Choose France Summit, the $500 million plant, based in Saint-Avold, will recycle 70,000 metric tonnes of post-consumer and post-industrial polycotton each year.
The new facility promises to be the first of its kind using Circ’s patented technology to recycle textiles previously considered unrecyclable. Its hydrothermal technology is able to separate and recover both polyester and cotton, which make up 77% of the global textile market, from polycotton blends.
The site is expected to be fully operational by 2028, helping to align with the EU’s 2030 climate goals.
Circ hopes its expansion will enable the textile industry to reduce its use of virgin fabrics and divert tonnes of clothing from landfills, incinerators and end-of-use overseas shipments each year. The use of recycled polycotton could also reduce emissions compared to virgin production.
ShopAi and Gregg London
ShopAi, a UK-based startup launched by former Jisp MD Ilaan Hepworth, has announced a collaboration combining its conversational Ai technology with supply chain consultant Gregg London's 30-year product database containing over 350,000 food and beverage records.
The pair are launching GREGG, pitched as the first conversational AI platform specifically designed for in-store shopping intelligence. This aims to transform how consumers interact with products.
They start by scanning a QR code with no app download required, ask natural questions about any product using voice or text and get instant, accurate answers about ingredients, allergens, and dietary information. They can compare products, find alternatives, make informed decisions, and receive personalised recommendations based on dietary needs.
The solution provides retailers with: Zero integration requirements - deploy in days, not months; Reduced staff burden answering product questions; Valuable shopper insight data; New brand partnership revenue streams; Multilingual support for diverse communities.
e.l.f. Beauty
e.l.f. Beauty reports that its financial literacy game on Roblox has pulled in 1.7 million plays thus far.
Fortune Island: Earn. Learn. Flex is designed to help Gen Z players develop money management skills through interactive challenges. The experience was developed by metaverse studio Karta in partnership with Chime and marks the first time a beauty brand has introduced financial education on the platform.
In a LinkedIn post, Patrick O'Keefe, Chief Integrated Marketing Officer at e.l.f. Beauty, said: "1.7 million plays - and every single one matters. That’s 1.7 million chances to change the game on financial literacy. With Fortune Island on Roblox, we became the first beauty brand to build a financial literacy experience, because we believe beauty isn’t just skin deep - it’s about confidence, control, and future readiness.”
Delaware North
Fans at Wembley Stadium were able to purchase drinks from a frictionless bar, courtesy of Delaware North.
In a LinkedIn post on Saturday, Marco Galer-Reick, VP, UK Strategy Enablement & HR at Delaware, said: "Seamless! Following the success of our first frictionless Bar>>Tap location at Wembley Stadium we are proud to open our second, even bigger store at the FA Cup final.”
“Brilliant work Lewis Blake (Head of Concessions, Wembley Stadium at Delaware North) and thank you for the partnership Joao Pedro Santos (Senior Tech Business Development - Sports & Entertainment, Just Walk Out technology). Go in. Grab your drinks. Get going. Delaware North UK bringing fresh beer to more fans, within seconds. Congratulations to Crystal Palace on winning their first major trophy!"
Roblox
Roblox is giving creators the tools that let users discover and buy across physical and digital spaces.
Users can now buy physical products directly within their favourite Roblox experiences and receive avatar items as part of the purchase.
Shopify is the first integrated partner for its Commerce APIs, which means that, if a creator or brand is a Shopify merchant, they can start selling physical goods inside their experiences.
A new Approved Merchandiser Programme, meanwhile, enables creators, brands, manufacturers, and IP holders to link off platform retail or e-commerce purchases to avatar items and accessories on Roblox.
Walmart
Walmart says that it is raising the bar on Roblox with the launch of Discovered Pass, pitched as the first ever branded game pass on the platform offering exclusive monthly perks across popular and up and coming experiences.
The US retail giant worked with GEEIQ and Sawhorse Productions to bring this to life.
This month, those include the following:
Fisch: a fishing adventure game to catch the rarest fish on Roblox with more than 162K average players per month.
Catalogue Avatar Creator: one of the most popular experiences to customise avatars with more than 3.6 billion total visits to date.
Jail Break: a global top 100 game on the platform with more than 5.6 million likes allowing players to strategise with friends.
Mega Hide and Seek: a top 50 game in the United States where players have one minute to hide before the seeker looks for them.
Horse Valley: with more than 815K items favourited, players build ranches, train horses, and solve mysteries alongside friends.
Select developers of participating games will be participating in AMA events and hosting game nights with Walmart’s Discord community each month. They’ll also be highlighting their branded or favourite products from Walmart with links to buy.
The pass can be purchased for 199 Robux in Walmart Discovered or directly in participating games and experiences. New perks will be added every month. Pass holders can also earn free limited UGC from their favourite creators in Walmart Discovered each month.
Carrefour Belgium
Carrefour Belgium has developed a new autonomous micro-store concept, Carrefour BuyBye, in association with Reckon.AI, with the aim of tapping into opportunities beyond traditional retail.
And this week it launched its third location, at the NATO SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) base is in Casteau, near Mons. This offers over 250 everyday essentials, including breakfast options with fresh fruits, lunch, dinner, and personal care items, available 24/7, and supplied by the team at Carrefour Market Casteau.
With AI at the core, people can pick and go, with products being charged automatically.
In a LInkedIn post, Ana Pinto, CEO at Reckon.ai, said: "Very proud of the incredible work of both teams, and it shows the growth and trust of big companies on our technology and team. Unattended has never been easier."
Deliverect
Food tech SaaS company, Deliverect, has announced the launch of Resolve, an AI powered solution that tackles a pain point for multi-location restaurants.
Developed using Google’s Gemini Models and Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform, Resolve taps vision AI technology to improve order accuracy and provide restaurants with the tools to effectively dispute fraudulent refund claims.
The launch is pitched as a significant step in Deliverect's broader strategy to leverage AI for automating manual tasks and driving actionable insights that transform restaurant operations. It says that restaurants who have implemented Resolve have seen a 95% refund capture rate and up to 70% revenue loss protection within the first three months of implementation, driven by process improvements, data insights, and successful dispute resolution.
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