AI assistants, cyber attacks, and gaming debuts: our most read retail technology articles from last week
Check out the articles on this here website that caught your fancy last week, including Marks and Spencer, Shopify, OpenAI, Blue Yonder, RELEX Solutions, Klarna, BuzzFeed, Shopsense, Morrisons, NCR Voyix, IXI, Unilever, and Digimarc.
Marks and Spencer viewed as more reactive than proactive in its comms as cyber attack causes chaos
Following the news of the M&S cyber attack, CARMA, which specialises in brand reputation and media intelligence, analysed how the story evolved with a focus on public trust, customer impact and crisis response.
The incident has cost the retailer millions of pounds in lost sales and a lower share price. M&S has not said what or who knocked out its online ordering systems, paused deliveries and lef empty shelves in stores. But media reports have suggested that ransomware called DragonForce was used in the attack.
Between 29th and 30th April, CARMA’s data shows:
The story generated 9.47 million impressions across UK online mainstream media in just 48 hours
84.6% of news carried a negative sentiment, driven by concerns over disruption, security and leadership visibility
Within 48 hours, tone shifted with growing focus on financial loss, stock issues and personal impact on customers
No consistent named M&S spokesperson appeared with most quotes were attributed to anonymous spokespeople
• Globally, the story has now reached over 495.4 million potential impressions in the UK (53.5%) and US (34.9%)
Morrisons becomes first UK retailer to deploy Simbe Tally robot as select stores trial the technology
In a UK first, Morrisons is testing out Simbe’s Tally in-store shelf scanning robot.
Thanks to Toby Pickard, Retail Futures Senior Partner at IGD, and a member of the judging panels for the RTIH AI in Retail Awards and 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, for bringing this to our attention.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “Today, I saw a Tally robot from Simbe in a Morrisons. This is the first time Tally has been deployed in the UK. It has only been in store for a few weeks, and there are two other stores trialling the technology.”
“The tech should help with price accuracy and stock availability, along with other benefits. It is great to see technology being tested in UK retail that can help store associates and improve the shopping experience.”
Seamus McHugh, Head of European Market Development at Simbe, commented: “Delighted to have Tally live in the UK and to be working with the innovative team at Morrisons on this project. This is a significant milestone for Simbe as we add another country and a new retailer to our growing list of deployments.”
Blue Yonder veteran Gaël Ramaen heads on over to supply chain technology specialist RELEX Solutions
Gaël Ramaen has taken on the role of Senior Vice President of Strategic Business Transformation at RELEX Solutions.
He joins from Blue Yonder where he spent almost 13 years, most recently serving as Corporate Vice President, Retail, EMEA.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: "It’s an honour to join a company that has achieved so much over the years. Throughout the process, I have had the chance to meet many incredible people - from founders and investors to business leaders, client teams, engineers, data scientists, and partners. I have been genuinely impressed by the passion and purpose that drives this organisation."
"One quote from a founder especially stuck with me: "I love to lift and learn". It immediately resonated with how I approach work and growth. I’m excited to embrace RELEX’s values, especially "Customer is a friend" and "Life is suposed to be fun". I can’t wait to contribute, learn, and grow alongside this talented team."
He concluded: "A heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported me during this transition since January. The encouragement and kindness from mentors, friends, and colleagues have meant the world. I am also grateful to the companies and leaders who reached out with amazing opportunities - it has been humbling to explore so much potential and goodness out there."
Sam's Club enters gaming world as Roblox tie up sees retailer making membership playable
Sam’s Club, a chain of membership only warehouse club retail stores in the US owned by Walmart, is looking to make waves in the gaming world, with a Roblox integration that lets players unlock real deals in three games: Cake Off; Chained (2 Obby); and Paradise RP.
In a LinkedIn post, W. Joe DeMiero, Interim Chief Marketing Officer, said: “This is a bold new way to connect with the next generation of members - meeting them where they are, how they play, and delivering the savings they’ll love.”
He added: “Big shoutout to Leslie Shepard (Associate Director, Brand Marketing at Sam’s Club), Kenneth Greene (Associate Creative Director), Carolyn Getches (Producer) and our amazing partners GEEIQ, Roblox and Sawhorse Studios for helping us bring this to life. To become the best club retailer, we can’t just talk about innovation - we have to make membership playable. And today, we do.”
Big step forward for Shopify and OpenAI developed ChatGTP as the pair enter into retail partnership
OpenAI is gearing up to add an online shopping experience to ChatGPT via an integration with Shopify.
New code strings in ChatGPT’s public web bundle, “buy_now”, price and shipping fields, product-offer ratings, and “shopify_checkout_url”, indicate that OpenAI is wiring a native purchase flow into the assistant.
The snippet suggests a hand off to Shopify’s hosted checkout, implying a formal tie-up rather than a generic affiliate link.
According to Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive: “This is a big step forward for Shopify and ChatGTP. The changes to the coding will let purchases complete inside the chat instead of jumping to external retail sites, turning ChatGPT into a full-funnel shopping tool. When a purchase is made, all shipping is managed via Shopify’s platform.”
“OpenAI has been testing e-commerce actions in its Operator research agent, which already books travel and places grocery orders for Pro users. Want to buy a plane ticket? Use ChatGPT. Why visit Expedia or another travel site? Agents will easily be able to find the best flight at the best price. I stated in a LinkedIn post a few weeks ago that OpenAI has the potential of severely disrupting DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart, by allowing agents to place orders directly with a restaurant and a grocery retailer..”
He adds: “I remain convinced that OpenAI has the potential to become one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world. Why? Because consumers will begin their product search using ChatGPT and utilise ChatGTP to make the purchase.”
“ChatGPT will likely begin to generate billions in advertising revenue as brands divert their advertising spend to OpenAI. Why? Search. If consumers make ChatGPT their go to site for product searches, advertising is sure to follow. ChatGTP will likely look massively different in 2026 than it looks in 2025. The user experience will be much different to maximise advertising and content monetisation.”
Klarna head honcho Sebastian Siemiatkowski: AI assistants set to change the retail and e-commerce game
In a LinkedIn post, he said: "After 20 years in e-commerce, I´ve met them all: Zappos, Stripe, Shein, Zara, Amazon, Sephora, Nike, Zalando, Asos. Thousands of hours. Here is how AI assistants will change the game. The writing is on the wall. Perplexity launched shopping in December. Amazon is allowing you to shop on other websites. OpenAi continuously uses shopping examples in their promotion videos for ChatGPT"
He noted that, at the core e-commerce and retail can be divided in three core components: Product and brand; Curation and discovery; Infrastructure.
Siemiatkowski added: "You used to visit your local department store, where someone had curated some product for you. With e-commerce, things started changing. First e-commerce companies were infrastructure. They solved the basis. One click payments. Great logistics. Reasonable presentation and pricing. These were difficult things. Still in 2015 Levi's would sell in Germany only accepting payments with credit cards issued in Great Britain. Low conversion."
"Stripe, Adyen, Shopify, Klarna and many others have changed this. Amazon, Walmart, eBay marketplaces have changed this. Infrastructure is profitable at scale but also commoditised. This enabled next-generation of brands. Influencer brands. People with audiences, people who curate, created new brands. Or new brands just came along like Allbirds and many others, suddenly from zero to massive sales overnight helped by Facebook."
Amazon backed Nordic startup IXI bags $36.5 million in Series A funding for autofocus glasses product
Finnish startup IXI has raised $36.5 million in Series A funding to launch what is pitched as the world’s first autofocus glasses that reimagine specs not as a medical device, but as a tech enhanced lifestyle accessory fit for modern consumers.
The investment was led by London-based investment fund Plural, with participation from Finnish investment companies Tesi, Heartcore, FOV Ventures, and byFounders; French private equity firm Eurazeo; and German investment company Tiny Supercomputer.
XI’s existing backers, which include Amazon Alexa Fund, Maki.vc and First Fellow, firstminute capital, David Helgason, Ilkka Paananen, John Lindfors and Bragiel Brothers also participated in the round.
The cash will enable the product development of IXI Adaptive Eyewear; kicking off commercial operations and putting the product in the hands of consumers.
Morrisons deploys Point of Sale solutions powered by NCR Voyix Commerce Platform
UK grocery giant Morrisons has selected NCR Voyix to provide its stores with PoS solutions powered by the NCR Voyix Commerce Platform.
It is expanding an existing partnership by rolling out this new technology at over 13,000 checkout lanes across nearly 500 stores in a five-year contract.
As part of the deal, Morrisons' refreshed software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology stack will be supported by NCR Voyix Edge, enabling it to deploy new features and software updates. This will provide it with real-time, actionable, and predictive insights.
The new software will continue to be supported by the NCR Voyix Managed Service.
"We are very pleased to have chosen NCR Voyix as our commerce solutions and services partner to help us further improve our retail technology as we seek to operate with greater agility and efficiency for the benefit of our customers now and well into the future," says Martin Dawson, Group Retail Director of Morrisons.
Digimarc suports Unilever for major global deployment of 2D barcodes in consumer packaged goods industry
Digimarc is laying claim to one of the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry's largest global implementations of GS1 Digital Link enabled 2D barcodes with Unilever.
The roll-out looks to put Unilever at the forefront of the retail industry’s preparation for Sunrise 2027, when 2D barcodes become standard at Point of Sale worldwide. It will also make the company one of the first to anticipate and adopt the European Union’s Digital Product Passport (DPP) regulation.
"We are proud to be leading the industry in pioneering how we help democratise access to product information," says Aaron Rajan, Vice President - Consumer Technology, Unilever.
"Deploying innovative solutions such as Digimarc Europe means that our unmissably superior brands not only keep pace with technological advancements but also shape the future of retail. Our multi-phased roll-out will ultimately integrate 2D barcodes across 45,000 products (SKUs), spanning iconic brands such as Dove, Vaseline, Hellmann’s and Knorr.”
BuzzFeed launches shoppable editorial content for US audience via AI powered Shopsense tie up
BuzzFeed has become the first editorial media brand to partner with Shopsense.
It will use the company’s AI powered Commerce Operating System (OS) to integrate context aware product recommendations directly into articles, with the aim of giving BuzzFeed's monthly audience of 71 million monthly US visitors a seamless way to explore and purchase products relevant to the lifestyle, fashion, and entertainment content they’re consuming.
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