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Retail Technology Innovation Hub
Retail Technology Innovation Hub

Spatial AI assistants, QR codes, and shelf scanning robots: RTIH presents April coolest retail technology plays

RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his stand out ‘future of retail’ systems deployments and launches from April, including Skechers, We Are Social, Walmart, Emperia, Debenhams, be Retail Social, Profitmind, Waitrose & Partners, Polytag, SAP, Aramark, Morrisons, Simbe, DoorDash, and Coco Robotics.

Skechers

Skechers has deployed Luna, an AI powered retail assistant created by We Are Social, at its new store in Punggol Coast Mall, Singapore.

Customers can converse with Luna through an interactive kiosk in-store or via Telegram, receiving real-time personalised style advice and product recommendations. Using real-time data from the conversation, Luna acts as a personal stylist, suggesting garments based on the customer’s current outfit or helping them piece together a look from the rack based on their preferences.

The month long activation celebrates Skechers’ new store opening in the heart of the Punggol Digital District.

Irene Lee, Senior General Manager, Skechers Singapore, says: “As a comfort technology brand, harnessing new and innovative solutions to connect with our customers is part of our DNA. With the opening of our new store in Punggol Digital District, it enhances customers' retail journey with a unique, social, and interactive experience with Luna." 

Walmart

Walmart has unveiled five new virtual storefronts in its Emperia powered Walmart Realm experience, each inspired by trending social aesthetics and brought to life by rising influencers.

These are:

A modern farmhouse with a twist by @izzybecerraaa.

A vibrant, floral showroom from @homewithbao.

A minimalist, gallery space curated by @kee.illena.

A whimsical garden adventure by @madi.alexi.

A serene desert escape designed by @cartii_cartii.

Walmart has also launched Product Sets to allow customers to add curated collections of items directly to their carts with one click for a more seamless shopping experience. Customer favourite features like the Room Randomiser, Custom Influencer Content, and Thematic Mini Games remain at the heart of each influencer storefront, with the aim of making shopping both fun and inspirational.

“With Walmart Realm, we’re reimagining what digital commerce can be: immersive and unexpected. By blending cutting-edge technology with creative storytelling from influencers, we’re creating a new shopping experience that is truly resonating with today’s shoppers,” says Justin Breton, Head of Brand Marketing Innovation at Walmart.

Walmart Realm

Debenhams

be Retail Social, a virtual fitting room and try on platform for fashion, sportswear and beauty, has entered into an agreement with Debenhams.  

Debenhams will be using the platform firstly in its beauty products, before extending to cover its various fashion and clothing brands.   

Daniel Finley, CEO at Debenhams, says: “We are always looking for ways to provide a differentiated and enhanced customer experience, giving users more engaging and personalised ways to consider our range of products and make more informed purchasing decisions.”

“We were impressed with the team at be Retail Social - their knowledge of issues and missed opportunities in the sector, and how they have solved these with their platform to benefit both customers and us, our brands. It’s quite remarkable what we can now deliver through them as a partner.”

“We love innovation and think the use of moving, personalised human avatars with social influence is a real step forward in the virtual try-on space for beauty and fashion and already seeing tangible benefits.” 

Morrisons

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.”

Tesco

As part of an expanded pilot, Tesco is trialling QR codes powered by GS1 in a small number of stores.

This replaces traditional barcodes on 12 own brand meat and produce lines in a small number of locations across southern England.

Developed in collaboration with GS1 UK and ten supplier partners, the initiative is primarily focused on capturing use by dates and batch numbers.

This is pitched as the first trial of its kind and scale by a UK supermarket. The focus here is on core operational data and laying the foundation for future use cases, such as linking to allergen information, sourcing and sustainability credentials, and recycling guidance.

“While it’s still early days, we’re already seeing the benefits of connecting our products to dynamic digital information that will help customers to know more about the products on our shelves,” says Isabela De Pedro, Supply Chain Development & Change Director at Tesco.

”As well as improving the customer experience and unlocking new supply chain value, we are testing how QR codes can help Tesco with issues including traceability, compliance, sustainability and shelf-edge communication.” 

Iain Walker, Director of Industry Engagement at GS1 UK, says: “This trial is a clear signal that the retail industry is entering a new chapter. QR codes powered by GS1 allow brands and retailers to share richer, more trusted information - at the Point of Sale, at home, or anywhere in between. Tesco is helping to lead the way, demonstrating how digital product identity can unlock both commercial and consumer value.”

DoorDash and Coco Robotics

DoorDash and Coco Robotics have announced an expansion of their partnership to offer sidewalk robot delivery for customers in select US markets.

This builds on a pilot programme with Wolt - DoorDash’s international arm - where Coco robots have been making deliveries in Helsinki since earlier this year. The US rollout is now live in Los Angeles and Chicago, where eligible customers can see the availability of Coco’s fleet of emissions-free sidewalk robots and may have one assigned to their order from nearly 600 participating merchants through the DoorDash app.

During the initial pilot phase, Coco completed over 100,000 deliveries for DoorDash customers.

“Not every delivery needs a two tonne car just to deliver two chicken sandwiches,” says Harrison Shih, Senior Director at DoorDash Labs. “We believe the future of delivery will be multi-modal, and we’re thrilled to partner with Coco to expand sidewalk robot deliveries that complement the Dasher network as we continue to enhance the DoorDash experience for customers and merchants.”

Waitrose & Partners

Waitrose & Partners has joined Polytag’s Ecotrace Programme, which is aimed at transforming the tracking and recycling of single-use plastic packaging in the UK.

As a member, Waitrose will gain access to the Polytag dashboard – an online hub which displays live barcode level lifecycle data on plastic packaging materials as they enter the recycling stream.

The Ecotrace Programme was launched in the summer of 2024. With its partners, Polytag is deploying its invisible UV Tag detection technology in 12 Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs). These units, which are retrofitted to conveyors, detect packaging that has been ‘marked’ with Polytag’s invisible UV Tags, applied at speed using fluorescent ink.

As Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation comes into force, retailers and brands will need to take responsibility for the recycling of their packaging materials.

Alice Rackley, CEO at Polytag, says: “Waitrose joins us at a pivotal moment as we approach our goal of installing PDUs at 12 sites within the first year of our Ecotrace Programme. This is an incredible achievement that will empower FMCG brands, retailers and waste management companies by providing invaluable access to granular barcode-level data on 50% of the UK’s waste recycling stream.”

“This wouldn’t be possible without the support of partners like Waitrose, who share our vision for transforming the way plastic waste is tracked and recycled. Their participation marks a major milestone for us, and we’re incredibly proud to be working together to drive meaningful change in recycling rates and bring the industry together to revolutionise data capture and how we interact with single-use plastic. We would also love to hear from other industry leaders that are interested in joining the programme to work towards a more circular economy.”

Waitrose & Partners

Profitmind

Profitmind has been crowned the winner of the 2025 Retail Technology Show (RTS) Innovation Awards, which champion progressive technologies powering retail transformation.

Each year, the awards selects solutions from across the RTS exhibition floor that can unlock competitive advantage and digitally transform retailers’ capabilities.

Profitmind is a SaaS solution which uses machine learning, generative AI and agentic AI to drive profitability.  It was selected as the 2025 winner due to its ability to leverage AI to track competitors, analyse internal data and surface fast impact revenue and margin growth opportunities to increase productivity, transparency and profitability.

Described by RTS Innovation Award judge and OB&Co’s Oliver Banks as “a commercially minded AI [that lives] in your pocket, crunching through complex data to prioritise business opportunities,” the solution scored highly with the judges, comprising of RTS advisory board members and industry experts and analysts, for its margin boosting capabilities.

Matt Bradley, Event Director at Retail Technology Show, comments: “With retailers facing a raft of rising costs, already razor thin retail margins are coming under significant pressure. Profitmind puts AI to work, using game-changing insights to deliver growth hacks and pathways to profit, which retailers urgently need to survive and thrive against a backdrop of cost pressure. Up against a high calibre of competition from the rest of the shortlist, we congratulate Profitmind on being crowned the winner.”

SAP and Aramark

A new fully automated, 24/7 S.Mart store from SAP and Aramark opened this month, after four months in development, at the former’s camous in Walldorf, Germany.

Tech partners include Diebold Nixdorf, VusionGroup, C2RO, payfree, Lenovo, Intel Corporation, and Adyen. The store will offer convenience products and will initially be used by SAP employees.

It features:

  • RFID for fast checkout and fast inventory

  • Computer vision for a personalised customer experience, and also for theft prevention

  • Digital temperature monitoring

  • Cameras checking for stockouts

In a LinkedIn post, Michael Bosch, CEO at Checkout Peak, said: “Imagine walking in, grabbing a jar of Nutella, and heading out - all in under 50 seconds. Thanks to RFID technology and Payfree, every product is automatically detected. The receipt? Seamlessly generated in the background using SAP Customer Checkout.”

He added: “An exciting, forward thinking environment was created right at the SAP campus. We’re proud to have contributed to such a unique project. Stop by and experience the future of retail!”

Chemist Warehouse

Augmodo, a real-time inventory and task tracker using wearable SmartBadges to create live 3D store maps, is launching a partnership with Chemist Warehouse, Australia's largest drug retailer.

The collaboration has grown from four pilot stores in mid-2024 to a full chain expansion in a few short months and will increase to more than 550 locations in two years. In parallel, Augmodo and Chemist Warehouse will launch a Spatialview programme later this year, giving the latter’s suppliers access to real-time shelf data.

“Our hardworking associates spend hours every day completing tedious but critical tasks, like auditing and restocking shelves so consumers can have increased product availability,” says Mark Finocchiaro, Managing Partner and General Manager IT Retail at Chemist Warehouse.

“With Augmodo’s spatial AI assistant, they wear the Smartbadge on a lanyard or clip, and everything is automatically scanned as they walk the floor, providing us with real-time inventory data. The assistant tells them what’s out of stock and what needs to be done next, giving them more time with shoppers.”

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Retail innovationStaff WriterMay 5, 2025Future of retail, Retail technology, Retail innovation, April 2025, Skechers, We Are Social, Walmart, Emperia, Walmart Realm, Debenhams, be Retail Social, Morrison, Simbe Tally, Simbe, Tesco, GS1 UK, DoorDash, Coco Robotics, Waitrose & Partners, Polytag, Profitmind, Retail Technology Show 2025, SAP, Aramark, Diebold Nixdorf, Chemist Warehouse, AugmodoComment
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