AI reshapes the online grocery shopping space: RTIH brings you this week's biggest retail technology stories

It's Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past few days, including Pret A Manger, FreedomPay, Primark, Kurt Geiger, NewStore, Rohlik Group, Co-op, Royal Mail, H&M, and Amazon.

1. JD Cloud and Logistics AI and LLM retail technology powers JD.com 618 Grand Promotion shopping event

JD.com's 618 Grand Promotion kicked off at 8:00 PM  (UTC+8) on 30th May. In the first hour, GMV, total orders and active shoppers increased by more than 200% year-over-year (YoY). 20,000+ brands recorded over threefold growth in GMV YoY, according to the Chinese e-commerce giant.

JD Cloud technology continues to power the shopping event.

In the first hour of the promotion, usage of JD Cloud’s JoyBuild large language model (LLM) development platform surged 242% compared to the same period during last year’s Singles Day promotion. LLM capabilities have been integrated across the entire 618 event.

This year, JD Cloud opened five AI powered marketing tools to third-party merchants free of charge for the first time. Its digital representative technology has served over 13,000 brands, while Jingxiaozhi 5.0, JD’s AI powered merchant service platform now supports 900,000+ merchants.

Elsewhere, JD Logistics deployed its largest ever roll-out of technologies across its national infrastructure.

The company’s solutions, including its goods-to-person systems, autonomous delivery vehicles, automated rebin walls, AI Brain, and smart sorting systems, were implemented at scale with the aim of enabling speedy and accurate delivery in more than 400 cities.

2. Primark hails big change in model as it wraps phase two of automated logistics centre in Czech Republic

Primark has completed a major automation in the supply chain project in Europe.

In a LinkedIn post, Jorge Paloma, Head of Logistics Mainland Europe, said: "After nearly four years of planning, we have inaugurated the fully automated phase two of our logistics centre in Bor (Czech Republic). This opening represents a big change in our logistics model and also ensures our company's growth in the region for the coming years."

He added: "I would like to highlight the exemplary collaboration this project represents, both with our partners SSI Schaefer and DHL, but also our internal teams, who have given their best to make this opening a great success."

3. Morrisons raids grocery rival Asda to appoint Matt McLellan as Group Customer, Data and Media Director

Matt McLellan has been appointed as Group Customer, Data & Media Director at Morrisons.

He joins from Asda where he spent five and a half years, serving as Vice President - Customer Planning and Proposition. Prior to that, he was at Tesco (Group Customer Propositions Director) and dunnhumby (Managing Director - UK and Ireland).

In an online post, Morrisons said: “Matt brings a wealth of experience in customer insight, data strategy, loyalty and digital media, most recently as VP of Customer at Asda. Over his career, he’s led award winning customer teams, driven step changes in data and loyalty performance, and helped shape brand strategy through insight led thinking.”

It added: “This is a crucial role for our next phase of growth under Rami Baitiéh’s leadership with Matt set to play a key part in sharpening our focus on customers, building our data capability, and unlocking new opportunities in retail media. We’re excited about what’s ahead and thrilled to have Matt onboard as part of the team.”

4. dentsu connects with Co-op Media Network as it sets sights on transforming rapidly evolving retail media space

dentsu has announced the integration of retail eye tracking data into its media planning tool.

This will bring together the platform’s original data - derived from global surveys - and new eye tracking research conducted by Lumen Research on behalf of the Co-op Media Network.  

Findings from the research challenge conventional wisdom about in-store media’s effectiveness.

For instance, the data reveals that smaller stores provide over twice the opportunity to see certain products, three times the attention and quadruple the brand recall compared to larger counterparts. These insights disrupt the outdated perception that in-store media lacks the impact of major advertising channels such as social media and out-of-home advertising, dentsu claims.

4. FreedomPay powers Pret A Manger payments experience in UK, US and Hong Kong markets with more to come

FreedomPay has announced a payments partnership with food and coffee retailer Pret A Manger. The collaboration is currently powering Pret in three major markets - the United Kingdom, United States and Hong Kong with further deployments planned in Europe later in 2025.

Chris Matthews, Global Retail Technology Director at Pret A Manger, says; "We are committed to providing a frictionless and enjoyable experience for our customers.”

“Partnering with FreedomPay allows us to leverage their best-in-class technology to ensure secure and reliable payment processing, no matter where our customers are in the world. This partnership is a key ingredient in our recipe for international success, allowing us to focus on what we do best: delivering delicious, freshly made food and organic coffee."

5. British brand Kurt Geiger goes live with NewStore unified commerce platform across 70+ stores in UK and US

NewStore reports that Kurt Geiger is now live on its Omnichannel PoS solution across more than 70 owned stores, outlets, and airport locations in the United Kingdom and the United States.

The roll-out spans the Kurt Geiger and Carvela brands, with the retailer replacing three legacy in-store systems with a mobile-based solution.

Store associates now have the ability to complete transactions and deliver seamless omnichannel experiences, including endless aisle, ship-to-store, and buy online pickup in-store and buy online return in-store, using only an iPhone or iPad.

6. AI and ChatGPT tears open grocery shopping funnel, blurring line between discovery, decision, and purchase

The rise of AI technologies and in particular ChatGPT means that traditional SEO is no longer enough in the grocery retail space. So says Vineta Bajaj, Group CFO at Rohlik Group.

In a LinkedIn post, she said: “What’s a good dairy free option for coffee? You’d never type that into Google, but you would ask ChatGPT. That simple shift in behaviour marks a seismic change in how people discover and buy food online.”

Referring to an article by The Grocer, to which she contributed, looking at how AI, Bajaj noted that AI, especially ChatGPT, is tearing open the grocery shopping funnel, blurring the line between discovery, decision, and purchase.

She added: “In the article, I share thoughts about why traditional SEO isn’t enough anymore, and how brands need to start thinking in terms of conversational engine optimisation (CEO) instead. At Rohlik Group, we are on a mission to automate everything we see (both internal and external focused). It's amazing what a tech mindset can do to productivity as well as the bottom line.”

7. Co-op becomes first retail group in the convenience sector to host Royal Mail parcel lockers at stores

Co-op and Royal Mail have inked a partnership deal to roll-out parcel lockers at the convenience retailer’s stores. The first ones will launch in summer, with plans for lockers at 100 stores.

These will allow people to drop off pre-labelled Royal Mail parcels and returns 24/7. Collection will also be available at the lockers soon.

They provide label printing, meaning customers need to pay for postage online and print the label by scanning a QR code at the locker, or request a QR code if they are returning a purchase. Royal Mail’s prices start from £1.55 online for a small parcel that fits through the letterbox.

Royal Mail launched its own parcel locker network in December to meet growing demand for convenient parcel drop-off and collection options from online shoppers and increasing numbers of people selling on secondhand marketplaces. 

8. Deliveroo connects with Manna as it goes live with test phase of drone dellveries in Dublin, Ireland

Deliveroo has launched drone deliveries in Dublin, Ireland, through a partnership with Manna.

The service is based in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, with Deliveroo conducting a test phase over the coming weeks. It will use the initial weeks to assess how drones can help serve suburban and harder to reach locations, with the ultimate aim of unlocking new customers through fast deliveries, complementing its rider network. 

Over the coming days, customers in a 3km radius of Blanchardstown will be able to order from local restaurants including Musashi, WOWBurger, Boojum and Elephant & Castle - flown to customers in as little as three minutes. Deliveroo is aiming to expand the service to more restaurants and launch grocery and retail deliveries within the next six months. 

9. Amazon gears up to leverage 'must have' humanoid robots for package deliveries with Rivian electric vans

Amazon has built an built an obstacle course inside a facility with the aim of testing the ability of humanoid robots to make deliveries of packages via Rivian electric vans.

In a LinkedIn post, Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive, said: “This isn’t new information. I broke a story two months ago that Amazon is building its own humanoid robots, and that it’s also testing robots from other companies like Figure. In 2023, I challenged Amazon to automate the back of Rivian vans to make deliveries of packages, food, and snacks. Years earlier I coined the term, hail a store.”

In 2024, Ladd broke stories that Amazon built an automated micro-fulfillment centre that fits in the back of Rivian vans. The vans will be stocked with everyday essentials like toothpaste, razors, over the counter medicines, soda, snacks and groceries. Certain vans will only be stocked with a few types products; prodicts for babies for example.

Amazon is currently testing out the technology. The plan is for it to offer consumers an option to “hail a van” to their location. Consumers will be able to walk out and buy the products they want. Another option is that a robot (possibly a humanoid) will take the items ordered by customers and deliver them to the door of a home, business or apartment.

Ladd commented: “Amazon has no choice but to build software that will allow it to communicate with and leverage robots. The primary impact of AI is that it accelerates velocity across an enterprise or an ecosystem. This means that Amazon has to be able to work 24/7 365 days per year to meet the increased demand AI will generate. It must accelerate the speed of its supply chain and logistics. Humanoid robots and autonomous vehicles are a must have for Amazon.”

He concluded: “Will Amazon be able to leverage humanoid robots to make package deliveries anytime soon? No. A lot of work has to be done first. Is it likely that by 2030 the company will be utilising robots in conjunction with Rivian vans? Yes, that’s certainly possible. However, will they be humanoid robots? Humanoid robots will have to massively improve to make them capable of delivering packages.”

10. H&M all apologies as fashion and homeware retailer reports major IT outage affecting payments in stores

H&M customers were unable to complete payments in stores across the UK this week following an IT outage, the cause of which has not yet been revealed. 

A spokesperson for H&M said: “We are aware of the problem and are looking into resolving it as quickly as possible. We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience."

The incident closely follows M&S and Co-op being hit by cyber attacks that caused huge problems.

As it released full year results for the 52 weeks ended 29th March 2025, M&S last month said it would lose an estimated £300 million as a result of an attack that has forced it to halt online orders and struggle to keep store shelves stocked.