Walmart goes all in on AI innovation: RTIH's most read retail technology articles from last week
Check out the articles on this here website that caught your fancy last week, including Sydney Sweeney, American Eagle Outfitters, Amazon Just Walk Out, Royal Mail, Asda, Evri, Allianz Stadium Twickenham, East of England Co-op, and the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.
Sydney Sweeney headlines 3D and AI technology powered American Eagle Outfitters Fall ‘25 campaign
American Eagle Outfitters has launched its Fall ‘25 campaign, headlined by actress Sydney Sweeney. The campaign, Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans, is pitched as “a return to essential denim dressing and a celebration of what the beloved brand does best: making customers look and feel good in AE jeans”.
The roll-out will be supported by 3D billboards where Sweeney will interact directly with passersby, a Snapchat lens where she speaks with Snapchatters and AI enabled try-on technology.
“This fall season, American Eagle is celebrating what makes our brand iconic - trendsetting denim that leads, never follows,” says Jennifer Foyle, President and Executive Creative Director - AE & Aerie.
“Innovative fits and endless versatility reflect how our community wears their denim: mixed, matched, layered and lived in. With Sydney Sweeney front and centre, she brings the allure, and we add the flawless wardrobe for the winning combo of ease, attitude and a little mischief.”
RTIH retail technology innovation awards return for 2025, deadline for entries 19th September
The seventh edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards, sponsored by Vista Technology Support, 3D Cloud, EdTech Innovation Hub, and Retail Technology Show, is now open for entries.
The awards celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories 👉 here.
Our latest winners will be revealed at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 16th October.
We're hugely pleased to announce @VistaTechSup as Headline and Drinks Reception Sponsor at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards. Welcome onboard, guys! #RTIHAwards25 https://t.co/8GCmjjn4nQ pic.twitter.com/2LplgXg5jo
— RTIH Innovation Awards (@AwardsRtih) June 13, 2025
How scarcity became Pop Mart’s greatest marketing weapon: the Labubu playbook for demand driven retail
Labubu’s parent company Pop Mart has redefined collectible toys as luxury items by deliberately engineering product shortages.
Turning what was once an impulse buy into an obsession, waitlists and sold-out signs have transformed Labubu from playful figurines into symbols of exclusivity - and elevated Pop Mart’s brand to cult status, observes Tom Summerfield, Retail Expert at Peak.
Amazon Just Walk Out technology goes live at Allianz Stadium Twickenham for frictionless bar launch
A deployment of Amazon's Just Walk Out technology has wrapped at Allianz Stadium.
A Guinness Patch Just Walk Out frictionless bar made its debut during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final on 14th June, serving over 7,000 products. In a direct comparison, it surpassed its neighbouring traditional bar by 20% and sales were 15% higher than what the location averaged prior to Just Walk Out implementation.
Customers experienced average transaction times of less than six seconds from entry to exit. As with traditional queuing methods, the bar allowed for multiple lanes for entry and exit, to improve customer flow and eliminate congestion.
UK delivery firm Evri announces record results and parcel volumes as eBay and Vinted deals pay off
Evri says that it delivered record adjusted EBITDA and parcel volumes for the year to 1st March 2025, driven by a £57 million operational investment to improve service, broad-based growth across its divisions and new client wins.
It lays claim to parcel volumes of more than 807 million over the 52 weeks, up from c. 730 million in 2023-24. This represents a 25% increase in parcel numbers in the last two years.
Growth in 2024-25 was supported by deals with consumer-to-consumer marketplaces, such as eBay and Vinted, as the trend in selling second-hand items online shows no sign of slowing down. New client wins saw the business diversify into new sectors including fresh food, car parts and floristry.
Rob Barnes reflects on technology highlights as he ends 18 month run as Asda Chief Information Officer
Earlier this year, we reported that Rob Barnes was exiting Asda and the role of CIO. Barnes, who joined the UK grocery giant from Marks and Spencer, has now completed his last working day there.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “It has been a privilege to serve a business during such a pivotal period of change, and it has taken me a few days to reflect and consider what we’ve achieved in this time. Looking back on the last 18 months, the team have achieved the impossible.”
This included rolling out NCR Voyix to all assisted and self-service tills in stores, converting over half of stores onto new SAP, Zebra Technologies and other store systems/processes including new shelf edge ticketing, and launching a new e-commerce platform, now serving all of George online and over half the grocery home shopping stores via Salesforce and Blue Yonder.
Royal Mail partners with Motor Fuel Group to introduce parcel lockers at UK petrol station locations
Royal Mail and Motor Fuel Group are teaming up to introduce parcel lockers at over 500 petrol stations across the UK. The first are now open at Motor Fuel Group forecourts in Shepton Mallet and Canterbury.
Motor Fuel Group is the UK’s largest independent forecourt operator.
Operating nationwide, it is also the largest open ultra-rapid EV charging network in the UK, the biggest car valeting operator with 900+ sites and a food to go retailer. Royal Mail launched its locker network in December on top of its doorstep services.
These offer a parcel drop off service, and soon they will include collection options. The lockers also feature label printing. 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.
📬 Good grief! The Peanuts gang are coming to stamps! 🐶✉️
— Royal Mail (@RoyalMail) July 17, 2025
Available from 24 July, you can pre-order yours right now: https://t.co/zMcWQ9tCac pic.twitter.com/XhEjWsTFfJ
East of England Co-op relaunches tech team with focus on upcoming priorities and inflight projects
East of England Co-op reports a technology team refresh as the retailer keeps busy in 2025, including the launch of its first fully cashless location.
In a LinkedIn post, Rob Smith, Technology Officer at East of England Co-op, said: "We have relaunched our technology team. We came together for a whistle stop tour of our upcoming priorities, how we’ll be working, and the inflight projects already making an impact. It was a great opportunity to reconnect and focus on what matters most - delivering with clarity, efficiency, and pragmatism."
"We rounded things off with a stroll down the hill for an ice cream in the sunshine - a well earned pause and a chance to catch up with colleagues in a different setting. Big thanks to the team for joining us and participating in the session. A strong start to the next chapter."
Walmart makes new hires for window of opportunity to apply AI and become more tech powered
Walmart has announced the creation of two new leadership roles with the goal of accelerating AI driven innovation across the business.
According to Doug McMillon, President and CEO at Walmart, the aim here is to “move smarter and faster, putting AI and world class product management and design at the centre of everything we do”.
“I’m excited to welcome Daniel Danker as EVP, AI Acceleration, Product and Design. In this new global role Daniel will accelerate our AI transformation and lead all product management and design across the enterprise,” he says.
“In addition, we’re also creating a new EVP, AI Platforms role reporting to Suresh Kumar (Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer). This visionary role will help us build the future with AI, increase productivity, speed and innovation, own the AI platforms, and architect our intelligent systems stack to power our future.”
He concludes: “Artificial intelligence is changing how we work. I look forward to working with Daniel and seeing how these changes strengthen our business and improve experiences for our customers, members and fellow associates.”
AI voice agent startup Solda.AI announces $4 million in seed funding as it bags clients in retail and finance
Solda.AI has raised a $4 million seed funding round to improve the phone sales process with multimodal AI voice agents that can close deals autonomously.
The round was led by Accel, with participation from AltaIR Capital. The funding will be used to develop Solda.AI’s AI agents, and partner with more enterprises worldwide.
Solda.AI was founded in 2023 by Sergey Shalaev, an AI and ML entrepreneur with more than 12 years experience and expertise in recommendation services, advertising technologies, and MedTech.
A remote first company, the team is based across Amsterdam, Berlin, London and Munich. It now provides AI voice sales agents for enterprises in sectors from finance and retail, to transport and telecoms, including tbi bank, Treatwell, InDrive, Plata Bank and Vivid Money.
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