Celebrating the dysfunctional family that is the UK and its flourishing, innovative retail technology space

The UK's doomed. It's done. Broken beyond repair. You hear that constantly on LinkedIn from influencers, life coaches, people with tedious books and podcasts to plug etc etc, and the doom mongering has been ramped up ever since Labour's Keir Starmer became Prime Minister last year (funny that, we don't recall the same ‘thought leaders’ being quite so outspoken when Boris Johnson and Liz Truss were acting appallingly, but we digress...)

Apparently, large numbers of millionaires are leaving the UK for Dubai and the USA. They’ve had enough and have chosen a fresh start overseas. For the vast majority of us, however, the choice is as follows: either keep running the country down for clicks and likes, or ignore the noise and talk up its various selling points.

We Brits are a dysfunctional family, yes, and there are plenty of things wrong here (too many awful, self-serving politicians, a NHS facing significant challenges including long waiting lists, a public transport system in desperate need of overhaul etc etc) but there's also an abundance of spirit, good humour, compassion, tolerance and innovation.

And nowhere is the latter on display more than our fantastic retail industry and retail technology sectors.

Market leading retailers like Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Lush, Next, Asos, AO, and John Lewis abound, as do trailblazing tech firms.

Recent examples of innovation include Currys which has teamed up with Quorso to launch a new tool called Action AI in its stores.

This brings together information like sales, footfall, promotions, surveys and customer satisfaction, into one dashboard. The aim here is to help managers and teams focus on what matters most and take the right action, in the right way, at the right time.

Elsewhere, Boxbar Tech has teamed up with the The Warehouse Project and Live Nation Entertainment to deliver what is pitched as the biggest ever automated, self-serve bar deployment at any event or venue around the world.

On the eve of Parklife Festival 2025, Catfish and The Bottlemen brought a headline performance to Heaton Park, Manchester.

In a LinkedIn post, James Bott, Co-founder at Boxbar Tech, said: "Our one of a kind solution was on hand to speed up service, boost serving capacity and make sure fans spent less time queuing and more time having fun.”

“Two locations; seven brand new all in one Boxbar Container Bars (patent pending); ten x three Bank Units; 72 Points of Sale; 144 serving taps. Our system is built to perform at any venue, any terrain and any capacity. We’re changing the game for our clients, so what’s stopping you?"

And last but not least, Debenhams Group, the online retailer behind brands including Debenhams, PrettyLittleThing, boohoo, boohooMAN and Karen Millen, has launched its AI Skills Academy - a programme that aims to equip employees with practical AI skills.

This is being rolled out in partnership with Multiverse, a workforce development platform fronted by Euan Blair (son of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and follows tie ups with Amazon Web Services and Peak AI.

Staff will be taught the technical skills and behaviours required to embrace AI in their day to day work, including: Using tools to boost productivity and free up time for higher value, strategic work; Applying AI solutions to streamline operations and reduce manual tasks; Building systems in-house to accelerate digital transformation and reduce reliance on external providers.

The AI Skills Academy supports a key pillar of Debenhams Group’s digital transformation roadmap. It will be launched internally via a company wide communication campaign, including in-person sessions delivered by Multiverse to help teams understand the opportunities on offer.

2025 RTIH Innovation Awards

UK retail be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards. which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.