Coach pops up at China shopping mall: 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 Pepco, Walmart, Asda, Microsoft, Power, Bambuser, RTS 2026, and the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.
1. 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards: finalists revealed, winners to be announced next month
We're pleased to present the finalists and shortlists for the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, sponsored by Vista Technology Support, STRATACACHE, 3D Cloud, EdTech Innovation Hub, and Retail Technology Show.
We received a record number of entries this year and many fantastic examples of the continued resilience and dynamism of the retail space during hugely challenging times.
Congratulations to all those who made it through the initial submission process!
In-depth breakdowns of each category and the shortlisted submissions will be published on this site over the next few days, starting tomorrow with Bricks and Mortar Innovation, Supply Chain Innovation, Payments Innovation, and Most Innovative UK Retailer.
It’s now over to our judging panel who will decide the winners to be announced at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London.
The event will be held on Thursday, 16th October and consist of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
Book your place at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony on Thursday, 16th October here.
2. Smart carts firm A2Z Cust2Mate announces $45 million equity raise featuring various financial institutions
A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions reports the completion of a $45 million equity financing round at $8.00 per share.
This was anchored by Wellington Management, alongside support from existing shareholders Shay Capital, Alyeska Investment Group, Philadelphia Financial, and Linmar Capital.
The funds raised will be used to accelerate the global roll-out of Cust2Mate 3.0 smart shopping carts, establish new fulfillment and logistics centres across Europe, the USA, and Latin America, and enhance the company’s AI driven technology platforms.
Plans are also afoot to fast track retail media deployment, expand advanced data insights capabilities for near-term monetisation, and support the recruitment of talent to drive international growth and innovation.
3. European value retailer Pepco targets technology and digital talent with new Portugal hub
Pepco, a value retailer in Europe which was established in 2015 and currently operates nearly 3,500 stores in 19 countries, has officially launched its new Tech Hub in Porto, Portugal.
It says that the facility was created to attract world class digital and technology talent - and to build entirely new capabilities for Pepco from the ground up.
In a LInkedIn post, it comments: “This is a bold investment in the future - designed to modernise how we work, unlock fresh thinking, and create smarter ways to connect with our customers. At the heart of it? Building direct, digital relationships with millions of customers - making every interaction more personal, intelligent, and valuable.”
“We’re not here to copy what’s been done before. We’re building something new - with small, empowered teams, clear missions, and the freedom to move fast and make decisions,” says Pablo De Ayala, Group Chief Information Officer
“This hub is about creating the kind of environment where great people can do their best work - and where technology helps us truly transform the customer experience. At the same time, we recognise the vital importance of our IT operations in Poland and other European countries.”
“The teams who keep our systems running securely and reliably each day remain part of our ongoing and future success. Together, as one team with different expertise we bring our Pepco Group IT ambitions to life.”
4. Cloud first as Asda and Microsoft lay claim to one of UK's largest ever retail technology deals
Asda is expanding its partnership with Microsoft in what is pitched as one of the UK’s biggest retail tech deals to date, involving the use of Azure and Copilot.
Four years ago, Asda began separating from its former owner, Walmart. Project Future, as the programme became known, aimed to establish a best-of-breed “digital core” of specialist systems based on a cloud first strategy.
“We wanted world class partners to look after the digital core, so we could focus on what we’re really good at: retailing and using data to deliver propositions for customers,” says Matt Kelleher, Asda’s Chief Digital Officer.
“When you’re cloud first, you can flex, you can optimise, and you can trust your partners to customise, update, maintain and protect the systems. That’s a real advantage.”
“We’ve built an ecosystem of systems that helps us develop, manage, tune and change our propositions for customers. That might be products, our price position, our price architectures, our range assortments, or what we’re learning about customer trends.”
The Microsoft deal, which builds on a commercial relationship that began in 2022, sees Azure expand its role as Asda’s primary cloud platform, underpinning everything from data and analytics to security and integration.
Data analytics from Azure Databricks and Microsoft Fabric helps turn data from across the core platforms into the prices and deals it presents to customers, while Microsoft Defender provides security for the whole digital core.
5. Walmart becomes first retailer to offer prescriptions with groceries in a single online order
Walmart is laying claim to being the first retailer to offer refrigerated and reconstituted prescription delivery, like insulin, GLP-1s, and pediatric amoxicillin, together with groceries and everyday essentials in a single online order.
The service is now live. With this change, Walmart says it is now able to deliver more than 90% of pharmacy medications to customers.
“We continue to unlock new levels of convenience while also broadening access to critical medications,” says Kevin Host, Senior Vice President of Pharmacy at Walmart. “Adding refrigerated prescriptions to our pharmacy delivery capabilities is the result of listening to our customers, identifying where we can create even better, seamless experiences and keeping the communities we serve at the heart of what we do.”
6. Plug set to be pulled on all Just Walk Out technology powered Amazon Fresh stores in UK
Amazon is binning its ambitious Amazon Fresh experiment in the UK, just four years after the US online giant launched its first grocery store in London.
It is set to shutter its 19 Fresh stores, with plans to convert five of these into Whole Foods Market locations.
The first one opened in the UK during 2021 in Ealing, west London, powered by Just Walk Out technology.
The original target was a portfolio of more than 200 locations by the end of 2025. However, the concept failed to catch on in a notoriously competitive grocery retail space dominated by the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Co-op, and Asda.
Amazon did not say how many staff would be affected by the closures, but it does plan to offer workers new roles in other parts of the business. The comes amid a broader overhaul of its grocery retail strategy, with a stronger focus on Whole Foods.
7. Retail Technology Show returns to ExCel London in 2026 with a disco themed event
Retail Technology Show has unveiled its theme for RTS 2026. This will see the good times rolling in London on 22nd–23rd April with a disco themed retail gathering.
The announcement follows the exhibition/conference’s debut at its new home, ExCeL London, in April earlier this year. With a funfair theme, RTS 2025 welcomed over 14,000 retail professionals - a +11% increase on the previous year - and delivered its biggest ever tech showcase of 438 leading solution providers.
Matt Bradley, Event Director at RTS, comments: “Off the back of an incredibly successful first event in our new home, London ExCeL, RTS 2026 is already shaping up to be bigger, bolder and better. With a new theme, but the same incredible energy that unites the sector, we can’t wait to bring the funk, flair and future of retail to life as we look ahead to next year’s show.”
“As RTS continues to grow and build on each year’s success, our ecosystem of key strategic and trusted partnerships is the bedrock of that continued momentum,” Bradley adds.
8. Perion and Albertsons Media Collective unlock first-party audiences via display and DOOH campaigns
Albertsons Media Collective, the retail media arm of Albertsons Companies, has announced a partnership with Perion Network that gives advertisers the ability to activate against the retailer’s purchase-based first-party audiences across Perion's display and DOOH formats.
The tie up enables advertisers to reach more than 100 million verified shoppers throughout the entire purchase journey - from on the go awareness near Albertsons Cos.’ over 2,200 store locations to online conversion, using localised offers and measurement tools.
“Our partnership brings together the three pillars marketers are demanding today: high-quality audience data, engaging ad formats and measurable outcomes,” says Evan Hovorka, VP of Product Innovation at Albertsons Media Collective. “Together with Perion, we’re enabling advertisers to reach shoppers across the full journey from discovery to purchase with scale, impact and precision.”
9. Norwegian electronics retailer Power taps Bambuser tech for live shopping shows
Power has entered into a two-year partnership with interactive video shopping platform Bambuser.
The tie up launched with two interactive events: a co-branded show with Samsung tied to a product launch, and a back-to-school campaign featuring essential products for students and families.
In Power Live’s debut, viewers remained engaged for an average of seven minutes, more than half of them actively participated (50.8 engagement rate), and with more than 7,000 viewers joining a single broadcast.
Sven Erik Vaagenes, E-commerce Manager at Power, says: “What we see in our live shows is that people don’t just watch - they stay with us, ask questions, react, and interact. The energy is incredible, and the engagement is huge. It’s clear that this way of shopping really connects with people.”
10. Focus on gamified experiences as Coach opens Tabby pop-up shop at Shanghai Daimaru Mall
Coach has opened a Tabby bag pop-up shop at Shanghai Daimaru Mall in China. And it’s built with creators and fans of immersive experiences in mind.
In a LinkedIn post, Giovanni Zaccariello, SVP Global Visual Experience at Coach, said: “With this installation we celebrate our biggest icon, Tabby. Check out our 3D charms, a one of a kind co-creation bar, bold graphic video content and WeChat gamified Tabby experience. We love omnichannel activations. Congrats team.”
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