Currys hits TikTok Shop and Sainsbury’s launches SmartLists: last week’s biggest retail technology plays
RTIH rounds up the stand out retail technology deals, launches, deployments and pilots from the past seven days. Including VenHub Global, Asda, Rokt, The Very Group, Made With Intent, VoCoVo, Cotswold Outdoor Group, Wayfair, Klarna, Zalando, gorjana, Walmart, Wing, Panda Retail, Deliveroo, and Sur la table.
Sainsbury's
Sainsbury’s has launched SmartLists, a new AI powered feature in the retailer's app that helps customers plan their shop, create a shopping list, find products more easily in-store and manage their budget with Nectar Prices.
Ben Edge, Director of Product at Sainsbury’s, says: “We know our customers are busy and want shopping to feel simple, joyful and easy to fit around their lives. SmartLists is designed to take the effort out of creating and buying a shopping list, whether customers are typing, speaking or taking a picture of what they need."
“Alongside this, by bringing more of our services together in one app, we’re making it easier for customers to plan their shop, build their basket and find products in-store, however and whenever they choose to shop with us.”
Sur la table
Sur la table is joining the Uber Eats marketplace, making its assortment of kitchenware available for on demand or scheduled delivery. The partnership will roll-out to all its locations across the US.
“Our customers trust us to know what works in the kitchen,” says Dan Goldman, President at Sur la table. “Uber Eats lets us bring that same trusted assortment to the moments when cooks need it right now. It's a natural extension of our mission to create and spread joy through cooking, wherever and whenever cooking happens.”
“Customers are increasingly turning to Uber Eats for more than meals, and Sur la table brings an elevated assortment of kitchen essentials to our growing retail marketplace,” says Nathan Bernheim, Head of Retail Partnerships at Uber. “As the holiday season approaches, we’re making it easier to find everything from a last minute host gift to the right appliance for a new recipe, all with the convenience of on demand delivery.”
VenHub Global
VenHub Global has announced plans for the first deployment of its smart store autonomous retail platform at Penn Lofts, a new 59-unit multifamily development in Bend, Oregon, USA. It says that this represents an important expansion of its technology into the multifamily residential market, where it reports growing demand from developers and property owners seeking new ways to enhance the resident experience and differentiate their communities.
“Multifamily residential communities represent a significant growth opportunity for VenHub, and we are seeing increasing demand from developers and property owners who recognise the value of bringing autonomous retail directly into their communities,” says Shahan Ohanessian, Founder and CEO at VenHub.
“Residents increasingly expect convenience to be built into where they live. Our flexible platform helps owners meet that expectation with a distinctive, highly visible amenity that adds value for residents and helps properties stand out - from smaller communities to larger multifamily developments. Penn Lofts is an ideal first deployment to demonstrate how our technology can be thoughtfully integrated into a community from the beginning.”
Asda
Asda has partnered with Rokt to deliver relevant offers to the UK grocery retailer’s customers at checkout across its online grocery business and George, its clothing and home brand. Using Rokt Pay+ on the payment page and Rokt Thanks on the order confirmation page, Asda says it has created a new retail media revenue stream at the point of purchase, while customer conversion remains unchanged.
Rokt uses AI to determine the most relevant next action for each customer in real-time on both the payments and confirmation pages.
“Checkout is a critical part of the customer journey, so we were deliberate about how we approached it,” says Chris Chalmers, Vice President Customer Data and Loyalty at Asda “The results show we can make that experience more relevant for customers while creating meaningful new value for the business.”
Panda Retail
Panda Retail, a grocery retailer in Saudi Arabia, has partnered with Spike Media Saudi, GoWit’s partner in the region, operating locally as GoSpike, to accelerate its digital media transformation push in the Kingdom.
With more than 200 stores, over 14 million online shoppers, and one million monthly active app visits, Panda offers advertisers touchpoints across both physical and digital channels. Building on this reach, the partnership will enable it to expand advertiser participation, manage growing campaign and inventory volumes, and scale its e-commerce media business through more automated, data driven, and measurable media operations.
“As we continue our digital transformation, e-commerce media gives us new opportunities to connect brands with our customers in relevant and measurable ways,” says Ahmad Chehade, CMO at Panda Retail. “Our partnership with Spike Media brings strong Saudi market expertise and advertising capabilities to support the continued growth of our digital ecosystem.”
VoCoVo
VoCoVo has announced the launch of its audio accessibility toolkit and new headset accessories, with a view to bringing inclusive audio solutions and personalised customisation to retail environments. The company says it is offering multiple user led communication solutions to connect its hardware with personal hearing technology.
This is alongside a collection of ergonomic and adaptive accessories that enable teams to personalise their headset for maximum comfort and usability. The solutions have been designed to create a more inclusive working environment while supporting colleague morale.
The Audio Accessibility Toolkit, designed to support retail colleagues with hearing impairments, includes direct integration between the VoCoVo Series 5 (S5) Headset and telecoil enabled hearing devices, requiring no additional hardware installation.
The toolkit also features an ear cushion for behind the ear hearing aids, which funnels sound directly from the S5 Headset into the hearing device, and a handset, offering Bluetooth connectivity for additional flexibility via loudspeaker, earpieces and push to talk communication. Hearing impaired colleagues will be able to process speech more effectively in busy retail spaces with fast changing background noise and during long shifts.
SIMKHAI
Croissant, a shopping and rewards app for luxury fashion, reports that its Croissant Pay solution is now available in Shopify Checkout and at the register through Shopify POS and all other PoS systems. Fashion brand SIMKHAI is among the first to offer it through the new integration.
“Reaching a luxury customer costs more every year, and the first order rarely pays for itself. The industry needs two things: alternative means of acquiring the right shoppers, and deeper loyalty,” says John Howard, CEO and Co-Founder at Croissant.
“Croissant brings both. Our members hold spending power in Croissant: credit from the pieces they've sold, rewards from the brands they shop, and exclusive offers from the brands they want next. Croissant Pay brings that spending power to a brand's checkout and its stores, and the brand pays only when a member spends. Shoppers earn more credit on each subsequent purchase, keeping them loyal to the curated list of brands in Croissant’s network.”
SIMKHAI, a Los Angeles-based fashion house founded by Jonathan Simkhai, began accepting Croissant Pay online on 11th September, the day of its Spring/Summer 2027 runway show, and in its SoHo store on Mercer Street, where it hosted a correlating private shopping event. More than 6,600 Croissant members currently own SIMKHAI items.
“We’re continually exploring thoughtful ways to enhance the SIMKHAI customer experience,” says Martin Vestre, Chief DTC Officer at SIMKHAI. “Croissant Pay offers another way to engage with the brand while introducing SIMKHAI to a new audience.”
“Innovation has always been central to SIMKHAI, both in our design ethos and in how we connect with our customers,” adds Jonathan Simkhai. “Croissant offers a fresh way to discover us, and we’re excited to bring this partnership to our community.”
MAAP
Cycling apparel brand MAAP is adopting Bamboo Rose TotalPLM end-to-end to support its next phase of global growth. By bringing planning, design, product development, sourcing, and order management together on a single AI native platform, it says it will give its teams a single connected source of truth from concept to production.
As MAAP expanded globally, key workflows remained spread across multiple systems. A single product change required updates across three software platforms and multiple spreadsheets, creating unnecessary manual work, limiting visibility, and slowing collaboration across teams.
With TotalPLM, MAAP says it is replacing disconnected workflows with a unified platform that improves data accuracy, increases visibility, reduces manual work, and enables faster, more informed decisions as the business grows.
"Moving to TotalPLM gives our teams a single source of truth across the product lifecycle. We gain the visibility, accuracy, and automation needed to support MAAP's next phase of growth while giving our teams more time to focus on product innovation," says Erin Height, Chief Product Officer and Project Champion at MAAP.
Sereact, Zalando and CEVA Logistics
Sereact, Zalando and CEVA Logistics have announced the launch of AI powered automated returns processing across key fulfillment facilities in Germany (Greven) and Poland (Świebodzin). Powered by Cortex, Sereact’s physical AI platform, the dual-arm robotic systems have entered live operations to autonomously process returned fashion items, marking the initial phase of a broader initiative to scale returns automation across Europe.
Cortex groups previously unseen objects - identifying, grasping and sorting items dynamically without requiring article specific training or pre-determined article sets. The technology is designed to work alongside humans. By taking on highly repetitive handling, it aims to reduce physical strain on employees, allowing them to move into higher value roles where human expertise and judgement are required.
“At the heart of our collaboration with Sereact and CEVA is a fundamental belief: true innovation happens when technology and human potential advance together. By solving the most complex challenges in modern fulfilment today, we are actively shaping the future of e-commerce logistics for fashion and lifestyle,” says Masood Choudhry, SVP Logistics at Zalando, which in July joined Sereact’s Series B round as an investor.
Tata Consumer Products GB
THG Ingenuity has been selected as the strategic e-commerce partner in the UK for Tata Consumer Products GB and its tea and wellness brands teapigs, Good Earth and Organic India.
The tie up will involve: THG Commerce will design, build, and host branded direct-to-consumer websites with a view to providing an intuitive, engaging shopping experience for consumers. THG Fulfil will manage end-to-end fulfilment and customer service operations, ensuring a reliable, efficient delivery experience for retail consumers and trade partners alike. And THG Studios will provide dedicated creative services to support the brands’ digital marketing.
Darren Rajanah, Chief Revenue Officer, THG Ingenuity, says: “We are proud to have been appointed by Tata Consumer Products GB. The collaboration is a true end-to-end partnership, bringing together our integrated commerce, fulfilment, and creative capabilities to deliver an exceptional, seamless experience for their consumers. We look forward to working closely with the Tata team to support their long-term growth ambitions.”
Mat Bird, Marketing Director at Tata Consumer Products GB, comments: "Our brands have been built on quality, trust and strong connections with consumers. Whether consumers discover our brands through retailers or engage with us directly online, it is important that every interaction reflects the high standards our brands are known for. This appointment will help us strengthen the direct-to-consumer experience for teapigs, Good Earth and Organic India, complementing the excellent experience consumers receive through our valued retail partners while supporting the continued growth of our brands."
Wayfair
Klarna has announced an expanded partnership with Wayfair, bringing new payment options to US and Canadian consumers. Eligible US customers can now access always on 0% APR financing up to six months across Wayfair's full family of brands - Wayfair, Joss & Main, AllModern, and Birch Lane.
For Canadian shoppers, it marks the first time Klarna's full suite of buy now pay later options will be available at Wayfair. Across both markets, shoppers can pay in full, split purchases into interest free installments, or finance larger orders over time.
"Wayfair's decision to renew and deepen this partnership speaks to the trust we've built together and the real demand we're seeing for flexible payments for considered home purchases," says David Sykes, Chief Commercial Officer at Klarna. "Home essentials is one of our fastest-growing categories in North America, and having Wayfair's full family of brands behind that momentum is a significant benefit for consumers in both markets."
"Klarna has been a trusted partner in helping our customers shop with confidence, and renewing this relationship was an easy decision," says Curtis Crawford, Director at Wayfair. "Our customers are making meaningful investments in their homes, and giving them flexible, transparent payment options at checkout makes a real difference, and that's exactly what this partnership delivers."
YEEP!
YEEP! reports that it has reached 4,000 parcel locker locations across the UK and is preparing to roll-out its new Generation 3 touchscreen lockers. The company, which operated just over 2,250 locations when Jamie Dickinson was appointed CEO in December last year, is now aiming to reach 5,000 by the end of 2026.
Developed with YEEP!’s hardware partner and shareholder kernTerminal, Generation 3 combines the company’s solar and battery powered technology with a new touchscreen interface designed to significantly improve the experience for both delivery drivers and consumers. All new YEEP! lockers will move to the Generation 3 specification from 2nd November, with a programme to upgrade the existing estate by end of Q1 2027.
Alongside the hardware, a bespoke operating system has been designed around the requirements of an open locker network. The system manages site surveys, installation, scheduling, maintenance and upgrades, with the aim of giving YEEP! greater visibility and control as the network scales.
The Very Group
The Very Group, which operates digital retailers Very and Littlewoods, has partnered with Made With Intent. By using over 800 behavioural signals, Made With Intent’s agentic decision engine predicts customer’s intent in real-time, helping to decide what they see and when.
Very says it will now be able to spotlight discount offers unique to customers based on individual shopping trends, as well as provide prompts at crucial moments throughout the shopping experience. Made With Intent’s engine is built on a proprietary model and optimisation AI agent that work together to allocate experiences across hundreds of intent combinations, learning what works for which visitors and contexts then applying it to future sessions.
Sarah Hanna, Digital Director at The Very Group, comments: “Made With Intent’s agentic platform unlocks fast paced, scalable real-time personalisation that can be executed to help enhance the customer experience, ultimately influencing our commercial KPIs. In fact, in the first month of the partnership, we’ve already seen promising results including revenue per customer increasing by a fifth in one of our agentic strategies, and an uplift in overall conversion.”
“Made With Intent gives our e-commerce team a brand new lever that they can effortlessly activate to make a difference on what our customers see and when, whether that’s one-off discounts or personalised payment options. It’s all about giving customers the right experience at the right time.”
Cotswold Outdoor Group
Broadsign and IUF have announced a collaboration with UK retailer, Cotswold Outdoor Group, to expand its retail media network with an in-store advertising infrastructure. This, according to those involved, provides a unified workflow that streamlines media planning, management, and measurement in-store and across onsite and offsite channels.
The aim is to enable Cotswold’s brand partners to execute omnichannel ad campaigns that engage shoppers at the point of purchase and beyond. The network presently includes 149 till, shelf, totem, large format, and front-of-store displays across 23 stores, which are powered by the Broadsign platform (specifically the Broadsign CMS and Ad Server) and support a range of media.
The platform is helping to streamline operations and centralise content management and network health monitoring. The technology is also advancing screen monetisation opportunities by scheduling ads, automating yield, and balancing complex campaign rules to help Cotswold Outdoor Group capture optimal revenue. Through Broadsign’s integration with Zitcha, Cotswold Outdoor Group’s retail media platform, brand partners, and agencies can extend omnichannel strategies into the physical store environment.
Walmart and Wing
Walmart and Wing have announced the next phase of their US wide network roll-out with plans to bring 30-minute drone delivery to Denver and Seattle metros in 2027, bringing home delivery of thousands of Walmart items to more than 20 major US metros.
To date, the tie up has brought drone delivery access to more than three million customers across major US metropolitan areas, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Houston and Orlando.
“Adding new metros to our expansion speaks to how quickly people across the country are adopting drone delivery," says Heather Rivera, Chief Business Officer at Wing. "We're excited to serve the needs of busy families in nearly 20 major markets spanning diverse communities and climates by delivering the everyday items these families need fast.”
“Expanding drone delivery to Seattle and Denver is about giving more customers a practical option when they need something quickly,” says Greg Cathey, Senior Vice President, eCommerce Transformation, Walmart. “Our stores put everyday items close to the communities we serve, and Wing helps bring those items to customers’ homes in minutes.”
A.F. Blakemore
A.F. Blakemore has expanded its partnership with Snappy Shopper, with more than 70 additional SPAR stores launching on the rapid delivery platform. The roll-out across August and September increased A.F. Blakemore’s Snappy Shopper estate from 95 stores to 167.
Customers in participating areas will be able to order groceries, everyday essentials, snacks, drinks and household products from their local SPAR for rapid delivery through the SPAR Delivered service, powered by Snappy Shopper technology. Around 40 of the new stores are located in areas where Snappy Shopper does not currently have another retail partner.
Jysk
Danish home furnishing retailer Jysk has gone live in Norway with its Enactor powered unified commerce platform. It has spent the last couple of months transitioning all 110 of its stores in the country to the new platform.
This integrates all store systems into one unified solution, with the aim of making everyday processes simpler and more efficient for both colleagues and customers.
“We now have several points of sale throughout the store, which means we can help customers and process payments wherever they are. My team has done an amazing job, and they really love the new way of working. It has been great to see how quickly it has become a natural part of our daily routines,” says Connie Evensen, Store Manager at Jysk Furuset in Oslo.
Sweden and Finland joined the new platform a couple of weeks ago, and the Netherlands and Belgium are up next.
gorjana
invent.ai reports that gorjana has selected its technology with a view to strengthening allocation and replenishment across the jewellery brand’s retail network. gorjana opened its first store in Laguna Beach, California ten years ago and now has nearly 150 locations across the US.
As its retail footprint and assortment have grown, so has the complexity of making sure each store has the right product and inventory for its customers. gorjana says it selected invent.ai to give its planning team greater precision at the store and SKU level, helping the brand understand what is selling where, respond faster to changes in demand and replenish inventory accordingly.
“We’ve grown from one store to nearly 150 in 10 years, and with that growth comes a lot more complexity,” says Andrew Pawling, Chief Operating Officer at gorjana. “Every store has its own customer and demand patterns. invent.ai allows us to get much more precise about the right assortment for each store, so we can use our inventory more efficiently and, most importantly, make sure our customers can find the pieces they’re looking for.”
“gorjana has built a distinctive retail brand by maintaining a strong understanding of its customer as the business has grown,” says Gurhan Kok, Founder and CEO at invent.ai. “We’re pleased to support the next stage of that growth by helping the gorjana team translate customer demand into more precise allocation and replenishment decisions across its expanding store network.”
Deliveroo
Deliveroo is gearing up to roll-out delivery robots, supplied by US company Coco, in the UK. These will be used for takeaways and groceries, with Deliveroo claiming that the robots will not replace human riders but rather complement them during off peak hours.
Canary Wharf, Milton Keynes, Leeds, Stockton-on-Tees, and Nottingham are the initial areas to get the service, with plans afoot for a broader UK roll-out.
Deliveroo runs a three-sided marketplace across roughly restaurants, grocers and retailers, all promising delivery in as little as 30 minutes. It is also a DoorDash subsidiary now, after being taken over by the US giant in a deal valuing the business at £2.9 billion. So this move shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.
Currys
Currys has launched on TikTok Shop with a curated range of products, from health and beauty and coffee to seasonal and audio.
Building on the retailer’s TikTok activity, with its page having bagged over ten million ‘likes’, it will partner with content creators to showcase products to new audiences, and will host TikTok Live shopping events, bringing real-time product demos and instant purchasing to customers' feeds.
This will start as a trial in partnership with THG Commerce who will provide strategy, trading, shop management, weekly live streams and affiliate management services. As an official TikTok Shop partner, THG Commerce says it has generated over £44 million in GMV for its partners by providing a complete solution that covers everything from initial storefront setup and compliance to content creation, global fulfilment and customer services, managed under one roof.
Constructor
Constructor, which powers search and product discovery for retailers including Sephora, The Very Group, Monica Vinader, White Stuff, and Furniture Village, has launched Agentic Checkout, a move that, the company claims, makes it the first to offer Stripe powered checkout directly within an onsite shopping agent.
People on retail sites and apps can discover products, ask questions, get personalised recommendations, and refine their choices, then check out and pay, without leaving the agent experience. They can pay via the Link By Stripe digital wallet or other payment methods.
Agentic Checkout is available within Constructor’s AI Shopping Agent (ASA), which lets shoppers describe what they need in natural language and get guidance based on their context, history and intent, and AI Product Insights Agent (PIA), which answers product specific questions directly on product detail pages. Agentic Checkout will expand to more touchpoints throughout retailers’ digital properties later this year.
“The promise of agentic commerce is that a shopper can express what they need and AI can help them every step of the way, making every part of the journey easier, more helpful, and more enjoyable,” says Eli Finkelshteyn, CEO and Co-founder at Constructor.
“Delivering on that promise requires best-in-class discovery and then best-in-class checkout. Constructor has spent years focused on improving the discovery experience and helping shoppers find the right products, while Stripe has built world class payments infrastructure that helps shoppers buy those products easily and securely. Together, we’re making agentic shopping more complete for consumers and more valuable for retailers.”
