Walmart addresses shopper pricing and AI concerns: last week's most read retail technology articles
Check out our most clicked retail technology articles from last week, including H&M, Voyado, Fanatics, The Barcode Warehouse, Lincolnshire Co-op, Lidl GB, Morrisons, StrongPoint ALS, VoCoVo, JD Sports, OpenAI, Destro AI, and the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
H&M overhauls onsite search across more than 60 markets in technology partnership with Voyado
H&M has overhauled its onsite search across more than 60 markets, working with Voyado. The retailer says that the move away from keyword matching to an intent driven model has reduced soft exits (where shoppers drift off because of friction rather than choice) by 80% and cut customer exits from search by 30%.
Rather than matching search terms to product names, the new setup reads a range of signals at once: stock availability, add to bag actions, purchase behaviour, product newness, revenue performance and customer intent and updates rankings in real-time.
“As our business grew, we needed a more intelligent approach to search, ranking, and discovery. We found Voyado to be the best fit for us.” says Lars Gezelius, Acting Global Head of Digital at H&M.
Erica Sandelin Ekelund, CEO at Voyado, says: "Search is a clear signal of what customers actually want. When a customer searches, they’re not browsing - they’re telling you. And many retailers are throwing that signal away. H&M recognised the value and used it to rebuild their customer experience from the ground up, and the numbers confirm they were right. The most successful retailers won’t be those with the most extensive catalogues. They’ll be the ones who understand their customers and what they actually came for.”
Fabeltics exec and CX and AI specialist Jack Roberts joins RTIH Innovation Awards judging panel for 2026
We're hugely pleased to announce the addition of Jack Roberts to the judging panel for the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards. Jack is Senior Global Director of GMS Technology at Fabletics, where he leads the global technology strategy supporting customer experience across its portfolio of brands.
With more than 15 years of industry experience, Jack has led large scale transformation across customer engagement, automation and AI, with a focus on translating emerging technology into measurable business and customer outcomes. His work has received international industry recognition, and he is a regular conference speaker and customer advisory board member, contributing to the wider conversation on the future of customer experience and AI.
Welcome onboard, Jack!
Further information on our judging panel can be found here. In addition to Jack, it includes representatives from Ingka Group/Ikea, JD Sports Fashion, Batteries Plus, Holland & Barrett, Walmart, CVS Health, Amazon, Boots, C&C Group, Warner Bros. Discovery, East of England Co-op, PoundFun, Austen & Blake, and Gordon Ramsay Restaurants.
The NFL lands on London's Oxford Street as Fanatics opens pop-up store for 2026 London games
The National Football League and Fanatics, the league's official retail partner, have opened an NFL Shop pop-up retail store on London's Oxford Street, as American football returns to the capital for three games this October.
Located at 360-366 Oxford Street, the 1,000 sq ft store will be open from Thursday, 1st October, to Monday, 19th October, spanning all three 2026 NFL London games: the Indianapolis Colts vs. Washington Commanders on 4th October and the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Jacksonville Jaguars on 11th October, both at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, followed by the Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on 18th October.
Fans can shop official NFL jerseys and an assortment of merchandise across NFL teams, alongside a range of products available exclusively in London. The Oxford Street store will also host NFL Shop LIVE!, a programme of fan events. On opening night, Thursday, 1st October, NFL UK legend Efe Obada will sit down with broadcaster Neil Reynolds to talk about his NFL career and new charity project. On Thursday, 8th October, Phoebe Schecter and Neil Reynolds will record an NFL London Games special of "Inside the Huddle" in front of a live audience. Both events start at 6 p.m., with limited seating available on a first come, first served basis.
The store at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will also become an official NFL Shop from Saturday, 3rd October to Sunday, 11th October, across both Tottenham games, with a number of exclusive collections available in-store. It opens with an NFL Shop Tottenham Family Day on Saturday, 3rd October, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with games, prizes, exclusive merchandise and special guests.
JD Sports updates on RFID programme as Germany goes live and 1,000 stores milestone is reached
Dan McGrath, JD Group Customer Operations, JD Sports, has taken to social media to provide an update on the retailer’s RFID programme, which involves various countries and thousands of stores.
In a LinkedIn post, McGrath said: “This week, our final country goes live with RFID, Germany. And with that, everything we directly control will be live for phase one of our RFID programme. When I look back at what we’ve achieved, the numbers are pretty incredible: 1,000 stores directly launched in 14 months. And across the wider global group, working alongside our counterparts around the world: 2,700 stores live out of 4,800 in that same period, 192 stores a month!”
He added: “But the numbers only tell part of this story. RFID isn’t just about scanners, tags and technology. It’s about changing behaviours, processes and mindsets. We’ve done things that were uncomfortable. Challenged established ways of working. Asked people to rethink processes they’d used for years. And, most importantly, brought people with us on the journey. And we haven't done that alone.”
The Barcode Warehouse teams with Lincolnshire Co-op on self-checkouts roll-out across food stores
The Barcode Warehouse is working with Lincolnshire Co-op on the roll-out of a new self-checkout solution. Lincolnshire Co-op, which operates more than 220 outlets across Lincolnshire and neighbouring counties, including food stores, pharmacies, post offices and travel branches, is expanding self-service checkout options across its food store estate as part of its investment in enhancing customer experience.
Andy Warman, Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer at Lincolnshire Co-op, says: “The introduction of self-checkouts across our food stores represents an important step in enhancing the shopping experience for our customers. Working with The Barcode Warehouse, we have delivered a solution that provides greater convenience, reduces queuing times, and gives customers more choice in how they shop. This investment reflects our ongoing commitment to continuing to deliver high standards of customer service and embracing innovation technology that adds value for our communities.”
The Barcode Warehouse has supplied and supported the retailer's in-store technology estate for more than three years. Today, it supplies Point of Sale equipment, handheld devices for stock management and pricing updates, reduced to clear printing solutions and managed services support across the business.
Lidl deploys new self-checkouts that show UK shoppers on screens across retailer's store network
Lidl is rolling out new self-checkouts across its UK stores which play video footage back to customers while they are scanning their shopping. These will be deployed in all new stores and retrofitted into existing locations.
They will feature built in overhead cameras, vertically mounted large format screens, and LED lights to alert staff if people need help while scanning their shopping. To leave, customers must scan a receipt printed by the machine at a gate at the exit. Roll-out is also taking place across hundreds of Lidl and Kaufland stores in Germany.
A Lidl spokesperson told RTIH: “The new self-checkouts are designed to be more customer friendly, enhancing the shopping experience while boosting efficiency.”
Morrisons partners with StrongPoint ALS and VoCoVo on Click & Collect pilot at Skipton store
Morrisons has launched a pilot of StrongPoint ALS’s temperature controlled Click & Collect lockers at the retailer’s Skipton store in North Yorkshire.
The aim here is to provide a convenient and flexible way to collect ambient, chilled and frozen groceries.
In a LinkedIn post, Christopher Evison, Senior Productivity Manager at Morrisons, said: “This is a great step forward for Click & Collect at Morrisons. It brings faster pickups - orders are pre-packed in paper bags and loaded into the lockers in advance. Simply enter your unique six-digit code when you arrive and go. And more flexibility - the lockers are helping us extend operating hours by two hours a day, giving customers even more options for when they collect. Freshness is guaranteed - the multi-temperature lockers can accommodate ambient, chilled and frozen products, whether customers are picking up a few essentials or their full weekly shop.”
He added: “There is also support when you need it - integrated VoCoVo headsets provide a direct two-way connection to store colleagues, making it easy to get assistance or complete any required ID checks. Huge thank you to all that have supported from both StrongPoint and Vocovo. It’s another great step forward in investing in our online proposition while keeping customer convenience at the heart of what we do. A huge well done to everyone involved in getting the launch over the line - a fantastic team effort. We’re really looking forward to seeing customers using the lockers and continuing to drive our online propostion forward.”
Walmart joins OpenAI's ChatGPT fashion push as Virtual Try On and Favourites launch
A dress spotted on social media, an outfit for an autumn wedding or a new style to try: OpenAI is adding tools to ChatGPT that let shoppers move from an idea to an image of themselves wearing it, with Walmart among the retailers involved from launch.
The new Virtual Try On and Favourites features allow users to visualise clothing and accessories using their own photographs, then save products to return to later. Shoppers can describe what they want, upload an image of an item or use a screenshot as the starting point for a search.
Walmart is bringing its fashion range into the experience. Daniel Danker, EVP AI Acceleration, Product, and Design, said on LinkedIn that the US retail giant was working with OpenAI “from day one” to make its fashion available through Virtual Try On, Shop this Look and Favourites.
Sharing an example himself, he added: “Found something I like. Think I should I buy it?”
'Next wave of AI will be physical': Warehouse robotics startup Destro AI bags $8 million in seed funding
Destro AI, which is building a shared intelligence layer for warehouse robotics, has raised $8 million in seed funding co-led by Base10 Partners and Bonfire Ventures, with participation from CoFound Partners. The funding will accelerate deployment of Destro’s platform across enterprise warehouses and expand the company’s engineering and research teams.
“Everyone is building capable robots,” says Manthan Pawar, Founder and CEO at Destro AI. “We believe the next breakthrough won’t come from another robot. It will come from the intelligence layer that enables any robot to work together. Customers aren’t buying robots; they’re investing in throughput, reliability, and business outcomes. That’s what we’re building.”
Destro has built two complementary AI systems: MothershipOS and Vision OS. MothershipOS is pitched as the shared mind outside the robot body, intelligently deciding which robot should perform which task, where, when, and how, to optimise complex warehouse workflows. VisionOS is an on-robot intelligence platform that enables complex mobile manipulation using AI models trained from human demonstrations, allowing robots to better perceive, grasp, and interact with real-world environments.
Walmart head honcho John Furner looks to draw a line in the sand on AI, technology and pricing
John Furner, President and CEO at Walmart, has written an open letter to the US retail giant's customers about AI and pricing. "For more than 50 years, our pricing principle has been Every Day Low Prices (EDLP). Prices can change. We lower them when we can pass savings along. Sometimes they rise because an item costs more to buy or transport,” he writes.
“But using someone’s income, shopping history or moment of need to charge them more would violate the EDLP promise our business model is built on. We won’t do it. YOU are at the heart of our why and our relationship with you has always been built on trust. For decades, our associates have built that trust, one interaction at a time. So, as technology improves, we’re putting the same attention on trust and serving you as we do when you walk into our stores and clubs."
He adds: "I've heard concerns about companies using that information and technology to charge you more. want to tell you where we stand: We price the product, not the person. Many of you have seen the digital shelf labels in our stores and some have asked why we have them. A shelf price should match what rings up at checkout. Digital shelf labels help us do that more consistently by displaying the right price. They also save associates time replacing paper tags. It may sound like an easy task, but as someone who has had to change those paper tags by hand over the years, I can tell you it’s a time-consuming and unrewarding task. Our associates would much rather be helping you, our customers."
AI, Furner notes, has added new ways for Walmart to serve its customers and members. But there are also questions about the information it has access to.
“Understanding our customers and members is what makes us special and allows us to better serve them. For years, that has taken place in our stores and clubs as we help each customer with their individual needs. We want to offer that same level of personalised care when our customers shop online with Sparky, our AI shopping assistant. When you engage with Sparky, that’s an invitation to serve you better, not to use your personal information to set a personalised price. We’ve never used the relationships our associates have with customers to charge more, and we won’t do that with AI,” Furner says.
He concludes: “With that in mind, I want to share three commitments you can count on as technology changes: We don't set different prices based on who you are or the time of day, and we won't. Your income, shopping history, urgency or what we think you could pay won't change the price. And whether you’re buying groceries or electronics on a hot afternoon or in a sudden rush for an item, it's never a reason to charge you more. We'll hold our shopping tools to the same promise.”
“We won't use the information you share with us on Sparky or otherwise to raise your price or hide lower priced options that meet your needs. We’ll continue to use your information responsibly and respect your choices. You decide whether to share additional details for more personalised help. We’ll continue to be clear about how we use that information, protect it and honor the choices you make. When you do share, we will focus that data on ways that better serve you. Our people will continue to oversee pricing, and we'll monitor and test our technology against these commitments.
