2026 RTIH Innovation Awards finalists assemble! Presenting 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 tech space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past few days, including Lidl GB, Deliveroo, Walmart, OpenAI, Morrisons, StrongPoint ALS, VoCoVo, The Very Group, Jysk, Enactor, Zalando, Asda, and Rokt.
1. 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.”
2. 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.”
3. 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?”
4. Deliveroo teams with Coco on launch of food and grocery on demand delivery robots in some parts of UK
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.
5. The Very Group teams with AI powered e-commerce personalisation platform Made With Intent
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.”
6. John Lewis, Asda, Morrisons, H&M, Dunelm, and Waitrose among 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards finalists
We're hugely pleased to present the finalists and shortlists for the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards, sponsored by 3D Cloud, Business France, and Retail Technology Show 2027. We received a record number of entries this year and many fantastic examples of technology excellence driving transformative change across the global retail sector
Congratulations to all those who made it through the initial submission process! It’s now over to our star studded judging panel who will decide the winners to be announced at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London.
The event will be held on Wednesday, 4th November and consist of a drinks reception, three course meal, awards ceremony presided over by award winning stand-up comedian, presenter, actor and broadcaster, Aurie Styla, and after party until 1am.
Click here to book your place at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, 4th November.
7. Ceva Logistics taps Sereact AI robotic systems for Zalando returns handling in Germany and Poland
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.
8. Currys ramps up social activity as it goes live on TikTok Shop
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.
9. Asda and Rokt team up to bring AI powered relevant offers to customers at checkout
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.”
10. Jysk rolls out Enactor powered unified commerce platform in Norway with Holland and Belgium next
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.
