Sydney Sweeney and Shopify get saucy: our most read retail tech articles from last week

Check out our most clicked retail technology articles from last week, including Walmart, Otto Group, Quiet Logistics, Polytag, Amazon Just Walk Out tech, Matalan, and the 2026 RTIH AI in Retail Awards.

RTIH AI in Retail Awards winners announced, including Ikea, Depop, Currys, and B&Q

Brarista, IBM Consulting, Foundit!, Quorso, Vusion, Sensei, Reckon.ai, EE, Walkbase, Globant, Riskified, and Goddiva were among the winners last week at the RTIH AI in Retail Awards, sponsored by VenHub Global, 3D Cloud, EdTech Innovation Hub, and Retail Technology Show.

Our 2026 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The Barbican in Central London on Thursday, 29th January, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “According to Amazon’s Andy Jassy: AI is a once in a lifetime reinvention of everything we know, and the largest technology transformation since the cloud.”

“Whether that’s overstating it or not, we're certainly seeing an increasing number of innovative, potentially game changing developments in this space across both traditional and digital retail spaces. And that is reflected in tonight's finalists, who are boosting customer experiences and tackling retailers' painpoints across the likes of physical stores, online, omnichannel, supply chain, and payments.”

“To quote one of our judges: I have to admit, judging these awards was so difficult. So many that would have been worthy winners. And great to see how AI has moved firmly into delivery mode. Firmly into delivering for customers and driving huge innovation.”

Congratulations to our 2026 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended last night’s gathering.

Stay tuned for an indepth review of the awards ceremony in the next edition of RTIH magazine.

Otto Group boosts supply chain operations via NVIDIA and Reply robotics partnership

Otto Group, a digital retail and services group, is partnering with NVIDIA and Reply as it looks to improve supply chain operations through robotics.

The initiative will see a network wide deployment of a Robotic Coordination Layer, powered by NVIDIA Omniverse libraries, and Isaac Sim, across a multitude of Otto Group’s 120 logistics locations.

This connects robot fleets in the warehouse to a digital twin which displays the real-time locations and movements of all robots. Developed by Reply, this solution uses reality capture techniques and post-processing from sensors and cameras mounted on Boston Dynamics' Spot robot as it moves through the warehouse.

Once established, the digital twin enables virtual reconfiguration of warehouse areas for process optimisation and simulations to support peak management. Concurrently, the Robotic Coordination Layer integrates with robotic fleet management tools and the WMS to coordinate and communicate with various robotic fleets, all visualised and managed within the digital twin.

American Eagle Outfitters owned Quiet Logistics shutters 3PL operations, sources claim

Quiet, formerly Quiet Logistics, is shutting down its 3PL operations effective immediately, according to a LinkedIn report by supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive Brittain Ladd, citing unnamed sources.

American Eagle Outfitters acquired the company in December 2021, for approximately $360 million in cash, with Jay Schottenstein, CEO, stating that the deal “cemented a collaborative partnership that has meaningfully contributed to our financial results over the past 18 months.”

He added: “AEO’s unique ability to reduce delivery costs amid rising inflation is a direct reflection of the efficiencies provided by their innovative fulfillment model. Quiet Logistics has a highly experienced supply chain leadership team and I look forward to their partnership as we continue to drive operational excellence and grow the platform into a meaningful business.”

The retailer is now, however, pivoting back to focusing on its own volume, leaving a roster of brands looking for new fulfillment homes. It’s an interesting trend. For the past few years, many major retailers have been moving to monetise their supply chain by selling it as a service.  But the reality appears to be that it’s difficult to serve third-party brands while managing your own retail volume.

Walmart hails major milestone as it drops Immersive Commerce SDK for Unity game developers

A Walmart Immersive Commerce SDK for Unity game developers has officially been launched.

This enables them to integrate Walmart products, or their own merchandise, via the US retail giant's marketplace, directly into their projects.

In a LinkedIn post, Justin Breton, Head of Brand Experiences & Partnerships at Walmart, said: "This has been a long time coming. Last year, we beta tested the SDK in Walmart Unlimited on Spatial and the No Boundaries brand shop on Zepeto, experiences where players could explore digital worlds and discover contextually relevant physical products, without ever leaving gameplay."

He added: "Gaming is no longer niche, youth skewing, or device specific. Today, it’s a cross-generational, with players spanning Gen Alpha through Boomers, and mobile gaming serving as the largest on-ramp, both in reach and time spent, touching billions of people each month."

Shopify powers online store for Sydney Sweeney’s new inclusive lingerie brand SYRN

Actress Sydney Sweeney has launched a new lingerie brand, SYRN (pronounced like “sye-rin”).

“I was in the 6th grade with DDs. I hated the bra I had to wear,” she says in a press release. “When I bought my first cute bra that actually fit, I wore it to pieces. Designing for different bodies is a huge part of SYRN.”

Sweeney added: “I wanted to create a place where women can move between all the different versions of who we are. I love working on cars, I go water skiing, I’ll dress up for the red carpet then go home to snuggle my dogs. I’m not one thing, no woman is.”

The first pieces dropped last week, with the brand’s online store being powered by Shopify.

Across two Instagram posts, Sweeney shared videos and photos of herself wearing the line, which includes a red crop top that reads “Marry Me, Fly Free” and comes with matching shorts.

According to TMZ, the venture is backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose wedding Sweeney attended in Venice, Italy, in June of last year.

Polytag CEO Alice Rackley pays tribute to John Purdy as entrepreneur passes away at 63

Alice Rackley, CEO at recycling technology specialist Polytag, has taken to social media to pay tribute to John Purdy, an entrepreneur who has died just a day after completing the sale of Ergo, an Irish IT services business he co-founded in 1993 and where he was non-executive chairman.

In a LinkedIn post, Rackley said: “John Purdy backed me. He backed Polytag. He was our first angel investor back in 2022 and became a board advisor when we closed our VC backed seed round in 2024.”

She added: “Often he was challenging: a straight talking businessman who pulled no punches. But I knew he wanted success for our team.  And I expected to be able to benefit from his experience, his perspective and his belief in me as Polytag scales, for many years to come.”

She concluded: “Such a shock to hear that at just 63 - and having achieved a huge milestone for his own business Ergo only days ago - he is no longer with us. Sending out tonnes of love to the Irish tech community and those in the wider world who will also be feeling this loss. And particularly to his family who he spoke of with such affection and pride.”

Pudry is survived by his wife Audrey, and sons Conor and Kian. Staff at Ergo were told the news in the wake of US investor Presidio completing an acquisition of the business for an estimated €100 million.

Matalan pilots Toshiba VisualStore 6 EPoS solution with two UK stores going live

Matalan is testing out Toshiba’s VisualStore 6 (VS6) EPoS solution, with two pilot stores now live in the UK with the self-service offering.

In a LinkedIn post, Linda Davies, UK&I Head of Project Management at Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, said: “For the second Sunday in a row I’ve been onsite at a Matalan store working on the installation of the Toshiba VisualStore 6 (VS6) EPoS solution.”

She added: “Successfully installing VS6 in two pilot stores is a huge milestone, and it simply wouldn’t have been possible without the collaboration, determination, and drive of the entire project team - including the Toshiba UK Professional Services team, UK Managed Services engineers, VisualStore development team, Matalan and Capgemini project team, third-party partners, and the incredible support from the executive teams at both Toshiba and Matalan. A great example of teamwork, resilience and shared commitment delivering real results.”

Just Walk Out tech survives as Amazon calls time on Go and Fresh physical stores push

Amazon is binning its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores experiment as it shifts its focus to on demand online delivery and new big box locations.

It says that some of its shuttered Amazon branded bricks and mortar stores will be converted into Whole Foods Market locations. It plans to open over 100 new Whole Foods Market stores over the next few years.

In an online post, it said: “While we've seen encouraging signals in our Amazon branded physical grocery stores, we haven't yet created a truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model needed for large scale expansion.”

“After a careful evaluation of the business and how we can best serve customers, we've made the difficult decision to close our Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, converting various locations into Whole Foods Market stores.”

“Customers can continue to shop Amazon Fresh online in available areas for fast and convenient delivery. We're grateful to our team members for their many contributions over the years and are working whenever possible to help them find roles elsewhere in Amazon, including across our vast operations network, as we make this transition.”