All eyes on RTS 2026 and London ExCel: RTIH rounds up 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 Sephora UK, 3D Cloud, Frasers, Manchester United, Levy, M&S, QSIC, Dollar General, Iceland Foods, invent.ai, Instacart, Instaleap, H&M Group, Tesco, and Adobe.

1. Sephora UK MD Sarah Boyd added to Retail Technology Show 2026 headline speaker line-up in London

Sarah Boyd, Managing Director at beauty retailer Sephora UK, has been booked as a speaker at Retail Technology Show (RTS), which takes place at London’s ExCeL on 22nd and 23rd April. 

On track to expand its footprint to 20 UK stores this year, Sephora’s momentum has been underpinned by strong omnichannel performance, high profile regional roll-outs and a community first approach.

Speaking on the Spark Stage on day one at 11:40am, Boyd will join Martin Newman for a fireside chat on how Sephora’s community first approach is shaping the beauty zeitgeist while driving hype and growth. 

From store expansion to viral social campaigns, Boyd will share how Sephora intends to build on its momentum, strategies for managing virality with customer trust, and how retailers can adapt to meet the needs of next-gen shoppers. 

2. Wonder Suite announces integration with 3D Cloud to solve one of furniture retail's toughest challenges

Wonder Suite has partnered with 3D Cloud with the aim of making it easier for customers to shop in stores for customised furniture.

The tie up with 3D Cloud, an AI powered platform for 3D product visualisation and configuration, will allow people to personalise furniture selections in real-time. Shoppers can choose fabrics, colours, sizes, viewing their customised pieces in interactive 3D. They also can explore configurable items alongside all other items without having to bounce between platforms.

“When you’re choosing between hundreds of fabric swatches and multiple configuration options, it’s hard to picture the final result,” says Kaspar Fopp, CEO at Wonder. “While configurators existed on websites, they weren’t integrated into the in-store experience. Guests end up with a configcured item on a website cart, separated from everything else. This disconnected experience made the configurable furniture feel like a foreign object in the sales process.”

Best Home Furnishings is the brand launch partner and is set to unveil the tool with its full catalogue next month.

“This isn’t just about cool technology; it’s about solving problems that cost retailers sales as well as eliminating customer frustration,” says Brian Lange, President at Best Home Furnishings, adding, “When it’s truly integrated into the in-store shopping journey, for our retail partners this becomes the difference between browsing and buying.”

3. Frasers Group's fashion and lifestyle brand Frasers launches AI powered online shopping assistant

Frasers Group has launched Ask Frasers, an AI online shopping assistant across the Frasers website, a fashion and lifestyle brand formerly known as House of Fraser. Since implementing the tool, it says that conversion rates have increased by up to 25% compared to traditional search experiences.

Powered by Algolia’s agentic technology, it calls on external LLMs and interprets product data - from key features and availability to real-time popularity signals - with the aim of delivering precise, conversational answers tailored to each shopper’s needs.

Richard Lallo, Group Head of Customer Marketing at Frasers Group, comments: “We are committed to enhancing the customer journey, from discovery through to conversion, by creating innovative solutions that give shoppers a connected, relevant and efficient shopping experience.”

“The launch of Ask Frasers marks an important step forward in this mission, enabling us to over a faster, smarter and more seamless way to shop our premium fashion and lifestyle offering, reinforcing our belief that intelligent technology is shaping the future of retail.”

The move builds on the brand’s recent relaunch, which saw it officially rebrand as Frasers and unveil television presenter Cat Deeley as the face of its Spring 2026 campaign.

4. Manchester United teams with Levy for roll-out of grab and go kiosks and self-service bars at Theatre of Dreams

Levy, a sports and entertainment caterer in the UK and Ireland, has announced a multi-year partnership with Manchester United to introduce frictionless kiosks and self-service bars at the Premier League club's stadium, with the aim of improving wait times and enhancing choice with local street food.

"By combining our hospitality expertise with cutting-edge technology, we are introducing frictionless grab and go kiosks and self-service bars to reduce wait times," says Thomas Guether, Chief Growth Officer at Compass Group, owner of Levy.

"Supporters can also expect a more diverse menu featuring local Manchester street food vendors, all supported by new digital signage for a modernised service. We are proud to support the club’s commitment to its fans, ensuring that every visit to the Theatre of Dreams is faster, easier, and full of local flavour."

Omar Berrada, CEO, Manchester United, says: “Improving matchdays at Old Trafford is an essential part of our strategy for Manchester United. Old Trafford holds a unique place in world football and, whilst we have plans for a new stadium in the long-term, we have a responsibility to ensure we’re continuing to invest in our facilities and services in the short-term. The changes we are introducing will bring greater choice and better service for supporters across the stadium.”

5. Marks and Spencer puts new digital wallet at heart of retailer's revamped Spark loyalty programme

M&S has launched a new look Sparks loyalty programme, with the retailer taking onboard feedback from thousands of customers who called for a more rewarding, personalised experience.

At the heart of this move is a new digital Sparks wallet where customers earn money rewards to spend across any part of M&S - from Food and Fashion to Home and Beauty. For the first time, the retailer will use a suite of AI and data capabilities to power Sparks including machine learning, and generative AI models coming soon after, that promise to deliver even more personalised offers and rewards.

Colleagues have also played a big role helping shape and refine the new Sparks experience with everyone given the opportunity to take part in a beta test for several weeks ahead of the launch.

M&S CEO Stuart Machin says: “Customers told us they want Sparks to be simple, rewarding and personalised, and we listened. New Sparks is built around a much more personalised experience, no tricksy pricing and real money rewards to thank our customers for shopping with us.”

“A stronger Sparks is another step forward on our journey as we invest for future growth. Powered by new and transformed data and AI capabilities, a new Sparks helps us get even closer to customers and deliver an even better M&S experience.”  

6. QSIC agrees partnership with Dollar General to support in-store audio at more than 12,000 locations

Dollar General has announced the roll-out of an AI enabled in-store audio network across approximately 6,000 DG stores in 48 US states.

Through a new partnership with QSIC, Dollar General says it will deliver more relevant, localised and measurable audio experiences to customers while providing brand partners with accountable, data driven advertising across its retail footprint.

This deployment will double DG’s existing in-store audio presence and increase measurement capabilities, bringing the total number of DG stores with in-store audio capabilities to 12,000 in Q2 2026.

“We’re constantly looking for innovative ways to help brands meaningfully connect with our customers, and by introducing an AI powered in-store audio network, we’re unlocking an entirely new layer of relevancy and accountability in the shopping experience,” says Austin Leonard, Vice President and General Manager at DG Media Network.

“This platform allows us to deliver localised, real-time messaging at scale across the thousands of communities we serve, especially in underserved and often overlooked rural areas. It’s a powerful way to create value for our brand partners while enhancing the in-store experience for the millions of customers who rely on Dollar General every day through more relevant, contextual messaging designed to add value, not noise, to their shopping trip.”

7. Iceland Foods taps invent.ai platform for inventory and replenishment operations initiative

UK frozen food and grocery retailer, Iceland Foods, says it is boosting the way it manages inventory and replenishment with the help of invent.ai.

The move addresses the challenge of keeping thousands of SKUs consistently available across a nationwide network of stores and distribution centres. By leveraging invent.ai’s AI powered platform, Iceland can now turn complex sales, supply and demand data into real-time operational actions at scale, ensuring that the right products are in the right place at the right time.

The platform factors in seasonal demand, promotions, new product launches and one off anomalies. It automates replenishment decisions, with the aim of providing operational teams with optimised stock recommendations that reduce waste, minimising stockouts and maximising sales opportunities.

“AI is giving us the visibility and control we’ve never had before,” says Matt Downes, Supply Chain Director at Iceland Foods. “We can now keep shelves consistently stocked with the products our customers want, reduce lost sales and improve the overall shopping experience across every store and distribution centre.”

8. Grocery retail technology specialist Instacart focuses on international expansion as it snaps up Instaleap

North American grocery technology company, Instacart, has announced its acquisition of Instaleap, a global enablement and fulfillment solutions services platform for online retailers. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Instaleap has established relationships with nearly 100 grocery retailers and marketplaces outside North America, including Cencosud, Continente, Jerónimo Martins, Lulu and SPAR. With operations in approximately 30 countries, it has a presence in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

“We see a meaningful opportunity to expand internationally through an enterprise led strategy that empowers retailers across the globe to meet the evolving omnichannel needs of their customers,” says Ryan Hamburger, Chief Commercial Officer at Instacart.

“We’ve already seen growing global demand for our online and in-store technologies, including Storefront Pro and Caper Carts, with early traction in Europe and Australia. With the addition of Instaleap’s technology, international expertise, and deep retail relationships, we can accelerate our international expansion and better serve retailers and consumers around the world.” 

9. Tesco agrees AI partnership with Adobe as it looks to be more responsive to shoppers' needs

Adobe and Tesco have announced an AI partnership that aims to improve the shopping experience for customers with personalised prompts that offer individual recommendations, ideas and deals.

This includes a Tesco x Adobe Innovation Lab which will see the latter’s engineers working alongside the former’s personalisation and AI teams.

With more than 24 million Clubcard households, Tesco has established one of the largest loyalty and reward schemes in UK retail, with millions of customers receiving offers, product recommendations and recipe ideas.

Through its partnership with Adobe, it aims to accelerate personal engagement and improve the service it offers customers. Using technology like Adobe’s agentic AI capabilities and Adobe Firefly Foundry, Tesco’s personalisation and AI teams will be able to use its customer intelligence responsibly to help it to better anticipate customers’ needs, in order to serve up personalised content, offers and experiences across its digital channels.

10. H&M Group Global CTO and CISO George Mudie announces decision to move on from retail giant in June

George Mudie has taken to social media to report that, after more than four years with H&M Group as Global CTO and CISO, he will be leaving the retailer on 1st June to pursue new opportunities.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “It has been a tremendous honour to help shape the technology and security agenda for one of the world's largest retailers: redefining our enterprise architecture, establishing the SAP and e-commerce transformations, building a global cyber security capability, and beginning the journey towards truly AI driven operations across 81 markets and 130,000 colleagues, and, above all, working alongside talented colleagues to drive real change.”

He added: “H&M Group is a business with exceptional people, a bold long-term vision, and the scale to make a real difference. I am grateful for every part of the experience. What's next? I am moving on to work at the intersection of AI first solutions and cybersecurity transformation - two areas I believe are inseparable in how enterprises will need to operate and defend themselves over the next decade. I'll be writing about where these worlds converge and what it means in practice. Follow along if that's your world too.”

Mudie concluded: “If you are navigating similar challenges, I would welcome the conversation. To everyone I have had the pleasure of working with - in Stockholm, London, New York, Bangalore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, across our markets, and throughout our partner network - thank you. It has been a privilege.”