Vusion wins big at RTS 2026 in London: 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 Debenhams Group, Pennies, DoorDash, Empire Company, Avery Dennison, Wiliot, Currys, Shopify, Whatnot, Specsavers, and Hightouch.

1. Connected stores firm Vusion emerges as winner of Retail Technology Show 2026 Innovation Awards

Vusion, a provider of AI powered digitalisation solutions for stores, has been announced as the winner of Retail Technology Show’s 2026 Innovation Awards.

The annual programme recognises standout solutions from across RTS 2026, which took place in London last week.

Chosen for its EdgeSense AI operating system, which connects more than 250 million endpoints globally, Vusion uses ESLs, AI cameras and sensors to power a single intelligent network. Deployed across several global retailers, including Carrefour, its platform automates pricing, optimises merchandising, improves inventory accuracy and reduces shrink.

2. East of England Co-op expands Snappy Shopper on demand delivery service to 43 of its stores across the region

The East of England Co-op has expanded its Snappy Shopper on demand delivery service to 43 stores across the region. This builds on growth in January, when the offering increased from five to fifteen locations.

Orders placed through Snappy Shopper are fulfilled in partnership with Nash, which coordinates deliveries using courier partners including Uber Direct, Just Eat Go and Stuart. The move also introduces a more streamlined in-store setup, allowing colleagues to manage multiple delivery platforms through a single device.

Chief Commercial Officer, Simon Dryell, says: “We’re excited to expand Snappy Shopper to a further 28 stores, taking the total to 43 across our region. Convenience is a key focus for us, and this rollout means more customers can access quick, reliable grocery delivery from their local East of England Co-op Food store.”

“We’d like to thank our partners at Nash and Snappy Shopper for their continued support in helping us deliver a great service for our members and customers.”

3. Former Tesco Labs leader Jo Hickson exits H&M and takes on strategic initiatives role at Specsavers

Jo Hickson has left H&M, where she spent the past couple of years, serving as Director of Innovation.

She is joining Specsavers and has been appointed Director of Strategic Initiatives Development.

Hickson's CV also includes a five and a half year run at Tesco where she was Head of Labs, Tesco Technology and Group Innovation.

4. Debenhams Group Pennies tie up hits £260k as other brands including PrettyLittleThing are added

Debenhams Group reports that it has raised over £260,000 with micro-donation charity Pennies, as it expands the partnership to other brands, including Karen Millen, boohooMAN and PrettyLittleThing.

Karen Millen customers can now donate to Breast Cancer Now. In addition, the brand will be donating bras to the charity, to support patients following operations.

boohooMAN will partner with Manchester Mind, allowing customers to donate to the work the charity does to provide mental health services in Manchester.

PrettyLittleThing customers will also be able to donate to the brand’s chosen charity over the coming weeks. Boohoo will continue to work with Women’s Aid, including donating samples to women supported by the charity’s work. Debenhams will also continue its partnership with the British Heart Foundation, building on the over £240,000 raised for the charity since March 2025.

The partnership with Pennies enables customers to round up their purchases to the nearest pound at checkout. To date, it has generated more than 850,000 individual micro-donations.

5. DoorDash announces milestone grocery delivery expansion in Canada with Empire Company tie up

DoorDash reports one of its largest grocery expansions in Canada through a new partnership with Empire Company, bringing more than 1,000 stores across 10 provinces onto its marketplace.

The tie up involves 12 grocery banners from Empire’s family of brands, including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, FreshCo, Farm Boy, and Longo’s, onto DoorDash. Convenience options like Needs, Boni-Soir, and Voisin are also available.

DoorDash now partners with four of the largest five grocery companies in Canada (based on reported sales figures).

“Home to over a dozen banners spanning coast to coast, Empire is one of the most trusted names in Canadian grocery and retail,” says Mike Goldblatt, Vice President of Enterprise Business Development and Partnerships at DoorDash.

“As Canadians increasingly face time pressure, DoorDash is proud to help give some time back through on-demand grocery delivery, whether it’s a full weekly shop or just for tonight’s dinner. Together, we’re making everyday shopping more convenient and accessible.”

6. Avery Dennison stumps up $75 million for minority investment in supply chain technology firm Wiliot

Avery Dennison has announced a $75 million minority investment in Wiliot, a specialist in physical AI for supply chains.

As part of this, Avery Dennison will serve as the preferred inlay design, manufacturing and commercial partner for Wiliot. According to a press release: “The two companies will significantly strengthen and expand their joint go-to-market efforts to accelerate the adoption of digital identities on physical items across key industries including retail, logistics and food.”

Avery Dennison will receive a seat on the board of directors for Wiliot, in addition to its existing board observer position.

7. Focus on staff mental health as omnichannel technology retailer Currys connects with Retail Trust

Currys has announced a new partnership with the retail industry charity, Retail Trust, that aims to give its 15,000 staff more support to protect their mental health.

Staff at the UK omnichannel technology retailer now have access to a range of new wellbeing resources, including counselling for themselves, all household relatives, and a specialist service for young people, as well as financial aid and 24-hour support from the Retail Trust’s wellbeing helpline.

Free training and online tools to help colleagues deal with abuse at work are also being provided as part of the partnership and the Retail Trust’s generative AI powered wellbeing dashboard will help Currys better identify and respond to mental health trends.

Alongside its work with the Retail Trust, Currys has made undisclosed investments to improve colleague safety in stores, including the roll-out of a new incident reporting platform, improved in‑store CCTV and strengthened security infrastructure.

8. MarTech firm Hightouch bags $2.75 billion valuation as it secures $150 million in Series D funding

Hightouch, a specialist in data and AI for marketing, has announced a $150 million Series D financing led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Bain Capital Ventures, valuing the company at $2.75 billion.

Additional investors and strategic partners also participated in the round, including Iconiq Capital, Sapphire Ventures, Amplify Partners, Y-Combinator, and TD7, the venture capital arm of The Trade Desk.

“Marketing is sorely in need of reinvention,” says Kashish Gupta, co-founder and co-CEO at Hightouch. “But most AI solutions haven’t actually changed how marketing works. Instead, they generate vast amounts of mediocre content that doesn’t really get used. We built Hightouch to rethink marketing end-to-end, so AI agents can operate directly on trusted data, find opportunities 24/7, and then generate and execute high-quality campaigns across channels.”

Companies including Domino's, PetSmart, DraftKings, Ramp and Whoop are working with Hightouch.

9. Shopify connects with live shopping platform Whatnot as sellers move beyond traditional e-commerce

Whatnot, a live shopping platform in the UK, Europe and North America, has launched a new integration with Shopify, with the aim of making it simple and easy for Shopify sellers to drive growth through live commerce. 

The tie up automatically connects Shopify and Whatnot. Since launching beta, businesses using the integration have driven more than $10 million in sales across nearly 20 categories, from collectibles to fashion, according to those involved.

Tom Verrilli, Chief Product Officer at Whatnot, says “Sellers increasingly realise that live commerce is a meaningful growth channel. By combining real-time engagement with purchasing, Whatnot drives stronger conversion and faster inventory movement.”

“The question isn’t whether you can grow, but how to expand into new channels without disrupting the systems and workflows that already work. Our Shopify integration solves that by keeping products, inventory, and orders automatically in sync. When buyers can see products, ask questions, and decide in real-time, trust builds faster, and sales follow.”

Jeff Kennedy, Partnerships at Shopify, says: "Merchants grow when they can meet buyers wherever they are shopping. Whatnot's live commerce community is one of the most engaged in ecommerce, and now it connects directly to the products, inventory, and orders merchants already manage in Shopify. Beta merchants like FashioNica are already seeing the impact firsthand."

10. MediaMarktSaturn expands store retail media offering to eight European markets with One Tech Group

One Tech Group and MediaMarktSaturn are expanding their partnership, which launched in October of last year. In addition to the existing offering in Germany and Spain, the in-store retail media inventory of the European consumer electronics retailer is now also programmatically available in six additional European markets.

The network will comprise around 738 stores and approximately 53,672 screens with 68 million contacts per week. 

For advertisers, campaigns can be centrally managed via One Tech Group’s ad server (ADSERVER1), while inventory can be marketed and booked programmatically via the supply-side platform (SSP1).

Since 1st April, Austria, Switzerland and Turkey have been connected to the One Tech Group platform. From 1st May, three further countries - Belgium, Luxembourg and Hungary - will follow. The newly added markets comprise 300 additional stores and 23.5 million contacts per week.

The inventory is connected to key demand-side platforms via One Tech Group’s SSP1, including The Trade Desk, Active Agent, Hawk, Adform and StackAdapt. This allows advertisers to integrate their campaigns into existing programmatic workflows and benefit from precise targeting capabilities directly at the Point of Sale, where purchasing decisions are made.

The integration with DSPs also allows in-store retail media campaigns to be more effectively aligned with digital activities and executed using consistent audience targeting logic. This environment is particularly relevant for advertisers who wish to reach tech savvy audiences directly within the shopping context.

“By expanding our in-store retail media offering across Europe, we are making reach at the Point of Sale predictable and actionable for advertisers across national borders,” says Boris Prondzinski, Managing Director at MediaMarktSaturn Retail Media & Partner Marketing.

“Together with the One Tech Group, we are thereby strengthening a channel that reaches consumers directly in the shopping environment and can increasingly be integrated into data-driven omnichannel campaigns. In this way, we are creating a unique platform for brands that want to reach their target audiences in physical stores across Europe.”