Lidl GB gets physical and Vinted marches on: presenting the retail technology week in numbers

Do you like numbers? Do you like retail tech news? Then this is the article for you. Including H&M Group, SAP, Pennies, RTS 2026, Furniturebox, Ocado, Inter Miami, AiFi, Shake Shack, Snappy Technologies, Ace Hardware, and Uber Eats.

£600 million...Lidl GB has announced that it will be opening more than 50 new stores in the next 12 months as part of a £600 million investment in its British infrastructure.

Upcoming store openings include key sites such as Abbots Langley near Watford, Warrington in Cheshire, and Thornbury in Gloucestershire which are all set to open this summer.

Lidl is also boosting its logistics infrastructure. The German discounter reports that construction of its new warehouse in Leeds is progressing well with operations due to begin next year. Meanwhile in London, Lidl is further investing into its Belvedere distribution site, submitting plans to slightly extend and join both warehouses.

Ryan McDonnell, CEO at Lidl GB, says: "As we grow, we want to positively impact our British communities. We’re not just opening doors, we’re unlocking regional growth. Our expansion translates directly into high-quality jobs and gives British suppliers the certainty they need to invest in the future. Above all, it advances our social purpose of making affordable, healthy food accessible to everyone.”

€10.8 billion...C2C second hand marketplace, Vinted, has announced its 2025 annual results and hailed a year in which its members traded €10.8 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) (up 47% YoY), and it generated €1.1 billion in revenue across its businesses with net profits of €62 million. 

Core fashion strengthened with strong performance in women's and kids’ clothing, while Vinted continued its expansion into more consumer goods categories including sports and collectables. This brought more members to the marketplace, and people now buy and sell across a wider range of items. 

In 2025, Vinted also turned around its performance in Germany. By improving its product proposition to its members, it says it was able to invest more into the market at good ROI resulting in high growth. The year also saw launches in Latvia, Estonia and Slovenia.

Through its network of delivery partners, Vinted provides members with access to more than 500,000 pick-up and drop-off points across Europe. During 2025 Vinted Go, an in-house carrier service, launched in Spain and Portugal and opened a new sortation centre in France to support growing parcel volumes.

Vinted Go also began testing additional uses for its logistics infrastructure, including delivery services for external clients. Vinted Go Carrier now operates in five markets: Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

Vinted Pay, meanwhile, began onboarding customers onto its own wallet solution. Over time, this is expected to reduce payment related costs and dependencies. 

10...Gustav Zetterström has left H&M Group, where he spent the past ten years, most recently serving as SVP & Global Head of Emerging Technology & Innovation.

He is joining SAP as SVP, Global Head of Consumer Industries.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “After ten incredible years with H&M Group, I’m excited to start a new chapter at SAP. I am joining as SVP, Global Head of Consumer Industries, leading the end-to-end journey across Retail, Consumer Products, Agribusiness, and Health Sciences - with a clear focus on how AI can unlock real value for customers across the entire value chain.”

He added: “From product creation to supply chain and all the way to the end consumer, we are entering a new era where data and AI are not just enablers, but fundamental to how businesses operate, compete, and grow.”

“Looking back, I’m incredibly proud of what we built at H&M - driving end-to-end transformation across the full value chain, turning innovation into real business impact at scale. This was only possible thanks to exceptional teams, strong leadership, and a culture that truly embraces entrepreneurship and execution.”

Zetterström concluded: “At SAP, I’m excited to partner with global customers to accelerate this shift -connecting strategy, technology, and execution to deliver end-to-end, AI powered transformation at scale. A big thank you to everyone at H&M for the trust, support, and shared ambition over the past decade - it has meant a lot. Looking forward to what’s ahead.”

£65 million...Pennies, a micro-donations specialist, will return as the official Gold Charity Partner for Retail Technology Show 2026 on 22nd-23rd April at ExCeL London, marking ten years of their partnership.

Attendees can visit Pennies at stand Z55 across both days. It will also take part in a panel discussion on 22nd April at 13:55 on the Spark Stage, ‘Small Change, Big Loyalty: How Digital Micro-Donations Can Power Better Customer Engagement’, featuring leaders from Mamas & Papas, Debenhams Group and RedCat Hospitality. 

Over the course of its partnership with Retail Technology Show, Pennies has enabled more than 275 million micro-donations, raising over £65 million for charities and supporting more than 980 charitable organisations. This contributes to more than £78 million raised by Pennies overall since launch in 2010. 

During the two days of Retail Technology Show, it expects to see around 345,000 micro-donations made through its network of retail and hospitality partners across the UK, Ireland and beyond, raising over £85,000 for charity. 

Since first attending in 2017, Pennies has grown from around 60 partners to more than 200 today, with Retail Technology Show playing a key role in that journey. Pennies will be joined by more than 15 of its technology partners exhibiting at this year’s show.

$50 million and 4,000...Global Retail, a Carrefour Group franchisee, and A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions Corp., have agreed a five-year agreement, valued at approximately $50 million, to deploy 4,000 smart carts across Carrefour Israel stores, alongside a data, retail media and digital services collaboration.

The deal positions Carrefour Israel as one of the first retailers in the world to implement smart cart technology at this scale.

The roll-out is set to begin in the third quarter of 2026 across six Carrefour Israel flagship stores and includes end to end delivery of smart carts, charging infrastructure, software systems, as well as full implementation, training, and long-term support.

"We are proud to lead by pioneering smart cart technology at this unprecedented commercial scale," says Michael Luboschitz, CEO at Carrefour Israel. "The agreement signed is expected to generate for Carrefour Israel profits of approximately $35 million.”

“Deployment of the Cust2Mate smart carts in our stores will grant our shoppers an improved shopper experience, enabling them to enjoy personalised and targeted promotions and a quicker checkout, increasing the same store year on year sales, and improving our operational efficiency, resulting in profits estimated at an additional tens of millions of dollars.”

“The future of retail is fundamentally technological, and we are proud to be the leaders driving that evolution. This agreement is a strategic signal of our commitment to digital transformation. By deploying the A2Z Cust2Mate platform, we are establishing a new global standard for connected, data driven, and personalised shopping experiences that are engineered for scale."

3,700 and 50...Uber Technologies has announced a partnership that will bring over 3,700 Ace Hardware locations across 50 US states to the Uber Eats platform.

“Ace is built on a network of locally owned stores that are deeply rooted in the communities they serve, and partnering with Uber allows us to meet our customers wherever they are,” says Bill Kiss, Head of Digital at Ace Hardware. “Whether they’re tackling a last minute project or planning ahead, our customers now have greater access to fast, flexible solutions for getting the products they need delivered right to their doorstep.”

The tie up highlights Uber Eats’ desire to expand selection beyond food delivery into everyday retail categories, including home improvement, beauty, electronics etc.

“Consumers are increasingly turning to Uber Eats for more than just meals. They rely on us for a variety of essentials, from paint supplies, to mulch for the garden, to the tools needed to kick off a weekend yard cleanup,” says Hashim Amin, Head of Grocery and Retail for Uber in North America. “We’re proud to welcome Ace Hardware’s extensive network and loyal customers to our platform as we continue to expand the selection available to shoppers on Uber Eats.”

1...Online retailer, Furniturebox, is heading into the real world for the first time, with an interactive pop-up experience at Bullring Shopping Centre from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th April.

Located on the lower level outside H&M and Marks & Spencer, the three-day event gives customers their first opportunity to shop products in person. 

Furniturebox will be partnering with Furn.com to focus on texture, comfort and individuality. Visitors can expect a showroom experience, where they will be able to see, touch and experience the retailer’s pieces up close. 

Both founders - Monty George and Dan Beckles - will be in attendance throughout the weekend.

Beckles says: “After ten years as an online only brand, we’re incredibly excited to be launching our very first pop-up store. This is a big milestone for Furniturebox and a fantastic opportunity to bring our products to life in a physical space. For the first time, customers will be able to see, touch and experience our furniture in person, while also meeting the team behind the brand (including Monty and I, unfortunately for our customers).”

“We’re really looking forward to welcoming both new and existing customers, and creating a memorable experience that reflects what Furniturebox is all about. We hope this is just the beginning of many more in-person opportunities in the future.”

6...Major League Soccer club Inter Miami (you know, the one that Lionel Messi plays for) notched up a milestone on Saturday when they played their first match at the newly opened Nu Stadium against Austin FC.

What has that got to do with the retail technology space, we hear you cry. Well, the stadium features six check-out free stores powered by AiFi technology. Fans tap a credit card or scan an app to enter. AiFi’s camera only computer vision then tracks anonymous keypoints to accurately identify the items each fan picks up. Shoppers walk out when finished, and the system automatically processes the payment.

In a LInkedIn post, AiFi said: "Messi has a habit of scoring in threes. We took notes. AiFi is launching six checkout-free stores at Inter Miami this weekend. Two hat tricks. Zero checkout lines."

AiFi previously deployed its autonomous retail platform with multiple stands at Hard Rock Stadium, a 40+ store roll-out at the Intuit Dome, and frictionless checkout locations at Arena Milano during the 2026 Winter Olympics.

£6.50, £7.50 an £40...Ocado is launching same day delivery slots in select UK areas. In an email to customers, the online grocery retailer said: “You can now order with your morning cuppa and we’ll deliver before dinner.”

It added: “It’s perfect for when you’ve run out of milk. Oh, and you forgot to get the tinned tomatoes for tonight’s lasagne. Come to think of it, you could do with some more washing up liquid and the loo roll is looking dangerously low…All you have to do is look out for a same day slot when you shop. But hurry - last orders for these slots is 1.30pm and they’ll go as fast as the last handful of popcorn on movie night. And when they're gone, they're gone.”

The slots are currently free for customers’ Smart Pass deliveries. For those who aren’t signed up to Smart Pass, standard hour-long slots vary in price from £6.50 to £7.50, and Ocado also offers cheaper options for its four-hour slots. The latter are currently included with Smart Pass, so there is no additional charge.

A standard £40 minimum spend applies, though there may be additional charges such as small order fees. The move builds on Ocado’s Zoom offering, which provides on demand delivery with a minimum spend of £15, and competes with the likes of Tesco Whoosh and Amazon Now.

9...Snappy Technologies has announced the enterprise launch of its Order Aggregation (OA) solution, which is designed to help retailers manage orders, menus, promotions, and inventory across multiple online delivery marketplaces, and control product and pricing centrally.

This has been developed in collaboration with retail partners Southern Co-op and Heart of England Co-operative during the last nine months.

Heart of England Co-operative Society became the first to process a Snappy OA order in June 2025 using Just Eat and Snappy Shopper channels and is now adding Uber Eats with all levels of last mile supported.

Then followed Southern Co-operative in September 2025, who are now operating across five marketplaces; Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat, Snappy Shopper, and FoodHub.

Mike Callachan, CEO, Snappy Technologies, says: “This is a huge milestone in our industry. Retailers of all sizes offering online delivery are now able to connect into more channels and access more customers. It's a win-win.”

"Our team has worked closely with marketplaces, EPoS partners, last mile operators and two pioneer retailers in Southern Co-op, and Heart of England Co-operative society. These collaborations have enabled us to deliver a fantastic solution that not only saves retailers time and money, but it also allows them to provide a better experience for their customers with faster deliveries and more accurate stock meaning less substitutions. This is all contributing to the significant increase in GMV we have seen with both pilot retailers."

300,000...UK running specialist SportShoes.com, founded in 1982 and now a £100 million+ business, developed its native app as part of a broader shift away from legacy systems towards a composable digital architecture.

Working with One iota, the retailer says that it focused on building stable foundations first, ensuring the app could sit cleanly on top of its existing commerce, content and search infrastructure.

CTO Jon Cleaver says: “The app was always part of the vision, but we were realistic about timing. When I joined, the stack wasn’t ready. We took the decision to rebuild our core architecture first, knowing that if we got that right, the app and future channels would follow much more smoothly.”

Since going live, the app has attracted close to 300,000 downloads and, at peak periods, can account for up to 20% of total revenue. App users consistently outperform web only customers, with higher conversion rates, higher average order values and increased purchase frequency.

1,500...Shake Shack has announced Project Catalyst, a technology initiative focused on scaling its digital, data, and operational platforms as it expands to 1,500 company operated locations.

Project Catalyst will involve modernising restaurant systems, launching the brand’s first loyalty platform, expanding AI capabilities, and advancing its data foundation.

“Shake Shack is entering a significant phase of growth and building the right foundation to support that scale is a top priority,” says Rob Lynch, Chief Executive Officer at Shake Shack. “Project Catalyst strengthens the technology and digital capabilities that power our restaurants and connect us more meaningfully with our guests. These investments will help our teams operate more efficiently, enhance the guest experience, and position Shake Shack to scale successfully toward 1,500 company operated Shacks.”