Shopify ramps up live commerce focus with Tilt tie up: last week's most read RTIH retail technology articles
Check out our most clicked articles from last week, including Swanky, Tilt, Maikoz, Shopify, K-Supermarket, The Home Depot, Co-op, Whatnot, Debenhams Group, Pennies, and the RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100 List.
Have your say and vote today! First ever RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100 List goes live, sponsored by 3D Cloud
In partnership with 3D Cloud, RTIH is pleased to announce the launch of its first ever Retail Technology Hot 100 List.
We have scoured the global retail technology world to bring you the hottest companies whose solutions and systems are helping drive the retail sector forward.
Our Founder and Editor, Scott Thompson, has drawn up a list of 150 companies that have consistently been on his radar over the past 12 months whilst bringing our community the latest retail tech news and views that matter. These companies operate across the omnichannel retail landscape (stores, online, mobile, supply chain, payments etc).
Our judging panel, including Vineta Bajaj, Group CFO, Holland & Barrett, Dan McGrath, JD Group Customer Operations, JD Sports, and Paula Bobbett, Chief Data and Digital Officer, Boots, will now provide feedback on those who have the most innovative, forward thinking technology offerings and are best addressing retailers' current challenges, painpoints, and opportunities.
And there will also be a public vote, with our community of retail tech enthusiasts invited to select their top five picks (one vote per person). The public vote closes on Friday, 26th June.
Based on the judging panel's feedback and the public vote, we will then draw up our first ever RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100, aka the 100 hottest global retail technology companies during 2026, which will be published across our website, social channels, and the next edition of our printed magazine (to be published in August).
"RITH has long been at the forefront of recognising exceptional performance in retail technology. We’re proud to support this programme and to play a part in elevating the role of retail tech in shaping the future of the customer experience," says Leigh Davidson, Managing Director, UK and International at 3D Cloud.
Shining stars: the latest edition of the RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List goes live at RTS 2026
The latest edition of the RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List is here, sponsored by 3D Cloud.
The list has seen a surge in popularity over the past few years, to the point that we’ve decided publishing it once a year is no longer enough. Here, then, is the first edition for 2026, with some names dropping out of the top 100 and some new names coming in (the latter are flagged as new entries for ease of reference).
RTIH has scoured the retail technology world to find the most influential figures for this comprehensive round up of people and trends that shape the industry and help drive it forward.
We’re witnessing a seismic change in shopping habits. Retailers are doubling down on innovative technologies like AR, AI, machine learning, robotics, and automation, and finding ways to use them to boost business efficiency and make customer experiences more exciting and dynamic.
Which is where the RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List comes in, presented, we should stress, in no particular order.
Such disruption requires new ways of problem solving and thought leaders who can both evangelise and execute on the likes of digital transformation and omnichannel excellence.
We hope you enjoy reading through it and, as always, if you would like to give feedback or believe that there are some glaring omissions, please feel free to get in touch via the form at the end of this article.
Many thanks to 3D Cloud, which provides 3D product visualisation software trusted by top furniture and DIY retailers, for sponsoring the report.
Shopify Plus agency Swanky pulls in £7.6 million from YFM to support next phase of growth
YFM Equity Partners has invested £7.6 million from its Buyout Funds into Swanky, a Shopify Platinum agency headquartered in Exeter.
This is Swanky’s first funding round. Founded by Dan McIvor, it was appointed as one of Shopify’s first ‘Plus’ partners in EMEA in 2016. Since then, the business has delivered various projects, created an end-to-end service proposition, and built a presence across the UK, Europe and Australia.
Dan Partridge joined as CEO in 2021. Under his leadership, Swanky has expanded its team to around 70 employees, enhanced and professionalised its service capability and delivered growth. YFM’s investment will support said growth, including further investment in talent and service capability, as well as pursuing selective M&A opportunities.
As part of the transaction, Chris Hirst (formerly Global CEO at Havas Creative Group) joins Swanky as its chair. Elly Adams (formerly PWC and Oxygen House Group) joins the board as CFO, and Amy Dougan has been promoted to COO. Matt Giles remains an executive board member as co-founder and Chief Creative Officer.
Live commerce platform Tilt lays claim to an industry first with launch of new AI powered feature Snap
Tilt, a live auction app for fashion, collectibles etc, has announced the launch of Snap - a new integrated AI feature that automatically creates product listings from live video, and in early testing is delivering a 47% increase in sales simply through smarter listing.
Tilt cites industry research that shows marketplace sellers lose roughly 16 hours per week to manual admin, with individual product listings taking 8-12 minutes each to create. Snap, it claims, does it in under one second, creating higher quality listings in the process.
“Live selling works best when sellers can just be themselves.” says Abhi Thanendran, Co-founder and CEO at Tilt. “ Right now they're trying to run a shop and host a show at the same time. We want the only job a seller has on Tilt to be talking to their audience. Everything else should be the AI's problem.”
By watching and listening to streams in real-time, Snap automatically creates higher quality product listings - including better titles, optimised descriptions, and more accurate categories and prices - the moment a seller holds up an item.
The Home Depot launches customer service AI voice agent phone system with Google Cloud
The Home Depot has announced new AI powered phone agents designed to get customers the help they need faster. Built on Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, these allow customers to skip phone menus and get straight to solving their home improvement problems through natural conversation.
Now, when calling a Home Depot store, customers can state the reason for their call in their own words. The new system is designed to understand what they need help with immediately, while ensuring they always have the option to speak directly with a human associate. Real-time translations also enable support for customers in any language.
According to early results from a 50-store pilot, AI voice agents understand why a customer is calling in fewer than 10 seconds, getting them to a solution four times faster than navigating traditional phone menus. Additionally, Home Depot associates in the pilot also reported higher job satisfaction, with more time to focus on in-store shoppers.
Finnish grocery chain K-Supermarket lays claim to AI powered recipe ideas focused out of home first
K-Supermarket is piloting a talking AI assistant on digital billboards across three cities in Finland. Passersby can walk up, speak, and get personalised recipe ideas.
It is launching what is claimed to be the world’s first interactive public digital display that holds a two-way voice conversation with passersby. The animated “Lil’ shop assistant” appears on shopping mall out-of-home screens in Helsinki, Lappeenranta, and Tampere, ready to suggest recipe ideas tailored to each person’s wishes.
While conversational screens have appeared in limited trials in parts of Asia and at select US events, this is the first known deployment in an open public space, with a voice driven AI assistant embedded in existing digital outdoor advertising infrastructure.
“We want to make everyday cooking easier in all kinds of ways and now we’re piloting a completely new kind of assistant to help with that. We’re genuinely excited to be part of developing this groundbreaking technology that offers real, tangible value in people’s daily lives,” says Milla Sorsakivi, Marketing Director at K-Supermarket.
Former Reckon.ai CEO Ana Pinto gets back in the retail game as she accepts COO position at Maikoz
Ana Pinto has joined Maikoz, which designs, deploys and connects AI enabled smart fridges and micromarkets across Europe, in the role of COO.
She was previously at Portugal-based unattended retail startup, Reckon.ai, where she served as CEO and Co-founder.
"I accepted to join Maikoz because it’s a super opportunity to combine technology with people who deeply understand how this industry works and scales. This allows to create something very hard to replicate, and a chance to rethink retail operations from the ground up,” she says.
”With Ana we now have a complete team with all competences needed to ensure we can provide the best support to our partners, not only through the competence and experience, but also with the big engagement and genuine care for customer success that she brings, with advanced AI solution and sophisticated solutions, the people around it is equally important,” says Andreas Fetscher, CEO at Maikoz.
End of an era for Jessica Lennox as quick commerce expert departs Co-op amid restructing move
Jessica Lennox has announced her departure from Co-op where she spent almost eight years, holding various roles during that time, most recently Q-Commerce Partnerships & Delivery Manager (Collections & Returns).
In September of last year, The Co-operative Group reported a £75 million underlying pre-tax loss for the first half of 2025, a significant downturn from the £3 million profit recorded in the same period in 2024.
This was primarily due to an £80 million earnings hit caused by a cyber attack in April, which also included £20 million in one off costs. It stated that it was refining its member and customer proposition and making structural changes for long-term success.
In a LinkedIn post, Lennox commented: "The end of an era…Due to a recent restructure at Co‑op, and after almost eight years, my role in Q‑Com has been made redundant. Not the ending I would have chosen, but I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason. While stepping into the unknown is daunting, it can also be exciting."
She added: "I joined Co‑op at the very start of Q‑Com and had the privilege of watching it grow from the ground up. Being part of that journey is something I’ll always be proud of - the pace, the ambition, the scale of change, and above all, the people. Working alongside such talented colleagues has shaped me both professionally and personally, and will undoubtedly be the hardest part about leaving."
"Over the years, I’ve been involved in a wide range of trials and initiatives, helping to turn ideas into reality - everything from parcel locker rollouts to delivery robots. I’m proud to have played a part in building something truly special and grateful to everyone I’ve worked with along the way."
Lennox concluded: "I bring ten years’ experience in the digital space, specialising in projects and delivery. If you know of opportunities across Q‑Com/Online, Projects, Delivery or Partnerships, I’d love to connect. I’m Manchester‑based and open to remote or hybrid roles. Now it’s time to start something new."
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."
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.
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