Stablecoin store payments and retail media fragmentation: last week’s biggest technology plays
RTIH rounds up the stand out retail technology deals, launches, deployments and pilots from the past seven days. Including Clarks, Tesco, Hanshow, The White Company, East of England Co-op, Best Buy Canada, Shoezone, Ikea, Pizza Factory, Asos, Deliveroo, Jysk, Vusion, and LuxLexicon.
Clarks
Awin, a specialist in affiliate marketing, has announced the expansion of its UK partnership with footwear retailer Clarks into the US market. Leveraging its data and AI powered technology, Awin will support Clarks in driving international partner led growth and expanding its reach to new audiences.
Influencers and publishers are becoming increasingly important to drive its LLM visibility, authenticity and cultural relevance.
“Awin has been a strong partner for us since day one. The migration and onboarding process was seamless, and the support has been excellent,” says Mario Protano, Director of Performance Marketing at Clarks.
“While our previous platform had reached a plateau in terms of growth, since moving to Awin, we’re already seeing positive momentum and more proactive engagement from high quality publishers. Consolidating our affiliate programme with Awin has given us the confidence, scale and partnership we need to build more meaningful affiliate relationships.”
dunnhumby
dunnhumby has announced the introduction of the dunnhumby network alliance, which is designed to address retail media fragmentation.
At a time when many retail media networks exist in siloed ecosystems, this is pitched as delivering a coherent, seamless, efficient, and user-friendly solution that can rapidly unlock and result in growth for all. It gives brands and agencies a single route to activate campaigns across multiple retailers without rebuilding plans and campaign workflows across the network, with the aim of improving consistency of execution and reducing operational complexity.
It also enables retailers to access broader demand and deliver inventory in a more scalable way, while opening retail media budgets to publishers through retailer data-enabled audiences. This will be delivered through a single solution, built in partnership with Kevel.
Tesco, B&Q (owned by Kingfisher), John Lewis and Waitrose are exploring partnership opportunities through a series of pilots with more retailers set to join. These pilots, starting this summer, will take place across a variety of categories including household and DIY products, health and beauty, and grocery with the aim of enabling retailers, brands and agencies to plan, activate and measure marketing investment across multiple retailers and media owners.
Josh Bottomley, CEO, dunnhumby, says: “Brands are demanding scale, consistency and transparency, but fragmentation has held the market back. This groundbreaking alliance is made possible through dunnhumby’s unique position in the market, bringing the industry together under a shared framework, making it easier for brands to activate, measure and grow through retail media.”
Tamworth Co-operative Society
Tamworth Co-operative Society has announced the launch of Tamworth Delivered, powered by Snappy Shopper and offering customers grocery delivery from their local store in as little as 30 minutes.
The service complements existing aggregator platforms, with the aim of having Tamworth Co-op present wherever customers choose to shop. While aggregators remain an important route to market, Tamworth Delivery provides a more locally connected experience.
Powered by Snappy Shopper's white label e-commerce platform, it combines digital ordering, store fulfilment operations and integrated delivery capabilities. The platform enables Tamworth Co-op stores to efficiently pick and fulfil online orders, while last mile delivery is supported through Snappy Shopper's integration with Nash's delivery network.
The solution reflects the in-store shopping experience online, showcasing the full product range, local promotions and member value offers.
Greg Deacon, Vice President, Snappy Shopper, says: "We're delighted to partner with Tamworth Co-op to launch Tamworth Delivered and help bring their local stores closer to customers than ever before. Q-commerce is no longer just about speed; it's about giving shoppers greater flexibility and ensuring retailers are present wherever customers choose to shop.Tamworth Delivered gives customers a direct way to shop with their local Co-op online, while enabling the society to grow digital sales, increase basket sizes and strengthen customer loyalty. Through our white label technology platform and operational expertise, we're helping create a seamless online and in-store experience that keeps the local store at the heart of every order."
Dan Welsh, CEO, Tamworth Co-operative Society, says: "Tamworth Delivered is an important step in how we continue to evolve for our customers. Shoppers want more flexibility than ever before, and this launch allows us to bring the convenience, value and service of our local stores directly to their doorstep. By partnering with Snappy Shopper, we're making it easier for customers to shop with us whenever and however they choose, while keeping Tamworth Co-op at the heart of the experience. It's about giving our communities more choice and ensuring we're there when customers need us most."
Shoezone
Footwear retailer, Shoezone, has introduced American Express as a new payment option for customers shopping both online and across its UK store network.
This also allows customers who regularly pay with their Amex Card to earn rewards on their spending, including Membership Rewards points, which can be redeemed on travel, gift cards, retail purchases, or statement credits.
A spokesperson for Shoezone says: “We’re pleased to introduce American Express as an additional payment option for shoezone customers both online and in-store. Offering greater flexibility at checkout is another step towards enhancing our customers’ shopping experience, with flexibility and convenience being key.”
Dan Edelman, General Manager, UK Merchant Services, says: “American Express is now accepted for payment at more locations than ever before in the UK, and we’re committed to ensuring our card members can use their American Express card at all the places they want to spend. We’re delighted that shoezone can now welcome the spending power of American Express card members.”
CQC
Clasen Quality Chocolate (CQC), a North American industrial chocolate and confectionery manufacturer, has invested in Beacon’s supply chain technology as it looks to bring greater clarity and consistency to its global cocoa operations.
CQC imports chocolate ingredients that support some of the world's best known retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. The standards those partners expect depend on CQC knowing exactly where every container is, and when it will arrive. Managing this previously meant teams logging individually into carrier portals and re-keying data into spreadsheets by hand - a manual process that left sourcing, supply chain, production and finance working from different, and often inaccurate, numbers.
To address these challenges, CQC has deployed Beacon, an AI supply chain workspace, across its upstream cocoa lanes. Container and ETA data that was previously scattered across portals and inboxes now updates automatically in one place, giving every team a consistent, live picture of where their cocoa is.
Casey Johannesen, Cocoa Sourcing Manager at CQC, comments: “I've spent ten years in supply chain. Most mornings, before I could even think about the day ahead, I spent an hour chasing data to find out where my supply was. That work is genuinely gone now. Beacon is one place, one picture, and it updates itself. It's the tool I've been waiting for.”
Ikea
A new feature in the Ikea app lets customers hear how product names are pronounced. This is available across all markets and languages (except Swedish, for obvious reasons).
In the retailer’s early days, founder Ingvar Kamprad, who had dyslexia, introduced product names as a more memorable and practical alternative to numerical product codes often associated with products, as he struggled to remember them. Over time, this evolved into an Ikea unique naming system, where different product categories followed specific names, and eventually, themes.
The idea began at an app hackathon, where co-workers were looking for simple ways to solve real customer challenges. Customers and co-workers around the world were, it was noted, struggling with Swedish product names.
“This started when we were working on the collection NYTILLVERKAD, and several people on our team had a really hard time pronouncing it,” says Filip Larsson, Software Engineer.
That moment sparked the winning hackathon idea: adding a pronunciation button to product pages in the Ikea app. Today, millions of customers and co-workers see Ikea product names every day, navigating unfamiliar letters, sounds, and accents. By bringing pronunciation directly into the app experience, the aim is to make that interaction a little easier, while staying true to a tradition that has been part of the company’s identity for decades.
The feature is currently being used by 8,000 people globally, every day.
The Estée Lauder Companies and Jo Malone London
The Estée Lauder Companies and Jo Malone London have announced the launch of Scent Scanner, available exclusively on Pinterest and rolling out in the US and France. The experience translates the visual preferences people have expressed across their Pinterest boards into personalised Jo Malone London fragrance recommendations.
Building on Jo Malone London's AI Scent Advisor, introduced in 2025, Scent Scanner offers a way for consumers to find their personalised scent, shifting the starting point from words to images. While the AI Scent Advisor invited consumers to describe the scent they were seeking, Scent Scanner reads visual inspiration - imagery, colour palettes, textures, destinations, rituals and aesthetics - to suggest fragrances suited to each individual.
Pinners can connect a Pinterest board from their profile and the Scent Scanner analyses the visual cues and themes in their saved content to build a curated fragrance pairing - a personalised set of Jo Malone London scents.
“For years, personalisation in beauty meant asking people what they wanted. The bigger opportunity is to understand what they already love, and to meet them where their taste already lives,” says Aude Gandon, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer, The Estée Lauder Companies. “Scent Scanner demonstrates how we can combine the power of creativity and commerce to make fragrance discovery more relevant and engaging. By partnering with Pinterest, Jo Malone London is bringing Beauty Reimagined to life, by creating a new model for emotionally driven commerce and meaningful consumer connection.”
East of England Co-op
With almost 3,000 colleagues working across over 220 stores, branches and support functions, getting information to the right people at the right times so that they’re able to do their jobs effectively is critical. The retailer’s new platform, The Link, has become its first port of call for all colleagues to receive important updates, read the latest news from across the co-op and complete tasks.
Head of Communications, Laura Fellingham, says: “Bringing our communications together in one place has made it easier for colleagues to stay informed, connected and involved in what’s happening across our co-op. It’s been great to see how quickly colleagues have embraced The Link, not only for important updates and tasks, but also as a place to share ideas, recognise achievements and connect with colleagues across different part of the business. We’re looking forward to building on that momentum as the platform continues to grow.”
YOOBIC CEO, Fabrice Haiat, comments: “East of England Co-op has served its communities for generations, and we are incredibly proud to help bring its colleagues closer together through The Link. We are confident our platform will play a lasting role in saving time, bringing everything into one place and keeping colleagues connected. To see almost 3,000 people embrace it so quickly is a real testament to the team, and we are proud to support a co-op that puts its people and its communities first.”
Since launching The Link in April, almost 90,000 tasks have been completed in the platform. It also allows colleagues to share social posts with each other, to celebrate success or share ideas.
Got Beef
Got Beef, a direct to consumer grass fed beef jerky brand, has announced the launch of Granny, an AI generated brand spokesperson appearing across the company's social media platforms and a new billboard campaign.
Granny is produced using AI video generation technology Kling. In the company's social content, she is presented as an advocate for clean label products and starting beef with retailers that are selling beef full of fillers, drawing attention to jerky made without fillers or additives.
"Granny gives the brand a consistent voice and a clear message about clean ingredients," says Benji Boyce, Founder at Got Beef. "Producing the character with AI is perfect. The videos cost me around $100-$200 each to generate and always go viral which earns me money in addition to the beef jerky sales."
Got Beef uses a range of AI tools across its business functions, including product sourcing research, packaging design, content production, and customer communications. The company says this approach allows it to bring products and campaigns to market on compressed timelines.
The Granny videos are produced through an automated content pipeline that assembles scripts, scenes, and variations and processes them through AI video generation services. Got Beef uses agentic AI systems, and frontier AI models like Claude Code and Google Gemini software designed to carry out multi-step tasks, to support design and operational workflows.
Renfro Brands
Inspectorio, an AI powered platform for quality, compliance, sustainability and traceability, reports that Renfro Brands is tapping its Responsible Sourcing & Compliance and Traceability & Transparency solutions.
Renfro Brands, founded in 1921, is a manufacturer and marketer of legwear and apparel for various brands. One in every five pairs of socks sold in the United States is said to be manufactured or distributed by the company. It has a portfoilio of globally owned, licensed and manufactured brands.
Renfro Brands already uses Inspectorio’s Quality Risk Management solution. By adding new solutions for responsible sourcing, regulatory compliance and traceability, it says that it can rely on Inspectorio’s AI driven workflows to replace manual processes and help it manage increasingly complex regulatory requirements, measure supplier performance and ensure compliance.
The technology will support broader and deeper regulatory compliance efforts across North America, Europe and Asia, enabling Renfro Brands to maintain compliance with all social and environmental regulations specific to each sourcing location.
“Renfro Brands is deeply committed to thoughtful brand stewardship with 105 years of manufacturing heritage,” says Todd Roeder, Vice President of Compliance and Vendor Services at Renfro Brands.
“Expanding our partnership with Inspectorio was an easy decision, based on our positive experience working with them and their extensive knowledge of our industry. Working with Inspectorio, we will continue to deliver quality, innovation and style across our diverse brand portfolio while ensuring the highest levels of social and environmental compliance.”
Asos and Deliveroo
Asos and Deliveroo have teamed up to make a new drop of the former’s DESIGN football shirts available to order on demand via the latter’s app.
Launching across Greater London and Manchester, customers can order up to two football supporter shirts out of 15 male and female designs, and have them delivered straight to their door in as little as 25 minutes. Country designs include England, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Germany, Mexico and The Netherlands. The focus, according to a press release, is on “reworking classic jerseys with a trend led edge…From shirred baby tees, off‑shoulder tops, tanks, and bandeaus to boxy, oversized T‑shirts and oversized polos, the shirts are priced between £12–£22 and feature sporty graphics made for the season ahead.”
Vanessa Spence, Executive Vice President of Brand and Creative at Asos, says: “We love tapping into the moments that matter to our customers. Partnering with Deliveroo lets us meet them right where they are, whether that’s getting match day ready at the last minute or leaning into the energy and emotional rollercoaster of the game. It’s about making style feel easy, relevant, and part of real life.”
Suzy McClintock, VP Consumer and New Verticals at Deliveroo, says: “Our new partnership with Asos redefines what convenience means during a busy sporting summer. Deliveroo is already a trusted part of the match-day experience, helping customers get everything they need delivered on demand, from meals and groceries to beauty, health and retail essentials. Expanding our retail offering with Asos is an exciting step that gives fans an easy way to complete their plans, whether that’s stocking up for a watch party or getting last minute fashion essentials delivered to their door.”
THG Ingenuity and Google Cloud
THG Ingenuity has launched a new AI shopping assistant, developed in collaboration with Google Cloud. This acts as a dedicated expert for online shoppers, understanding individual needs, product catalogues, and brand nuances.
Utilising Google Cloud’s conversational AI technology, including the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, the assistant provides real-time, context aware product discovery and answers frequently asked questions.
Early pilot data from Myprotein shows delivery of an eight-times higher conversion rate (CVR) compared to Myprotein’s site average, leading to an average order value (AOV) uplift of 20.8%. Returning buyers also drove a 4.61% increase in CVR and a 9.6% AOV uplift. Beyond direct sales metrics, those involved claim that the solution also provides brands with valuable insights into customer behaviour, enabling more informed and personalised strategies across all channels, and identifying key areas for customer education.
Jo Drake, CTO – Platform, THG Ingenuity, says: “The introduction of our AI shopping assistant marks a significant leap in personalised e-commerce. By providing an intelligent, bespoke shopping companion, we are not only streamlining the customer journey, but also empowering brands to cultivate deeper relationships with their consumers. The impressive metrics from our initial deployments validate our commitment to innovation and highlight the transformative potential of AI in e-commerce.”
Maureen Costello, Vice President, UK, Ireland and Sub-Saharan Africa, Google Cloud, comments: "Harnessing the power of AI agents allows brands to deliver a level of personal service that was previously impossible at scale. By utilising our Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, THG Ingenuity is providing brands with a sophisticated tool that doesn't just answer questions, but actively guides the consumer journey. These early results with Myprotein demonstrate that when AI is context aware and brand specific, it drives both deep customer loyalty and significant bottom-line growth."
LuxLexicon
Triple-A reports that it is enabling LuxLexicon, a Singapore-based luxury handbag resale and consignment platform under Carousell Group, to introduce stablecoin payments into its in-store shopping experience. The service will be available at LuxLexicon’s Palais Renaissance store in Singapore and will apply to selected luxury handbag purchases, targeting digitally native customers.
Eric Barbier, Founder and CEO at Triple-A, says: “Luxury retail is global by nature. By enabling stablecoin payments at LuxLexicon, we’re making it easier for international customers to shop and helping retailers tap into a new high value, digitally native audience.”
Kevin Simtan, Senior Manager, Business Strategy and Operations at LuxLexicon, says: “We are always looking for ways to enhance the luxury resale experience by improving accessibility. Introducing stablecoin payments into our store is part of our commitment to exploring diverse customer preferences while maintaining the premium experience our customers expect.”
Best Buy Canada
Consumer electronics omnichannel retailer, Best Buy Canada, has selected Perion to power the monetisation of its programmatic in-store digital signage network, creating what is pitched as one of the largest SSP enabled digital-out-of-home (DOOH) media networks in the Canadian market.
“Perion provides the technology foundation to help modernise and scale our in-store media offering,” says Thierry Hay-Sabourin, Senior Vice President - E-commerce, Marketplace & Marketing, Best Buy Canada.
“A programmatic first, loopless model enables more effective, measurable experiences for brands and agencies, while unlocking the valuable advertising moments that our in-store environment offers.”
“By serving as a foundational infrastructure for a market leader such as Best Buy Canada, we demonstrate that our Perion One strategy allows us to win complex, enterprise level mandates,” says Tal Jacobson, CEO at Perion. “We are creating a repeatable playbook to modernise retail media networks globally, ensuring sustainable growth and deeper strategic relationships with high value partners.”
Heart of England Co-op Society
Heart of England Co-op Society has announced the launch of Heart Delivered; a new rapid grocery delivery service powered by Snappy Shopper’s white label e-commerce platform. Last mile delivery is enabled through Snappy Shopper's partnership with Nash.
Greg Deacon, Vice President, Snappy Shopper, says: "Heart of England Co-op has a fantastic reputation for serving its communities, and we're proud to help extend that experience into the digital space through Heart Delivered. Customers increasingly expect convenience on their terms, and this service makes it easier than ever to access their local store online while maintaining the personal, community focused experience that sets Heart of England Co-op apart.”
“Together with Nash, we're providing the technology, fulfilment and delivery infrastructure that allows the society to meet growing demand for rapid grocery delivery while keeping its brand and customer relationships at the forefront."
Steve Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Heat of England Co-op, says: "Heart Delivered is about making life easier for our customers while staying true to what makes our society special. Whether customers choose to shop in-store or online, they can expect thesame commitment to quality, value and community that has always been at the heart of our business. This launch gives customers greater flexibility and ensures we're continuing to evolve our services to meet the needs of modern shoppers across the communities we serve."
Stewart Golf
Stewart Golf, a manufacturer of follow golf trolleys, says that it has transformed its customer support operation with AI powered customer experience platform Crescendo. The partnership has reduced first response times from up to 72 hours to just one minute, while simultaneously achieving 100% customer satisfaction for four consecutive weeks.
Founded more than 20 years ago, Stewart Golf serves customers across the UK and US through operations in Britain and Houston, Texas, selling golf trolleys, accessories and support services to golfers worldwide. As the company expanded internationally, customer support became increasingly challenging.
Every support ticket was still managed through a UK-based team operating during British working hours. Weekend coverage was limited, meaning a golfer in Florida experiencing an issue during a round could wait days for an answer that was already documented in the company’s knowledge base. During peak periods, including Black Friday, bank holidays and the start of the golf season, support backlogs could grow into the thousands.
To address the challenge, Stewart Golf deployed Crescendo’s AI platform across chat and email channels, publicly branding the AI assistant as “Stewie”. The solution combines AI powered automation with human expertise, enabling weekday support from Stewart Golf’s internal team and weekend coverage from Crescendo’s trained customer service agents.
Within a month of launch, Stewie was resolving 75% of customer enquiries globally across chat and email. Customers can now receive answers to questions about products, deliveries, warranties and troubleshooting within minutes, while more complex cases are automatically escalated to a human agent.
Jysk
Vusion has announced the expansion of its long-standing partnership with Jysk, a European home furnishing retailer, through a new agreement supporting the retailer’s next phase of store modernisation and cloud transformation strategy.
This includes the upgrade of electronic shelf labels across Jysk’s already deployed 450 Nordic stores, the roll-out of Vusion solutions in 750 additional stores across Europe, and the full migration of JYSK’s legacy on-premise platform to VusionCloud. By 2027, the deployment is expected to scale to approximately 2,500 stores across the Nordic, DACH and Benelux regions.
“Jysk has partnered with Vusion for more than ten years, and this new agreement reflects both the strength of our collaboration and the value we see in moving to a more advanced cloud-based platform,” says Carsten Nørgreen Weinkouff, Executive Vice President Retail Development, Marketing, E-commerce & Omnichannel at Jysk.
“As we continue to modernise our stores across Europe, we are investing in solutions that provide greater scalability, operational efficiency, and flexibility for the future. Vusion’s technology and teams have consistently demonstrated the reliability and support needed to accompany us at this scale.”
Pizza Factory
PAR Technology reports that Pizza Factory has selected its suite of solutions to modernise its restaurant technology stack and support operational and digital growth across its 110 locations.
It leverage PAR’s platform, including PAR PoS, OPS with Recovery, Intelligence, Labour, and Inventory modules, Ordering, Hardware, and a renewal of Punchh.
“When front and back of house systems work together, restaurants gain the clarity and control they need to operate at their best - both in terms of driving same store sales and protecting margins,” says Savneet Singh, CEO at PAR Technology. “Our unified platform helps brands like Pizza Factory simplify operations, act on real‑time insight, and build a stronger foundation for growth. Pizza is a core strategic focus area for PAR, and we are looking forward to partnering with Pizza Factory on further innovation in this category
“Delivering a great pizza experience depends on strong execution at every location,” says Lisa Roscoe, CEO at Pizza Factory. “PAR gives us a unified platform across PoS, loyalty, operations, and payments, along with the insight our teams need to make smarter decisions every day. This sets us up to run more efficiently while continuing to invest in the guest experience.”
Ellis Brigham
Outdoor clothing and activewear retailer, Ellis Brigham, says it has improved omnichannel delivery operations and post-purchase experiences, cutting WISMOs by -14%, in partnership with Ingrid.
Ellis Brigham operates a network of 15 stores across the UK as well as an online channel, supplying outdoor enthusiasts with equipment, from mountaineering to trail running and skiing to snowboarding. As part of its recent digital transformation, which saw it re-platform to Centra, the retailer implemented Ingrid's all-in-one delivery suite, aiming to enhance experiences for customers while streamlining operations as it optimised new fulfilment channels.
"It's unacceptable to not be able to offer choice and communication,” says Mark Oldham, Head of Operations at Ellis Brigham. “One bad delivery and you've lost a customer, the CLV hinges on it.”
Deploying Ingrid, it was able to create more choice and flexibility for shoppers at the checkout, including additional shipping options and clearer fulfilment windows and timelines. It also opened up delivery personalisation, offering customers dynamic delivery fees, based on their loyalty tier or purchasing history.
Meanwhile, integrating real-time stock visibility within the Ingrid platform also improved the speed and accuracy of its Click and Collect offering. This also helped to streamline Ellis Brigham’s Ship-From-Store capabilities, aligning its inventory pools across stores and distribution centres (DCs). By automating order picking based on omnichannel product availability, fulfilment speed and cost, Ellis Brigham was able to reduce ship-from-store delivery times from up to ten days to offer express delivery options.
Post-purchase, Ingrid enabled proactive parcel tracking, allowing the retailer to create brand engagement opportunities after the checkout, while offering shoppers real-time updates on their order, tracking progress from the point of payment to delivery drop-off.
The White Company
Weav, a retail planning software company founded by an ex-Asos Merchandising Director and the former CTO of Kidly, has announced its commercial launch, with The White Company as its first live customer.
The White Company operates across 100,000+ SKUs spanning clothing, homeware, beauty and childrenswear. Like most mid-market retailers, its planning team was running weekly trading meetings off Excel-based WSSIs.
Weav says that its WSSI updates automatically as sales and commitments come in, calculates live as figures change, and immediately rolls up through the product hierarchy. Merchandisers can cut the data across any product attribute, not just the standard hierarchy. The White Company’s team used it from day one without formal training, it adds.
“We are excited to be working with Weav to support our weekly trading cycle. By implementing this innovative new platform, we are modernising our trading systems and creating a more streamlined, efficient, and cost effective process for The White Company,” says Fiona Gaughan, Chief Commercial Officer at The White Company.
Phil Lawrence, Co-founder at Weav, says: “We built Weav because mid-market retailers are stuck between Excel and enterprise tools that take 18 months to implement and cost a season’s revenue. There’s a large gap in between, and we think it deserves better software. The White Company’s team adopting it without hand holding is exactly what we set out to prove.”
The White Company says it will extend its use of Weav to include Line Cards - option and SKU level planning with rate of sale analysis and re-buy suggestions - as the platform develops.
Aritzia
Adyen has been selected to support payments for Aritzia. Founded in Canada, Aritzia is a fashion retailer operating boutiques and digital commerce platforms.
Through the partnership, Adyen will process transactions in its physical locations, North American websites, and within its recently launched mobile app, supporting consistent payment experiences across channels.
“Payments are a foundational part of our retail and digital operations,” says Elisse Shank, Senior Director, Omni at Aritzia. “Adyen provides the platform to consistently support our in-store and app transactions across channels.”
“We are pleased to partner with Aritzia, a Canadian brand with a strong retail and digital presence,” says Sander Meijers, Canada Country Manager at Adyen. “Across in-store and app experiences, Adyen’s technology supports payments that are designed to be seamless and reliable, complementing Aritzia’s focus on delivering a consistent, elevated brand experience.”
La Redoute
Mirakl and La Redoute have announced the integration of Mirakl Ads, an AI powered retail media solution for sponsored products, on laredoute.fr.
“Retail media success depends on balancing two priorities: helping customers discover relevant products while delivering strong returns for advertisers,” says Edouard Roussel, Global Partnerships Director at La Redoute. “Our first results with Mirakl Ads show that when AI is applied thoughtfully, it can improve advertising performance while preserving the quality of the customer experience.”
“La Redoute represents exactly the type of retailer Mirakl Ads was designed for: a retailer with high standards, a highly engaged audience and advertisers focused on measurable business outcomes,” says Octavie Gosselin, Vice President, Mirakl Ads. “These results demonstrate the value of AI built specifically for commerce and guided by retailer objectives, rather than generic optimisation models.”
Curator Hotel & Resort Collection
Curator Hotel & Resort Collection, a membership-based collection of independent boutique and lifestyle hotels and resorts, has announced a partnership with Canary Technologies.
Through Curator’s Preferred Vendor Programme, members will receive preferred access to Canary’s AI powered guest management platform and digital guest journey tools.
“Independent lifestyle hotels thrive because they are distinctive, creative and deeply personal,” says Jennifer Barnwell, President at Curator Hotel & Resort Collection. “The opportunity is to provide these hotels with modern tools that reduce friction behind the scenes while preserving the human connection that makes special. Canary gives our members access to a powerful, hotel specific technology platform that can improve responsiveness, drive ancillary revenue, streamline operations and enhance the guest experience, all while allowing each property to preserve its own voice and identity.”
“We view AI and automation as practical operating tools to improve the guest experience - not technology for technology’s sake,” says Raymond D. Martz, Co-President and Chief Financial Officer at Pebblebrook Hotel Trust.
“The objective is simple: create a more seamless guest experience and free our hotel teams to spend more time delivering thoughtful service. Canary’s platform supports that objective by combining AI powered voice, messaging and webchat with digital arrival and departure tools, secure payment solutions, mobile ordering and dynamic upsell capabilities. Together, these tools improve guest responsiveness, increase productivity and help our hotels create more connected moments throughout the guest journey.”
GlassesUSA.com
Online eyewear retailer, GlassesUSA.com, has added buy now pay later service Afterpay to its online checkout offering.
“More brands, more flexibility, more ways for customers to pay how they want - that's what this is about,” says Tanuj Parikh, Head of Revenue, Afterpay and Cash App. “Afterpay and Cash App Pay each serve a distinct customer need, and together they give our merchant partners a powerful set of tools to meet shoppers wherever they are in their purchase journey.”
According to a recent GlassesUSA.com survey of hundreds of US prescription glasses wearers, 56.1% said they delay getting new specs due to cost.
“Eyewear is an essential part of everyday life, but cost can still be a factor in when people choose to update their glasses,” says Arie Tom, Chief Marketing Officer at GlassesUSA.com. “By adding Afterpay at checkout, we are giving customers another way to shop for the eyewear they need in a way that better fits their budget and timing. It is part of our broader focus on making quality eyewear more accessible, simple and convenient online.”
Tesco
Tesco is set to roll-out electronic shelf labels across its stores over the next two years. It is teaming with Chinese firm Hanshow on this.
This builds on a proof of concept in 2025 with VusionGroup and Hanshow to evaluate ESLs in select stores, with the aim of reducing labour costs and enhancing pricing accuracy.
The project will kick off in four stores - one Express and three supermarket locations - and will ultimately cover approximately 3,000 stores.
"The roll-out of digital shelf labels marks an important step in the modernisation of our stores, delivering benefits for both customers and colleagues," says Tesco UK Operations Managing Director Kevin Tindall.
The Entertainer
The Entertainer reports that it has raised £4 million for four children’s hospitals through its partnership with micro-donation charity Pennies.
The UK’s largest toy retailer hit the £1 million mark for each of the four children’s hospitals it supports in the UK: Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Bristol Children’s Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity.
Customer micro-donations were made at tills in 150+ stores. The donations raised have helped fund vital care, specialist equipment and support services for seriously ill children and their families across the UK.
"Play is at the heart of everything we do, so supporting causes that bring comfort, hope and moments of joy to seriously ill children feels deeply important to us,” says Andrew Murphy, Group Chief Executive Officer at The Entertainer. “We’re incredibly proud to have reached this significant milestone, which is a testament to the generosity of our customers and the value of our partnership with Pennies.”
