Asda boosts retail media proposition and Disney Store taps AI: 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 dunnhumby, Sainsbury's, Ocado Group, Tesco, Walmart, and the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
1. dunnhumby network alliance launches with Tesco, B&Q, John Lewis and Waitrose taking part in pilots
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.”
2. Sainsbury's biggest ever hackathon sees technology colleagues push boundaries of AI integration
Sainsbury's recently wrapped up the biggest hackathon in its history. The event saw the UK grocery giant bring together 140 of its colleagues across technology, with the aim of enabling them to step away from the day-to-day, throw out the rulebook, and truly innovate.
Teams hacked away to push the boundaries of AI and AI integration, designed to elevate the experience for both Sainsbury's customers and colleagues across its four core strategies:
• First Choice for Food
• More Argos More Often
• Loyalty Everyone Loves
• Save and Invest to Win
In a LinkedIn post, Sainsbury's Digital, Tech and Data said: "It wasn't all code and coffee! To celebrate all that hard work, we wrapped up day one with an epic evening festival. Colleagues got to unwind and recharge with a massive BBQ, a Mexican food truck, games tents, a dedicated chillout area, a live DJ keeping the vibes going - and of course, plenty of ice cream to honour our fantastic sponsor."
It added: "A massive shoutout to our incredible tech partner, SoftServe, for sponsoring the event and helping us pull off our most ambitious hack yet. A huge congratulations to 'Aisle Be Back', who were crowned this year's overall Hackathon Winners. Watch this space - some of these incredible hacks might just be coming to a store near you soon."
3. Ocado Group prepares for life after Tim Steiner, eyes Vonage boss Niklas Heuveldop as successor
British technology and online grocery retail specialist Ocado Group is looking to appoint a successor to Chief Executive Tim Steiner, Sky News reported on Sunday.
Niklas Heuveldop, Chief Executive at Vonage, a subsidiary of Sweden's Ericsson, is a front runner to take over from Steiner. The search for a new boss is being led by Adam Warby, who has chaired Ocado for the last 18 months. Ocado Group and Vonage did not respond to our request for comment.
Steiner was one of the founders of Ocado Group more than 25 years ago and was a key player during its London float in 2010.
4. Walmart's Sparky AI assistant makes live shopping debut as retailer launches Summer Deals campaign
Walmart is laying claim to one of its biggest Walmart Live experiences to date, an initiative that also saw the use for the first time in this space of Sparky, the retailer’s AI assistant.
Walmart Live is a feature on the US retail giant’s website and app, enabling consumers to watch livestreamed shopping events hosted by influencers and celebrities.
Sparky, meanwhile, helps customers find their favourite items, synthesise reviews and make informed purchases. For example, you can ask it to help you find the best laptop for an art student or the best birthday gift for a two-year-old.
In a LinkedIn post, Justin Breton, Head of Partnerships, Content & Emerging Experiences at Walmart, said: “From a TV commercial to a live, shoppable dance cardio workout! Today (Monday, 22nd June), we launched one of our most ambitious Walmart Live experiences yet for Summer Deals, bringing the world of Alwayz, the campaign jingle, and our hottest deals to life alongside fitness expert and dancer Ally Love.”
He added: “We paired products with custom choreography, original beats, and even introduced Sparky, Walmart's AI shopping assistant, into a live experience for the first time. The future of marketing isn't just about getting attention. It's about creating experiences people can participate in.”
5. Beauty retailer Gratis connects with Vusion for AI powered store digitalisation project in Turkey
Gratis, a Turkish beauty and personal care retailer with a nationwide store footprint, has selected the Vusion platform to support the next phase of its store digitalisation strategy.
The agreement covers the deployment of approximately two million electronic shelf labels (ESLs) across 300 stores in Turkey as part of the first phase of the roll-out, leveraging Vusion’s connected store platform, with the project expected to be completed by the beginning of H2 2026.
"As we continue to enhance operational excellence across our stores, we were looking for a partner capable of supporting both our current needs and future ambitions," says Aykut Demirci, Vice President of Sales at Gratis. "Vusion’s end-to-end platform, proven execution capabilities and innovation roadmap made them the right choice for this deployment. The solution will help us improve pricing agility, operational efficiency and the overall in-store experience for our customers."
"Gratis is one of the most recognised retailers in Turkey’s beauty and personal care sector, making this selection particularly meaningful for Vusion," says Sébastien Fourcy, SEVP EMEA at Vusion. "It also reflects the strong commercial momentum we are building in Turkey, a market that is becoming an increasingly important growth driver for Vusion in the EMEA region. Through this first deployment phase, we are helping Gratis enhance agility and operational efficiency while building a platform for future innovation, including retail media and connected store services."
6. Nectar360 Pollen retail media platform delivers for likes of Unilever and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
Nectar360 has reported early results from campaigns on Pollen, its unified retail media platform, with brands including Unilever and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners onboard with the initiative. Built in house by Nectar360 and in collaboration with brands and agencies, this is designed to solve one of the industry’s biggest challenges: fragmentation.
Pollen brings together audience insight, media planning, campaign activation, in-flight optimisation and measurement into a single environment, enabling brands to run connected campaigns across in-store, online and offsite channels. At its core is a multi-touch attribution model. This, those involved claim, gives brands a clear view of performance across the full customer journey, helping them understand what is driving growth and where to optimise for better results.
Amir Rasekh, Managing Director at Nectar360, says: “Pollen brings our audiences, media, creativity and measurement together in a way the industry never experienced before. What we are seeing now is proof that when you remove complexity through technology and focus on outcomes, brands can drive stronger, more measurable growth and deliver better customer experiences.”
7. Asda claims industry first as UK grocer inks deal to add Amazon Retail Ad Service to online stores
Asda has announced a partnership with Amazon Ads. This will see the UK grocery giant become the first retailer outside of the US to introduce Amazon Retail Ad Service to its online stores.
Rolling out in phases from Q4 this year, the partnership will use the solution to deliver more relevant ads based on real shopping behaviour and intent. In practical terms, customers who know what they’re looking for will find it faster, while those who don’t will be guided to relevant products in one place, with less effort.
Rachel Eyre, Asda’s Chief Customer and Digital Officer, says: “We serve millions of customers each week and this partnership is about using technology to improve the online shopping experience by helping them to quickly find what they need. At the same time, it creates a stronger retail media proposition, giving our current and future brand partners a more effective way to reach customers, using deeper insight to deliver impactful and measurable campaigns. This builds on the partnership with Ocado we announced recently and is another clear step forward in how we’re using technology to improve the Asda shopping experience.”
“Amazon’s Retail Ad Service gives UK advertisers the signals, measurement and scale they need, in a way that is seamless and familiar from day one. This partnership is a significant step in making Asda the most effective and frictionless place for brands to reach British shoppers.”
For advertisers, the partnership promises clearer insights and better measurement, alongside a simpler way to plan and execute campaigns through familiar Amazon Ads tools and consistent cross-platform reporting. It also enables brands to scale activity across Asda’s platforms and Amazon Ads inventory.
8. Former Asda, Morrisons and Co-op exec George Hayworth joins 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards judging panel
We're hugely pleased to announce the addition of George Hayworth to the judging panel for the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
George is a retail and last mile delivery leader with more than 25 years' experience across the grocery and retail sectors. Having held senior leadership roles at Asda, Morrisons and Co-op, he has extensive experience delivering operational transformation, e-commerce growth and customer centric innovation at scale. During eight years at Co-op, he played a key role in building and scaling quick commerce into one of the business's most commercially significant growth channels.
In his current role at Bringg, George partners with retailers globally to help them deliver faster, smarter and more profitably. He brings a sharp focus on technology that creates tangible, measurable value - for retailers, operators and consumers alike.
Welcome aboard, George!
Further information on our judging panel can be found here. In addition to Ben, it includes representatives from Walmart, JD Sports, East of England Co-op, Boots, Warner Bros. Discovery, Holland & Barrett, PoundFun, Austen & Blake, and Gordon Ramsay Restaurants.
9. Disney Store gets personal as company takes wraps off new AI Personal Shopping Assistant
Disney Store has launched an AI Personal Shopping Assistant, with a pilot rolling out to select shoppers inside its iOS app. The solution is coming soon to all iOS app users with registered Disney Store accounts, with Android and browser support expected at a later date.
The move is pitched as a way to make shopping "easier and more magical," with AI being tapped to enhance product discovery and deliver a personal experience.
The assistant responds to natural, conversational language and mirrors Disney's brand voice, character knowledge, and full product range. Shoppers can ask for picks by character, age, occasion, or budget and get instant recommendations with availability, plus one click shopping, sale alerts, and real-time order tracking.
The move is part of CEO Josh D'Amaro's push to deploy AI across Disney's business.
10. The kids are alright: Tesco announces launch of Clubcard for 16 and 17-year-olds
Tesco has launched a version of its Tesco Clubcard for 16 and 17-year-olds, enabling them to access Clubcard prices in the retailer’s stores and collect points that can be converted into vouchers for money off at the checkout.
To join, they must be invited to join from the Clubcard account of a parent or guardian. The easiest way to access this for a parent or guardian to click on the identity icon in the top corner of their Tesco app, which allows them to access their account settings. They can then click on the ‘Invite to Clubcard’ button and choose the option to send a sign-up link to their 16 or 17-year-old.
Tesco Clubcard is the most popular supermarket loyalty scheme in the UK and has been running for more than 30 years. Today more than 24 million UK households have one, with a Clubcard used in more than 80% of sales at Tesco and thousands of Clubcard prices offers in stores each week.
“We are delighted to be giving younger customers access to Clubcard for the first time, and we have no doubt that it will prove popular with 16 and 17-year-olds, whether they are shopping in one of our ‘big Tesco’ or ‘little Tesco’ stores,” says Tesco Group Membership & Loyalty Director, Shama Wilson
“Our new Clubcard for 16-17s members will not only be able to get Clubcard prices in-store, including our iconic Tesco lunchtime meal deal for just £3.85, but also collect points that they can turn into vouchers for money off their in-store shopping.”
