Asda fights crime, HMV sees double, Everseen sizzles: last month's most read retail technology articles
Check out our most clicked articles from August, including White Castle, Murphy USA, Focal Systems, UNIQLO, AutoStore, Amazon, Ocado Group, Lotte Shopping, and the RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100 List.
Everseen, Hanshow and OpenAI top first ever RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100 List
In partnership with 3D Cloud, RTIH is pleased to launch its first ever Retail Technology Hot 100 List. We’re bringing you the hottest companies whose solutions and systems are helping drive the retail sector forward.
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, Dr. Astha Purohit, Director of Product Management, Customer Data and Identity, Walmart, and Paula Bobbett, Chief Data and Digital Officer, Boots, provided feedback on those who have the most innovative, forward thinking technology offerings and are also best addressing retailers' current challenges, painpoints, and opportunities.
The judges used the following framework when making their picks:
1. Retailer problem fit - how meaningful, strategic, and widely felt the retailer pain being addressed is.
2. Production traction in retail (2025–2026) - real named retailer deployments, pilots.
3. Innovation and defensibility - genuine technical novelty paired with a defensible competitive position.
And there was also a public vote, with thousands of members of our community of retail tech enthusiasts getting involved. Thanks to all those who took part! Based on the judging panel's feedback and the public vote, we then drew up our first ever RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100.
So, without further ado, here are the 100 hottest global retail technology ventures right now. Drum roll, please…
White Castle onboard as launch partner as Murphy USA starts roll-out of autonomous hot food platform
Murphy USA, a retailer of gasoline and convenience merchandise with more than 1,800 stores located primarily in the Southwest, Southeast, Midwest and Northeast United States, has announced an initial roll-out of an autonomous foodservice platform in select larger format stores, providing customers another way to access hot, branded food. The platform, developed by Automated Retail Technologies (ART), will launch featuring hamburger chain White Castle.
“We’re continually evaluating opportunities that create additional value for our customers while building on the strengths that have made Murphy USA successful,” says Scott Woodward, Murphy USA Senior Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer. “This relationship allows us to introduce a new convenience offering informed by customer insights, while maintaining the operational discipline and focus on everyday value. We’re encouraged by the opportunity to drive incremental inside sales, traffic and basket growth.”
“We’ve spent more than a century finding innovative ways to bring our Crave to customers wherever they are,” says Audra Mazzeo, White Castle Vice President of Retail Sales. “This partnership creates a unique opportunity to meet customers during their everyday routines and deliver the White Castle experience in a way that is convenient, fast, and incredibly tasty.”
Customers place orders through a touchscreen interface and receive hot food in approximately two minutes. Behind the scenes, ART’s technology automates preparation, heating, and delivery within a self-contained system. The technology is also designed as a modular, multi-brand platform capable of supporting nationally recognised brands, regional favorites and a variety of food categories over time.
Asda announces pilot across London stores of Auror crime reporting and intelligence technology
Asda is rolling out Auror, a crime reporting and intelligence platform. It says that a ten-week pilot in 30 London stores demonstrated the value of having a faster, more effective way to report incidents and identify repeat offenders in real-time.
According to the UK grocery retailer, the trial resulted in: more than £100,000 of products recovered and returned to shelves; 55% increase in crime prevention rates; 80% reduction in incident reporting time, from around 25 minutes to under five; improved identification of repeat and cross retailer offenders.
David Lepley, Chief Operating Officer at Asda, says: “Rolling out Auror across our estate will further strengthen our ability to prevent and tackle retail crime. The results from our London pilot demonstrated the value of having a faster and more effective way to report incidents and identify repeat offenders in real-time. By working more closely with police and retailers through a shared intelligence network, we can focus our efforts where they will have the greatest impact and help to tackle retail crime.”
Japanese fashion retailer UNIQLO lands at Canary Wharf retail and leisure destination in East London
Canary Wharf is getting a new addition to its fashion line-up with the arrival of UNIQLO.
Stuart Fyfe, Managing Director of Retail, Leisure and Hospitality at CWG, says: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome UNIQLO to Canary Wharf. This is a brand that has built a global following by making exceptional quality feel effortless and accessible. UNIQLO joins a host of innovative, forward thinking brands that are redefining what a world class retail and leisure destination can feel like, and we couldn’t be more excited for them to be part of the story.”
“The momentum we’re seeing across the Wharf this year has been remarkable. Footfall continues to grow, our visitors are spending more time here and the energy across the retail, dining and leisure offer is palpable. UNIQLO aligns with our ambition and amplifies that energy. It’s another clear indication that Canary Wharf is one of London’s most exciting and dynamic destinations.”
UNIQLO follows a number of recent deals including Jigsaw, premium footwear retailer Nokwol, Sushi Dog, Holy Greens making its UK debut, Vagabond, The Tallyman and Bronson Burger. Sea Lanes Canary Wharf - an open air floating swimming pool - opened in June, welcoming more than 30,000 swimmers within the first month of opening.
99% of the estate’s retail and leisure space is currently occupied.
Ocado launches first automated customer fulfilment centre with Lotte Shopping in South Korea
Ocado Group reports the launch of its first customer fulfilment centre (CFC) with Lotte Shopping in South Korea. Following a partnership deal inked in 2022, last year Lotte went live with the Ocado Smart Platform, fulfilling orders using Ocado's in-store fulfilment (ISF) software. And now the first automated CFC will serve a catchment covering four million households across Busan and the broader Yeongnam region.
It also introduces a number of innovations for the first time. These include the launch of Ocado's fully automated freezer (Auto-Freezer), bringing Ocado's proprietary 'hive and bot' automation into temperatures as low as -25° C. The site will also support dawn delivery, enabling freshly packed grocery orders to reach customers’ homes before 7am.
It is also expected to be the most environmentally efficient Ocado CFC in the world, supporting a 100% electric vehicle fleet for daytime deliveries and operating more energy efficient 3D printed bots, with multi-temperature totes to maximise storage density for delivery. The widespread installation of solar panels will reduce annual carbon emissions by over 1,000 tonnes, those involved claim.
Vinyl loving HMV sees double at Bluewater Shopping Centre as retailer preps new store opening
Entertainment retailer HMV is moving on up at Bluewater Shopping Centre in the UK with a new two-storey store. It is poised to take over a 7,000 sq ft unit after Gravity Arcade shut down last month. A spokesperson for Gravity Arcade said that the premises were always intended to be a “temporary pop-up location”, which “operated for a limited period”.
The expanded store (double the size of HMV’s previous Bluewater location) will open later this year and stock vinyl, CDs, films, and TV shows, as well as T-shirts from major franchises including Star Wars, KPop Demon Hunters, and Funko POP! It will also offer a wide selection of books, from fiction and graphic novels to music biographies, young adult titles, and manga.
Phil Halliday, Managing Director at HMV and Fopp, says: "Bluewater has always been a key destination for the business, and we're thrilled to be expanding our footprint within the centre. Whether you're hunting down rare vinyl, diving into Manga, or picking up the latest merch, the new shop will offer something for everyone. We can't wait to welcome in customers later this year."
James Waugh, Centre Director at Bluewater, says: "As one of Bluewater's original retailers, having been with us since we first opened in 1999, HMV has always been a firm favourite with our guests. "Seeing them commit to an even bigger space is not only great news for us, but highlights a wider confidence in bricks and mortar retail. We look forward to seeing the new, larger store open its doors later this year."
The hmv delivers service will also be available, allowing people to order items not available in-store and have them delivered to their homes.
HMV currently operates more than 125 stores across the UK and Europe.
AutoStore announces deal with Amazon to supply automation technology products and solutions
There has been a lot of chatter this year about AutoStore and Amazon, the result of a jobs posting by the latter seeking staff with experience of the former. And now we have an official announcement.
The pair have shaken hands on an agreement that establishes a framework for the supply of AutoStore’s products and solutions to Amazon on a global basis. Whilst the agreement defines the terms for further procurement of AutoStore systems by Amazon, it does not contain any purchasing commitments at this time, a press release notes.
While this will no doubt boost AutoStore's share price, it should be noted that Amazon has announced similar agreements in the past, for example with Balyo, which did not result in significant sales. Balyo was taken private in 2026 by SoftBank Group Corp. which also remains a significant shareholder in AutoStore (and various others).
Village Super Market tests out new Focal Systems computer vision powered inventory technology
Focal Systems, an AI powered retail technology company specialising in computer vision and shelf intelligence, has announced Top Stock, a module that gives retailers automatic, hourly visibility into inventory stored above the shelf line, without store associate audits, ladder climbs, or manual scanning.
During a one-month pilot, Village Supermarkets says it achieved:
$24,000 in previously unaccounted for inventory identified and recovered in the first month
75% reduction in weekly audit labour, from four hours to just one hour
Ten hours saved weekly on the night crew
36% reduction in top stock inventory
1% on-shelf availability improvement across test store, on top of an existing Focal driven baseline of 97%, where marginal gains at that level translate to hundreds of thousands in incremental annual sales
Increased day crew replenishment rates and planogram compliance
