Retail technology innovation of the week: Morrisons boosts checkout experience with Everseen platform
Retail Technology Innovation of the Week is a series brought to you by RTIH, highlighting stand out deployments, launches, and initiatives by retailers and tech suppliers. Every week, we showcase forward thinking tech plays that have impressed our Editor and the Retail Technology Innovations Report judging panel, building up to the publication of the 2026 report later this year.
And this week we’re focusing on Morrisons which has selected Everseen to deploy its Evercheck solution across 200 of the UK grocery retailer’s stores in an initial roll-out phase. The platform uses real-time computer vision to simplify the self-checkout process.
The move builds on a trial of the technology. On-screen prompts allow shoppers to correct any missed items themselves, with the aim of keeping queues moving. The software integrates with existing systems, freeing store teams to focus on customer service.
Francesca Bezoari, Store Support Office Director at Morrisons, says: “Our new partnership with Everseen enables us to provide the fast and seamless checkout experience our customers want, while simultaneously equipping our colleagues to maintain the exceptional service that Morrisons is known for.”
Joe White, CEO at Everseen, says: “Morrisons recognise that the best AI solutions deliver measurable results without compromising the customer experience. Our Vision AI platform enables Morrisons to improve its satisfaction scores, proving that operational performance and customer service aren't competing priorities. We're proud to bring our experience from deploying across thousands of global checkouts to support Morrisons transformation.”
And honourable mentions this week to...
Albertsons Companies
Albertsons Companies has announced a Safeway plugin in ChatGPT. The aim here is to help consumers discover products, evaluate options and complete their shopping journey in ChatGPT, while remaining in control of their purchasing decisions.
“We are on a mission to power our customers at every touchpoint with AI to deliver a seamless shopping experience that’s faster, easier and more enjoyable,” says Jill Pavlovich, SVP of Digital Customer Experience at Albertsons Cos. “Research tells us that consumers are increasingly interested in using AI to help with grocery shopping. By enabling our plugin in ChatGPT, we are making grocery shopping as simple as having a conversation by meeting our customers when and how they choose to shop. This is another practical way we are using AI to reduce friction and make everyday shopping easier.”
Using ChatGPT, shoppers can activate the Safeway plugin and ask for what they need in natural language, whether they are looking to reorder their favourites, find new products, discover items on sale or shop from a recipe, photo or digital list. People remain in control of their cart and purchasing decisions and can review or modify items before completing checkout. They will be redirected to the Safeway platform to checkout.
Aldi and Arla
Aldi and Arla are collaborating with Polytag on a pilot to track milk bottle packaging through the recycling process using UV tagging technology.
Building on their 2023 tie up, the companies are working to improve packaging traceability and better understand how milk bottle packaging moves through the recycling system through this next phase of the pilot. This project utilises Sun Chemical's specially developed ink on wrap-around labels to provide recycling data. UV tagged labels are being applied to Arla's milk bottle range at its Oakthorpe site. The labels, printed by Saica Flex, will enable real-time tracking of packaging.
Luke Emery, Plastics and Packaging Director, Aldi UK, says: "This next phase with Polytag represents an exciting step forward in how we use data to drive our sustainability strategy. By integrating this advanced traceability technology into our packaging, we can gain deeper insights into the lifecycle of our materials.”
Helena Delgado Nordmann, head of sustainability at Arla Foods UK, comments: "As Europe’s largest dairy cooperative, Arla is committed to understanding how our packaging performs beyond point of sale. By working with Polytag, we hope to gain valuable insight into how milk bottle packaging moves through the recycling system, helping us to make more informed decisions about future packaging developments and supporting our ongoing efforts to improve packaging circularity.”
Village Supermarkets
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.
