Boots UK lands on TikTok Shop as Kingfisher taps AI: the top retail technology plays from September
RTIH brings you its stand out technology deployments from September, including Lincolnshire Co-op, The Barcode Warehouse, H&M, Voyado, HyperFinity, JD Sports, Asda, Vusion, VoCoVo, The Range, Primark, Tapestry, Morrisons, Instaleap, Waitrose, Trust Retail, Rainbow, Hanshow, Skechers, KNAPP, The Entertainer, THG Commerce, and Iceland Foods.
Lincolnshire Co-op
The Barcode Warehouse is working with Lincolnshire Co-op on the roll-out of a new self-checkout solution. Lincolnshire Co-op, which operates more than 220 outlets across Lincolnshire and neighbouring counties, including food stores, pharmacies, post offices and travel branches, is expanding self-service checkout options across its food store estate as part of its investment in enhancing customer experience.
Andy Warman, Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer at Lincolnshire Co-op, says: “The introduction of self-checkouts across our food stores represents an important step in enhancing the shopping experience for our customers. Working with The Barcode Warehouse, we have delivered a solution that provides greater convenience, reduces queuing times, and gives customers more choice in how they shop. This investment reflects our ongoing commitment to continuing to deliver high standards of customer service and embracing innovation technology that adds value for our communities.”
The Barcode Warehouse has supplied and supported the retailer's in-store technology estate for more than three years. Today, it supplies Point of Sale equipment, handheld devices for stock management and pricing updates, reduced to clear printing solutions and managed services support across the business.
Iceland Foods
Iceland Foods has partnered with Retail Insight to deploy its AI powered WasteInsight solution as part of the retailer's focus on reducing food waste.
General Manager of EMEA and APAC at Retail Insight, Martin Rigby, says: "Retailers have access to more operational data than ever before, but data only creates value when it enables better decisions. The opportunity is to move from reporting what has already happened to identifying where action is needed before waste occurs.”
"We are delighted to be working with Iceland to support its continued focus on reducing food waste. By combining AI with operational insight, WasteInsight helps surface the products and actions that matter most, enabling colleagues to intervene earlier and with greater confidence."
Iceland Foods’ Stores Director, Steve Shirley, says: "Reducing food waste remains an important priority for Iceland. We are continually looking at ways to improve how we use operational data to support our colleagues in making faster, better informed decisions in stores.”
"Working with Retail Insight will help us explore how AI driven operational intelligence can support our waste reduction objectives while improving consistency across our store operations."
H&M
H&M has overhauled its onsite search across more than 60 markets, working with Voyado. The retailer says that the move away from keyword matching to an intent driven model has reduced soft exits (where shoppers drift off because of friction rather than choice) by 80% and cut customer exits from search by 30%.
Rather than matching search terms to product names, the new setup reads a range of signals at once: stock availability, add to bag actions, purchase behaviour, product newness, revenue performance and customer intent and updates rankings in real-time.
“As our business grew, we needed a more intelligent approach to search, ranking, and discovery. We found Voyado to be the best fit for us.” says Lars Gezelius, Acting Global Head of Digital at H&M.
Erica Sandelin Ekelund, CEO at Voyado, says: "Search is a clear signal of what customers actually want. When a customer searches, they’re not browsing - they’re telling you. And many retailers are throwing that signal away. H&M recognised the value and used it to rebuild their customer experience from the ground up, and the numbers confirm they were right. The most successful retailers won’t be those with the most extensive catalogues. They’ll be the ones who understand their customers and what they actually came for.”
Tesco
Tesco is introducing new virtual try-on technology for the first time, as part of a trial at its Sandhurst Extra store. Powered by AIUTA tech, the experience lets customers virtually try on around 1,500 items of F&F clothing across womenswear and menswear by taking a photo or uploading a photo of themselves onto a digital try-on screen in the clothing department, or selecting a digital model to view clothes in different sizes.
The trial is designed to understand how Tesco can help customers browsing in-store to discover new styles and feel more confident before they buy.
The virtual try-on screen forms part of a wider F&F refresh at Sandhurst Extra, which includes new changing rooms and a dedicated service hub for easier checking out and returns. Customers will also see a larger F&F range in-store and a refreshed look and feel with new signage, updated lighting and a focus on showcasing the F&F range across womenswear, menswear and childrenswear.
Boots UK
Boots UK is kicking off a TikTok Shop pilot, in partnership with THG Commerce, involving a curated selection of No7 skincare and beauty products. Further brands and products are set to launch over the coming months.
Paula Bobbett, Chief Digital and Data Officer at Boots, says: “Millions of people are already discovering beauty and skincare products through TikTok and the creators and communities that they trust. This launch gives us an exciting new way to be part of this dynamic experience and help more customers to discover new products and shop those they love in way that feels seamless and relevant to their lives.”
Daniel Callaghan, Business Development Manager at THG Ingenuity, says: “Boots' debut on TikTok Shop is a testament to the growth and development that the platform has seen over the last few years. This forms part of Boots’ wider ambition to create more connected customer experiences and bring beauty content, product discovery and purchase closer together. Through the platform, it aims to reach new audiences, while giving existing customers greater choice and flexibility in how and where they shop. Huge move, and well done to everyone involved.”
Asda
Asda and InPost have announced a new partnership that will see up to 700 of the latter’s parcel lockers installed across the former’s UK store estate. This will give Asda customers a new way to send, collect and return parcels while they shop, and is pitched as one of InPost’s most significant UK retail partnerships to date.
The lockers will be installed across a mix of Asda superstores, supermarkets and Express locations.
Joseph Sutton, Director - Express, Fuel & Wholesale, says: "Our unmatched mix of services is a key part of what sets Asda apart, and we know customers increasingly value the convenience of being able to tick off multiple tasks in a single trip. We're delighted to be partnering with InPost to bring parcel lockers to up to 700 locations nationwide.
This roll-out gives customers a fast and flexible way to collect and return parcels, seamlessly fitting around their weekly shop and making everyday life a little easier."
Paul Smith
Paul Smith has completed its roll-out of Sitoo’s cloud native unified commerce and PoS platform for fashion and lifestyle retailers across 31 stores in eight countries. In a LinkedIn post, Sitoo said: “A major milestone with an amazing customer!”
It added: “After months of close collaboration, it’s fantastic to see Sitoo now live across all Paul Smith stores and markets - and even more exciting to think about what comes next. A huge thank you to the brilliant teams at Paul Smith and Sitoo who made this milestone possible. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together and excited to continue working closely as our partnership grows. Here’s to the next chapter!”
Kingfisher Group
Kingfisher Group, which owns B&Q and Screwfix in the UK and Castorama and Brico Depot in France and other markets, is using AI enabled productivity tools, including Fabric, to accelerate content creation, enhance SEO and improve conversion.
The FTSE 100 home improvement retailer lifted the lid on its AI and other tech initiatives as it raised its profit target despite seeing a heatwave driven drop off in sales at B&Q. It now expects to make a pre-tax profit of between £595 million and £635 million, having previously guided between £565 million and £625 million. Last year, it posted a £560 million profit.
Other highlights from its full year profit guidance and HY26/27 results include: group e-commerce sales reached 22% penetration. Group app sales now account for 29% of e-commerce sales, with app customers spending approximately 14% more than non-app users.
AI driven personalisation increased +16% generating approximately £100 million of sales, showing, Kingfisher claims, the growing value of its data and digital capabilities. Click & Collect sales were up +9% and home delivery sales +15%, supported by store-based fulfilment network and marketplace growth.
Screwfix Sprint (20 min delivery) was up +50% reflecting the growing demand for rapid fulfilment, particularly in Kingfisher’s City stores. Marketplace GMV rose +42% to £372 million, representing 18% of e-commerce sales. There has been investment in platform enhancements including Buybox, which helps customers find the best offer from multiple vendors by balancing price, merchant performance and delivery speed.
B&Q, meanwhile, continued to stump up cash for search and navigation capabilities, supporting improvements in online traffic and conversion. Natural language search is planned for implementation at B&Q in H2. The next phase of digital commerce will also include agent enabled shopping experiences.
VILLOID
StrongPoint has signed a contract with VILLOID, a Norwegian online fashion platform for women. This will see it design and install its new Pio facility, created by AutoStore, a warehouse automation solution.
The contract value is approximately NOK 17 million, and the installation is expected to be completed by Q2 2027.
VILLOID is moving its fulfilment centre to a new location, and the new Pio system will be doubled in size as the retailer requires additional capacity to support future growth. When completed the system is expected to be the largest Pio installation in the world.
"Retailers like VILLOID are looking for partners that understand their fulfilment operations, not just automation. That aligns with StrongPoint's focus on customer intimacy, working closely with customers to understand their operations, improve operational outcomes, and act as a partner rather than simply a supplier. We look forward to supporting VILLOID on its expanding automation journey," says Jacob Tverabaak, StrongPoint CEO.
"We have had a very positive experience with AutoStore Pio over several years. World class logistics with same-day delivery has been a key driver of our strong and profitable growth, delivering on customers' expectations of exceptional fulfilment service. StrongPoint will be a valuable partner as we continue our expansion, and with the new, larger Pio system we look forward to the additional capacity as we scale toward our next milestones. The facility will be the largest AutoStore Pio facility in the world," says Jeanette Dyhre Kvisvik, CEO and Founder at VILLOID.
Tapestry
Tapestry is bringing Coach and Kate Spade into Google's AI shopping ecosystem, making products purchasable directly from Google Search, including AI Mode, and the Gemini app. Now, when shoppers discover a Coach or Kate Spade item while using Gemini or AI Mode, a "Buy" button appears inline. After selecting their product, customers can complete checkout in just a few taps using Google Pay. This eliminates the need for website redirects.
"Consumer behaviours are always evolving. At one time, discovery happened in a store window or a magazine. Then, it happened on social media. Now it's happening inside a conversation with AI," says Joanne Crevoiserat, Chief Executive Officer at Tapestry. "Our goal is for shoppers to find and engage with our brands at the moment when inspiration strikes, whether it be when a consumer passes by one of our stores, peruses our websites, or chats with AI.”
Tapestry has implemented the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open industry standard for agentic commerce backed by several tech and e-commerce companies.
"We built this layer to work with our existing operations today, but it's truly protocol agnostic, so we can quickly move into new AI environments as consumer behaviours evolve," says Yang Lu, Chief Information and Digital Officer at Tapestry. "That's possible because of the strategic investments we've made in technology capabilities and infrastructure as well as the strength of our data and consumer insights engine."
UCP powered checkout is now live in the US, with plans to expand across geographies in the future.
The Entertainer
UK toy retailer, The Entertainer, has appointed THG Commerce, part of THG Ingenuity, as its new digital commerce partner. The multi-year tie up will see THG Commerce design, build and power The Entertainer’s next-generation digital experience, with the aim of creating a more intuitive, inspiring and personalised journey for families, gift buyers and adult toy and collectible enthusiasts.
THG Commerce will deploy AI enabled shopping assistance, conversational discovery and intent led search capabilities to help customers explore thousands of products and find the right choice more intuitively. These capabilities draw on the wider THG Ingenuity collaboration with Google Cloud, which harnesses Vertex AI Commerce Search and Gemini.
Alongside smarter search and discovery, the new experience will bring together richer content, curated product journeys and personalised recommendations to inspire customers throughout the purchasing journey. THG Commerce will deliver a new web and mobile experience, together with an enhanced Click & Collect journey designed to create a more seamless connection between digital discovery and The Entertainer’s nationwide store network.
The new platform is expected to launch in spring 2027 and has been designed to provide a foundation for future opportunities across loyalty, retail media and social commerce as The Entertainer continues to develop its omnichannel customer proposition.
Guess
GXO Logistics and Exotec have deployed Exotec’s Skypod system at GXO's Venlo, Netherlands, facility, home to fashion brand Guess. The installation includes 127 Skypod robots, 60,000 rack locations, eight goods-to-person picking stations and 200 metres of conveyor network.
The system is also capable of processing up to 70,000 pieces per day, achieving throughput of up to 2,200 order lines per hour during peak periods.
With the deployment of the automated solution, GXO says it is enhancing fulfilment operations for Guess across EMEA and Asia by increasing throughput, improving productivity and supporting future growth.
Mark Donné, Operations Manager, GXO Venlo, says: "The impact has been evident from day one. Our automated solution with Exotec, tailored specifically for Guess, has helped take our operation to the next level, enabling faster processing, greater predictability and a smoother workflow across the site. As our business with Guess continues to grow, we have the scalability and flexibility needed to support future demand."
Wim Vermeir, Senior Sales Executive Benelux, Exotec, comments: "Fashion logistics doesn't tolerate approximation - high SKU counts, seasonal spikes, and EMEA wide distribution require precision engineering, not off-the-shelf automation. With GXO, we designed a system built specifically for those demands, and the throughput numbers speak for themselves. The result is a highly efficient operation that supports both current performance and future growth."
Waitrose
Waitrose has extended its partnership with Trust Retail, a Trust Payments business, for a further five years, taking the relationship through to November 2031 as the supermarket prepares to accelerate the roll-out of Trust Retail’s inventory management technology across its store estate.
The technology was first trialled in a Waitrose store in March 2026 and is now live across eight stores. A wider roll-out is scheduled to begin at the end of September, with approximately 125 stores expected to be live before Christmas and the remaining Waitrose estate scheduled to follow by March 2027.
Trust Retail’s inventory management technology gives Waitrose partners a real-time view of stock, replacing processes that previously relied on batch updates. Transactions are reflected immediately across connected inventory and accounting systems, providing a more accurate and up-to-date view of stock throughout the trading day.
Using handheld devices, store partners can access current inventory information to support day-to-day activities including replenishment, stock management and markdown decisions.
Skechers
Skechers has selected KNAPP as technology partner for what is pitched as one of Europe’s largest fashion and footwear automated logistics projects, with a footprint of around 230,000 m² (2,475,699 sq ft) and a planned capacity of more than 3.3 million storage locations.
Opening in stages that will be complete by mid-2030, the logistics centre in Liège, Belgium will start to supply the European market from a single location at the close of 2028 and will be designed to allow future growth. The facility will handle up to ten million pairs of shoes per month.
An existing European distribution centre (EDC) in Milmort in the province of Liège is reaching its capacity limits. “For more than 23 years, Skechers has placed its trust in Wallonia as a strategic base for its European operations - and this new phase is the next chapter of our growth,” says David Weinberg, COO at Skechers. “This massive, automated and sustainable building puts us at the forefront of distribution to Europe and makes us fit for the future.”
Primark
Primark has announced plans to launch a home delivery service in Britain, following the purchase of an automated fulfilment facility in Sheffield. A famous online laggard, the retailer launched a Click and Collect service in 2022, but owner Associated British Foods (ABF) now says there is "opportunity for profitable growth" through home deliveries.
The move, which was denied following media reports earlier this year, comes as Primark prepares to split from ABF. This is likely to complete in December 2027 and is expected to create two new FTSE 100 companies, with analysts predicting that Primark could be valued at as much as £9 billion, and the food part of the business £4 billion.
A spokesperson for the retailer said: “Our stores will always be at the heart of Primark. But a lot has changed in online retail in recent years, from how customers shop and their expectations for online delivery. Combined with the digital progress we’ve made, and particularly the success of Click & Collect, we’re confident the time is right to give customers in Great Britain even more choice in how they shop with us.”
Morrisons
Instaleap, a company providing software for e‑commerce fulfillment and last mile operations that was recently bought by Instacart, and Morrisons have announced a new partnership.
“We’re proud to partner with Morrisons, one of the UK’s most respected grocery retailers, as they continue to strengthen their omnichannel offering,” says Antonio Nunes, Head of Instaleap. "Consumers now increasingly expect ordering from their local supermarket to be as easy as ordering take-away. Meeting that demand at scale - efficiently, reliably - takes technology built specifically for grocery. That's exactly what we're giving Morrisons."
“We’re constantly looking for ways to make online grocery shopping easier and more convenient,” says Charlotte Exell, Group Online Director at Morrisons. “More of our customers are choosing to shop from us through one of our immediacy partners and they expect an efficient, dependable service every time. Working with Instaleap powers our online operations behind the scenes, helping us deliver fresh groceries directly to our customers’ doors quickly and reliably.”
Rainbow
Rainbow, a Chinese omnichannel retailer, has opened its upgraded Shahe sp@ce supermarket in Shenzhen. Developed in collaboration with Hanshow and Rainbow's technology subsidiary Lingzhi Digital Technology, the project marks its first Store Digital Twin
implementation, bringing together real-time store visibility, decision support and operational execution within a live retail environment.
Located in Shenzhen's Nanshan District, the Shahe sp@ce location has served the local community for nearly 17 years. In 2026, the wider Shahe Rainbow development was upgraded into an urban lifestyle destination that brings together retail, dining, services and entertainment. The move reflects Rainbow's broader ambition to expand the role of physical retail beyond transactions and create a more engaging destination for the surrounding community.
The newly opened sp@ce supermarket, built around Rainbow's "City • Garden • Food Hall" concept, features nine experiential areas designed around different food, lifestyle and community occasions. The store also incorporates Rainbow's intelligent fulfilment centre, supporting more efficient home delivery services and aiming to strengthen the connection between in-store shopping and its broader omnichannel retail model.
As its first Store Digital Twin enabled supermarket, the store brings together more than 17,000 IoT devices and AI capabilities to provide greater visibility into store conditions and support more timely operational decisions and actions.
Hanshow NexConnect Smart Cart, integrated with Lingzhi's proprietary AI shopping assistant, serves as a digital companion throughout the shopping journey, providing shoppers with access to product information, in-store navigation, promotional offers, and available checkout services.
At the shelf edge, Hanshow Nebular Ultra Electronic Shelf Labels support centimetre level product positioning, serving as a key component of the Store Digital Twin infrastructure. The tap to interact functionality extends the ESL from a price display medium into an interactive service touchpoint. Shoppers can access product details, traceability information, usage guidance and promotional content.
In shelf management scenarios, Hanshow combines electronic shelf labels, location intelligence, AI vision and robotics technologies to support out-of-shelf identification, merchandising management and shelf execution. Leveraging its proprietary Bailingniao retail AI model, Lingzhi Digital Technology contributes digital capabilities that support sales forecasting, replenishment strategies, task management and decision support.
The Range
VoCoVo has announced a partnership with home, leisure and garden retailer The Range, that will see Series 5 (S5) Pro Headsets and Call Points rolled out across all 283 of its stores. This follows a one-store trial over the course of a year.
The Range colleagues will get instant, hands free communication through the headsets, replacing disruptive loudspeaker calls and reducing the need for them to search the shop floor for one another. The technology will help deliver faster, more responsive customer service by reducing waiting times at tills, service desks and across the shop floor.
Colleagues can contact managers and team members immediately for price and stock checks, quickly coordinate requests and assign tasks in real-time, while two-way Call Points will allow customers to request assistance at the touch of a button and connect with available colleagues.
A Store Manager at The Range says: “The headsets have made a hugely positive impact in-store for both colleagues and customers. Customer service has noticeably improved as queries are answered faster, stock checks are smoother and warehouse to shop floor communication is instant. This has already streamlined Deliveroo and Click & Collect, and I can see the headsets becoming invaluable during patio season. They’ve become essential to daily operations."
“The very impressive results already achieved in our store have laid the groundwork for much bigger savings across the store network. I can’t wait to see colleagues benefitting from the same technology.”
Beth Worrall, CEO at VoCoVo, says: “The initial trial with The Range has shown how they can achieve significant time and cost savings while maintaining outstanding service levels and the optimum in-store experience at the same time. We’re looking forward to working alongside the team to implement the technology across all its stores.”
JD Sports
HyperFinity has partnered with JD Sports to design and deliver a personalisation programme that aims to equip the retailer with a clear evidence base for its loyalty strategy.
It has designed a personalisation engine and trialled this to build a framework for JD Sports UK. The solution was trialled to prove: The value of ‘buy again’ category offers to assess how active customers respond to identify the optimal spend multiplier incentives; The optimal incentive mix for high and low spenders for cash-based rewards versus spend multipliers; The ability to drive incremental basket spend through cross-sell offers aligned to previous purchase history, testing product affinity and which category follow-ons drive incremental spend.
According to those involved, the trials established that relevance consistently outperforms simply increasing incentive value, and that higher spenders respond better to spend multipliers, while lower spenders react similarly to both. Alongside this, they identified that campaign spacing must be tailored to individual behaviour to avoid offer fatigue.
The partnership delivered a significant material impact on topline performance, including an uplift in total in-store loyalty sales across JD Sports UK during the trial period. Based on the results, JD Sports has identified a multi-million pound opportunity to grow in-store loyalty sales within the first year of scaling the programme.
In addition to the analysis, HyperFinity delivered a suite of assets, including measurement dashboards, customer segmentations, campaign templates, and product seasonality and affinity insights, enabling JD Sports to continue building on the programme.
Asda
Asda has completed the roll-out of eSELs across its Asda Express petrol stations, Asda Express locations and Asda petrol station estate, with the deployment covering over 550 stores.
In a LinkedIn post, Anthony McCarron, Projects, Propostions & Comms Manager at Asda, said: "This is a massive achievement across so many internal and external stakeholders, so thank you - big shout to Daniel Pelissier for leading this project from start to finish on time and on budget."
"Our Vusion eSELs, installed by our delivery partner Renovotec, are delivering a real step change for customers and colleagues. Thank you to Elecomm, MADIC UK, and Evolve for the infrastructure support in achieving this huge milestone for our convenience stores."
