
AI Agents Step Into the Store Manager’s Office
October 23, 2026
Every week, retail managers compile sales figures, build reports and decide what to move, reorder or drop. A Japanese technology group now wants software to carry much of that load. …

Pay Later Moves From the Shopping Basket to the Shop Counter
October 21, 2026
At 100,000 shop counters across the United States, a new choice now appears on the payment screen at the till. Shoppers can pay in full, pay within 30 days or …

Pavement Robots Move From Pilot Projects to Grocery Delivery
October 21, 2026
A small electric robot rolling along the pavement at walking pace, its lid locked until the customer opens it at the door, is about to become a familiar sight in …

Physical AI Brings 24/7 Robotic Shelf Replenishment to Retail
October 14, 2026
At a recent retail industry convention in Tokyo, a robotics company unveiled what it described as the world’s first Physical AI 24/7 service solution designed for open retail environments. The …

Ambient IoT Enables Real Time Retail Supply Chain Visibility at Scale
October 14, 2026
In October 2026, a major U.S. omnichannel retailer confirmed the full-scale rollout of ambient Internet of Things technology across its supply chain, deploying millions of battery-free sensors that continuously report …

Conversational AI Opens a New Retail Media Channel in Europe
October 14, 2026
In October 2026, a European commerce technology provider integrated sponsored product advertising into an AI-powered conversational shopping assistant, marking the first deployment of its kind in Europe. The integration places …

How Humanoid Robots Are Becoming Sales Assistants in Chinese Retail
October 7, 2026
In late September 2026, a pilot deployment of 100 humanoid robots as sales assistants across 100 offline kitchenware stores in China produced a measurable commercial result: average sales across the …

Light-Up Digital Shelf Labels for Shopper Navigation
October 7, 2026
For decades, the paper price tag has been a fixture of the grocery shopping experience: static, silent and offering no help to a shopper struggling to locate a specific item …

How AI Powered Planogram Automation Is Transforming Store Specific Planning
October 7, 2026
For decades, the planogram, the detailed diagram specifying exactly where each product should sit on a shelf has been one of retail’s most labour-intensive artefacts. A single complex layout can …

Global Retail Alliance Tour Concludes USA & Canada Innovation Study, Explores Grocery and Food-Service Trends
September 30, 2026
In September 2026, a Global Retail Alliance Tour across the United States and Canada concluded, taking participants from Chicago to Detroit and on to Toronto. Organised in partnership with a …
