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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
In September 2026, a UK-licensed bank launched what it described as the UK’s first in-store facial recognition checkout system, allowing customers to pay for goods with a glance rather than …
In September 2026, new research revealed that for the first time, a majority of American consumers have used artificial intelligence to assist with shopping. The finding marks a significant threshold …
In September 2026, a Chinese omnichannel retailer opened its first Store Digital Twin-enabled supermarket in Shenzhen, deploying more than 17,000 IoT devices across the trading floor. The project, developed in …
For decades, the verification of in-store marketing execution has been one of retail’s most stubborn operational blind spots. Consumer packaged goods brands and retailers invest billions annually in trade spend …
In September 2026, a global travel retail operator launched the first direct wallet-to-wallet stablecoin payment pilot at Zurich Airport, marking one of the first live deployments of blockchain-based settlement in …