Retail’s Reality Check

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) will add 35 new 24/7 self-service markets in 2026, expanding its network to better serve military communities. Equipped with self-checkout kiosks, microwaves, and healthy food options, these markets aim to improve convenience and well-being for service members.

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Ace Hardware is partnering with Uber Eats to offer on-demand delivery from over 3,700 U.S. stores in all 50 states. Customers can order home and hardware products through the Uber Eats app. This follows Ace’s 2025 DoorDash partnership and expands its digital delivery options alongside rival Home Depot’s Uber Eats service.

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Ahold Delhaize USA has launched ADUSA Connect, a mobile app for associates that streamlines internal communication. The tool offers curated news, company links, resources, and a social wall for interaction. It supports Food Lion, Giant, Hannaford, and Stop & Shop associates, enhancing engagement and information access.

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Ahold Delhaize USA is expanding its partnership with Fiserv to add Pay by Bank to its omnichannel platform, enabling customers of The Giant Company, Giant Food, and Stop & Shop to pay for online grocery orders directly from bank accounts, streamlining checkout and improving digital payment flexibility.

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Amazon has expanded Alexa+ to let users order food conversationally from Uber Eats and Grubhub. The update replaces Alexa’s call-and-response model with a natural dialogue allowing users to browse, customize, and modify orders in real time. Grubhub and Amazon say this marks a step toward adaptive, task-specific AI interactions.

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Deliverect has partnered with Asda to enhance the UK retailer’s on-demand operations through its digital commerce infrastructure, supporting scalability and efficiency. It also expanded its AI-powered Smart Dispatch platform with Papa Johns, rolling out across 3,500 US restaurants to unify delivery channels and boost reliability.

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Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. will deploy Symbotic Inc.’s AI‑enabled warehouse automation system at its Gulf Coast Division Support Center in Pearl River, La., as part of a $110 million upgrade. The system will handle 19 million cases annually, improving accuracy, efficiency, and supply chain resilience for AWG’s cooperative network.

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Cargill won a 2026 BIG AI Award from the Business Intelligence Group for its leadership in using AI to transform food and agriculture. Its tools—Agriness, CattleView, Prosense Feed, Galleon, CMAX, CarVe, Ask Emma, and Taste Tinker—optimize farms, supply chains, and product innovation through real-time insights and generative AI.

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Carrefour has launched an AI-powered grocery shopping service integrated with ChatGPT, making it the first major European retailer to offer its full catalog within the platform. French users can plan meals, check product availability, and complete orders via Carrefour’s e-commerce site, leveraging personalized, conversational “agentic commerce.”

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Carrefour Israel, the franchisee of French retailer Carrefour S.A. Group, signed a $50 million, five-year deal with A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions to deploy 4,000 AI-powered smart carts across its stores. Starting Q3 2026, the rollout includes data, retail media, and digital services integration.

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Scotmid Co-op has deployed assisted/hybrid checkouts from 4POS across 90% of its Food stores and Semichem locations to reduce theft and improve customer experience. The modular PoS solutions enhance flexibility, speed, and loss prevention, while supporting retail media revenue and seamless staff-assisted transactions.

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Costco is piloting automated pay stations and employee pre-scan technology to cut checkout times to under 10 seconds. CFO Gary Millerchip said these tools, along with mobile wallet and pharmacy pay-ahead enhancements, improve productivity and member experience. Early tests show smoother traffic flow and positive customer feedback.

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Dollar Tree is modernizing its distribution network and replacing decades-old legacy systems with cloud-based platforms, predictive analytics, and mobile workflows to improve inventory visibility and supply chain efficiency. The retailer is also expanding capacity, rebuilding its Oklahoma facility, and opening a new 1.25M-square-foot Arizona distribution center this spring.

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Domino’s Pizza enhanced its tracker with AI-driven updates that show when orders enter the oven, when drivers leave the store, and live GPS tracking. Powered by its DomOS platform, the upgrade adds Live Activities for iPhone users and supports its 2024 “Hungry for More” strategy to boost digital convenience and sales growth.

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DoorDash is expanding its partnership with Alphabet’s Wing to launch drone delivery in metro Atlanta, starting near Tanger Outlets Locust Grove. Using Wing drones via the DoorDash app, customers can order meals from restaurants like Molinos Mexican Grill and Koji Japanese Steakhouse with delivery in about 20 minutes.

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O5 Group, which licenses Eddie Bauer’s North American ecommerce and wholesale operations, is using Deck Commerce as its order orchestration platform to manage Shopify, Amazon, and marketplace sales like Cymbio. The move aims to modernize DTC operations amid store closures, though analysts stress Eddie Bauer must still rebuild brand identity and customer relevance.

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Estée Lauder Cos. expanded its One ELC operating model by naming WPP its first global media partner. The partnership supports a transition to an AI-enabled, data-driven global media system using tools from Accenture, Microsoft, Google, Adobe, and Shopify to improve precision, scalability, and sustainable growth.

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NextNRG Inc. is launching EzShop, a new service integrating Gopuff’s technology and fulfillment network into its EzFill mobile fueling app. Shoppers can order groceries, beverages, and everyday items from Gopuff while refueling their vehicles. The partnership expands NextNRG’s retail offerings and deepens Gopuff’s distribution reach.

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TMX Transform helped Hasbro design and launch a 600,000-square-foot, right-sized omnichannel DC in Midway, Ga., consolidating multiple business segments into one site. The consultancy led the shift from Pooler, selected a new 3PL, and negotiated $2.8 million in tenant improvements with real estate advisor Cresa to enable an early operational go-live.

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Hormel Foods has optimized its supply chain using the AI-enabled Digital Brain platform from o9 Solutions, implemented with Accenture. Now active across 70+ sites, the system uses machine learning for touchless forecasting, automated truckload optimization, and integrated demand, supply and inventory planning to improve accuracy, visibility and efficiency.

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The Weather Channel Interactive and Home Depot launched an upgraded “Project of the Week” section on Weather.com, offering step-by-step DIY project guides, videos, and mobile shopping lists. The cross-platform initiative includes mobile access, weekly ads, and weather-based project planning tools to help consumers tackle home improvements efficiently.

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IKEA transformed customer service challenges into a €1 billion business by using chatbots. Automation didn't replace human employees, but instead allowed them to focus on more complex tasks. The specific chatbot tools used by IKEA were not mentioned in this summary.

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Skechers has partnered with Howie Mandel and Proto Hologram to install a permanent interactive 3D Mandel hologram at its Manhattan Beach, Calif. store. Customers can take selfies and access promotions through the display. Proto Hologram also powers activations for Row 94 bourbon and South Korean retailer Matin Kim.

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PassEntry launched Takk (Thank You), a digital loyalty programme for Hagar, Iceland’s largest retail group operating Bónus, Hagkaup, and Olis. Powered by PassEntry’s PassTap module and integrated with Hagar’s POS systems, Takk lets shoppers tap phones to instantly earn and redeem rewards via Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.

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Japfa Food Indonesia, part of Japfa Group, has implemented RELEX Solutions’ unified supply chain planning platform across nine plants to enhance forecasting, production, and inventory control. The rollout, expanding to six more plants by June 2026, aims to boost margins, reduce manual planning, and increase operational efficiency.

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Kroger expanded its partnership with Flashfood to over 100 Mid-Atlantic stores after a successful Virginia pilot that saved shoppers $700,000 and diverted 290,000 pounds of food from landfills. The Flashfood app offers discounted groceries while supporting Kroger’s Zero Hunger Zero Waste goals and new virtual nutrition classes.

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Brarista has partnered with US luxury lingerie brand Somewhere Never to launch its AI-powered chatbot that handles fit, style, and post-purchase queries across the retailer’s website. Somewhere Never also added a sidebar quiz combining Brarista’s two-minute bra fitting and breast shape assessments to enhance sizing accuracy and reduce returns.

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AllSaints has partnered with Impact Analytics to modernize its buying and merchandising operations using AI-native tools. The rollout includes CortexEye for intelligent business intelligence, pricing optimization, and merchandise planning, enabling faster weekly trading cycles and data-driven decision-making that replaces manual spreadsheet workflows.

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Loop Neighborhood Markets has deployed Tote’s Genie AI agent to assist store associates with customer service, PoS operations, maintenance, and payments. Genie, supporting voice and chat in multiple languages, achieved 100% first contact resolution and zero escalations, showcasing Tote’s modular, production-ready AI for retail operations.

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California-based Loop Neighborhood Markets is using Tote Genie, an agentic AI tool, to streamline associate workflows including customer service, POS, maintenance, and payments. Genie reduces training time, ensures compliance, and has achieved 100% first-contact resolution with zero escalations since deployment across Loop’s 50+ convenience stores.

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Meijer Media partnered with retail media tech firm Pentaleap to make relevance—not bid strength—the driving factor in sponsored product rankings. Using Pentaleap’s optimization layer, Meijer aims to improve engagement, data-driven decision-making, and agility within its retail media platform while fostering an open, modular ecosystem.

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New Orleans jeweler Mignon Faget deployed Zoku POS and Inventory Management across its gallery stores in New Orleans and Metairie. The Zoku platform integrates with NetSuite, streamlines repairs, inventory, and customer data, and enables unified store operations. Next, Mignon Faget will implement Zoku Loyalty to enhance customer engagement.

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Swedish furniture retailer Mio expanded its partnership with RELEX Solutions by implementing RELEX Diagnostics with AI-assisted diagnostics and machine learning forecasting. Supported by Elvenite, the tools enhance Mio’s supply chain visibility, automate root-cause analysis, and enable smarter, proactive planning to strengthen inventory optimization and operational decision-making.

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Mod Pizza is expanding its Par Technology stack with Ops Recovery and delivery management tools to automate 24/7 identification, disputing, and reconciliation of third‑party delivery losses across platforms like DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub, improving revenue recovery and operational visibility at its 450 North American locations.

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Taco John’s VP of Technology Tom Perella is optimizing the brand’s digital transformation with tools like Presto Voice AI for drive-thrus, Qu’s POS and kiosks, Flybuy for order timing, and Bikky for customer data insights. The focus for 2026 is refining deployments and expanding new-format pilot locations.

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Wagamama has joined Uber Eats UK in its first new delivery partnership in a decade, expanding national access to its Pan-Asian dishes. Separately, Uber Eats and Starship Technologies launched autonomous robot deliveries to 50,000 Sheffield households, paired with a UK-wide jingle contest celebrating the rollout.

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PAR Technology celebrates over a decade of partnership with MOD Pizza, which uses PAR POS, PAR OPS, PAR Pay, and PAR Punchh to unify operations. MOD, now with 5 million loyalty members, expands with PAR OPS Recovery and Delivery Operations tools to automate revenue recovery and streamline third‑party delivery management.

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Shake Shack launched Project Catalyst, a technology initiative to support expansion to 1,500 company-operated locations. Partnering with Qu for cloud-native PoS and kitchen systems, the project includes the brand’s first loyalty platform, enhanced AI for operations and guest engagement, and unified data platforms for real-time insights and decision-making.

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Snappy Technologies launched its Order Aggregation (OA) enterprise solution, developed with Southern Co-op and Heart of England Co-operative, to centralize order, menu, and inventory management across marketplaces like Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat. The tool delivers faster fulfillment, improved stock accuracy, and boosts GMV for retailers.

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UK running specialist SportShoes.com partnered with One iota to launch a native app built on a composable digital architecture. After rebuilding its core systems, the app now drives up to 20% of revenue, boosts customer engagement, and integrates with partners like England Athletics and Vitality for personalized member benefits.

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Castore has partnered with Ocula Technologies to use AI agents for optimizing product copy, metadata, and digital catalogue content. The sportswear brand also implemented Patchworks’ iPaaS across 35 Shopify stores, cutting pricing execution time from five hours to two minutes and reducing errors by over 90%.

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Target updated its terms and conditions ahead of a Google Gemini integration that will let the AI suggest products and complete purchases on users’ behalf—with shopper approval. The change clarifies that AI-initiated transactions count as customer-authorized. Target previously launched tools with ChatGPT and continues its AI-driven tech turnaround strategy.

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Uber is using Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) AI tools—including Graviton4 processors and Trainium/Trainium3 chips—to optimize its Trip Serving Zones for faster driver matching, route prediction, and personalized user experiences. The partnership aims to reduce latency, energy use, and costs while scaling Uber’s rideshare and delivery operations globally.

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Utah launched a 12-month pilot letting an AI system renew prescriptions without a doctor. Run by Legion Health, the $19/month program allows stable patients to refill low-risk psychiatric medications like Prozac and Zoloft. The initiative follows a Doctronic pilot that raised safety concerns over AI errors and hacking risks.

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Walmart has expanded its partnership with Synchrony to accept CareCredit for eligible digital health and wellness purchases on its website. CareCredit cardholders can now buy medical supplies, fitness gear, and sleep products online. This builds on Walmart’s broader financial collaboration through OnePay and Mastercard-backed credit programs.

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Walmart’s nationwide rollout of Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs) by 2026 has sparked backlash from the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union, which launched the Affordable Groceries and Good Jobs Campaign. Supported by the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act, UFCW warns ESLs enable “surveillance pricing” and threaten thousands of retail jobs.

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Amer Sports, parent of Salomon, Arc’teryx, and Wilson, plans $400 million in capital expenditures for 2026 to advance AI-driven IT modernization. Key projects include SAP S/4HANA migration via RISE with SAP, upgraded digital commerce and HR systems, and a partnership with Personal AI to embed generative tools across workflows.

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Wingstop is leveraging Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its proprietary AI-powered “MyWingstop” digital ordering platform to manage millions of transactions during high-demand events. The system predicts popular menu items, ensuring smooth operations during surges like the Super Bowl and March Madness, while enhancing reliability and scalability across locations.

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