Retail’s Reality Check

Footwear and sportswear retailer Footasylum reports deployment of Zipline’s retail operations platform.

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The quick-serve chain is rolling out Spanish-language support for online ordering, its mobile app, in-store kiosks and drive-thru AI assistant, known as Bo-Linda, to better serve Spanish-speaking guests across its footprint.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill is doubling down on kitchen innovation—rolling out high-efficiency equipment and operational tech to enhance team performance, boost throughput, and support new service channels like catering.

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Dubai now has its first ever multilingual AI powered order taker at a KFC drive-thru, operated by Americana Restaurants.

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Affirm and New Look Vision Group, a leading North American optical retailer with over 475 stores in the US and Canada, today announced a new partnership in Canada, bringing Affirm’s honest, transparent pay-over-time options to customers shopping at New Look Eyewear, Greiche & Scaff, Vogue Optical, IRIS, and more.

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Sincere partnered with WhatsApp business solution provider Sanuker and retail solution expert Linkage to deliver a tightly integrated WhatsApp reactivation campaign. The goal was to re-engage dormant customers and drive footfall back to physical stores.

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A leading online delivery platform has added six new grocery chains from Ohio and California to its platform.

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Ocado Retail says that it has become the first UK grocer to scale packaging traceability through a partnership with Polytag, using UV invisible tag technologies with the aim of supporting a more transparent, data led recycling system.

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Shoe Palace, a subsidiary of global British athletic retailer JD Sports, is deploying the Centric product lifecycle management platform.

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Walmart executives predict that traditional search boxes will become obsolete as the retailer rolls out Sparky, an AI shopping agent designed to handle everything from routine grocery orders to complex purchase research.

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Walmart is accelerating its artificial intelligence adoption with a key hire and a new framework for AI made up of “super agents” designed to improve the shopping experience for customers and streamline operations.

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Onebeat, an AI driven inventory optimisation platform, and Zipline, a retail execution and communication specialist, have announced a strategic integration offering, the pair say, “a connected system that ensures smart inventory recommendations are understood and acted on by store teams, at speed and at scale”.

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Firehouse Subs Brasil, the brand's master franchisee in Brazil and parent company of the Burger King and Popeyes chains, announced the adoption of the 3S Checkout platform to structure its integrated digital operation since the opening of its first units in Brazil.

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PayPal is launching Pay with Crypto, powered by PayPal, a service enabling instant crypto to stablecoin or fiat conversions for U.S. retailers to accept payments globally across more than 100 cryptocurrencies and wallets such as Coinbase and MetaMask.

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London-based bakery business Bread Ahead has announced a new partnership with quick commerce app Zapp. For the first time, customers can now get a selection of Bread Ahead’s baked goods delivered in minutes, 24/7.

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Food Lion has deployed Flybuy, an AI-powered location engine, to power the grocer's Food Lion To Go, its curbside pickup program.

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Power tool manufacturer Chervon is upgrading its demand and replenishment capabilities through automation to improve efficiency and data accuracy.

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LiveRamp has announced an expanded partnership with Tesco. To provide more personalised and informative advertising campaigns to its customers, the UK grocery giant is utilising LiveRamp’s data collaboration platform across its grocery, home and clothing, mobile and the retail media divisions.

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Rural America, long served primarily by local stores and established retailers, is now the focus of a $1 trillion opportunity for two retail giants: Walmart and Amazon. With nearly 45 million Americans living in rural areas, this market represents a significant portion of the country’s consumer spending.

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Popular U.S-based convenience and fuel retailer to implement RELEX across all 1,100 stores

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Winter Gardens Blackpool, an entertainment complex in Lancashire, England, which includes a theatre, ballroom and conference facilities, has teamed up with Boxbar Tech to deploy four new self-serve bars, with go live taking place at the Betfred World Matchplay Darts tournament.

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CaratLane today announced a strategic partnership with MoEngage, a leading insights-led customer engagement platform. This collaboration will empower CaratLane to enhance its customer experience with scaled personalization and create a more unified journey across its digital platforms and expansive retail network.

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Vidrí, an El Salvador hardware retailer, has deployed Blue Yonder's replenishment capabilities to transform inventory planning and boost customer satisfaction.

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HomeBase USA has rolled out the Simbe Store Intelligence platform and autonomous shelf-scanning robot Tally to two store locations in Copperas Cove, Tex. and Laramie, Wyo. The Laramie store introduction marks the first Tally deployment in the state of Wyoming.

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Fusian Sushi has been quietly leveraging automation to drive growth over the past 15 years, a strategy that predates the widespread adoption of robotics in the restaurant industry.

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Superorder’s technology provides L&L with real-time visibility into guest sentiment, enabling the brand to identify trends, address concerns proactively, and drive continuous improvement across every location.

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Amazon is expanding in the AI-powered wearable devices space. The company is acquiring Bee, a wearables startup that makes a Fitbit-like bracelet that records and transcribes the conversations of the user and the people around them.

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Pacvue has announced a partnership with retail media platform Unlimitail that kicks off this summer in France with Carrefour, marking what is pitched as the first self-service tech integration of its kind with a top three European grocery retailer.

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Continuing its long-standing innovation journey and partnership with SAP, Merrifield is now transitioning its SAP ECC system to the cloud with SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, retail, fashion, and vertical business.

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Tesla has made its official foray into hospitality with the opening of its first full-scale diner concept in Hollywood, California. The new Tesla Diner is more than just a themed eatery. It represents a new kind of hybrid venue where fast-casual food, electric vehicle infrastructure, and experiential branding come together.

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With retail crime increasing nationally and concerns about colleague safety an industry wide challenge, VoCoVo has supported The Midcounties Co-operative to ensure its team remains supported and connected at all times.

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IKEA, the Swedish furniture retailer, is leveraging AI to help meet its sustainability goals, from reducing food waste in its restaurants to optimizing delivery routes and designing longer-lasting products.

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The future of fast casual dining is undeniably powered by artificial intelligence, and as the industry gears up for this year's Fast Casual Executive Summit, a closer look at AI's real-world impact feels especially timely.

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Lidl is launching an enhanced self-scanning feature, integrated directly into its Lidl Plus loyalty app, which the company states will "transform" the in-store shopping experience.

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The Auto Spa features cutting-edge wash tunnel technology, smart vacuum stations and license plate recognition.

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White Castle is rolling out its first-ever deployment of robotic delivery in collaboration with the Uber Eats on-demand delivery subsidiary of Uber and urban robot delivery platform Coco Robotics.

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bp is teaming with global commerce platform WEX to give fleet drivers in the United States access to fuel savings through the earnify fleet fuel card program.

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As part of its shift to a marketplace model, Debenhams Group, the online retailer behind brands including Debenhams, PrettyLittleThing, boohoo, boohooMAN and Karen Millen, is tapping search and discovery platform Pinterest to increase brand awarenesss through its suite of AI tools.

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Indian retailer Trent wanted to modernize their ERP system with SAP S/4HANA to streamline operations, improve scalability, and support business expansion. .

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Jigsaw is rolling out Sitoo's in-store unified commerce technology.

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Restaurant booking company OpenTable has introduced a new artificial intelligence (AI) assistant to make it easier for diners to get answers to common questions and help restaurants convert queries into bookings.

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The Wegmans Dewitt in Syracuse, New York now offers Instacart's smart carts to shoppers, the first stage of launching the smart carts at Wegmans store.

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EV charging network Be.EV has partnered with AAAZ Investments to install ultra-rapid charging bays at a site on Livesy Branch Road in Blackburn, which features a Tesco Express store (BB2 5AY).

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The brand has partnered with Goody, a tech-forward gifting platform, to expand the reach of its gifting marketplace on Edible.com.

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A growing number of rental car brands, like Sixt, are using AI scanners to assess damage and it's leading to problems, as multiple customers tell The Drive.

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Nestle has been using artificial intelligence to introduce new efficiencies within the invoice review process for e-auctions and for the deployment of global specifications catalogs.

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Pizza Hut Israel has partnered with AI marketing platform Pairzon for faster insights, sharper targeting and measurable business impact across dozens of locations.

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