Retail Reality Check

SoundHound AI expanded its partnership with Five Guys, whose franchisees will now have the option to deploy SoundHound’s voice AI ordering agents. The technology, already processing over a million customer interactions, helps handle 100% of incoming orders, boosts efficiency, and enhances Five Guys’ guest and staff experience across hundreds of locations.

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bp launched a pilot program using its Earnify loyalty app to deliver digital CPG coupons in convenience stores. Partnering with Inmar Intelligence and Axonet, bp enables shoppers to clip and redeem offers in-store. The Earnify-based program, powered by Inmar’s incentives platform, will see broader rollout later in Q1 2026.

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Allegiance Retail Services, parent company of Foodtown, is expanding its partnership with Instacart to deploy Storefront Pro e-commerce, AI-powered Caper Carts, and FoodStorm catering management across select stores. The rollout integrates AppCard’s loyalty platform and will add Instacart’s Carrot Ads electronic shelf labels later in 2026.

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eBay Inc. is updating its user agreement to ban unauthorized agentic AI tools and bots from accessing its platform, including AI shopping agents similar to Amazon’s “Buy for Me.” The retailer aims to ensure safety and reliability while exploring approved uses of agentic AI, such as its own shopping assistant and OpenAI’s Operator pilot.

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Cash use in Europe has dropped sharply—from 79% to 59% of in-store payments—as cafés shift toward cashless models for speed, security, and lower costs. SumUp’s POS tools help independents streamline operations and workflows, though critics warn that fully digital systems may exclude the 3% of UK adults still cash-dependent.

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In 2026, retailers are modernizing in-store media with AI-driven dynamic content and curious, cross-functional talent. AI links real-time inventory data with marketing to cut inefficiencies and boost relevance, while examples like Ace Hardware show how breaking silos between merchandising and media teams fuels innovation and more profitable shopper experiences.

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Dollar General expanded its myDG Delivery same-day service to more than 17,000 stores via the DG app and website, adding partnerships with DoorDash and Uber Eats. Customers get one free delivery through Feb. 28. The expansion supports DG’s broader digital and media strategy, integrating personalization through DG Media Network.

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Salesforce’s 2025 holiday analysis showed AI-powered tools drove $262 billion in global online sales from $1.3 trillion total, with AI-referred shoppers converting nine times higher than social users. Williams Sonoma’s AI “Olive” and Pandora’s agentic service exemplified how agentic AI boosted engagement, sales, and loyalty across ecommerce this season.

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Walmart is using AI-driven forecasting and simulation tools to anticipate demand and reroute essential supplies ahead of a major winter storm. The retailer’s system enables dynamic inventory staging and route optimization for “jump trailers,” ensuring timely delivery of storm-related goods like ice melt, water, and perishables.

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PVH Corp., parent of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, is partnering with OpenAI to co-develop custom enterprise AI tools using ChatGPT Enterprise and OpenAI APIs. The collaboration will enhance design, demand planning, inventory, consumer engagement, and workflows as part of PVH’s multi-year PVH+ growth strategy.

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Amazon Web Services (AWS) received a $581.3 million U.S. Air Force contract for the Cloud One Program, supporting its multi-cloud ecosystem through 2028. AWS will provide cloud and AI technologies, including Amazon Bedrock, AWS Claude, and Trainium chips, as part of its broader U.S. infrastructure investments.

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Matalan is piloting Toshiba’s VisualStore 6 (VS6) EPoS self-service solution in two UK stores. The project, supported by Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, Capgemini, and multiple partners, marks a key milestone in enhancing Matalan’s in-store experience through collaborative technology integration and upgraded retail checkout systems.

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Spinx partnered with LevelShift to overcome data silos and modernize operations by implementing Microsoft Fabric. The solution unified data from multiple systems into a single data lake, automating processes, enhancing real-time analytics, and improving visibility into promotions and operations, ultimately boosting decision-making, efficiency, and profitability.

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Amazon has launched its first Amazon Now quick-commerce site in London’s Southwark, offering 30-minute delivery of groceries and essentials. The service follows launches in India and the UAE. Amazon is also testing ultra-fast delivery in Seattle and Philadelphia and expanding its physical footprint with a 229,000-square-foot Chicago megastore.

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PetSmart is partnering with virtual pet health platform Vetster to offer in-store access to licensed veterinarians via Vetster’s secure medical platform. The service enables associates to connect with vets for diagnosing and treating common pet conditions. The partnership expands PetSmart’s digital care offerings alongside its pharmacy, insurance, and grooming services.

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Red Roof has expanded its partnership with Sojern, recently acquired by RateGain, adopting Sojern’s AI Concierge platform across its properties to automate guest interactions and improve operations. Building on Sojern’s Reputation Manager tool, this rollout boosted Red Roof’s guest satisfaction and operational metrics through data-driven, AI-powered engagement.

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Dollar General expanded same-day delivery access to rural areas via its myDG app and website, integrating services with DoorDash (18,000+ stores) and Uber Eats (17,000+). The retailer’s VP of Digital Commerce said MyDG Delivery enhances convenience and digital inclusion. DG also plans 460 new stores by fiscal year 2027.

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Finnish retailer K Group (Kesko) is expanding its partnership with RELEX Solutions, implementing RELEX’s AI-driven unified planning platform to optimize forecasting and replenishment across its grocery, non-food, and wholesale (Kespro) operations. The rollout spans 1,100 stores, 13 cash & carries, and multiple DCs to boost automation, visibility, and efficiency.

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Family-run Spar Alloa Road surpassed £60,000 in monthly rapid grocery delivery sales in December, generating £63,424 via the Snappy Shopper platform. The store reported £350,000 in 2025 delivery revenue, driven by strong promotions and user-friendly app technology. Operators Asiyah and Jawad Javed highlight community support and hospital deliveries as key local contributions.

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Aldi Ireland launched its new brand platform, It’s Not Complicated, with a bold OOH campaign across Dublin and Cork targeting rivals like Tesco. The campaign emphasizes Aldi’s core message of simplicity and value, highlighting its straightforward approach to affordable, quality food and uncluttered shopping experiences.

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Kingfisher Group’s Brico Dépôt has partnered with Just Eat Spain to offer 1,000 DIY products for rapid home delivery across Madrid, A Coruña, Seville, Jerez, and Pamplona. The collaboration uses Just Eat’s platform to expand Brico Dépôt’s reach and supports Just Eat’s diversification into new retail verticals.

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Walmart has launched its Immersive Commerce SDK for Unity developers, enabling integration of Walmart marketplace products or custom merchandise directly into games. Beta tested in Walmart Unlimited on Spatial and No Boundaries on Zepeto, this tool offers new in-game monetization models and seamless, contextual shopping experiences for millions of gamers.

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Pacsun partnered with BigCommerce’s parent company to launch an agentic AI-based checkout integrated with Perplexity AI, PayPal, Google Universal Commerce Protocol, Microsoft Copilot, and OpenAI. The solution offers real-time pricing, inventory, and instant checkout, continuing Pacsun’s digital innovation following its PS Community Hub, resale shop, and TikTok Shop livestreams.

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Home Depot launched Material List Builder AI, a tool within its Pro Xtra Project Planning platform that helps professional customers generate detailed, organized material lists using AI. The solution supports natural language, voice input, and templates, providing product recommendations with pricing and availability for streamlined project planning and ordering.

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WHSmith North America is expanding its WHS Media retail network by installing about 700 digital screens and audio channels across 350+ airport stores. Partnering with In-Store Marketplace (ISM) and Mood Media, the retailer enables programmatic, data-driven ad campaigns. Early participants include PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay and Bose.

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Aldi South Group is digitizing its Asian sourcing hub by deploying TradeBeyond’s CBX order and logistics platform to replace manual, spreadsheet-based workflows. The tool will centralize documentation, handle complex order specs, cut cross-border errors, and scale supply to more than 7,600 Aldi South and 2,600 U.S. stores.

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Debenhams Group, parent of Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing, and Karen Millen, is implementing Seel’s Worry-Free Purchase program across Europe, Australia, Canada, and the U.S. The agentic AI-powered tool streamlines post-purchase support with extended returns, delay protection, and real-time claim resolution, easing customer service workloads.

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Regional restaurant The Filling Station is automating grill operations at its New York and New Jersey locations using the Aniai Alpha Grill system. The technology cooks multiple items—burgers, chicken, steak, and more—in under two minutes with auto-cleaning, robotic offloading, and touchscreen recipe control, improving efficiency and consistency.

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Macy’s has chosen Pentaleap to power the next generation of its retail media network. Using Pentaleap’s ad technology, Macy’s will deliver more relevant online ads and enable brands to buy sponsored product placements across multiple ad tech platforms, supporting an open, customer-centric, and brand-friendly media ecosystem.

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GARVEE.COM hosted Nebraska Furniture Mart’s leadership at its Shenzhen headquarters to explore cross-border retail collaboration. Using Garvee’s predictive AI models, the two aim to enhance NFM’s merchandising, digital integration, and supply chain efficiency while aligning on a shared vision of affordable, honest, and tech-enabled retail growth.

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Balenciaga is partnering with Intelo.ai to use agentic AI agents that autonomously analyze data, identify market shifts, and adjust merchandising in real time. The system acts as “digital teammates,” enabling faster retail execution. PwC reports 88% of executives plan to boost AI budgets for such agentic automation, with brands like Guess and Frasers Group optimizing product data for AI-driven commerce.

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Kung Fu Tea has partnered with Tattle, an AI-driven customer experience and guest feedback platform, to measure omni-channel guest sentiment and elevate operational performance. Using Tattle’s proprietary AI tools, Kung Fu Tea will collect item-level insights, manage online reviews, and optimize recipes, service quality, and overall guest satisfaction.

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Steak ’n Shake integrated Bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network, cutting fees by nearly 50% and boosting same-store sales by 15%. Partnering with Fold Holdings, the chain created a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and promotions like the “Bitcoin Burger,” turning payments, POS systems, and digital incentives into strategic brand and treasury tools.

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Philip Morris International’s new white paper, “Human Cognition: The Next Frontier?”, argues that organizations must treat cognition as a scarce resource as AI transforms work. As part of its smoke-free shift, PMI—supported by AI and digital tools—emphasizes enhancing human strengths through continuous learning, reskilling, and cognitive resilience initiatives.

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Lowe’s is expanding its Marketplace platform, powered by Mirakl, using AI and search data to close assortment gaps and attract Gen Z shoppers via the Lowe’s Creator Network. Its Mylow AI assistant and app drive 2x conversion with visualization tools, while partnerships with Google, Firework, Microsoft, and OpenAI advance video, AI, and in-store integration.

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Siemens launched its Digital Twin Composer, an industrial metaverse tool integrating AI, simulation, and real-time data using NVIDIA Omniverse. PepsiCo piloted the technology across U.S. manufacturing and warehouse sites, achieving a 20% throughput boost, faster design cycles, and reduced capital costs through virtual supply chain simulation and validation.

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Breezm, a South Korean custom-fit eyewear specialist, has launched its U.S. nationwide iPhone app, Breezm: Eyewear Made for You. The app uses an AI Fit Finder and facial scan to design personalized, 3D-printed frames with customizable styles and lens options, shipped directly to customers with a 45-day satisfaction guarantee.

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Walmart is expanding its immersive commerce strategy with Walmart Realm and Walmart Live, showcased at NRF 2026. Partnering with Emperia, Walmart uses gaming-inspired digital worlds—tested on Roblox and Minecraft—to deepen engagement, drive online sales, and gather shopper insights to enhance merchandising and digital brand perception.

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HonorBuilt is managing Black Bear Diner’s nationwide rollout of the QSR Automations (by Crunchtime) ConnectSmart Kitchen system across 120 locations. Using its Atlanta and Phoenix logistics centers, HonorBuilt stages, configures, and tests hardware before shipping, ensuring on-time, disruption-free installations and protecting franchise revenue during major tech upgrades.

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ASUG’s Isaac Feldberg explores how SAP’s clean-core ERP strategy, powered by SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), boosts agility and innovation. McDonald’s uses SAP BTP, SuccessFactors, Integration Suite, and Advanced Event Mesh to unify global HR. Another global firm leverages BTP and S/4HANA Cloud to streamline finance and scale AI-driven automation.

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Honeywell launched its AI-powered Smart Shopping Platform, developed with Google Cloud and 66degrees, to enhance in-store personalization and navigation. Using Google’s Gemini and Vertex AI on Honeywell Mobility Edge devices, the platform offers product recommendations, real-time updates, and guided shopping for consumers and store associates.

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Executives from Home Depot, URBN, and Wayfair told NRF attendees they’re ensuring their brands remain the “merchant of record” as agentic AI platforms like Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft Copilot enable direct transactions. Each retailer emphasized maintaining brand control, customer service, and returns management across AI-driven shopping journeys.

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Walmart expanded deployment of KeyMe Locksmiths’ self-service key duplication kiosks to 1,667 more stores in 2025, reaching 3,330 locations by the end of 2026. Using computer vision, robotics, and machine learning, the kiosks accurately replicate even worn keys. KeyMe also partners with retailers like 7-Eleven, Kroger, and Staples.

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DoorDash and Hibbett have partnered to offer on-demand delivery of footwear, apparel, and accessories nationwide. Using DoorDash’s delivery network, Hibbett customers can now receive items faster and more conveniently, reflecting both companies’ focus on enhancing local retail access and improving overall shopping efficiency and experience.

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StrongPoint has secured a roughly MNOK 100 contract to design and install an unnamed global e-commerce retailer’s first UK AutoStore automated fulfilment centre, deploying AutoStore automation technology. The project, led by CEO Jacob Tveraabak and UK & Ireland SVP/MD Alex Eveleigh, underscores StrongPoint’s shift from shopfitting to large-scale automation solutions.

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Iceland Retail Media, operating through Iceland and The Food Warehouse, has partnered with STRATACACHE to deploy digital signage, CMS, and Walkbase analytic sensor technology across 766 stores. This camera‑free, privacy‑compliant system enables real‑time ad impression verification and audience attribution, strengthening data‑driven retail media performance and brand transparency.

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Swiftly partnered with ExtraMile Convenience Stores to integrate its supplier-funded Alcohol Cashback programme into the ExtraMile, Chevron, and Texaco mobile apps. Covering beer, wine, and spirits, the tool enables rewards members at 1,100+ U.S. stores to activate offers, earn digital cash back, and strengthen loyalty through seamless app engagement.

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Tesco will pilot Auror’s crime reporting platform across 40 stores in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire for ten weeks to reduce retail crime and enhance police collaboration. The trial, supported by Tesco’s Security Hub in Daventry, uses non-live facial recognition and is part of investments through the W23 Global venture fund.

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Rokt, an e-commerce technology company using AI and machine learning for personalized transactions, has partnered with Cineplex. Cineplex integrated Rokt’s AI-powered platform into its digital checkout flow to deliver real-time, relevant offers and messages, enhancing customer engagement and unlocking new revenue opportunities.

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Southern Co-op and Deliveroo have launched a prize draw offering one customer a year’s worth of free grocery deliveries. Shoppers can enter by using code WINCOOP15 for 15% off orders via Deliveroo between January 19 and February 19. The promotion celebrates their new on-demand grocery partnership.

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Family-run Filipino retailer Cebu Oversea Hardware Co., parent of Cebu Home and Builders Centre and other brands, has chosen RELEX Solutions to optimize its end-to-end supply chain. Supported by local partner genieX, the rollout includes channel forecasting, omnichannel inventory management, and improved component planning to drive sustainable growth and efficiency.

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Canadian outdoor brand Roots is outsourcing distribution to 3PL provider Metro Supply Chain in a 10‑year deal. Roots will shift from its own DC to Metro’s Ontario facility, leveraging Metro’s data-driven, technology-enabled warehousing, transportation, fulfillment and automation to enhance omnichannel speed, scalability and global growth.

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Goddiva is launching an AI virtual try-on for VIP customers, letting users upload images to see how clothing from its collections fits their own body via detailed AI simulation. Built in-house using Google Gemini and proprietary tech, it enhances fit accuracy, reduces returns, and supports Goddiva’s sustainability goals.

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Fanatics will deploy Rokt’s AI-powered e-commerce tools, including Rokt Thanks and Pay+, to surface highly relevant, exclusive content and offers to sports fans before and after checkout across Fanatics.com and its team and league sites, aiming to enhance fan experience and unlock new revenue opportunities.

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At NRF 2026, retail and CPG leaders showcased how AI is speeding innovation and driving personalization. PepsiCo is using AI to fast-track product development; Ralph Lauren partnered with Microsoft on its “Ask Ralph” AI stylist; Lowe’s leveraged Mirakl and AI for its e-commerce Marketplace; and Crocs thrived on TikTok Shop engagement.

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Oakberry, the global acai and smoothie chain, is deploying the Qu unified commerce platform in its expanding U.S. stores. The rollout includes Qu’s POS, Flex kiosks, Kitchen Display System, and AI-driven Business Edge technology for real-time insights, 99.99% uptime, faster orders, improved accuracy, and integrated digital, loyalty, and labor systems.

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Looma expanded its in-store retail media platform at BJ’s Wholesale Club, adding interactive in-aisle screens to complement digital end caps. Using its remote content and performance tools, Looma delivers personalized beverage recommendations and brand storytelling, enhancing shopper engagement through its creator network, Relay™, at the point of decision.

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French luxury retailer Printemps New York is thriving in its second year using Jesta I.S.’s Vision Suite, including Merchandising ERP, Mobile Store Inventory Management, and Analytics tools. Supported by consultancy Sophelle, the technology unifies data, optimizes inventory, and enhances decision-making for the retailer’s U.S. expansion at One Wall Street.

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Datavault AI is partnering with New York retailer Riflessi to deploy DVHOLO holographic and ADIO spatial audio technologies, creating digital twins of luxury fashion lines from Brunello Cucinelli, Gucci, Tom Ford, Kiton, and Tommy Hilfiger. Integrated with NYIAX’s advertising platform, the initiative enables immersive, data-monetized retail media experiences.

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