Retail Tech Weekly: From Autonomous Floor Cleaners to Driverless Freight

The landscape of retail technology shifted this week as major players accelerated automation, with Tesco deploying autonomous cleaning robots across 600 Express stores and Gatik launching a massive driverless freight operation for PepsiCo. These moves underscore a broader industry push to integrate robotics into daily logistics and store management.

Tesco is scaling its in-store automation by partnering with ICE to introduce autonomous cleaning robots across its convenience estate. These machines act as co-bots, handling routine floor maintenance to free up staff for customer-facing duties. This deployment follows a trend of retailers seeking data-driven efficiency, similar to B&R Stores in Nebraska, which recently adopted Simbe’s Tally robot for shelf-scanning to reduce manual audits.

Logistics and delivery are seeing parallel advancements. Gatik and PepsiCo have initiated what they describe as the largest commercial driverless freight deployment in the United States, with 40 autonomous trucks operating across Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas. Meanwhile, Starship Technologies is pivoting its strategy, moving away from US university campuses to focus exclusively on grocery and food retail in urban environments, redeploying over 1,200 robots to meet demand in these high-value sectors.

Physical retail is also evolving through new partnerships. Bodycare, preparing for a 2026 high street return after its previous administration, is working with PMC to build an AI-driven digital infrastructure. In the travel retail space, WHSmith is installing SOLUM’s electronic shelf labels at Heathrow Airport to improve operational speed. Elsewhere, Ikea UK is utilizing AI-powered waste tracking from Winnow to optimize kitchen processes, while DRESSX and Depop are experimenting with virtual try-on tech for the resale market, allowing shoppers to digitally style items from pre-loved collections.