Corporate
Found 518 articles
Macy's Hires Tiffany & Co. Veteran to Lead Omnichannel Strategy
After seventeen years at Tiffany & Co., Amanda Wells has moved to Macy's to serve as Principal of Customer Experience for Omnichannel. Her appointment arrives as the retail giant aggressively pursues a new strategy for its loyalty programs and store-based insights, marking a significant transition between two iconic American retail brands.
Manna Air Delivery founder defends shift as company exits Irish market
Bobby Healy, founder of drone delivery firm Manna, has pushed back against critics questioning the company’s commitment to Ireland after it announced a shift in operational focus. While the firm is pivoting its growth capital toward the US and UK, Healy maintains the move is a necessity of scale, not abandonment.
Tesco Embraces Digital Labels as Disney Expands Physical Footprint
Retail giants are making aggressive moves into digital infrastructure and physical concessions, signaling a shift in how legacy brands command store space and consumer attention. From Tesco’s massive electronic shelf label deployment to Disney’s new boutique outposts, the industry is betting on technology to modernize the shopping experience.
Agentic Commerce and High-Stakes Restructuring Define Retail Tech
At Shoptalk Europe 2026 in Barcelona, the retail industry signaled a decisive pivot toward agentic commerce, where AI-driven delegation replaces traditional search. This transformation coincides with a week of major corporate shifts, from Medallia’s massive recapitalization to strategic leadership changes at M&S and Stitch Fix.
Clarks taps Awin for US affiliate expansion
Footwear retailer Clarks is extending its existing UK affiliate marketing relationship with Awin to the United States. The move aims to leverage Awin’s AI-driven platform to capture new audiences and refine the brand’s publisher partnerships as it seeks to scale its international footprint in a crowded retail landscape.
Manna Air Delivery Secures Key UK Drone Regulatory Approval
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has granted Manna Air Delivery a SAIL III Operational Authorisation, marking a significant step for the drone logistics firm. Under the stringent Specific Operations Risk Assessment framework, the move validates the company’s safety protocols and technical maturity for advanced uncrewed aviation operations.
Retail Tech Weekly: AI Shifts, Financial Resets, and Market Expansion
The retail sector is undergoing a profound transformation as artificial intelligence redefines entrepreneurial barriers, parcel logistics hit historic scale, and major players navigate significant financial restructuring. From Alibaba’s solo-founder surge to Medallia’s multi-billion dollar pivot, the industry is pivoting toward an agentic future.
Stricter return policies may backfire on retailers, warns Locus
Retailers attempting to curb costs by imposing stricter return policies risk damaging their bottom line before a sale is even made. New research from logistics technology firm Locus indicates that instead of reducing return volumes, these measures are primarily driving customers to abandon carts or switch to more lenient competitors.
Shoezone Adds American Express to Payment Options Across UK Stores
Shoezone has integrated American Express as a payment method across its entire UK footprint, spanning both its online platform and physical retail locations. The move aims to broaden consumer choice while allowing cardholders to leverage Membership Rewards points on footwear purchases, marking a strategic shift in the retailer’s checkout flexibility.
Tamworth Co-op enters q-commerce market with Snappy Shopper partnership
Tamworth Co-operative Society is moving into rapid grocery delivery with the launch of Tamworth Delivered, a new service promising orders in as little as 30 minutes. By utilizing Snappy Shopper’s white-label technology, the retailer aims to bridge the gap between digital convenience and the traditional in-store shopping experience.
Dunnhumby Launches Retail Media Alliance with Major UK Brands
Tesco, B&Q, John Lewis, and Waitrose are spearheading a new retail media alliance aimed at dismantling the sector’s persistent fragmentation. Launched by data specialist dunnhumby, the initiative creates a unified pathway for brands and agencies to manage marketing campaigns across multiple retailers through a single, streamlined interface.
US and UK Shoppers Pivot Grocery Habits Amid Rising Inflation
Sixty-one percent of American and British consumers have fundamentally altered their grocery buying habits to combat surging prices, according to a survey by RELEX Solutions. As economic uncertainty deepens, shoppers are increasingly prioritizing fresh goods and household essentials while aggressively cutting back on non-essential categories like snacks and alcohol.
Pop Mart and LEGO expand retail footprint at Sheffield’s Meadowhall
Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre is expanding its retail portfolio with the regional debut of collectable toy specialist Pop Mart, alongside significant store investments from LEGO and Crew Clothing. The move underscores sustained leasing demand at the South Yorkshire hub as it refines its premium shopping experience.
Clasen Quality Chocolate digitizes cocoa supply chain with Beacon
Wisconsin-based manufacturer Clasen Quality Chocolate has integrated Beacon’s AI-driven platform to overhaul its cocoa logistics. By replacing manual data entry across disparate carrier portals with a centralized, automated workspace, the company aims to eliminate the information gaps that previously hindered its production, finance, and sourcing teams during long-haul ocean shipments.
Retailers Face Digital Fragility in Always-Connected Era
As retail operations shift toward total omnichannel integration, a single system outage can paralyze sales, erode consumer trust, and damage brand reputation. With digital dependency reaching new heights, business continuity planning has evolved from a back-office formality into a fundamental requirement for maintaining daily commerce.
Closing the Gap: IoT Tracking for Retail Site Infrastructure
Retail refurbishment projects frequently bleed time and capital due to the mismanagement of temporary site fencing and safety barriers. By shifting from manual oversight to automated IoT-enabled asset tracking, construction teams can mitigate inventory shrinkage, ensure regulatory compliance, and prevent the cascading delays that threaten store opening schedules.
InPost UK Reaches 15,000 Parcel Locker Milestone
InPost UK has expanded its automated locker network to 15,000 locations nationwide, placing parcel collection and return points across supermarkets, transport hubs, and residential zones. This rapid infrastructure growth aims to address systemic delivery failures by shifting the focus from checkout efficiency to the end-user's actual daily routine.
Medallia Secures Recapitalization Deal Led by Blackstone and Apollo
A syndicate of major financial firms including Blackstone, Apollo, and FS KKR Capital Corp has finalized a recapitalization agreement with Medallia. The deal aims to fortify the experience management firm’s balance sheet by reducing outstanding debt and injecting $150 million in fresh capital to fuel AI-driven product innovation.
Got Beef rolls out AI-generated 'Granny' for marketing campaign
Direct-to-consumer brand Got Beef has launched a new marketing campaign featuring an AI-generated spokesperson known as Granny. The character, created using Kling video technology, is now appearing across social media platforms and billboards to advocate for clean-label jerky and challenge retailers selling products filled with additives.
Retail Tech Funding: Ten Startups Securing Capital for AI Innovation
From AI-driven grocery logistics to agentic commerce systems, retail tech startups are drawing significant investor interest. Ten ventures have recently secured fresh funding, signaling a shift toward specialized, automation-heavy infrastructure designed to replace legacy systems that have failed to keep pace with modern supply chain and e-commerce demands.
ShipStation Global taps Amazon veteran Mark Honeyben to lead European growth
After sixteen years shaping retail operations at Amazon, Mark Honeyben is shifting focus to the logistics sector as the new SVP and Managing Director for Europe at ShipStation Global. Based in London, he will oversee the company's regional portfolio, which includes brands such as Metapack, ShipStation, and Packlink.
Ikea Adds Global Pronunciation Feature to Mobile App
Customers struggling with Ikea’s signature Swedish product names can now rely on a new audio feature within the company’s mobile app. Launched globally, the tool allows users to hear the correct pronunciation of items, simplifying a shopping experience that has long relied on complex, non-numerical nomenclature.
Alibaba data shows AI is fueling a surge in solo entrepreneurship
Seventy-one percent of applicants for Alibaba’s global CoCreate Pitch competition are now solo founders, a dramatic rise from 40% last year. The shift signals a fundamental change in business formation, as AI tools enable individuals to perform tasks that previously required entire teams of specialists across diverse industries.
East of England Co-op centralizes staff operations via YOOBIC
With nearly 3,000 employees spread across 220 locations, the East of England Co-op has launched a digital hub called The Link. Designed alongside technology provider YOOBIC, the platform aims to streamline internal communications, task management, and peer-to-peer recognition for a workforce previously fragmented by geography and disparate support functions.
Estée Lauder and Jo Malone Debut AI Scent Scanner on Pinterest
The Estée Lauder Companies has launched a new tool on Pinterest that translates a user’s saved visual pins into personalized fragrance recommendations. The Scent Scanner, currently rolling out in the US and France, analyzes board aesthetics, color palettes, and textures to curate custom Jo Malone London scent pairings for individual users.
Renfro Brands expands AI-driven supply chain oversight with Inspectorio
With one in every five pairs of socks sold in the United States passing through its network, Renfro Brands is scaling its reliance on artificial intelligence. The manufacturer has integrated Inspectorio’s advanced compliance and traceability tools to automate oversight across its complex global production operations in North America, Europe, and Asia.
The Body Shop Joins Uber Eats for On-Demand Delivery in the UK
British shoppers can now order products from The Body Shop directly through Uber Eats, marking a significant expansion of the delivery platform’s beauty category. The partnership aims to provide rapid access to skincare and wellness essentials, promising doorstep delivery within minutes for customers across the United Kingdom.
Gordon Ramsay leads Uber Eats’ first global World Cup ad campaign
Gordon Ramsay is trading his kitchen apron for a megaphone, starring as the face of Uber Eats’ first global advertising push. Launching ahead of the 2026 World Cup, the campaign enlists the volatile chef to aggressively discourage home cooking in favor of food delivery while matches are underway.
Asos and Deliveroo partner for rapid delivery of football apparel
London and Manchester residents can now secure limited-edition football shirts in under 25 minutes, thanks to a new collaboration between Asos and Deliveroo. The service allows shoppers to order up to two items from the retailer’s latest design drop directly through the delivery platform’s mobile application during the current tournament season.
THG Ingenuity debuts AI shopping assistant with Google Cloud
An eight-fold increase in conversion rates for Myprotein signals a shift in e-commerce, as THG Ingenuity rolls out a new AI shopping assistant built on Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. The tool aims to replace generic search functions with context-aware, brand-specific guidance for online consumers.