Gildas Aïtamer

Walmart is set to introduce AI-powered shopping features for its US customers through OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The integration is expected to allow shoppers to plan meals, restock household essentials, and explore products via conversational interactions.

British retailer Marks & Spencer earmarked 400 million Euros investment in its food supply chain, the largest in its history. At the centre of this multi-year programme is the development of a flagship automated distribution centre.

E.Leclerc, France’s largest grocery retailer, is set to introduce the mobile payment solution Wero across its Drive click-and-collect operations from the second quarter of 2026.

Coop Sweden’s largest automated distribution centre in Eskilstuna is now fully operational. Developed by German warehouse and logistics specialist SSI Schäfer, the site is designed to serve as the backbone of the grocery retailer’s supply chain transformation. Spanning 77,000 square metres, it is one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

British retailer Sainsbury’s has started a trial of biometric recognition technology in two stores, located in Sydenham, South London, and Bath, in the South West of England. The technology comes from Facewatch.

French retailer Monoprix has chosen Relex Solutions to transform the planning and replenishment processes across its textile, home, and leisure categories. Monoprix will plan and order its grocery assortment unchanged with Symphony AI’s Gold solution.

Carrefour is testing the integrated use of VusionGroup’s latest technologies in a hypermarket in Villabé, South of Paris, for planogram compliance, label verification, on-shelf availability, digital shelf labelling and precise product instore location.

Carrefour has selected the Strongpoint’s solution to enhance the efficiency of its in-store picking in Belgium. The order picking solution from Strongpoint emerged as the preferred choice due to its strong alignment with Carrefour’s operational needs. The manual picking system is specifically engineered for grocery retail and reportedly boasts an average manual picking rate of 240 items per hour.

Auchan has launched another Auchan Go in Hungary, its cashierless convenience store banner. The 18 square metres container-like retail unit is located in Budapest. It operates around the clock without dedicated on-site personnel.

Kiko Milano has adopted Dutch provider Adyen’s Unified Commerce payment platform across its physical and online stores. With this, the Italian cosmetics retailer aims to enhance the payment platform by streamlining transactions from various sources.