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JD Sports has signed a multi-year global Software-as-a-Service agreement with RFID specialist Checkpoint. The British sportswear retailer will initially use cloud-based RFID inventory management software ItemOptix at all its European stores, and later worldwide. With the move, JD Sports aims to increase product availability and make more accurate, data-driven decisions.

Drugstore operator dm is planning an additional small item distribution centre at its logistics site in Wustermark near Berlin, which will use robotics from Austrian specialist TGW Logistics for picking. With the Pickcenter Rovoflex, TGW offers a new type of automatic picking system with six-axis robots that continuously improves its own work through AI.

With the rebranding to Vusion (without “Group”), the specialist for the digitalisation of physical retail outlets wants to herald a new era: instead of just implementing the Connected Store as before, Vusion now wants to enable retailers to create the AI-native Store.

Both Walmart and Carrefour announced this week that they are joining Google's new standard for agentic commerce, the Universal Commerce Protocol (UPC). The technology allows consumers to purchase products directly on Google's Gemini AI platform, for example, without having to switch to the retailer's website. At the NRF conference, which took place in New York City this week, Google Cloud…

At the end of last year, Ocado Group has rolled off its mutual exclusivity agreements with retail companies. This applies to most countries where the group has currently implemented its fulfilment technologies, including the USA. The move allows the company to once again offer its automation solutions in many of the world's largest food markets.

Following the successful introduction of GK OmniPOS in its vast store network in South Africa in record time in 2024, the Shoprite Group succeeded in seamlessly migrating its international store network to its new POS software in 2025. In just eight months, Africa's largest retail company was able to implement the solution from Fujitsu-owned specialist GK in five additional countries:…

Rewe Group's discount retailer Penny is testing a hybrid self-checkout solution from Itab in a newly opened store in Offenbach an der Queich. The Vision Hybrid system, developed by Swedish shopfitting and retail technology specialist, enables the retailer to use the same space as either a manned checkout or a self-checkout area.

Relex has acquired Ida, the French platform provider specialising in store ordering optimisation for loose products such as fruit, vegetables, bakery, meat, seafood and prepared foods. French retail groups such as Auchan, Coopérative U, Naturalia, Biocoop and the Carrefour-Franchise Provencia are using the platform Ida. The Retail Optimiser reported on its use at Coopérative U. The acquisition complements Relex’ order…

Norwegian retail company Coop Norge is expanding its fully automated picking system in its logistics centre with Witron during ongoing operations. The 84,000-square-meter facility near Oslo's Gardermoen Airport is to be expanded with twelve additional Case Order Machines (COM) from Witron.

Waitrose wants to streamline cash handling at its supermarkets using systems from specialist Glory. The British retailer will install a total of 285 CI-100X cash recyclers in the back offices of its larger stores. The rollout has already begun.