It's Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail tech space. Here's your briefing on the most important stories from the past few days, including Aldi UK, Tesco, Uber Eats, Waitrose, Trust Retail, Vista Technology Support, GXO, Exotec, Guess, Profound, and THG Commerce.

1. Aldi UK completes transition to SAP ERP system as final batch of retailer's Irish stores go live

Aldi UK reports completion of a SAP ERP system deployment across its store network. In a LinkedIn post, Nathan Loftus, National Supply Chain Director at Aldi UK, said: “And just like that.. The last 2.5 years working on transitioning Aldi UK across to the SAP ERP system is complete.” 

He added: “From our first PO raised back in February 2024, to our final batch of Irish stores going live this week, it’s been a huge effort and a massive congratulations to all involved across the business.”

Responding to the post, Aldi UK’s Karolina Blaszczyk commented: “A huge milestone, congratulations to everyone involved! Having experienced the transition from an operational perspective, it’s clear how much work has gone into adapting processes while continuing to keep stock moving and stores supported. A massive collective effort across the business!”

2. The clock is ticking: there are now just two weeks left to get your entries in for the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

The eighth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards is now up and running with the deadline for entries being Friday, 2nd October. That’s just two weeks away, so don’t delay, start working on your submissions today!

The awards, sponsored by 3D Cloud, Business France, and Retail Technology Show 2027, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world. Our latest winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC (Prince Consort Rooms) in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.

Click here for FAQs, categories, and information on our judging panel.

Sign up for an account and submit your entry or entries here.

3. Tesco and Uber Eats launch Doorbell Drops delivery servcie with discounts on offer for Clubcard members

Running through to 20th September, Tesco and Uber Eats are launching Doorbell Drops, an exclusive selection of hosting essentials available at half-price to Clubcard members.

Customers can visit the Doorbell Drops hub page for Tesco on the Uber Eats app to shop the likes of Tesco Finest All Butter Sultana Scones, alongside strawberry jam and clotted cream, Mcvities Chocolate Digestives, Président French Brie with Jacobs crackers and Tesco Green Olives with Slow Roasted Tomatoes. 

Merve Basci, Uber Eats UK General Manager, says: "Unannounced visits used to be a staple of British social and community life, but the fear of being unprepared and judged for stale biscuits is driving many to hide rather than host. Whether it’s dodging in-laws or frantically scouring the fridge for something edible to serve, our new partnership with Tesco can help people ditch the  ‘doorbell dread’, so that young people especially can relax and enter their hosting era with more confidence."

Suzanne Quinn, Tesco Customer Director, says: “We’re always looking for little helps that make life easier for customers, and expanding our rapid delivery service through our Uber Eats partnership is another way we’re helping the nation get what they need, when they need it. The Doorbell Deals range has been created for those moments when plans change or guests arrive at short notice, giving customers quick access to fresh food, drink, and hosting essentials, so they can conveniently pull together a delicious spread in minutes.”

The launch follows Tesco’s recent partnership with Uber Eats, with the aim of extending rapid grocery delivery, Clubcard Prices and Clubcard points to more customers across the UK. 

4. M&S partners with Too Good To Go surplus food mobile app across UK following trial in select stores

Over 350 M&S Food stores now offer Too Good To Go Surprise Bags made up of surplus bakery products, giving customers the chance to collect food at a reduced price at the end of the day directly from in-store bakeries.

Too Good To Go is an app for surplus food. The national launch follows a trial in a select number of locations across the UK and is the latest move in M&S Food’s work to reduce food waste and ensure good food doesn’t go to waste. The Surprise Bags will include the likes of pastries, cookies and bread baked in-store. Each will include three to four products to a minimum retail price of £10.20 for £3.80. Customers can order them through the aforementioned app and collect them Monday to Saturday, one hour before their local store closes.

The partnership sits alongside M&S’s wider Plan A programme to halve food waste by 2030 and to help edible surplus food find its way to a dinner plate. 

Lucinda Langton, Head of Sustainability at M&S Food, says: “Too Good To Go is a brilliant example of how we’re turning our commitment to reducing food waste into practical action. By giving customers access to surprise bags of surplus bakery products, we can help ensure more of our food is enjoyed. The response from our trial stores has been outstanding, and this partnership is another positive step towards our goal of halving food waste by 2030.”

5. Waitrose keeps the faith with Trust Retail through to 2031 as inventory tech roll-out expands

Waitrose has extended its partnership with Trust Retail, a Trust Payments business, for a further five years, taking the relationship through to November 2031 as the supermarket prepares to accelerate the roll-out of Trust Retail’s inventory management technology across its store estate.

The technology was first trialled in a Waitrose store in March 2026 and is now live across eight stores. A wider roll-out is scheduled to begin at the end of September, with approximately 125 stores expected to be live before Christmas and the remaining Waitrose estate scheduled to follow by March 2027.

Trust Retail’s inventory management technology gives Waitrose partners a real-time view of stock, replacing processes that previously relied on batch updates. Transactions are reflected immediately across connected inventory and accounting systems, providing a more accurate and up-to-date view of stock throughout the trading day. 

Using handheld devices, store partners can access current inventory information to support day-to-day activities including replenishment, stock management and markdown decisions. 

6. Redefining the omnichannel landscape: RTIH's latest Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List goes live

The latest edition of the RTIH Top 100 Retail Technology Influencers List is here! The list has seen a surge in popularity over the past few years, to the point that we’ve decided publishing it once a year is no longer enough. Here, then, is the second edition for 2026, with some names dropping out of the top 100 and some new names coming in (the latter are flagged as new entries for ease of reference).

Including the likes of retailers, brands, technologists, analysts, and consultants, the list celebrates individuals who are helping to redefine retail in a fast moving omnichannel age.

We use a variety of sources to select our top 100, including feedback from industry observers, research within our own networks, direct or third–party nominations via our website, and social media tools.

In addition to social presence, we also take into account award winners and judges, event speakers, books published, media appearances, and people building innovative companies, solutions etc in the retail space.

We hope you enjoy reading through the top 100 and, as always, if you would like to give feedback or believe that there are some glaring omissions, please feel free to get in touch.

Many thanks to 3D Cloud, which provides 3D product visualisation software trusted by top furniture and DIY retailers, for sponsoring the list.
You can download the top 100 in pdf format here.

7. GXO and Exotec announce automation partnership to boost fashion fulfilment for Guess in the Netherlands

GXO Logistics and Exotec have deployed Exotec’s Skypod system at GXO's Venlo, Netherlands, facility, home to fashion brand Guess. The installation includes 127 Skypod robots, 60,000 rack locations, eight goods-to-person picking stations and 200 metres of conveyor network. The system is also capable of processing up to 70,000 pieces per day, achieving throughput of up to 2,200 order lines per hour during peak periods.

With the deployment of the automated solution, GXO says it is enhancing fulfilment operations for Guess across EMEA and Asia by increasing throughput, improving productivity and supporting future growth.

Mark Donné, Operations Manager, GXO Venlo, says: "The impact has been evident from day one. Our automated solution with Exotec, tailored specifically for Guess, has helped take our operation to the next level, enabling faster processing, greater predictability and a smoother workflow across the site. As our business with Guess continues to grow, we have the scalability and flexibility needed to support future demand."

Wim Vermeir, Senior Sales Executive Benelux, Exotec, comments: "Fashion logistics doesn't tolerate approximation - high SKU counts, seasonal spikes, and EMEA wide distribution require precision engineering, not off-the-shelf automation. With GXO, we designed a system built specifically for those demands, and the throughput numbers speak for themselves. The result is a highly efficient operation that supports both current performance and future growth."

8. AI platform for marketing Profound follows The Estée Lauder Companies deal with $180 million Series D raise

Profound has raised a $180 million Series D at a $1.8 billion valuation, co-led by Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins, as it builds an AI platform for marketing. 

“Two years ago we bet that people would stop clicking blue links and ask AI for the answer. It happened. The agent is now the customer. It scans hundreds of thousands of sources to form an opinion of your brand, and it wants all content current and specific,” says James Cadwallader, CEO and Co-founder, Profound.

He adds: “Winning in AI search means being everywhere, all at once. It's an inhuman amount of work, and the only way to do it is with agents. That's why we built your AI Marketer, powered by Context Manager. Your AI Marketer is a marketing expert that proactively investigates your data, identifies opportunities, and then does the work while you stay in the loop. Context Manager is the system of record for your marketing context. It turns your meetings, threads, and brand data into one shared, permissioned understanding of your brand, plus a personal layer for how you work. This context is the antidote to slop, so as your brand evolves, so does your AI Marketer.”



“Today, more than 2,500 brands, including a third of the Fortune 100, do their marketing in Profound. Profound lives at the application layer, meaning your AI Marketer can harness the raw intelligence of Fable this week and Astra next week. And CMO's can audit, govern, and meter its work. I speak to CMOs every day and the expectation of what AI should do for marketing has changed completely. Yet frontier intelligence keeps going to code, finance and law. Engineers have Cognition. Lawyers have Harvey. Marketers… have been left in the lurch. Profound is expanding our applied AI research team to post-train models for marketing and build the first benchmark for real-world marketing tasks. More coming on that soon.”

9. The Entertainer partners with THG Commerce with focus on boosting its digital customer experience

UK toy retailer, The Entertainer, has appointed THG Commerce, part of THG Ingenuity, as its new digital commerce partner. The multi-year tie up will see THG Commerce design, build and power The Entertainer’s next-generation digital experience, with the aim of creating a more intuitive, inspiring and personalised journey for families, gift buyers and adult toy and collectible enthusiasts.

THG Commerce will deploy AI enabled shopping assistance, conversational discovery and intent led search capabilities to help customers explore thousands of products and find the right choice more intuitively. These capabilities draw on the wider THG Ingenuity collaboration with Google Cloud, which harnesses Vertex AI Commerce Search and Gemini. 

Alongside smarter search and discovery, the new experience will bring together richer content, curated product journeys and personalised recommendations to inspire customers throughout the purchasing journey. THG Commerce will deliver a new web and mobile experience, together with an enhanced Click & Collect journey designed to create a more seamless connection between digital discovery and The Entertainer’s nationwide store network.

The new platform is expected to launch in spring 2027 and has been designed to provide a foundation for future opportunities across loyalty, retail media and social commerce as The Entertainer continues to develop its omnichannel customer proposition.

10. TRG announces acquisition of 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards winner Vista Technology Support

TRG, a US-based portfolio company of Gemspring Capital and a managed services provider, has acquired Vista Technology Support, a retail technology field services and support specialist operating across the UK and Ireland. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The move expands TRG’s field services and help desk capabilities in Europe. Vista, which was among the winners at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, provides technology field services and support to businesses across the retail, hospitality, leisure, and healthcare sectors. Its capabilities span installation and deployment, preventative maintenance, responsive break-fix engineering, service desk support, and IT procurement. The firm employs more than 400 people, including field service engineers, service desk specialists, staging technicians, and project managers across the UK and Ireland.

“Vista is a market leader with a strong service model, deep technical expertise, and longstanding customer relationships,” says Sean Kennedy, Founder and CEO at TRG. “The acquisition expands our field services capabilities in Europe and strengthens our ability to procure, deploy, maintain, repair, and support enterprise endpoints wherever our customers operate.”