Self service checkouts and QR codes go to the movies: last week's most read retail technology articles

Check out RTIH’s most clicked retail technology articles from last week, including Morrisons, Instaleap, Instacart, Vusion, Hanshow, OpenAI, Mastercard, Vue, Hotel Chocolat, Deliveroo, EPAM Systems, Tillo, Amilon, and the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards. Tillo acquires Amilon and looks to establish dominance in rewards, incentives and gift cards space Tillo, a rewards, incentives and gift card platform, has announced the acquisition of and a partnership with Amilon, a specialist in digital incentives, gift cards, and employee benefits in Italy. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Collectively, Tillo and Amilon expect to process over £3 billion worth of gift cards in 2026 and grow 30% year-over-year. “This is an incredibly exciting landmark moment for Tillo and for our industry. From our very first conversations with the Amilon team, it was clear we shared the same belief in where rewards, incentives and engagement are heading, and the role they play in creating genuine connections between brands, businesses, and consumers,” says Alex Preece, CEO and Co-Founder at Tillo. “Amilon has built an outstanding business over two decades, trusted by leading Italian and international enterprises and known for exceptional standards of service and expertise. Joining forces gives us the opportunity to combine our strengths and build an international digital value platform with the depth and reach to shape the future of this industry. Equally important, we've found a team whose culture and values strongly align with our own, and I'm proud to welcome them as partners into the Tillo Group.” The clock is ticking: there are now just three 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 five 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 . Mastercard unveils Payeux Tapestry in London and agentic AI research predicting £370 billion spend by 2030 One in ten consumers will routinely use artificial intelligence to shop and pay by 2030 , according to a report published by Mastercard that surveyed 26,000 people across Europe and canvassed the opinions of four futurologists. The report was unveiled in London this week and forecasts AI driven consumer spending will hit £370 billion a year globally by the end of the decade. Carried out in June and July this year in conjunction with Opinium who questioned 13,000 teens and 13,00 parents in pairs across 13 European nations from France and Germany to Italy, Spain, and the UK, the research showed 18% of teens already use an AI assistant, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, once a week to help them compare products before purchasing. This compares to 9% for the parental adults surveyed. A third of the surveyed teens said they would happily hand over control to a fully AI run shopping assistant that chooses and pays for products. Speaking at a press event to launch the research, Agnes Woolrich, SVP MasterCard UK, commented: " AI has transformational potential." "Businesses will have to think differently," she argued, in an exclusive chat with RTIH, who were in attendance at the event prior to the research’s wider general release on 8th September. Woolrich added: "Investments in retailers’ brand, loyalty programmes, and in machine readable digital estates will all be essential in the future, as agentic AI adoption advances." “I expect the technology to follow the classic adoption curve with early adopters right through to laggards evident. This goes for consumers and merchants," she said, while also unveiling a new artwork commissioned to accompany the report that apes the famous Bayreux Tapestry. Morrisons teams with Instacart owned Instaleap to boost online marketplace and in-store fulfilment Instaleap, a company providing software for e‐commerce fulfillment and last mile operations that was recently bought by Instacart , and Morrisons have announced a new partnership. The UK grocery retailer is using Instaleap’s technology to manage orders across its marketplace channels, including Uber Eats, Just Eat and Deliveroo, and help store colleagues fulfil those orders faster and more accurately. “We’re proud to partner with Morrisons, one of the UK’s most respected grocery retailers, as they continue to strengthen their omnichannel offering,” says Antonio Nunes, Head of Instaleap. "Consumers now increasingly expect ordering from their local supermarket to be as easy as ordering take-away. Meeting that demand at scale - efficiently, reliably - takes technology built specifically for grocery. That's exactly what we're giving Morrisons." “We’re constantly looking for ways to make online grocery shopping easier and more convenient,” says Charlotte Exell, Group Online Director at Morrisons. “More of our customers are choosing to shop from us through one of our immediacy partners and they expect an efficient, dependable service every time. Working with Instaleap powers our online operations behind the scenes, helping us deliver fresh groceries directly to our customers’ doors quickly and reliably.” Everseen, Hanshow and OpenAI top first ever RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100 List In partnership with 3D Cloud , RTIH is pleased to launch its first ever Retail Technology Hot 100 List. We’re bringing you the hottest companies whose solutions and systems are helping drive the retail sector forward. Our Founder and Editor, Scott Thompson, drew up a list of 150 companies that had consistently been on his radar over the past 12 months whilst bringing our community the latest retail tech news and views that matter. These companies operate across the omnichannel retail landscape (stores, online, mobile, supply chain, payments etc). Our judging panel, including Vineta Bajaj, Group CFO, Holland & Barrett, Dan McGrath, JD Group Customer Operations, JD Sports, Dr. Astha Purohit, Director of Product Management, Customer Data and Identity, Walmart, and Paula Bobbett, Chief Data and Digital Officer, Boots, provided feedback on those who have the most innovative, forward thinking technology offerings and are also best addressing retailers' current challenges, painpoints, and opportunities. The judges used the following framework when making their picks: 1. Retailer problem fit - how meaningful, strategic, and widely felt the retailer pain being addressed is. 2. Production traction in retail (2025–2026) - real named retailer deployments, pilots. 3. Innovation and defensibility - genuine technical novelty paired with a defensible competitive position. And there was also a public vote, with thousands of members of our community of retail tech enthusiasts getting involved. Thanks to all those who took part! Based on the judging panel's feedback and the public vote, we then drew up our first ever RTIH Retail Technology Hot 100. So, without further ado, here are the 100 hottest global retail technology ventures right now. Drum roll, please... You can download the hot 100 in pdf format here . Enjoy! Cinema chain Vue unveils new look Finchley Road, LOndon venue including arrival of Vue Your Way Vue has unveiled its transformed Vue Finchley Road location in London as the company invests in enhancing the big screen experience for customers. The refurbished venue features Lux and Ultra Lux seating, Laser by Barco projection technology, an expanded hot food offering and the arrival of Vue Your Way, making Finchley Road the first London venue to introduce this concept. With Vue Your Way, people can download their tickets to their wallets to speed up the entrance process. They can scan their QR code at the ticket gates and head on through to build their own snack combos. They then pay at self-service checkouts, with staff members on hand if any issues occur, before heading into their screen to, hopefully, lose themselves in a good movie. A spokesperson for Vue said: “This latest investment reflects our ongoing commitment to delivering the very best in big screen entertainment, combining industry leading technology with more personalised and flexible experiences for our customers. Thank you to our colleagues, partners and local community for supporting us throughout the refurbishment. We look forward to welcoming guests to experience the next chapter of Vue Finchley Road.” Hotel Chocolat agrees exclusive tie up that brings retailer on to Deliveroo quick commerce platform Hotel Chocolat has announced an exclusive partnership with Deliveroo, launching initially with five of its locations - Manchester Cross Street, Chiswick, Staines, St James's and Wimbledon. Customers will be able to shop the Velvetiser, Hotel Chocolat's new boxed selections, its signature selectors, and Velvetised Creams. Carrie Martin, UK General Manager at Hotel Chocolat , says: “Thoughtful gifting has always been at the heart of what we do, and we're constantly looking at how we can make it easier for customers to mark the moments that matter.” “Partnering with Deliveroo gives customers a completely new way to access and send Hotel Chocolat gifts: combining the quality and originality they expect from us with greater choice and flexibility. It’s an exciting next step in how we’re growing the brand and meeting customers where they want to shop.” Suzy McClintock, VP Consumer at Deliveroo, says: “We are building a new destination for gifting at Deliveroo. Customers are no longer using our platform just to shop for themselves but to send something special to a loved one, whether for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, a birthday and more. As a true gifting specialist, Hotel Chocolat brings real brand authority and category expertise to our retail offer, and we are excited to help them reach more consumers who are on a mission to find a meaningful last minute gift.” Paul Stafford goes from client to colleague as he swaps The Very Group for new role at EPAM Systems Paul Stafford has joined Empathy Lab, an Al native agency launched by EPAM Systems, as Senior Director - Retail Media EMEA. He was previously at The Very Group and has also worked at Superdrug and PepsiCo. Stafford played an integral role in launching Superdrug’s retail media network Optimo, before joining The Very Group last year to lead its retail media proposition. In a LinkedIn post, he said: “My retail media journey continues...Last week I joined the Empathy Lab by EPAM team at EPAM Systems as Senior Director - Retail Media Consulting, looking after EMEA. I've gone from client to colleague with one of the sharpest minds in retail nedia, Diana Abebrese, and am looking forward to learning from her and the wider team (and hopefully teaching them a thing or two.” He added: “I couldn't be more excited to build strategies and solutions for our clients, from revenue generation and media planning through to agentic tooling and orchestration. In the short space of time I've been here I've genuinely been blown away by some of the projects already in flow for so many global retailers, agencies and brands.” No results found