Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com gets ready to rumble in the UK: presenting the retail technology week in numbers

Do you like numbers? Do you like retail systems news? Then this is the article for you. Including RTS 2025, Asda, Metapack, RELEX Solutions, Woolworths Group, Sainsbury’s, Wolt, Nedap, HEMA, Uber Direct, and DHL eCommerce UK.

£80 million...Rob Barnes has left grocery giant Asda where, for the past 15 months, he held the position of Chief Information Officer.

In a LinkedIn post, Barnes, who joined Asda from Marks and Spencer, said: “Thanks for your messages this week folks! As some of you have seen, I've taken the decision to leave Asda. It's been an incredible 15 months, where we've landed so much technology change as a business across our stores; online; supply chain: and home office.”

He added: “We've also made a fundamental shift in our tech and data operating model to align us all more closely to our customers and colleagues, but I've been offered a great new opportunity that I'm really looking forward to starting later this year.  I look forward to sharing more details of my new role later in the year.”

Earlier this year, Asda was granted an extension to the timescale for an £80 million IT upgrade by its former owner Walmart, after it missed a crucial deadline target. This is required to fully separate Asda’s IT system from that of Walmart. Project Future, as it is known, had been set for completion by February.

£464 million...Data from Metapack estimates UK and European retailers lost £464 million in revenue due to lost parcels in the peak shopping season.

While only 0.06 percent of parcels sent in this period were officially declared as lost, this still totals approximately 3.72 million missing items between September and December, putting significant financial strain on retailers.

Metapack estimates the number of lost parcels could be as high as 0.7 percent due to a number of items declared ‘potentially lost’ due to an absence of tracking updates for more than five days.

As well as the financial loss, this situation also damages consumer trust in retailers and brand reputation. Missing delivery can make consumers less likely to shop with the same retailer again.

1,400...RELEX is to partner with Woolworths Group to implement its Replenishment solution in all distribution centres and 1,400 stores in Australia and New Zealand for the retailer.  

Stefano Scandelli, General Manager, Consumer Goods and Production Business Unit and Senior Vice President, Sales EMEA & APAC at RELEX, says: “We’re proud to partner with Woolworths Group in supporting and modernising their replenishment capabilities. Our platform can handle even the largest data sets overnight, streamlining operations and providing cross-company visibility into inventory and sales.” 

Woolworths Group Director of Group Replenishment Justin Henderson comments: “We identified an opportunity to modernise our existing replenishment platform to support maximising product availability for customers, optimising cost and forging stronger supplier collaboration.”

“By partnering with RELEX we expect to see improved visibility across the Group which will ensure that our team and partners can focus their time building greater consistency with their supply and demand plans across our businesses. This will ultimately help improve product availability for customers in store and online.”

740...Nedap is implementing its iD Cloud RFID platform across more than 740 HEMA stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. Customers will be able to see exactly how many of their favourite items are available in a store via the app or website. Staff will also be able to track inventory faster and more accurately.

All HEMA stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, and Austria will be live with the RFID solution by mid-2026.

"This partnership is special: two Dutch companies with a rich history, innovative spirit, and strong customer focus are joining forces," says Hilbert Dijkstra, General Manager iD Cloud at Nedap. "We are proud to support HEMA on their RFID journey and look forward to the results we will achieve together."

1...Wolt, a Finnish company known for its delivery platform for food and merchandise, has wrapped up its first ever sustainability hackathon.

Out of 70 ideas submitted by the firm's product and engineering teams, 12 made it to the Shark Tank round to pitch in front of a jury. From there, the five most promising ones were selected for the finals, where teams had 48 hours to build a working prototype.

In a LinkedIn post, Samuel Tervaskanto, VP Engineering at Wolt, said: "Hackathons are some of my absolute favourite things about this job. We’ve had a strong tradition of them at Wolt. They celebrate creativity, teamwork, and that special kind of energy that happens when people come together with a time limit and a big idea."

"After nine years at Wolt, watching us grow from a small startup into a global company, these moments still remind me of where we came from, and how much is possible when we think boldly and build fast. One of my favourite projects this time was Engineering Sustainability: making CO₂ emissions from our infrastructure visible to engineering teams. It’s already live in production, helping us cut both costs and our environmental impact. Smart, actionable, and exactly the kind of work that makes me proud.”

He concluded: "To everyone who joined, supported, and cheered from the sidelines: thank you for making it such a special event. And if your company is thinking of doing something similar - just do it. Highly recommended."

£200,000...PervasID, a specialist in fixed passive RFID technology, has secured a further £200,000 investment from Maven Cognition.

The funding will accelerate the global roll-out of its TrackMaster solution, with a particular focus on US markets.

Peter Oram, CEO at PervasID, which was founded in 2011, says: “The growth we’ve experienced in recent years is a testament to our market leading innovation. Our 2024 investment round, which secured over £3 million, is already taking the business to the next level as we continue with the global roll-out of TrackMaster. We’ll be using this latest investment to continue our growth plans and to maximise the opportunities in the UK and US where we are seeing fast paced adoption of TrackMaster.” 

Fifty two percent of UK consumers would pay a premium to receive goods within two hours of ordering, but only 22 percent of retailers are currently offering rapid delivery options, according to new research.

Uber Direct and Retail Economics surveyed 2,014 UK consumers and 200 retailers about delivery preferences, noting that on-demand offerings are now “well established” in UK shopping habits. Fifty two per cent of respondents said they would be willing to spend up to £10 to get goods delivered within two hours, when their basket was worth £100 or more.

The survey also found on-demand delivery is even more popular amongst Gen Z consumers (18-25 year olds), with 66 percent having used these services in the past 12 months, compared to just 40% of consumers overall.

“As demand in rapid retail grows, there’s a real opportunity for retailers to win over customers, boost sales and maintain their loyalty,” says Mia Yamaguchi, Retail Development Lead at Uber Direct UK & Ireland, which recently reported its billionth delivery in the country, less than ten years after its launch.

$157 billion...JD.com has entered into recruitment mode as it works on an entry in to the UK market.

This follows an initial excursion under the Joybuy brand, with a soft launch beginning in the second half of 2024, and the platform running a closed beta among users in London.

In 2022, JD.com introduced a new offering in Europe under the Ochama brand, aiming to bring its omnichannel retail model - blending online and offline channels - into European countries. The UK moves marks its latest attempt to secure a foothold in a mature e-commerce space. As of 2024, the UK’s retail e-commerce market was valued at $160 billion, ranking third globally.

In a LinkedIn post, Matthew Nobbs, Chief Merchandise Officer, JD.com, said: "Getting ready to rumble in the UK for one of China’s biggest success stories. With global annual turnover of in excess of $157 billion last year- we are coming to the UK. Calling all category superstars. If you are a Category Manager or a seasoned expert Senior Category Manager- we are hiring right now in London.

He added: "We need passionate talent in: Small and Large Domestic Appliances; Consumer Electronics; Home and Living; World Foods; Toys; Baby; FMCG; Ambient Grocery; Fashion; Commercial Internships and the renowned TET graduate leadership programme."

11 percent...Nineteen Group, the organisers of Retail Technology Show, report that 14,116 retail professionals attended the 2025 event, which took place at London ExCel on 2nd-3rd April,  an 11 percent increase on the previous year and the highest ever turn out.

There were 483 exhibitors from across the retail tech landscape, and 125 speakers on the various stages around the showfloor.

Penny Grivea, former Managing Director UK & Ireland at Rituals, remarked that RTS helps retailers remain “relevant” and “stay on their toes.”  While Maria Hollins, CEO at Ann Summers, added: “you’ll always find something that’s interesting you can take away to your own business.” 

Prerana Issar, Chief People Officer & Head of Corporate Affairs at Sainsbury’s, also highlighted the role the event plays in unifying the retail industry through technology innovation and the symbiotic relationship between the two. “The fact that technology and retail come together [at RTS] is fantastic because they aren't two different things anymore - they haven't been for a while now.  It isn't possible to talk about retail without talking about technology, digital, AI - they are all one and the same thing,” she said.

A conference programme saw sector leaders including M&S’ Archie Norman, serial entrepreneur Theo Paphitis, The Body Coach Joe Wicks, and All Saints Founder Stuart Trevor take to the stage.  Speaking to RTS, Trevor talked about how the show was a unifying force within the retail sector, commenting: “it brings together all different people, from all walks of the industry.” 

Meanwhile, Customer Whisperer, Kate Hardcastle, who chaired the Spectacular Headline Stage across the two-day conference programme, added: “RTS has become a beautiful meeting point where technology and retail converge.”

55,000 and 15,000...DHL eCommerce UK has announced the opening of a new site in Newcastle, designed to boost capacity to meet customer demand across the North East. 

The 55,000 sq.ft site will handle up to 15,000 parcels each day. The development follows the opening of DHL’s Coventry Hub last month, with both forming part of DHL eCommerce UK’s £482 million investment into its UK infrastructure.

The new facility has been designed to align with DHL’s Go Green strategy which has been set to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050. Features include heating and lighting sensors to reduce energy usage, while the addition of ten EV charging points will also support efforts to reduce carbon emissions from deliveries.

£31.6 billion…Sainsbury’s has reported full-year retail sales of £31.6 billion, up 3.1 percent. Retail underlying operating profit rose 7.2 percent to £1. billion.

Aarin Chiekrie, Equity Analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, says: “Sainsbury’s delivered a sweet set of full-year results, with both revenue and profits moving higher. The group has transformed itself in recent years.”

“Things like Aldi price match and Nectar prices have been expanded across more products than ever before and are doing a great job at keeping customers loyal. And a herculean effort to improve its products, value perception, and innovation more generally has helped Sainsbury’s deliver its highest market share gains in more than a decade, cementing its position as the number two supermarket in the UK.”

Chiekrie adds: “With operations focussed on this side of the Atlantic, President Trump’s tariffs pose little threat to disrupt operations directly. But keep in mind that Sainsbury’s is more exposed to general merchandise than its peers through its ownership of Argos, an area where sales have been weak. If US led tariffs cause a global economic slowdown, this area is likely to come under more pressure.”

Looking ahead, guidance looks quite conservative at around 8% below market expectations, pointing to broadly flat revenue and profit this year. That echoes conservative guidance from Tesco last week, and gives Sainsbury plenty of wiggle room to get its hands dirty if competition with the likes of Asda and Tesco heats up.

But shy of an all out price war, there could be room for positive surprises as the year progresses. Shareholder returns remain a key part of the investment story, though, with a new share buyback announced and plans to funnel the proceeds from its bank disposal back to investors via a special dividend.

95 percent...The retail sector is making a decisive shift toward AI powered personalisation, according to research by Apply Digital.

The company worked with Censuswide to conduct a survey of 400 senior decision-makers across the sports, retail, media and entertainment, CPG, and B2B industries. Censuswide also surveyed over 1,000 consumers across various demographics. 

95 percent of businesses are either already using or planning to adopt real-time product recommendations in the near-term (71 percent currently and 24 percent within 12 months), while under two percent have no plans currently. Meanwhile, 93 percent say they are already using or plan to use AI to enhance search capabilities.

A further 89 percent are investing in AI to personalise product descriptions - signalling a broad push toward relevance and real-time adaptation.

Retail companies are among the most proactive in embracing AI to deliver tailored customer experiences - a trend driven by the need to stay competitive and respond to increasingly sophisticated consumer expectations.