Including Gopuff, Wolt, and Kenvue: check out this week's coolest retail technology plays

RTIH Editor, Scott Thompson, brings you his top ‘future of retail’ systems launches and deployments from the past week, including sustainability hackathons, freshly baked goods delivered in minutes, unified commerce platforms, 3D holographic visuals, and multi-agent AI pricing systems.

Currys

Currys says that it is boosting the way it creates campaigns with Adobe Firefly, using generative AI to produce on brand content faster, more efficiently, and at lower cost, without compromising creativity or control. 

A staple of the British high street since 1927, it serves over 73 million in-store customers and 1.7 billion online visitors annually.

“There’s a big story to tell, and together, words and pictures have to engage customers in a short space of time,” says Stuart McDonald, Head of Creative Services at Currys. “Adobe Firefly enables us to bring that functionality to life quickly and impactfully through creative campaigns with an abundance of possibilities.” 

For its recent 'New Term' campaign, Firefly helped Currys’ team rapidly develop visuals and templates that aligned with their signature look, resulting in a campaign that captured attention during a key retail period. Previously time intensive design stages were sped up through tools like Composition Reference and Generative Expand. This builds on Currys’ viral TikTok series that aims to blend self-aware humour with cultural relevance.

Kenvue

Kenvue, maker of consumer health products like Tylenol, Neutrogena and Listerine, has announced a five-year collaboration with Microsoft which aims to establish a strong foundation for transforming digital operations through AI technologies.

These include machine enabled collaboration, predictive analytics, smart agents, digital twins and generative AI.

Over the next five years, Kenvue will scale its use of Microsoft Azure to capitalise on its range of services including data analytics and AI. The integration of Azure services aims to enhance predictive capabilities and human machine collaboration. In addition, Kenvue aims to drive innovation, refine go-to-market strategies, enhance customer experiences, and optimise commercial operations.

Circ and Acegreen

Circ has announced a long-term partnership with Acegreen Eco-Material Technology Co., a subsidiary of Taiwan-based Acelon Chemicals & Fiber Corporation, to establish a commercial agreement that aims to accelerate the adoption of circular materials in the textile industry.

Through the tie up, Acegreen has made a commitment to purchase Circ's pulp over five years from the firm’s first commercial scale facility. The recycled pulp will be utilised in the production of pre-specified lyocell fibers, enabling brands to integrate recycled materials into their supply chains.

Additionally, Acelon will procure Circ Polyester over the same five-year period to support polyester filament production.

“Acegreen was one of the first to work with us, and they’ve played an important role in advancing our technology and bringing it to market,” says Peter Majeranowski, CEO at Circ, which recently landed $25 million in funding. “They’ve integrated our recycled pulp and polyester into their filament production and are helping demonstrate how next-gen materials can scale. Their ability to move quickly and adapt is a great example of how great partners can accelerate real progress toward circularity.”

Gopuff

On-demand delivery big hitter, Gopuff, is launching The Bakery, a new in-app category featuring fresh baked munchies, just in time for the 4/20 “holiday.” 

“With this launch, we’re leveraging our vertically integrated model to deliver fresh, affordable and high quality baked goods in minutes," says Carly Bickerstaff, VP of Merchandising at Gopuff. “As we continue to innovate to bring our customers more of what they love, we’re thrilled to launch this new category with an extensive lineup of freshly baked goods to make every moment a little sweeter.”

To celebrate the launch, Gopuff teamed up with Magnolia Bakery to create the Puff’rnutter Cupcake. Inspired by the nostalgic fluffernutter sandwich, the cupcakes feature a vanilla and chocolate cupcake topped with a peanut butter buttercream frosting and filled with a marshmallow centre. Customers can get a two-pack of the Puff’rnutter exclusively in The Bakery on Gopuff 4/20 weekend and beyond for $11.99. 

Wolt

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."

Kappture

Kappture has developed BRISK, an AI enabled, checkout-free retail unit with instant payments - purpose built for stadiums and live event environments without relying on the cloud or external data processing.

This is running right now at Norwich City Football Club, with, according to those involved, near perfect accuracy.

Using AI powered computer vision and local data processing, Brisk allows customers to enter a bar, select products, and leave without waiting in line. The system automatically tracks transactions in real-time, ensuring immediate verification and GDPR compliance.

Kappture says that its low energy consumption and ability to operate in venues with low ceiling heights make it an ideal choice for a wide range of hospitality environments.

Payment is taken as soon as a customer leaves the BRISK unit and a receipt can be obtained via a QR code.

Croda

British speciality chemicals company Croda has worked with HYPERVSN to bring its story to life at an exhibition via 3D technology.

In a LinkedIn post, Olga Poterukhina, Account Manager at HYPERVSN, said: "We were proud to support Croda in unveiling their latest breakthrough for the hair cosmetics industry. Our cutting-edge 3D holographic visuals brought their scientific story to life in a dynamic and unforgettable way."

She added: "From concept to execution, it was all about creating impact - and this reveal was one to remember. Big thanks to Croda and Driscoll Brothers (an exhibition design and build agency) for trusting us to help amplify their innovation."

Zebra Technologies

Zebra Technologies has announced the winners of its inaugural AI Developer Challenge.

In first place is the company’s independent software vendor (ISV) partner, Spatialsolutions.ai with its StoreAi app designed for Zebra mobile computers. The application offers three core features enabled by on-device product recognition capabilities: realogram generation, store navigation, and product picking. It was selected as the first place winner for its business value, ability to overcome real world challenges in retail, and technological innovation.

“Zebra’s on-device AI vision technology is a game changer, minimising both the latency and costs typically associated with cloud-based AI,” says Dr. Pat Narendra, Founder of Spatialsolutions.ai. “This journey has been an exciting blend of tackling real-world business challenges, innovation, and enjoyment. Congratulations to my fellow winners, participants, and the entire Zebra team.”

AllSaints

AllSaints has gone live with NewStore technology in the UK.

In a LinkedIn post, Simeon Wynn, Director, Partner Enablement at NewStore, said: “As an incredibly fashionable individual (sat here in one of my ten plus plain white t-shirts), this is a really cool one to see, and such a great brand to be partnered with."

He added: “In 2023, we worked with the iconic British fashion retailer to launch the AllSaints shopping app. Now, their digital transformation continues with the roll-out of our unified commerce platform. With ten plus locations live (and more coming online each week), AllSaints is redefining its in-store experience - seamlessly connecting mobile, digital, and physical retail. Excited to see the global roll-out across 200+ stores coming soon."

Revionics

Revionics has unveiled the alpha release of its multi-agent AI pricing system. A live demonstration and innovation showcase took place at the Google Cloud Next 2025 event in Las Vegas last week.

For the first time in a public forum, Revionics’ Aakriti Bhargava, VP of Engineering and AI, and Alex Braylan, Director, Data Science and AI, pulled back the covers on what Revionics has been building - a system in which intelligent AI agents work together to help retailers solve complex pricing problems and optimise pricing decisions. This can understand and interact with users in natural language.

“Leveraging Google Cloud's Agent Development Kit (ADK) on Vertex AI, our pricing agents work in tandem to help retailers unlock a level of productivity, data democratisation and real-time decisioning that has never been possible before in the retail pricing realm,” says Josh Oettle, SVP of Product Management and Engineering at Revionics. 

“Our multi-agent pricing system coordinates across the agents, automating the entire workflow. For example, one agent can quickly tell you which products are priced higher than your competitors, another could forecast the impacts to your business if you matched those prices, and another would apply business rules while executing the price changes.” 

Oettle adds: “We believe our multi-agent AI pricing system has the power to transform several key aspects of retail operations, including pricing team capabilities and scale, how pricing data is utilised across the extended retail enterprise, and overall, how quickly retailers can respond to ever-changing market conditions.” 

Renault and Future Stores

French car manufacturer Renault has partnered with Future Stores to bring automotive retailing to Oxford Street, London, as it unveiled the new Renault 5 E-Tech electric to the UK market through a social media led live experience.

A first for both Renault and Future Stores, the space on Oxford Street was transformed into ‘Maison 5’, showcasing the new pure electric supermini through a blend of French flair and London cool. All with the help of brand experience agency Avantgarde.

The activation saw: street footfall of 700k people; social engagement above 6% off the back of the activation; average customer satisfaction of almost 90%.

Olympic medallist Tom Daley and celebrity chef Matthew Ryle also dropped in alongside presenters Greg James and Jonny Smith to talk about all things diving, knitting, French cuisine and of course Renault Five. 

Visitors to Maison 5, which ran from 22nd to 30th March, were met by three sparkling versions of the motor to interact with. While Future Stores’ wall of 400 m2 of high d efinition Micro LED displays featured specially curated content highlighting the cult auto’s key features; all visible to the half a million people who walk past the store on a weekly basis.   

Kate Hardcastle, Director of Future Stores, says: “In a world where catching people’s attention is becoming more and more challenging, we’ve designed a concept that does just that on Europe’s busiest shopping street.  Like us, the Renault 5 E-Tech electric is all about innovation, taking the best of the past and imagining it for the future – and that’s why it’s been the perfect partner for Future Stores."