Since May 2025, we have been updating a significant proportion of both colleague operated and self-service checkouts across all of our stores to make them more efficient, with the refresh due to complete very soon. The new technology will ensure we can continue to offer our customers excellent levels of service, now and into the future.
But most shopping AI agents are firmly attached to one particular LLM or retailer, like ChatGPT and Perplexity's new shopping response flows that guide their own shopping-related queries. And then there's agentic shopper pups: Walmart's Sparky and Amazon's Rufus, which are meant to help customers shop across their retail footprints. What people need is an independent agent that peers across retailers and is entirely focused on ecommerce services.
Amazon opened Fresh in 2020 after acquiring Whole Foods in 2017. Some assumed that Amazon Fresh would offer their favorite organic yogurt or premium meat because of the shared ownership. While Fresh stores did stock some Whole Foods 365 products, store employees said, Amazon sought to offer more affordable groceries and showcase its technology, such as Just Walk Out and smart shopping carts, at Amazon Fresh.
Would you like extra fries? Would you like to go large? Not all people, but I think there's definitely a large proportion of people who may feel judged in those instances, and may say no. Plus, there's really good product imagery on the terminals, so you can see the product, you can see what's in it, you can see all the other products linked to it as well. So there's that.
The technology underpinning retail operations is under scrutiny in 2026 as fashion executives look to streamline systems with the aim to unlock efficiency, cut costs and meet consumer expectations for speed and personalisation in the shopping journey. At the retail event Lightspeed Edge on 12 January, Lightspeed - the unified point-of-sale (POS) and payments platform for SMEs such as Apricot Lane Boutique and Neal's Yard Remedies - convened industry leaders to explore the strategic imperative for integrated technology ecosystems over siloed systems.
Specifically, the technology that helped retail brands sell unsold or excess products (off-channel inventory) wasn't as sophisticated as it could have been. Brands sell their excess inventory at discount retailers like Nordstrom Rack, but often lose money because managing unsold inventory is difficult. Products are spread across warehouses, and teams are left guessing the value of an item and when the best time to sell it is.
If checkout happens inside AI conversations, retailers risk losing direct customer relationships - while platforms like Microsoft gain leverage. Driving the news: Microsoft unveiled new agentic AI tools for retailers at the NRF 2026 retail conference, including Copilot Checkout, which lets shoppers complete purchases inside Copilot without being redirected to a retailer's website. The checkout feature is live in the U.S. with Shopify, PayPal, Stripe and Etsy integrations.
Adobe Analytics, which analyzed online transactions and website traffic for its shopping trends report, said traffic from generative AI chatbots toward retailer's sites, increased by 693.4% from the 2024 holiday season, indicating a shift in the way people shop. Before the holiday season began, FedEx reported 97% of U.S. retailers were planning to use AI for shopping, including incorporating tools for customer service and pricing.
It's no secret that Americans take grocery store loyalty very seriously, and there are few things more exciting than seeing your local favorite is getting a remodel or expansion. If you feel the same as we do, we have some great news: 2026 is going to see major expansions done by some of the country's biggest chains. And we mean big. From 1992 to 2024, Americans spent about $895 billion at grocery stores, according to Statista.
Walmart is testing advertising within its new AI-powered shopping assistant, Sparky, as part of a broader push to reshape digital retail experiences. Introduced to the company's mobile app in June, Sparky functions like a conversational agent, helping users compare products, summarise reviews, and suggest items for different occasions. Sources familiar with the initiative say Walmart has been experimenting with a format called "Sponsored Prompt," which integrates ads directly into Sparky's chat interface.
Keychain connects over 20,000 brands and retailers with 30,000 vetted manufacturers through AI-powered matching technology that eliminates these bottlenecks, turning product ideas into structured, searchable data that accelerates sourcing from months to days. The platform launched KeychainOS for manufacturers in February 2024, then immediately faced demand from retailers who needed the same end-to-end visibility for their private label programs- a signal that drove the company to develop Keychain360, a supply chain management platform designed specifically for retail private label operations.
The way we shop is changing, and as digital currencies continue to gain momentum, we're seeing a shift away from more traditional payment methods as the retail space continues to make leaps and bounds in technological advancements. Whilst these advancements were previously mostly evident in the eCommerce landscape, we're beginning to see crypto making its way into brick-and-mortar stores as a viable payment option.
The EU's MiCA 2025 is significantly altering the landscape for crypto casinos by implementing new KYC/AML regulations alongside stricter licensing requirements, aiming to safeguard gamblers in the EU.
Boost inc's impressive growth signals a burgeoning demand for unattended retail solutions, with innovative technologies making access and purchasing more convenient for consumers.
