Top Retail AI News Stories
Lidl Deploys Driverless Truck in Germany
Retail AI Blogs
Lidl has put a cab-less autonomous electric truck into regular public-road operation in Germany, marking a significant step for automated grocery logistics.
The retailer is working with Swedish technology company Einride on the project in Edermünde, near Kassel, where the Level 4 vehicle is transporting goods between a Lidl distribution centre and a nearby store.
Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority has approved the operation, giving the project a regulatory status that moves it beyond a closed-site demonstration.
Customers can now type requests and preferences into the AI platform to help build their carts and discover new items.
McDonald’s Commits $8.5 Billion to Restaurant Modernization as ArchIQ Moves AI Into Daily Operations
McDonald’s is preparing one of the largest restaurant modernization programs in its history, committing $8.5 billion in franchisee support through 2036 as it introduces new restaurant designs, operational tools and an AI-powered operating system called ArchIQ.
The investment is part of McDonald’s > NEXT, the company’s long-term plan to become the “first choice for more customers, more often.” Approximately $5 billion of the support will be provided by the end of 2030 through a combination of rent relief and capital contributions intended to accelerate restaurant upgrades, technology deployment and operational improvements.
Safeway plugin comes to ChatGPT
Top Retail AI News Articles
More than half of consumers will tap AI for holiday shopping
More than half, 65%, of consumers plan to use artificial intelligence for at least one part of their holiday shopping, and only 8% of retailers view themselves as very confident in using AI to improve the shopping experience.
Those are top findings from the research study: "Narvar's 2026 Holiday Shopping Report." Narvar is an AI-powered platform focused on brand hospitality. The report polled 100 retail decision makers and 1,348 U.S. consumers on how consumers intend to use AI this year.
Raspberry AI Transforms How Fashion Brands Go From Concept To Commerce With Launch Of New Agentic Platform
Raspberry AI, the company helping brands move at the speed of inspiration, today announced a major expansion of its platform that brings the entire fashion product lifecycle into one AI-powered agentic workflow. In a first for the fashion industry, Raspberry AI is unifying AI agents across design, merchandising, wholesale, marketing and e-commerce, creating an entirely new path from initial concept to commerce, and transforming how brands bring products to life in the physical world.
Batteries Plus launches 3 new AI tools
Macy’s rolls out AI inventory replenishment tool
Ulta’s use of Flock technology causes upset online
Kohl's debuts Gemini-Powered AI Assistant in time for back-to-school shopping
Batteries Plus just released its proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) with the goal of supporting franchise development and improving the customer experience.
Savannah: SMS Voice Agent
Edison: AI Voice Assistant
Wattson: AI-powered search
Macy ’s has been advancing on a three-point transformation plan that focuses heavily on its supply chain that was expected to drive $235 million in savings by 2026. Launched in 2024, Macy’s “Bold New Chapter” aims to improve end-to-end operations, including closing “unproductive” supply chain centers and opening an automated facility in North Carolina.
Social media users flooded Ulta Beauty’s Instagram posts this week sharing their frustration about the company’s work with surveillance technology provider Flock after a campaign by activist organization UltraViolet went viral.
Kohl’s unveiled its latest artificial intelligence (AI) tool, urging back-to-school shoppers to give the technology a try for school supplies recommendations and other use cases. This is one of the top stories in Retail AI news from the past month.
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Octane Coffee AI Drive Thru
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AI in Retail - Discover how AI in retail is empowering retailers to automate, innovate, and meet dynamic customer expectations
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In the age of AI, Home Depot's stores have never been more relevant - While the retailer has been ramping up its AI-powered offerings, it aims to provide a frictionless experience across a customer's shopping journey, wherever that may be.
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Grocers are quickly embracing AI, research shows - More than 2/3's of food retailers polled by FMI in early 2026 said they employ the technology, compared with 47% a year ago
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Amazon announces 3 AI-powered innovations to get packages to customers faster - Amazon's latest AI advances in delivery location accuracy, product demand prediction, and intelligent robotics will help benefit customers and employees alike.
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10 trends and predictions for retail in 2026 - NRF's experts on what to watch in 2026
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Brookshire Brothers rolls out AI tool for planning promotions - The Texas-based grocer said the tech implementation will help it better execute deals and measure their performance.
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Schnuck Markets to launch Agentic AI shopping Assistant - Regional grocery chain plans to individualize its shopping experience with the help of next-gen artificial intelligence
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Starbucks' AI Inventory Tool Comes Up Short - The coffee company has shut down the AI program launch last year by NomadGo.
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Taco Bell Expands Drive-Thru Voice AI to Nearly 900 Restaurants - Taco Bell’s expansion of drive-thru voice AI to nearly 900 U.S. restaurants is one of the largest deployments yet of automated order-taking technology in the quick-service restaurant industry.
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Apparel retailers are turning to AI as supply chain regulations tighten in the US and Europe - As the US & Europe tighten their supply chain regulations, apparel retailers face an urgent task: map & trace layers of their supply chains to gain full visibility into what's happening
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Kroger launches AI shopping assistant - Kroger is launching its newest AI Shopping Assistant — a smarter, simpler way to plan meals, discover products and find value, however customers choose to shop
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Safeway plugin comes to ChatGPT - Customers can now type requests and preferences into the AI platform to help build their carts and discover new items.
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Shopify Credits AI for 34% Revenue Growth in Q2 2026 - Shopify reported another quarter of accelerated growth in the second quarter of 2026, and executives attributed a meaningful share of that momentum to artificial intelligence
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From RetailNOW 2026: Ready or Not, AI Powered Data Analytics is Your future - Boutet’s key points were that VARs and ISVs are no longer just solution providers; they need to also provide insights to their merchants through data analytics.
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Instacart Acquires Arpalus to Advance Real-Time Shelf Intelligence Across Grocery Retail - Instacart (NASDAQ: CART), the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced its acquisition of Arpalus, a computer vision company that has developed shelf intelligence technology purpose-built for grocery retail.
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Frontline Retention is Now a WFM Outcome - TEI Study Finds Legion Delivered 1,340% ROI, Fueled by Measurable Turnover Reduction
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How Amazon's AI shopping assistant makes hundreds of millions of products feel personal - Doug Herrington, Amazon's CEO of Worldwide Stores, explains why conversational AI is the next format shift in retail—just as the catalog gave way to the search bar.
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Do restaurants need a chief AI officer - McDonald’s and Wingstop have added CAIOs to their C-suites as they look to level up their AI plans, joining a growing movement in the corporate world.
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Lowe’s Q2 2026 Earnings: AI, Tariffs and a Cautious Consumer - Lowe's trimmed its full-year outlook to roughly $92 billion in sales and $12.25 in adjusted EPS as a cautious consumer and stalled housing market weighed on demand.
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Delivery Hero launches agentic AI assistant to help local shops and restaurants grow faster - Delivery Hero, the world’s leading local delivery platform, today unveiled its new agentic AI assistant that helps neighborhood shops and restaurants to seamlessly accelerate their business.
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Michaels launches AI shopping assistant - The retailer is positioning the Ask Mike tool as a way shoppers can move beyond keyword filtering and receive personalized recommendations.
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Inside Helzberg’s AI Transformation with Legion Workforce Management - Helzberg, a Berkshire Hathaway-owned jewelry retailer, is focused on becoming a digital-first company. With Legion, they’ve built a smarter, faster, and more productive workforce strategy.
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H&M tracks store inventory in real time with RFID, AI - H&M Group is deploying the GreyOrange AI-based gStore inventory platform, which includes merchandising software and connects with technologies such as RFID readers and smart mirrors, at hundreds of retail locations globally.
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Delhaize Boosts Grocery Forecast Accuracy with SymphonyAI Replenishment Platform - Delhaize has deployed SymphonyAI’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven demand forecasting and replenishment technology across 600 affiliated stores and five distribution centres in Belgium
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Hop Shops Introduces Mashgin AI-Assisted Checkout - Hop Shops said the technology combines Mashgin’s AI-assisted checkout platform with Glory’s cash automation solution, allowing customers to complete purchases in seconds whether paying with cash or card.
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Williams-Sonoma AI assistants drive customer engagement — and conversions - The company is tapping AI to improve the checkout experience and overall customer journey, strengthen product discovery and scale personalization across its brand portfolio.
