Retail Tech Trends: AI and Infrastructure Overhauls Define June

The UK grocery landscape saw significant structural shifts in June, headlined by Asda’s long-term partnership with Ocado Group. Starting in 2027, Asda will integrate the Ocado Smart Platform to overhaul its e-commerce infrastructure, a move intended to recover market share currently slipping toward competitors like Lidl GB. Simultaneously, Asda became the first retailer outside the US to adopt Amazon’s Retail Ad Service, aiming to leverage real-time shopping data to refine its digital advertising effectiveness.

Elsewhere, physical store technology saw a surge in investment. Tesco committed to a two-year rollout of Hanshow electronic shelf labels across 3,000 locations, while WHSmith tapped SOLUM to modernize its flagship travel stores. Meanwhile, the high-street retailer Bodycare announced a partnership with PMC to build a proprietary AI-led infrastructure, supporting its goal to reach 200 stores within five years. As the industry matures, Starship Technologies signaled a strategic pivot, redeploying over 1,200 delivery robots from US university campuses to focus exclusively on grocery and food retail in open urban environments.