The fashion giant, which has been a customer of Voyado for several years, called the move a strategic investment as a natural evolution of its partnership with the company which will strengthen collaboration.

The platform aims to drive profitable sales by optimising ecommerce, creating personalised customer experiences and streamlining communication across channels.

Voyado said the move will support its long-term strategy to enhance platform capabilities, better serve larger customers, and create greater value for customers while driving international expansion.

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Head of H&M Group Ventures Erik Lagerblad said: “We are really impressed by Voyado’s journey so far. After rolling out their solution globally, we’ve seen first hand the difference it makes in creating value at scale.

“That’s why it makes perfect sense for the H&M Group to deepen our partnership through an investment, which will further support Voyado’s future growth and strengthen their offering for other enterprise customers”.

Voyado CEO Erica Sandelin Ekelund added : “Our ambition is to establish Voyado as Northern Europe’s most beloved retail tech companion while maintaining profitability and scalability.

“H&M Group’s investment brings valuable insights and resources that align with our efforts to scale faster and expand into new segments, creating value for our existing and future customers.”

In recent years, Voyado has achieved an annual growth rate of 35% by capturing market share across the Nordics and Benelux. It is now planning to expand into key markets such as the UK and Germany.

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The almost 1,500 sq ft store, based in the centre’s upper shopping level, houses the watch retailer’s range of consumer electronics as well as its products for both cars and the marine industry.

The store, which opened on 6 November, includes imagery, colours and textures inspired by the outdoors to make the brand “come to life”.

The launch comes as Garmin has continued to invest in the region, having set up its European headquarters nearby in Romsey, Hampshire over 30 years ago.

Garmin UK and Ireland managing director Jon Oliver said: “We are thrilled to bring Garmin’s extensive product range to one location on the high street in the UK for the first time.

“We’re passionate about our products and excited for more customers to experience them first-hand, whether that’s through speaking to our expert staff or attending the events we will hold for the local community.”

He added: “It feels fitting that the next step in our growth in the UK is the opening of this store in Southampton’s Westquay, down the road from our European headquarters.”

Garmin joins Fanatics in recently opening its first UK standalone store, located on London’s Regent Street.

In October, streetwear brand Represent also debuted its first UK shop in Manchester, following a period of mass growth.

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Under trial at its Ashton-under-Lyne store in Greater Manchester, Asda customers who want to return goods, which can range from grocery items to electricals, scan their receipts and barcode at the self-service machine then drop their product into a chute or place in a cupboard.

If a refund cannot be issued automatically, for example if the shopper had forgotten their receipt, they need to call for assistance from a staff member so it can be processed manually. The system can also manage item exchanges.

Additionally, the supermarket is trialling a service that could potentially allow shoppers to buy tobacco and vape products without having to queue at the traditional kiosk.

The trials, which began in October, will seek to address a “key pinch point” for shoppers who currently need to queue at the customer service desk to buy tobacco or vape products, often when they’ve already gone through the payment process once for their groceries.

In the first phase of the trial, Asda staff will use dispensers to serve shoppers from the existing kiosk area.

In phase two of the trial, customers can simply select the products they want to buy at the self-serve tills where age verification will take place.

They will receive a receipt that they can then scan at the automated product vending machine to receive their item.

Asda senior manager retail front end service Alexander Lacy said: “We recognise that a key pinch point for customers is at the kiosk and customer service desks in our stores, with added queue times and multiple missions taking place in a small area.”

The move comes as other retailers make changes to their self-checkout services, with Sainsbury’s trialling larger self-checkout tills to boost efficiency.

M&S also recently added self checkouts to its changing rooms across its 180 clothing stores.

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With a £20m investment, the store on 95 Oxford Street brings the latest cutting edge technology to a bricks-and-mortar setting and aims to make shopping a truly interactive experience.

Future Stores founder, US-based Israeli tech entrepreneur Ariel Haroush, has big plans for the concept with a second London site under consideration, and expansion already afoot in Paris and New York.

He says the concept is needed as traditional retail is struggling to keep shoppers engaged. “You’ve been to one Zara, you’ve been to them all. The high street is just not as engaging for shoppers,” Haroush asserts.

“Today’s shoppers are driven by TikTok-length attention spans, and traditional retail simply can’t keep up with Gen Z and Gen Alpha,”

“Our concept is the answer—an electrifying blend of creativity, technology, and multi-sensory design that feels like stepping into the future. It’s about giving consumers and brands what they crave: an engaging, meaningful experience.”

US tech giant Intel will be first to host what it terms “the world’s most advanced retail store” which will sell the brand’s newly-launched AI PCs when it opens on October 30, allowing customers to play games live in-store.

More than a billboard

The two-floor Oxford Street store spans 4,682 sq ft of “stunning high-definition Micro LED displays, monumental billboards, and cameras”.

But this is not just a place for eye-catching visuals and brand building, it’s also designed to be transactional too.

The store houses an integrated payment system, enabling brands to turn the space into a point of sale and a stockroom on the basement floor. Retailers also benefit from a wealth of data and insights collected in the space that reveal everything from dwell time, customer journey, and traffic patterns both inside and outside the store.

Future Stores MD Engin Celikbas explains: “Today, leveraging data to create personalised experiences isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity. This insight allows us to engage with consumers on a deeper level, enhancing conversion rates and boosting customer satisfaction.”

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Warby, who currently chairs the board of private equity firm KKR, stands as the leading candidate to take over from the online grocer’s current chair Rick Haythornthwaite, Sky News reported.

City insiders said a confirmation of the role could be made as early as November.

The executive also currently serves as chair of software firm SoftwareONE, and previously held various positions at Microsoft and IBM.

In April, Ocado said Haythornthwaite would step down from the board next year due to his “increasing commitment” at NatWest Group.

The executive said he would not seek re-election at the grocery tech firm’s annual general meeting in April 2025 and asked the board to initiate the process of appointing his successor.

Speaking at the time, Ocado chief executive Tim Steiner said: “Needless to say, we will be disappointed to lose Rick but we fully understand the reasons why he is stepping down as chair to focus on his new role at NatWest.

“Rick has done a great job strengthening corporate governance, providing the executive team with wise advice and, together with a renewed and refocused board, helping us grow the business over the last three years.”

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Inside, Depop will give visitors the chance to win circular fashion by playing on a claw machine and can make use of a Snapchat x Depop AR mirror.

The Boots stand will introduce shoppers to beauty brands including TikTok famous Made by Mitchell, Beauty Crop, and Milk, enabling them to try out a new makeup look using the Snapchat x Boots vanity mirrors.

Snapchat director of global brand experience Ben Wymer said: “We’ll be showing how our pioneering AR technology allows users to experience on screens how products look and behave in the real world, paving the way for a more personal experience for consumers, and more engaging retail opportunities for brands.

“We couldn’t think of a better way to bring the thrill of shopping for fashion and beauty on Snapchat alive than through Snap Street, a unique and truly immersive retail experience for everyone.”

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Unveiling a host of changes earlier this week, Tesco Media & Insight Platform shared its new “in-store Scan as you Shop geo-targeting” offering for brands.

The move, which has not yet been given a launch date, means customers using the supermarket’s self-scanning devices will be shown adverts as they reach a particular area of the shop or shelf.

Explaining the change, Tesco Media & Insight Platform head of sales Lee Roberts said: “I’m about to go into the frozen aisle and on my Scan as you Shop device I’m delivered a display message for a particular product, offer, or promotion that’s in that frozen aisle.

“And this can be replayed as you navigate your way around the rest of the store.”

The supermarket unveiled a host of other new options for advertisers during a supplier event in London on Wednesday, including video advertising and store wraps.

It said the new video option would allow brand advertisers to launch short-form videos on Tesco’s website and app users.

Meanwhile, its expanded options for in-store advertising include the ability to do store wrap advertising at up to 50 locations.

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The partnership, which marks a first for the electricals specialist, will enable it to sell EV chargers direct to shoppers, with products available online and across 50 of its flagship stores.

Currys senior buyer Zoe Lucid said: “With EV sales in the UK up more than 10% this year, this new partnership between Currys and Ohme chargers was a natural step to offer to our customers.

“Ohme’s award-winning chargers and reputation for excellent customer service meant it was the obvious choice for Currys’ customers helping them to make more sustainable choices combined with cutting-edge technology.”

The move comes after the retailer named Microsoft as its first UK retail repair partner in May, allowing customers with Microsoft Surface laptops to be able to get them repaired in-store.

Earlier this year, it also teamed up with Accenture and Microsoft to deliver its core cloud technology infrastructure to allow it to leverage the latest AI technologies.

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The food and fashion giant claims to be the first UK retailer to trial an “autonomous field” farming method in attempts to improve its crop quality and quantity and drive down its carbon emissions.

M&S planted its first set of the parsnips back in March in Yorkshire in partnership with its root vegetable supplier, Huntapac, with two robots used for bed forming, weeding and planting, as well as two different types of drones to maintain and monitor crop health.

The new approach helps keep carbon locked into its soil, and uses a green fertiliser and new tech that uses significantly less diesel than a traditional tractor.

As well as the carbon impact, the new technology holds other benefits including improving the quality and quantity of crop yields, the retailer insisted.

The first lot of autonomously farmed vegetables will be sold from a number of the supermarket’s shops from November.

It marks the first M&S Food project to be paid for by its sustainability programme Plan A’s accelerator fund, which it rolled out earlier this year, “to take rapid action towards net zero through a series of innovation projects”.

M&S Food technical director Andrew Clappen said: “Agriculture is one of our biggest contributors to emissions, so it’s important that we find new lower impact farming methods.

“Trialling new ways to support our Plan A road map to net zero is an important step on the journey and this project has helped deliver more parsnips at M&S quality, a carbon reduction, and brings together new technologies which if adopted more widely would create more highly skilled jobs and attract new talent into the sector.”

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Stores across the country had to open later than usual, with some shoppers reporting returning home without their groceries after all checkouts in some branches stopped working.

Writing on social media, one shopper said: “So it seems Asda is having a till melt down yet again.

“To the extent of having to close store in my local area.”

Another wrote: “Just got back from my usual Monday morning trip to Asda – soaked to the skin, and with no shopping.

“Their useless new till system that has never worked properly at my local branch is down and the store cannot open. It’ll be fun if it’s a nationwide problem!”

Some customers said they had been “turned away” from stores without any shopping.

Others have reported issues of checkout systems malfunctioning at rival supermarket Morrisons, although the chain denied facing such problems.

In response, an Asda spokesperson said: “Some of our stores opened later than planned this morning due to a technical issue affecting checkouts.

“This has now been resolved and we apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused.”

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