Retail

Avaya and avatarin Bring Contact Centre AI to the Shop Floor

Avaya and avatarin are extending their collaboration beyond the contact centre, linking AI agents with social robots and on-site hardware to serve customers in physical environments without losing the thread of their digital interaction history. The collaboration connects Avaya Infinity, Avaya’s...

Your Employee Experience Roundup: The Manager Crisis, Falling Worker Confidence, and Persistent Perception Gaps

Are leaders and their employees actually working in the same organisation? That’s the question that springs to mind when looking at the key events and research findings of this week. Decision-makers think engagement is rising; employees disagree by 21 percentage points....

Retail vs. Healthcare vs. Tech: How CX Challenges Differ Across Industries (And What We Can Learn)

The CX profession loves universal principles: journey mapping, closing the loop, and proving ROI. But spend time with leaders actually doing the work, and the industries that share the same language are fighting very different battles underneath. Here’s what three...

Easy Checkout Makes People Spend More (Without Noticing)

The easier it is to pay, the more people spend. That much is obvious. What’s less obvious is how many of them don’t realise they’re doing it. NMI’s Psychology of Payments survey of 1,000 US adults set out to measure how...

SoundHound AI Launches Sales Assist, a Real-Time AI Agent for the Retail Sales Floor

SoundHound AI has announced the launch of Sales Assist, a voice-powered AI agent designed to support in-store retail staff during live customer conversations. The tool delivers instant, data-driven recommendations, including upgrades, bundles, trade-in promotions, and accessories, directly to a tablet...

Salesforce Acquires Cimulate to Advance AI-Powered Product Discovery in Retail Commerce

Salesforce has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cimulate, an emerging technology company specialising in AI-powered product discovery and agentic commerce. The acquisition advances Salesforce’s push to replace keyword-based search with intent-driven product discovery in retail. Upon completion of the deal,...

Behind Every Sale, There’s a Return Waiting to Happen

If you thought the hard part of the holiday shopping season was getting products into customers’ hands, think again. ACI Worldwide’s new data shows that returns are surging, and the cost of handling them is climbing with it. ACI Worldwide’s latest...

Retail Technology Show Returns with M&S Chairman Archie Norman and the Customer Whisperer

The UK’s Retail Technology Show was my first eye-opening CXM road trip last year, and the show is back, bigger than ever in 2026. Taking place at London’s ExCeL on 22–23 April, RTS brings together more than 16,000 senior retail...

Does Retail Even Know What Personalisation Is Anymore?

Retail loves the word personalisation. It appears in strategy decks, earnings calls, and vendor pitches with near religious consistency. And yet, when shoppers actually show up, most are still treated like interchangeable visitors passing through a digital storefront. Amperity’s new 2026...

Havas CX Index Report: Mind the Experience Gap

Havas has dropped a new X INDEX Report, the seventh edition, providing a useful barometer into the world of customer experience. Badged as “Closing the gap”, it highlights the delta between what companies promise in advertising and what they deliver...

Retail Loyalty Data Shows AI Is Uninspiring For Shoppers

Research from Retail Week and The Grocer show that while online supermarket orders continue to boom, the use of AI for consumers is way down the shopping list. Highlights of the research are live on the The Grocer, with the...

Retail Fraud Forces Tough Decisions for UK Businesses Ahead of 2026

Fraud is forcing UK retailers to make practical, sometimes painful decisions about how they operate. This can mean closing physical stores, cutting back online services, tightening refund and return policies, or putting planned investments on hold. In the most serious...