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Walgreens Advertising Group expands AI powered retail media ecosystem with Rokt partnership

Walgreens Advertising Group, the retail media arm of Walgreens, has announced an expansion of its retail media ecosystem with Rokt.

The agreement enables non-endemic brands to reach millions of Walgreens consumers on Walgreens.com’s order confirmation page.

“We are committed to connecting brands with one of the most loyal and engaged consumer bases in the country,” says Abishake Subramanian, Group Vice President, Consumer Marketing, Loyalty and Walgreens Advertising Group.

“By expanding our retail media ecosystem with AI powered capabilities, we’re giving advertisers new ways to engage customers in meaningful moments while creating incremental value for Walgreens.”

Grocery retail technology firm Instacart claims first of kind integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT

Instacart says that it is the first grocery partner to launch an app on ChatGPT and the first to offer an embedded, end-to-end shopping and Instant Checkout, all within the context of a ChatGPT conversation.

The aim here is to make it easier for people to go from meal inspiration to doorstep delivery, using Instacart’s real-time grocery network and fulfillment capabilities with the help of OpenAI frontier model capabilities. 

“Instacart and ChatGPT are redefining what’s possible in AI powered shopping,” says Anirban Kundu, Chief Technology Officer at Instacart. “Built on Agentic Commerce Protocol, this experience brings intelligent, real-time support to one of the most essential parts of daily life: getting groceries to feed your family.”

“Together, we’re creating a seamless and secure way for people to turn simple conversations into real-world action, helping customers go from inspiration to a full cart delivered from the store to their door with ease.”

“With the Instacart app directly in ChatGPT, users can go from meal planning to checkout in a single, seamless conversation,” says Nick Turley, VP, Head of ChatGPT. “It’s another step toward bringing our vision to life – where AI delivers helpful suggestions and connects directly to real-world services, saving people time and effort in their everyday lives.”

The Instacart ChatGPT app experience with Instant Checkout is currently available on desktop and mobile web; the Instacart ChatGPT app is available on iOS and Android, with Instant Checkout rolling out to these native platforms in the coming weeks.

Uber Eats and Starship Technologies team up to bring robot deliveries to people of Leeds

Uber Eats and Starship Technologies are launching autonomous robot deliveries in Leeds.

A fleet of green robots will help to deliver winter warmer meals and festive essentials for locals in the Headingley, Burley and Hyde Park areas of the city in December and beyond. 

“It’s brilliant to see autonomous innovation supporting one of our busiest times of year,” says Saskia de Jongh, EMEA General Manager at Uber.

“It’s so exciting that our new global partnership with Starship Technologies will first launch in Leeds, meaning we can offer local customers a fast new way to get what they need delivered – whether that’s a piping hot Pad Thai or party food essentials.”

Starship’s battery powered robots travel mainly on pavements. They have saved over 700 tonnes of CO2 entering the atmosphere in Europe so far, according to Starship, with the average delivery using as little energy as it takes to boil a kettle for a cup of tea.

“We’re incredibly excited to be one of the first restaurants in Leeds to use Starship’s innovative delivery robots with Uber Eats, yet another exciting new adventure in the twenty years we’ve been running our restaurant,” says Mark Burnard, Co-owner of Jino’s Thai Cafe in Leeds.

“It’s a fantastic way to keep up with the demand for our much loved dishes, especially our classic Pad Thai and any festive specials we roll out this winter. This cutting-edge technology will help us keep delivering more fresh, hot meals to our loyal customers.”

Simbe forms client advisory board including executives from BJ’s, Schnuck Markets and ShopRite

Simbe, a specialist in retail shelf digitisation and store intelligence, has announced the formation of its inaugural client advisory board (CAB). This builds on the company’s strategic advisory board.

“The CAB reflects our belief that the best innovation comes from partnership, not only with Simbe but also with industry peers,” said Benjamin Bond, SVP Strategy & Client Success at Simbe. “This forum ensures Simbe will continue to lead the industry in maximising the value and impact for our clients.”

The board spans half a dozen sectors – from grocery and club, to farm and home improvement – and includes leaders with experience in store operations, technology, supply chain, and automation.

On demand delivery interview: Pete Chong, Global Head of Retail at Just Eat Takeaway.com

RTIH sits down with Pete Chong, Global Head of Retail at Just Eat Takeaway.com, to discuss the booming rapid delivery space in 2025 and beyond.