Re:Tech Innovation Hub

A significant milestone for retail technology, and an exciting step forward for the industry. Congratulations to the team at WiseSense - Visualize your things on the acquisition of Chainlane (formerly RFKeeper).

This strategic move expands WiseSense's global footprint to approximately 1,000 retail store deployments worldwide, while strengthening its platform and presence across North and Latin America, Europe, the UK, and APAC. This acquisition is about helping retailers unlock greater value from the technology and infrastructure they already have in place.

By bringing together WiseSense's expertise in retail automation, inventory visibility, loss prevention, and customer experience with Chainlane's established inventory visibility solutions and global customer base, the combined business is well positioned to drive the next generation of retail innovation.

Together, the combined platform aims to help retailers:

☑️ Turn item-level data into real-time business intelligence.
☑️ Improve self-checkout and strengthen loss detection.
☑️ Deliver better in-store analytics and streamline staff workflows.
☑️ Enhance customer experiences across every touchpoint.
☑️ Connect distribution centres, stores, and points of purchase through a more intelligent retail ecosystem.

It's great to see companies continuing to push the industry forward by helping retailers make smarter use of their existing investments while creating new opportunities for innovation.

Congratulations again to the WiseSense and Chainlane teams on this exciting milestone!

Prime Day is starting to look a lot like Black Friday.

Amazon's earlier-than-usual June Prime Day delivered another major test of how consumers shop, spend, and respond to promotions. According to Adobe, US online spending reached $26.4 billion during the four day event, up 9.3% YoY, with shoppers showing they're still willing to spend, especially when value meets convenience.

Key takeaways:

📈 $26.4B in online sales across June 23–26, exceeding Adobe's forecast of $26.3B.

🛒 Online spending grew 9.3% YoY, bringing Prime Day sales even closer to Black Friday/Cyber Monday levels ($32.45B in 2025).

💳 Buy Now, Pay Later (BPNL) usage increased 9.5% YoY, accounting for 6.6% of all online orders, or $2.1B in spend.

🏷️ Discounts remained strong, with electronics: 24% off (vs. 23% last year), apparel: 24% off, appliances: 16% off, and toys: 20% off (up from 19%)

💰 Consumers weren't just buying more, they were buying higher value products. The share of premium priced purchases rose 19% versus year to date averages, while premium electronics purchases surged 51%.

The event extended well beyond Amazon, with Walmart, Target, and other retailers launching competing promotions. Telsey Advisory Group found 40% of retailers and brands were more promotional than during last year's July event. Prime Day is increasingly becoming a defining midyear retail moment, not just for sales volume, but for pricing strategies, promotional timing, payment trends, and consumer demand.

🔗 Read more on Retail Dive: link in comments.

Is expanding distribution the new turnaround playbook for legacy retailers?

The most interesting turnaround stories today go beyond digital transformation and show how retailers use data, partnerships, loyalty ecosystems, and channel diversification to reach customers where they already are.

Bath & Body Works is making a major bet on distribution as part of its turnaround strategy by having a curated assortment of 23 products available in 600+ Ulta Beauty stores and online, giving the brand access to one of the largest and most engaged beauty customer bases in the U.S.

After sales surged from $5.4B in 2020 to nearly $7.9B in 2021, Bath & Body Works has struggled to sustain that momentum, declining 0.2% last year to just under $7.3B, while Q1 sales this year fell 3% to $1.38B, forecasting 2.5%–4.5% sales decline for the full year.

What's particularly interesting from a retail technology and strategy perspective is how the company is reshaping its operating model:

🔹 Retail partnerships are becoming customer acquisition engines: Ulta Beauty's loyalty program reaches 40M+ members, creating access to a highly engaged beauty audience that may not regularly shop Bath & Body Works.

🔹 Data and shopper insights may be as valuable as shelf space: Success will depend on whether Bath & Body Works can use new channels to better understand evolving consumer preferences and build more relevant assortments.

🔹 expansion is accelerating: Beyond its own stores and DTC channels, Bath & Body Works launched on Amazon this year and expanded into 600+ college bookstores last year. The store fleet is being rebalanced and early 60% of its U.S. stores are now off-mall, with a goal of reaching 75% in the coming years as mall traffic continues to decline.

The bigger challenge is staying relevant in a beauty market increasingly influenced by Amazon, TikTok Shop, emerging brands, and changing consumer expectations.

Can strategic distribution partnerships drive sustainable growth, or do successful turnarounds still come down to product innovation and customer experience?

🔗 Read the full article, link in comments. 👇

203 companies. 23 acquisitions. 3 IPOs. 📈

Marketing, digital and media has quietly become one of the most influential categories in Israeli retail tech, accounting for 21.5% of the entire ecosystem. As retailers face rising customer acquisition costs, fragmented customer journeys, and growing pressure to drive loyalty, the category is evolving far beyond traditional marketing tools.

The companies gaining traction today are helping retailers:
🎯 Personalize experiences in real time
🤖 Turn AI into measurable conversion and retention outcomes
📈 Better understand customer behavior across channels
🛍️ Improve engagement, loyalty, and customer lifetime value

The momentum is showing up in the numbers:
✅ 203 active companies operating in the category
✅ 23 acquisitions and 3 IPOs
✅ Humanz AI raised $31.1M, Tastewise raised $50M, Bria AI raised $40M
✅ Strategic exits including Anagog (Acquired by Intent HQ), Hour One, and Idomoo

Some of the companies helping shape this category include Adapt, Adge.AI, Alison.ai, AppCard, Inc., D-ID, Eikona, feelter, Howazit, Intent HQ, Optimove, renovai, rulrr.com, Sagarmatha, TNGShopper, Yotpo and more.

The biggest shift? Retailers are increasingly investing in technologies that turn customer signals into action. AI-powered personalization, commerce media, customer intelligence, and engagement platforms are moving from "nice to have" to core retail infrastructure.

🔗 Read the full blog post: Link in comments.
🔗 Download the complete Report: Link in comments.

Father’s day (June 21) spending Is set to hit a record $27.9 billion according to . What should retail tech leaders be paying attention to? 🚨

A key point that stands out is that 44% of shoppers say it's important to find something unique or different, while 34% prioritize creating a special memory. That's a reminder that isn't just about transactions but it's increasingly about helping retailers deliver relevance, personalization, and meaningful customer experiences at scale.

So, despite ongoing economic pressures, consumers aren't pulling back on Father's Day; according to , they're prioritizing it.

📈 Total Father's Day spending expected to reach a record $27.9 billion (up from $24 billion last year)
📈 Average planned spend per consumer: $226.58 (vs. $199.38 in 2025), and 77% of consumers plan to celebrate
📈 Online remains the Number 1 shopping destination (38%), narrowly ahead of department stores (37%), which is key for ecommerce focused companies
📈 Discount store shopping continues to rise, reaching 26% (up from 23% last year)
📈 Electronics and personal care products are seeing the largest spending gains
📈 31% plan to give experiences, while 45% are interested in subscription-based gifts

What does this mean for retail tech companies?

✅ Consumers are still spending, but they're becoming more intentional about where and how they spend.
✅ Value messaging, promotions, and pricing intelligence remain critical as shoppers balance celebration with budget constraints.
✅ Rising demand for electronics, subscriptions, and experiential gifts creates opportunities for personalization engines, recommendation platforms, and loyalty programs.
✅ The continued dominance of online shopping reinforces the importance of seamless omnichannel experiences and high converting digital journeys.
✅ Discount channel growth highlights the need for retailers to optimize inventory, pricing, and merchandising decisions in real time.

🔗 Read more on NRF: link in comments. 👇

What if one of Israel's fastest growing tech sectors isn't cyber, fintech, or AI infrastructure? It's retail tech. 📈

While much of the startup ecosystem spent 2025 navigating a slower funding environment, retail tech funding grew 136% year over year, outpacing every major Israeli tech vertical tracked in our research.

A few findings from the 2025 Israeli Retail & Commerce Tech Report:

📈 Retail tech funding increased 136% YoY
🏆 Retail & Commerce Tech now represents 7.05% of all active Israeli startups, making it one of the country's largest innovation sectors
🚀 Retail tech accounted for 11.9% of Israeli tech exit activity in 2025
🌍 More than 450 active retail tech companies are building solutions for retailers and brands around the world

The strongest momentum of this growth is coming from technologies tied directly to business outcomes. As retailers become more selective with technology investments, startups focused on efficiency, automation, and measurable ROI are attracting increasing attention from both customers and investors.

The result is an ecosystem that has emerged from the market correction leaner, stronger, and more focused on solving real retail challenges.

📥 Download the full 2025 Israeli Retail & Commerce Tech Report. Link in comments. 👇

Everyone talks about AI helping retailers see what's happening in stores. But the real value? Helping them decide what to do next.

In this guest post by Maria Kushnir, Algorithm Team Lead at Trax Retail by FORM, explores why the next phase of retail AI isn't better shelf visibility, it's turning shelf data into prioritized, actionable ex*****on.

A few key takeaways:

🔹 AI powered image recognition is giving retailers and brands real time visibility into shelf conditions across large store networks.
🔹 Field teams often face dozens of issues during a store visit, making prioritization critical for effective ex*****on.
🔹 Contextual factors such as sales performance, product velocity, margin, and store specific conditions help determine which actions create the greatest impact.
🔹 AI driven recommendations can help store associates and field representatives focus their limited time on the highest value tasks.
🔹 Faster, more consistent ex*****on improves shelf availability, promotional compliance, and the flow of information between stores and headquarters.

Trax Retail by FORM was also recognized as one of the Top 100 Companies in our Israeli Retail & Commerce Tech Report 2025/2026.

🔗 Read more on our blog: link in comments 👇