From Aldi retaining its crown as the UK’s cheapest grocer to the rise of supermarket fashion as Tesco relaunches F&F online and Seasalt launching its new mobile loyalty scheme, what’s been making waves in retail this week?

Finger lickin’ fulfilment – KFC partners with Deliveroo

Deliveroo and KFC announced a new rapid delivery partnership – already live in selected restaurants in London and the South East, 924 more KFC sites will be rolled out on Deliveroo by the end of the month. The move is part of KFC’s ongoing efforts to evolve its digital offer, aiming to meet customers where they are.

Ella Smith, Chief Legal Officer at KFC UK&I, said: “We know we need to be wherever our customers are, which is why we’ve doubled down on our digital offering over the past few years.”

“Finding the right combination of ordering options and commercial partnerships to serve all our customers simply and easily is key – this partnership with Deliveroo will help bring KFC to more people nationwide,” Smith added.

Discounters – Aldi named cheapest UK supermarket in April

Aldi was the UK’s cheapest supermarket in April, the latest analysis from consumer group Which? revealed.

This marks the 18th month in a row Aldi has held on to the crown as the UK’s cheapest grocer. Seeing off competition from discounter rival, Lidl, Aldi beat Lidl Plus loyalty prices last month by just 69p across a selection of 79 popular branded and own-brand grocery items.

“If shoppers want to save money on groceries, then Aldi is the place to shop,” Julie Ashfield, Chief Commercial Officer at Aldi UK, commented.

Store painpoints – Inventory availability retailers’ top challenge

Inventory issues are among the top challenges UK retailers face within the store in 2025, the latest research from Pricer shows. Original research of over 100 senior UK retailers reveals that inventory availability is the top in-store challenge retailers are looking to address this year (36%), while a further 34% will also focus their efforts in improving inventory accuracy.

With rising wage costs after the October Budget, a further 36% are facing greater pressure to deliver productivity gains due to rising labour bills.

This means “retailers are having to navigate the complexities of rising operational costs, shifting consumer demands and labour shortages,” Peter Ward, UK Country Manager at Pricer, said.

Fashion – H&M Group invests in fashion commerce platform Centra

Centra announced that global fashion and design company, H&M, will take a minority stake in its specialist fashion and lifestyle ecommerce platform. 

H&M Group’s investment will accelerate Centra’s growth and innovation, solidifying its position as the market-leading platform in fashion commerce. With this new investment, Centra will continue optimising its platform and accelerating R&D efforts across its direct-to-consumer (DTC), fashion wholesale (B2B) and omnichannel capabilities.

“The investment from H&M Group is a strong vote of confidence in the value we’ve built together,” Martin Jensen, CEO of Centra, said. “We’re excited to continue driving innovation and proving that there’s a better way for fashion brands to thrive in today’s fast-changing commerce landscape.”

Supermarket fashion – Tesco relaunches F&F clothing online

In response to shopper demand, Tesco has re-introduced its own-brand of clothing, F&F, launching the range on Tesco.com and also making it available via its Grocery and Clubcard App.

For the first time since 2018, Tesco customers will be able to shop a wide range of stylish and affordable F&F collections online, spanning womenswear, menswear, childrens’ clothing, footwear and accessories.

Supermarket own-brand apparel has been gaining popularity on social media, with TikTok influencers, celeb collabs and affordable fashion dupes driving demand. 

Loyalty – Seasalt launches new mobile loyalty programme

Seasalt has launched its new Seasalt Rewards mobile loyalty programme, which will allow UK shoppers to collect points on all purchases while delivering more personalised customer experiences.

The new omnichannel loyalty scheme, which was developed based on customer feedback, will replace its former stamp card system. Now customers can collect points from in-store and online spend on a mobile wallet card, which will also deliver personalised engagement, including exclusive offers, competitions and early sale access.

Engagement – Retailers lack post-purchase engagement capabilities, says Scurri research

Half (49%) of consumers say receiving personalised offers in post-purchase tracking communications makes them more likely to repeat purchase, but currently almost two thirds (63%) of UK retailers lack the ability to re-target consumers between checkout and delivery. 

And this post-purchase engagement gap risks retailers losing out on revenue opportunities during a crucial – and lucrative – stage of the sales loop, according to the latest report from Scurri, the delivery management and post-purchase experience software provider.

“Post-purchase is about more than just keeping customers up to date with delivery progress, Rory O’Connor, Founder & CEO at Scurri, commented.  “It can be the beginning of the customer’s next purchase through the use of branded, promotional offers designed to drive repurchase, delivered at the very moment when the shopper is most engaged.”