As we welcome in the New Year and wish all our readers the best for the year ahead, we’re diving in with the first Retail Recap of 2026.

From Currys readying its stores for next-gen payments to M&S being crowned the UK’s most trusted retailer despite its 2025 cyber incident and Vinted’s busiest day for UK listings on Sell-It Sunday, what’s been making waves in retail this week?

Currys taps Stripe for next-gen payment capabilities

Currys has partnered with Stripe to deploy next-gen payment terminals across all its UK&I stores, setting the tech foundations to power faster and more flexible checkout experiences.

The tie-up will future-proof Currys‘ payment capabilities – from seamless mobile transactions to AI-powered shopping experiences – as innovation evolves.

Andy Gamble, Chief Information & Transformation Officer at Currys, said the platform would offer the retailer “the flexibility to adopt innovations as they emerge.”

In addition to upgrading its payment systems, the retailer has also brokered a three-way partnership with Stripe and micro-donation charity, Pennies, allowing customers to round up purchases on payment terminals to give to good causes.

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Sitoo & Bloomreach team up to power connected personalisation

Sitoo and Bloomreach have announced a new partnership to help retailers deliver connected, relevant and more personalised omnichannel shopping experiences.

The combined capabilities enable store teams to access to richer customer insights in real-time. Using this intelligence, staff can deliver more informed and connected customer service to enhance shopper journeys.

Jens Levin, CEO & Co-Founder of Sitoo, said the move would “take personalisation off the web and into the full shopping experience,” ensuring every shopper “sees the right offer, product or service, whether they’re browsing online or in-store.” 

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M&S crowned UK’s most trusted retailer despite cyberattack

Marks & Spencer (M&S) was ranked the UK’s most trusted retailer in 2025, despite the crippling cyberattack that disrupted its trading for several weeks last year, says research from GlobalData.

M&S’ own-brand ranges helped pushed it into the top spot, with shoppers’ difficulty in finding alternative products elsewhere during the outage reinforcing the perception that the retailer offers products that are genuinely hard to replace.

Behind M&S, John Lewis & Partners, Tesco, Amazon and Sainsbury’s completed the top five most trusted UK retailers of 2025 in the GlobalData poll of 2,000 UK shoppers.

“The most-trusted UK retailers are those that translate quality and value into clear, customer-facing signals,” said Aliya Siddika, Associate Retail Analyst at GlobalData.

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Unmissable innovation: RRW’s top tech picks for NRF 2026

With NRF’s Big Show in New York just over a week away, we round up our top tech picks of the innovation you won’t want to miss from across the Expo.

Taking place between 11 – 13 Jan 2026 in NYC’s Javits Centre, NRF’s 2026 theme is “Next Now”, showcasing the role of the trade event in connecting retailers with the future-proof solutions needed to transform their operations.

Top 10 tech picks – Expo Floor (Level 1)

From Focal Systems’ shelf-edge cameras, to intelligent clientelling solutions from Proximity, and AI-powered shopping experiences with Valtech, read the full preview of the not-to-miss tech on Level 1:

NRF 2026 – Top 10 tech picks: What not to miss on Expo Floor (Level 1) at Retail’s Big Show.

Top 10 tech picks – Expo Floor (Level 3)

Moving up to Level 3, we explore top innovation from the likes of Akeneo (PIM), Klaviyo (customer data and marketing automation), Pricer (ESLs), Quorso (intelligent WFM) and VusionGroup (connected shelf-edge solutions).

Read the full round-up: NRF 2026 – Top 10 tech picks: What not to miss on Expo Floor (Level 3) at Retail’s Big Show.

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‘Sell-It Sunday’ to be busiest day for UK Vinted listings

Vinted forecasts that this coming Sunday (04 Jan 2026) – ‘Sell-It Sunday’ – will be its busiest day for UK re-selling on its platform.

The number of listings on the pre-loved platform is tipped to be x3 higher than usual on Sell-It Sunday, as consumers use the Twixmas period to decide whether to ‘love or list’ Christmas gifts and declutter.

“Sell-It Sunday isn’t just the moment unwanted gifts get a second life. It’s become a national reset, a day when millions of people turn clutter into cash,” said Jessie de la Merced, VP Corporate Affairs at Vinted.

“It shows how second-hand shopping continues to grow as a smart, stylish choice for 2026,” she added.

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Economic concerns risk more consumer caution in 2026

Economic concerns, ongoing pressure on essential household costs and consumer caution will continue to limit discretionary spending into 2026, research from KPMG UK’s latest Consumer Pulse survey reveals.

Entering 2026, +15% more consumers believe the UK economy has worsened since the start of 2025 (43% vs 58%), prompting shoppers to take action to reduce spending.

Half (49%) are cutting discretionary spend and a further 34% are deferring big-ticket purchases. Over two fifths (42%) of consumers say they will buy no big-ticket items in the first quarter of 2026. 

“Annual consumer spending growth looks set to [be] sluggish again, with available discretionary budget prioritised,” Linda Ellett, Head of Consumer, Retail and Leisure for KPMG UK, commented.

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Euromonitor forecasts four key consumer trends for 2026

In RRW’s 2026 trends series, Alison Angus, Head of Innovation at Euromonitor International, outlines four key consumer shifts every retailer should be watching this year.

These trends go beyond products, revealing deeper changes in lifestyle, technology and global influence – and will be critical to staying relevant and driving growth. The four trends comprise:

🧘 Comfort Zone – a move towards calm, simplicity and emotional clarity as consumers seek stability in an increasingly chaotic world
🔥 Fiercely Unfiltered – unapologetic self-expression, hyper-personalisation and brands that align with identity, not conformity
🧬 Rewired Wellness – science-led, tech-enabled health becomes everyday, with speed, data and personalisation now expected
🌏 The Next Asian Wave – Chinese brands step confidently onto the global stage, redefining innovation, value and social commerce

Read the full article here 👉 Retail 2026 | Euromonitor’s Alison Angus on the four consumer trends every retailer must watch.

The Retail Recap is brought to you in partnership with Flagship PR, a specialist comms agency that delivers pioneering PR for retail tech.