From discounters posting record-breaking Christmas sales and Next upgrading its profit guidance, to facial recognition alerts doubling amid rising retail crime, what’s been making waves in retail this week?
December delight for discounters as Aldi & Lidl post record-breaking results
Both Aldi and Lidl described their Christmas 2025 trading as “record-breaking”, underlining continued consumer demand in the UK for value-led groceries.
Sales at Aldi rose +3% year-on-year (YOY) to £1.65billion in the four weeks to Christmas Eve, with price cited as the “biggest priority” for shoppers. The German-owned retailer also reported sales growth of more than +5% in the final trading week before Christmas, with 22 December representing its busiest sales day.
Rival discounter, Lidl, also reported its best Christmas performance on record, with revenues up +10% YOY to top £1.1billionn in the month to Christmas Eve. Shopper numbers rose +8% YOY, with nearly 51 million customers visiting its stores.
Zitcha’s Dan Sands on how retail media networks will evolve in 2026
As Retail Media Networks (RMNs) scale up, maturity not momentum is becoming the key differentiator, says Zitcha’s Dan Sands in our Retail 2026 Trends series. He explores how RMNs are evolving from revenue add-ons to a strategic growth engines, sharing insight on what retailers should prioritise next, including:
📺 In-store as a true media channel, moving beyond pilots to programmable, and measurable formats that connect awareness to purchases
🧭 Experience-led ad products, shifting from ‘noise’ to genuinely helping shoppers navigate choice
💷 Margin as the next battleground, focusing on which formats, channels and audiences really drive profitable growth
Next annual profits to top £1.1bn after strong Christmas sales
Next said it expects annual profits to increase to £1.15billion, up £15million on previous guidance, following strong Christmas sales. The business reported full-price sales rose +10.6% YOY – also ahead of previous guidance of +7% – in the nine weeks to 27 December.
UK sales increased +5.9%, compared with prior guidance of +4%, while international sales surged +38%. The retailer partly attributed this overperformance to stronger sales through its partnership with Zalando.
Next migrated to ZEOS, Zalando’s B2B unit, in August, to help improve stock availability via a single inventory pool serving both the Zalando and NEXT websites across Europe.
RTS owner Nineteen Group eyes U.S. expansion with The Lead acquisition
Nineteen Group, parent company of the Retail Technology Show, has acquired The Lead, a North American based portfolio of brand and retail events and forums.
The Lead joins a roster of leading global retail events under the Nineteen Group umbrella, including Retail Technology Show (RTS), the UK’s flagship retail event.
East of England Co-op completes pilot of Pricer Avenue
East of England Co-op has completed a pilot of a new shelf-edge communications platform from Pricer, digitalising in-aisle experiences for shoppers.
The Pricer Avenue builds on East of England Co-op’s existing use of Pricer ESLs, improving CX, delivering richer content and enhancing store operations.
The solution also supports larger, more impactful displays, enabling retailers to link multiple labels into a shared canvas, creating new brand engagement opportunities without increasing operational complexity.
Rob Smith, Technology Officer at East of England Co-op, said the pilot had brought “new energy to key promotional areas,” adding it was “a big step towards delivering a store experience that’s ready for the future.”
Waitrose opens first South West DC as part of £1bn supply chain investment
Waitrose will open its first South West distribution centre (DC) in early 2027.
Located in Bristol, the site will be operated by DHL and forms part of Waitrose’s multi-year £1bn supply-chain investment. The retailer estimates the DC will reduce annual supply chain emissions by 2,225 tonnes of CO2, equivalent to removing more than 1,500 vehicles from the road each year.
Alison Maffin, Waitrose’s Supply Chain Director, said: “As we grow, it’s essential that our supply chain grows with us. This new site strengthens our network, ensuring consistent service for our customers and creating over 550 jobs in a state-of-the-art facility.”
Facial recognition triggers over 500k crime alerts in 2025
Facewatch sent more than 500,000 real-time offender alerts to retailers in 2025, more than double the number issued in 2024, as organised and repeat retail crime continued to rise across the UK.
The live facial recognition platform now sends an average of 1,415 alerts per day, compared with 693 per day in 2024, notifying retailers in near real-time when known prolific or repeat offenders enter stores.
“Retailers are dealing with levels of theft and aggression that would have been unthinkable a few years ago,” said Nick Fisher, CEO of Facewatch.
“The fact that alerts have more than doubled in a single year reflects the growth in repeat offenders and the reality that retailers are under pressure to act faster, smarter and more collaboratively,” he added.
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