Global roundup: digitisation, new formats and technology

Europe

Results, digitisation and private label

Carrefour sees continued growth in Q3. The French retailer has seen group like-for-like sales grow 2.1%, driven predominantly by sales in food categories. Ecommerce and private label also continued to grow; own-brand products accounted for 37% of sales. The most successful channel was convenience, which saw 4.7% growth and 132 store openings across Europe.

Michela Pearson, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: the strong performance in convenience is a clear indicator that Carrefour's strategy of investing in smaller format stores is paying dividends, particularly across the competitive European markets. The continued uptick in private label share to 37% is significant and suggests that shoppers are increasingly looking to Carrefour's own-brand products to manage cost pressures, which bodes well for the retailer's margins moving forward.

Lidl opens a restaurant in Finland. The discounter is opening a restaurant, called Lidlerie, with dishes designed by chef Henri Alén. The restaurant will be open between 25 and 29 November in the dining hall of Finnjävel, a Michelin star restaurant in Helsinki. The dishes on the menu will be made from ingredients across Lidl’s stores and will only cost the same as the price of the products would cost in store, with four-course meals available for less than 13 euros. As there are restrictions on alcohol sold in grocery stores in Finland, the restaurant will offer Lidl wines from countries with no restrictions. Lidl is also donating 50 free lunches for low-income families at Lidlerie.

Rachel Sibson, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: as retailers are consistently competing with discounters on price, discounters must evolve how they deliver value to shoppers. This initiative by Lidl challenges the perceptions of discount retail, positioning it as a quality-driven and innovative retailer, allowing it to appeal to a broader audience. To know more about Lidl, read our strategic outlook for Lidl.

Eurocash franchise stores to undergo digital transformation. The Polish wholesaler will introduce over 4,000 digital screens to its franchise stores operating under the ABC, Groszek and Euro Sklep banners. This is part of a major refurbishment process, where the screens will initially be used to communicate promotions, but in the future may be used as a retail media platform.

Dan Butler, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: Eurocash will look to support franchisees in modernising stores, designed to attract younger shoppers. Suppliers should take advantage of the retail media opportunities, as Eurocash boasts a large store network and wide shopper reach.

Italian market leader Selex welcomes new member. The retailing group will see Etruria Retail become a member of its existing member Unicomm in 2026. Etruria Retail was one of Carrefour’s franchise partners and is now shifting following the French retailer’s sale to NewPrinces Group. The move will add almost half a billion in sales to Selex’s turnover, helping to solidify its recently gained position as market leader in Italy.

Michela Pearson, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: This is an interesting move that will certainly boost Selex’s presence in central Italy, a region historically dominated by Conad. Conad is making strong investment in its network, with circa €1.5 bn earmarked for refurbishment and expansion, to counteract Selex’s threat. Read our Italy country presentation to learn more about the retail landscape in Italy.

Rossmann Germany launches new K-beauty private label. ISANA, Rossman’s private label range, is the first German private-label brand to launch a K-beauty line. ISANA KOREAN SKINCARE is formulated and manufactured in Korea and has eight SKUs covering different functions, such as cleansing, preparation, strengthening and moisturising. Rossman has ensured this line is priced just like its other private label ranges, without charging a premium.

Sabrina Wong, Insight Analyst’s review: retailers have been responding to the rising demand on K-beauty by importing more relevant products. However, the imported nature of these products has led to premium pricing, which is not affordable for some shoppers, and therefore not the most sustainable model. Rossman’s new private label line offers a great alternative for shoppers who want to try K-beauty without paying a premium, enabling to meet this growing trend better than other retailers. Click here to read our Global health and beauty trends 2025 report.

Asia-Pacific

Retail media, franchise and category expansion

FairPrice launches retail media business unit in Singapore. FairPrice has officially launched FPG Advantage, its omnichannel retail media network business. Prior to the launch, FairPrice already had a retail media advertising revenue stream, but it has been focused on scaling up. The retailer has cited successful case studies in Singapore from its previous retail media advertising campaigns to entice new sign-ups.

Jarred Neubronner, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: having added infrastructure such as digital screens in stores in recent years, FairPrice’s official launch of its retail media arm comes at the right time to grow its new revenue stream. For suppliers deciding whether to invest, they need to ensure they can secure sufficient return on investments; retailers like FairPrice will need to clearly communicate the benefits and returns gained from retail media, and continue to showcase successful case studies, to convince suppliers.

SM Retail launches franchising programmes for MSMEs. This programme allows micro, small and medium enterprises to evolve into franchisees of SM Retail’s convenience banner, Alfamart. It will help these MSMEs to expand their store estate alongside Alfamart’s store network. This reflects SM Retail’s commitment to inclusive growth and entrepreneurship, while also strengthening local communities and livelihoods.   

Sabrina Wong, Insight Analyst’s view: this programme creates more opportunities for smaller businesses to grow and expand in the market, while also benefitting Alfamart by expanding its store network. This is a great example of social sustainability, where retailers are rolling out sustainable initiatives to benefit the communities, smaller businesses and the retailer itself.

Big W has expanded its beauty aisles. Big W is a general merchandise retail banner by Woolworths Group. This expanded range will meet the growing demand for affordable and accessible beauty products. The retailer also launched its first-ever private label bath and body range, ‘Beauty Bar’, featuring products like body butters, body scrubs, lip oils, bubble baths and bath bombs. It is also stocking leading Korean skincare brands like Skin1004, Frudia, Some By Mi, and COSRX, which have been growing in popularity on Tik Tok. 

Tan Soo Eng, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: Big W has been struggling with declining sales and profits as a result of heavy discounting, according to its latest financial results. The launch of a skincare range can attract higher margins and more frequent purchase cycles versus apparel or homewares. This beauty department with social media viral brands will attract younger shoppers and generate incremental sales that could ultimately flow through the store.

North America

RFID technology and quick commerce

Walmart expanding use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology through a new Avery Denninson collaboration. This technology will be deployed in fresh categories and will enhance inventory visibility, improve product freshness, and reduce waste across produce, meat and dairy. The move builds on Walmart’s existing RFID programme in apparel and represents a broader push to digitise store operations and optimise supply chain performance.

Stewart Samuel, Director of Retail Futures’ view: Walmart’s rollout signals a move from limited category pilots to enterprise-wide digitisation. By extending item-level tracking into high-turn, high-waste areas like meat, bakery and deli, the retailer is tackling two long-standing challenges: on-shelf availability and food waste. The initiative creates a new benchmark for visibility in fresh and strengthens the feedback loop between stores, suppliers and the wider supply chain.

Grubhub and Instacart enter partnership. Users can now order groceries on Grubhub’s app and website from Instacart’s network of around 1,000 merchants. Orders will be fulfilled by Instacart, and nationwide availability is expected imminently. It is also understood that access to select pharmacies will be rolled out through the partnership over coming months. Special offers are available to celebrate the partnership launch, including $0 delivery fees on orders of over $25+ from select retailers, and 30% off up to three orders of $75+ for the next three months.

Michaela Jay, Insight Manager’s view: this partnership marks a milestone for Instacart, as it is the first time it is embedding its grocery experience into a third-party platform. Both businesses clearly see the need for more competitive strategies as DoorDash owns around 70% of the US’s food delivery market and Uber Eats has about 25%, while Grubhub falls behind with around 8%. DoorDash has been ramping up its investment for partnerships and shopper benefits, while also recently announcing the launch of its own fulfilment service called DashMart Fulfilment Services, to compete with the likes of Walmart and Amazon.

Rest of world (Middle East)

New discount format

Majid Al Futtaim launches first discount banner. Majid Al Futtaim has launched SAVA (SAvings + VAlue) in the UAE, opening four stores in its first two days, with 10 more locations planned by the end of the year. SAVA is designed for today’s value-conscious shoppers, with the promise of “Simply Unbeatable Value”. It offers 1,600 products with 160 offers available to shoppers weekly. The stores have the soft discounter look and feel that is seen in Europe, championed by Lidl and Aldi.

Rachel Sibson, Senior Insight Analyst’s view: this launch has the potential to disrupt the UAE market and change the way people shop. It comes at a key time where shoppers continue to navigate high food inflation and increased rent prices, which is impacting their spending power. Being an Emirates-owned company, it will have less of a barrier to build the trust of locals, which Lidl and Aldi must overcome when entering a new international market.