As 2025 draws to a close, we added up the numbers to bring you a round-up of Retail Systems’ most popular stories of the year.

1. Why are some independent retailers still hesitant to embrace AI?
While larger retailers embrace AI to boost productivity and customer engagement, one-in-10 independent brands in the market are steering clear. Retail Systems senior reporter Silvia Iacovcich explored why some smaller businesses remain hesitant to install the technology.

2. The Visa and Mastercard fees ruling: a long road to real change?
At the end of June Visa and Mastercard were found to be in breach of UK competition rules over their interchange fees – an important outcome in a years-long legal battle. In this article, Silvia Iacovcich investigated whether the ruling will lead to a more competitive and transparent ecosystem and reshape the retailer-customer relationship.

3. Britain’s retail cyber crisis: A wake-up call for the industry?
After Marks & Spencer, The Co-op, and Harrods experienced major cyber hacks in succession, some experts are described the incidents as a likely coordinated attack on the UK retail sector. Retail Systems news editor Alexandra Leonards took a deep dive into what happened, exploring where the companies could have done better and why the industry must shift its approach to cyber resilience.

4. Estée Lauder hires CTO
In April, Estée Lauder hired Brian Franz as chief technology, data and analytics officer to lead the strategic transformation of the company’s global data and technology capabilities. Franz joined from financial firm State Street, where he served as global chief information officer, head of enterprise resiliency for more than five years.

5. Emma Pacey joins Morrisons
In June, Morrisons poached Emma Pacey from rival Asda to work as trading director for general merchandise. Pacey spent over 18 years at Asda in a variety of senior roles including senior director e-commerce transformation and online trading director.

6. BNPL regulation: How new legislation is set to impact the market
The government announced in May that the long-awaited Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) legislation will be launched in 2026, with the new rules set to give consumers stronger rights and clearer protections. Silvia Iacovcich investigated how the new rules will impact the market and consumers, exploring the challenges and opportunities ahead.

7. Fabletics to revamp supply chain planning with new tech
Active and lifestyle wear brand Fabletics announced in February that it is rolling out new supply chain planning technology as part of plans to further expand its global footprint. The technology, developed by Blue Yonder, includes tools for demand planning, allocation and replenishment, merchandise financial planning, and size scaling.

8. Guess? hires new CFO
Guess? hired Alberto Toni in April as its new chief financial officer (CFO), replacing the interim chief financial officer Dennis Secor. Toni joined the firm at the end of June from Italian design company Flos B&B, where he had worked as group managing director and CFO since May 2023.

9. Chinese ecommerce giants SHEIN, AliExpress and Temu among firms facing EU privacy crackdown
At the beginning of the year Austrian privacy advocacy group Noyb filed complaints against six Chinese technology companies, including TikTok, SHEIN, and AliExpress, alleging unlawful transfers of European Union users' data to China in violation of privacy regulations. According to the complaints, AliExpress, SHEIN, TikTok, and Xiaomi explicitly acknowledged transferring European personal data to China, while Temu and WeChat indicate transfers to unspecified "third countries" that likely include China.

10. Tesco veteran joins Asda
In April, Asda announced the appointment of James Goodman as chief people officer. He joined the firm from Tesco, where he spent 12 years in roles including of people director for the UK and ROI where he was responsible for all people related matters including labour relations, recruitment, learning, early careers and health and wellbeing.

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