Walmart Drops Pricing Patent as ASOS Is Hacked

Walmart is dropping a patent that would have let Scan & Go personalise prices at the point of scan, while ASOS confirms a cyber attack that reached customers through its own app. Today's briefing shows retail leaders that pricing and customer data are now where trust is won or lost.

Sources:

- InternetRetailing: ASOS Confirms Cyberattack; Customer Personal Data May Have Been Accessed https://internetretailing.net/hackers-target-asos-with-unusual-pop-up-extortion-attempt-2/

- Retail Times: Just Eat and Morrisons Extend Autonomous Delivery to 12,000+ Customers in Cambourne https://retailtimes.co.uk/just-eat-expands-autonomous-delivery-with-morrisons/

- Retail Gazette: T.M.Lewin Opens Two Stores in November, Taking Estate to Seven https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2026/10/t-m-lewin-high-street-comeback/

- Retail Gazette: Cotswold Outdoor Rolls Out In-Store Advertising Network Across Full Estate https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2026/10/cotswold-outdoor-expands-retail-media-network-with-in-store-advertising-push/

- Retail Dive: Walmart Abandons Scan-and-Go Pricing Patent Under Activist Pressure https://www.retaildive.com/news/walmart-defends-dynamic-pricing-practices-again/832248/

- Supermarket News: Albertsons Accuses Kroger of Shredding Key Merger Evidence https://www.supermarketnews.com/mergers-acquisitions/shred-gate-albertsons-accuses-kroger-of-destroying-key-piece-of-evidence-in-merger

- PYMNTS: CarMax Scales AI Voice Agents to Every Inbound Store Call https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/carmax-lets-ai-take-the-call-not-the-sale/

- Retail Dive: Target's Turnaround Gains Analyst Support Ahead of Critical Q4 https://www.retaildive.com/news/target-retail-holiday-season-performance/831858/

- Grocery Dive: Giant Company Opens GLP-1 Store Tours at Six Locations https://www.grocerydive.com/news/the-giant-company-glp1-tours-weight-loss-grocery-supermarkets/832234/

- RetailDetail EU: Hackers Send Extortion Message to ASOS Customers Via Official App https://www.retaildetail.eu/news/fashion/hackers-hijack-asos-app-to-post-extortion-message/

- RetailDetail EU: Belgian VAT Reform Risks Higher Grocery Bills Despite Zero-Rate Headline https://www.retaildetail.eu/news/food/belgian-vat-reform-threatens-to-make-groceries-more-expensive-despite-the-zero-rate/

- RetailDetail EU: Australia, New Zealand and New York Advance Plans for State-Owned Supermarkets https://www.retaildetail.eu/news/food/the-government-as-a-supermarket-owner-nationalization-is-becoming-a-new-trend/