UK-based travel retailer WHSmith is set to bring smart headsets connected to a web app and AI assistant to more than 300 of its stores in the country after a successful pilot.

The headsets, provided by x-hoppers, provide ‘smart notifications’ to in-store colleagues, ranging from store alerts and fridge and freezer monitoring to scheduled team updates and customer QR code alerts. They also feature an embedded AI assistant that allows staff to access multiple store broadcasts and call colleagues directly.

A pilot programme began at WHSmith’s Manchester Piccadilly store in late 2025, the companies said. The two companies worked together to shape a smooth, non-disruptive rollout that they said was “quickly adopted” by colleagues for everything from customer service to shift handovers.

Since then, the headsets have delivered more than 43,000 smart notifications to colleagues’ headsets, including almost 1,000 requests for help via in-store QR codes. These codes have delivered a sales uplift of up to 22 per cent in key categories, they added.

The chain is now preparing to roll out the programme to 32 priority locations, beginning in London Heathrow’s Terminal 5, before expanding it to more than 300 stores.

Karl Stakes, director of operations at WHSmith, said: “Our colleagues need to be able to help customers quickly, especially when stores are busy. x-hoppers keeps our teams connected, so customers get help faster and colleagues are never on their own. The pilot showed what it can do, and we’re pleased to be rolling it out.”

This is the company’s second major in-store AI rollout of the year. In May, WHSmith launched an AI-powered retail assistant, dubbed IMo, in its InMotion stores in Melbourne Airport.

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