Retail News at a Glance, 8 September 2026

Six things in Australian and global retail for the week to 8 September 2026.

Coles will not renew its Palantir contract

Inside Retail reports Coles has confirmed its three-year data-analytics agreement with Palantir Technologies will lapse when it expires in 2027, after a GetUp petition of more than 85,000 signatures. A Coles spokesperson says the platform is used for "rostering, store operations and supply chain planning". Why it matters: Coles has until 2027 to replace or bring in-house the tooling behind store rostering and supply planning.

Bonds opens a branded resale marketplace

Power Retail reports Bonds Village Marketplace, built with re-commerce vendor Treet, is taking listings for pre-loved baby and kids wear, with buying to follow. Bonds says it tracked more than 30,000 unofficial listings on Facebook groups and eBay. Sellers take cash less a 20 per cent Treet fee, or a fee-free Bonds gift card. Why it matters: secondhand demand and gift-card redemption are routed back through the brand's own site.

Accent Group triples its Sports Direct network

Ragtrader reports Accent Group will open six more Sports Direct stores by Christmas, taking the Australian network from three to nine, starting at Broadmeadows on 12 September and Dandenong on 3 October. Chief executive Daniel Agostinelli calls the response "incredibly encouraging". Why it matters: a value sporting-goods format moves from pilot to nine stores inside one Christmas trading period.

Consumer sentiment falls 5.2 per cent

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index falls to 84.4 in September from 88.9 in August. The "time to buy a major household item" sub-index drops 4.8 per cent to 89.3. Westpac points to fuel above $2 a litre and rate-rise fears after July's CPI. Why it matters: big-ticket discretionary demand weakens heading into the pre-Christmas quarter.

Kroger hires a Walmart operations veteran

Kroger has announced Mark Ibbotson, formerly of Walmart US and Asda, as executive vice president and chief store operations officer from 14 September. Chief executive Greg Foran, previously Woolworths Group chief executive, says Ibbotson "has done this work at scale". Why it matters: the former Woolworths chief is staffing Kroger's store operations with Walmart-trained executives.

Shopify shows online carts at the counter

Shopify's changelog confirms POS version 11.14 lets staff with a new "View abandoned checkouts" permission look up an identified customer and see the items left in their online checkout and complete the sale in store. Why it matters: online cart recovery moves onto the shop floor for every Shopify POS merchant, gated by staff role.