British value-led supermarket chain, Heron Foods, has improved customer experience (CX), streamlined operations and enhanced colleague safety with an in-store communication platform from x-hoppers, the smart AI-enabled solution from Wildix.
Established in Hull in 1979, value food retailer Heron Foods is committed to delivering chilled, frozen and branded grocery goods at affordable prices and operates over 340 UK stores. With 6,000 staff across its network and a growing store estate – aiming to open up to 30 new locations each year – Heron Foods wanted to unify its communications and better connect its teams across frontline roles, the back office, regional field reps and its HQ.
Having selected x-hoppers, which combines wireless headsets with a mobile app for smarter and more consistent operations, Heron Foods has improved in-store experiences for shoppers while helping staff feel safer on the shop floor.
The unified communications solution now connects area and regional managers with frontline store teams via the mobile app, creating a direct line to Heron Foods’ colleagues on the shop floor. This ensures the right messages reach the right teams at the right times to drive operational efficiencies and enhanced productivity. It also embeds intelligence directly into staff members’ daily workflows, improving speed of service for shoppers, while smart notifications create greater consistency and compliance.
The unified communications solution integrates seamlessly with Heron Foods’ existing systems, including StaffSafe, an always-on security solution offering real-time, two-way verbal and visual connectivity to prevent, control and remedy in-store incidents. Able to access the StaffSafe helpline via the headsets, each team member can feel more confident, connected and safer when walking the shop floor on every shift.
“The headsets extend functionality beyond our previous solution, improving team collaboration, enhancing CX with prompt service and increasing colleagues’ sense of safety,” said Jon Newson, Head of Information Technology at Heron Foods.
“The real value we see from x‑hoppers extends beyond just colleagues talking. It’s the deep integration with [our] systems, the field-based communication and collaboration it enables, and how it aligns with our future roadmap, [which] makes it incredibly powerful,” Newson added.
“Bricks-and-mortar success depends on seamless service, underpinned by intelligent, real-time information and clear cross-team communication,” said Graham Dixon, CTO at x-hoppers. “With unified store connectivity, Heron Foods has unlocked the personalised and consistent communications that deliver across every layer of the business, supporting CX, team cohesion and colleague safety.”
Looking ahead, Heron Foods will explore rolling out new agentic AI features within the x-hoppers headsets. The feature enables enhanced levels of intelligence directly into the ears of colleagues – from checking real-time inventory to accessing procedural guidance, allowing staff to deliver personalised and efficient service, enabled by AI and activated by voice.
x-hoppers will be exhibiting at the Retail Technology Show (RTS), which takes place on 22 & 23 April 2026 at London’s ExCeL. Exhibiting on stand K20, it will showcase its new AI-embedded headset solutions, as well as demo-ing a new mobile app, which extends comms beyond the headset to support flexible, device-agnostic collaboration and BYOD capabilities.
