Top 10 retail tech trends at EuroShop 2023
What it means: The future of the retail experience is here, and as demonstrated by the innovations and releases at EuroShop 2023, using technology to make shopping more efficient is the clear directive of the industry. Relieving friction points in a shopping trip through smart carts, improved self checkout, artificial intelligence and robotics all increase the productivity of the store and ease of use for consumers. In the U.S., some areas of the market are further ahead, and in other ways, it lags behind. For example, click-and-collect options like cold storage lockers are accessible in Europe, but could easily enhance the buy online, pickup in-store experience for American retailers and consumers.
Retail technologies took over more than five of the nearly 20 exhibit halls at EuroShop 2023 in Dusseldorf, Germany, Feb. 26 - March 2. The largest global retail trade fair hosted 1,830 exhibitors from 55 countries and more than 81,000 show attendees from 141 countries. Particularly, 68% of EuroShop 2023 visitors came from abroad with an increase in visitors from North America, Southeast Asia and Africa.
For five days, EuroShop 2023 retail tech offerings from 656 exhibitors showcased every aspect of today’s consumer and retail demands for in-store and online shopping. The overarching innovative tech themes addressed convenience, speed, personalization, sustainability, seamless shopping and digitalization.
Retail Leader Pro identified 10 growing tech trends expected to continue to advance in usage in the coming year that retailers could leverage to boost sales and consumer experience.
Smart carts
Smart carts showcasing the latest AI and machine vision innovations were on display from numerous retailers offering autonomous checkout solutions for the grocery market.
- Flow displayed the latest upgraded FlowCart, which uses AI-based machine vision tech and a touchscreen tablet to display information about products and allows consumers to check out with their mobile phones.
- PeantlandFirth’s Easy Shopper smart cart allows consumers to place products directly into bags on the cart and pay by app without stopping at a register. As built-in theft prevention, scales, cameras and GPS help monitor active sessions.
- Mago’s Clever family of smart carts includes a standard size along with a slim size, tailored to the needs of smaller drug store spaces and includes a dedicated cosmetic bag that can be carried over the shoulder after shopping.
In addition to several smart carts, Wanzl also displayed a SmartBasket with a permanently installed scanning module with integrated display
Scan and go
Numerous exhibitors were showcasing scan and go technologies, highlighting the popularity of the technology in Europe and driving home the point that consumers should experience the same level of speed, convenience and personalization in physical stores as they do online. The scan-and-go payment function of Shopreme facilitates the customer journey through simple payment via smartphone. In addition, the Store Makers presented the exit terminal vector — developed by Umdasch and Shopreme — that helps customers experience a clear conclusion to their shopping experience and retailers avoid shrinkage.
Self checkout
Many exhibitors highlighted innovations in speed and improved ease of use for self-checkout technologies.
- Diebold Nixdorf expanded its DN Series EASY product family introducing the DN Series EASY ONE, a checkout platform that can be configured for assisted, semi-assisted or full self-service checkout while offering options for peripherals and mounting for any retail channel. The company also displayed an RFID-enabled checkout showcase model featuring the DN Series EASY ONE, demonstrating how fashion retailers can speed up the item identification process for consumers using self-service systems.
- Flow displayed FlowSCO, a self-checkout add-on that identifies the most common self-checkout theft and fraud strategies, alerting the customer and promoting them to scan their purchase correctly.
- For convenience stores, Pyramid Computer showcased Polytouch Flex21.5 self-checkout solution, which offers a compact design for the channel.
Digital signage and electronic shelf labels
Digital signage and electronic shelf labels lit up the show floors, showcasing the growing demand for the tech in retail promotions and marketing.
- For example, Zkong showcased a cloud electronic shelf label system using bluetooth, wi-fi and cloud tech for labels that can clamp on, stand, hook, attach on rails, be bracketed and be refrigerated.
- Sunlux electronic shelf label supports three-color independent control lights with a flash frequency of one time/second.
- Pricer’s SmartTag Color labels offer multicolor and multi-flash functionality at the shelf edge using optical wireless technology, with up to 10 years battery life.
- Lenovo OEM Solutions highlighted dynamic pricing with zero latency and real-time promotion to enhance in-aisle and end-cap conversions, and integrated inventory and pricing provide a single view for staff. Lenovo collaborated with Intel and Instorescreen to create the store of the future featuring dynamic digital storage. Lenovo is also partnering with Admira for digital signage, dynamic pricing and other solutions to deliver smarter retail campaigns.
- Framen also showcased its content management software for infotainment, entertainment as well as paid retail media advertising to retailers' digital billboards.
- Also offering digital signage, Scala displayed Scalea and STRATACACHE branded hardware including media players, commercial-grade tablets, ruggedized outdoor displays, sensors and content acceleration devices. SES-imagotag SA VUSION electronic shelf labels along with VUSION rails, allowing brands to entirely leverage the most valuable real estate of a store, its shelves. Messaging can be synchronized across channels, from web to store, and can be even displayed across different rails at the same time.
Autonomous checkout
For frictionless checkout options, Amazon showcased its Just Walk Out technology, which uses computer vision, sensor fusion and analytics, while Trigo displayed its frictionless checkout technology and retail analytics, currently being deployed by Wakefern Food Corp and now capable of being used in multiple retail channels and store sizes. Through ceiling-mounted intelligent cameras and shelf sensors, Trigo-powered grocery stores allow customers to walk in, select their items and leave without having to go through a checkout process.
For next-generation vending, Mago also showcased a self-service, automated and mobile shopping systems, Nexto Store, Display and Select. Nexto Display can house products in two temperature zones and operates as a high-tech vending machine.
AI store management
Using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve consumer experience was prevalent at the show, but so were innovations using AI for store management.
- Sensormatic Solutions, the retail solutions portfolio of Johnson Controls, displayed its storefront visibility solution, which combines advanced sensors with AI technology to improve inventory accuracy, align staffing with shopper traffic and pinpoint vulnerable store areas to respond quicker to retail theft.
- Also aiding in inventory management, Bizerba Smart Shelf with integrated weighing technology detects each product removed from the shelf and records with gram and centimeter accuracy. Bizerba also debuted TableSmart which uses object recognition in combination with AI to detect and record purchases set down in a designated area.
Smart scales using AI and aiming to improve the customer experience and reduce shrink also were on display. DIGI displayed a smart scale with a built-in camera that quickly and automatically recognizes produce and can differentiate items in sheer or mesh bags.
Smart bulk
From pantry staples to spices, exhibitors displayed how consumers can view product weight and price in real-time directly on the hopper, scoop and liquid scales while purchasing only the amount they need. With DIGI’s all-in-one bulk system, weight and pricing information of the dispensed item are automatically displayed on the console's screen for label printing, thus simplifying the operation process.
With sustainability top-of-mind, Purcell builds plastic-free, smart dispensing and refill systems for food and everyday essentials. By “packaging at purchase,” Purcell offers an alternative to prepackaged products.
Robotics and AI
Wanzl showcased Bakisto, an automated baking and stock measure system that uses AI and aims to control consistent quality, lower effort for daily inventory, avoid out-of-stocks, reduce staffing needs, save energy costs, create flexibility and reduce food waste. The robotic arm systems can pull product trays from ovens, pull items from trays and place items on shelves. Bakisto consists of three interconnected systems: Wanzl's smart baked goods presented BakeOff with AI, the network-enabled Dibas blue2 baking oven with automatic TrayMotion loading and unloading system from WIESHEU, and a collaborative robot (Cobot) from FANUC on a rail system.
Cooling lockers
In addition to offering click-and-collect lockers for ambient product storage, Coolcenter displayed cold and frozen product storage cabinets as a click-and-collect solution for retail. The product range includes solutions for indoor and outdoor cold food and beverage product pickup.
Reverse vending machines
Sustainability was the common theme in all areas of this year’s EuroShop. Exhibitors demonstrated that sustainable store fittings not only contribute to climate protection, but also offer plenty of material for storytelling – from innovative, biodegradable store fitting materials to display mannequins made from ocean waste raw materials. In addition, the focus was on energy savings, especially in the refrigeration display case and store lighting segments.
Encouraging customers to get into a routine of recycling, numerous exhibitors displayed reverse vending machines.
- DIGI displayed a simple-to-use, large-capacity reverse vending machine to collect plastic bottles.
- Magrini also showcased Recyclever reverse vending machines, also known as automated return points for which consumers can return empty containers of PET, aluminum, steel and glass and receive a voucher.
- Tomra reverse vending solutions debuted five new concepts spanning the entire product portfolio: a multi-feed concept that brings multi-feed reverse vending to stores of all sizes, Tomra’s vision for the future of single-feed recycling, backroom concept that sees storage cabinets go vertical to reduce footprint, over-the-air digital concept for holistic reverse vending intelligence and smart service concept for predictive service around reverse vending machine components.
What’s next: One of the remaining questions about how retail tech fits into the overall retail industry is how can retailers add tech to existing infrastructure and store designs? Many stores across the country aren’t designed to be able to easily add new systems or elements, which then requires enterprise investment to upgrade stores across the fleet. In the future, technology implementation and store design need to be agile to allow for frequent enhancements to the in store experience.