Robots in inventory management
22/10/2025
The two biggest hurdles to successful inventory management are the high time and personnel costs involved. Fortunately, specialized robots have been available for several years now as tireless helpers that keep an eye on inventory while searching for shelf gaps.
Sensor-based stores deliver real-time data for personalized customer experiences
16/10/2025
Sensor-based store concepts bridge the gap between the online and offline worlds and form the basis for seamless unified commerce. What technologies are behind this, and what added value do they offer retailers?
How retailers and brands stay relevant when AI agents do the shopping
01/10/2025
AI shopping agents that act autonomously make purchasing decisions based on different criteria than humans and remain unimpressed by emotional advertising campaigns. What does this mean for retailers, and how can they prepare their businesses for this?
Self-checkout for meals: Practical solutions for commercial catering
22/09/2025
Computer vision can be used in self-service checkouts to enable quick and smooth self-checkout in restaurants: cameras recognize food and drinks on the tray and automatically transmit the data to the POS system.
How agentic AI might redefine the customer journey through autonomous shopping
01/09/2025
Agentic AI could soon take over shopping for consumers. Autonomous AI systems not only search for and compare products, they also purchase and pay for them.
Agentic AI as an autonomous actor in the retail sector
28/08/2025
It is still just a thought experiment, but the starting signal has long since been given: agentic AI could perform many tasks in the retail sector autonomously, simply by being given the objectives. Here is an overview of the processes that could be affected.
AI-Powered shelf monitoring
26/08/2025
Stock shortages, incorrect placements, and inefficient reorders can be reduced with AI. AI-supported shelf monitoring turns shelves into real-time data providers, reduces the workload on staff, and optimizes the customer experience.
Edge computing in retail: benefits and examples
13/08/2025
Modern stores are now intelligent, connected environments equipped with sensors and real-time analytics. This means a lot of data that needs to be processed and made actionable quickly. This requires the speed of edge technology.
What agentic commerce means for retailers when AI agents start doing the shopping
12/08/2025
Machine learning specialist Ravi Kumar is himself involved in the development of dialogue-based retail and agentic AI – and thus has a well-founded impression of how a new era of retail is currently emerging.
Warehouse automation speeds up retail deliveries
06/08/2025
Retail companies such as Kaufland, Thalia, and JD Logistics are investing in automated logistics centers, high-bay warehouses, order picking systems, and AutoStore systems. Robotics and AI are intended to ensure an efficient supply chain.
Smart technologies for food service in retail
01/08/2025
How can food service processes in retail be made future-proof? This question was the focus of the Food Service Innovation Hub at EuroCIS 2025. Exhibitors demonstrated how digital solutions and AI-powered technologies can enable efficient food service operations and how customer experiences can be enhanced with added value.
Agentic AI for shopping journeys
30/07/2025
Will AI agents soon be making purchases for people independently? Players such as Walmart, Amazon, Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Perplexity are preparing for agent-based retail.
Connected kitchen: IoT is revolutionizing professional kitchens for catering and retail
22/07/2025
Modern sensors, cloud platforms and edge-based architectures are transforming traditional kitchens into smart kitchens that combine efficiency, sustainability and safety.
State-of-the-art packaging technology minimizes packaging waste and resource consumption
13/06/2025
Packaging protects the contents, but also produces waste. Amazon has now announced that it will roll out automated packaging technologies in its logistics centers to reduce the amount of material used.
Artificial intelligence in pharmacies
04/06/2025
Between tinctures and tablets, something else will soon be found in pharmacies: artificial intelligence. This is because AI offers numerous opportunities to make processes in pharmacies more efficient and improve patient care at the same time.
A job for a robot – How machines help to save energy
29/04/2025
They check temperatures, report faults and detect leaks before humans notice them: Robots could soon take on a central role in energy management in logistics and retail.
Rethinking digital customer loyalty
02/04/2025
If you want to win and keep customers today, you need more than just good products. Relevance at the right moment – that is the new key to loyalty. Artificial intelligence and digital loyalty systems offer retailers new ways to achieve just that.
Automation of cash processing at the point of sale
21/03/2025
More and more retailers around the world are turning to automated cash processing. New studies show that the use of cash handling devices is increasing rapidly in Europe, the USA and other markets.
Smart stores put to the test
19/03/2025
There are many staff-free store tests in the countryside, in cities and at airports. But not every concept is successful. We spoke to Prof. Dr. Stephan Rüschen from DHBW Heilbronn about his research findings on smart stores.
Empathic AI as a driver of innovation in retail
06/03/2025
A new study shows: When AI has an empathic effect and “thinks along” with the emotional level of work, it inspires and encourages employees. How could this affect the retail sector?
Sales forecasts: using AI image recognition for purchasing goods
21/02/2025
The Fraunhofer Institute IAIS presented an innovation at EuroCIS 2025: a photo of a product is enough to determine precise sales forecasts within seconds - with the help of generative AI.
XPONENTIAL Europe 2025: autonomous technologies
06/02/2025
From February 18 to 20, 2025, Messe Düsseldorf will host XPONENTIAL Europe for the first time. As a global meeting point for uncrewed systems, mobility and robotics, it stands at the forefront of autonomous technologies. We spoke with Malte Seifert, Director Metals & Autonomous Technologies, about the background, challenges and opportunities of this event.
Valuable lessons learned from the development and use of technologies in retail
21/11/2024
Sharing successes and failures is essential for progress in the retail industry. The EHI Technology Days 2024 provided a platform for this, with leading retail companies and innovators such as Fressnapf, Edeka, Colruyt and MediaMarktSaturn sharing their experiences with the use of various retail technologies and providing valuable tips.
Supply chain planning: using forecasts to optimise stock levels
30/10/2024
One of the strengths of AI is deriving predictions from big data. RELEX Solutions specialises in this data-driven forecasting for the supply chain. Ramona Saager explains what this means for retailers in concrete terms.
Warehouse robotics: transforming retail logistics
10/10/2024
Artificial intelligence and robotics can increasingly be found in the warehouse of a large retailer. Automated systems are optimising logistics processes and helping retailers to combat labour shortages.
Paper-based weight sensors transform shelves into smart shelves
03/09/2024
PaperWeight AI has developed a unique and recycable shelf event sensor made entirely out of paper. We asked CEO Dr Yoni Engel how the sensor works and for which use cases it is being deployed in the retail sector.
The potential of advanced analytics and AI in retail
01/08/2024
Advanced analysis programmes sift through volumes of data, interpret them and provide a database for making more informed decisions. A study shows the potential in the Indian retail sector.
Smart stores: no revolution without risk
16/07/2024
Convenient shopping experiences are definitely a competitive advantage for retailers. One concept that retailers are using to appeal to their customers is autonomous shops, known as smart stores.
Chatbots support retail employees
11/06/2024
The management of large retail companies is increasingly relying on AI tools. Tools such as generative AI assistants are designed to help employees carry out their tasks more efficiently.
Sam's Club deploys AI-powered exit technology for Scan & Go
15/05/2024
Sam’s Club members can now exit a lot faster after completing payment at a register or via Scan & Go. AI technology and computer vision capture images of carts and verifies payment for all items.
Walmart Canada’s supply chain gets a high-tech makeover
02/04/2024
Walmart Canada is making investments in the modernization of its distribution centres: the goal is to transform the supply chain with robotics and automation.
“Autonomous stores”: Future reality or hype?
21/02/2024
The concept of "Autonomous Stores", enabled by the development of artificial intelligence, is not new. Miya Knights, Publisher Retail Technology magazine, examines the increasing role of automation in stores.
These technologies will fundamentally change retail
05/02/2024
We asked exhibitors at EuroCIS which brand-new trends retailers should have on their radar and which technologies will inspire their customers in the future.
Check-out free shopping wins loyalty from younger consumers
25/01/2024
New research reveals: More than a third of shoppers say they would switch to a retailer that offers check-out free stores.
SPAR Hungary trials Gen Z pop-up store using AI
16/01/2024
In order to specifically target Gen Z customers, SPAR Hungary ran a two-day trial of an automated store – incorporating technology and AI powered tools.
IKEA Retail uses drones for stock inventory
20/11/2023
Two years ago, Ingka Group and the Supply Chain Development Team at Inter IKEA Group, together with Verity, a provider of indoor drone systems, started developing a fully autonomous drone solution to track inventory and improve the wellbeing of its co-workers.
DTEK.ai revolutionizes retail with SWIFT
31/10/2023
DTEK.ai, a leading provider of innovative retail technology solutions, officially launched SWIFT at North Star, one of the world's most disruptive global startup events in 2023. The revolutionary technology leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision to transform the retail checkout process.
AI for baking stations: Freshness is king
12/09/2023
The Smart Bakery Box, an AI-driven system, analyzes the sales figures of self-service baking stations and determines the optimal production quantity.
Supply chain adoption of mobile robots will far outpace drones
24/08/2023
Smart mobile robot adoption in supply chains is growing rapidly and will far outpace drones over the next three years, according to Gartner, Inc.
Self-checkout: Smarter ways to pay
08/08/2023
Companies the world over are both collaborating and competing to develop self-service systems and self-service checkouts that enable an autonomous shopping experience.
Schnucks and Instacart expand with smart carts
31/07/2023
Schnuck Markets, Inc. and Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced the companies will expand their omnichannel partnership by deploying Caper Carts, Instacart’s smart carts, in select stores.
Automated retail: Selfly Store introduces intelligent freezer
04/07/2023
In April, the vending company Selfly Store introduced its latest product: the Selfly Freezer. We spoke to CMO Malin Östman about first experiences with the smart freezer and the potential of unmanned shopping.
Carrefour integrates OpenAI technologies and launches a generative AI-powered shopping experience
16/06/2023
Carrefour has launched Hopla, a chatbot based on ChatGPT which will be integrated into the Carrefour.fr website. Customers are able to use this natural-language AI to help them with their daily shopping.
Express Store from Viessmann and Pixevia at EuroShop 2023
01/05/2023
Enabling a comfortable "just-walk-out" shopping experience, thanks to state-of-the-art technology: Viessmann presented such a convenience store at EuroShop 2023 in Düsseldorf.
Retail Technology Stage @ EuroShop 2023
13/03/2023
The Retail Technology Stage at EuroShop featured many technological solutions for the retail sector. Suppliers and users discussed current use cases.
This robot sells chocolates
22/02/2023
Retailers' demand for cash automation solutions surges
16/02/2023
Despite the impact of COVID-19 on supply chains and cash usage, investment by retailers in devices that count, verify and store banknotes is increasing worldwide.
Autonomous stores: Grab&Go concepts multiplying
03/01/2023
The autonomous store, which enables shopping with an automated payment process in the background, represents a major leap forward in innovation in the retail sector.
ESL: technology replaces paper
18/05/2022
Paper labels were the standard in retail for a long time. However, they are now gradually being replaced by electronic shelf labels.
Fashion Retailer SØR Embarks on Its Store Management Automation Journey
24/03/2022
A technology upgrade of automation and omnichannel services in the store network provides process reliability and modern selling for SØR.
Machine vision: Cameras observe and "think along"
08/03/2022
Machine vision has recently made great strides. It is also being used in the area of checkout control in retail.
Hybrid commerce: the key to retail success
24/01/2022
Interview with Xenia Giese, Industry Executive Retail & Consumer Goods at Microsoft Deutschland GmbH, about new retail business models.
Automated smart stores: Never run out of milk for your cereal ever again!
27/10/2021
While stores with no (sales) staff sounded like science fiction just a few short years ago, they are now fast becoming a reality. Even though smart stores are not yet the new retail norm across the board, they are moving away from being sporadic, mere testing locations and pilot projects.
Sustainable Smart Stores: The Concept of the Future?
28/04/2021
Xenia Giese from Microsoft tells how stores could save money, time and resources and thus operate even more efficiently and sustainably.
Shopping 24/7: Staff-free operated stores
31/03/2021
Tiny store, micro store, smart store, vending machine store – different names for concepts that all have the same goal: Customers shop 24/7 in staff-free stores.
Customer experience: Make it speedy, safe, and simple please!
03/12/2020
Instead of extensive, personal consultation and on-site customer service, the new store concept of the TYPY store in Düsseldorf relies on technologies that make shopping quick and easy.
Checkout-free and unmanned stores
31/07/2020
Completely cashierless or staff-free stores are still rare, but there are successful examples. Will they soon become a serious alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar stores?
Retail Technology for hands-on use
19/02/2020
Digital and with optimized processes – that is how the store of the future will look like. EuroShop 2020 shows all the technologies that make life easier for retailers.