Take on the Future: Hot Retail Trends from Euroshop 2023
Euroshop is back in 2023 and more future-forward than ever. Much has changed in retail (and the world) since the last event three years ago, and this year’s exhibition pushed the envelope of design and technology further than ever before.
Held every three years in Düsseldorf, Germany, Euroshop’s exhibitors set the global retail industry stage with unmatched ingenuity and creativity while fostering a unique opportunity to exchange ideas and tap into what’s next. We always scour the trends emerging from Euroshop because its a good indicator of what's next here in North America.
In case you missed it, we mined the event for the most of-the-moment hot topics and paired them with the solutions of tomorrow that will keep you ahead of the curve.
Sustainability & energy management
The most consistently referenced consideration in retailing was how brick and mortars can plan, build, and outfit their stores to reflect sustainability and climate neutrality goals. Why? Because buyers care.
There’s a global spotlight on the micro and macro changes that businesses can make to reduce their carbon footprint. From shopfitting materials and surfaces, to store design flexibility, to lighting and refrigeration, Euroshop delivered on high-level eco-friendly developments.
Reflect on this: Does the design, construction, and outfitting of our brick and mortars reflect our sustainability and climate neutrality goals?
Promising solutions from Euroshop
- Upcycled and recycled materials abound when it comes to furniture, walls, and floors.
- LED lighting innovations are making it easier to meld beauty with practicality, enabling you to improve energy efficiency while also making your products look more natural.
- Refrigeration equipment has evolved, with up-leveled glass technologies making it easier than ever to manage critical cooling.
- More precise monitoring of energy consumption by way of AI is now readily accessible.
- Store design should be flexible enough to change with inventory, enabling you to easily alter displays, eliminate waste, and always have your products center stage.
- Minimalism can have tremendous impact when wood, greenery, and other natural materials combine with spaciousness, earthy colors, and attractive lighting.
Experiential
A buzz word in retail ever since Euroshop 2020, this year’s expo had abundant inspiration for transforming retail spaces into unforgettable retail experiences that shoppers want to show up for again and again.
From the aesthetic of your stores to all of the extras that make the in-store visit irresistible, the writing’s on the wall when it comes to capturing and energizing your customers.
Reflect on this: How are we designing our retail spaces to be an experience that shoppers want to show up for again and again?
Promising solutions from Euroshop
- 1970s retro meets modern with visionary use of bold color palettes and unexpected structures that invite interaction.
- Evoke the intangible cool with all-black-everything and creative use of monoblock colors.
- Integrate design elements that respond to shoppers as they walk by, inviting interaction.
- “Third spaces,” or moments for entertainment and play can transform your locations from “places to shop” to “places to be.”
- Visionary use of mannequins can convey story and emotion, reflecting your brand’s personality and stimulating buyers’ imaginations.
- Video is in; and in stores, video is magnetizing.
- Outdoor spaces can become extensions of shoppers’ experience, drawing them in with must-attend happenings that get them excited about being in community around your brand.
Omnichannel
Offline and online are no longer siloed shopping channels. Buyer preferences in post-covid reality are pointing stores everywhere toward perfecting their click & collect services; and the technology exists now to make that easier than ever.
At the end of the day, the aim is to create a convenient, frictionless shopping experience that keeps buyers coming back to your brand.
Reflect on this: How are we merging our online and offline retail experience?
Promising solutions from Euroshop
- Use every available technology to perfect your click & collect services.
- Merge your digital and in-store loyalty programs, so that shoppers win both ways.
- Modern receipt technologies can enable you to onboard customers to your digital channels via opt-ins.
Automation & customer centricity
Euroshop had no shortage of fresh solutions when it came to high-tech automation and personalization.
You’re aiming to put your customer’s needs first, and the latest automation technologies can elevate their in-store journey. Digitization can further increase your resilience and support your cost-saving goals.
Reflect on this: How can we use technology to decrease labor costs while increasing store efficiency and customer satisfaction?
Promising solutions from Euroshop
- Personalization via digital shopping assistants, along with custom coupons and offers, gives shoppers the feeling that you’re there for them every step of the way.
- Hybrid shop formats that can be staffed during the day but run autonomously at night give customers greater convenience in terms of shopping how they want.
- Tech-enabled inventory intelligence maximizes transparency and ensures that your buyers are never disappointed by a lack of supply.
- Smart carts streamline the shopping experience and offer tremendous added value to buyers looking for recipe-based shopping lists and a simplified shelf-to-checkout journey.
- Interactive shelves with live-chat capabilities, digital price tags, and stock tracking optimize every aisle-moment.
- Automated, up-leveled self-service food and drink solutions delight in-store shoppers and increase linger time.
- Interactive mirrors assist buyers with product discovery, selection, and purchase.
- Improved cash management technologies with smart tills and smart safes prevent loss and cut labor costs.
Intelligent analytics
Leading retailers are aiming to both entice engagement and also collect data that will enable them to work smarter. The newest technologies enable brick and mortars to know exactly what’s happening where and when on their store floors—without compromising shopper privacy.
Reflect on this: How can I uphold privacy while collecting data? How can I use the data that is collected to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and the customer experience?
Implement this
- Privacy-enabled cameras on shelves yield invaluable customer behavior insights.
- Technology that tracks the customer journey throughout the store via their cell phone signal enables you to get a bird’s eye view of shoppers every step of the way.
- Data from interactive displays provides key awareness on which products are getting the most engagement.
- Cloud-based order management systems that track the entire lifecycle of every order upgrade the selection-to-purchase journey while giving you intricate data on the what, where, and when of every product.
Long established as the premier event for all things future-oriented in retail, Euroshop 2023 set the bar high for creativity and innovation in the industry. Attendees from all over the world gathered at the event looking to tomorrow’s solutions for how to maximize sustainability, optimize the customer journey, and capitalize on technological advancements.
Insights from Euroshop, combined with a strategic, purposeful, targeted approach, can give retailers the expertise they need to do it all—better.
At Imagine, we’re invested in the evolution of our partners and no solution is beyond our reach.
Ready to get ahead? Let’s go →
