EuroShop 2026: Key Trends Reshaping Retail

Awards Setting the Innovation Benchmark

The EHI reta awards 2026 recognized outstanding projects in omnichannel digitalization, process automation, data analytics and smart checkout systems. The award-winning initiatives highlighted how practical technology implementation is increasingly becoming a decisive competitive factor in retail.

The Retail Design Award 2026 honored physical store concepts that successfully combine customer experience, storytelling and spatial efficiency, with sustainability embedded as a structural design principle.

Retail Technology Dominance in EuroCIS

The EuroCIS – Retail Technology segment emerged as a central innovation hub. Live demonstrations showcased smart store environments, self-checkout and self-scanning systems, electronic shelf labels, AI-driven in-store analytics and advanced payment technologies.

A strong emphasis was placed on omnichannel integration, end-to-end supply chain automation and scalable operating models for food, fashion and non-food retail sectors.

Highlighted innovations included Digital Twins for real-time store oversight, next-generation retail media formats and advanced digital signage enabling data-driven personalization.

Stage Discussions: Sustainability and Digital Transformation

Sessions across Trade Talk Today and stages such as Blue Stage, Red Stage and Purple Stage addressed circular economy strategies, climate neutrality, in-store IT modernization and retail media transformation.

Key discussions focused on AI-based forecasting, space optimization strategies and energy-efficient store technologies, underscoring that operational excellence and sustainability are increasingly interdependent.

Implications for DACH Retail

The discussions and showcases confirm a clear strategic direction for 2026: competitive retail organizations require real-time data visibility, interoperable system architectures and operational agility across distributed environments.

Success is no longer defined by isolated technology investments, but by the integration of stores, warehouses and headquarters into a coherent operational data structure. Retailers that achieve this alignment gain transparency, execution speed and measurable efficiency improvements.

How COSYS Strengthens the Operational Backbone

COSYS enables structured mobile data capture and centralized process management across retail and logistics environments.

Through seamless integration with established ERP systems including SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage and industry-specific retail platforms, COSYS ensures secure and standardized data exchange within existing IT landscapes.

The COSYS WebDesk consolidates operational data into a unified management interface, providing Business Intelligence and Process Data Analysis capabilities that enhance transparency across inventory, task coordination and logistics processes.

This structured data foundation supports informed decision-making, reduces process fragmentation and improves operational control from the store floor to corporate management level.

Conclusion

EuroShop 2026 reinforces a decisive shift in retail strategy: innovation is no longer driven by standalone technologies, but by the ability to connect data, processes and execution across the entire value chain.

For retailers in the DACH region, sustainable competitive advantage in 2026 will depend on integrated operational architectures that enable transparency, scalability and governance across all retail touchpoints.

Organizations that establish a consistent operational data foundation today will be better positioned to translate digital strategy into measurable performance outcomes.

Strategic next step

We invite you to evaluate how structured mobile data capture and centralized operational control can strengthen your organization’s retail architecture.

For a confidential discussion on your operational roadmap, please contact the COSYS team.Alternatively, download our demo applications to explore the functionality within your own operational environment. (Andorid/iOS)