Euroshop presented the latest retail technologies

LCD screens connected to mobile devices, interactive floors and smart shelves were exhibited at the Euroshop Trade Fair in Düsseldorf.

This year’s Euroshop, which took place from 16th to 20th February in Düsseldorf, once again achieved its reputation as a global event everyone who has to do with retail should visit. During five days, it was visited by 94,000 visitors who could see everything from high-tech concepts, traditional P.O.P. communication media, smart cabins, robots, floor coverings, or clothes hangers and donut bakeries. And all this by 2,300 exhibitors from 57 countries.

Compared to the previous Euroshop three years ago, there was a continuous and meaningful evolutionary shift in the not-long-ago revolutionary technologies. Presented solutions offered practical integration and functional reconciliation of communication, omnichannel, automation, personalization and analytics, not only under the direction of new specialized companies, but also most technological global leaders such as IBM, SAP, Microsoft, Fujitsu and others.

Among the technologies presented at the Trade Fair we could see, for example, Bluetooth tags without the need for batteries, which can solve the disadvantages of RFID technology and replace it to a great extent. Furthermore, LCD screens were connected in their content via QR code to the user’s mobile device. For example, customers can buy groceries directly from a recipe, or choose cosmetics based on photos of models with make-up.

LCD screens can also be connected to a smart shelve where customers can move selected products to predetermined positions for more information.

Today, smart shelves can also better adapt content according to basic socio-demographic data, which is evaluated by the face recognition technology, or according to the distance a customer is passing by. If he is distant, the shelf allures him to a product or a competition, if he goes by close, it communicates specific characteristics of a product or details of a competition. Real-time analytics about the flow of customers, interactions or conversions is commonplace.

A smart shelf can work with a distance of a customer. If he is far away, he is attracted by a product or a competition, and when he gets closer, it begins to communicate details.

Smart cabins have been also innovated so you can set up lighting according to a day-time and also order required quantity for testing or take pictures from 360° and share the photos or print them directly. The whole system is connected to analytics, which processes and uses the data to create customized offers.

In smart cabins, a customer not only sets the lighting at his choice, but he can also be photographed from 360 degrees.

There were also interesting innovations with imaging technology, which can be applied to a facade advertising or an interactive projection on a floor responding to customer’s movement, or into various formable compositions.

We could see also a presentation of a waterproof variant of LED or its application within a navigation system connected to Wi-Fi, which will allow navigation through a store. Using the mobile application, shoppers tick the desired product in the shopping list, and using the navigation he gets to the product section, where the LED indicator lights up in the sales area.

LED technology can be used in water and shaped into various compositions.

Another original invention was so-called sonic chair, where a customer can choose the desired music from the playlist and enjoy surrounding sound quality from all sides.

In the sonic chair, a customer can enjoy high-quality surrounding sound.

Attention was attracted also by a gravity up-lifter, which made the selected products to levitate on the principle of magnetism.

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  Robots usually have only an image and information function. So far, the “smarter” ones are used only within the automated in-store audit.

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The presentation of traditional P.O.P. media was also poorer as we did not see any major innovations or creative jewels at the Trade Fair or even at the POPAI Awards DACH. Even in comparison with Czech production, their standard generally dropped behind, although we could see some exceptions.

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  Exceptions in otherwise poor presentations of traditional P.O.P. media.

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One of the globally and systemically asserting approaches is the unification of secondary displays in order to achieve maximum efficiency and sustainability. Solutions Chep, Proteus or Mr. Flexx offer flexible versatile displays where brands can only customize their appearance while streamlining the logistic process with respect to the environment.

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  Unified secondary displays

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In addition, a number of P.O.P. media showed an emphasis on proactivity – for example, the brand Nutella with its stopper. In this case, not only the soundtrack, but also a suggestive robotic hand was activated by a motion sensor, which literally forced a chocolate bar to a passer-by.

In the area of exhibitors’ presentations, small podiums were newly used where a program of special presentations about products, trends or attractions was held, which attracted many visitors. In addition to the products themselves, exhibitors are more active when presenting their approaches, possibilities and know how.

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  Examples of smaller scenes directly at the exhibitors' stand

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Euroshop showed the latest novelties from all possible retail areas. Although this year cannot be considered as a revolutionary one, we could notice meaningful evolutionary steps that help meaningfully, practically and functionally to integrate new technologies into the everyday functioning of modern retail.

Daniel Jesenský, DAGO