submitted by Anne Meerboth-Maltz, Messe Düsseldorf North America
Highlights:
- The future of retail is all about technology and innovation
- Focus on solutions for AI, checkout, merchandise security, IT infrastructure and process optimization
- High international participation and visitor numbers
- Top-rated supporting program
EuroCIS, The Leading Trade Fair for Retail Technology, ended on February 29 with impressive results. Over 13,500 trade visitors from 95 countries came to the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany to discover and discuss the latest innovations and technology trends in retail with the 475 exhibitors from 41 nations. The attendees ensured that the two fully booked halls were very busy.
The 15th edition of EuroCIS slightly surpassed the excellent trade fair results from the 2019 staging in terms of both net exhibition space (14,400 square meters) and visitor numbers. EuroCIS continues to be characterized by the high proportion of visitors from abroad and the quality of decision-makers. The retail sector is still the most strongly represented in terms of visitors and all segments “The high number of visitors from all continents shows that the topics presented at the trade fair are more topical and relevant than ever and that the wide range showcased at EuroCIS offers technological solutions for all retail challenges. This makes it a must-go event for all decision-makers wishing to invest in their company’s IT equipment,” stated Erhard Wienkamp, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf. Almost half of the visitors came to the trade fair with investment plans. The exhibitors confirmed large and international visitor attendance at their stands as well as excellent visitor quality.
“The success of the trade fair highlights the enormous strategic importance of technological innovation for the future viability of the retail sector, which is still in a transformation phase” said Michael Gerling, Managing Director of the EHI Retail Institute. “The dominant theme at EuroCIS is definitely AI applications for a wide range of areas. Increased efficiency and customer focus are at the heart of many solutions – as reflected, for instance, in the large number of solutions for faster checkout, not least thanks to a wide range of smart shopping and payment solutions. Forming the basis for all of this is process automation as well as high-performance IT infrastructure and cloud technologies”. Solutions such as partially and fully autonomous stores, automatic item recognition at checkouts and scales, service robots, energy-saving ESLs (electronic shelf labels), smart shopping carts, interactive kiosks and shop windows as well as retail media systems and versatile payment solutions were very well received.
The supporting program also impressed the participants. The Retail Technology Stage, the Connected Retail Stage and the Start-up Stage were very popular on all three days and received top ratings. At the Start-up hub, sixteen newcomers demonstrated their fresh ideas for the retail technology sector. The Guided Innovation Tours offering an overview of the most important innovations at EuroCIS were also fully booked.
Interviews and impressions from EuroCIS 2024 are available at www.eurocis-tradefair.com.
The next staging of EuroCIS will be held in Düsseldorf, Germany from February 18 – 20, 2025. For further information on visiting or exhibiting at EuroCIS 2025, visit www.eurocis-tradefair.com and www.mdna.com. Follow them on https://www.linkedin.com/company/mdnachicago/. For hotel and travel information, contact TTI Travel, Inc. at www.ttitravel.net.
