EuroCIS 2025

EuroCIS 2025. Last week I attended my first EuroCIS show in Dusseldorf. I suspect most people working in retail technology will have heard of or visited the show before. For me it was a huge couple of days and a steep learning curve. Firstly, so many service providers, manufacturers and software solutions had booths, staff and plenty of visitors. I was there to learn about the industry at large (rather than selling our wares) and to make some new connections. My key takeaways were that as a mature and thriving industry sector, it might be difficult to enter as a new startup due to so many organisations and individuals having relationships that have lasted years and sometimes decades. Secondly, that attending EuroCIS as an exhibitor is probably the only way a new market entrant can interact meaningfully with retailers. Thirdly, that self checkout at Point of Sale is huge and growing. Finally, I'm even more convinced than before that a POS solution which includes Loyalty, Payments and ID could be extremely valuable, especially to a merchant where age verification is common. Incorporating loyalty is the way a consumer can be rewarded for providing digital ID or changing payments rails.

So the show has given me a huge sense of optimism about not only the industry at large but also our position within that industry. And I met some fantastic people with awesome products and services, many of whom I'm liaising with this week. Thanks to Dusseldorg Messe and EuroCIS, I'll see you next year for sure.