Retail Tech’s Great Reset, or Baselining and Building Trust: Reflections From Groceryshop 2025

It’s no secret that Groceryshop remains one of my favorite events to attend. Even though attendance was reduced overall from the attendee and solution perspectives, to me, it was nonstop and engaging on many different levels. From startup showcases and one-on-one meetings to walking the show floor, it was all insightful and gave me a chance to reconnect and get a glimpse of how focus and priorities are shifting. I look forward to it every year, but this one was different.

This year, what stood out wasn’t what was being shown, but what wasn’t. The industry feels like it’s quietly resetting its baseline. We’ve reached a saturation point. Retail tech is being commoditized; every platform claims AI, every dashboard looks the same. The industry has hit its baseline.

Marginalizing Solutions

When it came to your traditional category and space management solutions, the atmosphere was subdued. As you look across the industry, you can’t help but notice a trend toward solutions becoming more similar, which I refer to as the baselining of solutions. As emerging technologies converge around a standard set of core capabilities, differentiation erodes and a new definition of value quietly takes shape.

Traditional solutions providers are rushing to adopt the latest AI/ML and agentic capabilities. What you observe is that the stories shared are mirrored. AI is certainly boosting development productivity, but that’s true for everyone, which erodes differentiation. In reality, what truly matters is what no one is saying — the quiet realization that the game is changing.

From Data Abundance to Data Accountability

The winners aren’t those who collect the most, but those who connect it best. Data is king only if it rules alongside a capable platform infrastructure that is scalable and connected, with a rich solution layer that executes on strategy and translates insights into action. Services are once again a priority, ensuring that what’s learned actually gets operationalized and executed.

Alternative data is set to grow exponentially over the next five years. Quantity is growing, options are plentiful, but quality and context will matter more than ever.

Shelf Insights Back in Play

Robotics took a definitive step forward at Groceryshop 2025, signaling a shift from experimentation to execution. From full-store sensing capabilities to new service models and multi-purpose robots, innovation was on full display. Even a robotic startup captured attention by winning the Shark Reef pitch, underscoring growing market confidence in robotic solutions.

Collectively, these developments mark a turning point: Robots are no longer a novelty on the show floor but a credible, scalable infrastructure layer shaping the next phase of retail operations.

Innovating Retail Media

Retail media: early-stage, yes, but finally showing signs of real promise. Only a few early-stage solutions demonstrate real potential to scale retail media. The show emphasized retail media, a continuing trend, but it was somewhat reserved. It reflected an understanding of how challenging developing a real solution can be — and showed some maturity as some return to the drawing board.

There is no shortage of ideas; scaling remains a challenge. I saw hints of possibilities, and I look forward to seeing it evolve. One thing is certain: The in-store shopper journey will be a rich source of insights, far beyond what we are used to in online shopping.

Comfort Zone

You can walk many booths and hear the same demo, AI-driven planograms, predictive assortments, digital twins. The difference isn’t the tech: It’s who’s willing to deploy it beyond pilot stage. I can’t help but think of the phrase “Innovate or Die” after Groceryshop 2025.

Yes, many young entrepreneurs are innovating and bringing new approaches to the retail ecosystem. Yet the ecosystem remains risk-averse and notoriously slow to adopt meaningful change. We need a system that recognizes real innovation and gives it a clear runway to reach its potential quickly.

Matter of Trust

After a decade of vaporware and pilot purgatory, retailers need a way to tell who’s real. ARS²™ does that; it measures a solution’s ability to deliver Accurately, Repeatedly, at Scale and Speed.

It is a path to help restore trust by increasing visibility into the maturity of new solutions.

Key Takeaway

In today’s market, stealthy go-to-market tactics and tightly controlled messaging no longer inspire confidence; they create doubt. Decision-makers are overloaded, and attention is scarce. As Malcolm Gladwell suggests, snap judgments are made in seven seconds or less. That’s why trust must be earned quickly and clearly.

The message here is that innovations are prolific, and it’s only going to increase. Attention spans are rapidly decreasing. Trust is at an all-time low. The only way to combat this perception is to show transparency. Disruption isn’t just needed to solve legacy problems, it’s needed to rethink how solutions go to market.

The countdown has already started. New technologies are establishing a fresh baseline for what solutions must deliver. New players can disrupt faster than ever, resetting expectations overnight. The path from innovation to adoption is shrinking, but only if we create an ecosystem that’s open, transparent, and willing to experiment.

The future of retail tech isn’t about more solutions; it’s about building trust through transparency and accelerating innovation into value. The baseline has been reset. The next generation of winners won’t just innovate, they’ll prove it, transparently, and fast. Everyone else will fade into the background noise.

Georges Mirza has been at the forefront of retail and CPG innovation, building market-leading category management and retail analytics solutions that achieved majority market share. He pioneered advancements in robotic data collection and image recognition, addressing challenges like out-of-stocks and inventory accuracy. Today, Georges advises and collaborates with retail and technology leaders to shape and scale next-generation growth strategies. Follow him on LinkedIn or Twitter.