November 12, 2025
Photo courtesy of Georges Mirza
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.
BrainTrust
Sarah Pelton
Partner, Cambridge Retail Advisors
Peter Charness
Retail Strategy - UST Global
Frank Margolis
Executive Director, Growth Marketing & Business Development, Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Is retail technology becoming too commoditized to differentiate or is this the natural evolution toward maturity?
After years of overpromising, what will it take for retailers to truly trust new technology again?
Should retailers demand measurable proof before piloting new technology?
Poll
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It’s kind of telling that a show about grocery retail is so dominated by technology. Sure, in a low margin sector like grocery, technology is very important – especially around supply chain and ecommerce – as it aids efficiency. However, it is not the be-all and end-all. And it is interesting that some of the best grocery players – M&S, Waitrose, Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, Aldi, Wegmans – prefer to focus on and talk about the proposition more than the technology that operates in the background.
For technology to truly evolve, it must become commoditized – achieving this state ensures that there is a minimum accepted threshold of efficiency for the industry, and the ROI is demonstrable to all. Few customers can name the brands of POS systems or self-checkouts, and this trend will continue with loss prevention and inventory automation devices too.
I don’t believe retail technology is becoming truly commoditized. What we’re seeing is the natural maturation of the industry: more vendors, more similar claims, and more AI-driven features that look alike on the surface. But technology is far from generic. The real differentiation comes from how a retailer applies it — tailored to a brand’s format, customer base, and their unmet needs. When used thoughtfully, tech can still create unique advantages, especially when it improves the experience for the retailer’s core consumer. In that sense, the possibilities remain almost limitless.
After years of overpromising, retailers will only regain trust in new technology through measured, proven results — and that is exactly what pilots are for. A pilot should be structured to generate clear, measurable proof before anything scales: defined KPIs, a real-world test environment, and honest post-pilot evaluation. Without that rigor, technology becomes a gamble rather than an investment.
My advice to retailers is simple: pilot strategically, measure relentlessly, and deploy technology only when it clearly solves a real problem for either the customer or the associate. When tech addresses a genuine pain point and is validated through disciplined testing, trust grows — and differentiation follows.
Technology is part of the equation, ability to execute is the other. The entire competitive technology landscape breeds over exuberance by the solution vendors over their products capabilities (and large commission possibilities keeps some sales people on the edge of reality). Many Retailers fail to measure the odds of a successful implementation, somehow thinking that they will be in the 10% (more or less) of people who successfully implement solutions and gain full expected benefits, when the betting is not in their favor. A decent system well implemented is worth much more than an all singing and dancing new solution with a failed implementation. It’s not just the technology possibilities….
It’s going to take proof, not promises. In grocery especially, a low-margin, high-volume business, every investment has to earn its keep. Retailers need transparency, measurable ROI, and tech that truly integrates with existing systems. And we can’t forget the customer side: shoppers still gravitate to the in-store experience. The tech conversation has to be about enabling that: efficiency, personalization, and smoother operations…not replacing it. That’s how you start rebuilding trust.
Georges, this is a great take. You perfectly captured the “Retail Tech Reset.”
The main issue isn’t a lack of AI features; it’s a trust deficit. When all solutions look the same, differentiation comes down to execution.
- Data Value Shift: We need to move from just collecting Data Abundance to enforcing Data Accountability—connecting insights to real action is the priority now.
- Trust is the Accelerator: Retailers are risk-averse after too many failed pilots. Winning requires transparency and proving that a solution can perform Accurately, Repeatedly, at Scale, and Speed (ARS).
Tech for grocery is often positioned for all the upside it can deliver, in higher sales, greater cost reduction, and efficiencies. Yet launching new tech in grocery retail must not only prove out ROI, and seamless integration with their IT backbone, it must also work well with the operations, merchandising and marketing teams using it daily. These are the teams who can singlehandedly make a retail tech product succeed or fail.
It you want to ensure product success, it’s incumbent developers and tech sales spend time with not just the CEO or VP, but more so the individuals and teams who plan, make decisions, operate, and execute daily.
To mis-quote an athlete I once admired, “It’s not about the ‘bot.”
Its the data that truly matters. FMCG retailers know in their cores that accurate and timely sensing of store conditions is a crucial element of effective merchandising.
Tech makes abundant sense when it delivers a clear, current, comprehensive picture of store conditions and stabilizes retail practices.
I am actually a big advocate for autonomous inventory-scanning. Savvy retailers get that this not a selling point for shoppers, though. The “gee-whiz” moment will last a micro-second. But superior assortments and on-shelf availabilty make a lasting impression.
Thanks everyone, really appreciate the thoughtful perspectives. What stands out across all your comments is the same theme from different angles: tech isn’t the point by itself. Execution, data quality, integration with real operations, and measurable impact are what ultimately matter.
Whether it’s avoiding over-hyped claims or proving accuracy and ROI in pilots, it all comes back to trust. And trust only grows when solutions show transparency and real performance, not just strong narratives.
That’s exactly the gap I am trying to address with ARS²: giving retailers and CPGs a clearer way to assess readiness, and giving innovators a clearer way to demonstrate maturity early.
Thanks again for engaging. This is the kind of discussion that helps move the whole industry forward.
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It’s kind of telling that a show about grocery retail is so dominated by technology. Sure, in a low margin sector like grocery, technology is very important – especially around supply chain and ecommerce – as it aids efficiency. However, it is not the be-all and end-all. And it is interesting that some of the best grocery players – M&S, Waitrose, Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, Aldi, Wegmans – prefer to focus on and talk about the proposition more than the technology that operates in the background.
For technology to truly evolve, it must become commoditized – achieving this state ensures that there is a minimum accepted threshold of efficiency for the industry, and the ROI is demonstrable to all. Few customers can name the brands of POS systems or self-checkouts, and this trend will continue with loss prevention and inventory automation devices too.
I don’t believe retail technology is becoming truly commoditized. What we’re seeing is the natural maturation of the industry: more vendors, more similar claims, and more AI-driven features that look alike on the surface. But technology is far from generic. The real differentiation comes from how a retailer applies it — tailored to a brand’s format, customer base, and their unmet needs. When used thoughtfully, tech can still create unique advantages, especially when it improves the experience for the retailer’s core consumer. In that sense, the possibilities remain almost limitless.
After years of overpromising, retailers will only regain trust in new technology through measured, proven results — and that is exactly what pilots are for. A pilot should be structured to generate clear, measurable proof before anything scales: defined KPIs, a real-world test environment, and honest post-pilot evaluation. Without that rigor, technology becomes a gamble rather than an investment.
My advice to retailers is simple: pilot strategically, measure relentlessly, and deploy technology only when it clearly solves a real problem for either the customer or the associate. When tech addresses a genuine pain point and is validated through disciplined testing, trust grows — and differentiation follows.
Technology is part of the equation, ability to execute is the other. The entire competitive technology landscape breeds over exuberance by the solution vendors over their products capabilities (and large commission possibilities keeps some sales people on the edge of reality). Many Retailers fail to measure the odds of a successful implementation, somehow thinking that they will be in the 10% (more or less) of people who successfully implement solutions and gain full expected benefits, when the betting is not in their favor. A decent system well implemented is worth much more than an all singing and dancing new solution with a failed implementation. It’s not just the technology possibilities….
It’s going to take proof, not promises. In grocery especially, a low-margin, high-volume business, every investment has to earn its keep. Retailers need transparency, measurable ROI, and tech that truly integrates with existing systems. And we can’t forget the customer side: shoppers still gravitate to the in-store experience. The tech conversation has to be about enabling that: efficiency, personalization, and smoother operations…not replacing it. That’s how you start rebuilding trust.
Georges, this is a great take. You perfectly captured the “Retail Tech Reset.”
The main issue isn’t a lack of AI features; it’s a trust deficit. When all solutions look the same, differentiation comes down to execution.
Tech for grocery is often positioned for all the upside it can deliver, in higher sales, greater cost reduction, and efficiencies. Yet launching new tech in grocery retail must not only prove out ROI, and seamless integration with their IT backbone, it must also work well with the operations, merchandising and marketing teams using it daily. These are the teams who can singlehandedly make a retail tech product succeed or fail.
It you want to ensure product success, it’s incumbent developers and tech sales spend time with not just the CEO or VP, but more so the individuals and teams who plan, make decisions, operate, and execute daily.
To mis-quote an athlete I once admired, “It’s not about the ‘bot.”
Its the data that truly matters. FMCG retailers know in their cores that accurate and timely sensing of store conditions is a crucial element of effective merchandising.
Tech makes abundant sense when it delivers a clear, current, comprehensive picture of store conditions and stabilizes retail practices.
I am actually a big advocate for autonomous inventory-scanning. Savvy retailers get that this not a selling point for shoppers, though. The “gee-whiz” moment will last a micro-second. But superior assortments and on-shelf availabilty make a lasting impression.
Thanks everyone, really appreciate the thoughtful perspectives. What stands out across all your comments is the same theme from different angles: tech isn’t the point by itself. Execution, data quality, integration with real operations, and measurable impact are what ultimately matter.
Whether it’s avoiding over-hyped claims or proving accuracy and ROI in pilots, it all comes back to trust. And trust only grows when solutions show transparency and real performance, not just strong narratives.
That’s exactly the gap I am trying to address with ARS²: giving retailers and CPGs a clearer way to assess readiness, and giving innovators a clearer way to demonstrate maturity early.
Thanks again for engaging. This is the kind of discussion that helps move the whole industry forward.