EuroShop is a trade fair for capital goods for the retail industry that has taken place since 1966. Initially held every two years, the event is now held every third year on the grounds of Messe Düsseldorf and the initiator of the fair is the EHI Retail Institute. Over the next two pages, RLI takes a closer look at what the event will offer attendees and highlight why it is such an important event for the industry.
EuroShop 2023, The World’s No.1 Retail Trade Fair comes after two years of tough restrictions caused by the pandemic, which hit the global retail industry hard. The EuroShop event will take place at the end of next month and is more important than ever because the Covid-19 crisis has caused an acceleration in digitisation and the need for smooth networking across all retail channels, as well as driving the need for new solutions in energy saving and sustainability.
The event will bring together around 1,700 exhibitors from 56 countries and focus on not just global developments, but highlight the spectrum of current trends and forward-thinking solutions across 100,000sq m of net exhibition space in 16 exhibition halls.
The hot topics set to be discussed on site include Connected Retail, Sustainability, Smart Store, Energy Management, Third Places, Customer Centricity, Experience and Vital Inner Cities. In addition the structure of the event has also been altered to account for the needs of the industry and there will be eight clearly defined experience dimensions open to visitors across the five-day event.
The Eight Dimensions of EuroShop
Shop Fitting, Store Design & Visual Merchandising – This is the heart of EuroShop and its largest product range. The best architects, designers, planners and manufacturers are represented with uniquely designed presentations that have been thought through down to the smallest detail and provide answers to current questions from retailers, such as: What does a shop or store have to be like today? Is it place of adventure and a feel-good location? Third Place or Pop-Up Marketplace? How does it have to look and feel?
Lighting – When it comes to experience and staging, fascination and atmosphere, all roads lead to light. Its diverse technical applications, from smart lighting to IoT, combined with ecological aspects such as sustainability and efficiency – that is what Dimension Lighting is all about at EuroShop 2023. It presents the entire range of modern illumination and shop lighting: from the entrance area to the presentation of goods to the checkout zone.
Materials & Surfaces – Functional and beautiful – these two features are by no means mutually exclusive. This is demonstrated by the exhibitors in the new Materials & Surfaces dimension. Whether floors, walls, ceilings or furniture – the highest quality is important for long-lasting stability and optimal functionality. In terms of sustainability, a lot is now possible when choosing the right material. Excellent optical and acoustic properties of materials are also essential in sales and work rooms.
Retail Technology – Seamless Store, Analytics, AI, Mobile Payment, Connected Retail are just some of the dominant topics in this dimension. What reads like a list of digital buzzwords are the current and future challenges in terms of customer relationships. The relationships between buyers and sellers, customers and brands are being revolutionised by the digitisation of communication and interaction via omni-channel and big data. The consequence? Shopping becomes an interactive high-tech experience. But “classic retail technology” is also developing rapidly. The exhibitors in the Retail Technology dimension help to shape perspectives and future fields of retail through the driving force of intelligent technology.
Retail Marketing – Customer engagement & experience, brand experience in the stationary and digital store, personalisation via mobile, artificial intelligence and digital signage – in this dimension the international trade audience can expect a wide range of possibilities, the ever more digital, ever more intensive interaction with the customer. The retail marketing dimension shows the most attractive and fascinating installations available at the point of purchase.
Expo & Event Marketing – This is the dimension for live communication and it needs to be unique and authentic in order to inspire. Trade fairs and events are on their way into the age of digitisation and festivalisation, the spirit of optimism can be clearly felt and is reflected one-to-one at EuroShop with forward-looking ideas and presentations, including cross-media networking.
Food Service Equipment – This area presents Cooking & Baking, Convenience Systems, Food Technology and To-Go Solutions at EuroShop 2023. Catering is the megatrend in retail. The out-of-home market is growing rapidly – and everywhere. In the USA, for example, more than every second dollar is already spent on eating and drinking “out of the home”. In this way, customers also become guests in retail – in the shopping centre, in the supermarket, in the gas station. It’s about new shopping experiences and sustainable customer loyalty.
Refrigeration & Energy Management – Profitability, sustainability and efficiency also have top priority in retail. It is precisely here that price and competitive pressure are increasing, making it all the more important to invest in the right future technologies. This area shows the best possible equipment for the store, from refrigerated cabinets, refrigeration systems and systems for indoor farming to air conditioning, heat recovery and building management through to the expansion of electromobility.
The Supporting Program at EuroShop
In addition to the extensive range of products and services from the exhibiting companies from all over the world, the USP of EuroShop also includes the quality and breadth of its unique supporting programme.
A key selling point of EuroShop are its seven stages, which play host to top-class lectures and discussion forums on the latest developments, innovative trends and best practice examples in the middle of the trade fair and can be used free of charge by all EuroShop visitors without prior registration. The stages are: Store Design Stage, Retail Designers’ Stage, Retail Technology Stage, Connected Retail Stage, Start-up Stage, Retail Marketing Stage and Expo & Event Stage.
Meanwhile, the EuroShop special areas include various special areas that offer freedom for specialists, start-ups, for “Generations X, Y & Z”, for ideas, visions and innovative products. Proven special areas of EuroShop are the Designers’ Village, Start-up hub, POPAI Shop Global Village and IFES Global Village as well as the Italian Lighting Lounge.
Finally, there are three special premiers at the event:
Future Urban Lab – This shows and highlights new attractiveness factors and reasons for visiting the cities of tomorrow. It will be an interactive format with a high experience factor that sets impulses and inspiration for the entire industry.
Room4Senses – This focuses on sensory perception and their potential use, for example in the sales room, are analysed.
Retail Ball Game – This open communication platform addresses the challenges and solution approaches of retail in the coming years and focuses on better and more open networking of a wide variety of disciplines in urban areas.
EuroShop 2023 runs from 26 February to 2 March, for more information or to book your place at the event please visit www.euroshop-tradefair.com
