European press review
A documented selection, resulting from our retail monitoring in Europe. Each country sheds different light on uses, results and points of vigilance.
01
FR
In France, AI is being established in retail operations: conversational purchasing journey, order preparation, on-shelf availability, retail media and performance management. These articles show a market which is gradually moving from experimentation to industrialization.
The article analyzes the gap between the adoption of AI assistants, budgetary management and the creation of measurable value. It calls for a move from individual licenses to industrialized business processes, governed and monitored by the management committee.
Jow illustrates the automation of the food basket with an agent capable of personalizing menus and reducing the time spent on recurring shopping.
The subject moves AI towards the data infrastructure of retail media: clean room, global hub, measurement and activation of data for consumer brands.
Carrefour is extending the AI assistant purchasing model, with a clear challenge: gaining visibility and conversion without losing control of the customer journey.
This use case combines AI, electronic labels, smart rails, cameras and product geolocation to improve order preparation, detect shortages and reduce in-store costs.
Carrefour is positioning itself on agentic commerce with Google UCP, in order to make its products purchasable from AI interfaces while raising the question of control of customer relations.
02
BE
The Belgian press places emphasis on customer relations and commercial decisions: purchasing assistants, CRM, pricing, payment and the power of brands. The common thread is AI's ability to compare faster, personalize more and move the entry point of the customer journey.
A Roland Berger and NativeResearch study of 6,000 consumers in nine countries describes how AI facilitates comparison, finding substitutes and switching brands, while opening an opportunity for own brands and differentiated offerings.
Based on a Deloitte study conducted among 13,500 consumers in fifteen countries, the article shows that AI agents are becoming an entry point for research, comparison and purchase preparation.
The article links agentic commerce, smart payments, real-time pricing and automatic replenishment.
A useful case for mass consumption: AI democratizes price and promotion analyses, as close as possible to margin and operating account decisions.
Contextual images, virtual fitting, AI assistant and lower returns show how generative AI is transforming merchant content and conversion.
AI is applied to retail CRM: segmentation, recommendations, follow-up, retention and personalization in real time for mass consumption campaigns.
03
PL
Poland appears to be a particularly active laboratory: autonomous store, measurement of customer flows and strong openness to agentic commerce. These cases are valuable for local networks and independent retailers because they are tested in highly competitive and often franchised environments.
Responses generated by AI increasingly weigh on purchasing decisions and redistribute brand visibility. The IMMgeo tool makes it possible to measure their presence in these responses, while 61% of Poles say they consult AI before making a purchase.
Nearly 80% of Polish companies surveyed say they are open to agentic commerce. The signal is strategic: products, prices, stocks and commercial conditions must be readable by machines.
The article relays the Deloitte study on the use of AI in purchasing: 56% of Europeans have already used it and Poland is among the most advanced markets, at 63%.
Lewiatan is preparing its first SmartNovo store. AI must be involved in sales, security, assortment and promotions, beyond just automating checkout.
The E.Leclerc store in Radom analyzes in real time the number of visitors, the intensity of flows and the frequency of visits in order to reconcile traffic, opening hours, marketing and turnover.
04
UK
In the United Kingdom, publications contrast ambition with real adoption. Management supports AI and projects are already affecting pricing, but national data reminds us that distribution in commerce remains limited and strongly depends on appropriation by teams.
Kingfisher explains how the group has been working for several years on AI to improve the experience of both customers and employees. The interview places AI agents and agentic commerce at the heart of this operational advance.
The analysis mentions the reboot of Bodycare with AI and social networks at the heart of its positioning, without publishing enough technical details or results to assess the real impact.
Article found during the monitoring, but excluded from the main selection due to lack of public data and KPIs.
Using data from the Office for National Statistics, the article states that 21% of businesses in wholesale and retail use some form of AI, a lower level than other sectors.
The Very Group is entering into a three-year partnership to overhaul its pricing strategy with agentic AI: competitive monitoring, price recommendations and scenario automation.
AI now benefits from the support of general management, but adoption by operational teams is becoming the main obstacle. The challenge is moving from strategic validation to transforming working methods.
The public link leads to the section where the article is referenced.
05
IT
Italian articles describe an AI that augments teams and prepares agentic commerce. They highlight both the very concrete uses in stores and the still significant gap between the expectations of managers and the actual deployment of agents.
The article analyzes the transition to agentic commerce, the role of clean rooms and the gap between ambition and execution: 95% of the companies surveyed expect efficiency gains, but 2.3% already use agents.
The most compelling applications free teams from repetitive tasks: computer vision to spot a need for help on the shelf, seller alerts and intelligent inventory management.
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