As a retail executive, investor and board member of start-up such as La Belle Vie, Beamy and Commanders Act, you have seen the retail tech ecosystem transform, from investment to an exit stage, as was the case with Wibilong last year. Between the urgent need to streamline tools and the need for growth, what weak signals are striking you today?
This sector has truly stepped up a gear in terms of tools that are easy to implement, data-rich, interconnected and linkable to other technologies. Today, every start-up begins with at least 1 or 2 connectors, then quickly interfaces with all major platforms. When reviewed, connectivity is either finalised or finishing links. Previously such comments were only partially true and partially reliable. Behind this lies an issue of fluidity and speed of execution. The core issue is connecting via API to solutions from major ERPs (Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, Cegid), CRM (Salesforce) or e-commerce (Shopify). We have also entered the race to integrate the Model Context Protocol standard, which allows an e-commerce site to interface with major LLMs such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. The trouble is that, on the other side, retailers’ information systems retain significant legacy, with both old and new elements. They struggle to plug in these new tools.
With the economic climate of 2026, is retail tech undergoing a simple budgetary correction or a profound mutation?
Budgets are being cut everywhere as everyone is focused on the business. Many retailers will sell lateral operations, in food and elsewhere, refocusing on a core business. In the food sector, a major French retailer has already stumbled. This is significant, and it is probably not finished. In fashion, many others are struggling, and in furniture too. The context of 2026 is also very uncertain, without a finance Bill and with political disruptions, supply-chain issues and wars. Covid-19 warned us, but every year, 2 or 3 new events disrupt prices, flows or supply.
