Sophie Baqué
Most read articles by Sophie Baqué
Shoptimus AI scales up in grocery smart shopping lists and prepares for a new funding round
After securing a strategic partnership with Spanish grocer Bon Preu, retail tech firm Shoptimus AI—first spotted by Carrefour—is accelerating a rollout. By leveraging AI agents to automate grocery...
- Retail
- mind Exclusive
- Retail tech
11 January 2026
2026 Trends – Retail media, between omnichannel reach, creativity and measurement
(Trends, 6/6) After an exceptional 2024 driven by the Olympic Games, retail media entered a phase of maturity and slowing business last year. It nonetheless remains extremely dynamic, fuelled by...
- Retail
- Retail tech
- Analysis
28 January 2026
Circana: French e-commerce ended 2025 with strong growth, hypermarkets continue to decline
After four years of decline, volumes of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) rose again in 2025 in France and Europe, although they did not compensate for four years of losses. The rebound was...
- Retail
- Economy and regulators
- Analysis
15 January 2026
2026 Trends – Chatbots, WhatsApp, social networks: don’t miss out on conversation
(Trends 2/6) After a cautious observation phase by retailers and some high-profile hallucination issues, 2025 was a turning point operationally for chatbots and conversational tools. Positioned...
- Retail
- Retail tech
- Analysis
13 January 2026
Latest articles by Sophie Baqué
Shoptimus AI scales up in grocery smart shopping lists and prepares for a new funding round
After securing a strategic partnership with Spanish grocer Bon Preu, retail tech firm Shoptimus AI—first spotted by Carrefour—is accelerating a rollout. By leveraging AI agents to automate grocery...
- Retail
- mind Exclusive
- Retail tech
11 January 2026
2026 Trends – How far should retailers open the door to AI Search engines ?
(Trends 1/6) With data visibility, recommendations, transactions on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, LLMs are establishing themselves as new entry points for e-commerce. As search, comparison and...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
- Analysis
8 January 2026
Saks Global negotiating new loan to overcome post-Neiman Marcus fallout
On reprieve until the end of January 2026 after missing a US$100 million bond payment on December 30, the U.S. department store retailer Saks Global (2024 revenue: US$7.3 billion dollars, down by...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
- News
8 January 2026
About to overtake Meta in 2025, TikTok finalises a U.S. spin-off
As the countdown approaches for TikTok's US business to move to American ownership by January 22, 2026, the parent company is on track to replace Meta for 2025 in revenue and profitability. Here...
- Retail
- Economy and regulators
- News
6 January 2026
Cyberattack: Coupang targeted by investor lawsuit in the U.S.
Under investigation following a cyberattack that exposed data for 33.7 million customers and resignation of C.E.O. Park Dae-Jun on December 10 2025, South Korean e-commerce retailer Coupang (2024...
- Retail
- Economy and regulators
- News
6 January 2026
Bercy revises figures and brings Shein’s non-compliance down to 25%
The non-compliance of products sold on Shein is now estimated at 25%, a far cry from the 80% put forward by the French Economy Minister in November. This is a key adjustment that allows the...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
- News
5 January 2026
Small parcels: the EU sets a €3 custom duty, France wants to add €5
As the French National Assembly prepares to vote on the 2026 Finance Bill which includes a €5 tax on small parcels, the European Union has already approved a €3 customs duty per item category as...
- Retail
- Economy and regulators
- News
19 December 2025
With Grand Frais, Apollo makes a first move into European grocery retail
Through an agreement to acquire 70% of the operator of Grand Frais, the US investment fund Apollo aims to double stores and evolve a model that has so far been entirely focused on physical retail...
- Retail
- Property and investors
- News
19 December 2025
OMS: agentic AI sets new standards for e-commerce orchestration
Long confined to ‘click & collect’ or ‘ship from store’, Order Management Systems (OMS) are now expanding integration due to the rise of agentic AI which provides fine orchestration of flows...
- Retail
- Retail tech
- Essentials
18 December 2025
Agentic AI: Hymalaia attracts retailers and announces imminent fundraising
According to our sources, the young start-up Hymalaia is continuing development in retail with 4 new retailers currently in POC and an imminent fundraising. We examine the details.
- Retail
- mind Exclusive
- Retail tech
16 December 2025
Pierre Brousseau (FDJ United Ventures): “For 2026, we are positioning ourselves in a more rational and offensive again VC market”
What is the total amount of assets under management at FDJ United Ventures?FDJ United Ventures was launched in 2015. We invest in European start-ups supported by La Française des Jeux (FDJ...
- Retail
- Property and investors
- Analysis
12 December 2025
Kroger compensates Ocado with US$350 million and scales back robotic warehouses
After improving net margin in 2024, Kroger is closing several automated Ocado warehouses. The strategy is to strengthen in-store picking and delivery partnerships with DoorDash Instacart and Uber...
- Retail
- Retail tech
- News
12 December 2025
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What you absolutely must read this week
The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.
E-retail media solidifies brand–retailer relationships
According to Publicis Commerce‘s e-retail media barometer for 2025 (surveying around 200 marketing, commerce, and e-commerce decision-makers in France) published on January 7, 2026, nearly...
- Retail
- Retail tech
- News
2 February 2026
Marketplaces: Stockly enters Switzerland with MediaMarkt, Decathlon, Galaxus and Manor
After a loss-making but high-growth year in 2025, the stock-pooling start-up for marketplaces signed agreements with 4 Swiss players, mind Retail learned. By taking on one of Europe’s most...
- Retail
- mind Exclusive
- Retail tech
30 January 2026
Retail tech: major trends for 2026
In 2026, retail can no longer afford to promise. It must deliver. Retail tech has entered the execution stage. The race for showcase innovation is over, giving way to clear priorities: operational...
30 January 2026
Bonus textile repair: a virtuous scheme held back by a shortage of skills
Two years after a launch in the fashion sector, the French repair "bonus" is struggling to scale up. The main reason is a limited pool of repairers constrained by poor recruitment. We share an...
- Retail
- Economy and regulators
- News
29 January 2026
Most viewed articles of the month on mind Retail
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
Shoptimus AI scales up in grocery smart shopping lists and prepares for a new funding round
After securing a strategic partnership with Spanish grocer Bon Preu, retail tech firm Shoptimus AI—first spotted by Carrefour—is accelerating a rollout. By leveraging AI agents to automate grocery...
- Retail
- mind Exclusive
- Retail tech
11 January 2026
2
With Walmart, Ulta Beauty, Zalando and Carrefour, Google launches an agentic commerce protocol
Following the launch of payments in Copilot, Google is preparing to join OpenAI and Microsoft, but with a more integrated version focused on its own payment method, Google Pay. These moves...
- Retail
- Retail tech
- News
13 January 2026
3
Circana: French e-commerce ended 2025 with strong growth, hypermarkets continue to decline
After four years of decline, volumes of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) rose again in 2025 in France and Europe, although they did not compensate for four years of losses. The rebound was...
- Retail
- Economy and regulators
- Analysis
15 January 2026
4
2026 Trends – Chatbots, WhatsApp, social networks: don’t miss out on conversation
(Trends 2/6) After a cautious observation phase by retailers and some high-profile hallucination issues, 2025 was a turning point operationally for chatbots and conversational tools. Positioned...
- Retail
- Retail tech
- Analysis
13 January 2026
5
Black Friday: Amazon’s AI assistant Rufus featured in 38% of sessions in the US
While peak season sales, revealed at the NRF Big Show, rose by 4.1% in the US from November 1 to December 31, 2025, Rufus, Amazon’s conversational chatbot, confirmed its traction. During the...
- Retail
- Economy and regulators
- News
15 January 2026
6
2026 Trends – How far should retailers open the door to AI Search engines ?
(Trends 1/6) With data visibility, recommendations, transactions on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, LLMs are establishing themselves as new entry points for e-commerce. As search, comparison and...
- Retail
- Retailer and e-commerce
- Analysis
8 January 2026