Apadmi at Shoptalk Europe 2025: The major mobile opportunity for retail

Meeting the brands shaping the future of retail

Shoptalk Europe isn’t just about technology, it’s a people-focussed movement designed to engage the business and brands using technology to drive real-world change. We had the opportunity to meet with iconic retailers from the likes of IKEA, Iceland Foods and Group SEB. 

We were particularly inspired by how these brands are redefining customer engagement - especially through the strategic use of mobile technology to deliver richer, more personalised experiences.

“Meeting with brands like IKEA and Iceland gave us great insight into how leading retailers are putting mobile at the centre of their customer engagement strategies. It’s not just about having an app - it’s about making every digital interaction a meaningful and personalised experience”. - Sarah Toms, Growth Director, Retail

Strengthening strategic partnerships

A major focus of our time in Barcelona was reinforcing relationships with our key technology partners - those that are helping us deliver best-in-class digital experiences for our clients. Over the week, we connected with: Contentful, Bloomreach, Eagle Eye, Airship, Talon.one and Antavo. 

These conversations unlocked new ideas for collaboration, co-innovation and joint value delivery - especially in areas like content personalisation, loyalty, and omnichannel commerce.

“It’s been brilliant to see how much momentum there is in the European retail tech scene. Meeting our partners face-to-face and exploring joint opportunities is crucial as we continue to scale Apadmi’s presence in Central and Eastern Europe.” -  Piotr Smereka, Head of Growth, Poland

Soaking up the insights - and the sunshine!

Shoptalk wasn’t just networking - it was also packed with strategic sessions. Here are three key panel insights that championed our mobile-first mission:

Personalisation tactics that boost customer loyalty and lifetime value

This panel with speakers from Fabletics, JD Group, NAQs and ShopTalk’s own Rebecca Benhena from ShopTalk Luxe, emphasised the importance of CRM-driven mobile engagement: building holistic customer profiles, delivering personalised messaging at critical touchpoints, and boosting lifetime value through mobile-enabled loyalty programmes

Our takeaway: Leveraging mobile push notifications integrated with CRM data is essential to nurturing long-term loyalty — a trend Apadmi is excited to accelerate for our clients.

Technologies enabling unified commerce

Another panel explored how modern customers expect a seamless cross-channel experience, with mobile as a central hub of interaction. Real-time inventory, in-store mobile tools, and consistent messaging across all platforms were highlighted as business imperatives .

Our takeaway: Truly unified commerce means your mobile app should work with in-store tech and backend systems for a fluid customer journey — something Apadmi is well-positioned to build.

Measuring and empowering the cross-channel customer journey

Fireside chats with leaders from Valentino, Diageo, and Levi’s emphasised the value of mobile-centric measurement - understanding which touchpoints convert, where drop-offs occur, and where CRM interaction should be strengthened.

Our takeaway: Mobile engagement data - such as click-through rates, in-app browsing behaviour, and loyalty interactions - can be instrumental in designing more effective CRM strategies.

Looking ahead

This week reinforced the power of mobile technology to transform customer experiences - and the importance of strong partnerships to make that happen. We’re excited to carry this momentum forward, helping retailers build the next generation of digital engagement.

“Shoptalk Europe has become more than just a conference - it’s a community. This week showed the power of collaboration and shared ambition. We’re leaving inspired, connected and full of ideas.” - Laura Lightfoot, Marketing Manager.

Want to explore how Apadmi can support your retail transformation? Let’s chat!