This week on Five Things Friday EU Edition, host Alex from The Retail Podcast is joined by co-host Alexandra Boisson, Retail Tech & eCommerce Specialist at Business France.
Together, they explore Europe’s retail landscape highlighting game-changing AI innovations, pivotal EU regulatory shifts, and controversial moves by major brands like Zara’s parent, Inditex.
🌍 In this episode, you’ll hear insights on:
AI Revolution in Grocery – How Auchan’s AI-generated in-store announcements boosted sales by over 60% without traditional marketing.
EU’s Major Retail Regulation Shift – Why digital product passports, a complete overhaul of the Union Customs Code, and abolishing low-value import exemptions are transforming cross-border trade in Europe.
Carrefour’s Autonomous Microstores – Carrefour Belgium’s innovative, AI-powered microstore concept debuts at Ibis Hotel near Charles de Gaulle, redefining convenience retail.
Europe’s Complex Online Shopper Behaviors – Nexi’s European Ecommerce Report 2025 reveals sharp regional differences in delivery preferences, spending habits, and product categories.
Inditex Bets Big on Discount Retail – Inditex re-launches its low-cost fashion brand Lefties in France, sparking debate on sustainability versus commercial ambition amidst fierce competition from Shein and Primark.
📌 Referenced Links & Images:
👉 Join the conversation: Can Inditex’s Lefties brand succeed without compromising sustainability?
🎧 Subscribe, share, and stay ahead of retail’s European evolution.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Five Things Friday, EU edition.
Hello, Alexandra's back. We missed the last week.
Alexandra, how are you doing? Hi, Alex.
(00:21):
Thanks. For those for those who don't
know, my name's Alex. I'm the founder of the Retail
Podcast. I help retailers, people who
sell to retail, maintain their thought leadership and to do
their global conference planningand how they stay relevant in
the wonderful world of retail. And I'm joined by my wonderful
host, Alexandra. Alexandra.
(00:41):
Thank you, Alex. So I work for Business Forms
French Trade Commission in London and I specialise in
retail tech and e-commerce and Ihave French retail tech
companies expanding in the UK but also British retailers to
find innovative solutions for their business.
Fantastic. So listen, everyone should know
the format. We're going to talk about 5
(01:03):
things across Europe that we feel are interesting and share
worthy. So why don't we start with you,
Alexander? We'll go to.
Sure. So the first the topic today is
Anta Marche that has started using an AI powered tool to
generate install audio messages.So this is a technology called
(01:25):
Alex been developed by media meeting company, which lets
teams, store teams to create announcements in just a few
clicks. So all the the staff in store
have to do all they have to do is to select the products, the
iron and the price and then the AI over and they take care of
(01:46):
the rest. So it generates generates a
clear natural sounding message that is played directly in the
store. So they have been testing this
in 18 stores for a year prior toto the roll out and they have
noticed that some products salesincreased by over 60%, which is
huge and even outside promotional periods.
(02:07):
So this is a a really good advantage.
But another one is that the staff adoption is also really
strong because it's so easy to do and they don't have to make
any more of the mic announcements.
OK, got you. What does the AI do that for
them? Yes, exactly.
Yeah, the AI do it. So This is why the this tool is
(02:29):
being rolled out widely across the network now.
And I think this is a really good example of how retailers
like Anton Marche are using AI in a practical way, and not just
for show, but to make store operations more responsive and
and local. And, you know, it also gives the
teams more control over what they are promoting and when
(02:50):
without relying on centralised marketing.
So yeah, I think this is a good example of how AI is being
integrated down into the day-to-day of retail.
Yeah, I, I, I think it's, it's incredible how quickly AI is
proliferating through because I,the way I look at it from a tech
perspective, my God, you're having your tech team, The, the,
(03:10):
the, the, the people who have the know how how to do this has
always been the challenge withinretail.
So you're really reliant on your, on your partner ecosystem.
But we've always talked about, you know, how, how the world
would be so much better if you had an app that could do this
for you. And, and there's wonderful
example. Are they, they're in terms of
people who don't know the retailer.
(03:31):
They, they're cross because I can see they've got grocery, but
is it like a department store? What is it?
Are they're groceries? Yeah, it's a, it's a grocery,
Yeah. Got you.
Got you. OK.
All right, fantastic. OK, so my 1 is about the
wonderful European Union. And this is something I, I, I
think it's probably the most significant shift that's
happening in European retail regulations right now and it
(03:53):
affects every single brown marketplace and supplier selling
into the EU. On the 9th of July, the European
Union officially called for a triple reform.
So not one reform, but a triple reform that's going to reshape
how products enter and move across borders first.
And I'm hoping people are familiar and I won't go into it
(04:13):
because it will take a lot of time.
The digital product passports, which I think it's a great
initiative where we understand where things come from and then
the life cycle of the product. They're mandatory identifies
that follow each product's environment, safety and
compliance data from manufacturer to end consumer.
You can think of it as a digitaltwin that proves a product's
integrity at every stage. The second, they're demanding a
(04:36):
full overhaul of the union customs code, which basically
means it gives stronger tools and data visibility and
platforms more importantly couldbe held liable as deemed
importers. And the E US new customs data
hub will link everything. So customs Product Safety and
market surveillance, which againis quite significant.
(04:59):
And then the third one, which I think for a lot of maybe UK
companies that export is that they want to abolish the €150
customs duty exemption for low value imports.
That threshold has been sort of a back door for non compliant
goods, especially from places such in Asia or China.
(05:20):
And in fact, in 2020, four 4.6 billion packages entered the EU
underneath that exception. So it's, it's not, it's not a
small loophole that one or two people know about.
It's a it's a big loophole that's exploited.
And you know, again, most of allof those goods came from one
specific region. And now the EU is sort of saying
enough is enough. We need to get this open.
(05:42):
It's about creating a level playing field, protecting the
customers, restoring trust in incross-border sales.
So if you're a retailer in logistics, the enforcement is
coming and it's coming fast. Yeah.
And also to add on this trust iswhat is really important here.
And we, This is why the digital product passport is, is very
(06:06):
important because it gives transparency on where, where
the, the, the origin of the products, the materials used,
all the, the logistics behind it.
And this is something that retailers want to know from the
brands, but also consumers also want to have access to this
data. So I think by 2027 this is going
(06:29):
to be interesting to to see whatis put in place around that.
There's a fantastic case of I think it's actually called Trust
Place, right? They're a French start up.
I had them as a guest and they're part of your French
pavilion. A little plug.
There are lots in the podcast. Yeah, we see a lot of more and
more companies in that space, not just in France, but also.
(06:52):
In. The UK, yeah, yeah, there's many
of them, yeah. So over to you.
Yeah, So the second topic is about careful Belgium that has
opened fully autonomous AI powered micro store inside an
Ibis style hotel near Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
So this is called Bye Bye and this is only 6 square metres
(07:14):
which gives hotel guests 24/7 access to breakfast, lunch and
snacks with no stuff needed. So it works via smart fridges
and all you have to do is unlockthe fridge with a bank card and
or an app. You can grab what you want and
then the system automatically recognises, waits and charges
the items. So this was already in place in
(07:35):
Carefuls headquarters and in a NATO base in Belgium.
But this is the first time that we are seeing this type of
format tested in the hotel. So I think it's a really to the
another good example of how retailers are using AI to
diversify their offer and try new, new formats.
And it makes sense in places where timing is unpredictable,
(07:57):
like hotels, airports, train stations.
And it goes beyond the usual vending machine.
So these are micro stores where you can have a smoother, more
intuitive experience like up with a broader range of products
available around the clock with no stuff needed.
(08:17):
Back to me, so this is from Nexi.
They ran a they produced their report earlier this month called
the e-commerce report 2024 Europe.
What's really interesting quarter of shoppers said that
they shop online because it's simpler.
But the big thing that I think retailers across the world
(08:38):
struggle with is how in Europe there are so many varying
different shopping behaviours specifically online.
When you look at the delivery habits split in the map between
67 of Polish consumers and only half of Nordic consumers prefer,
for example, picking up at lockers.
I don't like to pick up at Locker, but in some regions they
(09:01):
absolutely do. And in Germany, Austria and
Italy, home delivery still dominate where the money is
going and where the money is being spent.
Again, looking at places like Poland and Denmark, they lead in
buying physical goods, so around59% is spent.
Germany spends big on travel andin Switzerland 23% of online
(09:23):
spend goes to services. I don't know what that says
about the Swiss, but maybe they're more trusting in getting
services online. The one thing that I think is no
surprise is the category degrees.
Obviously 47% are still clothes,28% shoes and 27% beauty.
If we zoom out here, you need tothink about your packaging in
(09:46):
terms of making it the right package for the right delivery
experience. Offer different ways to pay
because different different consumers and different
geographies want different payment options.
That is the research by Nixie. Back over to you for our final
one. Yes, a nitrous nice transition
(10:07):
because you you were, you know, saying that more shoppers are
shopping online, but this one isabout going back physical for
low cost for a low cost brand called lefties.
So the Inditex Group, the parentcompany of Zara is bringing back
its low cost brand lefties back to France with the first store
(10:31):
planned by 2026. So they have already tried to
enter France before over a decade ago.
But this this comeback arrives as the demand for ultra low cost
fashion surges in France, but everywhere else in Europe,
especially among the younger shoppers and the growing
(10:53):
competition from Chin or Primark.
So the goal is to compete with these fast fashion giants and
lefties. Is was originally the Zara
outlet, but since it has evolvedinto a standard oven brand with
its own collections and low prices.
(11:14):
And it is already present in 18 countries and has a really
strong presence in Spain and Portugal.
So what is interesting here is it's not just about the return
of lefties in in France, it's the timing because she in
Primark, for example, Sheen is dominating online and Primark
(11:35):
more offline. I mean in France at this and
lefties is now betting on physical retail too to offer low
prices and in person experience.So it's a clear signal that even
in fast fashion, physical retailthat still has a strategic role
to play. However, I believe that from a
sustainable perspective, it encourages impulsive buying
(11:59):
habits. At a time where we know the
environmental cost of fast fashion and it is well known, I
find it a bit disappointing to see that instead of shifting
toward more sustainable models, big players like in the text
still continue to double down onvolume and and speed encourage
and they just encourage fast fashion.
(12:21):
Yeah, I think it's really hard. I don't want, I am completely
with you and I think Intertex asa whole right now is not on the
right side of consumer behaviour.
What they're on the side of is making as much possible money
and displacing their competitionbecause Primark is doing a
phenomenal job of, you know, in certain markets and categories
(12:43):
such as fashion, such as bringing, you know, taking a
little bit of market share. And this is, you know, in the
Texas way of trying to, because I went to the pop up that they
had in Madrid. It was cross category.
They have children's wear, they had homeware.
And so they're obviously trying to claw back market share from
the likes of Prima. But as you said, I think it's
(13:05):
it's on the wrong side of consumer consciousness.
We don't need more fast fashion.We need more conscious fashion
right now. And I.
Yeah, this is this is commercialcapitalism at its best, trying
to outdo your partners and then taking your offering to them.
Because as you said, right at the beginning, Lefties was an
(13:27):
outlet for Zara goods, right? That that made so much sense.
Instead of sending it to landfills, send it to to
discount and and discount that. But they seem to be coming away
from that and creating this brand on itself, which is.
Yeah, because price is more interesting for consumers now.
Yeah, I, I look the, the, the latest statistics for the UK is
(13:48):
that inflation or costs of goodsare going to go up still which
people are going to go hang on aminute.
Inflation has gone down. Why are cost of goods coming up?
And people will look to brands like lefties and, and, but
Primark's got such a stronghold in, in the UK, specifically UK
and, and Ireland. It's it's going to be a tough
one for them. But I do see a lot of retailers
(14:09):
also who had expansion plans such as CAR 4IN Italy
retrenching out of Italy and going back to their core
markets. So I don't know if this is an
experimentation to see if they can make it work.
They have they've had a great track record of making things
work. But maybe this is an experiment
that they're going to see how how they can do.
And let's see what the consumer says.
The consumer always, well, let'ssay the customer is always
(14:31):
right. So anyway, on that bombshell to
thank you Alexander. It's lovely, lovely, lovely to
have you back. I had to say it three times, not
once. Forward to filming with you next
week. Thank you, Alex.
That's an absolute pleasure.
Welcome to Five Things Friday, EU edition.
Hello, Alexandra's back. We missed the last week.
Alexandra, how are you doing? Hi, Alex.
(00:21):
Thanks. For those for those who don't
know, my name's Alex. I'm the founder of the Retail
Podcast. I help retailers, people who
sell to retail, maintain their thought leadership and to do
their global conference planningand how they stay relevant in
the wonderful world of retail. And I'm joined by my wonderful
host, Alexandra. Alexandra.
(00:41):
Thank you, Alex. So I work for Business Forms
French Trade Commission in London and I specialise in
retail tech and e-commerce and Ihave French retail tech
companies expanding in the UK but also British retailers to
find innovative solutions for their business.
Fantastic. So listen, everyone should know
the format. We're going to talk about 5
(01:03):
things across Europe that we feel are interesting and share
worthy. So why don't we start with you,
Alexander? We'll go to.
Sure. So the first the topic today is
Anta Marche that has started using an AI powered tool to
generate install audio messages.So this is a technology called
(01:25):
Alex been developed by media meeting company, which lets
teams, store teams to create announcements in just a few
clicks. So all the the staff in store
have to do all they have to do is to select the products, the
iron and the price and then the AI over and they take care of
(01:46):
the rest. So it generates generates a
clear natural sounding message that is played directly in the
store. So they have been testing this
in 18 stores for a year prior toto the roll out and they have
noticed that some products salesincreased by over 60%, which is
huge and even outside promotional periods.
(02:07):
So this is a a really good advantage.
But another one is that the staff adoption is also really
strong because it's so easy to do and they don't have to make
any more of the mic announcements.
OK, got you. What does the AI do that for
them? Yes, exactly.
Yeah, the AI do it. So This is why the this tool is
(02:29):
being rolled out widely across the network now.
And I think this is a really good example of how retailers
like Anton Marche are using AI in a practical way, and not just
for show, but to make store operations more responsive and
and local. And, you know, it also gives the
teams more control over what they are promoting and when
(02:50):
without relying on centralised marketing.
So yeah, I think this is a good example of how AI is being
integrated down into the day-to-day of retail.
Yeah, I, I, I think it's, it's incredible how quickly AI is
proliferating through because I,the way I look at it from a tech
perspective, my God, you're having your tech team, The, the,
(03:10):
the, the, the people who have the know how how to do this has
always been the challenge withinretail.
So you're really reliant on your, on your partner ecosystem.
But we've always talked about, you know, how, how the world
would be so much better if you had an app that could do this
for you. And, and there's wonderful
example. Are they, they're in terms of
people who don't know the retailer.
(03:31):
They, they're cross because I can see they've got grocery, but
is it like a department store? What is it?
Are they're groceries? Yeah, it's a, it's a grocery,
Yeah. Got you.
Got you. OK.
All right, fantastic. OK, so my 1 is about the
wonderful European Union. And this is something I, I, I
think it's probably the most significant shift that's
happening in European retail regulations right now and it
(03:53):
affects every single brown marketplace and supplier selling
into the EU. On the 9th of July, the European
Union officially called for a triple reform.
So not one reform, but a triple reform that's going to reshape
how products enter and move across borders first.
And I'm hoping people are familiar and I won't go into it
(04:13):
because it will take a lot of time.
The digital product passports, which I think it's a great
initiative where we understand where things come from and then
the life cycle of the product. They're mandatory identifies
that follow each product's environment, safety and
compliance data from manufacturer to end consumer.
You can think of it as a digitaltwin that proves a product's
integrity at every stage. The second, they're demanding a
(04:36):
full overhaul of the union customs code, which basically
means it gives stronger tools and data visibility and
platforms more importantly couldbe held liable as deemed
importers. And the E US new customs data
hub will link everything. So customs Product Safety and
market surveillance, which againis quite significant.
(04:59):
And then the third one, which I think for a lot of maybe UK
companies that export is that they want to abolish the €150
customs duty exemption for low value imports.
That threshold has been sort of a back door for non compliant
goods, especially from places such in Asia or China.
(05:20):
And in fact, in 2020, four 4.6 billion packages entered the EU
underneath that exception. So it's, it's not, it's not a
small loophole that one or two people know about.
It's a it's a big loophole that's exploited.
And you know, again, most of allof those goods came from one
specific region. And now the EU is sort of saying
enough is enough. We need to get this open.
(05:42):
It's about creating a level playing field, protecting the
customers, restoring trust in incross-border sales.
So if you're a retailer in logistics, the enforcement is
coming and it's coming fast. Yeah.
And also to add on this trust iswhat is really important here.
And we, This is why the digital product passport is, is very
(06:06):
important because it gives transparency on where, where
the, the, the origin of the products, the materials used,
all the, the logistics behind it.
And this is something that retailers want to know from the
brands, but also consumers also want to have access to this
data. So I think by 2027 this is going
(06:29):
to be interesting to to see whatis put in place around that.
There's a fantastic case of I think it's actually called Trust
Place, right? They're a French start up.
I had them as a guest and they're part of your French
pavilion. A little plug.
There are lots in the podcast. Yeah, we see a lot of more and
more companies in that space, not just in France, but also.
(06:52):
In. The UK, yeah, yeah, there's many
of them, yeah. So over to you.
Yeah, So the second topic is about careful Belgium that has
opened fully autonomous AI powered micro store inside an
Ibis style hotel near Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
So this is called Bye Bye and this is only 6 square metres
(07:14):
which gives hotel guests 24/7 access to breakfast, lunch and
snacks with no stuff needed. So it works via smart fridges
and all you have to do is unlockthe fridge with a bank card and
or an app. You can grab what you want and
then the system automatically recognises, waits and charges
the items. So this was already in place in
(07:35):
Carefuls headquarters and in a NATO base in Belgium.
But this is the first time that we are seeing this type of
format tested in the hotel. So I think it's a really to the
another good example of how retailers are using AI to
diversify their offer and try new, new formats.
And it makes sense in places where timing is unpredictable,
(07:57):
like hotels, airports, train stations.
And it goes beyond the usual vending machine.
So these are micro stores where you can have a smoother, more
intuitive experience like up with a broader range of products
available around the clock with no stuff needed.
(08:17):
Back to me, so this is from Nexi.
They ran a they produced their report earlier this month called
the e-commerce report 2024 Europe.
What's really interesting quarter of shoppers said that
they shop online because it's simpler.
But the big thing that I think retailers across the world
(08:38):
struggle with is how in Europe there are so many varying
different shopping behaviours specifically online.
When you look at the delivery habits split in the map between
67 of Polish consumers and only half of Nordic consumers prefer,
for example, picking up at lockers.
I don't like to pick up at Locker, but in some regions they
(09:01):
absolutely do. And in Germany, Austria and
Italy, home delivery still dominate where the money is
going and where the money is being spent.
Again, looking at places like Poland and Denmark, they lead in
buying physical goods, so around59% is spent.
Germany spends big on travel andin Switzerland 23% of online
(09:23):
spend goes to services. I don't know what that says
about the Swiss, but maybe they're more trusting in getting
services online. The one thing that I think is no
surprise is the category degrees.
Obviously 47% are still clothes,28% shoes and 27% beauty.
If we zoom out here, you need tothink about your packaging in
(09:46):
terms of making it the right package for the right delivery
experience. Offer different ways to pay
because different different consumers and different
geographies want different payment options.
That is the research by Nixie. Back over to you for our final
one. Yes, a nitrous nice transition
(10:07):
because you you were, you know, saying that more shoppers are
shopping online, but this one isabout going back physical for
low cost for a low cost brand called lefties.
So the Inditex Group, the parentcompany of Zara is bringing back
its low cost brand lefties back to France with the first store
(10:31):
planned by 2026. So they have already tried to
enter France before over a decade ago.
But this this comeback arrives as the demand for ultra low cost
fashion surges in France, but everywhere else in Europe,
especially among the younger shoppers and the growing
(10:53):
competition from Chin or Primark.
So the goal is to compete with these fast fashion giants and
lefties. Is was originally the Zara
outlet, but since it has evolvedinto a standard oven brand with
its own collections and low prices.
(11:14):
And it is already present in 18 countries and has a really
strong presence in Spain and Portugal.
So what is interesting here is it's not just about the return
of lefties in in France, it's the timing because she in
Primark, for example, Sheen is dominating online and Primark
(11:35):
more offline. I mean in France at this and
lefties is now betting on physical retail too to offer low
prices and in person experience.So it's a clear signal that even
in fast fashion, physical retailthat still has a strategic role
to play. However, I believe that from a
sustainable perspective, it encourages impulsive buying
(11:59):
habits. At a time where we know the
environmental cost of fast fashion and it is well known, I
find it a bit disappointing to see that instead of shifting
toward more sustainable models, big players like in the text
still continue to double down onvolume and and speed encourage
and they just encourage fast fashion.
(12:21):
Yeah, I think it's really hard. I don't want, I am completely
with you and I think Intertex asa whole right now is not on the
right side of consumer behaviour.
What they're on the side of is making as much possible money
and displacing their competitionbecause Primark is doing a
phenomenal job of, you know, in certain markets and categories
(12:43):
such as fashion, such as bringing, you know, taking a
little bit of market share. And this is, you know, in the
Texas way of trying to, because I went to the pop up that they
had in Madrid. It was cross category.
They have children's wear, they had homeware.
And so they're obviously trying to claw back market share from
the likes of Prima. But as you said, I think it's
(13:05):
it's on the wrong side of consumer consciousness.
We don't need more fast fashion.We need more conscious fashion
right now. And I.
Yeah, this is this is commercialcapitalism at its best, trying
to outdo your partners and then taking your offering to them.
Because as you said, right at the beginning, Lefties was an
(13:27):
outlet for Zara goods, right? That that made so much sense.
Instead of sending it to landfills, send it to to
discount and and discount that. But they seem to be coming away
from that and creating this brand on itself, which is.
Yeah, because price is more interesting for consumers now.
Yeah, I, I look the, the, the latest statistics for the UK is
(13:48):
that inflation or costs of goodsare going to go up still which
people are going to go hang on aminute.
Inflation has gone down. Why are cost of goods coming up?
And people will look to brands like lefties and, and, but
Primark's got such a stronghold in, in the UK, specifically UK
and, and Ireland. It's it's going to be a tough
one for them. But I do see a lot of retailers
(14:09):
also who had expansion plans such as CAR 4IN Italy
retrenching out of Italy and going back to their core
markets. So I don't know if this is an
experimentation to see if they can make it work.
They have they've had a great track record of making things
work. But maybe this is an experiment
that they're going to see how how they can do.
And let's see what the consumer says.
The consumer always, well, let'ssay the customer is always
(14:31):
right. So anyway, on that bombshell to
thank you Alexander. It's lovely, lovely, lovely to
have you back. I had to say it three times, not
once. Forward to filming with you next
week. Thank you, Alex.
That's an absolute pleasure.
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