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The Retail Technology Show (RTS) is a dedicated event for professionals involved in retail operations, digital commerce, store technology and customer experience platforms. Over the course of two days in London, the show brings together solution providers, technology architects, retail leaders and innovation teams to explore how technology is reshaping customer engagement, supply chain operations and enterprise retail systems.
Compared with general tech conferences, RTS has a narrower, sector-driven focus: it is not about broad digital trends in isolation but about how those trends are applied within a retail context. The event typically draws technology leaders from department stores, supermarkets, fashion brands, omnichannel retailers and speciality chains who are evaluating or deploying new digital systems.
Retail Technology Show showcases a wide range of systems and platforms that support modern commerce infrastructure. Exhibitors and speaking sessions frequently cover:
Rather than high-level futurism, the show tends to highlight applied technology – solutions that are either deployable now or in pilot stages with real retailers. For professionals responsible for buying or integrating these systems, this focus provides practical insight rather than abstract concepts.
Parallel to the exhibition floor, RTS runs a conference programme featuring practitioners and analysts rather than pure product pitches. Sessions often articulate how retailers are solving specific problems, such as aligning omni-channel inventory, reducing checkout friction, or integrating customer data across channels.
Talks touch on topics such as global supply chain resilience, digital conversion optimisation, loyalty economics in a loyalty-heavy market, and the impact of in-store automation on staff roles. Panel discussions frequently pair vendor leads with practitioners who have deployed solutions, providing context on what worked, what didn’t and why.
Workshops and demo theatres also allow attendees to see technology in action, with short presentations that go beyond vendor brochures to examine implementation considerations such as integration costs, scalability and staff training.
RTS attracts a mixed audience of business and technical stakeholders. Retail CIOs, heads of digital and eCommerce, IT architects, CTOs, innovation leads, category managers and supply chain executives all have reasons to attend. Importantly, it is not limited to technology buyers – user groups from operations, merchandising and customer experience also attend to understand how digital systems can support their priorities.
Because retail technology has to accommodate both customer experience and back-end operations, the audience tends to bring diverse perspectives: some are focused on conversion and engagement, others on resilience and infrastructure.
This diversity is reflected in the event’s structure, which juxtaposes high-level strategy sessions with practical implementation talks.
ExCeL London, the venue for RTS 2026, provides a central hub for multiple retail tech shows and co-located events. Its location and transport links make it an accessible meeting point for both national and international attendees.
Attendance for Retail Technology Show has grown steadily over the years, with recent events attracting well over 10,000 visitors across both exhibition and conference tracks. While smaller than broad industry shows like CES or Web Summit, RTS’s size reflects its focused appeal: professionals who are specifically evaluating or implementing retail technology solutions.
Retail as a sector continues to evolve rapidly as digital systems are no longer peripheral but central to business operations. The distinction between online and in-store experiences has blurred, and legacy retail systems often struggle to support modern expectations for speed, personalisation and data integration.
In this environment, events like RTS provide a structured opportunity for retail and technology leaders to evaluate where the industry is heading and what solutions are being adopted in live operations. For organisations navigating digital transformation in commerce, attending RTS can help clarify short-term priorities – such as reducing tech debt or improving fulfilment – as well as longer-term architectural decisions about data platforms and system integration.
By bringing together buyers, vendors and implementers in one place, the show functions as a market snapshot: a way to see what is being adopted, what is emerging and how peers are approaching similar challenges.
