Discover the 10 Top Retail Startups to Watch in 2023

Global Startup Heat Map highlights 10 Retail Startups to Watch in 2023

Through the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering over 3 790 000+ startups & scaleups globally, we identified 2443 Retail startups. The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the 10 retail startups you should watch in 2023 as well as the geo-distribution of all 2443 startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research. Based on the heat map, we see high startup activity in the US and India, followed by Europe. These retail startups work on solutions ranging from social commerce and immersive retail to omnichannel retailing and personalized eCommerce.

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As the world’s largest resource for data on emerging companies, the SaaS platform enables you to identify relevant technologies and industry trends quickly & exhaustively. Based on the data from the platform, the top retail hub is London, followed by New York City. Indian startup hubs Bangalore and Mumbai are also among the top 5 top retail startup hubs, further rounded up by San Francisco. The 10 hand-picked startups highlighted in this report are chosen from all over the world and develop solutions for retail stores, eCommerce businesses, customer intelligence, and last-mile delivery.

10 Top Retail Startups to Watch in 2023

Novel technologies, such as AI, augmented reality (AR), the internet of things (IoT), and blockchain, are transforming the retail industry. By leveraging AI-powered data analytics, retailers gain insights into customer behavior and preferences, allowing them to personalize the shopping experience and improve customer engagement. Augmented reality is enabling customers to visualize products in their homes before purchase, while blockchain is ensuring transparency and security in supply chain management. Additionally, innovations such as mobile payment systems and self-checkout are streamlining the checkout process, reducing wait times, and improving the overall shopping experience. These technologies, and others, enable retailers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing market.

1. 1. • Cognitiwe – Smart Retail Management
      • Twiva – Social Commerce
      • Goshsha – Immersive Retail
      • Vocads – Voice Commerce
      • ScreenVend – Omnichannel Retailing
      • Splashup – Personalized eCommerce
      • PackUpp – Last-Mile Product Delivery
      • Mileberry – IoT Click & Collect Delivery Network
      • Forthcode Technologies – Point-of-Sale Platform
      • Riitail – Cloud-based Customer Analytics

Cognitiwe offers a Smart Retail Management Platform

Estonian startup Cognitiwe provides an AI-powered smart retail management platform. It utilizes internet protocol (IP) cameras to extract useful data from images and videos. The platform also analyzes this data to systematically manage shelf stock. It monitors food freshness and provides an estimate of stock levels of product displays and boxed products on the shelves. The platform also verifies the incorrect position and quantity of products to detect check-out aisles as well as monitors self-service kiosks to detect fraud and shrinkage. Consequently, Cognitiwe’s AI platform insights allow retailers to optimize their day-to-day operations.

Twiva develops a Social Commerce Platform

Kenyan startup Twiva develops an influencer-powered social commerce platform. It enables micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to market and sell products and services by engaging online influencers or resellers. The platform also allows businesses to enlist their products and the startup adds them to the shops. The influencers then resell the products on their social media accounts and earn a commission in return. Businesses use Twiva to create new shopping experiences for customers by leveraging social media connections without incurring expensive upfront costs.

Goshsha provides an Immersive Retail Platform

US-based startup Goshsha makes an AR-based retail media platform. It allows businesses to track and connect with in-store shoppers. The startup’s app makes interactive images and objects and displays information for instant access. It provides customer engagement features such as a scavenger hunt, where customers catch hidden discount coupons while shopping. The platform’s pop-up instructional videos allow businesses to better inform customers about their products. Goshsha helps businesses to better engage with their customers and increase sales.

Vocads facilitates Voice Commerce

French startup Vocads specializes in voice commerce solutions. The startup’s AI-powered platform allows businesses to design advertising campaigns. Its drag-and-drop block feature allows for the creation of a conversation flow for surveys. The platform also provides statistics, enabling businesses to analyze their campaigns and understand customers better. The startup’s proprietary AI-based voice assistant, Understand Natural Interactions (UNI), utilizes natural language processing (NLP) to provide a natural conversation experience across platforms. One of the startup’s solutions is the customer voice survey, which allows customers to provide feedback in a more engaging way. Businesses use Vocads’ platform to make surveys more interesting and achieve higher completion rates for collecting enriched customer data.

ScreenVend develops an Omnichannel Retailing Platform

Irish startup ScreenVend creates an aisle software platform that utilizes its ClicksiNBricks technology to provide individualized offerings for each store. Its in-store multiple screens allow customers to browse and shop a variety of products and place orders. The platform links to robotics to provide space-saving, assisted selling, and self-service technology that delivers ordered products instantly. This enables retailers to enhance their brands to improve in-store experiences and broaden their offerings. The instant product fulfillment feature allows cross-selling and up-selling opportunities on the screen, leading to increased sales for businesses.

Splashup creates a Personalized eCommerce Platform

Australian startup Splashup offers an eCommerce platform that uses AI to offer personalized product discovery tools to customers. It functions as a network of brands and retailers to enable post-checkout cross-promotion of complementary products. This way, retailers simplify online shopping and improve the product comparison experience for customers. The startup also offers a simple widget that recommends relevant products to customers based on their purchase history. Splashup’s platform increases customer engagement, lead generation, and revenue for businesses.

PackUpp facilitates Last-Mile Product Delivery

Turkish startup PackUpp provides a last-mile delivery panel for retailers. Its application programming interface (API) integrates with eCommerce sites to enable automatic order delivery. The API also allows retailers to monitor their orders and access order data instantly. It supports package live tracking and the option to leave packages with neighbors via SMS. PackUpp’s next-day, same-day, and express delivery thus provides a reliable and secure delivery solution for retail businesses.

Mileberry builds an IoT Click & Collect Delivery Network

US-based startup Mileberry offers Mileberry Hub, a modular parcel locker for installation at various locations such as retail stores and shopping malls. It functions as a self-service network for last-mile delivery, automating logistics, retail, and eCommerce. Retail businesses use the startup’s app or website to create shipments with receivers’ details. The customers scan QR codes on the Mileberry Hub screen display to open the locker and collect their products. The locker is solar-powered and reduces the global carbon footprint and electricity costs. Businesses use the startup’s network to provide a contactless, customer-friendly, and self-service experience around the clock.

Forthcode Technologies makes a Point-of-Sale Platform

Indian startup Forthcode Technologies offers nGO Smart Retail, a cloud-based point-of-sale platform for retailers and wholesalers. It collects data on customer behavior, sales trends, and inventory levels to create value for the retail ecosystem with a smart interface and advanced analytics. The nGO Smart Retail dashboard offers insights into demand prediction, inventory management, and logistics planning. Forthcode Technologies converts point-of-sales into business intelligence for retailers, driving increased efficiency and profitability.

Riitail offers Cloud-based Customer Analytics

German startup Riitail develops an AI-based customer analytics platform. It employs AI-powered sensor devices to detect customer interactions. The platform then leverages cloud computing to collect in-store events and enhances this data with product and marketing information. Riitail’s analytics allows businesses to consolidate all in-store event data and connect them to marketing campaigns. Retailers leverage these insights to optimize their marketing strategies and expand their business reach.

Discover All Emerging Retail Startups

The retail startups showcased in this report are only a small sample of all startups we identified through our data-driven startup scouting approach. Download our free Retail Innovation Report for a broad overview of the industry or get in touch for quick & exhaustive research on the latest technologies & emerging solutions that will impact your company in 2023!