The retail sector is changing its skin: unfaithful customers, agent AI, autonomous stores and promotions that are no longer enough. And then there is localism

…The local product is no longer a simple reference, but an identity tool. Some brands support small producers in the development of recipes, packaging and quality processes, transforming the large-scale retail trade into an ecosystem that enhances local supply chains. The private label is evolving: no longer just a convenience lever, but a system of values capable of dialoguing with communities, digital creators and new targets. In some brands it already represents more than half of the turnover ( Below: Esselunga ‘produced in Tuscany’ labels introduced more than 30 years ago for fresh products and still used today: in 2003, 70% of our suppliers invoiced less than 100K)…

From intelligent trolleysto agent AI, from autonomous stores to the rediscovery of the territory, a rapidly evolving large-scale retail sector emerges: technological, data-driven, automated, but at the same time more human, local and relational. A sector that interprets increasingly fragmented and fluid needs, building a new balance between innovation and proximity.

I hope with all my heart that these changes will take place, especially the technological ones, but I wonder: when it comes to technology on social (AI, e-commerce, customised promotions, etc.) how come there seems to be no interest on the part of Italian users?

Drafted 9 May, updated 10 May 2026