Fashion first as Maeve AI and Reclaim picked as startups to watch at Shoptalk Europe 2026 in Barcelona
Maeve AI and Reclaim emerged victorious at Shoptalk Europe 2026's Startup Pitch session in Barcelona, Spain last week. This showcases how innovative technologies are addressing retail’s biggest challenges, whilst simultaneously unlocking new growth opportunities.
Maeve AI: An AI assistant tackling fashion returns at the production level, rather than on the product page, informed by the evidence that poor fit accounts for 70% of women’s wear returns as a result of fit metrics being generated by 400+ garment technologists with no standardisation.
Reclaim: A sustainability and circularity fashion platform leveraging artificial intelligence to connect customers to resale, repair or recycling services, turning every product into a connected asset.
Also announced at Shoptalk Europe 2026
Kaufland Global Marketplace is coming to Spain and Netherlands as announced live on the Shoptalk Europe stage by its CTO Fabian Kothe. Launching in late summer, the platform will offer nine marketplaces across nine different countries with just one registration, giving sellers the opportunity to potentially reach 220 million online shoppers
From 15th June, TikTok Shop will be available to shoppers and retailers in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Poland, joining existing markets in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the UK.
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Startups will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
