On July 8, 2026, Key-Work and eyefactive hosted the third edition of Touchpoint Talks "Retail meets Data" at the historic Hoepfner Burg in Karlsruhe. Decision makers from retail, marketing and e-commerce discussed how data and digital touchpoints change the physical store. From the TouchLytics Loop and staffless smart stores to automated customer communication. A hands-on Explorer Area made live customer projects testable, including the newly presented RemoteFront interactive shop window solution. The next edition follows on October 7, 2026 in Hamburg.
One afternoon, one question
How do data and digital touchpoints change brick-and-mortar retail? On 8 July 2026, eyefactive GmbH and Key-Work Consulting GmbH put that question to around thirty decision makers from retail, marketing and e-commerce. The venue was the historic Hoepfner Burg in Karlsruhe, in the premises of Jamit Labs GmbH; Fabian Müller moderated the afternoon. The starting point was a familiar imbalance: online, every click is measured. On the shop floor, almost nothing is.
The TouchLytics Loop: from anonymous touch to concrete measure
Natascha Mahn (Key-Work) and Johannes Ryks (eyefactive) presented the framework behind that gap. The TouchLytics Loop describes how anonymous interactions at the point of sale become usable data step by step: touch journey, de-anonymization, data consolidation, analytics, campaign. The practical consequence is that in-store behaviour becomes comparable to online behaviour — and therefore usable for CRM, segmentation and campaign planning rather than remaining an isolated statistic in a signage backend.
Smart stores, store operations and automated communication
Three further impulses widened the picture. David Holzwarth (Shop-IQ) showed smart, staffless store concepts that are already in operation rather than in planning. Manuel Pilz (umdasch The Store Makers) addressed operational excellence in convenience stores, where processes and staffing decide margin. Meike Reinhard and Herbert Hohn (Inxmail) closed the chain with personalized e-mail automation along the customer journey. Taken together, the three talks described store operations, store data and outbound communication as one system, not three separate projects.
Explorer Area: projects to try out, not to watch
Alongside the talks, guests used a hands-on Explorer Area with live customer projects from retail, unified commerce and trade fair environments. Trying interaction design physically is a different exercise from reviewing a specification: gesture handling, reachability and dwell time become visible within seconds. For anyone planning a rollout, that is the cheapest possible moment to notice a design problem.
New: RemoteFront turns the shop window into a touchpoint
Shown for the first time at the event: with RemoteFront, digital signage screens in shop windows become interactive touchpoints that visitors control from their own smartphone — including gamification and measurable user behaviour. The relevant effect for retailers is that the window works outside opening hours, produces interaction data instead of impressions, and can generate opted-in contacts for follow-up campaigns.
The red thread: touchpoints only work together
The conclusion of the afternoon was less about single technologies than about their connection. Relevant communication does not come from one screen or one channel, but from touchpoints that share data. Impressions from Karlsruhe are available in a short recap video.
Next stop: Hamburg, 7 October 2026
The next Touchpoint Talks | Retail meets Data take place on 7 October 2026 from 9:00 a.m. at the eyefactive Office & Showroom, Mendelssohnstr. 15d, 22761 Hamburg. On the programme: the TouchLytics Loop, talks and use cases around RemoteFront, Umdasch, and Edeka, the Explorer Area with live customer projects from brands such as Edeka Jensen, MYMARINI and Zwilling, lunch and networking, closing around 3:30 p.m. An optional pre-evening programme on 6 October includes a welcome get-together and an exclusive guided tour of Panik City. Participation is free of charge and non-binding; seats are limited and registration is open until 1 October 2026[1].
