EuroCIS 2019 was a relatively small trade show spread out over two halls (9 & 10) at Dusseldorf Messe. A majority of exhibitors showcased POS hardware and there was also a large contingent from Asia (mainly China, Korea and Taiwan).
Our verdict: 
Approximately half of all the exhibitors were domestic to Germany, or companies we have not heard of before (this was our first visit to EuroCIS).
The size of the show may be due to the much larger EuroShop show (next opening in Feb 2020) opening every other year.
However, as a trade show country, Germany is definitely one of the top performers. The Dusseldorf Messe is a simple five-minute bus ride away from the airport. Not many other retail technology shows have this kind of easy access.
In terms of the exhibitors, there were similarities with NRF (held in New York in Jan 2019); digitalised trolleys, frictionless checkouts, cashless checkouts, AmazonGO clones and so on. However, the show felt as if it was a hardware zone.
Turning trolleys into digital containers was a mini-trend.
Cashierless shopping was big.
Aifi co-exhibited on Microsoft's stand. STIQ saw Aifi at NRF in January 2019 as well and this instance looked much more well developed indeed.
The most interesting new product at EuroCIS came from a relatively young startup (and a stand that we did not take a photo of...so, they kindly sent us one to use): STOREMOODS.
Storemoods provide a piece of hardware which connects to a store's wifi system. Sensing sales and volume of people in a particular store, or on a particular floor, the product can play a different type or speed of music depending on your brand's favourites. A/B testing has shown a 9.5% uptick in sales where the prodct has been used.