RetAPPs joins the Aton Group: supermarket shopping gets smarter

Simply combining revenues does not automatically create value. Real value comes from bringing together the right people and a shared culture, as is the case with Aton and RetAPPs. That is why, when we say that we have acquired an 80% stake in RetAPPs, the first thing I want to talk about is what brings us together and the context behind this decision.

Retailers are facing two opposing pressures at the checkout. On the one hand, recruiting and retaining checkout staff is becoming increasingly costly. On the other, customers expect a faster, smoother shopping experience, without queues or friction. The traditional checkout model, as it stands today, is increasingly struggling to meet both demands.

The synergy between Aton and RetAPPs

RetAPPs is a Milan-based software company founded in 2012. For over a decade, it has worked closely with grocery retailers on e-commerce, self-scanning, couponing and mobile payments. It has a team of ten, forecast revenue of one million and major customers in the sector. At the heart of its business is SmartBip: a cloud-based software platform, built on APIs and microservices, that quickly connects a retailer’s core systems with checkout systems, loyalty programmes and the apps customers use every day.

Alessandro Tiretta, CEO and founder of RetAPPs, will continue to lead the company, alongside the product and development team, who will retain their key strategic and operational roles. RetAPPs is joining a larger Group while preserving its identity and benefiting from Aton’s scale and capabilities. The integration will enable RetAPPs to bring its specialist expertise in the digital channels connecting retailers and consumers to a wider market, supported by the Aton Group’s greater capabilities in solution design, scalable development and delivery.

What does this mean for shoppers?

Fewer and fewer people are willing to spend time queueing at the checkout. With self-scanning and in-app payments, the checkout process can take place as customers move through the aisles, rather than while they stand waiting at a traditional checkout.

And as artificial intelligence becomes part of the shopping journey, customers can interact with supermarket services using natural language and receive personalised promotions and information, supported by real-time quality checks.

Deloitte found that average basket value increases by 10% when the shopping experience becomes this seamless. That is not a minor detail: it helps explain why retailers are already investing in this area.

And the benefits extend beyond the customer. Automating the most repetitive parts of the checkout process does not mean having fewer people in store. It means enabling staff to focus on where they can add more value: on the shop floor, improving the shopping experience and supporting customers.

RetAPPs and the Aton Group’s growth

This acquisition comes at a time when the Aton Group continues to grow. In the first half of 2026, consolidated revenue reached €11.92 million, up 7%, while EBITDA rose even faster to €1.15 million, an increase of 78%. Order intake, a key indicator of the business expected in the months ahead, reached €10.79 million, up 23%.

Following the acquisition of Teksmar and the creation of the Aton GTN joint venture, RetAPPs represents another important step in the development of the digital hub dedicated to the retail sector that we are building.

Together, we want to redefine the grocery retail experience around an increasingly omnichannel model, where physical and digital touchpoints work together throughout the customer journey and everyday shopping becomes more interactive, faster and more seamless.