Reasons to Read

On March 24, 2026, Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder of Coresight Research, emceed the Shoptalk Spring 2026 “Shark Reef” Startup Pitch competition and served as lead judge.

The event featured 10 early-stage retail-technology innovators competing across two categories: technologies reinventing customer experience and technologies driving operational efficiencies. The winners of the Judges’ Choice award received a $100,000 prize from Commerce Ventures. The winners of the Audience Choice award received a prize of $100,000 in services from Coresight Research.

Coresight Research is a research partner of Shoptalk Spring 2026.

In each presentation, we outline the following:

• Startup Pitch history—past winners
• Event format, featuring rapid-fire, three-minute founder pitches followed by live Q&A with an expert judging panel
• Expert judging panel
• Startup selection criteria
• The 5 participating innovators driving innovation across AI, agentic commerce, store intelligence, content generation and retail infrastructure
• Choosing the winners—the live audience voting process and evaluation criteria

Other relevant research:

• Retail 2026: 10 Trends in Retail Technology
• Visit the Coresight Research Retail Technology Hub to explore reports, data and competitive landscapes on technology.

More on Shoptalk Spring:

• For highlights from the Startup Pitch event and to find out which companies won, view our Shoptalk Spring Day 1 Recap.
• Essential Guide to Shoptalk Spring 2026: Retail in the Age of AI—Balancing Automation and Human-Centric Experiences
• Catch up on insights from all Shoptalk events here.