By Dan Marc, Founder & CEO, Footprints AI
Deloitte has published the latest edition of the EMEA Technology Fast 500, the ranking of the fastest-growing technology companies across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Footprints AI is ranked #145, with a growth rate of 1,500%.
That is the proof point. The bigger story is the market shift behind it, and the growth engine we built on top of it.
Search turned intent into advertising.
Social turned identity into advertising.
Retail media is turning transactions into advertising.
And AI is the technology layer that makes this third wave scalable.
The facts
Footprints AI is one of only eight Romanian companies included in the latest Deloitte EMEA Technology Fast 500, alongside Finqware, Questo, Steepsoft AI, DRUID AI, Bright Spaces, easySales and VauntOS. The ranking is based on one metric: revenue growth rate. Footprints AI grew 1,500%.
Footprints AI's position in the ranking validates what the market is already showing: Footprints AI is leading the retail media category in EMEA.
Deloitte describes Footprints AI as an AI platform that gives retail companies advanced data intelligence on consumer behavior and market dynamics, supporting commercial and expansion decisions. That description matters because it captures exactly where the market is moving.
Retail media is the third wave of advertising
Retail media turns real shopping behavior into advertising: transactions, baskets, loyalty data, store visits, category dynamics and proof of purchase. It is not just another channel. It is a structural shift in how advertising budgets are planned, bought and measured.
Brands are moving from impressions to outcomes.
Retailers are moving from trade marketing to media monetization.
Agencies are moving from audience proxies to first-party shopper data.
That shift is already happening across EMEA. Footprints AI is built for it.
The secret sauce behind the hyper-growth
Retail media does not scale because a retailer has screens, banners or an app. It scales when the retailer can turn data into a repeatable media business. That is where proprietary AI matters.
Footprints AI uses proprietary AI to build shopper audiences, forecast demand, plan campaigns, activate across in-store, on-site and off-site channels, and measure sales impact at SKU and store level. The platform does not stay static as the network expands. It learns, adapts and improves with every new retailer, category and market we enter.
This is the AI era of retail media: not generative copy, not pretty reports, but systems that learn from transactions and improve as the network scales.
The result is a compounding loop:
- More campaigns create more signals.
- More signals improve planning and targeting.
- Better measurement increases advertiser confidence.
- Higher confidence increases spend with Footprints AI.
Not hype. Not generic AI. Not dashboards. A system that turns retail data into measurable media revenue. That is the engine behind the 1,500% growth Deloitte measured.
Why advertisers spend more with Footprints AI
The biggest problem in retail media is not inventory. The biggest problem is proof. Retailers can sell impressions. That is easy. The hard part is proving what changed because of the campaign: incremental sales, new-to-brand shoppers, basket incidence, repeat purchase, category movement and store-level performance.
This is where Footprints AI is different. Our platform lets retailers and brands connect campaign exposure to real commercial outcomes, in-store and online. Advertisers spend up to 10x more with Footprints AI when retailers can prove incremental sales. The reason is simple: proof turns retail media from a test budget into a defensible growth budget.
That is why retail media is becoming a board-level growth engine for retailers and a measurable performance channel for brands.
Why this ranking matters
Deloitte's EMEA Technology Fast 500 recognition validates the speed at which Footprints AI is growing. But the ranking is not the destination. It is evidence that the market is moving in the direction we chose early: first-party shopper data, AI-powered retail media infrastructure and closed-loop sales measurement.
Today, the Footprints AI network covers 50M+ shoppers, 30 retailers, 500+ advertisers and 7,000+ campaigns across Romania, Poland and Latin America. In EMEA, that makes Footprints AI the leading retail media platform in the category, with a model already expanding beyond the region.
The growth rate Deloitte measured is what happens when the third wave of advertising meets a platform built for it.
The ambition
Retail media is entering its AI era. The companies that lead this category will not be the ones that sell more inventory. They will be the ones that prove more business impact. That is where Footprints AI is focused.
We are not building to participate in the retail media category. We are building to lead it.
To our retail partners, advertisers and the Footprints AI team: this milestone is yours.
FAQ
What is retail media?
Retail media is advertising powered by retailer-owned data and retail environments. It uses shopper behavior, transactions, store visits and digital retail interactions to help brands reach consumers closer to purchase.
Why is retail media called the third wave of advertising?
Search turned intent into advertising. Social turned identity and attention into advertising. Retail media turns real transactions and first-party shopper data into advertising.
What is the AI era of retail media?
The AI era of retail media is the shift from selling inventory to using first-party shopper data, forecasting, audience intelligence and closed-loop measurement to prove commercial impact.
How does AI improve retail media?
AI helps retailers turn transaction data, shopper behavior and market signals into audiences, forecasts, campaign plans, activation rules and sales measurement.
Why was Footprints AI included in Deloitte EMEA Technology Fast 500?
Footprints AI was included based on its revenue growth rate of 1,500%, placing the company among the fastest-growing technology companies across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
What makes Footprints AI different in retail media?
Footprints AI connects shopper intelligence, in-store, on-site and off-site activation, and closed-loop sales measurement in one retail media platform.
Explore the Footprints AI retail media platform
See how Footprints AI helps retailers and brands turn shopper data into measurable media growth: Retail Media Platform.
Source: Deloitte Romania, EMEA Technology Fast 500 announcement.
