Erewhon Market took home the top honor at ECRS’ annual Ignite Retail Success Conference, held Aug. 2-5 in Nashville, Tennessee, where the retail automation company recognized retailers and partners across nine award categories. The Los Angeles-based grocer was named Ignite 2026 Retailer of the Year, the conference’s highest honor.
ECRS cited Erewhon’s commitment to optimizing processes, improving visibility into its business and delivering an exceptional customer experience as reflecting “the spirit of intelligent retailing” the award celebrates. The company’s use of technology as a strategic advantage set it apart from other nominees.
A Community Built on Shared Success
The awards ceremony has become a fixture of Ignite each year, honoring retailers and partners whose leadership and collaboration strengthen the CATAPULT Community. According to ECRS, the awards recognize organizations that not only achieve success themselves but help others succeed through knowledge sharing, mentorship, testing new innovations and contributing feedback.
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Nashville-based Turnip Truck Natural Market received this year’s Community Champion Award. The grocer also hosted a series of retailer store tours during the conference, giving attendees a look at CATAPULT operating in a live retail environment. Luis Torres Jr. of Latin Market Development Retail Systems was recognized in the same category, while Joseph Kerekes of Basil Bandwagon Natural Market and Amber McKinnon and John Akins II of Akins Fresh Market received honors in other categories.
“Together, We Win” Partner Awards went to several companies that collaborate with ECRS retailers, though the full list of partner honorees was not detailed in the announcement.
Record Attendance and New Technology on Display
The awards capped a record-breaking year for the conference, which drew retail professionals from 41 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Canada, Jamaica and the Bahamas for four days of education, networking and collaboration. Attendees participated in more than 50 educational sessions led by ECRS experts, industry partners and CATAPULT retailers, and saw hands-on demonstrations of ECRS innovations including CATAPULT Cognition, the CATAPULT Loyalty Suite and AutoScale Max G3.
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For a retailer considering a shift to a unified commerce platform, the practical takeaway from this year’s event is that the gap between front-end sales and back-office operations continues to narrow. The technology demonstrated in Nashville is designed to give operators a single view of their business, from self-checkout lanes to loyalty programs, which matters for independent grocers trying to compete with larger chains that have deeper pockets for IT staff.
“We started Ignite to form a community,” said Pete Catoe, founder and CEO of ECRS. “We wanted to bring everybody together to share ideas. People understand the true spirit of what we’re building together, and that’s why it keeps growing.”
Family-owned since 1989, Boone, North Carolina-based ECRS is a retail transactions and artificial intelligence solutions provider. Its CATAPULT POS platform connects retail touchpoints, including point of sale, back office, self-checkout, inventory, loyalty and e-commerce, through a single transactional logic. The company’s annual conference has grown steadily since its launch, with this year’s event drawing its largest and most geographically diverse audience yet.
