Electricity retail market digitalisation and integration in Europe from 2015 to January 2026: A review

Over the past decade, Europe's retail electricity market has evolved under digitalisation, data governance reforms, and energy transition pressures. Building on research, policy, and technical proposals, this paper reviews how electricity retail processes, data exchanges, and consumer participation have developed to support a more integrated and flexible European energy system. Using a PRISMA-based systematic mapping approach, this review screens 1162 records and analyses 57 studies published between 2015 and January 2026 — a low inclusion rate signalling how thinly this intersection has been studied. One recurring finding across the reviewed studies is that, rather than harmonising national retail models, Europe appears to be converging on an integration-first approach: federated data-space concepts, mediator layers, and shared semantic frameworks are proposed for interoperability, allowing national systems to remain diverse while functioning collectively. Parallel to this, consumer roles are expanding from passive customers to prosumers, flexibility providers, and local energy market participants, yet adoption remains highly sensitive to tariff design, data access usability, and trust in privacy safeguards. Cross-border perspectives reveal both promise and constraint: integration improves feasibility and supports flexibility exchange, but retail outcomes remain shaped by taxes, levies, and market structure, meaning digital progress alone does not lower household bills. Five interdependences are identified as jointly necessary for durable progress: interoperable architectures; enforceable data governance; tariff–network co-design; fiscal alignment; and resilient retail structures. The review establishes a systematic mapping of the full four-dimension intersection of retail electricity digitalisation, data-exchange architectures, consumer participation, and cross-border feasibility in the EU/EEA context.