​The Retail Technology Show opened the doors to its new home at London’s ExCel this week – kicking off a two-day celebration of the carnival of retail.  And, in an ironic twist of timing, the show opened just as UK retailers began to feel the pain of wage increases and business rates changes which were announced in the Autumn Budget. 

But, setting aside their juggling acts as they balance rising cost bases, the sentiment was very much that the show must go on.  The conference programme was packed full of retail ringmasters, who shared how they are walking the tightrope of tough trading conditions and jumping through hoops to deliver outstanding customer experiences.  So, step right up (that’s the last circus analogy – we promise), here are Retail Rewired’s top headlines from the Retail Technology Show conference. 

M&S chair Archie Norman: Online grocery is a ‘desert of profit’

Former Asda boss and current Marks & Spencer chairman, Archie Norman, declared that Ocado Retail, the joint venture between M&S and Ocado Group, promises to become lucrative, despite the online food sector remaining a “desert of profit.” 

Speaking onstage with Kate Hardcastle MBE, Norman pointed out that Ocado Retail is growing 13% a year, outpacing the UK food retail sector, with nearly a third of its sales now coming from M&S products.  However, as reported in Forbes, he admitted that shareholders remain skeptical.  “What do my shareholders think? They don’t think there’s a lot of value in it, probably zip. What do I think? I think it’s going to be worth a lot of money.”

Smart, not fast fashion at SHEIN

SHEIN’s head of strategic and corporate affairs for North America and Europe, Peter Pernot-Day, defended the company’s operations and processes, saying that the Chinese clothing giant doesn’t “cut corners” on labour practices, material safety or product quality.  Instead, he attributed the company’s ability to offer low pricing that delivers “accessible fashion for all” to its on-demand supply chain, which focuses on micro– and demand-led production.  This tech-driven, small run approach to each product line means it has no investment risk from excess stock, allowing it to retail garments 20-40% cheaper than the competition.

As reported in Retail Systems, Pernot-Day suggested that while many customers have a perception of SHEIN as a “fast fashion” brand, it should rather be described as a “smart fashion” retailer.  Pernod-Day also detailed how SHEIN is taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint further by using dead stock materials in partnership with Aloqia – which analyses fashion brands and connects the company with unused materials. 

Theo Paphitis: Business rates ‘will kill the High Street on its own

Theo Paphitis expressed strong views about government leadership and its impact on the UK’s struggling High Street, describing ministers as “muppets” that didn’t do anything to reduce business rates on physical retailers in the UK, as reported in Retail Gazette. 

Paphitis, who owns Rymans, Boux Avenue and Robert Dyas, acknowledged that the way we shop has changed.  “Consumer habits have become more promiscuous.  I can’t believe how promiscuous consumers are,” he said, commenting on how people no longer stick to one retailer when shopping for clothing.   But the retail sector only has itself to blame for consumer promiscuity, according to Paphitis who suggested the industry “did this to ourselves” by offering over generous promotions and free delivery to entice shoppers.

Retailers need to focus on ‘tech with purpose’

Speaking on Day 2, Seasalt Cornwall’s Chief Transformation Officer, Adam Cotgreave, outlined that a back-to-basics approach, where the basics are done really well, will be the key to long-term retail success.  He suggested customers will forgive most things if the basics are executed well, as well as helping to reinforce the brand’s differentiators and allowing a retailer to stay true to its brand.  This requires investment in tech, not for tech’s sake, but in technology with a purpose. 

This theme was echoed in John Lewis Partnerships (JLP)’ Barry Panayi’s session.  As Chief Data & Insight Officer at JLP, he suggested that retailers must not let tech wag the dog’s tail.  He revealed that, rather than focusing on shiny, customer-facing applications of AI, the retailer will deliberately prioritise AI for addressing the retail basics; improving operational efficiency because that’s where, currently, the greatest gains lie.

Tech + Heart = the key to success

Opening the Spectactular Headline stage, Kate Hardcastle talked about a growing need for retailers to deploy ‘emotional intelligence’ within shoppers buying journeys, and a key part of that relied on augmenting frontline retail staff with technology.  She suggested that humans need to become enhanced by tech at the same time that AI needs to become more human, and that real retail success is when ‘tech + heart’ are combined.  This was echoed by Aptos’ Nikki Baird, who talked about the need to focus on in-store staff as the differentiator in customer experience delivery.  She pointed to the role technology, like AI, plays in moving data on the customer down from HQ into the hands of store staff, so they have the right information at the right time to support shoppers’ buying experiences. 

But Tech + Heart doesn’t just mean humans being augmented and empowered by tech.  The heart element also must bring in customer needs.  Seasalt’s Adam Cotgreave said retailers also must prioritise ‘customer-led’ technology investments, where tech roadmap and investment is focused on the needs of the customer, not just the shiniest innovations available.  He advocates building in the voice of the customer and customer feedback in guiding technology rollouts, to ensure investment answers a true customer need to deliver value.