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Our retail experts are on a never-ending mission to make connections, start conversations and engage the debate around emerging trends in retail. You can read regular blogs from various members of the team here, all with their own unique angles on defining best-practice. We also share thought-leadership pieces from our wider community. Above all, these pieces aren't the last word, they are part of the debate. As ever, we'd love to hear your thoughts...
Facts that speak for themselves Despite being a country of only 8 million people, Israel today boasts over 500 active retail start-up companies- making it, per capita, second place in start-ups in the whole world. It can claim an astonishing 10% of the total amount invested in retail technologies worldwide. As the graph [IMAGE1] shows, the last three years have seen no less
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What’s the link between experimentation, innovation and failure? It’s probably closer, and more predictable, than you might think. Two things are on my mind from the last month: innovation, and failure. These two thoughts were prompted by two things. The first was a genuinely thought-provoking keynote speech at Retail Week’s technology conference by Amazon’s VP for Global Innovation, Paul Misener. The
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It’s that time of year again, when retailers’ thoughts turn to the last Friday in November… I was going to write that the Black Friday publicity seems like it gets earlier every year, then thought that makes me sound like an old fogey. Then I thought I’d do a quick check, and it looks like it objectively does get earlier every
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Four years ago you couldn’t move for hitting an article about NFC. Then things seemed to go quiet. But thanks to the most adored tech brand on the planet, NFC may be about to hit its tipping point. For those non-tech geeks among us, a very quick reminder… Near Field Communications (NFC) technology enables devices in very close proximity (a couple of
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To borrow a line from cultural commentator Ken Hughes, Innovation is like sex when you’re a teenager – everyone else claims they’re doing it. Innovation comes in all shapes and sizes. From all directions. Why is Innovation (and its pushy cousin, Disruption) so important to retailers today? Bluntly: because consumers now expect it, and because if you stand still too long
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For me, it was last Thursday night at the inaugural Retail Tonight dinner. Having one visionary, mind-expanding speaker in attendance was wonderful – having two was extraordinary. Around 80 senior retailers came together in the remarkable surroundings of One Belgravia in Mayfair for a four course meal hosted by sixteen leading retail technology companies with their own tables. Networking and discussion
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It has quickly become something of a marketing commonplace to say that consumers today aren’t just interested in purchases or offers but, increasingly, in experiences. If that’s the case (and I believe it is) then hats off to HPE for going the extra mile to deliver such a compelling, immersive experience at a genuinely exclusive event for senior retail movers
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When we launched Retail Tomorrow we knew we had a success on our hands, so its nomination for a B2B Marketing Award for ‘Best Use of Live Event Marketing’ means we’re definitely doing something right. But what? What made the event different? Retail Tomorrow was a 24-hour conference (spanning 21st-22nd Feb this year) overnight which wanted to do something different with
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My previous blog looked at why engaging millennials is the Holy Grail for retailers, and why technology is key to getting this right. But it’s not all about digital innovation, according to Dave Robinson, Director of Personalisation at Boots UK: “The millennial audience also enjoys shopping and seeks out experiences. It’s our job to make these experiences personalised, seamlessly integrating
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“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” – Henry Ford If you work in marketing, or with retail and CPG companies, it’s likely that this quote from the pioneer of the motor-car is burned on your brain, whether or not you totally agree with it. People like Henry Ford have a vision that becomes all-consuming,
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I’ll put you out of your suspense right away – the answer is: hope. In my previous blog I stated that beacon technology in fact represents nothing less than the much-discussed ‘Holy Grail’ for Retail. But why? What is it about beacons that has got retailers so over-excited? The personal imperative Marketing today is all about context, and about personalisation. With this
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