Webinar: How retail tech is driving the future in-store experience
Andy Tudor, CEO, Clekt, chats with RTIH about a webinar entitled ‘How technology will define the next generation of shops’, which his company is hosting next week, alongside Mercaux and OneStock.
RTIH: Tell us about Clekt
AT: Clekt is a new company with fresh ideas and a passion for making great things happen with your data. We believe that the way businesses currently manage their data is broken.
Data is siloed in many, separate solutions across the organisation, with no single source of the truth on which to base decisions. It’s not real-time, it’s not smart and it can’t scale.
We have built a better way.
Bringing every one of your sources of business information into one hub, both operational and analytical, helps our customers turn their data into their biggest asset.
You manage all your costs via one subscription charge. It’s an innovative approach and fundamentally, the way to fix business data.
RTIH: The ‘How technology will define the next generation of shops’ webinar will take place on 23rd April. Could you tell us about why you’re hosting it alongside Mercaux and OneStock?
AT: Mercaux and OneStock are part of The Clekt Innovation Hub, our carefully curated network of specialist companies and organisations that believe, as we do, that being data driven enables optimal business performance, powers innovation and unlocks future growth.
We have carefully selected our partners on the basis of their solution being at the forefront of technology, with a roadmap that is clear, achievable, and mindful of industry and client sector trends.
Mercaux and OneStock are perfect partners for this webinar given their innovative solutions, currently driving the future in-store experience, our focus for this webinar.
RTIH: Who are the speakers and what will they be discussing?
AT: Lisa Widdison, Head of Operating Model, Change & Continual Improvement, Holland & Barrett
Lisa will take us through how Holland & Barrett are delivering a highly specialised wellbeing service to customers visiting stores.
The deployment of Mercaux’s in-store digital solutions enables Holland & Barrett in their mission to deliver superior customer experiences and make wellness accessible to all.
Karl Haden, CEO, Electric Bike Shop.
Despite their startup status, the Electric Bike Shop has an ambitious growth mindset and approach. Karl will outline how he has built the foundations for a data-driven retail future, that will allow them to continue to scale at high speed.
He will cover:The future-proofed data strategy that underpins their business growth, both physically and digitally; The future of the physical store in growing their business; Providing the ultimate customer experience regardless of the channel.
Guy Tambling, IT & E-Commerce Operations Director, TFG brands.
Guy will give us an inside view of how the TFG retail brands have innovated over the last year and continued to provide excellent services to their customers, leveraging the power of data. We will discuss the following topics:
Using the Hobbs case study, how retail brands can offer personalised shopping experiences to customers through the use of In-Store and Virtual appointments
How Click & Collect benefits retail brands such as Phase Eight and Whistles Whether omnichannel is now fundamental to retail strategy
How Ship-From-Store has helped retailers such as Phase Eight and Whistles increase their store profitability and boost stock availability
In addition, I will introduce the context of today’s data driven customer experience and the implications for future store strategy.
RTIH: In terms of the retailers involved in the webinar, what for you are some good examples of tech defining the next generation of shops?
AT: The retailers involved in the webinar are great examples of how the next generation of shops will seamlessly merge the physical and digital experience of shopping.
The purposeful analysis and operationalisation of customer data allows these retailers to serve their customer base on an almost one to one basis, responding to their preferences and circumstances in real- time and providing them with the channels for how they want to try, buy, collect and or return their products.
RTIH: What sort of physical and digital experiences will customers expect in a post lockdown retail world?
AT: While stores may have been forced to close their doors overnight during the Covid-19 pandemic, the enthusiasm of generations of shoppers to visit stores will not have vanished overnight in the same way.
Yet, it is without doubt that the nature of stores will need to change, bringing in physical and digital shopping into one seamless experience.
Retailers must recognise their stores as playing a role in wider omnichannel strategy, combining the best of online and offline.
Consumers will demand the option to shop both physically and virtually, potentially shopping online and collecting instore, returning instore, or indeed bringing the retail experience into their homes via virtual 'fitting rooms’ service.
There is no doubt that as customers have come to expect a rich experience via every channel, they will exercise their right to select the route that meets their needs the best.
It will be the retailers that are in a position to understand their data and leverage it effectively to best serve their customers, who will be in the position of collecting the rewards in the next round of retail.
