Five retail technology questions for Liam Patterson, CEO, Bidnamic
RTIH asks major players in the retail technology space for their thoughts on the sector, and throws in a random question to keep them on their toes. This time around, our five questions go to Liam Patterson, Co-Founder and CEO at Bidnamic (pictured above on the left).
RTIH: Looking at the hottest retail technologies right now, check-out free stores, rapid delivery services, the metaverse and NFTs, automation and robotics, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, which ones stand out to you, and for what reason?
LP: Definitely rapid delivery services. If both Amazon and Shopify have ploughed loads of money into an emerging technology you know it’s a safe bet.
What particularly interests me is the application of machine learning, which is driving efficiency in last mile delivery by pairing multiple data points like location, traffic and delivery loads to help couriers deliver successfully with lower cost-per-stop.
It’s the same kind of approach we take at Bidnamic by using machine learning to drive efficiencies and lower costs with Google Shopping ads.
So it’s clear machine learning is pretty versatile at creating better processes across the whole retail technology spectrum.
RTIH: Which retail technology trend is overrated in your opinion?
LP: Oversimplified email CRMs.
There are now so many providers of email CRM and whilst some of them are incredible outliers, like Ometria, there are a whole host of simple segmentation tools that don’t offer anything advanced and are still operating like it’s 2005.
RTIH: What are the top five retail tech Twitter/LinkedIn accounts you can’t do without, and why?
LP: I’m not that massive on social because my time is mostly taken running the company and being a father.
But of all the platforms LinkedIn is by far my favourite for gaining business intelligence and I’m always only one a click away from starting a conversation.
I make sure I follow all the main tech media channels like TechCrunch and Business Insider to ensure I don’t miss any key news.
RTIH: If you could have a dinner party with any five retail pioneers, dead or alive, who would they be and why?
LP: Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer because they are just a stone’s throw away from our office in Kirkgate.
Incidentally I used to live in a converted warehouse in Leeds that was the first Marks and Spencer warehouse back in the day.
Jeff Bezos because he’s doing a great job convincing Wall Street of the future of e-commerce and innovation.
The Samwer brothers who founded Rocket Internet. Their approach to cloning businesses took the second mover advantage and streamlined the idea into a solid business that has seen some amazing successes over the years.
RTIH: If you could bring one defunct retailer back from the dead, which one would it be and why?
LP: Woolworths because I miss that sweet pick n mix!
