Five retail technology questions for True Fit’s Sarah Curran

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 Sarah Curran, NED at French Connection and MD EMEA at True Fit.

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? 

SC: Checkout free store formats are one of the technologies standing out to me at the moment. 

Once again, Amazon is redefining the customer psyche and teaching shoppers new norms, just like it did when it revolutionised one click payments – something it made customers feel comfortable with and that they now expect as standard.  

It’s not just taking friction out of the payments or checkout process – let’s be honest who wants to endure Primark-esque queues in-store - but it is helping retailers think about how better they can bring digital into their store experience and vice versa. 

And while Amazon is more focused on grocery retail at the moment, I’m sure it won’t be long before we see this normalised into other sectors, including fashion, quickly.

For me, another one to watch would definitely be Toshi.

Not only did LVMH’s innovation lab had them as a hands down favourite in their recent awards, but masterminded by one of the incredible former leaders at Net a Porter, they’re dialling up how to do last mile for luxury. 

And that involves answering the need for quick and convenient fulfilment but delivered, quite literally, with the white glove service luxury shoppers expect. 

And, if I am allowed to sneak one more in, rather than being technology specific, any tech that removes friction from the buying journey can, in my opinion, only be a good thing.

Whether it is personalisation or helping shoppers find the product they want quicker, faster and more effectively, those are the tech solutions I see that will help retailers better weather the uncertainty within the market, all while improving customer experience and loyalty, which – let’s face it – is hard won at the best of times.

RTIH: Which retail technology trend is overrated in your opinion? 

SC:  Where do I start? I’m sure this will be an unpopular opinion, but I would say the metaverse. 

But, just to correct the controversy, I don’t mean it is overrated full stop. It is just overrated right now, because retailers and brands are still getting their heads around its seemingly endless possibilities. 

Yes, it promises a big new fourth gen shopping experience – and I can’t wait to see that come to fruition – but so far retailers and brands are using it to replicate their stores in A/VR. 

We need to imagine harder for that vision of what is possible in the metaverse to become reality.

And while I have called it as being overrated, that is the ‘now’ and I fully expect if you asked me in two – five years’ time, once retailers have sussed out the extent of this new dimension of shopping – I’ll be putting it back up there in the previous question of what’s hot right now.

I think the same then follows with NFT and crypto – the premise is promising – and there is no denying the groundbreaking nature both technologies represent - but the execution, or at the very least the roadmap, needs to be backed-up before the spoils can be evaluated and realised.  

I wouldn’t say any of these would be going into my ‘Room 101’ of retail tech, but I would say they have a way to go before their true potential is manifested.

RTIH: What are the top five retail tech Twitter/LinkedIn accounts you can’t do without, and why? 

SC:  Gosh, there are so many. 

I’m more LinkedIn than Twitter, so I am coming at this question from that lens, but for fashion business news and views, I love to follow Business of Fashion, as well as The Industry.Fashion.

I always enjoy Natalie Berg’s viewpoints on trends, as she is always so on-point with her assessment on where tech, and the consumer, is at. 

Similarly, Andrew Busby is another industry viewpoint I tend to follow, especially when he reports on the top take-outs from events and conferences that I can’t always get to or I’m speaking at, so I can’t get round the conference stages to hear first-hand.

My other go to is David Watts; I love his content and his provokes some, at times, challenging debates which need to be had, around social norms and diversity and equality in the fashion and magazines industry.  

He’s both thought provoking and utterly charming in one profile, while not shying away from keystone topics. What’s not to love? 

RTIH: If you could have a dinner party with any five retail pioneers, dead or alive, who would they be and why? 

SC: OK, who first? Not retail per se, but I’m going to say Steve Jobs as my first dinner party invite. 

Not so much because of what he has done for tech and brand marketing, but I would be so fascinated to see how, as a human, he thinks and how he was able to see so vividly a strong vision of the future.

When so many of us struggle with mundane decisions, he built the vision and infrastructure that redefines how we communicate and engage with technology, and each other.

Next up, I would say Caroline Crosswell from Rapha. She has pioneered how it builds communities into their brand offer. 

With her mantra of ‘community first, commerce second’, her approach shows how retailers can build true brand advocates, whether they shop online or in-store, and how the power of community can drive true loyalty and CLV.

Steven Bartlett. Not so much for his Dragon’s Den appearances – although I do enjoy those too – but more for his Diary of a CEO podcast. 

I’d be totally interested in hearing not necessarily the gossip, but what insights he has taken away from speaking to so many influential leaders across various sectors.

Nick Robertson, ex-Asos, would also be right up there on the invite list. Not only was he instrumental in what he did pioneering the fast fashion brand, but he’s fun, entertaining and always has a million stories to tell.

Last, but my no means least, would be Mel Robbins, who has an amazing lifestyle, personal development and coaching business. 

All too often we can get stuck looking inwardly on ourselves, and by extension, on our business, our technology or our capabilities – and we shouldn’t. To innovate is to think without parameters, and Mel would bring true ‘blue sky’ thinking to the dinner party discussion.

RTIH: Which song lyric best reflects your approach to business?

SC: No question, it has to be Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill – we all are, whether it is technologically, personally or professionally.