Five retail technology questions for Rory O’Connor, CEO at e-commerce delivery management firm Scurri
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 Rory O’Connor, CEO at Scurri.
RTIH: Looking at the hottest retail technologies right now, check-out free stores, rapid delivery services, the metaverse and NFTs, automation and robotics, which ones stand out to you, and for what reason?
ROC: For me, the ongoing rise and rise of rapid and fast format delivery services remains one of the continuing standout technologies, because there is still so much scope for innovation and new capabilities looking ahead.
When it comes to getting products into the hands of customers, it’s so much more than the mechanics of getting an item from A to B, it’s about triggering all the associated benefits, such as customer lifetime loyalty and repeat revenue, for retailers and brands.
Human beings are not built for delayed gratification and history shows delivery innovation began with the Greeks and Romans. Innovative technology and infrastructure are the fundamentals that have accelerated this critical element of the customer journey and there’s so much more road left to run in shaping how this evolves in the future.
RTIH: Which retail technology trend is overrated in your opinion?
ROC: I have to say the metaverse - for both consumers and brands and retailers.
The tech industry can be fickle and pivots quickly to whatever seems to be the "next" big thing, or the thing that shines the brightest or shouts the loudest – and at the moment, it seems, the metaverse has been placed upon the pedestal for ‘shiny’ tech.
But the focus has already shifted away from the metaverse back to artificial intelligence (AI) with even Mark Zuckerberg and Meta refocusing on AI over its Web3 capabilities. Similarly, retailers and brands are no longer looking to invest significantly in this space – perhaps remembering the lessons of Second Life from ten years ago.
RTIH: What are the top five retail tech Twitter/LinkedIn accounts you can’t do without, and why?
ROC: IMRG, the UK e-commerce association, for local industry insight and best practice.
For global retail trends and consumer behaviours – McKinsey & Company. I follow Ian Jindal, the co-founder and Editor in Chief of Internet Retailing, for insight into Europe’s top multi-channel and pureplay retailers.
Harper’s Bazaar for fashion and cultural trends and lastly futurist and advocate for change, Tom Goodwin, for inspiration in terms of innovation and digital transformation.
“The tech industry can be fickle and pivots quickly to whatever seems to be the “next” big thing, or the thing that shines the brightest or shouts the loudest – and at the moment, it seems, the metaverse has been placed upon the pedestal for ‘shiny’ tech”
RTIH: If you could have a dinner party with any five retail pioneers, dead or alive, who would they be and why?
ROC: My first two guests are titans of American retail - Sam Walton, who founded the behemoth Walmart in 1962, and Richard Warren Sears, who started the mail order company that grew into the Sears brand, both of whom I hope would share their stories of entrepreneurship, risk taking, honest hard work and unwavering perseverance.
Joining them would be Ray Kroc, who masterminded the franchising of McDonald’s and whose focus on innovation and expansion made it the most successful fast food business in the world.
To mix it up, I would invite the founder and namesake of the Chanel brand - Coco Chanel – and Galen Weston, who started his business with a grocery store in Dublin and grew it into a vast empire, including controlling stakes in Associated British Foods, as well as the prestigious Selfridges, Brown Thomas and De Bijenkorf department stores.
RTIH: What is one thing on your bucket list?
ROC: Top of the list currently is staying in the woods in an igloo and seeing the Northern Lights.
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