eCommerce Expo and Technology for Marketing 2023 focuses on diversity and inclusion in retail

The final day of eCommerce Expo and Technology for Marketing 2023 opened with a keynote session on diversity in retail and how businesses have adapted to the modern needs of digital customers.

The event took place at ExCel, London on 27th and 28th September.

The keynote session was hosted by Anna Brailsford, CEO at Code First Girls, with executives from Sainsbury’s, Ikea, Ralph Lauren and Just Eat giving their opinions on why businesses need to accelerate diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives and how employees and customers are driving changes.

Explaining the UK supermarket’s approach to D&I, Karen Brown, Deputy Chief Technology Officer at Sainsbury's said: “We always think about how we promote diversity across the brand, but it’s driven by the culture of the organisation. Internally, our employees are asking more and more about why they’re doing the work in the first place and what their purpose is.”

“In turn, we’ve started to ask ourselves a lot more about our own values and how we can take a more human approach to our work."

Jessica Hall, Chief Product Officer at Just Eat, agreed, stating that, “Diversity and inclusion (D&I) isn’t just about doing what businesses feel is the right thing. Studies have proven that having a diverse team brings better creativity and innovation, and at Just Eat we’re always looking for the latest innovation to give us a leap forward and make sure our customers keep coming back.”

“Therefore, ensuring a diverse array of voices are heard within and outside of the business is incredibly important for success.”

With digital channels opening up opportunities for retailers to welcome more diverse customers, Cristina Rutgers-Astolfi, Global Head of Analytics at Ikea, said this has had an impact on the way the company operates.

“Our customer base has changed so much that it’s critical that we stay on top of these new, diverse needs,” Rutgers-Astolfi said.

“Because we lead through our countries, we need to understand what is driving trends around the globe at a regional level. Whether it’s by country, age, or if they’re male or female, it’s all really important to look into the levels of diversity in each field that impact us.”

The information age has also changed the way consumers shop online, with Kelly Coutinho, Senior Director Data Science & Analytics at Ralph Lauren arguing that retail needs to get smarter in selling to customers.

“Customers these days are so savvy and well educated. They know what they want but they also want different things depending on the generation,” Coutinho said.

“As a business, you need a team that reflects these broader perspectives. Innovation is key here but you also need to keep education and learning. That means developing a team that can bring different opinions and ideas to the table but also having a team that can educate you as a leader.”