Pillow Talk's Vicky Robinson: online success lies in unglamorous decisions

E-commerce in 2025 wasn't about doing more. Rather, it was more about doing what matters. So says Vicky Robinson, Head of E-commerce at Pillow Talk Australia.

In a LinkedIn post, she said: "The brands winning in 2025 are ruthlessly customer centric - not in theory, but in execution. That means more clarity on what genuinely removes friction for the customer. It shows up in unglamorous decisions: simplifying delivery promises, being explicit about returns before checkout, investing in site performance over shiny features, and saying no to complexity."

In Australia, Robinson noted, Amazon continues to reset expectations, particularly around delivery speed and reliability. "Whether we like it or not, that benchmark now defines a huge part of the customer experience - even for brands that aren’t competing on range or price," she commented.

Returns are another pressure point. Customers expect low friction returns, even as fewer retailers can sustainably offer them for free. This tension is pushing clearer expectations, fewer surprises, and less cognitive load.

Robinson added: "We’re also seeing customers become more deliberate. Many are holding spend for major sales events, which means everyday trading needs stronger value articulation - not just deeper discounts when the calendar says so."

"And then there’s AI... the 2025 buzzword! Its impact on search is undeniable. Organic traffic can no longer be viewed in isolation from AI driven discovery, summaries, and recommendations. Rankings still matter, but visibility is being redefined. In an AI driven search world, brands win by being the most useful, trusted and well structured source on a topic, so AI systems choose to reference them."

She concluded: "As we look ahead to 2026 customer experience is no longer a layer you add on top. It is the strategy! 2026 will reward brands that simplify, prioritise, and design around how customers actually behave - not how we wish they would."

RTIH AI in Retail Awards

RTIH proudly presents the first edition of its AI in Retail Awards, sponsored by VenHub Global, 3D Cloud and EdTech Innovation Hub.

As we witness a digital transformation revolution across all channels, AI tools are reshaping the omnichannel game, from personalising customer experiences to optimising inventory, uncovering insights into consumer behaviour, and enhancing the human element of retailers' businesses.

With 2025 set to be the year when AI and especially gen AI shake off the ‘heavily hyped’ tag and become embedded in retail business processes, our newly launched awards celebrate global technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world and the resulting benefits for retailers, shoppers and employees.

Our 2025 winners will be those companies who not only recognise the potential of AI, but also make it usable in everyday work - resulting in more efficiency and innovation in all areas.

Winners will be announced at an evening event at The Barbican in Central London on Thursday, 29th January. This will kick off with a drinks reception in the stunning Conservatory, followed by a three course meal, and awards ceremony in the Garden Room.