PacSun's Breanne Olson: retail disruption not just about tech as shoppers rewrite rules of engagement

Retail isn’t just evolving - it’s being redefined by those willing to challenge everything, including themselves, according to Breanne Olson, CEO at American lifestyle brand PacSun.

Speaking this week at World Retail Congress in London, as part of a Challenge or Be Challenged panel, she observed that disruption today isn’t just about tech - it’s about expectation.

Consumers, especially Gen Z, are rewriting the rules of engagement. They want immediacy, cultural fluency, and brands that reflect their values. The creator economy and social commerce will accelerate continued shifts in the industry go forward.

In a LinkedIn post, Olson commented: "Fad vs. shift: How do you tell the difference? We track sustained behavioral change. A fad disappears when trends shift; a true market shift reshapes how consumers think, behave, and buy across categories."

In terms of empowering teams to think like challengers, "at Pacsun, we reward experimentation, elevate emerging voices, and foster internal disruption. It’s about creating safe space for risk - and celebrating agility over perfection."

As for the biggest risk Pacsun has taken, that would be leaning into cultural relevance as a growth driver - from early TikTok partnerships to launching gender free collections. "These investments allowed us to evolve with our community rather than market to it," Olson said.

Whole Foods Market, meanwhile, is a stand out challenger brand, due to its "purpose led mission long before it was mainstream, and its innovative use of technology to reimagine the grocery experience. It proved that values and vision can scale. It embodies a Conscious Capitalism mindset."

Olson added: "What retail rule needs to be broken? The legacy and historic retail calendar. We should embrace buy now wear now as a retail rule shift to and address real time consumer demands and enhance margins and profitability. The best retailers will build systems for personalisation, not standardisation."

And she concluded: "Most disruptive object in retail history? The smartphone - it collapsed the entire path to purchase and create into the palm of your hand and permanently shifted the balance of power to the consumer."

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Personalisation will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.