Outlining a bold vision for the future of physical retail powered by hyper-connected technology

The store isn’t obsolete, it’s upgrading in line with a hyper-connected retail landscape. So says Gonen Gershuni, Senior VP of Sales & Business Development at Xpand (formerly 1MRobotics).

In a LinkedIn post, in which he was responding to a new report from IGD entitled ‘The hyper-connected store: the retail revolution’, he noted that, by 2029, physical stores will still own 94% of grocery sales; that's a $9.6 trillion market adding another $1.7 trillion in just five years.

“The future of retail isn’t online vs. offline. It’s unified. The gist: stores are no longer just points of sale, they’re data engines, media networks, fulfillment hubs, and community interfaces,” he said.

“Welcome to the hyper-connected store, a digital flywheel engineered to: Enhance shopper experience; Improve operations; Empower store associates; This isn’t theory. It’s happening. Retailers now gain real-time visibility into inventory, footfall, shopper behaviour, and shelf performance. That means fewer stock-outs, smarter promos, and real-time supplier feedback loops. Waste down. Margins up.”

He added: “Think: Smart carts for one scan checkout; Autonomous inventory management (FIFO, demand patterns and trend monitoring, demand planning - the whole nine yards!); Digital screens delivering personalised offers; AI driven task management for staff. We're talking about stores with more brains than your Tesla.”

The result is unified commerce. “Retailers who connect in-store with online = loyalty, fulfillment, pricing, media, data are seeing 2x to 4x the spend from omnichannel shoppers. Still treating tech as a bolt-on? You’ve already lost. This is business model transformation, not app development.”

In order to win in this brave new world, retailers need to appoint a Chief Store Digitisation Officer. Not IT or Strategy. They must design stores for profit, not just vibes. Media. Data. Ops. All in. Make store data the single source of truth. No more silos. Train every retail leader like a digital GM.

“Fluency in tech = fluency in margin. Digital literacy is key!” said Gershuni. As IGD’s Toby Pickard puts it: There is an inevitability that stores will become more digitalised. As the store utilises technology, the benefits for retailers, suppliers and shoppers will only increase.”

“Translation: If you’re still waiting for certainty, you’re already behind. Retail is evolving from a channel to an ecosystem. From shelf space to signal space. From margin management to insight generation. This is the moment to build the future - not wait for it.”

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Physical stores 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.