Currys store leadership team hits the shopfloor with focus on tech innovation and AI adoption

Leaders from Currys have spent a week working inside the retailer’s Southampton physical location as part of a store immersion push.

This was designed to show off new additions to store - from electronic shelf edge labelling upgrades and AI adoption to new headsets and a refreshed sales floor leader programme but also to experience areas of further growth and opportunities.

The week was built around leaders taking part in banking, deliveries, replenishment, customer service, support roles, recruitment, warehouse tasks and more, with the aim of giving them a genuine feel for what’s going well, what needs improving and the pace of the store environment. Almost every system, role and team in the store had senior leadership participation at some point during the week. 

The store continued to run exactly as usual, allowing leaders to experience unfiltered day-to-day trading. Daily performance huddles covering footfall, omnichannel sales and customer service sparked healthy competition, according to those involved. Anecdotes from the week point to a positive customer experience during the immersion.

It also brought together leaders from different regions, including ROI, creating the chance for shared learning. In fact, the Ireland team did a similar exercise at their Blanchard town store. 

With 300 insights gained, the Currys team are going to take them away and see how they can introduce changes and collaborate across the organisation, prioritising aspects that will make things easier for colleagues on the shopfloor.

“What a week this was! I spent time on the service desk, joining sales floor huddles, Merchandising, serving, shadowing customer conversations, reviewing task planning and helping with deliveries – really getting into the day-to-day rhythm of store life,” says Matthew Speight, Director of Stores.

“I learned a huge amount. I left feeling incredibly proud of how colleagues show up every single day and are even more focused than ever to serve and support the front-line teams. The more we simplify and streamline, the easier it becomes for our colleagues to help our customers shop with ease. Thank you to everyone that was a part of this.”

“Having our senior leaders work side by side with the team brought a real buzz to the store. The conversations that happened on the shopfloor were open, honest and full of pride,” says Tim Cayer, General Manager, Hedge End Store.

“What stood out most was how willing our leaders were to jump straight in, whether it was replenishment, serving customers or tackling the morning routines. It meant a lot to the team, and it showed just how committed they are to understanding and acting. The insights shared will make a real difference to how we continue improving the colleague and customer experience, right across all our stores.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Physical stores will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.