Red Ant's Sarah Friswell: personalisation and loyalty a key theme at 'exhausting' Retail Technology Show 2026

With Retail Technology Show 2026 now done and dusted, Red Ant CEO, Sarah Friswell, has taken to social media to give her key takeaway from the two day event in London.

In a LinkedIn post, Friswell said: "Two days at Retail Technology Show I won't pretend it isn't exhausting, the preparation, the hours on your feet. But it's also the kind of exhausting that reminds you why you do it. Because the conversations are real. The questions people bring to the stand matter. And the ideas that surface over two days stay with you long after you've got home and finally sat down."

This year, she observed, one theme was constant: being personal.

"Archie Norman put it simply from the Supernova Stage: "Treat every customer as an individual." Not a number, not a data point. An individual. And then he said something that reframed how I think about Sparks M&S's loyalty programme. He doesn't think of it as a loyalty card. He thinks of it as a "love us more" card. That's a different ambition entirely."

Friswell continued: "Loyalty is earned through transactions. Love is built through relationship. And you can't have either without the one thing that came up again and again across two days, trust. From Kate Hardcastle's moments of joy to Mark Blundell on trust built across four generations of Harrods customers the same truth kept surfacing: You can't have loyalty without trust. And you can't have trust without genuinely knowing the person in front of you."

"Which means the real question for any brand isn't how do we build a loyalty programme. It's how do we become a business our customers genuinely trust. The technology is the enabler. The relationship is the point. Lastly a huge thank you to the Red Ant team, two days of real conversations, sharing powerful client stories and RetailOS demos that brought everything to life at our stand."

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

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

The awards are now open for entries and 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 Wednesday, 4th November.

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.