Majid Al Futtaim and Visa whitepaper: trust fast becoming the retail sector's next competitive edge

Majid Al Futtaim and Visa have released a new whitepaper that focuses on what’s really driving the next phase of retail growth. And it is not more tech. It is trust. In fact, nine out of ten consumers say they would abandon a brand after a single poor experience.

This introduces an idea called the Trust Loop, a framework that shows how retailers either win or lose customers across three moments that matter: relevance, authorisation, and resolution. 

Key findings:

• 80% of payments in the UAE are now digital, cementing the shift to always on, frictionless commerce

• 67% of consumers used their mobile phone in their most recent retail purchase

• 37% complete purchases entirely on mobile, the highest rate globally

• 82% would shop online more often if checkout was reduced to one click

• Two thirds are ready to adopt biometric authentication for payments

• Within Majid Al Futtaim’s ecosystem, AI led personalisation is now delivering a 23% uplift in engagement

• Visa has invested $3.3 billion into AI and data to strengthen fraud prevention at scale

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

AI 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.