The Future of Retail Operations 2026 – Balancing technology with people
Balancing technology, notably AI-powered solutions, with the human side of retail is high up the agenda of many retailers who want to leverage the latest tech but at the same time do not want to lose their unique identities, which is ultimately driven by their people.
This was an underlying theme throughout the day at the recent The Retail Bulletin ‘The Future of Retail Operations 2026’ conference in London where Rowland Gee, CEO of The Shoklite Company, and recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the People in Retail Awards 2026 reminded delegates: “People still want to interface with other people. Physical retail still accounts for 75% of sales and has not changed in the past five years.”
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But the advent of AI is putting pressure on retailers to at least investigate how they can harness the technology and this includes its use within physical stores.
However, such initiatives inevitably generate some pushback. Linda Campbell, former global retail director at The Body Shop, says: “There has to be a balance with digital and human connections. There has to be trust with employees using iPads and mobiles whereby they don’t have their head stuck in them when customers come into stores. We don’t want them with headsets on that turn them into robots. It’s a fine line nowadays.”
Jo Handley, global head of in-store customer experience at Astrid & Miyu, agrees: “AI is all over the place in our office. We can use it as a tool in the support office but it would be a lot to ask of our employees to have a headset on and also be having a conversation with customers. However, we are definitely working on how we can better inform our customers.”
Whatever tech is used Handley is aware that the company has to stick to its mission, which is especially important at a time of growth for the Astrid & Miyu: “Amid the noise we need to keep the brand identity at the heart of the business, which helps keep us in the luxury space. We don’t want it to be corporate. We had two stores in 2019 and post-Covid-19 we’ve gone to 34. We try and scale while keeping to the mission.”
Evolving role of technology
Although Ian Hunt, director of customer services & procurement at Liberty, says he is not worried about the incursion of AI and technology he adds: “We will not be having headsets in-store.” However, he acknowledges that things change and he recalls that 10 years ago no mobiles were allowed on the shop floor whereas now employees need them to source information. The company has also launched a chatbot, Libby, which he says has generated “great feedback from customers”.
Marcus Beaver, managing director of EMEA at Legion Technologies, recognises this scenario of change and says tech adoption in businesses is often driven by employees initially using it in their personal lives. “Go on Google now and you receive AI summaries. People are using these and expect to have the same at work with AI helping them in their jobs,” he says, adding that the company is already using Anthropic’s Claude to develop new software, which is 10-times faster than being coded by employees: “It takes one month rather than a year. As much as 80% of our code is now developed by Claude.”
Sam Haslam, director & practice leader for Risk & Resilience Advisory at WTW, agrees and suggests: “The number one risk is to have your head in the sand. One practical thing holding things back is not letting people use it in a business. Don’t give reasons to not use AI tools. A simple misstep by companies is to not experiment. This is stopping progress.”
For Jonathan Penna, co-founder & CEO of Azio Beauty, everyone should look to use AI where possible and such is his conviction for its increasing impact on his operation that the technology has changed the skill-sets of the individuals that the business is now looking to hire.
Focus AI on solving problems
John Gallifant, head of central operations at AF Blakemore, cautions that there is a danger in people believing AI will fix everything. “We need to step away from this thinking and consider that people should never be negated,” he says.
People want to connect with people
This is certainly the view of Nigel French, bookseller at Coles Books, who says the business was quick to embrace e-commerce but a “defining moment of retail was the pandemic” when there was a recognition that people wanted to be connected with a person. “The phone never stopped ringing during lockdown,” he recalls.
Since then he has reflected on the impact of Covid-19 and concluded three elements: we want confident thinkers working in the business; everyone needs to have a purpose aligned to the role of the business; and everyone needs to have agency to have a job to do. ”From these three elements we train and give new skills to employees who have always included students,” says French.
Campbell also has experience of younger people coming into retail when at the Body Shop: “I loved them coming into the business and then bringing them into meetings. It’s about how you onboard and upskill in organisations today. Every single person needs to feel they belong and are listened to. Technology will take over more, including AI, but we also need to share the old-school ways with new people.”
Audrey Halpin, enterprise manager for EMEA at career platform SafetyCulture, agrees but adds that it is also about recognising there are undoubtedly differences across generations. “Retailers need to give people the chance to learn and [show] that there is a path forward. This can include gamification. With younger generations coming in we’ve noticed people learn differently. Some read while others watch videos. Once you’ve hooked them in then you can look at the pathways for them to progress,” she explains.
Career pathways
Giles Smith, independent digital product & technology advisor, highlighted some enlightened companies that had initiated pathways into employment such as Pret with its Rising Stars and Cook that has a programme of hiring into its kitchens. Community-focused initiatives also include that of B&Q with its programme of offering formerly homeless people help with DIY.
He says there is a sweet spot whereby the high street can be both commercially and socially successful. “Making a difference is not just about large-scale programmes but can also be small actions. The high street is a place of opportunity and inclusion. We have to recognise there is a unique role that retailers and hospitality companies can play,” he suggests.
For Rupert Bateson, director of services at The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields, there is some overlap between retailers and charities like his that works with homeless people. He cites three areas: the work undertaken around wellbeing of employees who can have some of the same issues as visitors to The Connection; employees in retail can often be the victims of crime like the homeless who are often targeted; and the way that charities build trust and relationships, which is similar to that seen in the retail sector.
“We can share knowledge and learn from each other in how we deal with these three elements,” says Bateson, but he cautions that the perfect relationship is reciprocal. All too often he says the conversation follows a certain disappointing path, with the retailer asking the charity if they can be a partner. And after the charity has agreed they immediately ask for money. Smith agrees: “It is not always about big money. It could be just about hanging out and sharing ideas and then bringing them to life.”
Sharing information and skills
The sharing of information can involve working with the Police to highlight dangerous areas. Volunteering is also massively valuable when it entails businesses helping vulnerable and homeless people with things like creating CVs, letter writing for securing accommodation, and offering work placements.
Simon Spencelayh, e-commerce managing director at Robert Dyas, says: “As retailers we are conscious that retail and hospitality are often the first place of work so we make sure we look after our [young] staff. We look to build an eco-system where community can thrive. We want to be the place where people can solve a problem. Directly linking to charities is something all retailers should explore.”
He cites the children’s charity Starlight as a partner that can access the purchasing power of Robert Dyas in order to source goods it requires at reduced prices. “This is a great way for retailers to support charities,” says Spencelayh.
He regards this as all contributing to the evolving eco-system that is the high street and in which stores can play greater roles in the community. Jan Duckworth, managing director at Cox & Cox, very much sees her business as part of this and it is currently investigating opening its first physical store.
“Omni-channel is the sweet spot as it enhances the customer experience. The store is an enhancement of the brand. We’re looking at locations and want to make digital come alive in the store. We don’t want a square white space. If technology improves the customer journey then we’ll do it,” she says, but is careful of not replicating a former boss who installed massive digital screens in among the furniture bays that proved to be intrusive and were ultimately pulled out.
Understanding customers through data
John Magill, founder of IconiQ and former European head of store design & merchandising at Sky, recognises this issue: “At Sky we would not put technology in the windows.” Such issues can undoubtedly be avoided by having a greater understanding of the customer and this increasingly boils down to the collection and analysis of data within a business.
Dan Wrigglesworth, director of data products and specialist sales for Transaction Banking Solutions at Lloyds Corporate & Institutions, says his company’s marketing intelligence is based on customer spending across retailers that can help companies develop a model of the shopper that can help them build personas that can be used for both building loyalty and taking to the market in order to acquire new customers.
“This data is the lifeblood of the business. Retailers should get more buy-in and more people using it,” he says, while also warning retailers that before they consider buying external data they should first “unlock their own data”.
Erol Ayvaz, founder & CEO of Serve First, suggests there is also a risk of having too much data: “The big challenge for the whole sector is dissecting the data so it is relevant to the users in the business. You don’t want to present them with everything. This is TMI (Too Much Information). There also needs to be a consistency of the data across the business.”
James Coughlan, sales transformation lead at Arco, agrees: “There’s so much data and dashboards. But what decisions are being made? First highlight any problems you are looking to solve and then source the relevant data that can help with this specific problem.”
But before this can be done the data has to be ‘cleaned’ whereby it is in the optimum condition and truly reflects the business. This is an essential aspect that all retailers need to address before they leverage AI tools. “Some businesses have not embraced AI as fast as customers expected because they are cleaning their data. There is a lot of cleaning going on in businesses. It could be a severe problem if retailers simply plug in the technology and have not first done the data cleaning. The AI could deliver results that you are not expecting.”
What’s not selling?
Bob Neville, global head of retail at Pentland Brands, says: “I’m a firm believer in data. Consumer insights have to drive you. You have to look at things like SKU productivity. It’s about turning this data into actions. What do you need to do less of? It’s about what’s not selling as much as it is about what’s selling.”
Without looking at the hard data Neville suggests businesses can lose their relevance in the marketplace. “I’ve seen too many businesses think the consumers will always buy from them. You need to retain an ability to delight customers and not become complacent. You must remain hungry,” he says, adding that historical brands invariably have cycles.
With this understanding he is currently focused on driving a renaissance at Berghaus that was founded in 1966 in Sunderland and his task is centred on working through its history and telling a story to the consumer. “If you don’t tell a story then people will either fill in the blanks or they will simply no longer be bothered about the brand,” he says.
This very much resonated with Ryan Llewellyn-Pace, founder & chairman of Hay Life Clothing who was previously MD of long-established British brand Barbour. He has shared his experiences of working with various brands in his recently published book ‘Be the Wolf Not The Sheep’.
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