The 2020 Programme

Gracia Amico, Digital Strategy, Scotch & Soda; NED

• Having a good strategy and sticking to it, executing it well - know your customers
• Retail is dead? Boring retail is!
• Think customer needs, not selling stuff - creating a great instore experience
• Know your customer better than your competitor knows your customer
• Be brave, be fast, be bold - fail quickly, double down on winners

Peter Pritchard, Group CEO, Pets at Home

• Why do online retailers still use TV adverting to build trust in their brand?
• How is shareholder value the primary driver for retail?
• Will there be an Amazon 'backlash'?
• Is 'dataism' the new retail religion?

Ken Daly, CEO, JML

Our speaker draws on his experience of re-positioning  and revitalisating of the Whittard business to ensure future retail longevity.

• Revitalising the customer proposition to ensure brand dividend
• Moving from the high street to being an aspirational brand - making it relevant to a global audience
• Opportunities for retail - transforming scale of business, catering to a wider audience
• Building emotional attachment

Mark Dunhill, former CEO, Whittard of Chelsea

• Leveraging an AI-powered omnichanel concept to improve CX - getting ROI on digital/technology investment
• How to make decisions on emerging technologies? How do you do it at scale?
• AI, personalisation and automation on customer communications
• The use of RFID? Could cashless / cardless checkouts genuinely change the customer experience for the better?
• Using VR to deliver what customers will buy
• De-mystifying AI/machine learning
• Walk in, walk out technology

Cegid speaker to be announced shortly

Our speaker will discuss how 'new retail' is shaping the future of eCommerce in China and globally - and how Alibaba's own innovation and tech infrastructure fits within this context.

• The changing retail landscape - the 'evolution of the high street'
• The importance of online/offline experience for today's consumer
• Why China is an example to the rest of the world in using technology to connect consumer and merchants globally
• Using customer data to inform products, services and ecosystems
• What will drive future sales and profits?
• Digitising and democratising global trade

Jack Peters, Business Development Director, Alibaba Group

Digital is the only point at which retailers are seeing sales grow - getting the experience right will be important as they develop their business models for the future.

• Growing digital growth revenue across all brands
• Improving your digital channels
• What solutions can help with becoming an agile digital organisation with the customer centric approach?
• In-store digital innovation
• Digital transformation projects and system implementations - reduce the risk of failure and delay

Brendan Abbott, Head of Retail, Travel & Leisure, Experian 

Nidhima Kohli, Founder, MyBeautyMatches.com

Trevor Gordon, Senior Director - Global Omnichannel Retail, Sodexo

• Sensing the need to change
• Seizing the right opportunities
• Transforming the organisation
• Steps and specific activities
• Research findings and practical case study examples

Edda Blumenstein, Doctoral Researcher and Omnichannel Strategy Advisor, Leeds University Business School

Retailers need change their standard operating structures and have one role that is responsible for customers across all channels. There is never one single director that is empowered to consider the customer journey requirements across all channels, and own the strategy for delivering best in class across all of them. Wilko are evaluating their current operating model - to evaluate what works for the business, to envisage the best way forward....to ensure longevity.

Lalit Suryawanshi, Enterprise Architect, Wilko

Whilst most organisations are striving to offer a true omnichannelcustomer experience, only 7% currently do. This session will share exclusive ICS research that re-enforces the importance of building trust with customers and the importance of long term relationships, not just an opportunity to sell more stuff!

• Customers have diverse attitudes towards use of personal data and channel experiences with organisations
• Customers' channel preferences are influenced by context and the purpose of contact
• Few organisations deliver a fully integrated channel experience but most are working towards it

Jo Causon, CEO, Institute of Customer Service

This session will examine digital transformation through data and how retailers can use audience data to better engage customers and generate revenue.

Evolving your mobile proposition to drive a seamless omnichannel customer journey

Sarah Ahmad, Industry Manager, Google