Retail in Focus - the Retail Systems podcast Perspective Publishing

In a landscape of ever-increasing competition, retailers must have omnichannel strategies and platforms which are agile, adaptable, and customisable - for the benefit of retailers and consumers alike.


To stay ahead of the competition, a strong omnichannel strategy is nowadays one which can adjust quickly to consumer demand and meet changing demands in the online retail landscape.


Technologies such as AI and machine learning are playing an ever more important role, helping retailers to stay ahead of the curb by analysing customer behaviour data to pre-empt their evolving demands.


To discuss these topics in more detail, Retail Systems was joined by Peter Fellows, EMIR commerce lead at Sitecore.

Inflation is rising, with the war in Ukraine pushing up the cost of oil, food and gas. To make ends meet, manufacturers and other suppliers are passing on their increased overheads to retailers.


At the same time, consumers are changing their behaviour to cope with the cost of inflation, while employees demand higher wages or even leave the retail sector altogether to follow other career paths. This leaves retailers finding themselves held to ransom by both consumers and suppliers.


To examine these issues, Retail Systems was joined by Lauren Brenig-Jones, VP Product Strategy & Marketing at supply chain and retail planning platform Relex.


The podcast covered how the retail sector can leverage digital solutions, which can help them predict consumer behaviour, manage spikes in demand, as well as manage labour shortages and stay resilient in an increasingly uncertain world.

In exploring the topic of 5G in Retail, the technology has the potential to address communications, security, promotion, and delivery services, while driving the evolution of other technologies which also make use of connectivity.


As the technology begins to roll out across the UK, 5G is touted as a connectivity evolution which will help realise greater efficiencies and streamline experiences for users.


In this podcast we are joined by Roger Jones, Solution Architect, EMEA at Cradlepoint, to delve further into these challenges, as well as some possible solutions.


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Uncertainty has been the only certainty for retailers since the pandemic hit in 2020. Brands have had to adapt quickly to the unprecedented growth of digital sales, with the Covid-19 crisis driving a momentous shift to online.


At the beginning of the pandemic, Black Friday and the Christmas season saw e-commerce platforms reap the benefits of brick-and-mortar store closures. But with physical stores reopening and customer habits normalising, sales during the peak trading period dropped dramatically last year.


In 2022, retailers are continuing to grapple with uncertainty, as the industry faces a cost-of-living crisis and supply chain disruption persists. To ensure they maximise sales and perform effectively during the holiday shopping period, retail companies must retain flexibility, meet customer expectations, diversify channels, and adapt to the growth of the conscious consumer.


To explore some of these challenges and opportunities, we're joined by Paul Clarke, Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Cashflows.


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The e-commerce industry is booming post-pandemic, with more small business owners than ever making the move online and launching shops. These outlets are expected to meet consumer's changing expectations when it comes to credit, allowing Generation Z and Millennial consumers to spread out the cost of their purchases.


However, companies need to make certain that they can provide this level of flexible credit without causing financial harm to consumers, while ensuring they won't fall foul of incoming legislation or harm their reputations.


At same time, retailers need to avoid opening the door to increasingly innovative fraudsters, who are everyday devising new ways to extract hard earned cash from consumers as payment methods evolve.


In this podcast we are joined by DivideBuy to delve further into these challenges, as well as some possible solutions.


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Shipping a £2 item for £5 isn't a very good way to make money. However, that doesn't stop many retailers from doing it. The problem often lies in the puzzle-like structure of modern retail, which involves lots of different pieces.


IT owns the systems, e-commerce owns the sites, store operations own the stores, and logistics owns transportation. But with all these siloed divisions and cost centres - who owns profitability when it comes to omnichannel? In the case of many organisations, no one.


As a result, retailers are starting to examine who within their organisation has responsibility for ensuring that omnichannel operations are adding to rather than taking away from the company's profits.


To further explore these challenges as well as some possible solutions, Will McCurdy, Content Editor, Retail Systems was joined by Steve Ross, Global Omnichannel Solution Principal, at Aptos.