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World Retail Signals: AI, Store Reinvention, Loyalty & Retail Trends Across Europe, Asia and the US · The Retail Podcast

• 0:21
  Hello and welcome to World Retail Signals.
• 0:23
  Now you may have heard Ian and I talking last week.
• 0:26
  I was in the US and Ian did a fabulous job of telling us about
• 0:29
  himself, about the fantastic conference.
• 0:31
  There's just a couple of weeks away and you know what we're
• 0:35
  going to be doing on this show. If you don't know, this is World
• 0:38
  Retail Signals where myself and my fabulous Co hosts over there.
• 0:42
  In there. We'll talk about what is top of
• 0:47
  mind for us within the region. So we will go around the world
• 0:51
  and so sit back and get relaxed as we dive straight in with Neve
• 0:56
  who's going to take us to Europe and we're going to talk about
• 0:59
  Europe. Hey Neve.
• 1:00
  Bye, Alan. Lovely to be here.
• 1:02
  Thank you so much for having me and.
• 1:05
  Pleasure. Just just quickly, I've taken
• 1:07
  something for granted. But those who don't know you and
• 1:10
  haven't had the pleasure of seeing you on stage, could you
• 1:13
  just give us a bit of an overview of who you are and what
• 1:15
  you do? Yes, of course.
• 1:16
  So I'm Neve, I'm the programme Director for World Retail
• 1:20
  Congress. And what that means is I work
• 1:22
  very closely with Ian and the team, so bringing together all
• 1:26
  of the content that you see across our stages and also sort
• 1:29
  of the lots of the fringe events and things like that.
• 1:32
  So I work very much on our store tours, accelerator programmes
• 1:36
  and things like that as well. Fantastic.
• 1:39
  Thank you, Neve. Ian, why don't we do?
• 1:40
  If we've done Neve, let's do you as well.
• 1:43
  For those who so who who may have not seen our show last
• 1:45
  week, who are you and what do you do, Sir?
• 1:47
  Well, thanks Alex, great to be here again.
• 1:50
  I'm Ian, Ian Mcgarrigal, I'm the founder and chair of the World
• 1:54
  Retail Congress and and my role, as Lee says, you know, we work
• 1:57
  very closely together and rebuilding the the programme,
• 2:01
  but the programme includes so many different moving parts that
• 2:05
  we're responsible for. So not just the the programme
• 2:08
  with its 100 plus speakers. So it's essentially bringing all
• 2:11
  the content together to make sure it's as relevant as it can
• 2:14
  possibly be when we all gather in Berlin in a few weeks time.
• 2:16
  Fantastic. So nee, what are the signals
• 2:19
  that are top of the radar for you this week?
• 2:22
  Yeah. So I'm not taking us too far
• 2:24
  from my home and I'm taking us into to Europe.
• 2:28
  And there's a few interesting signals coming from European
• 2:31
  retailers that we'll also hopefully be hearing more about
• 2:35
  at World Retail Congress later this month.
• 2:37
  And the first real big signal is the reinvention of the physical
• 2:41
  store and our future retail channel challenge this year,
• 2:44
  which is our student competition at the Congress is also tackling
• 2:49
  this and has briefed the students to reimagine the store
• 2:52
  in an age of AI as well. So understanding that in the new
• 2:56
  environment, in a new retail world, the store and physical
• 3:00
  spaces really must mean different things and, and
• 3:03
  creating those environments that encourage consumers to come in,
• 3:08
  to spend time, to feel part of a community, but also hopefully to
• 3:12
  the be spending there. And one great example we have is
• 3:17
  really eye care. And I think they sort of own an
• 3:21
  amazing example of doing something different with the
• 3:24
  physical space. Rather than opening those sort
• 3:27
  of traditional out of town stores, They've really been
• 3:30
  investing heavily in the smaller city centre formats that combine
• 3:34
  that showroom feel, digital ordering, fulfilment and things
• 3:38
  like that, which really demonstrates how the store is
• 3:42
  becoming more than just a place to buy products and that much
• 3:46
  more Omni channel experience. And the 2nd signal that I wanted
• 3:51
  to sort of bring up today that we're seeing discussed more and
• 3:54
  more is, is the growing importance of data and loyalty
• 3:59
  ecosystems. And we see this particularly in
• 4:01
  grocery in Europe, but much more sophisticated loyalty programmes
• 4:06
  which are expanding more and more into areas like retail
• 4:10
  media and AI driven personalisation, which are
• 4:13
  creating new revenue streams for retailers, but for consumers
• 4:18
  really offering up a much more connected experience.
• 4:21
  And with those conversations, I always find that there's a
• 4:25
  there's a trade off there in loyalty.
• 4:27
  And when it becomes creepy, do I really want my shopping cart
• 4:31
  really carefully managed for me? Do I want those highly personal
• 4:36
  adverts being pushed towards me? How much do I want to know that
• 4:40
  these retailers that I'm shopping with know about me?
• 4:43
  And understanding and balancing that act, especially sort of as
• 4:48
  we look towards the growth of things like retail media is a is
• 4:52
  a really interesting signal. So yeah, I guess those are the
• 4:55
  two things that came top of mind for me this week.
• 4:58
  And all sort of moving towards those big questions about what
• 5:02
  the retail business model is going to look like in the next
• 5:06
  few years and especially thinking about World Retail
• 5:09
  Congress and and our road map to 2030, what those points are
• 5:14
  along the journey. I love it, Ian.
• 5:16
  Moving on to you, Sir. Thanks.
• 5:19
  Thanks, Alex. Yeah, I'm going to what's been
• 5:22
  in my mind is just thinking about retail in Asia.
• 5:24
  But based on some conversations I've been having very, very
• 5:27
  recently and you'd be unsurprised to know that it's AI
• 5:30
  driven. I mean needs touched on how
• 5:32
  we're focused obviously on AI at the at the Congress.
• 5:35
  But there's a there's a sort of saying that we hear so many
• 5:38
  times from international retailers.
• 5:40
  If you want to see the future, look to Asia and it's something
• 5:42
  that came out of last year's and it was just two points really
• 5:46
  that came out that sort of give a different kind of perspective
• 5:49
  on AI or rather give a focus on AI and and really where it could
• 5:53
  and should power retail forward. One, I'm sure he doesn't mind me
• 5:57
  using his name, but I was talking very recently to William
• 6:00
  Kim, who until very recently was CEO for Shinzo Gay International
• 6:04
  based in South Korea. He also is well known, he was
• 6:08
  CEO of All Saints based out of London, really successful, very
• 6:12
  technology future focused leader.
• 6:16
  But he recently left Shinzo Gay and he's part of a consortium
• 6:20
  coming out of Asia called Project B, which is a global
• 6:22
  men's and women's basketball league, which you might think
• 6:26
  that's not retail, but that's the interesting thing.
• 6:29
  The way they're approaching is it is very much how William sees
• 6:33
  where retail should be in the future is that intersection of
• 6:36
  sport and leisure and lifestyle. And William's role and
• 6:39
  interestingly, as ACEO, he's gone in as chief lifestyle
• 6:43
  officer and his role is to develop the product portfolio
• 6:46
  that will go around the basketball championships itself
• 6:50
  and form partnerships to have you build this from from the
• 6:53
  ground up. But the point that struck me in
• 6:56
  conversation with William, he was talking about AI mean this
• 6:58
  is that that moment where they're building from a blank
• 7:02
  sheet of paper and he sees AI. And it was kind of almost
• 7:07
  thinking out loud as a advice to other retailers.
• 7:10
  It's, you know, you can't focus on everything.
• 7:12
  But the way they see AI in creating this brand new
• 7:15
  business, he sees it is like a once in a lifetime almost golden
• 7:18
  opportunity to finally tackle an essential problem that retails
• 7:23
  have, which is overproduction. It's meeting, you know, the
• 7:26
  getting the supply chain lined up with consumer demand and
• 7:30
  finally been able do I with that wastage that that level that's
• 7:35
  really just undermines margins within the business.
• 7:38
  And it was in conversation with a couple other people and it was
• 7:40
  almost like a, a light bulb moment that, you know, yes, this
• 7:43
  by using AI to to focus on this really specific area, it, it
• 7:47
  could really transform retail. And obviously would be
• 7:50
  interested to see how this project B, it's already
• 7:53
  established in the sports element of basketball, how that
• 7:56
  really progresses. And then sort of not a can't
• 7:58
  point to it. But again, I was talking to a
• 8:02
  leading retailer operates through Asia based in Hong Kong.
• 8:05
  Again, we were talking about AI and what actually wasn't a
• 8:08
  sceptic, but he was just saying, you know, he, like any retailer,
• 8:13
  is bombarded with initiatives from the big tech suppliers and,
• 8:16
  and it's, it's can be a complete nightmare trying to work it out.
• 8:19
  But he says a golden rule he's adapted and taken really part to
• 8:25
  tart is just constantly thinking, what is this going to
• 8:28
  do for the our customer? What is this going to do to make
• 8:30
  it better for our the consumer? And I just, I mean, it sounds
• 8:34
  like a simplistic thing, but it is something when I know and
• 8:37
  even I talk to retailers. So I just can't see the wood for
• 8:39
  the trees. It's it's bamboozling the, the
• 8:42
  landscape out there. And I think just being, you
• 8:44
  know, Williams point about, well, this is where you should
• 8:46
  be focused with AI and this other point about you can do
• 8:49
  whatever you like, but if it's not going to help your customer
• 8:52
  really what, what are you trying to achieve?
• 8:54
  So those, those are my 2 I love points.
• 8:57
  Yeah. I mean at Asia or Korea and the
• 9:00
  different pockets within the region because it's so big.
• 9:03
  But even in Korea and when you look at Gentle Monster and how
• 9:06
  early on, I don't know, five years ago, I can't remember when
• 9:09
  they did their first store, But it's just so fascinating
• 9:12
  listening you to talk about how someone S thinking about
• 9:15
  experiential sports and basketball becoming a retail
• 9:19
  experience, right? And you look at the NBA and how
• 9:22
  much of A transformation American sports in general, from
• 9:26
  basketball to American football to to basketball, sorry, to
• 9:29
  women's leagues, even in the UK. It's just a global phenomenon.
• 9:34
  So fantastic. I love it.
• 9:35
  Really. It's got me thinking, OK, for us
• 9:38
  to bring, to bring us home to share what I saw in the US last
• 9:44
  week with Shoptalk, which I think, and I don't think Ben or
• 9:50
  Joe would say that this is their exclusive research.
• 9:53
  Because, for example, GLP one having a massive impact on
• 9:58
  clothes size and people isn't one that, you know, I've heard
• 10:01
  in multiple rooms where people are talking about how GLP ones
• 10:05
  are reshaping consumer behaviours.
• 10:07
  But in the obviously I was in Las Vegas last week at Shop
• 10:10
  talk, they did their what's going to happen and it's a bold
• 10:13
  thing to do. No one wants to be looking into
• 10:15
  a crystal ball and saying this is what retail.
• 10:18
  So 100% will take this with a pinch of salt in terms of what
• 10:22
  what they're seeing, but I just think it's interesting to sort
• 10:25
  of provide commentary on AI impact.
• 10:27
  Without a doubt, AI will have an impact.
• 10:29
  The big debate there is how much will the human in the loop will
• 10:33
  keep their job and how much of that human in the loop will be
• 10:36
  looking for a new job and training the models of tomorrow?
• 10:39
  Because that's the reality which is already happening.
• 10:42
  And it is heartbreaking listening to some of the stories
• 10:45
  of what's happening, consumer behaviour, GLP ones I mentioned,
• 10:48
  and then looking at re commerce. Now, when they say finally, this
• 10:52
  is the is like over here in Europe, the UK, rest of the
• 10:55
  world, we, we know we need to be looking at the circular economy.
• 11:00
  But finally, maybe the US will wake up and look at how to
• 11:04
  embrace re commerce and specifically the big brands and
• 11:07
  how they're leaning into that. Physical stores will get to know
• 11:10
  us personally, a bit of a minority report sort of thing
• 11:13
  leans on what you were saying. And even in terms of how much of
• 11:16
  that is icky. Do they know us?
• 11:17
  But I think generationally we're moving beyond that.
• 11:20
  The conversation isn't why do you know me?
• 11:22
  Why don't you know me enough? Why don't you know my side?
• 11:24
  Because why don't you know my stuff that I've given to you
• 11:27
  and. How are you raising that?
• 11:29
  Yeah, correct. You know, I just be.
• 11:31
  It's something that's like, come on, it's 2026.
• 11:35
  You gotta know your purpose, you know, so that's what's happening
• 11:38
  in physical stores. And they didn't say this, but I
• 11:41
  think and what you've both have said, the reformatting of
• 11:44
  stores, you mentioned IKEA, there's lots of other examples.
• 11:48
  The store format is changing. That's format that we see today
• 11:52
  is not the one that we're going to see in five to 10 years and
• 11:55
  operations again. Yep, Good, good, good try.
• 11:59
  I don't see that as potentially unique again, I think this is
• 12:03
  stuff that's happening today. Retailers already thinking about
• 12:06
  how to automate e-commerce and and whether or not E Thomas
• 12:10
  e-commerce can grow anymore is a big debate itself.
• 12:14
  Are you gonna get more than 20% growth?
• 12:16
  You know, which was being the the promise and then demand
• 12:20
  plan, demand planning or demand forecasting and how AI and
• 12:24
  whether or not you move into demand sensing.
• 12:26
  I get the word sensing is going to be this new word that's going
• 12:28
  to be in demand sensing in marketing, demand sensing in
• 12:31
  fulfilment. It's a it's a trend of a word
• 12:33
  that we see are happening right now.
• 12:34
  So I'm going to keep us on time. We're going to keep this under
• 12:37
  15 minutes. And with that, thank you so much
• 12:41
  to our very, very first show with the wonderful Ian in leave.
• 12:44
  And I look forward to seeing you next week with what's top of
• 12:48
  mind for you in your regions. Thank.
• 12:50
  You thanks, Alex. Thanks for having us.
• 12:52
  Bye.