What’s hot and what’s not? Five retail technology questions for Excellent Zephyr’s Ian Moore — Retail Technology Innovation Hub
RTIH: What are the top five retail tech Twitter/LinkedIn accounts you can’t do without, and why?
Richard Lim - extremely knowledgeable retail economist and great speaker.
John Hoyle, Founder and CEO of Sook - as a business model Sook is coming up with practical solutions to real problems within the british high street.
WTF?! Is Retail Podcast - a great place to hear from top retailers who are the real stars of the show.
Iris Schiefer, from BigCommerce - extremely knowledgeable and qualified in her opinion. Some great insights about the e-commerce industry.
The Economist - quality journalism and factually based. Provides me with expert retail analysis and relevant trends.
RTIH: If you could have a dinner party with any five retail pioneers, dead or alive, who would they be and why?
IM: Vivienne Westwood - a pioneer in fashion, prepared to take risks, had an opinion, tapped into cultural and political movements and was ahead of her time. A trendsetter.
Will Crumbie, CEO at FatFace - the brand has great products, ethics and values. It would be a dream project to work with such a company.
Will Stirrup, the co-founder of the e-motorbike brand, Maeving - I’d love to speak to him about the design of the electric motorcycles, how old meets new. An incredible environmentally friendly, fresh brand, and one to watch.
Dave Wiltshire, founder of Patchworks - Dave has built his British-based tech company from scratch. Not only do we work closely together on business, but we have become good friends.
Dick and Mac Mcdonald, the original owners of McDonald’s.
Although they ran a small but successful restaurant, their idea was out-thought by Ray Kroc, who saw the future and potential of their product. It would be amazing to hear their story and experience.
The brothers’ idea changed the world we now live in in regards to food.
RTIH: What are your retail predictions for 2023?
IM: Pop-up stores or flash retailing will see a revival in 2023, as retailers leverage in- person retail for key product launches, keeping costs down but providing the customer experience, across channels, that today's consumers desire.
This should be integrated and part of an e-commerce strategy, providing click and collect to customers during these moments.
I also firmly believe that marketplaces will become increasingly popular next year.
With the acceleration and sheer number of e-commerce brands entering the market over the past two years, competition is fierce and standing out and driving traffic has become more difficult. That’s why stores should direct customers to their brand through a reputable marketplace.
With the growing volatility in the UK, integrating an end-to-end solution will be essential in 2023. Allowing retailers to scale up their operations without risk and have a 360-degree view of their business, all in one place.
Finally, data will be king this year. As I mentioned earlier, intelligently automating data, will enable retailers to streamline key business operations and will save them valuable time, resources and money.
Gloss