Insights from Industry Leaders at Retail Technology Show 2024 

The Customer Experience Drives UK Retailers!

There was a buzz in the air last week in London. Retail Technology Show 2024 was crackin’ with retailers looking for new solutions and capturing insights from retail leaders across the United Kingdom. 

After speaking with retail performance managers, operations managers, and C-level executives at the show, we compiled our list of retailers’ pain points. 

Retailer Takeaways from StoreForce & ThinkTime Stand

UK Retailers told us that they are experiencing operational challenges – from task management inefficiencies to communication gaps.  And when the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, errors occur, time gets wasted, and ultimately, retailers are left with poorly executed stores.

There’s a strong need for a centralised solution that facilitates not only this kind of task prioritisation, but also provides insights into the performance and operations of their businesses.  These retailers know that well executed stores lead to better customers experiences which in turns leads to an increase in conversion rates.

Retail Technology Show Sessions

One major takeaway that we took from the Retail Technology Show sessions that we attended, was the emphasis on employee well-being and organisational alignment. Retail experts, Chris Brook Carter and Tim Walpole both stressed the importance of addressing stress levels and promoting mental health for a happier, more productive workforce. One study they spoke of revealed that 80% of retail workers are stressed and 204 UK retailers have prioritised mental health, putting a major focus on how to combat employee stress levels in 2024.

Innovations in customer experience were showcased through Boots.com’s journey, emphasising convenience and technological enhancements to create customer-centric experiences using artificial intelligence. Boots allows users to have their AI personal shopper on the website. The personal shopper recommends which products they prefer to website users, such as lipsticks and other beauty items. 

Finally, River Island focused on strategies like RFID technology, self-checkout options and an updated WFM solution that allows them to automate schedules based on traffic trends and employee performance to create an engaging customer experience. 

Thank you to all retailers who visited the StoreForce and ThinkTime team at Stand 6B20. We were so excited to talk to all of you and walk you through how to solve your current problems. Until next time, see you at RTS2025!