Retail Reawakened: Recent Episodes
Adyen UK
It didn’t all change in March 2020. Not really.
The UK high street has been in the throes of a gradual revolution for decades. From the rise of ecommerce, to the birth of mobile, social commerce, and a growing emphasis on experience, change has been underway for a while.
In fact for many, the pandemic has acted as a wake-up call. Digital transformation was no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a matter of survival. Necessity sparked innovation and customers are enjoying more flexibility and convenience than ever before.
But what now? What lessons should we take with us as we move forwards? And how can we ensure we’re ready for whatever’s next?
To find out, host Colin Neil embarked on a journey spanning the past 10 years. Using our latest consumer research as a launch-pad, we spoke to famous brands, industry experts, and consumers on the street.
The result is a five-part podcast series providing a unique insight into the rich, varied world of UK commerce in 2021 and beyond.
Impact seems to be on everyone’s minds these days. The pandemic has reawakened the altruist in us all, and the societal and environmental impact of brands matter as much as price when making purchasing decisions.
Technology is also driving changes in our behaviour. Digital adoption accelerated during the pandemic as people sought solutions that were quicker, easier, and safer. As a result, consumers of all ages are more tech-savvy than ever before.
In this final episode of Retail Reawakened, we take a look at the new mindset of customers to find out what their purchasing priorities are post-pandemic. And we look to the East to see the latest technology trends headed our way.
When faced with existential threats, we can't help but wonder what legacy we'll leave behind. And this, according to consumer psychologist, Kate Nightingale, is one of the main reasons consumer priorities have changed when it comes to choosing brands. Kate guides us through the new customer mindset and reveals the challenges and responsibilities brands must face. She also shines a light on the tremendous opportunities open to shops and restaurants if they can meet these new needs.
We hear from consumer behaviour expert and Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, Rory Sutherland, on what brands need to do in order to meet the needs of the post-pandemic consumer. And we speak with Digital Executive of LEON Restaurants', Hugo Engel to learn how the brand is positioning itself as both an instrument of and proponent for positive societal change.
We head to Asia Pacific to discover the technological trends that may come to be the new normal for shops and restaurants in the UK as well. President of Adyen Asia Pacific, Warren Hayashi, explores how the Super App is becoming synonymous with all aspects of life, providing users a means to buy goods, bank, hail rides, and much more. And Domenica Di Lieto, CEO of Emerging Communications reveals how these apps are helping brands to recognise customers and provide hyper personalised shopping experiences.
We speak with Intelligent Automation (IA) Global Expert, Pascal Bornet, to find out how IA will transform brands through computer vision, language processing, machine learning, and more. He details how IA will augment stores with almost science-fiction levels of automation, from replenishing stock to predicting product demand.
If you want to find out more about the technology and behavioural trends influencing retail, visit adyen.com/ukretailreport and download Adyen’s latest research report.
In March 2019, the nation was placed under house arrest. No eating out, shopping, or socialising meant retailers and restaurants had to pull down their shutters and to pivot to e-commerce or risk never opening their doors again. But in 2021 as brands welcome back shoppers in-store and online, how can they satisfy their customers' renewed appetite for the retail experience?
In this episode of Retail Reawakened, we dissect the shopping experience. On the macro level, we find out why high streets need to evolve and break away from the decades-old model they've followed for so long. And we get granular and ask what it is that makes for a top-notch shopping experience, whether online or in-store. Plus, we reveal why brands should never assume what the consumer wants and why they must prioritise understanding the needs of their customers above all else.
Brands don't stick around for 300 years out of sheer luck, they harness a winning recipe of great staff, excellent products and thoughtfully curated shop floors to attract and retain a loyal customer base. Former Director of IT at Fortnum and Mason, Tony Longhurst, shares with us the iconic London brand's formula for delivering the best customer experience. He explains what it is that turns a sales associate from good to great, why the layout of a store should be as thoughtfully considered as the products it is stocked with, and why brands need to recognise the diversity of their customers' expectations in order to meet their needs.
When Arcadia group went into administration in 2021, many wondered if this was the death knell of the high street. But rather than heralding the end of town and city shopping districts, the turmoil of the last eighteen months may actually mark an evolution in our high streets. And no one is a bigger proponent for the evolved high street than Stockton Town Council's Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Nigel Cooke. He tells us about Stockton's "bold new vision" for the high street and why it's doing away with a shopping centre in favour of more green and communal spaces. And he imparts a word of warning to those who think the key to a successful high street is a reliance on shops.
Retailers and restaurants had to rapidly adopt e-commerce at the start of the pandemic to keep trading, but now it has become evident that digital retail is here to stay. But how do you bring an amazing in-store shopping experience online? CEO of digital transformation specialists, Red Badger, David Wynne, believes the key to offering great e-commerce solutions is knowing what customers want. He explains why brands should never offer digital solutions just for the sake of it and he reveals the one thing all customers are after when shopping online. And we hear from Adyen's own Conversion Expert, Sam Allan, about how retailers can extend the in-store feel online and how they can make their customers feel safe and secure at the checkout.
If you want to find out more about enhancing customers' in-store and online shopping experiences, visit adyen.com/ukretailreport and download Adyen’s latest research report.
Panic buying, impulse shopping, and the growth of online spending - in the past 18 months, customer behaviour has been wildly unpredictable. Or has it?
In this episode of Retail Reawakened, we examine the psychological impact of the pandemic on consumers and what it takes to win their loyalty today. We’ll also explore how businesses are embracing new technologies to elevate their loyalty programs and increase their adoption in store and online.
Since the start of the pandemic, customers' priorities have changed. Personal hygiene and safety became top of mind, and feelings of altruism ran high as the nation banded together to support people in need. Consumer psychologist Kate Nightingale explains how numerous lockdown measures impacted customer behaviour, and why restrictions forced many to re-evaluate their expectations of brands. We look into what consumers really want post-pandemic and how businesses can best serve them moving forward.
We also delve into one of the most important factors in building loyalty - knowing your customer. Expert in Chinese consumer trends, Domenica Di Lieto, discusses how retailers can best engage with the UK's burgeoning Chinese customer base.
And we examine a case study in customer loyalty excellence as we hear how coffee chain Joe & The Juice nurtures relationships. We’ll discover how the brand adapted during the initial lockdown to continue serving customers while still meeting their safety and convenience needs. And we’ll learn how the brand uses the Joe app to let customers buy how they want while enjoying a tailored loyalty experience wherever they are.
If you want to find out more about building customer loyalty, visit adyen.com/ukretailreport and download Adyen’s latest research.
In 2021, it's not enough just to have a website anymore. You need a full ecommerce strategy. That means online stores, social media presence, seamlessly integrated online and in-store customer journeys and more.
In this episode of retail reawakened, we explore exactly what it is that brands need to do to remain competitive in a retail landscape where customers demand multiple ways to shop. We examine the ways that brands are constantly innovating their online experience and how they’re creating more sales channels while simultaneously unifying them.
Since 1707, Fortnum and Mason has been at the forefront of luxury retail, showcasing the finest products in lavish London locations with the help of passionate and knowledgeable salespeople. Over the centuries the brand has been able to capitalise on its heritage and prestige; but how you bring that luxury experience to an online platform? We speak with Fortnum and Mason’s chief transformation officer Jon Weg and former director of IT, Tony Longhurst, to find out how this historic brand translated its top-tier customer experience to ecommerce in just a few short months in order to continue serving new and existing customers as high street stores were forced to close their doors.
We also hear how international food and beverage retailer, Joe and the Juice, utilised their app to provide its customers a truly omnichannel experience, allowing patrons to order food, pay for meals and collect loyalty points however they want. And we talk with Saad Usman of Miniso UK, one of the newest variety retailers to hit British high streets, about how this previously brick-and-mortar-only brand went from focusing solely on stores to placing ecommerce at the centre of its business strategy.
And Adyen’s own product manager for data, Quirijn Meulenberg, and head of retail and hospitality solutions, Jan-Pieter Lips explain why it’s crucial for brands to know who their customers are and how businesses should integrate their sales channels to create frictionless experiences for shoppers.
If you want to find out more about unified commerce and frictionless experiences, visit adyen.com/ukretailreport and download Adyen’s latest research report.
Who hasn’t seen headlines heralding the death of the high street? Woolworths, Debenhams, Arcadia Group - do the the failure of these brands point to an overall demise? Is ecommerce taking the place of physical retail? Or is something different going on?
To learn more about where we are now, we need to look back a few years. In this first episode of Retail Reawakened, we track the digital transformation of global fashion brand Burberry and see the ways they’ve maintained their brand identity while adapting to an increasingly online world.
Over the past 20 years, Burberry has established its reputation as an industry-leader in digital transformation. Long before its competitors, it embraced digital technologies to create high-end experiences for their customers in-store and online. Former head of operations Steve Ibrahim and digital transformation strategist Craig Crawford walk us through the changes the brand made, both logistically and conceptually, to bring a sense of luxury to every part of the customer journey. We’ll also examine how businesses can ensure their digitisation remains true to their brand and centers on the customer.
In the second half of the episode, The Retail Champion, aka Clare Bailey of the BBC, will help us explore the bigger picture, providing a recent history of the UK’s retail evolution. She places store closures in context and challenges the notion that ecommerce is the harbinger of high street’s collapse. What are the opportunities presented by retail’s rush to digital? How can companies integrate their experiences and create a seamless path for the customer across all channels? What’s new for food and beverage? Clare gives you a snapshot of all of it.
If you want to find out more about digital transformation and adaptation, visit adyen.com/ukretailreport and download Adyen’s latest research report.
2020 didn’t grind retail to a halt—it threw it into overdrive. Food and beverage reinvented themselves and took huge risks to stay in business. Incremental change went out the window as companies fought to survive. Now, as we return to normal, normal will look very different.
Digital transformation, social commerce, experiential emphasis—what big swings are here to stay? And what’s on the horizon? On Retail Reawakened, host Colin Neil takes you through the latest consumer research and the trends that are shaping the UK’s retail landscape today and for years to come.
Why are some companies more resilient than others? How has consumer behaviour changed during the pandemic? What makes for a memorable customer experience?
For more information, visit https://www.adyen.com/landing/online/uk/retail-reawakened-podcast