• How to solve the challenges in driving Innovation inside a large national retailer.
• Discuss bringing innovation to life, intake process, rapid iteration, testing, and de risking the organization.
• How we integrate innovation into our organization at scale across the customer omni channel experience

A recent Customer Engagement review highlighted an interesting outcome – 98% of companies that ranked their customer engagement efforts as excellent or good exceeded their revenue goals. Of those that didn’t, only 65% met revenue goals. While some of this increase can likely be tied to a recovering economy, that doesn’t negate the impact that a deeper focus on customer engagement can bring. COVID-19 drove big shifts in consumer behaviour, so Retail brands who have worked to embrace true customer centricity are well-positioned to see the bulk of those revenue gains going forward.
With this in mind, how do brands bring together valid insights such as customer habits and history to create a truly personalised experience for each customer? How can you utilise data to enhance the experience and create a robust cross-channel strategy to deliver the right message at the right time to get full benefit of customer engagement?

One of the most important factors in 2022 will be maintaining and acquiring growth. Many retailers are assessing supply chain, new customer acquisition, and marketplace strategies to maximize profitability. Smartly engaging with the customer — onsite and across channels with exemplary service – and utilizing technology to retain and grow customers in an increasingly competitive environment will be key.

For many years, retailers have been gaining a more sophisticated understanding of the customer buying journey, and how it crosses from online to offline, sometimes several times, before a purchase is made. This has underlined the need for truly hybrid retail, being adopted by large and small retailers alike.
In 2022, Hybrid retail simply makes sense as footfall continues to fluctuate due to Covid restrictions and concerns. Shedding the siloed approach and “us vs. them” mentality of "online vs. offline" is a huge opportunity for retailers. Focussing on how to deliver a seamless, integrated and stress-free experience to the customer as they move from the digital world to the physical, and back again, has got to be a top priority for 2022.

2022 is the year that we’ll see the social commerce model—deeply embedded commerce that meets consumers where they are and is non-disruptive to their experience. After a record year for online shopping in 2021, social shopping, the fastest growing area of e-commerce, will be shaping how and where we shop in 2022.

Successful retailers have invested significantly in technology to drive omni channel results. Ultimately the store associate plays a critical role in the success of this initiative but how has the role of the store associate changed? How do you gain "buy-in" at scale across multiple store locations? What tools or technology are needed to be successful? How do you keep associates informed and knowledgeable in an industry faced with the increasing pressures of high turnover / hiring in this evolving labor market?

Digital methods of size capture are now in the hands of consumers, increasing the availability of quality body data. This data can enable brands to better develop quality fit and sizing for a greater number of consumers. As this ability to better understand the fit needs of targeted segments of the population converges with an increasingly digitized supply chain, the relationship between brands and consumers can further evolve into one that is consumer led.

"In 2018, Signet was losing share, struggling to keep up with rapid changes in the retail industry, and constrained by a cost and debt structure that inhibited the innovation necessary for growth. The company faced these challenges head-on, launched Path to Brilliance, a three-year transformational growth strategy. The goal was to position the business for sustainable, long-term growth and establish Signet as the OmniChannel leader in jewelry.

Four years later, Signet has become the OmniChannel leader in jewelry completely reinvited how people shop. By successfully combining digital and in-store experiences at scale, they have the competitive advantage across the industry, and it’s driving incredible value across all of their banners"

There are a lot of people forecasting what’s going to happen in retail. Things like – “ecommerce will soon eclipse brick-and-mortar”, “retail is facing an apocalypse” or “delivery to home will become the norm in grocery shopping”. None of these is true, but it doesn’t stop people from predicting them, and others from believing.
So what are the key drivers of retail business growth? Is it the increase in hybrid retail? How data can drive personalisation? Frictionless shopping experiences? Or perhaps the ease in home delivery and pickup?
The future is still unsure in the Retail environment but successful brands will look to broadly encompass all of these areas to drive forward commercial success in 2022.

Food52 is a next-generation cooking and home company that was named one of the world’s most innovative companies by Fast Company in 2022, with a monthly reach of more than 25 million people. From the beginning, the brand challenged the models of traditional media companies and retailers, combining content, commerce, and community around the belief that the kitchen is the heart of the home and food is the center of a well-lived life.
Food52 connects a global community of experts and amateurs, supporting them with inspirational, useful content — recipes, videos, podcasts, cookbooks and more — and outfitting them with products that make them happy. In addition to a highly curated Shop representing hundreds of makers.
Today, we have the pleasure of hearing from Food52’s Chief Product & Technology Officer, Ben Gerst. Ben has long worked at the intersection of journalism and technology, coming from the Los Angeles Times where he was the chief technology officer and previously at Tribune Publishing, Fox Sports, and The New York Times. Thank you for joining us today, Ben.

In a world where digitalization is challenging the roles of Retail and it’s ambitions, new channels popping up everywhere as Consumers can literally shop anywhere, how can channels complement each other. Because in the end, the consumers will go wherever they want.