Retail Assist Client Summit 2022

Last week we hosted our very first ‘Retail Assist Client Summit’ at Broadway Cinema in Nottingham, the home of Retail Assist’s head office and Help Desk support centre. We invited our clients, colleagues and partners to come together to collaborate, discuss and debate with leaders shaping the future of customer experience in the retail and hospitality sectors.

With guest speakers and industry experts covering focussed topics, everyone came away from the event with a bearing on what technology needs to do in order to have maximum value in a business.

Here’s who we heard from and what we got up to:

Jens Levin, CEO and co-founder of Sitoo kicked off the day discussing ‘Digitalisation of the physical store on your customer’s terms’. Discovering how customers are being empowered to shop on their terms, with more freedom and limitless possibilities – and how the power is being put into retailer’s hands to make this a reality.

Mark Stone, Managing Director (Europe), Foresight Retail outlined the key drivers for planning: how planning is being adapted to provide optimal customer experiences and meet future trends. From Merchandise planning to Assortment planning and Allocation solutions, Foresight Retail revolutionises how planners and buyers develop and get product to their stores, providing valuable insight that cannot be replicated by history alone. It’s invaluable to any retailer trying to grow their business.

Roland Jones, Chief Information and Technology Officer from Vue International provided our keynote interview. He discusses how the hospitality industry have had to pivot; focusing on changing consumer habits and how Vue Cinemas are responding, current industry pressures and the importance of commerce and investment in ecommerce in hospitality.

Kevin Greathead, Managing Director at Retail Assist gave an update of what we’ve been up to at Retail Assist lately. He looked at how we’ve adapted our service and solutions offerings to meet the future needs of the market as well as introducing you to some new team members.

Kieran Bowden, Chief Commercial Officer at Retail Assist uncovered how you can reduce your risk profile with simple strategies in our Cyber Security Discussion Room. Alongside Trevor Cross, Solutions Architect, they covered the following steps: evaluating your current position, educating users, scanning for existing vulnerabilities, filling security gaps and continually monitoring threats.

Roland Kendall, Chief Solutions Officer and Stuart Baker, Senior Business & Solution Consultant at Retail Assist hosted the Merret Discussion Room. They talked through how the focus areas for retail are driving changes in how we engage with customers in store and how we are developing Merret to meet those future demands.

Miya Knights, author, journalist, and consultant moderated our panel discussion, titled ‘Removing Barriers to Innovation’ focusing on challenges faced by retailers, alongside which technologies can best support their needs in addressing evermore complex consumer expectations and behaviours. Miya was joined by Sarah Hughes, Co-Founder and Director at Datitude, Alex Priscott, Chief Technology Officer at The Foschini Group Limited and Kieran Bowden, Chief Commercial Officer at Retail Assist.

To round off the day, we headed to Pitcher and Piano for a drinks and networking. It was a pleasure to catch up with all our customers and partners! Keep your eyes peeled for overviews of each session over the coming days.

Want to hear first-hand how businesses have adapted their technology strategies to find new ways of removing barriers to trade and engaging new customers? Get in contact with us here.