What’s next in retail? For those in search of answers, the RetailEXPO show in London is  just the place to experience all the trending, ground-breaking ideas of the future. Practical solutions to the challenges of today and tomorrow are at the heart of this much-anticipated show.

RetailEXPO is organised by Reed Exhibitions, and offers a combination of three specialist retail exhibition areas – the Tech Zone, the Design Zone and the Digital Signage Zone. The aim is to provide delegates with a single, holistic view of tomorrow’s market – ‘one place, one time, one chance to unlock your own bright future in retail’.

What’s on at RetailEXPO this year?

RetailEXPO is taking place at Olympia London on 1^st and 2^nd of May 2019, and Reed Exhibitions promises “innovation, stimulation, thought leadership and relevancy” in today’s omnichannel retail market. Delegates from thousands of retail and hospitality organisations will be seeking out the right tools, solutions and advice on how best to run a business fit for the future.

Knowledge-sharing speaker line up

A wealth of industry expertise is set to be shared at the event. This year’s RetailEXPO conference speakers include Justin King, former CEO of Sainsbury’s, Helen Dickinson Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium and Simone Sweeney, Vice President of Global Retail Development at Lego. Michel Roux Jr is also appearing to give a perspective on how to meet hospitality customer expectations in the 21^st Century.

On the store design side, David Dalziel, Creative Director, Dalziel and Pow Design Consultants will be speaking on ‘Understanding the future role of stores for connecting with and engaging customers’.

Howard Saunders, Retail Futurist from Twenty Second & Fifth, will be exploring: ‘Stores are Dead. What can we expect in the new age of retail?’

And, as part of the technology focus, there will be a panel discussion on ‘How is tech procurement evolving and what are retailers looking for from supplier partnerships?’ with Nigel Roy, Head of Procurement at Primark, and John Holt, Chief Operating Officer, Timico sharing their views.

Click here for the full conference agenda.

Customer-focused tech in the spotlight at RetailEXPO

Visitors to the show should expect to see Innovations that deliver value and solve customers’ everyday problems.

ShopperTrak’s performance-driving  traffic data

ShopperTrak’s specialism is delivering retail footfall data insight that can improve the shopping experience for store customers, and boost sales performance location-by-location. The team will be talking to visitors to their stand about using data to optimise labour scheduling, plan for peak, maximise conversions and create unique shopper experiences – all in the context of the dynamic  world of omnichannel retailing.

At stand 5D51 ShopperTrak’s team will demonstrate the practical scope of the Traffic Analytics Suite, with an exciting new focus on the possibilities that open up when retailers blend traffic and inventory data, and combine online and offline insights. Case studies and demos will put retailers in the picture of how strategic planning becomes easier when valuable business intelligence can inform key commercial decisions.

Win loyalty and play the long game with Cegid software

Retail winners focus on getting a tight grip on their inventory at every touchpoint by validating, correcting and improving inventory accuracy. Once set up in this way, a retailer’s stock can be optimised across the channels meaning customers can be offered alternative fulfilment options, and never be disappointed when trying to get hold of the things they need. Loyalty is the key to surviving the long game of retail, and never having to say ‘sorry, we’re out of stock’ is a vital part of building customer trust and loyalty.

Cegid is offering free demos at stand 5C80 where the team will be discussing the latest in unified commerce capabilities and showcasing Cegid’s latest solutions, ‘Shopping’ and Omnichannel Inventory Tracking solution. This helps integrate a retailer’s back-store to give real visibility of inventory to improve stock accuracy and reduce out of stocks. The ‘Shopping’ solution incorporates Clienteling and Cataloguing modules and integrates with the brand’s e-commerce platform. This allows retailers to be able to seamlessly allocate inventory in real time where it’s needed and provide instant visibility to that inventory with the purpose of securing future sales and customer lifetime value.  Cegid supports clients including Barbour, Vilebrequin, Aesop, Mountain Warehouse and Whittard of Chelsea.

Reflexis shows how task management can transform service levels

David Rogers, Director at Reflexis, will be available showcasing real-time workforce and task management solutions at stand 5C10. Co-op UK has a speaking slot focusing on the organisation’s use of the Reflexis real-time task management solution.  Dave Tyas of Co-op will explain how by working with Reflexis and implementing MyWork task management, Co-op has been able to simplify store operations and give store colleagues back their time so that they can cater better for customers on the shop floor.

Reflexis will be giving demos on their stand of the full platform. The core Reflexis USP is that they have a single platform for both workforce management and task management.

Inovretail makes data science user-friendly for retailers

Inovretail have new data to share on the impact of weather and seasonality on in-store performance, especially on fashion retail.  This allows  retailers to use data science to bridge the gap and use this insight to adapt quicker to real-time scenarios to drive more sales and less mark down. There will also be their latest wearable tech, the Staff Empowerment Solution on display at stand 5G20. Promising features of the Staff Empowerment Solution include real-time in-store instructions from headquarters to store employees. Store staff will also benefit from receiving detailed customer order information generated from e-commerce websites on their staff empowerment solution, so customer orders can be prepared in advance, enabling control around fulfilment. For consumers and businesses alike, this will provide an added layer of improved customer service experience as well as warehouse tracking and accuracy efficiencies.

On the product roadmap, the Staff Empowerment Solution will accurately forecast retailers’ sales and build a list of products with high sales assumptions. Retailers will be able to manage prospecting, a critical step in the sales process which can be a time and labour-intensive process. With the use of the Staff Empowerment Solution analytics, organisations can more accurately predict and have a clearer idea of where to focus their sales efforts – helping to increase average transaction value. Customers include United Colors of Benetton, Samsung, Levi’s.

Click here for the full Exhibitor Directory.

Move with the times…and your customers

So if you are interested in the fast-evolving retail landscape and the role retail technology can play, then RetailEXPO is the perfect event for you. Retail’s future belongs to those with the power to move with customers. The big question is: Who will be among them?

RetailEXPO takes place on May 1^st and 2^nd 2019 at Olympia, London.

Read the new RetailEXPO Market Report: One Vision – How to re-engergise retail in 2019 and beyond

Fieldworks is the retained PR agency for RetailEXPO.