The first thing that always comes to mind if the words ‘retail transformation’ are mentioned is technology.
Retail is obsessed with tech.
Modernize the stack. Replace legacy systems. Roll out omnichannel. Integrate data. Upgrade POS. Launch new customer experiences. Add AI.
All the things that are needed to meet customer expectations and run a slick operation.
And yet, despite more tools, more vendors, and more capabilities than ever before, many retailers still struggle to make change stick - or even take the leap of faith to start the process in the first place - and transformation falls short of the target.
That was one of the clearest threads running through the conversations at Retail Revelations.
During an afternoon at The Shard, speakers Claire Murray, Mobarak Said, and Giles Smith approached retail transformation from different angles but landed in remarkably similar territory: the biggest barrier to retail transformation is no longer the tech.
It’s the organisational, human, and strategic approach to it.
The tech exists. What’s missing is the ability to align teams, redesign ways of working, involve frontline employees, embrace change, and stay anchored to real customer value.
As Claire Murray, Digital Product Director at Red Badger, put it: “Omnichannel is not a technology challenge. It’s an organisational design, an operating model, and a people challenge.”
If retailers keep treating transformation as a tech project, they’ll keep getting the same results: fragmented execution, low adoption, disconnected experiences, and expensive change programmes that never quite deliver the promised value.
Why retail transformation is no longer a ‘nice to have’
Before we dive into the how of retail transformation, it’s important to understand the why.
Customer expectations and behaviour are in a constant state of evolution. Today’s shoppers flow between physical and digital channels. They expect the same experience whether they’re browsing on their phone, walking into a store, or engaging with a brand online.
They want choice. They want convenience. They want speed. They want service. And increasingly, they want to feel recognized and valued as individuals.
At the same time, the complexity facing retailers has never been greater. Businesses must connect stores, ecommerce, fulfilment, inventory, payments, loyalty, customer data and more - all while delivering flowful experiences across every touchpoint.
The challenge for retailers is not only delivering this today, but building an organization and technology architecture that’s robust, flexible, and cost-efficient enough to keep evolving alongside customers.
In other words, transformation is no longer about keeping up with the competition - it’s about staying relevant.
So if retail transformation is now a necessity, what does getting it right actually look like?
The retail transformation essentials
There’s no right or wrong answer here. What works for one business might not work for the other.
However, according to our speakers at Retail Revelations, these are the best places to start to ensure retail transformation is a success.
1. Stop treating transformation as a technology project
Many retail transformations begin with the wrong question: What technology should we implement?
But starting here can quickly lead to expensive upgrades that don’t fundamentally change the business. Too often retailers feel pressure to innovate because competitors are doing it, rather than because it delivers real value.
The result is technology adoption driven by trend rather than strategy. Retailers deploy new tools without fully understanding how they will improve customer experience, streamline operations, or unlock new capabilities.
The better approach is to start somewhere else entirely.
Instead of asking what technology to buy, retailers should begin by defining the following: the customer outcomes they want to deliver, the business problems they need to solve, and the capabilities required to make those outcomes possible
Only then should technology decisions follow.
As Giles Smith explains: “It’s still amazing how many people are starting with technology solutions and not capabilities.”
That shift in mindset may sound simple, but it changes everything.
When transformation starts with capabilities - rather than platforms - technology becomes a tool for delivering strategy, not the strategy itself.
And that’s when transformation begins to create real impact.
2. Design around the customer journey, not your channels
Many retail businesses are still structured around channels.
There are teams responsible for stores, separate teams for ecommerce, others for marketing, loyalty, or customer service. Each has its own priorities, its own KPIs, and often its own technology stack.
From an internal perspective, that structure makes sense.
From a customer perspective, it doesn’t exist.
Customers don’t think in terms of channels. They simply interact with a brand. What they expect is a consistent experience across all of those interactions - wherever and whenever they take place.
But when businesses are structured around internal silos, delivering this consistent customer experience is so much harder.
That’s why Claire Murray believes omnichannel is often misunderstood.
Retailers frequently treat it as a programme or initiative saying “We’re doing omnichannel this year.” And it becomes something to “deliver” as part of their digital roadmap
In reality, she argues, omnichannel should be viewed very differently.
The real challenge isn’t launching omnichannel features. It’s connecting them in a way that feels effortless and natural for the customer.
That means linking systems, data, processes and teams across the entire organisation - so the journey feels continuous whether a customer starts online, continues in store, or moves between both.
And that requires a fundamental shift in mindset.
Instead of optimizing individual channels, retailers need to design end-to-end customer journeys and experiences that flow across every touchpoint.
Because for the customer, there are no channels.
There’s only the brand.
3. Involve store teams from the start
Who interacts with customers the most? Who brings the brand to life? Who sees the reality of what the business looks like every single day?
It’s the frontline and the store teams.
The people closest to customers have some of the most valuable insights. They see firsthand where customers struggle, what questions they ask, what experiences work, what systems add value, and where there are areas for improvement.
And yet they’re rarely included early in transformation programmes.
Mobarak Said believes this is a critical mistake.
“Store associates are the ones facing the customers…so why are they left out of the equation? Put those people into your project initiation before you even start,” he says.
Doing so not only improves the quality of solutions - it dramatically improves adoption.
4. Don’t jump on the latest bandwagon just because everyone else is
Last year it was simply AI. This year it’s agentic commerce. Next year it will be something else entirely.
And, of course, these are going to play a major role in the future of retail.
But Giles Smith warns retailers against rushing into dramatic changes simply because the technology is trending.
“It’s like the Jeff Goldblum quote in Jurassic Park - they were so preoccupied with whether they could, no one asked whether they should. It’s like this in retail right now with AI.
“AI as a capability is probably one of the most important shifts we’ll see. But if you’re already seeing success somewhere, don’t rush to implement AI to replace it. We’ve already seen examples of brands with a reputation for great customer service now getting backlash because all their support is now an AI function.
“The real opportunity with AI isn’t replacing what already works - it’s enabling things retailers simply couldn’t do before, whether that’s personalized experiences at scale, richer product discovery or helping customers solve problems faster.”This last point is key. AI is an incredibly powerful tool for saving time. For example, with an AI-enabled POS, a store associate could ask the AI, “How do we handle returns?” and the AI would respond based on the information the specific retailer has trained it on.
Understanding when, how, and why to use AI is the first step to harnessing its potential.
5. Put physical retail at the heart of your transformation
“The store is as important as ever, if not more so,” Giles Smith said. “What’s changed is the role stores need to play.”
Physical stores represent one of retail’s greatest opportunities.
They’re places where brands can create experiences that digital alone can’t replicate: environments that inspire, entertain, and immerse customers in the brand.
Rather than viewing physical retail as something that belongs in the past, the most forward-thinking brands are beginning to treat it as the centrepiece of their customer experience strategy.
Because in a world where products are so commoditised and transactions increasingly digital, the brands that win will be the ones that create experiences customers can’t get anywhere else.
And that’s something only the physical store can truly deliver.
Final thoughts
Retailers that succeed in transformation build their technology architecture around flexibility and real-time operations, they have a clear set of outcomes, and they put their people at the heart of change.
Tech can now do more than we need it to do. But ultimately, it’s only an enabler.
As Claire Murray summarized: “Technology isn’t going to be the slow part of a transformation. It’s going to be people.”
The real transformation happens when retailers align their people, processes, and customer experience around the same vision - and are bold enough to act with ambition, courage, and conviction to make it stick.
Last updated: mars 13, 2026
