The Retail Summit focused on two themes, namely ‘Commerce Reloaded’ and ‘Innovation of Services’. The event also included a ‘New Tech Village’ showroom where attendees were able to test some of the latest technologies, from virtual reality to facial recognition technology, and discover how they can be integrated into the retail experience.
The key takeout from the session was the fundamental role that customer experience plays in the retail space and the importance of investing in this area to distinguish a retailer. In a competitive market, the price is no longer the only differentiator. It is through the building and sustaining of key customer relationships that ultimately lead to an increased brand following.
Various trends such as mobile personal assistants, the use of artificial intelligence in-store, and drone delivery of product, among other innovations, were showcased. The RCS Retail Summit featured content that was brought to life by the engaging of experiential technology that was on show in the New Tech Village.
“We analyse technological and marketing trends in customer relations in order to anticipate transformations and patterns in the commerce of tomorrow,” says Nicolas Diacono, technological trends professional for Echangeur.
RCS brought these insights to its retail shopping network partners, including Massmart, Edcon, Pick n Pay, and Sanlam, among others.
“We are in the midst of the digital revolution,” adds Regan Adams, chief executive officer (CEO) for the RCS Group. “In the next three to five years we’ll see more change in the retail space than we’ve seen in the last few decades combined. The RCS Retail Summit aims to support our business partners by changing the way that they look at their business with the view to enhance their customer experience.”
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