Taking place from 20 – 22 April 2020 at the wonderful Royal Turnberry Hotel in Ayrshire, Scotland, the European edition of our Next Generation Retail Summit will bring together Directors, VPs & Chiefs of Retail, Technology, Marketing & Operations from across the continent to share experiences, discuss current challenges – and find pragmatic solutions to help deliver meaningful results.
The summit will look at a number of key themes, including: loyalty, emerging tech, omnichannel, sustainability, personalisation & stores.
From case studies that lift the lid on operations inside best-in-class organisations, to workshops, panels and oxford style debates that focus on real challenges and future innovations, to one-to-one meetings with industry peers offering practical advice tailored to your specific needs, the summit provides you with everything you need to implement your key projects more effectively.
I think what makes the summit stand out is the quality of speakers and the attendees.
An invaluable experience. Already recommended to my colleagues!
Exceptionally well run. Great topics, conversations and people – and real opportunities to work with some of the businesses attending the event.
Engaging people and topics throughout. And a stunning setting!
Our Approach
Every GDS Summit has one stated aim: to help attending executives implement their key projects more effectively. We do this by developing an in-depth understanding of those executives' project needs, the business outcomes they want to achieve, and the challenges they face in terms of hitting those goals.
Who Attends
Attendees Include
6 Challenges in Retail
- Sustainability: the future-proofing of retail
- Personalisation: finding the balance between convenience & privacy
- Loyalty: creating a fanatical consumer base
- Emerging Tech: the good, the bad & the ugly; what to implement, where
- Omnichannel: let’s get “phygital”, moving from multichannel to omnichannel
- Stores: what’s in store for the future?
Summit Schedule
Join us at 12.00 pm when registration opens to collect your badge, check-in, meet the on-site team, and start your 2.5 day Summit experience.
Our VP of Sales will brief you on the next 2 ½ days at the summit, giving you all the information you’ll need for your 1-2-1 meetings, the networking sessions and what to expect to maximise your summit experience.
Our Master of Ceremonies will kick off the summit with a welcome brief and orientation session, giving you all the information you need to maximize your summit experience.
Today, shoppers are more connected, more informed & more demanding than ever before.
- How can you stay relevant in the era of connected retail?
- How can you differentiate from other retailers?
- What will it take to become relevant again?
- What measures can you take to ensure you stay relevant in the next 10 years?
Technological terms are being thrown around freely and there is a lot of pressure to adopt new technologies across the board. The big question is do these technologies address the customers needs?
- How do you distinguish what is just a fad and what will really stick?
- How do you translate a buzz word into a successful strategy?
Sustainability is gaining more & more traction as companies realise the importance of this issue. According to Drapers, 80% of millennials expect companies to behave ethically & take steps to diminish their environmental impact.
- Why is it important?
- What can you do?
- Instore
- Online
- Product
- How can technology assist in this shift?
Personalisation & customisation give retailers the ability to truly understand their consumers & cater to each unique need. Consumers now expect retailers to ‘know them’ and won’t put up with anything less.
- What is the difference between personalisation & hyper personalisation?
- Are you set up to achieve hyper personalisation?
- What is worth personalising & what isn’t?
- How do you gain enough data to personalise to the consumer in an era of distrust?
- How do you track the success of your personalised campaigns?
Retaining loyal consumers is drastically cheaper than acquiring new ones, but the traditional loyal programme is in need of a revamp.
- What does loyalty look like to the new generation & how do you capitalise on it?
- How do you ensure each consumer is emotionally connected to your brand?
- Could you aggregate loyalty programmes & is that profitable?
- How can you embed personalisation to improve loyalty?
Emerging technologies are a minefield. How do you identify and evaluate those worth investing in?
- What technologies are worth investing in?
- AR/VR
- Digital signage
- Digital pricing
- AI
- RFID
- Where are these technologies best?
- Why should we implement?
Omnichannel continues to be one of the biggest buzzwords in retail but what are we actually doing to ensure a true omnichannel experience?
- How do you bring together physical and digital technology along with data and systems?
- Do you think that you are prepared today to deliver seamless experiences no matter when, where or how your customers are expecting to interact with you?
- How do you make omnichannel work in collaboration with wholesalers?
- The move from Omnichannel to “New Retail” – what does that mean?
It is no longer a surprise that retail stores need a revamp. New technologies are set to revolutionise retail stores in the future.
- Which technologies will be most impactful in store design?
- How will malls in the future look?
- What are the considerations when designing a future store?
- Should you consider different models like pop-ups?
- How should you measure performance for the store of the future?
- How will sustainability play into future store development?
The economy experience is now. 78% of millennials would rather spend their money on a desirable experience, how do you translate that into retail?
- How do you harness the power of experience?
- What is the purpose of creating these experiences?
- What experiences are going to benefit your consumer?
Many retailers are already using AI for chat but what are the next applications for AI in retail?
- What is artificial intelligence and what does it truly mean?
- How do you get buy in from the board to implement AI solutions?
- How do you use AI to make real-time recommendations to a consumer?
A casual setting to network and meet the rest of the attendees and discuss relevant topics at your leisure.
Join us for our gala dinner & keynote speaker. An opportunity to network with your peers in a social environment with a three course dinner and wine whilst listening to an industry leader discuss a key topic.
Please come down and join us for breakfast and prepare for a day of workshops, keynotes, debates and panels.
Our Master of Ceremonies will brief you into the day 2 program to make sure you are in the right place at the right time.
With the dramatic changes in the retail landscape in recent years we have become reactive as an industry.
- How do we create a more proactive mindset throughout the business?
- In what ways can we start winning in retail?
- What ideas & approaches are there that could truly reshape the industry for the better?
Retailers are taking a more customer-centric approach to business. In an era of instant gratification, increased choices & convenience; how do you increase brand loyalty when a consumer is only interested in how fast you get to them?
- Evaluating how to use customer service as a competitive differentiator
- How to ensure a consistent experience across all channels?
- Customer insight is invaluable; how do we harness, analyse & utilise it to improve customer experience?
- Building a fanatical customer base…the tips & tricks.
One Topic. Two experts. Two opinions. You’ll get the chance to vote on where you stand before the session starts. We’ll then hear from our two experts, to see if they can sway your opinion when you participate in the closing vote.
Take a break and refuel whilst networking and socialising with your peers.
Retailers spend a lot of time talking about the new B&M retail but with consumer spending habits changing what is on the horizon for eCommerce?
- How can we replicate the in-store experience online removing consumer purchase doubt?
- What technologies will allow us to do this?
- What will be the major eCommerce evolutions in the next 5 – 10 years?
mCommerce will be responsible for 49% of online retail sales this year.
- By what means has mCommerce impacted the industry?
- How to integrate your mCommerce strategy with your omnichannel experience?
- What is the next evolution for mCommerce?
The new generation of retail is about experiences & discovery, not actually purchasing products. Pop-up stores, subscription models, multi-brand concepts are on the rise – should we look to new forms like RaaS?
- What does retail-as-a-service mean?
- How does it work?
- Is retail-as-a-service a profitable business model?
- Should retailers be looking to create new, untraditional revenue streams?
Join us for a sit-down lunch, a chance to catch up on emails and get ready for the afternoon.
- Sustainability: the future-proofing of retail
- Personalisation: finding the balance between convenience & privacy
- Loyalty: creating a fanatical consumer base
- Emerging tech: the good, the bad & the ugly; what to implement, where
- Omnichannel: let’s get “phygital”, moving from multichannel to omnichannel
- Stores: what’s in store for the future?
84% of shoppers review at least one social media post before purchasing. The power Instagram has is that it offers a hyper-personalised experience.
- What does social commerce mean for your business?
- Does social commerce provide the consumer with the personalised experience they desire?
- How to use social media marketing to promote your retail business?
- Will social commerce replace eCommerce?
Cash has become less prominent in recent culture, with many preferring to use card. Retailers now need to offer more payment methods to cater for all audiences.
- What are the impacts of these new APM’s?
- In-aisle mobile payment
- Buy now, pay later
- Mobile checkout
- How do these new methods effect consumer experience?
Take a break and refuel whilst networking and socialising with your peers.
One Topic. Two experts. Two opinions. You’ll get the chance to vote on where you stand before the session starts. We’ll then hear from our two experts, to see if they can sway your opinion when you participate in the closing vote.
Join us for our night two dinner, which will be in a casual and inviting setting.
Please come down and join us for breakfast and prepare for a day of workshops, keynotes, debates and panels.
Our master of ceremonies will brief you into the day 3 program to make sure you are in the right place at the right time.
75% of the public are consciously modifying their behaviour when it comes to consumer items.
- Are you prepared for the conscious consumer?
- What effect will conscious consumerism have on brands?
- Is it equal across all retail segments?
- Does this go beyond sustainability?
- What is the next evolution?
We, as people, are social animals; we want to see, touch, feel, smell but we, as retailers, need to do something radically different.
- Is there a future for over the counter-retail?
- How do you inspire a customer to shop?
- What technology can you incorporate to improve footfall, dwell-time, engagement & ultimately sales?
AR has become a reality & many are incorporating AR both in-store & online.
- What do retailers need to consider when implementing AR?
- How do you want to engage with your consumers using AR?
- Why will AR benefit you & your consumer?
- Sustainability: the future-proofing of retail
- Personalisation: finding the balance between convenience & privacy
- Loyalty: creating a fanatical consumer base
- Emerging tech: the good, the bad & the ugly; what to implement, where
- Omnichannel: let’s get “phygital”, moving from multichannel to omnichannel
- Stores: what’s in store for the future?
China is really setting the pace for the future of retail.
- What lessons can we learn from Chinese retailers?
- How has this market become dominant in the retail landscape?
- Why is China so quick to adopt new technologies?
- How can you compete, or should we partner?
Summit Location
Our events take place at some of the most prestigious venues in the world. Five-star accommodation, dining and amenities make attending one of our summits both business and pleasure. Being productive has never been so much fun.
Latest Case Study
Senior executives love our summits because of the unparalleled opportunity to meet people with ideas on how to move their key projects forward. But don’t just take our word for it…
To discuss how GDS Summits can help you solve your project challenges contact us on: 0117 921 4000 or email sayhello@gdsgroup.com.
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