How can retailers predict the next key technology trend to go with? The short answer is most growth opportunities are right under your nose.

Some of the questions you need to ask are: Does the opportunity dramatically improve the customer experience and enhance strategic points of difference? Does the opportunity simplify the business for employees and customers alike? Are we first with the idea?

These are just seven of the key development opportunities that retailers should take advantage of.

First, the speedy convergence of the online and offline channels. Smartphone technology and penetration represent enormous opportunities to partner with customers in their daily lives, and offer a bridge between on- and offline. Who’s doing it really well? No one.

Second, while one-click checkout for bricks-and-mortar retailers is improving, it remains complex, despite the anti-fraud guarantees being made. We all want simplicity and security, but that only really comes from brand trust.

Third, retailers providing capabilities from desktop to mobile to web have not seen great results. However, digital marketers are now experiencing improved results, particularly through proximity comms between devices previously seen as only viable for payments. This represents a major revenue opportunity. Who is doing it really well? No one.

Fourth, in-store shopping experience monitoring. We know more about customers’ experience when they are online than we do when they are in stores, which is a black hole. Would you be happy with that lack of attention in a restaurant? There are motion and recognition capabilities available to help ensure that customers are receiving a great experience. We need to be trialling what the customer is comfortable with to offset pure-plays such as Amazon. Who is doing it really well? No one.

Fifth, the tactile internet. The internet of things, 5G and ‘the cloud on steroids’ – the implications for retail and consumers are only just starting to be imagined. Without doubt the consumer experience will be enhanced, but it also opens up the possibility to teach new  manual skills.

Sixth, the power of the blogger. They’re becoming a true force and can be a brand advocate or threat. Every retailer needs a strategy for them.

Seventh, convenience. Millennials are increasing in influence and they want convenience and value at every touchpoint. Of note is the ever-rising bar being set in fulfilment – and doing that at an acceptable cost to the retailer.

In all of this, some things are critical. You need well-trained staff, genuinely involved in seeking better ways to improve customer experience and who are listened to. They are vital: the ‘secret sauce’ in this new technological shopkeeping era.

Technology is not a silver bullet – great product is, and always will be. For technological answers, retailers need not build capabilities themselves but can form partnerships with those who have the same cultural values in order to gain speed to market such as MetaPack, Anatwine and Eagle Eye.

Finally what’s needed is the courage to try new things and make mistakes. The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley, a charity of which I am a trustee, and the home of Colossus – the world’s first programmable computer, built in 1944 – is the benchmark of what this country can achieve.

People who have inspired me

  • Philip Green, Arcadia
  • Sir Charles Dunstone, Carphone Warehouse
  • Roger Taylor, Carphone Warehouse
  • Brad Anderson, Best Buy
  • Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco
  • Bob Willett is the former co-chief executive of Best Buy International