It is easy to get excited about the latest tech innovations, but retailers need the right people and culture to deliver digital strategies.

What single element of a retail business is going to make the biggest difference to its digital future?

From the tactile internet to cognitive computing, crowdsourcing to design thinking, it is easy to get swept up in the excitement of a future fuelled by technology, new ways of creating value and all the opportunities they present.

That future was highlighted in two jam-packed days this week as Retail Week hosted its annual Tech & Ecomm conference, its second annual 24-hour Hackathon and its celebration of young talent, The Rising Stars Awards.

But for all the talk of technology, John Roberts, the chief executive of Ao.com summed up the most important aspect of retail when he argued: “The single biggest thing in any business that makes the difference is the people.”

“As innovation transforms retail, too much focus on the technology rather than people is one of the biggest barriers to a digital future”

Chris Brook-Carter

The vision of a technology-driven, customer-centric future is one thing, but time and again the debate among the tech and ecommerce leaders returned to the ongoing challenges of delivering it through people, organisation and, particularly, culture.

Business culture can feel like a nebulous concept, but at its simplest it is how people think and act in a company every day. And that culture is driven by a strong and shared sense of purpose across a retail organisation.

At retailers such as Asda, House of Fraser, Boots and John Lewis there have been bold statements of intent over the past 12 months about creating that purpose through large-scale reorganisations.

A strong culture, which these days often has the changes wrought by technology at its heart, can be fostered in very practical ways.

It was fascinating to hear a panel of technology leaders from White Stuff and Waitrose talk at the conference about how to bridge the gap between IT and commercial teams using approaches such as buddy systems that pair IT experts with executives from other parts of the business.

It may seem a strange argument to make in a digital world, but nonetheless it is true. As innovation transforms retail, too much focus on the technology rather than people is one of the biggest barriers to a digital future.

Results themes

While some consistent themes emerged from the ‘Super Thursday’ updates, the divergence between winners and losers showed that concluding how the retail industry is doing overall is difficult to call.

Polarisation has been a consistent theme in retail for some time and, as the golden quarter nears, it is likely to remain the case.

Talking to industry leaders, it is clear conditions are challenging for many, including some who are doing well.

Although the recession has been left behind, it often doesn’t feel like it. This year’s peak-period will be a nail-biter and success will be dependent on being at the top of the game.