Stories about innovation

The customer contact landscape has undergone a substantial transformation. The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in natural language processing (NLP) and generative AI, has reshaped the customer contact landscape in ways that seemed futuristic just one year ago. This prompted us to revisit and update our research, resulting in our new Customer Contact 3.0 report. 

We’ve distilled the key takeaways from the Retail Jam 2024 into four main themes: Ethical Sourcing & Sustainability, AI & Digital Transformation, Omnichannel Strategies, and Customer Insights & Engagement. To put each point into context with what we’re seeing on the Innovation Advisory side of True, Danielle Le Toullec (Head of Marketing at True) interviews Gursh Mendhir (Innovation Principal).

In light of London Tech Week, we hosted an evening of drinks, canapes and insights that brought together leaders from the retail, consumer, and technology sectors. There was a dynamic panel discussion on corporate innovation with industry experts, Clare Forbes, Director of Technology at Fortnum & Mason, Farrukh Hassain, Investment Director at Sony Innovation Fund, Omar Hassan, Managing Director of Global Growth Hub, moderated by Danielle Le Toullec, Head of Growth & Marketing at True.

Retail, both in the UK and globally, has transformed rapidly in recent years from a business primarily focused on real-world interactions to one led by technology. The latest stage of the industry’s digital acceleration is coming from the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies. Owen Eddershaw, Innovation Associate at True, comments on adaptive AI in the latest Retail Week report, AI Adopters.

By 2030, environmental and social impact will be the core factors dictating consumer behaviours for purchasing decisions and personal actions. Sustainability and responsibility will be non-negotiable for retail propositions. Businesses will need to fundamentally change existing linear business models by adopting resale, rental, repair and recycling initiatives where appropriate.

Explore key insights from True's "Reimagining Agtech: Transforming the Future of Food" event, where industry leaders convened to discuss the urgent need for systemic change within our food systems. Delve into the challenges and opportunities identified in agtech adoption, the economic impacts of current practices, and the vital role of innovation and government support in shaping a sustainable future.

Our Head of Marketing, Danielle Le Toullec, dives into the key themes that dominated WRC this year, from embracing customer-centricity to the importance of innovative leadership, having a clear vision of transformation, championing innovation and sustainability, omnichannel strategies and AI's expanding role in retail.

Are we witnessing a revolution in retail media? Innovation Associate, Owen Eddershaw explores this question in a discussion with Troy Townsend, Co-founder & CEO of Zitcha - the all-channel retail and commerce media technology platform.

The True team is back from Shoptalk Las Vegas after a packed week of insightful panel discussions, meetings with brands and technology businesses, as well as connecting with our US corporate partners. Our Innovation Principal, Jamie Campbell, explores this year's major themes.

Our innovation analysts share their selection of the top tech startups that exhibited at Smart Retail Tech Expo and why they stood out.

To explore the major shift in the consumer data landscape and what retailers and brands should be doing in response, we sat down with StJohn Deakins, Founder and CEO of DataSapien, a company developing technology that delivers hyper-personalisation while prioritising data privacy and compliance.

Two years ago, retailers across the sector were developing or showing an interest in metaverse experiences. Retail Week asks why enthusiasm has waned and what the future holds for immersive tech.

With retail crime making the headlines, tech companies are coming up with inventive ways to tackle the problem. From security robots to AI camera systems, we partner up with Retail Week to look at four innovative tech solutions to the increasing problem of retail crime.

From supplier negotiations to store operations, AI offers retailers the chance to reap big benefits, believes Matt Truman

We chat to Orlando Ribas, Co-Founder of Fashable, a proprietary AI generated fashion technology that helps brands reduce the time spent on research, design, and content creation, while limiting the possibility of copyright infringements and allowing designers the time to focus on high-added-value tasks.

By 2030, the average consumer will have creative capabilities beyond what is possible even for large numbers of specialists today. We see the 'consumer as creator' trend as an enabler for three key opportunity areas: the empowerment of consumer creativity, peer-to-peer services, and the democratisation of influence.

As a future-focused partner for the consumer industry, we’re constantly navigating the intersection of consumer behaviour shifts and emerging technology. That’s why we partnered with TheIndustry.fashion to host an event centred around the topic of ‘The Connected Store’, bringing together key decision-makers from brands and retailers to gain practical advice on how to deliver a true, seamless omnichannel retail experience.

Liverpool ONE is looking for innovative solutions to further elevate the customer experience to ensure the open-air destination is a must-visit for those who love to shop, eat, drink, be entertained and relax.

In today's ever-evolving advertising landscape, retail media networks are making waves. As Helen Thomas mentioned in the FT this morning, "the idea of 'retail media' is an old one." As the adage goes, everything old is new again, however this time round, the difference is how digital has unlocked new areas of growth.

There are countless factors currently affecting online retailers. From trying to navigate the post-Covid decline in ecommerce penetration to the wider retail landscape facing a storm of downward-demand and supply-side pressures. Innovation Analyst, Molly Walsh, has delved into the world of online customer retention. She has identified five key aspects of the customer journey and how retailers can utilise technology to prevent customer abandonment online.

We've expanded our innovation offering to include a new proposition - Amplify - designed to democratise access to innovation advisory for growing consumer businesses (£15m+ revenue yearly).

This week, London Tech Week took over the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Victoria. This blog delves deeper into one of the key themes - digital and AI, highlighting the imperative for corporates to embrace digital transformation, prioritise mental health, and foster a culture of innovation.

The True Innovation team have been busy immersing itself in the world of retail technology surrounded by some of the most exciting brands and vendors in the industry; this time, it was Shoptalk Europe. Mike Tattersall and Jamie Campbell flew to Barcelona talk all things digital innovation in the retail and consumer industry at Europe’s biggest retail conference.

There are several macro trends currently affecting the workforce. Whether employee or employer, everyone is trying to negotiate post pandemic working. Innovation Analyst, Robyn Wilson has spent the last three months diving into the world of employee engagement and has identified four key workplace areas that can be enhanced through innovation to improve retention, engagement and output.

ShopTalk Las Vegas is a space where the most influential brands, and the rising stars, unite to develop connections, have conversations, learn insights and reimagine the future together. Here are our top three takeaways from this year's event.