NBK RetailPaul Wilkinson, Product Director at Deliveroo and former Tesco and Amazon exec, joins Natalie to discuss retail technology trends.
They explore the evolution of quick commerce, why Deliveroo won’t chase 15-minute delivery and moving into non-food to “bring the whole high street to the customer”.
Other topics covered include: learnings from the restaurant sector, supermarket collaboration, voice commerce and frictionless checkout.
Former Tesco director and Nisa CEO Ken Towle joins Natalie on the podcast to discuss:
• The retail and consumer outlook.
• Why shrinkflation is not always a bad thing.
• His experience running Nisa during the pandemic.
• From self-checkouts to generative AI – how technology is changing the way we shop for food.
• Grocery e-commerce and the importance of collaboration.
• Lessons from his time as Tesco China CEO.
Wonderful to have Nick Bubb on the podcast this week. We discuss:
🎄 Christmas trading results – winners and losers.
💻 Why electricals retailing is poised for a comeback in 2024.
📉 What JD Sports’ and Burberry’s profit warnings tell us about the state of retail.
🛍 What went wrong at John Lewis and whether Peter Ruis can revive the brand.
👗 Frasers’ stake-building strategy – what is the end game for Asos and Boohoo?
🛒 Supermarket switching and the importance of physical stores in food retail.
TLDL: skip to 26 minutes to hear 3 reasons why Currys is Nick’s tip of 2024. Last year, he picked Marks & Spencer so I’d listen up!
Chris Noice, Communications Director at the Association of Convenience Stores, joins Natalie to discuss Britain’s shoplifting epidemic. They explore:
George Nott, Technology Editor at The Grocer, joins Natalie to discuss the evolution of quick commerce. They examine the latest Uber Eats / Getir collaboration, how traditional supermarkets are responding to the quick commerce trend and whether the world is ready for AI-powered conversational shopping experiences.
Fun Fact: Did you know ‘getir’ means ‘bring’ in Turkish?
“We hate Amazon. They’ll bully us and do horrible things to us. They’ll use us, we don’t want anything to do with them.” -Iceland Managing Director, 2018
Fast forward five years…
This morning Amazon UK announced that frozen food specialist Iceland will begin selling groceries on its platform. In this episode, Natalie explores the rationale behind Iceland’s shift in strategy and why Amazon is expanding its relationship with third party supermarkets like Morrisons, Co-op and now Iceland.
Amazon may need the grocery industry but does the grocery industry need Amazon? Let’s explore.
Richard Hammond, CEO of Uncrowd and fellow retail author, joins Natalie to explore the differences in US and UK grocery retailing. Why have British retailers failed to crack the American market? When is it ok to have friction? Automation – how can retailers balance customer satisfaction and operational efficiencies? And what is the risk of deprioritizing CX investment in the current climate?
Listen to the end to hear Richard’s own experience of being stuck in self-checkout jail.
Are the UK supermarkets profiteering? Food price inflation remains stubbornly high at 18.4% – its highest level since the 1970s – and now lawmakers want to understand if the supermarkets are lining their pockets at the expense of the shopper. In this episode, Natalie shares her views on why the grocers aren’t guilty of greedflation: they have no choice but to remain price competitive, while simultaneously doing everything in their power to protect their inherently low profit margins. Harvir Dhillon, Economist at the British Retail Consortium, joins the show to explore some of the cost pressures that retailers are facing, whether inflation has now peaked, and why a supermarket price cap is a bad idea.