Andrew Sinclair

Disrupt or get disrupted? 👀 After a couple of days in Birmingham at the The Richmond Retail & eCommerce Directors' Forum 2024, I wanted to share some of my reflections from conversations with retailers and the keynote from Jeremy Schwartz. In a disruptive world, the ability to transform insight into actions at speed is crucial. Retailers have gathered huge data lakes, but how to use it? Jeremy emphasised that they need to build hypotheses and test what their customers want. And it's not one size fits all. Consumers shop for convenience, but convenience is contextual. Ingrid recently analysed hundreds of millions of orders in our database and saw that 34% of customers choose another shipping method when returning to the same merchant. Hence, it's important that you provide optionality to your customers while actively working with the pricing to make deliveries profitable. This can be a scary thought for some who don't want to A/B-test their delivery pricing in case a customer spots that the delivery price has changed... The alternative is that you're leaving huge amounts of money on the table. 53% of shipping costs come from the last mile. Working with your delivery offering is one of the easiest routes to becoming more profitable while giving your customers the convenience they expect. Disrupt or get disrupted, it's up to you.

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AI, a divisive topic of debate at every conference I’ve participted in this year, including #procurecon Barcelona this week. I certainly view AI as a key to help with operational workload, making more time to solve problems that demand lateral thinking with human intelligence. I guarantee there are plenty of those complex (yet fulfilling to resolve) problems in every business!

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How are you preparing your business for the rise in energy costs? Here is how Stonegate Pub Group reduced their usage by 8%, across 297 locations, from a single Centralised Data Platform.

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Is the cost of living crisis still biting? 😬 Average fill ups in the UK have been slowly dropping and are almost 5% lower now than at the turn of the year. 😲 Want to know how your sites compare? Talk to your Customer Success Manager about EdgeBenchmarking, or find out more on the link in the comments. 👇

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Hugely excited for The SME Forum (Company) - Sales and Marketing Enablement Forum in London this month, where I’ll be speaking on content strategy, compliance, and how to make a real impact. 💬 We’re energized to be part of this ‘First Things First’ agenda – I’m massively on board with the idea that businesses need to have the right groundwork in place to make the most of #AI and marketing tech, and work around a realistic roadmap with precise objectives. It’s an idea we’ve folded into our Bluprintx AI innovations since the start – we Diagnose, Design and Deliver according to your real infrastructure. Come by and I’ll help you to understand the role of compliance in a #ContentSupplyChain, and how you can create cut-through campaigns at pace when you have appropriate systems and integrations in place. Let’s keep driving this conversation forwards. If you’re attending let’s grab a coffee! #TheSMEForum https://okt.to/R07rcq

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A number of stories this week caught my attention within the #retail industry. Here are some highlights: 🇬🇧 - Reuters reported that 'the buzz is back' for John Lewis Partnership with Half Year Results showing a 2% increase in sales compared to last year, including a notable 5% rise for Waitrose & Partners https://lnkd.in/euznmidn. 🇮🇳 - Carrefour embarks on an India expansion journey by partnering with Dubai's Apparel Group. This move marks Carrefour's return to the Indian market after previously exiting in 2014. (story via Checkout Magazine) https://lnkd.in/eFhUQwme 🇯🇵 - The Financial Times reveals developments in the potential buyout of 7-Eleven by Canadian based Alimentation Couche-Tard. Despite a rejected $39B offer, discussions are underway to enhance the bid for the Japanese convenience store giant https://lnkd.in/e2FsbHUY 🇺🇸 - ALDI USA's innovative Grabango vision-based checkout technology is making waves. Progressive Grocer explores how this tech aligns seamlessly with ALDI's store footprint and shopping model, proving highly effective. https://lnkd.in/eYWB5NCj #retail #retailtechnology #groceryretail

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🔍📊 The evolving online retail landscape in the UK underscores the importance of adapting to changing consumer habits. Read the National Statistics' (ONS) most recent retail sales data research.

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UK small businesses are showcasing resilience amidst economic challenges, with a notable 1.4% increase in hiring during Q1 2024, marking the strongest growth in two years. However, while wage growth climbed to 3.3%, sales growth remained sluggish, particularly in March, influenced by an early Easter. Despite this, regions like Scotland and the North of England stood out, driving economic improvement. Read on for more: https://bit.ly/3WQR6c3 #SmallBusinessGrowth #SmallBusinessOwner #SalesGrowth

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https://lnkd.in/eEmseG2Y A really interesting read. I'm so lucky that at Reputation our GTM Leadership, Managers and Enablement are working hand in hand to execute programmes, methodologies and initiatives that will in turn drive growth for our business. As this report states “A common pitfall of leaders is failing to treat sales training as a strategic change programme when the outcome is about embedding new behaviours and habits”. I work hard to ensure this is not the case. Reputation are bought into the value of Enablement and understand the impact of strategic alignment to avoid fire-fighting, which unfortunately Enablement can so easily become.

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Looking forward to Big Data LDN tomorrow September 18th, let me know if your also around, would be great to meet in person. If you miss me or are going on Thursday then please do visit our stand to speak to our team of experts, get a Demo of Claire GPT and if you can join our Chief Architect Steven Totman at the AI discussion panel. Register now and drop by Booth X540 #Informatica #BigDataLDN #Data #AI #ClaireGPT #GenAI

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Interesting article in the Telegraph today. Despite the rise in AI and automation, per the institute of customer service, the public perception is that customer service levels are worse than ever before. With frustration from customers at not being able to speak to a real person. Utilisation of AI and automation should be used to enhance customer experience not disrupt it. Our focus is very much on blending AI with amazing people to deliver the best customer journey.

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Customers are customers. Data is Data. Whether it be selling/buying a luxury car, food, clothes etc. etc....the core principles stay the same. Worth watch this video if you have 2-3 mins and see what you think. https://lnkd.in/e3zSm36M

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In a recent post from Experian, Sarah Robertson, Director of Product UK&I for Marketing Services shares her insights on Google's recent decision to reverse its plans to deprecate third-party cookies in Chrome. Despite this change, the industry has already seen a shift towards more privacy-friendly methods for insights, targeting, and measurement. At Experian, we're at the forefront of this innovation, helping brands and agencies pivot towards new, effective strategies. Discover how we can help you navigate this evolving landscape with advanced tools like Experian Consumer Sync. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eABZ8tu9 #DigitalAdvertising #Cookies #AdTech #Experian #Marketing #ConsumerPrivacy

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Exciting News for Small Business Leaders! The UK government has just announced the launch of 'Help to Grow: Management Essentials', an online training course which aims to empower leaders of SMEs. Small businesses are vital to local economies across the UK. Supporting them to succeed is a key part of achieving the Government's goals for economic growth. Read on for more: https://bit.ly/3Wp1E1V #HelpToGrow #SmallBusiness #LeadershipDevelopment #BusinessGrowth

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Is your business doing enough to satisfy your customers? The latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) reveals a slight decline, with the score dropping to 75.8 (out of 100). Timpson Group (86.0), Nationwide Building Society (85.2), and John Lewis & Partners (85.0) are the highest-rated organisations in the July report 👏👏👏. The report highlights a growing customer demand for ethical practices and genuine care. 45% of customers are influenced by whether a company does the right thing. Meanwhile, 56% of customers feel satisfaction is shaped by how well a business understands and cares for their needs. These insights should make every business owner pause and reflect. Are you listening to your customers? Are you acting on their feedback? #CustomerExperience #CX

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