On day one of the Retail Business Technology Expo 2014 ( “RBTE “, March 11-12, 2014 in London UK), Earl’s Court was abuzz with energy, as retailers and technology providers shared ideas about the merging of the digital and physical worlds in retail. The source of that buzz is the fact that consumers now routinely use mobile digital devices to inform their shopping decisions both before and while in the store, while retailers are struggling to catch up to these new shopping behaviors.

There is no question that the entire global retail industry is at a proverbial “fork in the road “, one way leading to future success and the other leading to irrelevancy. It is also clear that consumers, not retailers, are defining the rules of the road. And because the change is being driven by consumer adoption of technology, it’s happening much faster than most companies have been prepared to deal with.

That was the central them of RBTE 2014 – that retailers need to innovate in both the digital and physical worlds, and where they join – in the world of consumer mobile. As it has been at the NRF “Big Show ” for the last few years, RBTE was primarily focused on the “selling ” – customer-facing – side of the retail operational model. A fair amount of focus was also on the importance of all the “big data ” that is generated by consumers’ digitally enabled paths to purchase, and how proactive analysis of that data can drive next generation marketing. But little was discussed in any of the three concurrent conference theatre sessions about the supply chain implications of omni-channel retailing. As with the NRF event, RSR expects that the focus will change to the supply chain as retailers advance their efforts to synchronize the digital and physical selling environments.

The Power Panel: Are Retailers Daunted or Inspired?

The debate about whether or not changes in the retail environment are real or not seems to be over, as was evidenced by a “power panel ” discussion at RBTE 2014. The panel consisted of Andrew Harrison, CEO of Carphone Warehouse, Steven Esom, Chair of Thrive and Product Chain, Peter Williams, non-executive director at Rightmove and Cineworld Group, and David Wilde, CEO of Domino’s Pizza Group. The panelists collectively have years of experience at Waitrose, Walmart, ASOS, Selfridges, Tesco, and Marks & Spencer – a virtual “A ” list of UK retailers. And one thing they all agreed on was the retailers must put customers at the forefront of their strategies. The question is (as Mr. Wilde put it), are retailers “daunted or inspired ” by empowered consumers today?

A key to moving from “daunted ” to “inspired ” is to use the data being generated by consumers’ digital paths to purchase as they search for and select goods to meet their lifestyle needs, to move from a “weekly KPI ” operational mindset to one that is to-the-minute (as Mr. Esom desribed). Wilde expanded the idea, saying that using data for foresight rather than hindsight is “gold “.

Another key to future success is in accepting that “millennials ” have a fundamentally different view of technology than their parents do. In fact, Peter Williams asserted that “if you’re over 40, you’re too old to understand ” (ironic, since every person on the panel was well over that apparently fatal age). I couldn’t help but to think of my granddaughter (yes, I’m well over 40 too!) at 14 months couldn’t talk, but could play a game on an iPad.

The Need for Digital Directors

The profound underlying truth is that while people continue to enjoy shopping, how they shop has fundamentally changed. Nowadays consumers investigate and make their selections in the digital domain, and it’s up to retailers to learn how to extend their brand value well beyond the physical borders of their stores. To facilitate the changes necessary to make that happen, the power panel recommended that retailers have digitally-aware boards of directors. One way to accomplish that (short of packing the board with millennials) is to have a “digital director ” to every meeting of the decision-making body. Such a person would ideally have as media background and be under 40.

So although the power panel consisted of veterans of the industry with (probably) at least 100 years of collective experience, the future belongs to the young. That at least is the same as it has always been.

Meanwhile, in the Payment Theatre

Although “payments ” is just one aspect of the interaction between retailers and consumers, it’s an important one for retailers to care about again as consumers use their mobile devices more than ever as a part of their shopping experience. And it was clear from attendance at the RBTE sessions on mobile payments that they want to get it right in the new mobile-enabled consumer age. Presentations by PayPal, VISA, Amazon, and MasterCard were well attended, and those companies explained their offerings in the context of the mobile-enabled consumer.

One of the more interesting sessions at the show was the “Innovation Panel Discussion “, with Steve Rothwell, CEO of Eagle Eye Solutions (a company that offers digital coupons/voucher management for both retailer and product multi-retailer campaigns), Kebbie Sebastian, Managing Director of Penser Consulting (a specialist consulting firm focused on the payments industry), and David Baker, Head of Payment Innovations Unit for the UK Cards Association. The question before the panel was, “is mobile payment at a tipping point? “

The answer was a qualified “yes “. Panelists noted that the last five years have seen an acceleration of new payment options, not from the issuing banks, but from acquiring merchants (retailers) and by new intermediaries (for example, Square). But the panelists stressed that although mobile payment capabilities create new value to retailers by virtue of all the rich data that such capabilities creates, there must be new value to the consumer to gain market traction. After all, explained Steve, “what’s easier than waving your card or wallet over a contactless reader? ” He went on to explain that with all the challenges of a “mobile wallet ” (wireless connectivity in the stores, signing on to the network, entering card and personal data into the app, etc.) there has to be something special for consumers before they will put up with the relative complexity of mobile (compared to a card).

David pointed out that mobile’s real value is that it “connects two worlds – the retailer and the consumer “. That position is very similar to the one that we at RSR have taken, which is that mobile is the “glue ” that connects the digital and the physical selling environments together into one (hopefully) harmonized shopping experience. In that context, mobile payments are inevitable – because mobile is already helping consumers connect with retailers as they investigate products and services, check prices and reviews, and even make their selections. Why not take it the rest of the way?

And so as retailers are pondering the question “Why mobile payments? “, the real question perhaps is “Why NOT mobile payments? ” Once the issues identified in the answer to that question are resolved, consumer acceptance of mobile payment options should happen. And the collective wisdom at RBTE 2014 is that it will happen very soon.

Retail is Truly Global

It is invariably the case that when I get the opportunity to visit other countries and talk to retailers about their challenges, I am reminded that there are as many (or more!) similarities as differences between my home country and the one that I’m visiting. The profound truth about the digitally enabled world is that it doesn’t observe national borders very well. People everywhere like to shop and they want relevancy in the choices available to them. Although there are differences in the priority of what retailers need to do to deliver relevant solutions to their markets, the overall “list ” of to-do’s looks remarkably similar no matter where you go. Of course, there are also legal, regulatory, and cultural issues that must be observed (for example, the issues associated with payments vary greatly by nation and culture).

And so I’ll keep venturing out, wherever the road goes. And maybe once in awhile I’ll be able to sneak out for a few hours to take pleasure in the local sights. This time, it was a lovely late afternoon walk around Parliament and Westminster Abbey – as beautiful as it always has been!