{"id":114348,"date":"2026-03-07T11:36:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T14:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/897837540"},"modified":"2026-03-07T11:36:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T14:36:40","slug":"retail-technology-show-preview-river-island-on-unified-journeys-modern-stores-and-the-next-wave-of-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/07\/retail-technology-show-preview-river-island-on-unified-journeys-modern-stores-and-the-next-wave-of-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"Retail Technology Show preview: River Island on unified journeys, modern stores and the next wave of AI"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There\u2019s no doubt that retail is at a pivotal point, battered by headwinds from all directions \u2013 rising costs, new legislation, disappearing footfall, and rapidly changing markets, to name but a few. Many retailers are looking to technology to provide some, if not all, of the solutions, and it\u2019s against this backdrop that the Retail Technology Show (RTS) will open its doors on 22\u201323 April at ExCel London. During a special RTS press day, leaders from across fashion, beauty, sport and hospitality offered a snapshot of how rapidly the retail landscape is evolving.<\/p>\n

Chaired by Giles Smith, former digital director at Burberry and Selfridges, the panel brought together Meriel Neighbour, global transformation director at River Island; Ana Machado da Silva, VP of digital product at Pentland Brands; Will Lockie, ecommerce director at luxury skincare brand Noble Panacea; Jim Hingston, digital & tech director at Azzurri Group; and Yathu Kanagaratnam, head of technology & AI at Goddiva. Each shared insights on customer expectations, operational pressures and the accelerating pace of technological change \u2013 setting the scene for a show that promises to be one of the most forward\u2011looking yet.<\/p>\n

In this context, Meriel Neighbour spoke exclusively to InternetRetailing to provide a clear perspective on digital transformation for a major fashion retailer and why the coming years are critical.<\/p>\n

Repositioning River Island for relevance and growth<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s no secret that River Island has faced significant challenges in recent years, including declining footfall and competition from ultra-fast fashion retailers. The company is now reshaping its business as it enters the next phase of a long-term restructuring programme<\/a>; this includes streamlining its store portfolio, updating commercial agreements with landlords, and securing new investment to support transformation. Leadership changes are also afoot, with Ben Lewis returning as CEO in 2025, and Antony Smith stepping down as CFO in January.<\/p>\n

While technology is essential to River Island\u2019s turnaround, Neighbour stresses the need to establish strong fundamentals first. \u201cRiver Island has been through a bit of a journey in the last 18 months,\u201d she says. \u201cAs much as we want to enable everything through technology, the business needs to understand its sense of direction. We\u2019ve been doing a lot of work to understand our customers, what\u2019s relevant for them, and how we service that. There\u2019s a big strategic move in terms of what that looks like, the impact across all departments in the business, and then how technology can enable it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This strategic shift focuses on increasing relevance across more customer occasions \u2013 an evolution rather than a rebrand. \u201cWe\u2019re not changing the concept of River Island as a mid-range brand at all. What we are doing is identifying more of the occasions our customers want to shop with us for, so we become relevant to those occasions,\u201d she says. \u201cYou don\u2019t just come to us for workwear; you\u2019ll come to us for an evening out, for a special event, for your kids when you start to have them, and for your husbands as well. It\u2019s that evolution we\u2019re focused on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unified commerce as the next competitive frontier<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A seamless shopping experience across all touchpoints, from app to web to store, is central to River Island\u2019s strategy. \u201cFrom a customer-journey and technology point of view, we know we have social commerce, an app, a mobile site, a website, and stores, and as we move forward, technology will enable us elsewhere through marketplaces,\u201d Neighbour explains. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to make sure that journey is totally connected. I should be able to start my shopping journey, and the technology is there all the way through.\u201d<\/p>\n

She points to the seamlessness already visible in parts of the global market. \u201cStart your purchase online on the train, and then as you go past the store what\u2019s in your basket can be picked up there, or you can buy it and have it sitting at your desk by the time you get to work. All of that technology exists, but for River Island we now need to invest to enable that unified journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

This investment is underway, with River Island\u2019s turnaround supported by \u00a340 million in new funding from Blue Coast Capital. \u201cHaving gone through the changes of the last 18 months, we now have new investment and we\u2019re at the start of our technology journey,\u201d Neighbour says. \u201cIt\u2019s probably at least a three-to-five-year end-to-end programme, and we know that as we go through those three to five years, technology will change again. But we\u2019ve started that journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of that includes a more agile product model. \u201cThat gives us speed to market so we can remain relevant for our customers and deliver freshness, without becoming ultra-fast fashion. We\u2019ll move beyond rigid autumn\/winter or spring\/summer cycles into a more continuous cycle of freshness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stores still matter \u2013 especially with better tech<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Although River Island is shuttering many of its stores<\/a>, Neighbour is clear that physical retail remains crucial. Evolution, however, is essential. \u201cWe absolutely believe there is a place for stores in the future. We\u2019re investing in looking at those stores, at the throughput and flow, and upgrading them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

RFID technology will enhance the in-store experience: \u201cIn-store, that means you can go into a changing room and you don\u2019t have to leave it if you need a different size or colour; it can be brought directly to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

And for younger customers, shops aren\u2019t just transactional places \u2013 they\u2019re experiential. \u201cThe new generation shops differently: they want that experience. Some of it we can create through social commerce and influencers online, but the question is how we bring that into the store \u2013 how we use technology and service together to create that added\u2011value, personalised experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

AI and virtual try\u2011on: the next wave<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Neighbour sees AI\u2011driven personalisation and virtual try\u2011on as major near\u2011term shifts. \u201cPeople want added value in the experience,\u201d she says. \u201cSome of it is around technology \u2013 virtual try\u2011on, for example, to reduce the amount of returns. That kind of technology is out there and will become more prolific over the next few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAI is going to change the way people shop as it comes into the UK from the US over the next six months,\u201d she adds, noting that retailers must invest carefully: \u201cWe need to make sure we invest in the right things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stay informed<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Our editor carefully curates two newsletters a week filled with up-to-date news, analysis and research. <\/em>Click here to subscribe to the FREE newsletter sent straight to your inbox<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. Why not <\/em>follow us on LinkedIn <\/em><\/strong><\/a>to receive the latest updates on our research and analysis?<\/em><\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… tech<\/span> director at Azzurri Group; and Yathu Kanagaratnam, head of technology<\/span> … to enable everything through technology<\/span>, the business needs to … From a customer-journey and technology<\/span> point of view, … ,\u00e2\u0080\u009d she says. RFID technology<\/span> will enhance the in-store …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114348\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}