With heightened market volatility, global headwinds, and ever-evolving consumer needs, the ability to problem-solve is a key indicator of success among retail leaders.
The second day of the Online Retailer expo saw a line-up of seasoned executives walk the audience through some of their careers’ toughest challenges and how they overcame them.
Online-assisted shopping
New Zealand’s The Warehouse Group found that over 70 per cent of its store sales were online-assisted, which was four times more valuable than if customers went directly to purchase in-store.
Hannah Russell, GM of omnichannel experience, said it was crucial to build a unified customer identity by augmenting all data channels, including online memberships and credit card information, to have a comprehensive understanding of the majority of the group’s customers.
Russell said the group’s app was the “bridge between digital and physical”, and was modified to include features to support the store journey, such as price scanners and product reviews, a digital wallet, chatbot support, gamification and rewards.
The app, which has been downloaded over 2 million times, increased online-assisted store sales by 6 per cent and led to a 3.3 per cent year-over-year increase in store conversions.
The gamification of the app made The Warehouse Group more competitive and led to increased app revenue, engagement and downloads.
Russell recommended using targeted promotional periods to “move customers from consideration to purchase” and using retail media and online personalisation to create cohesion in a brand’s storytelling.
Leteesha Serzycki, head of digital and e-commerce at Chemist Warehouse, said that between 60 and 70 per cent of its customers researched products online before shopping in-store, driving 85 per cent of all sales.
Serzycki said combining retail media networks with online channels would be key – it would provide opportunities for suppliers to promote their brands in key promotional periods, while allowing the parent brand to generate sales for suppliers and itself.
“We’re really focused on getting retailers future-ready by focusing on three key consumer-facing areas,” said Hayley MacKay, director of Google Cloud.
The first of these is through assisted search, leading to better product discovery for customers, hyperpersonalisation with multi-modal AI, and the company’s Agentic AI feature, which moves “from not just generative, into these really assisted shopping experiences.”
MacKay stated that retailers needed highly reliable and scalable infrastructure, especially during high sales periods.
She recommended brands bring together all types of data like ERP, marketing and CRM, to identify real-time data and insights.
“People bring that data together and it sits there, but people aren’t utilising it for real-time data decision making or one-to-one real-time personalisation,” said Mackay.
Troubleshooting tariffs
With constant changes in tariffs implemented by the US government, businesses saw a tumultuous start to the year.
Becca Stren, co-founder and creative director of Mustard Made, said that customers seemed to have misconceptions about who was impacted by tariffs, thinking it was only China being affected, when most businesses were absorbing costs, delaying customers from having to deal with the impacts of the tariffs.
Ben Hare, director and COO of Tinyme, said having a diverse supply chain was pivotal in Tinyme’s ability to deliver to its customers, given nearly half the company’s sales came from offshore.
The company decided to hike prices on products that would be heavily impacted by the changes in tariffs, discouraging customers from buying them.
By tightening up its US subsidiary, Tinyme was able to charge wholesale prices to customers, who didn’t need to pay tariff costs.
Steve Ramsay, chief of sales and marketing at Jamie Kay, said that dynamic decision-making was key to handling unforeseen global disruptions — whether changes in policy, currency fluctuations, or wars — which he achieved by maintaining reliable relationships with suppliers and having adequate technology to execute necessary changes to supply chains quickly.
“It’s a lot of whiplash,” said Stern of the global impacts of tariffs on her business, “we’ve learnt that there will be a next challenge and that is the job.”
Revitalising businesses
Former Woolworths and Myer executive Bernie Brookes AM called for businesses to champion dynamic CEOs to ensure their success – someone who can adapt to change quickly, is digitally savvy and can communicate with their team.
He shared his ‘100-day mindset’, a process he follows as he begins a new role.
“The 100-day mindset is very much about getting the plan and delivering on the plan,” said Brookes. “I run focus groups with staff, with customers and with suppliers, because they know what the problems are.”
He then puts the intel into a report, which then becomes his operating plan.
Brookes advised businesses to ensure they are measuring each solution, saying, “you’re not gonna manage anything unless you can measure it”.
He recommended ‘fanatical simplicity’ and cost control – cutting down on the bureaucracy that leads to people seeking more resources, and aggressively cutting costs.
“You can always buy better,” he said.
According to Brookes, raising capital for brick-and-mortar businesses has become an increasingly challenging task, with investors more likely to allocate resources to online retailing and emerging models like AI.
In such cases, Brookes said spotlighting the quality of people, historical business numbers, a defined strategy, and a well-developed marketing plan become crucial aspects to focus on.
