Wednesday 19 March 2025 | Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch, London
Customer Experience Debate 2025 Agenda
Meet our host – Ruchira Neotia, brand storyteller and consultant
Kasey Swithenbank, UK&I head of retail, Lush
Ersel Gokman, CEO, BuyBuddy
Sit back as we delve into the current challenges and opportunities of high street transformation, from business rates to IRL brand experiences. We’ll explore how Westminster City Council’s Meanwhile On programme evolved from a covid-led initiative to a long-term strategy to revive the high street – and the most compelling lessons and benefits along the way. As we dive into how brands such as By Rotation, Beauty Pie, Love Cocoa and beyond made the move from digital-first to IRL, and the experiences that brought the brands to life, we’ll also outline the leadership needed to tackle current challenges facing physical retail.
In conversation with…
John Abbate, Activations Programme Lead, Meanwhile On @ Westminster City Council
& Helen Dickinson, CEO, British Retail Consortium
Hear from: Mike Dowson, Trust Systems
& Andrew Broster, founder and CEO, Evexi
12:25 | PANEL DISCUSSION
The personal touch: connecting with changing mindsets for customer-centric experiences
• Keeping on top of what matters to ever-evolving customers to create a captivating, relevant retail experience: where do you start and how critical are these behavioural insights to experience?
• Data as the gold dust of experience: is AI the only way to effectively capture insights for next-level customer centricity?
• Is hyper-personalisation redefining the retail/customer relationship? How do you truly elevate the omnichannel experience to shape an emotional connection, from contextually-relevant comms to meaningful loyalty rewards?
Confirmed panellists:
Jay Lansdown, experimentation lead, New Look
Georgie White, chief customer officer, Holland & Barrett
Amanda Yu, director of customer experience, Ocado
14:00 | THINK TANK DEEP DIVE 1:
Aligning talent & tech: unlock the potential of your teams and deliver ‘wow’ moments for customers
Future-proof your business through teams that understand – and deliver on – outstanding, memorable retail customer experience in a tech-driven world.
Kayleigh Fazan, founder, The International Retail Academy
Hosted by: Ruchira Neotia, brand storyteller and consultant
14:00 | THINK TANK DEEP DIVE 2:
Have we forgotten what stores should look and feel like? Stepping back to look forward
Dive into why store layout and product curation is still relevant to experience – and how tech can complement (rather than complicate) this. Ensure your physical strategy underpins the basics of what retail consumers want.
Jack Stratten, head of trends, Insider Trends
Moe Krimat, director of creative and strategy, Seen Studios
Hosted by: Lee Kenny, editor, Marketing Beat
14:00 | THINK TANK DEEP DIVE 3:
Shaping loyalty through
experience: innovatively incentivising customers
Identify effective ways to leverage intelligent promotions and personalised incentives; capture and understand customer data and engagement; and build meaningful connections and loyalty.
Tash Grossman, founder & CEO, Slip
Michelle Miller, head of client insight, Shepper
Hosted by: Georgia Wright,
news editor, Retail Gazette
Shaping your brand approach to experience: cutting through online
Whilst physical retail is undoubtedly a valuable way to shape experience and connect with consumers, online retail can also enable brands to deliver outstanding customer experience. By delivering on consumer needs from value to sustainability, innovation and beyond, join us to explore how Beauty Pie’s members have the experience of discovering – and helping to develop – ‘luxury products at affordable prices’ from a primarily online vantage point.
Rose Dyer, head of project portfolio and ESG, Beauty Pie
Followed by audience Q&A
Martin Ward, head of software, Toshiba
16:10 | CLOSING PANEL
CX 4.0: harnessing game changing innovation to captivate consumers at every touchpoint
• Who is seamlessly bringing the customer experience to life, and what can we learn from that to propel retail experiences to the next level?
• How can tech enable you to link the consumer need to game changing experience at every interaction? What works? What doesn’t?
• What could – or should – retail’s future look like? Which emerging tech and groundbreaking innovations would shape the future of seamless retail experiences and consumer connections?
Confirmed panellists:
Lewis Day, customer strategy and value proposition director, Currys
Richard McPhee, solutions director, Gamma
Roma Swords-McDonnell, commercial creative director, Merlin Entertainment
16:50 | CLOSING COMMENTS
We’ll sum up the day before post-event drinks. Join us in the Jailhouse Bar!