Retail sales in the UK are experiencing a decline year on year due to soaring inflation. According to the Office of National Statistics, sales are 17% higher in value terms compared to pre-pandemic, but volumes are 3% lower as inflation weighs on demand. These dynamic market challenges are encouraging retailers to:

• Embrace agile business models
  Retailers are embracing flexible business models and new digital technologies to meet customer demands for convenience and seamless experiences.

• Engage with customers in any location via omnichannel integration
  Retailers are modernising their marketing and communications strategy as they seek to engage with their customers wherever they are via multiple messaging channels, or in-store, through the metaverse with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) ‘3D Internet’ experiences.

• Offer personalised experiences 
  Consumer data is becoming increasingly important, enabling retailers to create incremental advertising revenue through personalised offers and loyalty schemes, aligned to the needs of their customers.

Retailers must embrace the latest digital solutions to help them gain a competitive advantage as consumer needs evolve.

This is where we can provide added value. As the UK’s leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications, related secure digital products, solutions and services, and retail stores, we’ve been serving the UK’s retail sector for 18 years, connecting 60,000 retail locations across the country.

We provide connectivity and innovation for the UK’s most successful retailers - supporting 9 out of 10 of the UK's top retailers. It means we have a unique and powerful perspective. We live and breathe the current challenges facing the retail sector - and embrace future opportunities.

Our recently published ‘Future of Retail’ whitepaper (PDF) explores how smart technology choices can transform operations, customer experiences and sustainability, helping retailers stay ahead of the competition.

We have a suite of digital products and solutions that can help retailers enhance customer experience and engagement, including Smart Messaging, AR and VR.

Smart Messaging is an easy way of managing your two-way conversations across a wide choice of channels, all through a single, cloud-based platform. 

This solution elevates your customer experience, allowing you to evolve your communications in step with your customers. It lets you provide Rich Messaging for those customers who can receive it, at the same time as finding more impactful ways of using SMS, like sharing personalised promotions or click and collect notifications.

In May 2023, we launched our Immersive Spaces solution, creating the UK’s first 5G-enabled interactive simulation experience. Launched in partnership with Immersive Interactive Ltd, it simulates real-life environments within an internal or external room, or mobile unit – to create an interactive immersive experience.

The fully immersive rooms are connected to our reliable, high-performance EE mobile network, using cameras and HD projectors to bring 360° content to life across the space’s walls and floor. 

Inside the space, customers can experience real-life or imagined scenarios in detail, and add interactive elements – virtually transporting themselves into simulated environments, augmented with lights, sounds, and even smells. 

With retailers relying on pop-up stores and other experiential strategies to create unique and immersive shopping experiences that attract customers and build brand awareness, the Immersive Spaces solution can facilitate this and position retailers as relevant and forward thinking.