Joining the big conversations from the FT Future of Retail Summit

This year, EE is proud to be the strategic sponsor of the FT’s Future of Retail Conference. We know that UK retail has always demanded exceptional resilience, but the current trading landscape presents a uniquely complex balancing act. 

Retail leaders are navigating a persistent squeeze on margins, driven by rising costs, intense price competition with consumer demand and growth remaining sluggish. But through every cycle of disruption, the core truth of commerce hasn’t changed: success relies upon good products, fair pricing and long-term customer trust. 

As retail leaders plan for 2027, they face the huge challenge of how to fund modernisation and build capability without eroding profitability. 

This demands we focus on addressing business challenges rather than chasing technology innovation for its own sake. The question is no longer, “Where should we use AI?” It’s “Which interventions will measurably protect margins, improve inventory availability, raise productivity and boost customer lifetime value – and can we do them safely and at scale?” 

EE is a technology business, but every conversation starts by understanding your commercial reality, friction points and unmet customer needs. Technology is only as valuable as the business problem it solves and the customer experience it improves. 

Ahead of the conference, we’re publishing a seven-part blog series that examines some of the critical challenges facing retail: 

• Reimagining physical retail – what do the experiences of leading retail brands tell us about how high street and out-of-town retail experiences are evolving? 
• The new security imperative – exploring how to safeguard profitability with smart cyber-resilience and security strategies 
• Operational efficiency – unpacking how predictive analytics, automated replenishment and end-to-end stock visibility can reduce waste and optimise working capital 
• The rise of agentic commerce – cutting through the hype to understand how agents will fundamentally shift the path to purchase. 
• Loyalty and personalisation – How can retailers build genuine value beyond generic discounts? 
• The unified customer experience – how retailers can eradicate friction across challenges without having a presence everywhere 
• Defining the 2027 playbook – we bring together the strategic priorities for the coming year, balancing cost, governance, sustainability and capability building. 

These insights are not prescriptive blueprints; they are the start of a collaborative dialogue. Over the coming weeks, and in person at the FT Future of Retail, we look forward to listening, learning and collaborating with industry leaders to shape a sustainable, profitable future for retail.

About the author

Emma Payne is a digital transformation and technology executive with over 25 years of experience across retail and the private sector. She has held senior leadership roles including Global Director of Technology and Product at John Lewis & Partners and Pret A Manger, reporting into the Executive Board. She has deep expertise and a proven track record in digital transformation, technology strategy, customer experience and AI adoption.

As a long-standing customer of Equal Experts, Emma joined the advisory team in 2023. She now works with senior leaders and high-performing teams on strategic planning, complex transformations and building lasting partnerships that deliver measurable business value.

Connect with Emma on LinkedIn.