Four key trends in retail transformation in 2017 and what it means for skills development

Big Data, Article 50, and speed to market will be some of the key trends in retail transformation in 2017, according to Venquis.

An analysis by the specialist change and business transformation consultancy outlined some of the major areas of change expected to impact the retail arena in 2017. It found that these trends are likely to drive significant demand for analytics, tech and change management specialists.

Ed Richardson, Consultant in retail contract team at Venquis, comments:

Cost control and continuous learning

“With 2017 likely to be an economically challenging year, we anticipate that the trend from 2016 of major core IT change projects undergoing a degree of restructuring to temper spiralling costs will continue. We expect more of a focus on the improvement of the structuring of change projects, with more emphasis on learning from past mistakes. This has elicited a strong demand for programme directors, managers and change leads, all of whom have experience of shaping programmes.”

Speed to market and customer journey

“Firms are taking on board what customers want and consequently there will be a real focus on speed to market and developing a transparent customer journey. Retailers will continue to invest heavily in their online capabilities which will create a need for IT infrastructure to meet the anticipated demand. This means we can expect to see technological expertise become even more highly sought after in the retail arena.”

Ella North, Consultant in retail permanent team at Venquis, comments:

Big data

“The retail market continues to become ever more targeted as we live in an increasingly information-led society. Ultimately, only those with the most accurate and effectively cleansed data will succeed so we can expect professionals with strong web and data analysis skills to be in high demand.”

Article 50

“The big one. Obviously, we’ve only recently gained a clearer idea of what Brexit could entail and as a result few retailers have committed to any concrete strategies. However, if freedom of movement laws are affected there is a chance that customer service workers will be in significant demand. And while London’s reputation and pull as a leading global tech hub should remain strong for some time, there is a chance that a hard Brexit could affect the expertise that has been drawn from around Europe.”