

The way we do business has fundamentally changed. Customer behaviours are quickly evolving, the future of in-store experience is in flux and the shift toward consumer e-commerce is accelerating faster than ever.
So, what's next for the retail industry?
Connect with leading retail experts on business critical challenges and disruptive technology and drive industry forward collaboratively.
Connect with 70+ senior leaders for a curated agenda focused on tackling your current business critical challenges and driving industry forward. Our summits are designed to help you:
Build new connections with likeminded senior leaders
Stay current with emerging business trends
Understand the impact new technology can make
De-risk new projects by gaining a broad range of insights
Accelerate key projects through meaningful new partnerships
Downloadable and actionable takeaways
09:00 - 09:20
Intro & Challenger Panel - 3 Roundtable moderators
09:20 - 09:50
Executive Insights with JJ van Oosten, Chief Customer and Digital Officer, Kingfisher
09:55 - 10:35
The Future of Retail – How do you measure your performance in the transition to Consumer Commerce
Increasingly retail business models are transitioning to Consumer Commerce ecosystems where businesses selling products and services to the Consumer do not necessarily need to have a legacy in physical stores.
10:35 - 10:45
10:45 - 11:45
Track 1: Looking to The Future: Improving the Customer Experience
As we enter the last quarter of 2021, retailers must begin to look past the new normal. What do we expect the future of customer experience to look like in both the online and physical spaces?
Track 2: Recalibrating the Online-offline Divide: Meet Your Customers Where They Are
How can you recalibrate your online vs. offline offering to transform your customer experience? How can you create offline experiences that leverage the technology and convenience of eCommerce and allow marketplaces and traditional retail to converge?
Track 3: Digital Transformation: How Can Technology Improve Consumer Commerce?
How can you utilize AI and other technology solutions to improve the in-store experience?
12:20 - 12:40
Redefining Luxury for Digital Era
A successful pivot to an agile digital channel strategy not only meets customer needs as they unfold but also anticipates the conversation.
09:00 - 09:10
09:10 - 09:40
Brand Storytelling & The Role of the Physical Store
Post Covid-19, consumers are craving human interaction, creating a unique opportunity for physical retail and brand destinations. In this session, we will hear about Diageo's recently opened Johnnie Walker Princes Street in Edinburgh, a brand experience centre and retail flagship for the world’s #1 Scotch whisky.
09:45 - 10:25
The Evolution from Retail to Consumer Commerce – Who Will Win and How do you Transition?
In this panel we will hear from three senior retail leaders on their experience transitioning to consumer commerce.
10:25 - 10:35
10:35 - 11:35
Track 1: Looking to The Future: Improving the Customer Experience
As we enter the last quarter of 2021, retailers must begin to look past the new normal. What do we expect the future of customer experience to look like in both the online and physical spaces?
Track 2: Recalibrating the Online-offline Divide: Meet Your Customers Where They Are
How can you recalibrate your online vs. offline offering to transform your customer experience? How can you create offline experiences that leverage the technology and convenience of eCommerce and allow marketplaces and traditional retail to converge?
Track 3: Digital Transformation: How Can Technology Improve Consumer Commerce?
How can you utilize AI and other technology solutions to improve the in-store experience?
11:40 - 12:10
Sustainability and D&I as Brand Purpose: Engaging Communities and Lessons Learned
Natalie will shine a spotlight on the e-tailer’s D&I and sustainability strategies – sharing how they combine to build a brand that’s driving positive cultural change.
09:00 - 09:10
09:10 - 09:40
Embracing the rise of Offline to Online - shifting from eCommerce to experience
The relentless expansion of pure e-commerce companies has transformed the traditional sense of ‘retailing’, and brands are expanding their own direct to consumer efforts as choice dominates the market. One thing is for sure – the consumer is driving change and experience still counts. Winning retailers require a business model that is fit for purpose, agile and more innovative than before.
09:45 - 10:25
Purpose & Reputation - How to Acheive Agile Authenticity
Being socially responsible and demonstrating purpose is no longer a point of distinction, it's an expectation. Stakeholders, employees, and customers are increasingly evaluating brands and products based on a company’s ethics and values. The role falls with leaders to instill authenticity in their organization. In this panel, we will discuss how best to do this.
10:25 - 10:35
10:35 - 11:35
Track 1: Looking to The Future: Improving the Customer Experience
How can you improve returns management? What challenges do you face in achieving this and what solutions are there to improve it?
Track 2: Recalibrating the Online-offline Divide: Meet Your Customers Where They Are
How can you create offline experiences that leverage the technology and convenience of eCommerce and allow marketplaces and traditional retail to converge?
Track 3: Digital Transformation: How Can Technology Improve Consumer Commerce?
How can you utilize AI and other technology solutions to improve the in-store experience?
11:40 - 12:10
Looking to the Future: Sustainability its More Then A Buzzword
Now is the time to commit to increased sustainability within the retail space. It is considered by customers to be a key characteristic of the new normal. The question is how do you integrate sustainability into your core business strategy?
Engage with a virtual live audience just as you would at a physical event and create meaningful conversations.
The ultimate live polling and gamification tools, keeping your audience engaged.
Enabling our team to help you control your session experience.
Interactive quizzes to gamify your session
Content and insight from industry experts when it matters most
There is no cost associated with attending a GDS Summit. In return, we ask that all senior executives in participation attend for the full duration to ensure that all attendees get maximum value and insight from the interactive roundtables, live Q&As and breakout networking sessions.
Our digital summit portfolio is designed to bring together senior decision makers from large global businesses and innovative disruptor brands to drive industry forward through addressing business critical challenges collaboratively.
If you’re keen to build new connections with likeminded leaders, de-risk your projects through new insight and establish new partnerships that can accelerate your projects then apply to attend today.
Complete our ‘apply to attend’ form on the event page if you’re interested in attending the summit and you meet our application criteria. A member of the GDS team will then reach out to run you through the programme and event format and discuss your participation.
On stage: co-host a panel discussion with a group of likeminded senior executives or host a solo keynote presentation. Both slots include elements of interactive audience Q&A
Off stage: become a roundtable moderator, leading the discussion with the same cohort of executives for the duration of the summit around a specific topic you’ve agreed to focus on during the roundtable session.
We can tailor a partnership package to help meet your business objectives. This might include brand awareness, driving traffic to your site or quality editorial content via exclusive interviews and Q&As with our executive audience. Enquire today for more information.
Still have a question contact us below
You will leave the summit with best practices to immediately apply back to your organisation and new connections from meaningful conversations.
If you haven’t been to a GDS Digital Summit, you will be incredibly impressed. It’s far more engaging than most digital event experiences. It’s a very interactive environment.
I connected with peers that I know I’ll stay in touch with, including suppliers which have presented a fantastic opportunity for 7-Eleven Global in the future. It may well be the most valuable summit I’ve attended in many years
Thank you so much! Great Summit - an outstanding 3 days that culminated in this Award ... I am humbled and honored. Congratulations to you all for pulling off a Hybrid Summit with Augmented Reality features that are truly unparalleled in the Industry! Collaborative, Interactive & showcasing leading edge technology ... GDS Summits really set the bar so high that a return to physical conferences might be re-evaluated in the Industry. You are an amazing Team of Professionals & I am truly honoured to have been a part of this Summit.