Breathless

Wow, what a month it's been!

Since joining The Industrious it feels like my feet haven't touched the ground! From retail safaris to retail dinners to an incredible series of retail gatherings, it's been a magical journey.

Thankfully, not as magical (!) as the recent Willy Wonka 'immersive experience' in Glasgow which has garnered so much media interest. And there's the thing, immersive customer experience needs to be just that. Not a bouncy castle and a digital screen dotted here and there (I don't even think they had that) but something which shifts the dial, something which stirs the emotions, and most importantly, something which lives in the memory (for all the right reasons) long after the experience.

And this is just the start; the next few months, and probably the rest of this year promise to be just as stimulating.

I rounded off February by speaking on both days at the Smart Retail Tech Expo at London's ExCel. Day one was a fantastic fireside chat with the most wonderful Naomi Simcock from John Lewis & Partners where we discussed a whole bunch of topics around what makes great customer experience.

Day two was a standalone affair where I delivered a keynote which included Dr Robert Cialdini and his work on our propensity to buy (convert) and again another plea that we really should consign the term 'omnichannel' to retail room 101.

As I write, I am in the planning stages for Shoptalk in Las Vegas and I hope to see many of you there. I'll be participating in their meetup program for the first time so looking forward to that.

However, ahead of that, I am really looking forward to once again being back at Retail Week Live for the first time for a few years. They always put on a great show and I'm sure that this year will be no different.

And that brings me to the headline of this month's newsletter; books. I remain humbled and grateful to my good friend Oliver Banks for sharing a signed copy of his new book, 'Driving Retail Transformation', which I am eager to immerse myself in.

However, I also have a book coming out later this month. 'Breathless - Covid, Two Metres & Me' is my (very) personal and alternative take on life in lockdown Britain during the Covid pandemic.

I have waged an internal battle with myself over whether to turn the diaries into a book - all 280,000 words! But on reading them back and editing, I've been quite moved and inspired by what I personally felt at the time.

It's been a fascinating journey re-reading my thoughts during Covid lockdown and I hope that it provides an equally interesting read.

But before it is released, Shoptalk beckons and I can't wait. Regular readers will know that I consider Las Vegas to be my second home and on this occasion, I will be staying for an extended period - however, you know that what goes on in Vegas, stays in Vegas!

Until the next time.