Gamification, AI, and trust: a retail futurist’s blueprint for survival

In a conversation with Huawei's Executive Editor-in-Chief Gavin Allen, thought leader and podcaster Marilyn Repp says retailers must be “clueless but curious” to thrive in the era of intelligent shopping.

Marilyn Repp, Founder and Co-host, “The Future of Shopping” podcast

Gavin Allen: What is the boldest innovation you've seen recently?

Marilyn Repp: Retailers always wait rather than being bold, especially when it comes to physical bricks and mortar stores. Companies look at others in the industry: What are they doing? Are they moving? Is it worth investing? The profit margins are very small compared to automotive or fintech, so they always wait.

But in the last 10 years AI is the big trend – like an industrial revolution, but a completely tech revolution – and it’s changing everything. Retailers understand it's about market competition and whether they can survive or not. Since ChatGPT, many retailers have embraced AI technology, starting projects and seeing what it can bring to their business. I love this about AI: it's convinced people they have to embrace tech. The other technologies that have been hyped in the last 10 years – Big Data, Cloud, the Metaverse – sparked a lot of talk in conferences but leaders were waiting. With AI, it’s a core project in most companies. And the main challenge is bringing it all together – there are just so many tools.

Gavin Allen: You've said “The future is a mindset and change is the only answer to an ever faster changing world.” When staff worry that AI could take their jobs, how does a retail CEO drive that pro-change mindset?

Marilyn Repp: It's about good company culture and good leadership culture. Company culture is vital for maintaining an open mindset towards change and innovation, and for staff to feel welcome in the company and stay. It’s also about having a mistake culture. In Germany, there’s still a view that you need a strong leader who knows everything. But it’s really helpful for leaders to say, no, I don't know everything. I also have no clue and we're trial-and-error’ing to find the right path. There's going to be mistakes, but that's not a problem. If we try something new, either it'll be successful or we’ll learn more. A mistake culture is getting more important as our world turns ever faster. You don't have a choice: you have to embrace new technologies and innovation.

Gavin Allen: Be willing to be clueless, but curious?

Marilyn Repp: Exactly.

Gavin Allen: You’ve urged retailers to get out of their comfort zone and into the future, but also to identify which innovations are the future and which will go away. If you're a small or medium retailer, this is a big gamble: how do you tell the difference?

Marilyn Repp: You only know some years later whether it was a passing trend or the future. But this is the core of entrepreneurship and leadership. You have to take decisions. It's important to keep moving, trying new stuff and learning. Then you know more than your competitors. It can be overwhelming for small companies, particularly with more regulation and staff who want to work fewer hours and have more free time. It’s also important to talk to other leaders and have a strong community of people who share your innovation mindset. I see this a lot: company communities or B2B communities where people exchange ideas and talk about the challenges ahead.

Gavin Allen: You see storytelling and entertainment, especially on platforms like TikTok, as potentially more important to retail than product-centric messaging. How do legacy retailers embed that narrative-led content into their strategies?

Marilyn Repp: It’s a huge challenge for many traditional retailers because their core mindset is about products. But with so many e-commerce stores, good products aren’t enough. They need to explain why people should come to their platform and buy their products. You have to tell the story: Why? It’s always about emotions. They have to embrace that. For SMEs and traditional retailers, product mindset is so deep in their company DNA that it’s really hard to change. But communication has changed. TikTok is an entertainment platform, not a product platform. So, it's about telling stories and being entertaining.

Gavin Allen: Can gamification help?

Marilyn Repp: Gamification is core for engagement, but many traditional companies still haven't embraced it. 90% of Gen Z see themselves as gamers. They expect gamified experiences and a fun time even when they want to buy stuff. That offers an opportunity to build customer loyalty and your brand by giving them a positive experience. Why should customers come? Because they like it. The hiking/outdoors company Globetrotter, for instance, excels at the in-store experience. A couple of years ago, they celebrated their 40th anniversary by offering a VR challenge against other competitors. It used VR glasses and was a cool experience and a brand-building moment. It went viral and was supported by a very good PR marketing strategy. They understood how important it was to create these in-store experiences. Companies can be much more creative around loyalty programs, too – it can be the first step into gamification for retailers. It should not just be about products, but cooperation and collaboration with other stores that have the same target group.

Gavin Allen: How do retailers balance the technological capabilities of AI with the human skills of their members of staff?

Marilyn Repp: After the mega hype, most people do now understand what AI means. Everybody is using ChatGPT and knows that many apps on their smartphone use it and that it's helpful. We’ve moved away from robots taking jobs – staff are not afraid of it any more. Instead, they see that AI can support annoying and repetitive processes. Serving customers in a real life and human-centered exchange cannot be replaced, but can be improved because staff now have more time and space for it as the repetitive stuff gets replaced by AI.

Gavin Allen: What’s the role of technology providers in overcoming retailers’ anxieties?

Marilyn Repp: The main problem is service providers talk very technically and don’t always speak the same language as CEOs. Company leaders think in problems and how to solve them. But too many tech start-ups communicate in such a technological way that nobody understands them. They need to show the impact and advantages that technology can bring. I’m seeing more B2B communities starting now around topics that their target groups are interested in. They act as a kind of magnet, hosting a cool party where the cool people come, and creating a clique feeling and a FOMO situation.

Gavin Allen:How can retailers strike the balance between harvesting data to personalize and improve the customer experience, while also overcoming anxieties about data transparency and usage?

Marilyn Repp: Are customers really anxious about their data? I don't see that any more. We all gave that up already. We know internet tech companies know everything about us and I think people are willing to give up their data if they see something in return. Again, gamification could help companies, collecting data to know their customers better, but data structure and quality is not yet on a level that's useful for AI applications and services. So, this is homework for many companies.

Gavin Allen: Is it sufficiently understood that technology is not just about front-of-house customer experience but also behind-the-scenes operational efficiency?

Marilyn Repp: Making processes faster and more efficient is definitely one of the biggest benefits. It helps retain staff, too, which is another major issue retailers face. Companies have to see this through the staff’s eyes – it’s not just about customer-related processes. You have to convince people to work and stay at your company. It’s about succession too. Nobody wants to work for, or buy, an old-fashioned company. You have to be digitized and stay innovative not only for your customers, but also to realize your staff potential.

Gavin Allen: The simple message is: never stop innovating?

Marilyn Repp: Exactly. Embrace new stuff. And communicate. People buy from people, so it's about building trust. And that means putting people at the center and inspiring customers with a passion topic. As the Maslow pyramid of needs shows, community is never about products, it’s always about learning, love and human attraction. Don't communicate with logos. Communities are built around people and personal growth, not products. On social media, we follow people. It’s people who create new brands and services.