AWS for Industries

AWS Retail & Consumer Goods Symposium: London, Gives Glimpse into the Future of the Industry

From personalizing the shopping experience with generative artificial intelligence (AI), to new ways of delighting the omnichannel consumer, the recent AWS retail symposium illustrated the bright future of retail. AWS customers and partners gathered at the AWS Retail & Consumer Goods Symposium: London to share their digital transformation stories and discuss new advancements shaping the industry. This blog shares a few of those stories, showcasing how retailers are driving growth, creating efficiencies, and enabling technological innovations.

Outlook Good for Retail and CG Industry

As far as top industry trends to watch, AI continues to make waves while advancements like frictionless stores and immersive experiences are driving growth. Justin Honaman, Head of Worldwide Retail & Consumer Goods Industry Strategy & Business Development at AWS, provided an overview of current and future trends, as well as the economic outlook for retail across the world and Europe. Key highlights include:

  • AI and the future of work: AI, including generative AI, and machine learning are making a significant impact. In fact 50% of employees expected to need reskilling in the next 5 years and 80% of companies accelerating their transformation efforts.
  • Frictionless stores: Physical in-store technology is in high demand, with the global number of frictionless stores expected to grow at 91% CAGR.
  • Immersive experiences: 64% of brands are investing in immersive and personalized guest experiences.
  • Media networks: Retail media networks are taking on a prominent role while on-the-go food services continues to grow.
  • e-commerce marketplaces: The growth of e-commerce—especially driven by marketplaces—is expected to drive 56% of retail sales growth globally over the next five years. (Euromonitor International)
  • CG advances: Connected factories and digital manufacturing, as well as the integration of consumer and shopper insights, is driving new product development in the consumer goods (CG) industry.

Overall, with real GDP growth in advanced economies expected to stay at 1.6% in 2024 and global disinflation slowing, retail leaders will need to adapt to change, revamp their operating models, and invest in future growth opportunities.

In addition to discussing top industry trends to watch, the symposium also featured stories from real-life AWS customers who are transforming their operations and driving new growth. Here are a few that showcase powerful examples of retailers leading their customer journeys with AWS and AWS Partners.

Kellanova Leverages Data to Better Understand and Serve Customers

Kellanova shared its data-driven transformation story, led by Global Chief Data & Analytics Officer Loretta Franks. The company is reusing data as a strategic product, collaborating with retailers to better observe consumer behaviors, and utilizing gamification and personalization platforms to drive customer engagement and inform new product development. Kellanova’s example shows how data is the foundation of every business transformation, how delivering business value through data encourages organizations to learn and be curious, and how top-down sponsorship from company leaders is fundamental to drive new technology adoption.

Ocado and Diageo Turn Operational Efficiency into a Competitive Advantage

The panel with Ocado and Diageo discussed the major challenges facing the CG and grocery industries, including volume contraction in mass market categories and the need to leverage price as a weapon amidst high inflation. Both companies emphasized the critical role of data and analytics in adapting to the omnichannel consumer. Andy Fell, GB Strategy & Transformation Director at Diageo explained how the company is focusing on developing demand intelligence and tailoring solutions using store, shopper, and wholesale data. Gregor Ulitzka, President Europe of Ocado Solutions discussed how Ocado leverages its online platform to anticipate grocery patterns by combining offline and online data. Both companies shared their priorities and KPIs, with Diageo prioritizing product innovation and Ocado aiming for a long-term technology vision. Diageo and Ocado each recognized the transformative potential of consumer data, AI, and generative AI in the CG space.

Gymshark and Amazon Chart the Path for Digital Evolution

Industry leaders Dan Blundell of Gymshark and Dave Brittain of Amazon Fashion Europe explored the latest trends and innovations reshaping the fashion retail industry. They discussed how companies are leveraging emerging technologies like generative AI to enhance customer experiences, from personalized marketing and product recommendations to automated content creation. The panel also addressed the challenges of organizational change amid economic uncertainty and provided adaptive strategies for driving digital transformation across design, commerce, and other critical business areas.

Clarks and Burberry Accelerate E-commerce Digital Transformation to Offer a Seamless Customer Journey

Clarks, supported by their partner Grid Dynamics and powered by AWS technology, embarked on a journey to architect, build, and launch a new Clarks.com, a modern, composable omnichannel destination for digital and social engagement. The success factors included the alignment between technical and business leadership, the integration of data and customer experience strategies, and a change management initiative with governance, empowerment, and upskilling.

Burberry, the luxury retailer, partnered with EPAM Systems and AWS to transition from a monolithic IT architecture to a more flexible, composable MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless) approach. This shift allowed Burberry to break free from vendor-dictated release cycles and better align technology decisions with business needs.

Amazon’s Secret Sauce is the Recipe for Retail Success

Through demos, participants saw firsthand how Amazon’s deep understanding of consumer behavior and purchase patterns can help brands maximize their revenue growth through highly targeted and personalized advertising. In addition, Amazon’s logistics network and middle-mile transportation capabilities can help retailers and consumer goods companies efficiently meet customer expectations for speed and consistency of delivery, while addressing capacity constraints and driving sustainability. Underpinning these capabilities, is Amazon’s focus on driving the “triple win” of improved customer experience, cost-efficiency, and sustainability through advanced AI/ML-powered transportation optimization, demand forecasting, and inventory management.

Empowering the Future of Retail

To close out the symposium, participants learned about the latest innovations in supply chain automation, customer experience transformation, and smart store technologies. The following presentations brought these ideas to life:

  • In the “Accelerate Your Operations” panel, Sebastian Green, CTO of Club L London, discussed how leveraging flexible, scalable AWS services allowed his company to build custom supply chain automation solutions.
  • The “New SaaS” session brought together experts from SAP, AWS, and Salesforce to provide guidance on using their integrated technologies to deliver more connected, composable commerce experiences for retailers and brands.
  • The “Smart Stores” session featured bp’s Barun Moitra, who shared how the company collaborated with AWS and Infosys to build a digital control tower platform on AWS, enabling full operational visibility and leveraging AI and automation to improve store performance.

Overall, the AWS Retail & Consumer Goods Symposium: London was a successful event, providing valuable networking opportunities, inspiring case studies, and tangible technological innovations showcased through demos.

Catch the excitement in our sizzle reel showcasing the day’s highlights!

Rajashree Rane

Rajashree Rane

Rajashree Rane, Retail & CPG Go to Market Lead- EMEA, Amazon Web Services Rajashree leads the EMEA Retail and Consumer Goods Go-to-Market at Amazon Web Services (AWS), driving cloud adoption and digital transformation agendas for industry leaders. She empowers industry players to drive growth, enhance customer experiences, and optimize operations through cloud transformation. Previously, she designed cloud GTM strategies for EMEA’s retail, FMCG, Industrials, and travel verticals as a Senior Program Manager at AWS. Before AWS, she led go-to-market for Alexa Smart Homes at Amazon and managed the high-stakes Consumer Electronics category in Italy. At Unilever, she led product and category planning & transformation, import supply planning, forecasting, and distribution for iconic $50M+ brands. Rajashree’s proficiency spans product strategy, category management, go-to-market execution, and operational excellence through lean practices. Her diverse background allows her to craft pioneering cloud solutions that propel brand differentiation, productivity, and customer-centricity for retail/CPG enterprises. An ardent innovator, Rajashree champions professional growth for women in technology and STEM fields. She holds an MBA from IMD Business School and an engineering degree from the University of Mumbai.

Alice Antoniazzi

Alice Antoniazzi

Alice Antoniazzi, Retail & CPG Go to Market Lead- EMEA, Amazon Web Services Alice Antoniazzi leads the EMEA Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and Retail Go-to-Market practice at Amazon Web Services (AWS). She helps large companies from the industry to drive brand growth and differentiation as well as productivity and cost efficiencies by unlocking the power of AWS cloud. Previously, Alice led the AWS Transformation practice for EMEA and worked with Fortune 500 companies to re-invent their business models and accelerate the achievement of their business objectives through technology. Before joining AWS, she spent 8 years as sales and category director at Procter & Gamble Germany and Europe, where she gained a deep understanding of how a large consumer goods enterprise responds to opportunities and challenges linked to market and consumer trends, and established strong partnerships with regional and global retailers. Her domains of expertise include pricing, assortment, promotions, unified commerce, and phygital experience for Fast Moving Consumer Goods. She is passionate about innovation and new product development, strategy alignment and implementation, entrepreneurship, and cultural change. Alice holds an MBA from a top business school with a concentration in innovation.