Hi my name is Tilly and I am a Supply Chain Graduate for Boots UK. I am writing this blog to tell you about my recent trip to an amazing retail conference in London all thanks to Boots Talent Programmes.

So… I have had an insightful two days at Retail Week’s Tech. Conference learning about the pressures and drivers the retail sector is currently experiencing and how customer expectations are higher than ever and how can we adapt to this.

The conference was split over two days with different workshops, talks, stands and demonstrations going on across the venue, this meant I could choose those I wanted to attend and plan my time appropriately which was useful! I attended the conference with four other Boots graduates and four Year in Industry students which gave me the opportunity to network with fellow Boots colleagues and I now have contacts in IT, digital and marketing.

My favourite talk was by Starbuck’s President, Martin Brok, who explained their digital transformation journey and how they use both a customer lens and a partner (employee) lens to create their unique customer experience. We also saw how robots and electronics are changing the face of retail as well as the growth of e-commerce and online spending which was very interesting. Did you know that 35% of all online spend in the UK is done on Amazon? I didn’t either!

Throughout both days we were given lots of freebies including moleskin notebooks, wireless chargers and even free ice-cream and milkshakes. The second day came to a close with VIP drinks sponsored by Hermes and Google Cloud (the canapés were divine). It was then onto the Tech. Awards hosted by the hilarious comedian Adam Rowe. The conference was nicely finished with an after party headlined by The Shapeshifters. There was free food and drinks and lots of dancing. This was another chance to network with senior leaders from a host of different technology companies. We even had a photo with the Managing Director of Retail Week, Chris Brook-Carter.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Tech. conference and gained valuable knowledge of the retail industry and the how technology is revolutionizing e-commerce, customer experience and supply chain optimisation.