Ep3 | New industrial revolution in Retail: Data, AI & Reinvention

Guests : Léonard Jochem and Steve Collinge - Managing Director - Insight Retail GroupWhat are the key challenges facing retailers in 2026 ?In this two-part episode of Let’s Talk Data, we explore the structural challenges shaping retail in 2026 - and what truly separates leaders from laggards in a permanently changed environment.Retail is no longer defined by disruption alone, but by execution. Customer expectations, cost pressure, technology capability and data maturity are colliding, forcing retailers to rethink long-held assumptions.Together with Steve Collinge, we examine why the physical store is being re-engineered rather than replaced, how convenience has become the primary competitive battleground, and why data is shifting from operational by-product to strategic commercial asset.The discussion also tackles range rationalisation as a profit lever and explains why, in an AI-enabled world, people and expertise are becoming stronger differentiators - not weaker ones.The takeaway: the gap between retail leaders and losers is widening, driven less by ambition and more by disciplined execution.Part 2 dives deeper into the data foundations retailers must fix to compete in 2026.Brought to you by DQE – Data Quality Everywhere.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.