Success in fashion retail was once predicated on having an instinct for the next big thing. But in an omnichannel, social media-saturated consumer environment, human powers of divination alone – even those informed by trend forecasters – are not enough. The best fashion businesses are increasingly combining human with artificial intelligence (AI) to improve customer service, identify consumer trends, offer greater personalisation and to ensure their supply chain is as responsive as it can be. Last month, Marks & Spencer announced it was replacing switchboard staff with AI technology to increase the speed it deals with customer complaints and queries. The system recognises human speech and routes calls to relevant departments, and will be used in all 640 M&S UK stores by the end of this month, as well as its 13 UK call centres.

Will physical shops cease to exist? Have we reached the end of online shopping in its current form? Are new technologies such as robots, drones, virtual and augmented reality taking over the shopping experience? These are some of the many questions that gathered retailers at the 2017 RetailDetail Congress in Schelle (Belgium), the pinnacle of the retail industry calendar. This event definitely resulted in food for thought on what to consider as a retailer in the very near future.