In this highly competitive arena, innovation is rife. From introducing new technology and broadening the product portfolio to positioning the brand and deepening customer relationships, there are several key drivers gaining widespread attention. Today’s two main technological sources of innovation are the on-line provisions market and an improved supply-chain-focused technology such as smart tags. Both are addressing improved efficiency of goods supply and provision, but there are also areas of consumer-focused innovation around convenience and traceability. In terms of broadening the product mix, the migration of food to general product supply has been followed by service development using the retailer brand as the focal point. Starting with a limited range of joint venture financial products, this has spread to loans, insurance, holidays, car retail and, most recently, energy supply, virtual mobile phone operations and real estate. All are usually delivered in partnership with leading existing suppliers, but are positioned around the increasing levels of trust that consumers have with their favourite retailer brand.

Many retailers are using the migration of their loyalty cards into their joint venture services and relationships such as Nectar in the UK to gain new information about their wider customer base that feeds into detailed segmentation analysis and opportunities for cross selling. Retailers can now find out what their customers spend their money on outside the store and can use this to develop new branded-service propositions and improve the levels of cross selling between groups. Together, these are all providing the leading retailers with the opportunity to take consumer-centric innovation to a whole new level.