Photo provided by RetailWire
July 8, 2025
In the Race To Digitize Retail, Is the Real Challenge Tech Transformation or People Transformation?
Retailers are confronted almost on a daily basis with new technologies, AI software, blockchains, omnichannel platforms and so on, all promising to reshape the industry.
Yet, in my recent fireside chat with Garima Singh, CTO of Pandora, at eTail London, a different theme emerged: The most persistent challenge in digital transformation is not the technology itself, but the human element underpinning it.
Cutting Through the Hype: A Pragmatic Approach
Singh’s perspective is pragmatic. She has witnessed the cycles of tech hype come and go, and she warns against adopting technology just for the sake of it.
As a technology leader in a large organization, she shared that she prioritizes monitoring both established technology trends from major software providers and the innovative developments coming from startups across various value streams.
She believes it’s essential to keep a close eye on what startups are doing in areas like product design, manufacturing, supply chain, and marketing, as these smaller players often drive meaningful innovation that larger companies can learn from. This dual focus — tracking mainstream trends while also scanning for disruptive ideas emerging from the startup ecosystem — ensures that technology-related decisions are grounded in both relevance and forward-thinking potential.
Value-Driven Technology Adoption
She emphasized, “How do you really segregate the hype from the real value? The first thing is always evaluate, like what’s the most pressing thing? What’s the most challenging thing in your day to day business for the brand that you’re working with?”
At Pandora, Singh applies a value-driven approach to technology adoption, drawing on her previous experience at IKEA, rather than introducing new technologies simply because they are available.
For example, she takes a step back from adopting technologies such as AI or blockchain just for the sake of it. Instead, she focuses on identifying the real business problems that need to be solved. This means carefully analyzing the company’s value streams, value chains, and capabilities to determine where technology can deliver meaningful impact.
For Singh, it’s not about implementing the latest tech trends, but about ensuring that every digital initiative is rooted in solving specific, pressing challenges for the business.
When Tech Adoption Stalls
Singh described how her team secured significant investment in AI — during the height of the AI boom — but failed to ensure the company had the necessary prerequisites to support and adapt to the new technology.
The emphasis was placed too much on acquiring AI, rather than on building the foundational elements required to create real business value, such as strong data quality, a robust data infrastructure, and accessible APIs. Because the investment focused primarily on bringing in AI from the outside without establishing these critical foundations, the initial adoption did not go well, and the technology failed to deliver the expected impact. Singh’s experience highlights the importance of prioritizing foundational capabilities and value creation over simply implementing the latest technology.
The second major challenge Singh talked about regarding digital transformation is upskilling employees and improving digital literacy across the organization.
She emphasized that it’s not enough to simply introduce new technologies like AI: Teams need a clear understanding of what AI actually is, where it can add value, where it shouldn’t be applied, and what risks are involved.
Training the workforce on these fundamentals is essential for meaningful adoption. She pointed out that successful integration can happen in two ways: either by building AI solutions in-house, or by leveraging AI capabilities already embedded in widely used tools, such as GitHub Copilot or Microsoft Copilot. Without this foundational knowledge and targeted upskilling, organizations risk misapplying technology and failing to realize its full potential.
The Human Transformation Imperative
What does it take to address the human side of change?
Singh emphasized: “The big part of any digital transformation is the human transformation.”
She urged the importance of investing heavily in digital literacy and upskilling programs, but also highlighted the need to be strategic about where these efforts are focused. She believes it’s crucial to identify which parts of the organization need to adapt to new technologies and which areas can maintain their current approach, rather than trying to overhaul everything at once. This targeted approach helps ensure that resources are used effectively and that change is manageable, rather than disruptive for the sake of it.
She advised leaders to overcommunicate: “What are we changing? Why are we changing? And how are we changing? Not to the all details, but at least show them the roadmap… Overcommunication of what, why and how gives them some level of clarity.”
She also highlighted the value of internal ambassadors: “You need to find that 1% adopter, even though in a crowd of, let’s say 45,000 people, if you get one, that’s good enough because they would create that change momentum that, oh, now the change has really delivered something.”
Singh explained that as a global leader, she aims to create an innovation culture where not only are unconventional ideas that lead to success celebrated, but so are the bold ideas that don’t always work out. She believes it’s important to recognize and appreciate when people step out of their comfort zones and take risks, regardless of the outcome. By celebrating both achievements and setbacks, Singh encourages a culture where experimentation and learning are valued, helping to build an environment where ongoing innovation can thrive.
Balancing Speed and Strategic Focus
Retailers often feel pressure to move quickly, but Singh warns against diluting focus. “What I, I really, really have now built a very strong advocacy on is the 70/30 split… 70%… tech for business, which really helps the business to either elevate the customer experience or bring new revenue streams… But 30% is actually innovation and technical foundation digitalization or modernization. Because if you don’t have a strong foundation, there is no way that you could keep on building tech for tech continuously.”
Securing Buy-In
On stakeholder engagement, Singh says, “The first thing that I do as a CTO is to talk business language. So the first thing that I do is, of course, always prepare a business case which talks about the value that they care the most.”
Challenging Assumptions
Singh encourages retail leaders to challenge two common assumptions: “Not every tech is for you. Right. So let your digital experts choose the technology stack for you. And you of course, focus on the value creation… Please challenge the digital leaders as well by bringing in the innovation from outside.”
People at the Core of Transformation
As our conversation came to a close as our time ran out, one insight was unmistakable: “The big part of any digital transformation is the human transformation.” Technology may provide the tools, but it is a workforce that is informed, empowered, and engaged that ultimately determines whether potential is realized.
Discussion Questions
Where do you see the most significant resistance to digital transformation within retail organizations? Is it rooted in technological limitations, or does it stem more from people-related challenges such as skills gaps, entrenched culture, or change management issues?
How should retail organizations be advised on how to balance foundational investments, like improving data quality and employee upskilling, against the constant pressure to adopt the latest technology trends?
What proven strategies have you seen for forming a culture that encourages experimentation and learning from failure, especially during large-scale digital transformation initiatives?
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The mistake in the headline is assuming that retail is all about digitalization. It is not. Digital – as a sales channel, a marketing channel, and an operational tool – is very important. But it is not the be all and end all. Physical stores still account for the vast majority of sales. And they still play a tangible role in the purchase process. The humanity of customer service, design and personal interaction are vital components of success. Garima Singh is absolutely correct about the need for balance, and to not forget the people side of business.
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By setting a clear vision and encouraging open communication, leaders play an important role in fostering a culture of experimentation. To demonstrate a growth mindset, they need to demonstrate that failure can be viewed as a learning opportunity and not a setback. Moreover, they can facilitate the continuous learning and innovation process by providing the necessary resources and autonomy to enable teams to try out new ideas and iterate on solutions.
There is a false dichotomy of people vs. tech transformation, which creates binary thinking that misses the fundamental nature of retail success. Retail transformation requires both technological scaffolding AND human readiness operating in concert.
Retail has always been about human connection, with technology serving as an amplifier, not a replacement. Retailers need to become comfortable with being boringly excellent at basics before chasing AI dreams—a lesson Singh’s experience with premature AI adoption clearly illustrates.
At its heart, digital transformation is fundamentally a change management and leadership challenge. The core competitive advantage lies in building organizational capacity to continuously adapt while maintaining human essence. Physical stores still dominate precisely because they offer what digital cannot: authentic human connection and tangible experience.
Is there a race to digitize Retail?! I think with any business it’s a matter of determining the goal and what the pain point is, otherwise you’re just creating a problem for a solution. However, I agree if digital transformation is the end goal then there must be human transformation, people don’t normally like change. Where I’ve seen it done the best is when leadership overcommunimates the why’s and takes the time to sell it to the team as well as invests in training. Humans create the best selling experience through engagement and connection.
No retailer can ‘algorithm’ or ‘AI’ their way to success. The vast majority of retail transactions are still completed in physical stores, where human customers engage with human employees. The human factor is critical and will remain so for the foreseeable future. There are so many technology solutions available to retailers, even deciding which ones to pursue can be a challenge. All retailers must establish their critical few priorities for technology investments, and be clear about expected outcomes, and what rollout may entail. Chasing “AI” without clear objectives for outcomes along with success measures of these outcomes is a waste of time, money and precious resources.
Digital transformation stalls due to technological and people-related issues.
Leaders feel overwhelmed by the dizzying amount of choice, and unclear whether the sense of urgency is hype or a true need for prompt action. Seeing a large price tag is intimidating, especially if there’s uncertainty about compatibility with existing systems or the effectiveness, longevity and ROI of a particular solution. Case studies, reviews and credible industry reporting of tech trends can improve clarity and trust.
For a faster and smoother experience, retail organizations can help their people by supporting skill building, incentivizing tech adoption and communicating how individual workers and the company benefit from embracing innovations.
“longevity” is an interesting topic, esp in era of supply chain, regulatory issues; M&A change
Where having focus on end goals and purpose is vital… the systems to fit the need.
Tech (non longevity) needs to be thought of & taught as adaptation skills.
Training of staff is not 1 & done at all. It is another level of investment that leaders need to plan… people resources, systems and funding needs to keep going.
While it is popular to talk about a race to go digital, it’s a meaningless idea. There are ways retailers can leverage digital tools to build business health. But digital ides are tools to be used only if and where they improve business result. The resistance I see most often happens because retail executives and tech departments impose digital tools which don’t matter and often make it far harder for employees to deliver what shoppers need. It all makes sense, as well, because our shoppers are inherently human and NOT inherently digital.
If you don’t already have a strong “analog” process that most people in your organization can walk you through off the top of their heads, you will never have a worthwhile “digital” process no matter how much you spend. Get the basics right, robust, and resilient – and only then start applying technology.
In the world of retail tech adoption, people challenges definitely make up the bigger hurdles.
I agree on the importance of quantifying business value, focusing on foundational elements such as data quality and ensuring employee change management and upskilling. These are all good points that pit technology against non-technology considerations.
One way to balance these aspects is to identify an area within the organization led by someone who can be a change champion – someone who understands how new tech can fit into existing business processes; someone who’s a risk taker and change agent. That would go a long way to creating the success story to inspire other parts of the business.
Another strategy that works well is to have user-centric design thinking POC projects that illustrate the business value on a small scale, with a future-looking user experience to bring the ‘art of the possible” into reality for the users. This will help the IT team gain some runway to work out the foundational prerequisites.
I agree with Garima Singh and believe that the greatest challenges are often people: leadership’s deployment of tech for tech’s sake and the resistance to change by the troops on the ground. And both include some “consultants” that love to leverage hype (for consulting’s sake) and some who are often resistant to the real opportunities of any tech, over hyped or not (tech averse).
The key is to solve real business problems but recognize that no tech can fix a business with bad fundamentals or business practices. If you put a bad driver in a great car, he will still be a bad driver. That’s the key. There remains a dangerous belief that tech can make up for bad fundamentals or business practices and that’s dangerous especially when you consider that high percentages of technology purchased worldwide go unused or underutilized.
“For Singh, it’s not about implementing the latest tech trends, but about ensuring that every digital initiative is rooted in solving specific, pressing challenges for the business.”
In 50 years of business, I have seen that this is a management challenge. Too often, leaders buy into the latest trends that don’t address the business’s challenges.
The fact is that both tech and people investments are lagging, and not always following a thoughtful strategic plan. Tech investments seem to remain within the IT division in retail, despite having an impact on so many areas of the business, from store operations to merchandising, marketing, inventory management, supplier development, and more. Such decisions should integrate leaders from across the organization, with leadership from the CEO on an ultimate vision for how the tech investments underpin results.
At the same time, I’ve been surprised at how the training and development of people, across levels and functional areas, have frequently been overlooked or seen as tactical elements of digital transformation projects rather than integral parts of the investments in the company’s future. Making team members more effective, engaged, and able to solve problems for the customer are critical elements of ROI from tech investments, and should have a more prominent seat at the table when thinking through digital transformation efforts.
When you push, you get push back. When you entice, you generate interest that can be converted to participation. Over time.
Amazing, capable and value-delivering tech will die if pushed. People will push back.
Tech that’s discovered, learned, co-owned and gradually implemented can become second nature. But that take time.
Digital adoption is a people problem. But the problem starts with how vendors and execs push the tech.
There are many questions to answer in this post. I’ll take this approach. It doesn’t matter what channel you are selling through (traditional retail or digital channels) as long as your customer uses them. Forcing a customer to buy through a channel they dislike is a recipe for retail disaster. Different generations have different preferences. Even customers within the same generation have preferences. As the article points out, there is a balance between the channels. As customers become more comfortable with different and new channels, that balance will continue to change.
Tech initiatives in retail often stall not because teams resist change, but because the change is too big to fit. When new tools don’t align with existing systems or processes, or feel disconnected from how people already work, they create friction instead of removing it. Transformation doesn’t require reinventing everything overnight – it requires solving real problems in ways that integrate with what already works.
While the article rightly highlights the importance of retail digitization, it’s key to remember that transformation isn’t purely technological—it’s also human. For many businesses, especially in diverse markets, success lies in blending digital tools with local context, trust, and adaptability. Digitization should be inclusive, flexible, and aligned with real-world challenges—not just a checklist.