Senior Spotlight: Head of Digital Product Delivery and Transformation at Clarks

Welcome to Senior Spotlight, where Crimson’s Head of Customer Engagement, Chris O’Brien, interviews senior technologists across the UK. Discover what drives these individuals as we delve into their careers, their most exciting projects, and their tech predictions for the future. Join us as we explore these IT thought leaders’ inspirational stories and interesting lives.

Today’s conversation is with Meriel Neighbour, Head of Digital Product Delivery and Transformation at British shoe retailer Clarks. Here, Meriel speaks with Chris about the interplay between emerging tech trends, consumer expectations, and the changing face of retail.

Meriel Neighbour | Head of Digital Product Delivery and Transformation | Clarks

Connect with Meriel on LinkedIn

Chris: Welcome to Senior Spotlight, Meriel! Please tell us a little about your career leading up to today.

Meriel: Well, going right back to the beginning, I actually started out in hospitality. I wanted to become a general manager of a hotel - it was a very male-dominated world, and I wanted to prove that women could be general managers. The plan was to do that, retire, and write a book about it - but that didn’t happen!

I spent the first half of my life in various hospitality roles, until head office gave me an opportunity in project management. I designed new bar concepts and made sure they were built and delivered. Then, I was made redundant. That gave me an opportunity to explore where I was going to take my skills. Before long, I was fortunate enough to get a project manager role at Matches Fashion - and everything grew from there!

Chris: Interesting - so what would you say are the biggest challenges facing the project management world nowadays, from your experience?

Meriel: I think a significant challenge for projects nowadays is just presenting a good enough business case in order to get the budget you need. Recent HMRC changes around CapEx and OpEx have had a huge impact on businesses’ bottom line, which can make it challenging to get approval for certain new business cases.

Also, businesses have become incredibly lean in their operations. This can make dedicating people and resources to new technology projects really tricky because businesses also have to think about their BAU (Business as Usual) as well. It highlights to me the importance of having an embedded business change function - in some businesses that might seem like a bit of a luxury, but it’s essential to bring people on that journey towards transformation.

Chris: On the topic of change, most fields of business are seeing a lot of buzz around technology like AI, data science, and cybersecurity. What do you make of these latest hot topics from your perspective in retail?

Meriel: I agree that AI and data science is very much the cult of the moment. Data is essential as it helps businesses make more certain, informed decisions.

AI also has an essential part in today’s technology but personally, from a retail perspective, tools like chatbots cannot overtake the interpersonal experience when serving a customer. I know when I’m shopping, I don’t want to speak to a chatbot, I’d rather get help from a human.

Don’t get me wrong, I do think there is a place for tools like generative AI; chatbots on websites; AI-driven search and product recommendations; and things like that. But don’t ever, ever, ever let that get in the way of a personalised experience.

Chris: That brings me to an interesting question, actually. What differences do you see between the different generations of Clarks customers?

Meriel: It’s quite interesting. Younger buyers will find products online, maybe they’ve seen something they like on social media or whatever. But they’ll still go into a store to have a look, to touch, to feel, to look at the colour and so on. Some will even sit in the store, not talk to an assistant, and place their order on their phone while sitting in the store!

A lot of pundits said that bricks and mortar shops weren’t going to survive after Covid, yet bricks and mortar stores are actually doing very, very well because people still want that “see, touch, feel” experience.

Chris: We’ve seen an uptick in new delivery options such as Click & Collect across the retail industry. What’s your take on the spread of order fulfilment services like that?

Meriel: That’s where the infrastructure of traditional retailers provides real benefit. Because a real bugbear of mine is when online retailers don’t have flexible enough delivery options - the same goes for returns and exchanges.

I want my parcel at a time that is convenient for me, and I want someone to come and collect it from me at a convenient time if I request a return. I don’t want to have to get in my car to find a parcel locker somewhere, I don’t want to queue for an hour at the Post Office, I want to be able to say, “please come to me at X time and collect it.” I think online retail has a lot of work to do in that space, both with delivery and returns.

Chris: Are there any other tactics or trends that you feel the retail space needs to pay more attention to?

Meriel: I’d like to see more happen around pricing. I know dynamic pricing has had a lot of bad press lately with the Oasis tickets. But if I see someone shopping on a particular website, I don’t want them getting distracted and going to a competitor. So, I feel more can be done to harness dynamic offers to keep a visitor’s attention.

Say the customer hovers over product one, product two, product three - then back to product one, back to product three etc. Why don't I incentivise you to buy one of those products with an offer there and then? This could be a pop-over with an offer like “purchase this product within the next 10 minutes and get £10 off.” And if you’re still browsing after that time, maybe provide £20 off one of the other products you were looking at.

Chris: Where do you think retail tech will lead retailers in the next few years or so?

Meriel: I definitely think AI will have a role to play, but I don’t think it will replace that human, personal service. I think AI will largely stay back of house with product data streams and things like dynamic pricing.

Data is going to be key. Real-time data can be really hard to come by in the retail space. Look at inventory for example - I’d like to see true, real-time inventory at every store. Say you go into a store, and they don’t have your size. Instead of potentially losing that customer by asking them to buy online, good data could give in-store teams a true, real-time picture of stock at other stores so the customer could collect that item elsewhere but complete the transaction now. That way, we won’t lose the sale. Using data like that is going to be hugely important.

Data will also be important when it comes to projects and programs - perhaps to help form the basis of a business case. That way it’s firmly based on fact, not someone's gut. In retail it’s common to see decision makers looking at next season’s trends and saying “Ooh I like that, so everyone’s definitely going to buy it,” and then nobody does! Data driven decision making will definitely help out there.

I can also see modern technology enhancing the customer experience. There’s a real opportunity to digitalise stores and provide a seamless experience between in-store and online. In-store shopping could be made more of a digital experience too - just look at McDonalds where you effectively order your food using a huge tablet! Retailers could use tech like this to get customers interacting with products, browsing different colours, and shapes, and sizes.

Things like this can make shopping more of a modern experience that brings a flat store to life, so you’re not just dependent on having a great product.

Chris: To end on a bit of a fun note, please share something interesting about you that people you work with might not know.

Meriel: Well, after I was made redundant, I even trained to be a driving instructor which, I admit, was a bit random! Also, I can’t stand heights - I can’t even stand on a chair or a step ladder - but I love parachuting! Walking up the stairs onto the aeroplane is a bit of a struggle, but once I’m in the air I’m happy as Larry.

My name is another interesting thing about me because there aren’t a lot of Meriels around. It’s Irish Gaelic and it means “sunshine over water,” which I think is lovely.

Want to be our next Senior Spotlight guest? Get in touch with Chris at chris.obrien@crimson.co.uk

Want the latest market info, salary guidance, or help with your senior executive appointments? Simply email Christine Dineen at christine.dineen@crimson.co.uk, or visit our CIO resources.

Crimson is an IT consultancy, solutions provider, and recruitment agency operating throughout the UK.