New RILA Program to Explore Tech's Impact on Retail

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), in partnership with New York-based consulting and strategy firm Accenture, has launched the (R)Tech Center for Innovation, which will explore the impact technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality will have on the retail industry and help retailers create innovative ways to do business.

Accenture will actively work with Arlington, Va.-based RILA to shape the overall program, conduct joint research and bring together retailers and technology startups to explore the industry transformation being driven digitally.

(R)Tech is a new term RILA has coined to describe the confluence of retail and technology: An (R)Tech company embodies core values of both retail and technology – global and local, nimble and entrepreneurial – to win the loyalty of today's empowered consumers.

The center will address five key industry needs by:

1. Providing Authoritative Research: This will include retail innovation benchmarking, trends, and analysis.
2. Connecting to Innovation: The center will be used to connect retailers to innovative technologies, companies and ventures, from around the world.
3. Fostering Innovation: Assist the industry in creating cultures where innovation, creativity and change can flourish.
4. Activating Innovation: Assist retailers in implementing change management, putting new insights into action and integrating emerging technologies and new innovations across the company.
5. Burnishing Reputation: Build reputation for retail in innovation hubs and with policymakers and retail talent.

To coincide with the launch, the two organizations have released “The Emergence of (R)Tech: A Blueprint for the Confluence of Retail and Technology” to highlight how technology is disrupting the retail industry, along with the associated challenges and opportunities, including details of the steps needed for retailers to succeed by taking advantage of the technological disruption.

Additionally RILA has formed the (R)Tech Advisory Council, which represents some of today’s most established US retail brands, including food retailers such as Target and Kroger, and CPGs such as Coca-Cola, Energizer and Unilever. Other members include AutoZone, Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, Foot Locker, GameStop, Lowe's, QVC, VF Corp., Walgreens and Westfield.