The inspiring future of retail: Insights from the Australian Retail Association Leaders Forum 2025

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Australian Retail Association (ARA) Leaders Forum 25 in the vibrant city of Sydney. The association is Australia’s oldest and largest national retail body. It represents a $430 billion sector that comprises more than 120,000 retail shop fronts and online stores and that employs more than 1.4 million people. The forum was part of its mission to inform, educate and unify the independent, national and international retail community.

This event gathered some of the brightest minds in retail to discuss the key issues and trends that are shaping the future. The iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge served as backdrops to the forum, which was hosted at the International Convention Centre. The energy was electric, filled with the anticipation of fresh ideas and collaborative opportunities.

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A wealth of knowledge

The keynote speakers provided the undoubted highlight. Each presenter brought unique expertise and perspectives, igniting lively discussions on a range of critical topics, from current economic challenges to AI, data mining and sustainability.

The forum kicked off with an engaging session called Retail’s Future Vision, which featured renowned economist Chris Richardson of Rich Insight speaking about the current economic landscape in Australia and its impact on the retail sector. His analysis of consumer behaviour and spending trends provided actionable insights for retailers looking to navigate the challenges posed by inflation, shifting consumer priorities and changing buying habits. In addressing Trump’s tariffs and the shift to the likes of Temu and Shein, Chris said, “competition is fierce and it will be fiercer.”

The transformative power of technology was the focus of an absorbing panel discussion titled Retail 2025: State of Play, well hosted by Vanessa Matthijssen, the Asia-Pacific Consumer Industry Lead at Deloitte. The conversation featured industry giants Scott Fyfe, CEO of David Jones; Richard Goodman, CEO of FoodCo Group; Agnieszka (Agi) Pfeiffer-Smith, Managing Director of Dan Murphy’s (Endeavour Group); and Tim Schaafsma, CEO of Coco Republic. Together, they explored the evolving retail landscape and shared insights on how businesses are adapting to changing consumer expectations in preparation for 2025.

Panel discussions delved into how AI and data mining can enhance the customer experience, optimise inventory management and drive sales. It was fascinating to learn about real-world applications, from personalised recommendations to predictive analytics that can help retailers forecast demand.

With sustainability becoming a key focus in retail, passionate expert Bronwyn Johnson, Senior Business Development Manager at Too Good To Go, shared that “40% of the food we produce goes to waste.” I had the good fortune to talk with Bronwyn and discuss the work she does with some of the major fuel and convenience brands in Australia that allow customers to use an app to buy food that would otherwise go to waste.

Panel insights shared how businesses can incorporate sustainable practices into their operations, from ethical sourcing to eco-friendly packaging, with the discussion underscoring the importance of aligning business strategies with consumer expectations for sustainability. The collective commitment from the industry to adopt greener practices was truly inspiring.

Beyond the speaker sessions, the forum provided ample opportunities to network with fellow retailers, industry experts and thought leaders. Engaging in conversations over coffee breaks and during breakout sessions allowed me to share experiences, challenges and solutions with like-minded individuals. It was a reminder of the power of collaboration in driving innovation and success in the retail space.

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Leaving inspired

As I wrapped up my time in Sydney, I left the ARA Leaders Forum 25 feeling inspired and equipped with knowledge to take back to my colleagues at Triquestra and our customers. The insights gained from economists, AI experts, sustainability advocates and customer journey strategists highlighted the dynamic nature of retail and the necessity for adaptation and forward-thinking.

This event was not just a conference—it was a gathering of passionate individuals committed to improving the retail landscape. I am looking forward to applying what I learned and staying engaged with the discussions initiated during the forum, as we all strive to create a more innovative, sustainable and customer-centric retail environment.

Until next time, Sydney! Your vibrant spirit and the invaluable lessons from the ARA Leaders Forum 25 will be cherished.

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Keeping it Simple: Streamlining Pricing and Promotion for Optimal Results

While 94% of retail leaders are deploying multi-channel strategies, only 65% say their pricing and promotion strategy is consistent across all channels.

In a complicated world, keeping things simple can be vital to staying ahead of the competition. And when it comes to pricing, the simpler and faster the better.

Every retailer knows that enticing customers with special offers, promotions and custom pricing is essential to driving revenue. And at a time when inflationary pressures have seen consumers prioritising value for money and many are still looking for ways to make their dollar go further, getting your pricing strategy right is more important than ever.

But targeting and executing those promotions and pricing models can add an onerous layer of complexity to your business, especially if you have an extensive inventory and sell to retail and non-retail customers with different needs and expectations.

What’s more, running multiple pricing tiers and discount offers in tandem can make it hard to assess the impact on profit margin and can create confusion for customers at the point of sale, potentially eating into revenue gains.

Choosing the right technology partner is crucial. They need to deliver a solution that simplifies the creation, maintenance and delivery of complex pricing models, provides flexibility and meets the evolving needs of B2B and B2C customers. More than anything, they need to take the pain out of complex pricing by aligning your technology systems to your sales strategies – not the other way around.

Here, we look at how complex pricing, when done well, can deliver for both you and your customers, and consider what you should look for in a pricing solution.

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Always offer the best price

Knowing they are getting the best price is top of mind for cost-conscious buyers, with many shoppers willing to switch brands if they can save money elsewhere. Your complex pricing solution should be smart enough to ensure that you are delivering on this expectation for retail customers, either as part of customer-specific or store-specific promotions, or multi-buys, while also excluding trade or contract customers if separate pricing has been negotiated with them.

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Harness the power of volume pricing

Volume pricing delivers compelling value for customers by lowering the price per unit for larger quantities. Your pricing solution should allow you to easily set up tiered pricing that is sensitive to unit quantities when they are added to the sale, so you can appeal to trade customers seeking to purchase large orders at a reduced cost.

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Tailor pricing for contracts and projects

Negotiating contract and project pricing for trade customers is a valuable tool in the complex pricing toolkit and can be a great way of offering tradies an even better deal on your products.

So, for example, if a group of builders are working on a new supermarket project, your solution should allow you to identify them and offer them an enhanced, agreed discount over and above standard trade pricing on specified products for the work they do on the project.

Alternatively, you should be able to offer a builder contract pricing on a box of nails, so that they pay $80 per box over a 12-month period instead of the retail price of $90.

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Protect your margins

There’s no point running a promotion that will ultimately cost you money. You need to be sure that your margins are protected by preventing your store staff from manually discounting an item below an allowed minimum. At the same time, you need to be able to empower them to offer manual discounts where appropriate while also complying with trading standards.

And when it comes to negotiating contract pricing for trade customers, you need to be sure that the price you offer is financially viable and will maintain profit margins in your business.

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Create global and local promotions

In multi-store business, a one-size-fits-all approach to pricing and promotion can limit your ability to react to local trends. Implementing a pricing solution that allows stores to create and run their own promotions, such as a buy-one-get-one-free or a percentage-off deal, can be an effective way to move excess stock and to keep stores engaged with their customers.

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Reach across channels

Today, customers expect a “one-brand” experience that lets them shop at any time, using any channel, from any device, at the best price. However, inconsistent pricing and promotion strategies across all channels can leave retailers falling short. While 94% of retail leaders are deploying multi-channel strategies, only 65% say their pricing and promotion strategy is consistent across all channels.

To meet customers’ expectations, complex pricing needs to be part of a holistic unified commerce approach, so you can apply the same price online, in your apps and at self-service kiosks as you do instore, while also giving you the option to run promotions for specific channels, such as web-only specials for click-and-collect shoppers.

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Simplify the point of sale experience

When complex pricing is done right, it delivers the best possible experience for customers without compromising performance. And by delivering virtually instant results, it takes the pressure off your store staff by doing the heavy lifting for them, while giving them the information they need to let customers know about pricing promotions and alerting them to upselling opportunities.

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What Infinity can offer you

Infinity’s Rules Based Pricing solution delivers on all these essential requirements. Its easy-to-use interface allows you to quickly and easily define and implement multiple pricing attributes, determine the order in which pricing rules apply, and execute standard retail promotions in combination with non-retail pricing. Pre-defined rules take the pain out of designed pricing models, and lower error rates mean less time reconciling pricing between systems. And what’s more, it seamlessly forms part of Infinity’s unified commerce platform, so that pricing is consistent across all channels.

If you’re looking for help to shape your pricing strategy and extend your omnichannel capabilities, get in touch. We’d love to help you develop the solutions you need now and guide you to where you’re headed next.