Retail Lunch 2026
Retail Lunch 2026
- Key Lunch
The retail landscape is shifting at an unprecedented pace. Economic pressures, shifting digital landscapes, and unpredictable market forces have created a stark divide in the industry, while some brands have found innovative ways to thrive, others have faced significant issues. This year’s Retail Lunch brings together industry leaders to dissect these realities, offering a comprehensive look back at the lessons learned from recent triumphs and struggles, alongside a strategic roadmap for the year ahead.
Panel 1: Heritage & Community: Balancing the soul of legacy brands with the curation of modern, hyper-local shopping experiences by exploring how historic retailers can maintain their core identity while embedding themselves into the unique cultural fabric of local neighborhoods.
Panel 2: Marketing Efficiency: Moving past the AI hype to leverage predictive tech for hyper-personalization and measurable ROI in an era where budgets are tight and consumers demand absolute relevance, forcing marketers to separate flashy trends from scalable, bottom-line growth.
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About the Speakers:
Christian Spence
Founder & Chief Economist - Economic Analytics
With over fifteen years’ experience in economics and public policy across local government (Manchester City Council), think tanks (Core Cities), business organisations (Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and British Chambers of Commerce) and academia (Manchester Metropolitan University), Christian has since 2022 ran his own consultancy, Economic Analytics, providing economic and data science research, analysis, modelling and commentary to a variety of clients across all sectors, from not-for-profits to blue chip international companies. He specialises in UK economic and tax analysis, big data modelling and forecasting and public speaking.
Christian Spence
Founder & Chief Economist - Economic Analytics
With over fifteen years’ experience in economics and public policy across local government (Manchester City Council), think tanks (Core Cities), business organisations (Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and British Chambers of Commerce) and academia (Manchester Metropolitan University), Christian has since 2022 ran his own consultancy, Economic Analytics, providing economic and data science research, analysis, modelling and commentary to a variety of clients across all sectors, from not-for-profits to blue chip international companies. He specialises in UK economic and tax analysis, big data modelling and forecasting and public speaking.