Melissa Moore on the retail tech essentials that actually matter

After 27 years in the industry, retail educator Melissa Moore argues that the most transformative technology is rarely the flashiest. While AI-driven back-office tools and mobile payments have reshaped the sector, she insists the humble barcode remains the true foundation of modern commerce, far outperforming buzzy concepts like cashierless stores.

Reflecting on her career, which began in 1998 at Laura Ashley, Moore recalls a time when stock management relied entirely on landlines and handwritten notes. Today, she navigates a landscape defined by machine learning and automated demand models, yet she remains grounded in the basics. For Moore, the real "magic" of retail technology lies in the quiet, unglamorous efficiency of electronic shelf labels and back-office forecasting rather than headline-grabbing innovations. When these systems work, they solve the perennial retail challenge: placing the right product in the right location at the right time.

She identifies the barcode as the single most critical piece of kit in any store, noting that despite its age, it remains the backbone upon which all modern logistics, self-checkout, and inventory tracking depend. Conversely, she views Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology as a classic example of overhyped innovation. While impressive on a conference stage, the system often relied on human intervention behind the scenes and failed to address the fundamental issues of queue management and staffing that actually frustrate shoppers. For Moore, the future of retail isn't about replacing the human experience, but using technology to clear the operational hurdles that prevent staff from serving customers effectively.