The customer doesn’t care if your cloud tenancy is fragmented. They care if the returns desk is offline, if the loyalty app stalls, or if store Wi-Fi delays their payment. Fair and understandable.
That is the reality for UK retailers in 2025. Years of investment in omnichannel experience, personalisation, and AI are now underpinned by ageing infrastructure. The stack that once powered growth is beginning to fail, simply because the pace of evolution is at revolution pitch. And when things do start to fall behind in the retail experience, customers are the first to notice.
What Retailers Are Facing Now
Technology should be the enabler. But in too many UK retailers, it has become the obstacle. Based on recent conversations with retail CIOs and COOs, five issues are defining the challenge:
- Ransomware is reaching the shop floor. Attacks are increasingly targeting POS systems, payment gateways, and in-store networks.
- Cloud spend is rising, but insight is not. Retailers are consuming cloud services without achieving the operational or commercial value expected.
- AI is being deployed in isolation. Without clean data, secure integration and staff adoption, AI creates complexity, not clarity.
- Legacy infrastructure is surfacing in customer channels. What used to stay hidden in IT logs is now reflected in customer reviews.
- Store infrastructure lacks resilience. Patchy connectivity, outdated devices, and unmanaged endpoints are undermining frontline teams.
What Customers Are Feeling
The symptoms are clear. Your customer might not describe them in technical terms, but they are certainly feeling the impact:
- Slower service, unavailable stock, and delayed payments.
- Loyalty apps that glitch and returns that stall.
- Inconsistent experiences across channels that erode brand trust.
Retailers are feeling the pressure to modernise. But without the right foundation, even the best digital strategy will underperform.
RE:assure., RE:equip., RE:connect., RE:engineer.
Six Degrees and Microsoft are helping UK retailers rebuild trust by fixing the foundations, not adding more apps. This is RE:imagined. retail.
A secure, scalable, and resilient stack is no longer optional. It is the difference between performance and friction.
- RE:assure. – Cyber security that protects brand trust. From endpoint defence to fully Managed Detection and Response, security becomes invisible but uncompromising.
- RE:equip. – Modern Work tools your teams actually use. Integrated Microsoft 365 and Teams solutions support frontline workers with secure productivity.
- RE:connect. – Infrastructure that powers operations, not outages. Hybrid Cloud aligned with Microsoft Azure delivers flexibility, cost control, and uptime.
- RE:engineer. – AI and analytics designed for outcomes, not overload. With secure data and integrated systems, AI becomes a strategic asset.
Why the Stack Must Be Invisible
Customer experience is now dictated by infrastructure health. A slow till or a failed mobile checkout is not a tech issue, it’s a loyalty issue.
Retailers that invest in their foundational platforms are not just solving IT problems. They are restoring trust, enabling innovation, and protecting margin.
The stack must be secure, but seamless. Modern, but manageable. Flexible, but cost-effective. And above all, invisible to the customer.
Join the RE:think. at Lord’s on Wednesday 2nd July
Six Degrees and Microsoft are hosting Retail’s Big RE:think. – a strategic event for retail CIOs, COOs, and IT leaders at Lord’s Cricket Ground.
You will hear from brands like Brintons and Assosia, who are already rearchitecting trust. Learn how they have unlocked Microsoft co-funding, streamlined operations, and built resilience into their core.
This is not a product showcase. It is a roadmap for retail leaders who want clarity, not complexity.
If your retail tech stack is starting to show signs of strain, this is the moment to act.
RE:think. RE:build. RE:lead. Because when your infrastructure works, your customers stay focused on the experience. Not the failure. Speak to a Six Degrees Microsoft expert today.
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