Meet the thought leaders reimagining retail tech at Converge @ Walmart 2022

If you’re reading this article, chances are you've undoubtedly experienced some of the ways in which technology is transforming the retail world, whether you realise it or not. In fact, a large part of your online experience — shopping or otherwise — is in many ways, directly or indirectly connected to a retail tech experience.

As tech in retailing continues to open up incredible opportunities for further innovation, Converge — Walmart Global Tech in India’s upcoming flagship event — will help decode how deeptech, AI, AR, VR, IoT, Blockchain, Web3 and other frontier technologies are helping reimagine retail.

What’s in store?

The day-long retail tech event will unite Walmart and industry leaders on one platform to share their insights on how technology is delivering powerful, personal, and enhanced retail experiences. Here are some of the notable sessions and speakers from the event.

Key global and national perspectives

Converge begins with a power-packed note from global retail thought leaders including Doug McMillon, President and CEO, who will be sharing how Walmart brings customer delight and convenience as the world's largest retailer.

The address by Judith McKenna, President and CEO, Walmart International will contextualise how the digital economy will power homegrown companies to grow and become part of global supply chains. She will also cover how Walmart is contributing and creating one connected shopping experience through its firms in India.

The session by Suresh Kumar, EVP - CTO and CDO, Walmart Global Tech will help us reimagine how retail works, and provide a fascinating insight into how the Walmart Global Tech teams are transforming the way people shop at Walmart.

The curtain raiser will be followed by keynotes from Hari Vasudev, SVP and Country Head, Walmart Global Tech and Rahul Chari, CTO and Co-founder, PhonePe.

AI - the new normal for eCommerce

To compete today, retailers must respond to their customers like never before, all while eliminating waste and inefficiencies from their operations. Data can get one there, but making sense of the sheer volume of it takes serious intelligence. AI in retail—including machine learning and deep learning—are key to generating these insights. This panel featuring Mayur Datar, Chief Data Scientist, Flipkart; and Dr Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer, Microsoft India will help unpack the role of AI as the new normal for eCommerce.

How Gen Z is shaping the future of retail

While millennials are still regarded as the most powerful age group by many, Generation Z has started moving into the customer spotlight and will soon become the largest cohort of customers. Constituting 26 percent of the total population across the world, the Gen Z cohort will both drive and embrace the most significant retail developments of tomorrow. The panel featuring Sharon Pais, CBO, Myntra; and Anuj Rathi, SVP - Revenue and Growth, Swiggy, will help you understand the nuances of this demographic and how they are shaping the future of retail.

Decoding the retail skills for the future

The World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts that AI and automation will lead to the creation of 97 million new jobs by 2025. Also, according to the WEF’s Future of Jobs report, 50 percent of all employees will need to reskill by 2025 as the adoption of technology increases. To understand the emerging skill landscape - the opportunities and challenges - this panel featuring Ramesh Loganathan, Chair, Outreach committee, IIIT Hyderabad; Madhura Dasgupta Sinha, Founder, Aspire for Her; and Dulles Krishnan, MD Enterprise, India & ANZ, Coursera will help decode the retail tech skills for the future.

Building fintech for India’s big billion

India is home to the third-largest fintech ecosystem in the world, and has created its unique model of fintech innovation and digital financial inclusion. To explore the future of India's fintech-retail collaboration landscape and the impact of fintech on democratising retail, the panel of speakers including Ramakrishnan Gopalan, Head – Products, India and South Asia, Visa and Guru Bhat, Vice President - Customer Success Platform, PayPal, will discuss leveraging the India tech stack, shaping autonomous financial products with AI, tokenization, and blockchain for data security, and using data to rethink customer offerings and needs.

Retailing for Bharat - understanding India beyond its metros

India, a nation of 1.2 billion people, is the most varied market in the world, thanks to its diversity in cultures, lifestyles, and preferences. To help us understand India’s retail landscape beyond its metros and assess the patterns, behaviours, preferences of the customers from this diverse market, this fireside chat with Jeyandran Venugopal, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Flipkart will help us deep-dive into the ‘Bharat’ opportunity.

How Web3 will change retail experiences

Very soon, India is expected to have both the largest number of retail crypto customers and the largest number of Web3 developers in the world. Featuring

Rohit Chatter, Chief Architect, Walmart Global Tech and Chandralika Hazarika, MD and Co-Founder, Bigthinx, this panel will cover how Web3 will change retail experiences, building brands on the Metaverse, sensory marketing techniques, virtual currency, revenue generation, and more.

Creating an inclusive future for retail with technology

With the help of emerging technologies, such as AI, ML, IoT, and most recently Web3, technology continues to power retail through the growth of eCommerce digital payment, and many other avenues which are helping create a more democratic, more inclusive, and more impactful experience for customers. This panel featuring Vishal Dhupar, MD, South Asia, NVIDIA; Mythily Ramesh, Co-founder and CEO, Nextwealth; and Hari Vasudev, SVP - Retail Tech Platforms and Country Head, Walmart Global Tech helps us look at how emerging technology can help create an inclusive future for retail,

Register now for a front row seat to the future of retail tech

Be inspired by some of the world's most renowned technology disruptors and their insights on modern tech stacks, emerging strategies, experiential retailing and more! Block your calendars and book yourself a spot!.