Speaking at the World Retail Congress this morning, Kepron stressed that customer experience happens in a person's brain and said: “We are currently moving to a world of brand of me. What is relevant to the younger generation is not the same as everyone else. So there is not a one-size-fits-all for anything, but this creates an opportunity to write a story that they can be part of.”

Looking at traditional triggers to engage an audience that is increasingly diffiuclt to engage with, he cited pattern recognition as very important, enabling retailers to use this inherent trait to direct consumer attention, regardless of the size of the store.

“A greeter is important because they pre-set the shoppers' mind to be in a positive mood,” he added. “This has a profound effect on how we engage with consumers.”

Kepron noted a correlation between the launch of smartphones and the emergence of Facebook into the mainstream and lower engagement among college leavers, saying that these devices and services and been part of a trend away from “people reading each other”.

However, despite the challenges this created, he said the important thing is that there is now an “opportunity to re-engage”.