The spotlight was on him. Ken Hughes is a true showman. With more than one string to his bow, the Irishman is not only the self-proclaimed king of customer experience and the world’s leading consumer behaviourist. He’s also a formidable comedian. The 300 spectators at the 3rd edition of the “Future of retail” event, organised on Tuesday 9 July by Luxembourg Confederation, were unlikely to intimidate him. With twenty years’ experience tucked away in his hand luggage, the man in the jacket hops from plane to plane all year round to perform all over the world.

The good life

Doped up on vitamins, the thirty-minute talk by the man who also describes himself as “the Frankenstein of the social sciences” dotted a few Is and crossed a few Ts at a time when the digital transition and the upsurge of artificial intelligence are disrupting so many points of reference. Because, as Hughes said, "what makes us happiest in life is not money or social success, but human relationships". That was a lesson learned from reading the 700-odd pages of "The Good Life" by Dr Robert Waldinger and Dr Marc Schulz. Published last year, this worldwide bestseller retraces the fascinating 80-year study conducted by Harvard University, which for all that time followed a cohort of 724 adults and their more than 1,300 descendants, one day at a time. Staggering. But perhaps not as mind-boggling as the fact that, in order to introduce a subject that is abundantly infused with digital technology, Hugues was relying on something as old-fashioned as a good old paper book.

Two and a half clicks

Hughes told his audience that AI was "the greatest technological leap forward" ever seen. "I work with Google and Microsoft, and what's coming is going to change the nature of society and commerce," he asserted. He goes on to describe what is happening in Hollywood studios, where scriptwriters and actors have gone on strike. “They’re scared. Afraid of losing their jobs. To reassure themselves, people are telling me that AI will never be able to replace actors.” Hughes then played a video on the screen behind him showing a request he had made. Hughes had asked an AI tool to simulate a film sequence featuring a rather old, rather dark, rather worried, rather bearded actor... The job was done in a minute.

"Why spend a million dollars when you can do the same thing with an AI?" he asked the audience, this time showing a Western-style set that would take weeks of hard work to build. But the cheeky AI bot produced it in just two and a half clicks.

‘Blue Dot’ customers

Having said that, Hughes kept coming back to “The Good Life” and the lessons it teaches. OK, we live in an ultra-connected environment. But let's not forget that there are human relationships. Without them, a food chain in the Netherlands would never have introduced a dedicated queue for the elderly in its supermarkets. The employee in charge of the checkout is instructed to scan each item as slowly as possible, so as to allow the exchange to take place with customers for whom, often, a visit to the shop is the only interaction of the day.

Hugues has many such stories. They all support a message that is hammered home over and over again: the customer must be the alpha and omega of everything. He gives them a name, the ‘Blue Dot customer’. Everything must revolve around them. Everything must make their lives easier. In the United States, who would have the idea of going to a garage to have their car repaired when an application tested by Uber can help you out in five minutes flat? Also in the US, who would still go to a service station when another app allows a service provider to fill up a vehicle wherever it is?

Goldfish story

"Put people first, not the product or the process. Make them feel special", encouraged Hughes, who is calling on the retail sector to make a paradigm shift. "Old paths don't open new doors.… The customer journey must generate enthusiasm. Go beyond expectations. Make the story come alive."

So he told yet another story. The one about the kids who set off from the UK for the US, where they and their parents are due to settle down for good. Before boarding the plane, the children hold a pouch of water inside which a goldfish that belongs to them is swimming lazily. Neither the pouch nor the fish are allowed on board. Children in distress. Screaming. Crying. The stewardess manages. She assured the little ones that the fish would travel separately, on the same plane. She lets the little family board. Takes a photo of the fish. Sends it to a colleague in Atlanta, where the flight is due to land. The colleague in question went off to buy the same fish. When they got there, the kids couldn't believe their eyes and all their pain was gone.

Another one? Come on... Another plane story. Again in the United States. A traveller has to cross the country to attend his mother's funeral. Delays made it impossible for the unfortunate man to catch his connecting flight. A stewardess on board realised this. She informed the captain. The control tower was called. The decision was made to delay the next flight. So that the bereaved could board in time. “He’ll never forget this airline.”

Tupperware meeting at Taylor Swift’s house

So that’s what Hughes insists on. Creating a bond. Making each experience unique. Unforgettable. Adapting to circumstances. Doing more. The Irish showman takes his cue from megastar Taylor Swift. Queen of pop that she is, Swift is always taking selfies with her fans, even inviting them into her home to preview the contents of her new album. She serves cake and drinks. She passes the house cat from arm to arm. Somewhere between an intimate showcase and a Tupperware meeting.

Her fans, on the other hand, are capable of standing around dancing for hours on end in the rain, soaking wet, and in their thousands, on the outskirts of a stadium where a concert by the star is taking place... for which they don't have a ticket. "An emotional connection", as Hughes summed it up. By the way, does AI even know how to laugh, cry or dance in the rain?

Originally published in