Hi, I'm Clare Bailey, founder of Retail Champion.

I'll be honest — when I read the white paper that prompted this conversation, a couple of statistics genuinely stopped me in my tracks. Things I hadn't fully considered, even as someone who's worked across retail, consultancy, and software for decades.

Disclosure: This episode is a paid speaking opportunity. Clare was compensated by Scayle to take part in this conversation.

In this episode, I'm joined by Tarek Mueller, co-founder and CEO of SCAYLE — the eCommerce software company born from the fashion retailer About You, now part of the Zalando Group, Europe's largest online fashion business. Tarek brings a genuinely rare perspective: he built the technology as a retailer and now sells it to some of the world's biggest brands. We cover AI shopping behaviour, the virtual try-on opportunity, and the uncomfortable truth about why so many retailers are stuck.

This one is packed with data, insight, and some very useful analogies involving Formula One engines and 15-year-old MacBooks.

What We Cover

• Why SCAYLE is different — built by a retailer, for retailers, not by developers for developers
• The stat that surprised me: 51% of UK shoppers won't trust AI to complete a purchase for them
• Why that's actually good news for brands — and how to capitalise on AI-led discovery right now
• ChatGPT as a traffic channel: a 10x increase in referral visits and what that means for your visibility
• The counter-trend to AI: why real-world experiences, live shopping, and human content are surging
• Virtual try-on — why 44% of UK shoppers have never experienced it, and why 2027 could be the breakthrough year
• Legacy tech as the real innovation blocker — why IT departments are stuck in maintenance mode
• The Formula One analogy: why spending money on the wrong engine guarantees you'll lose the race
• Click and collect, omnichannel, personalisation — why so many retailers still can't do the basics

Chapter Titles & Timecodes

• 00:00 — Introduction & context
• 01:45 — Who is Tarek Mueller and what is SCAYLE?
• 05:06 — Built by retailers, for retailers: the key difference
• 11:49 — AI and UK shopping trends: the data from SCAYLE's global study
• 16:06 — The counter-trend: why AI is making people crave real experiences
• 17:12 — Visual commerce, virtual try-on, and what's coming in 2027
• 29:16 — Legacy tech: the hidden innovation blocker in retail IT
• 34:27 — Retail Tea Time event and the UK Fashion Shopping Guide

Resources & Links

• The Retail Champion: www.theretailchampion.co.uk
• SCAYLE: scayle.com
• Other episodes: retailreckoningpodcast.co.uk
• Subscribe to Retail Reckoning wherever you get your podcasts

This episode was a paid speaking opportunity. Clare was compensated to speak with Tarek Mueller, co-founder of SCAYLE. Everything you hear reflects a genuine conversation.

Connect & Share

If this episode made you rethink your tech stack, your AI visibility strategy, or your omnichannel roadmap — I'd love to hear from you. Leave a review, share it with a fellow retailer or IT decision-maker, or come and find me on social media. Let's keep the conversation going.