RISE 2025 brought together India's retail leaders and solution providers to examine how technology, digital payments, and new operating models are reshaping consumer experience and retail growth.

India's retail sector is accelerating its transition toward technology-led, customer-centric growth, a theme that emerged strongly at the Retail India Summit & Expo (RISE) 2025, hosted by the Retailers Association of India (RAI) on November 11 in New Delhi. The annual flagship event convened retailers, retail service providers, financial institutions, and technology innovators to discuss how digital transformation is redefining business operations, consumer engagement, and competitive advantage across the sector.

The summit agenda focused on critical areas including retail strategy, digital transformation, and digital payments, reflecting the growing influence of technology on how retailers operate and connect with consumers. In addition to these core themes, sessions explored retail real estate, SaaS solutions for retail, supply chain and logistics, D2C business models, and the expanding role of banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in supporting retail expansion and financial inclusion.

The accompanying Expo served as a showcase of emerging tools and solutions aimed at enhancing store performance and customer experience. Exhibitors presented innovations spanning artificial intelligence, virtual reality, modern retail fittings, merchandising systems, and in-store technologies. Together, these offerings highlighted how retailers are increasingly reimagining physical spaces to meet the expectations of digitally fluent and experience-driven consumers, while also optimising efficiency across operations.

Speaking about the significance of the event, Kumar Rajagopalan, Chief Executive Officer of the Retailers Association of India, said that RISE plays a critical role in bringing together a diverse spectrum of retailers from across the country. He noted that the platform enables meaningful dialogue among industry stakeholders while allowing service providers to demonstrate how their solutions can strengthen retail capabilities. Rajagopalan added that the 2025 edition placed particular emphasis on technology partnerships and emerging opportunities, creating an environment that encourages collaboration and shared growth.

RISE 2025 featured a series of panel discussions that examined how retailers are adapting to a more competitive and cost-conscious market environment. Sessions such as Customer-First Growth in a Tougher Market: Finding Relevance Without Losing Resilience focused on how retail leaders are balancing pricing pressures, brand purpose, and people-centric strategies while maintaining profitability.

Another panel, The Smart Store Playbook: Tech That Removes Friction and Adds Delight, explored how technologies such as RFID, connected point-of-sale dashboards, and advanced store operations systems are enabling more seamless and efficient shopping experiences.

The evolving role of payments and commerce platforms was addressed in Payments, Platforms & Possibilities: How Seamless Commerce Is Powering the Next Retail Wave, where panelists discussed how integrated payment systems are influencing customer loyalty, scalability, and ease of transaction. Marketing and storytelling also featured prominently, with Marketing That Moves People: Redefining Retail Storytelling in a Connected World examining how data, creativity, and tools such as CRM systems and AI-driven personalisation are helping brands build deeper and more meaningful consumer relationships.

Special Address — Rajesh Jain, MD & CEO, Lacoste India & Chairman - RAI Delhi Chapter

Presentation — Koustubh Jalan, Sales Leader, Retail & Consumer Goods, Salesforce India

Presentation — Ravee Shanker, CMO, Krishna Bhumi Arcade

The summit saw participation from a wide range of retail leaders and entrepreneurs across categories. Speakers included Aakash Koparkar, Vice President at Relaxo Footwear; Ankur Bhatia, CEO of Chogori India Retail Ltd.; Anupam Bansal, Director at Liberty Shoes Ltd.; Ashim Ashok Patil, Managing Director and CEO of i-TEK RFID; Bharat Sethi, Founder and CEO of Rage Coffee; Devang Sampat, Managing Director of Cinépolis India; Dhruv Bogra, Country Manager at Forever New Clothing; JP Shukla, CEO of 1-India Family Mart; Lalit Agarwal, Managing Director of V-Mart Retail Ltd.; Mayank Mohan, Partner and CEO of Mohanlal Sons; Raghav Agarwal, Director of V-Bazaar Retail; and Rajesh Jain, Managing Director and CEO of Lacoste India, among others.

As India's retail landscape continues to evolve amid rapid technological change and shifting consumer expectations, RISE 2025 underscored the industry's collective focus on innovation, collaboration, and forward-looking strategies. The summit reaffirmed RAI's role in enabling dialogue and partnerships that support a more resilient, efficient, and future-ready retail ecosystem.

PANEL DISCUSSION ON CUSTOMER-FIRST GROWTH IN A TOUGHER MARKET: FINDING RELEVANCE WITHOUT LOSING RESILIENCE

L-R: Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India; Girish Krishnan, Director, Amazon Pay; Lalit Agarwal, MD, V-Mart Retail Ltd. and Rajesh Jain, MD & CEO, Lacoste India & Chairman - RAI Delhi Chapter

PANEL DISCUSSION ON THE SMART STORE PLAYBOOK: TECH THAT REMOVES FRICTION AND ADDS DELIGHT

L-R: Ravee Shanker, CMO, Krishna Bhumi Arcade; Ashim Ashok Patil, MD & CEO, i-TEK RFID; Ankur Bhatia, CEO, Chogori India Retail Ltd.; JP Shukla, CEO, 1-India Family Mart; Dhruv Garg, CEO and Co-Founder, Global Republic; Mayank Mohan, Partner & CEO, Mohanlal Sons; Drishti Gupta, Director, Transline Technologies, Founder, Storepulse AI; Prashant Bhargava, Distinguished, Account SE, Salesforce India and Akhil Jain, MD, Jain Amar & CEO, Madame

PANEL DISCUSSION ON WHAT MATTERS MOST: CHOOSING THE RIGHT COMMERCE ECOSYSTEM FOR GROWTH

L-R: Akhil Jain, MD, Jain Amar & CEO, Madame; Devang Sampat, MD, Cinépolis India; Pawanjeet S., Head - Sales, ClickPost; Raghav Agarwal, Director, V-Bazaar Retail; Rahul Bhalla, CEO & Co-Founder, Latin Quarters; Rajat Agrawal, CEO, Barista and Ravee Shanker, CMO, Krishna Bhumi Arcade

PANEL DISCUSSION ON MARKETING THAT MOVES PEOPLE: REDEFINING RETAIL STORYTELLING IN A CONNECTED WORLD

L-R: Gyan Srivastava, Brand Head - Devo, Siyaram; Amit Jawar, Head - FMCG Business, Patanjali Foods Ltd.; Ritesh Rathi, President and COO, Citykart; Nitesh Singh, Co-Founder, Bluetea; Harsh Hari Modi, CEO, Mulmul; Siddhant Gupta, Founder, Chique; and Umair Mohammed, Founder & CEO, Nitro Commerce

PANEL DISCUSSION ON BUILDING MOMENTUM IN THE D2C WORLD: INNOVATE, ADAPT, SUCCEED

RAI AND IIM SAMBALPUR JOIN HANDS TO REDEFINE RETAIL EDUCATION

ONEBEAT: ROUNDTABLE ON PROFIT FROM PRECISION: USING TECH TO GET INVENTORY RIGHT

SALESFORCE INDIA: ROUNDTABLE ON SMART RETAIL: DELIVERING FRICTIONLESS CUSTOMER JOURNEYS WITH DATA AND AI

WORKSHOP ON BREAKING BARRIERS: YOUR ROADMAP TO GLOBAL SALES WITH AMAZON