In the hyper-competitive world of UK retail, customer experience is a true differentiator. At the same time as retailers are battling tight margins and rising crime, shoppers are demanding seamless consistent and personal interactions, wherever – and however – they choose to engage.
The result? Serious pressure to do more than simply sell.
But while much of the industry conversation focuses on front-end innovation such as chatbots, loyalty apps, self-checkouts, too many retailers overlook the foundation that truly powers those experiences: a secure, high-performing, resilient network.
“Ultimately, retailers don’t want more tech for the sake of it,” says Laurence Malthouse, director at Gamma. “They want answers. They want reassurance that they can deliver a brilliant customer experience, day in and day out, without worrying about whether the wheels might fall off.”
Gamma, a leading UK managed service provider, believes a modern customer experience strategy is only as strong as the infrastructure supporting it. Because a brand’s best loyalty programme or most advanced app counts for nothing if the underlying network fails.
And right now, there is little margin for failure.
The stakes are higher than ever
Today’s retail leaders are grappling with a perfect storm. Violent crime and abuse against store staff are rising sharply. Shoplifting is up 27 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, cyber attacks have reached crisis levels, with household names like M&S, Co-op, and Harrods suffering severe breaches that took core systems offline.
When customers are let down – whether by a crashed website, a broken payment terminal, or a compromised loyalty account – trust is shattered.
“The reality is you’ve only got one chance to get it right,” says Jason Simper, director of Gamma Secure. “If your services fall over, your customers will remember. And they’ll remember fast.”
That, Simper explains, is why a secure, resilient, and intelligently managed network is now the backbone of modern CX.
“Retailers are no longer just worried about uptime,” he adds. “They’re worried about brand reputation, customer trust, and staff morale. All of those are tied directly to whether their systems are available, secure, and performing every minute of every day.”
CX starts with confidence
From contact centres to in-store experiences, from loyalty platforms to digital signage, customers expect retail brands to meet them on their terms. And increasingly, that means offering personal, relevant, data-driven journeys, while also keeping their information safe.
“People want to feel recognised and valued,” says Malthouse. “That means brands need data, but it also means brands have a duty to protect that data, and to deliver consistently great experiences on top of it.”
Gamma’s customer contact and CX frameworks are built to do precisely that. Underpinned by robust, cloud-first managed networks, these solutions allow retailers to:
- Integrate omnichannel communications so customers can move seamlessly between phone, web, email, and social channels.
- Deliver faster, more responsive customer service thanks to prioritised, secure network traffic.
- Protect customer data with Zero Trust architecture and proactive threat detection.
- Support high-traffic peaks, such as seasonal surges or promotional campaigns, without downtime.
“This is far from just a question of how fast you can serve customers,” says Simper. “This is whether you can serve them safely, reliably, and with total transparency.”
The role of a managed, secure network in CX
So, what does this really look like behind the scenes?
Imagine a customer starting their journey by browsing on your app at home, clicking into a virtual try-on feature, then heading in-store to complete the purchase – using a mobile loyalty voucher and a contactless payment. That entire journey crosses multiple platforms, systems, and physical locations. If any part of the chain fails, the experience collapses.
“We talk about experience because it’s what the customer sees,” says Malthouse. “But behind that is the network, the connectivity, the infrastructure. If you don’t get that right, everything else is just window dressing.”
Gamma’s managed SD-WAN, for example, gives retailers fine-grained control over how data flows across their estate, dynamically adjusting bandwidth to prioritise critical applications like POS or contact centres during busy periods. Its proactive monitoring means the team can spot, predict, and resolve issues before they impact customers.
“A loyalty platform that falls over on Black Friday because of a simple network failure? That’s a disaster,” Simper says. “We design the infrastructure so that doesn’t happen.”
Human experience, powered by technology
While AI, automation, and analytics continue to transform CX, Gamma believes people will always sit at the heart of retail.
“There’s a human behind every transaction,” says Malthouse. “They’re trusting you with their time, their data, and their money. You have to earn that trust.”
That’s why Gamma puts so much emphasis on secure, resilient networks. Staff can only deliver exceptional customer service if they have confidence in the systems they’re using. From call centre agents dealing with complex queries to store colleagues handling a rush of weekend customers, everyone needs infrastructure they can rely on.
“Customer experience is a team sport,” says Simper. “Your people can’t shine if they’re let down by technology.”
From reactive to proactive: a new CX mindset
One of the most powerful shifts retailers can make in 2025 is to move from protection to prediction.
“We’ve been talking to retailers for years about the dangers of being reactive,” Simper explains. “Waiting for a breach to happen, or a service to go down, before you act. That’s yesterday’s model.”
Instead, Gamma helps brands build resilience from the ground up:
- Proactive threat detection using AI-assisted tools and human expertise to spot patterns before they turn into problems.
- Continuous monitoring of networks and applications, ensuring customer journeys remain seamless.
- Flexible, modular frameworks like Gamma’s proven CX delivery framework that allow contact centres to adapt rapidly to changes in customer demand.
“We’re talking about building confidence,” Malthouse says. “So that when something does go wrong – because no system is perfect – you’ve got the tools, the people, and the processes to recover quickly and maintain customer trust.”
Secure contact centres: the CX frontline
In many ways, the contact centre has become the beating heart of a retailer’s brand. It’s the place where customers call in frustration, ask for help, or seek reassurance. When those systems go down, whether from a cyberattack or a technical failure, the impact is immediate.
But fear not, as Gamma has a solution. The company’s intelligent inbound call management solution helps retailers stay connected, responsive and resilient, even during periods of disruption. By providing full control over inbound calls at the network level, it ensures that voice channels remain available, secure, and fully operational. No matter what.
From advanced routing to seamless crisis recovery, the platform is designed to guarantee business continuity and protect customer experience. Calls can be automatically re-routed in the event of an outage, reducing risk, enhancing efficiency, and delivering meaningful cost savings.
“We’re seeing retailers look really hard at how they manage customer contact,” says Malthouse. “The next generation of customers won’t wait on hold for 40 minutes. They expect seamless, secure, immediate help.”
Building trust through partnership
Perhaps most importantly Gamma positions itself as a consultative partner, not simply a vendor. In an era where many retailers feel overwhelmed, the role of a trusted advisor is vital.
“We understand the pressure retail leaders are under,” Malthouse says. “Our job is not to judge, it’s to guide. We work with your existing systems, your teams, your suppliers, and help you build a strategy that works for your business.”
Gamma’s consultative approach means engaging with retailers on their terms. It means quarterly reviews, roundtable feedback, peer-to-peer workshops, and a focus on outcomes — not shiny technology for its own sake.
“If your current provider is handing you a product and disappearing, you’re exposed,” warns Simper. “You need someone who stays with you for the long haul. Someone who sees every CX challenge as a chance to make you stronger.”
The bottom line: Resilient CX is secure CX
As retailers head into a year of continued volatility, one thing is clear. Customer experience can no longer be separated from security. They are two sides of the same coin.
A secure, high-performing network allows contact centres to shine. It allows in-store teams to focus on helping customers, not battling systems. It allows loyalty schemes, apps, and digital journeys to deliver real value.
“If you’re serious about customer experience, you have to be serious about your foundations,” Malthouse says. “And that means security, resilience, and the right partnerships.”
Gamma stands ready to help. With decades of expertise, a UK-based support team, and a proven consultative approach, they’re committed to empowering retailers to move from survival mode to confident, connected customer experiences.
“We see the people behind every problem,” says Malthouse. “And we’re here to help them succeed.”
To learn more about Gamma’s secure CX solutions for retail or to get in touch, click here.
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