Why Playing Safe Is Risky for Retailers

Steve Dennis argues that playing safe has become risky because customers, competitors, technology, and search behavior are changing faster than many retailers can adapt. He warns that slow incremental change often means falling behind, especially for retailers stuck in the “boring middle.” The session highlights three priorities: understand customers deeply, separate table-stakes capabilities from true differentiators, and build an operating model that supports experimentation, agility, and faster scaling of what works.