In this episode of Digital Icons, Andrea Picchi, the head of experience design, River Island extensively addresses building relationships and customer loyalty. Using the apparel industry which he is an expert in as an example, Picchi asserts that building relationships is one of the most difficult tasks in any sector. He posits selling values and beliefs which customers can relate to, should be the goal. Picchi explained this, while highlighting top apparel brands. He also cites personalization and the promotion of local culture, as brilliant ways to further build customer loyalty.

Andrea Picchi

Head of Experience Design-River Island 

With 20+ years of experience in the design field, in the past 10+ years, he has been leading teams and personally contributing to the creation of products and services used by millions of users. He had worked with, and for, companies like Apple, Google, Samsung, Nokia, and Sony, but also Virgin Media, Ryanair, British Airways, and currently River Island. Andrea Picchi has a background in cognitive psychology and computer science; he continued his education in human-computer interaction at Stanford and business and design thinking at MIT.