Inside JD Sports’ Digital Playbook: A Conversation with CDO Arianne Parisi

📍London, UK

This episode was brought to you by New Black. They are redefining retail with EVA, a contextual commerce platform that unifies Inventory and order management, pos, in-store apps, promotions, loyalty and clienteling into one seamless system.

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The future of retail isn’t just digital—it’s unified. That was the key theme in my latest conversation with Arianne Parisi, Chief Digital Officer at JD Sports, who is leading digital transformation across a global footprint of 4,500+ stores in 30+ countries. With an ever-growing complexity of acquisitions, market-specific consumer behaviors, and evolving customer expectations, Arianne’s challenge is to simplify the complex—breaking down silos and building a customer-first omnichannel strategy that works at scale.

One of the biggest shifts JD Sports is making is rethinking KPIs beyond sales and revenue. The retailer is investing in long-term metrics like brand health and customer engagement, ensuring that marketing efforts are not just about driving immediate conversions but fostering loyalty and awareness across global markets. Arianne also discussed how AI and automation are helping JD improve operational efficiency, particularly in customer care. Their in-house AI assistant, Robert, is driving better insights from employee engagement and customer feedback.