Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast The Retail Razor Show
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Media 2026 - DSP Shifts, Agentic Commerce & Brand Strategy | 31 janv. 2026 | 00:49:17 | |
S6E1 Retail Media’s New Reality: DSP Shifts, Agentic Commerce & Brand Strategy for 2026 Season 6 of The Retail Razor Show kicks off with a deep dive into one of the most important topics in commerce today: retail media. Ricardo and Casey sit down with Jeff Cohen, Chief Business Development Officer at Skai, to unpack the newly released 2026 State of Retail Media Report, created in partnership with Stratably. This episode explores how brands, versus retailers, are navigating the rapid evolution of retail media. From DSP shifts and CTV growth to AI adoption and agentic commerce, measurement challenges, and the widening gap between leaders and laggards, this conversation delivers the insights every brand marketer needs heading into 2026. What We Cover
Download the 2026 State of Retail Media Report (free): https://skai.io/reports-and-whitepapers/2026-state-of-retail-media-report/ Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube About our Guests Jeff Cohen, Chief Business Development Officer, Skai https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreycohen/ Jeff Cohen leads global business development at Skai, overseeing partnerships and innovation across the commerce media ecosystem. A recognized thought leader, he is focused on uniting brands, agencies, retailers, and publishers around the next era of growth. Previously, Jeff was Principal Evangelist at Amazon Ads. Chapters: 00:00 Preview Teaser 00:53 Show Intro 03:45 Welcome Jeff Cohen 06:24 Retail Media Maturity and Brand Strategies 08:30 Leaders vs. Laggards in Retail Media 12:12 Organizational Structure and Retail Media Success 17:35 Amazon Ads and DSP Insights 24:36 Evaluating Performance Across Platforms 27:45 The Shift to Full Funnel Advertising 29:46 Challenges in Measurement and Attribution 30:50 The Role of AMC in Retail Media 33:01 Incrementality and Budget Constraints 35:45 AI's Impact on Retail Media 37:10 Strategies for Brands in an AI World 42:54 Key Takeaways and Final Thoughts 48:21 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voice for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Thought Leader in Retail and AGI, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Management, Careers, and Transformation, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Agentic AI and Digital Transformation. Thinkers 360 also named him a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation and the Retail Cloud Alliance. He was most recently the partner marketing leader for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T, and CEO of Luxlock. She is a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2026, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, Casey is obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer and is slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| The New Era of Agentic Commerce and Retail Media Begins! | 23 janv. 2026 | 00:05:44 | |
Agentic Commerce, Retail Media, and the Human Experience: Season 6 Preview Season 6 of The Retail Razor Show is here, and we’re diving into the future of retail through the lens of Agentic Commerce and Retail Media. In this trailer, Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden introduce a season built around the collision of technology, content, and the human experience. As Agentic Commerce reshapes how consumers discover and buy products, Retail Media becomes the environment where every decision is influenced, measured, and optimized. This season builds on the momentum from Season 5, where we explored resilience, digital marketing, sustainability, resale, marketplace strategy, and leadership in an AI saturated world. Now we move into a new era where AI agents may shop on behalf of consumers, and retailers must understand how Agentic Commerce changes engagement, loyalty, and the path to purchase. At the same time, Retail Media continues to expand as a core revenue engine and a critical part of the customer journey. You’ll hear from innovators who are building systems powered by Agentic AI, leaders redefining Retail Media strategy, and operators proving that frontline teams can thrive when technology is designed to support them. This season explores how Agentic Commerce transforms merchandising, planning, and customer experience, and why the human connection still matters more than ever. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, iHeartMedia, YouTube, and Goodpods. Stay connected with us on LinkedIn, Blue Sky, Threads, and Instagram. If you want to understand where retail is heading in 2026, this is the podcast for you! Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Chapters: 00:00 Cold Open 00:23 Intro to Season 6 00:50 Reflecting on Last Season 01:38 Introducing Agentic AI 01:51 The Role of Media in Retail 02:09 Human Connection in a Digital World 03:02 The Era of Agentic Commerce 04:03 Looking Ahead: Innovators and Leaders 04:44 Stay Connected and Engaged Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voice for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Thought Leader in Retail and AGI, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Management, Careers, and Transformation, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Agentic AI and Digital Transformation. Thinkers 360 also named him a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation and the Retail Cloud Alliance. He was most recently the partner marketing leader for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2026, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Currently, Casey is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T. | |||
| Future of Retail Unveiled - From AI Insights to Consumer Joy! | 31 déc. 2025 | 00:56:51 | |
S5E14 2025 Retail Year in Review - AI, Consumer Shifts, and the Future of Commerce with Guest Host, Alicia Esposito! In this Season 5 finale of The Retail Razor Show, guest host Alicia Esposito (Future Commerce) sits down with Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden for a deep, unfiltered 2025 retail year in review. Together, they unpack the biggest trends shaping the industry, from AI’s accelerating influence, to the emotional needs of today’s consumer, the rise of resale, the evolution of marketplaces, and the shifting definition of value. Across the Retail Razor Podcast Network - The Retail Razor Show, Blade to Greatness, Data Blades, and Retail Transformers - this year’s guests revealed a powerful through‑line: retail is no longer just about convenience or price. It’s about culture, community, emotion, and the human experience. This episode explores:
If you want to understand where retail is heading in 2026, this is the episode you can’t miss! Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube About our Guest Host Alicia Esposito, Director, Content + Media Strategy - Future Commerce https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciaesposito/ Alicia is the head of content and insights for Future Commerce. At Future Commerce we are big on dissecting the intersection of culture and commerce and not just covering what's happening today, but also what are the ripple effects for tomorrow, and for the future. Future Commerce delivers consumer insights for e-commerce and retail brands. Newsletters, essays, podcasts, and research. For the risk-takers in Commerce! Future Commerce helps brands manifest vision and create goals which lead to future-altering impacts for their customers, and for the world around them. Chapters: 00:00 Preview 01:06 Introduction and Host Introduction 03:02 Balancing Automation and Human Intuition 06:57 Consumer Behavior and AI 10:18 The Evolution of Retail Experiences 18:21 The Importance of Brand Value 24:14 Challenges in Fast Fashion and Marketplaces 28:23 The Future of Commerce 31:36 Retail Media Evolution 36:50 Consumer Behavior and Shopping Trends 41:09 The Impact of Resale and Sustainability 50:12 Personalization and AI in Retail 53:16 The Keyword That Will Represent 2026 55:45 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail, & AGI Thought Leader, a Top 50 Management, Transformation, & Careers Thought Leader, a Top 100 Digital Transformation & Agentic AI Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and the Retail Cloud Alliance. He was most recently the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and a Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Currently, Casey is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T. Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Consumer Insights - Can AI Reveal What Shoppers Really Want? | 15 déc. 2025 | 00:59:15 | |
S5E13 Future of AI-Powered Consumer Insights with Trevor Sumner & Stan Sthanunathan In Season 5, Episode 13 of The Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden tackle one of retail’s biggest blind spots in consumer insights: the consumer sentiment gap. For decades, brands relied on surveys to understand shoppers. But what people say doesn’t always match what they do. Enter AI-powered shopper insights! Joining the conversation are Trevor Sumner (CEO of i-Genie AI) and Stan Sthanunathan (Executive Chairman of i-Genie AI, former EVP at Unilever and VP at Coca-Cola). Together, they reveal how billions of unfiltered signals — from searches, reviews, and social posts — can be transformed into real-time, actionable consumer insights that reshape retail decision-making. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube About our Guests Trevor Sumner, CEO, i-Genie.AI - https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevorsumner/ Trevor is a NYC-based entrepreneur, product and marketing executive and recognized startup advisor and angel. Trevor is the CEO at i-Genie.ai, the leading AI platform for consumer insights, revolutionizing an industry that had been dominated with antiquated survey methodologies by synthesizing tens of billions of searches, social and video posts, ratings and reviews and market data for industry leaders like Kenvue, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Bayer, Clorox and more. Previously, Trevor was Head of AI and Data Platform products for Raydiant, a leading VC-backed digital experience platform that is transforming over 250,000 digital touch points across 4,500 clients with AI, computer vision and data. Trevor came to Raydiant when it acquired Perch, a recognized leader in in-store Product Engagement Marketing, interactive retail displays and augmented reality, where Trevor served as CEO. Perch was named a Top Tech Company to Watch by Forbes, a Top 10 Retail Technology company by CIO Review and has won numerous Clio, Fast Company, Edison, Bloomberg and Digi awards. Stan Sthanunathan, Executive Chairman, i-Genie.AI - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stan-sthanunathan-1ab4035/ Stan Sthanunathan joined Unilever in July 2013 as Executive Vice President of Consumer & Market Insights. As chief provocateur, he headed up the insights function globally based in London. He retired from Unilever on June 1, 2021. Post retirement he has started an AI/ML enabled company called i-Genie.AI focused on delivering near real time insights and ideas to help business identify Next Big Thing. Prior to joining Unilever, he was Vice President of Marketing Strategy & Insights for The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, heading up the function on a global basis. Stan co-authored a paper on Building an Insights Engine that was published in Harvard Business Review, Sept 2016. He has also co-authored a book titled AI for Marketing and Product Innovation. He was awarded Lifetime Achievement award at TMRE 2022 event. Chapters: 00:00 Previews 01:23 Show Intro 04:43 The Consumer Sentiment Gap 05:37 Welcome Trevor Sumner & Stan Sthanunathan 06:30 Backgrounds of Trevor and Stan 09:11 Challenges in Understanding Consumers 16:58 The Evolution of Influencers 18:32 Limitations of Surveys and the Need for AI 25:46 Augmented Intelligence: AI + Human Insight 31:46 Challenges in CPG Innovation 33:02 Innovate: A Data-Driven Product 34:42 AI and Predictive Analytics 36:21 Democratizing Data Access 38:07 Mindset Shift for Rapid Actions 40:46 Adopting AI in CPG 48:16 Retailers and Data Utilization 52:59 Future of Brand Understanding 57:23 Conclusion and Contact Information 58:15 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail, & AGI Thought Leader, a Top 50 Management, Transformation, & Careers Thought Leader, a Top 100 Digital Transformation & Agentic AI Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and the Retail Cloud Alliance. He was most recently the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and a Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Currently, Casey is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T. Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Agentic AI for Retail Merchandising: Transforming Buying & Planning | 28 nov. 2025 | 00:43:16 | |
S5E12 The Future of AI in Merchandising & Buying with Noah Herschman and Jeff Fish In Season 5, Episode 12 of The Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden sit down with Noah Herschman and Jeff Fish of Intelo.ai to explore how agentic AI is revolutionizing retail merchandising and buying. From the art and science of retail merchandising to the persistent challenges of planning and allocation, this episode dives deep into how collaborative intelligence empowers merchandisers, planners, and buyers to make smarter, faster, and more creative decisions. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube About our Guests Noah Herschman. Senior Industry Advisor, Intelo.ai Noah is an ecommerce strategist who’s been shaping online retail since the 1990s. He’s held leadership roles at Amazon, eBay, and Groupon. As a Microsoft Senior Retail Industry Architect, he has worked with more than 150 global retail & CPG clients. Noah has lived in China for 15 years and fluent in Mandarin, Noah operates out of Hong Kong. He is currently a Senior Industry Advisor for Intelo.ai Jeffrey Fish, Co-CEO, Intelo.ai Jeffrey Fish Co-Founded the Chatly platform serving global retail & hospitality brands targeting the China market (exited to Salesforce in 2020). He then led Salesforce China in partnership with Alibaba Cloud. Now he's scaling up Intelo's Collaborative Intelligence Agentic Merchandising & Planning Platform. Chapters: 00:00 Previews 01:39 Show Intro 04:13 Welcome Noah Herschman & Jeff Fish 04:37 Guest Backgrounds and Expertise 07:33 The Importance of Retail Merchandising 11:41 Challenges and Solutions in Modern Merchandising 16:25 The Role of Agentic AI in Merchandising 23:09 Future of Agentic AI and Merchandising 40:04 Practical Steps for Retailers 41:36 How to Reach Out And Contact 42:10 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail, & AGI Thought Leader, a Top 50 Management, Transformation, & Careers Thought Leader, a Top 100 Digital Transformation & Agentic AI Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and the Retail Cloud Alliance. He was most recently the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and a Retail Cloud Allianceadvisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Currently, Casey is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T. Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Resale and Circular Fashion - ThredUp’s 2025 Holiday Shopping Report | 10 nov. 2025 | 01:00:41 | |
S5E11 ThredUp’s Resale Revolution: Holiday Shopping & Gift Giving Trends with Alon Rotem The holidays are here and resale is at the center of this year’s shopping story! In this timely episode of The Retail Razor Show, Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden sit down with Alon Rotem, Chief Strategy Officer at ThredUp, to unpack the company’s 2025 Holiday Shopping Report. From surprising insights on resale gift giving to how shoppers are embracing sustainable fashion and circular economy models, this conversation reveals why resale is becoming a mainstream holiday shopping strategy. We also explore ThredUp’s evolution from a secondhand marketplace to a Resale as a Service (RaaS) leader, powering branded resale programs for fashion retailers. Alon shares how ThredUp’s AI-powered innovations — including image search, natural language search, and personalized curation — are transforming the secondhand shopping experience and driving conversion. If you want to understand how resale, sustainability, and AI are reshaping holiday shopping in 2025, this episode delivers insights every retailer, brand, and shopper needs. Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube About our Guest Alon Rotem, Chief Strategy Officer & General Counsel, ThredUp Alon Rotem has served as ThredUp’s Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel since September 2024. Alon has also served as Chief Legal Officer since February 2021 and Secretary since March 2017 and previously served as General Counsel from January 2017 to February 2021. From September 2013 to November 2016, Alon served as the General Counsel of Rocket Lawyer Inc., an online legal technology company. From June 2010 to August 2013, he was an associate at Goodwin Procter LLP, a global law firm. Alon holds a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Managerial Economics from the University of California, Davis. ThredUp 2025 Holiday Report - https://newsroom.thredup.com/news/thredup-2025-holiday-report ThredUp Resale-as-a-Service - https://www.raas.thredup.com Chapters 00:00 Previews 01:13 Show Intro 04:51 Welcome, Alon Rotem - Chief Strategy Officer, ThredUp 08:38 ThredUp's Evolution and Resale as a Service 15:51 Implementing Resale Programs with ThredUp 21:31 Challenges and Successes of Going Public 25:36 AI Innovations in ThredUp's Shopping Experience 33:06 Insights from the Holiday Report 35:25 Consumer Behavior and Secondhand Gifts 36:24 Top Gifting Trends in Resale 39:49 The Role of Data in Resale 41:32 Consumer Funding for Holiday Shopping 47:21 Luxury vs. Mid-Market Resale 51:05 Sustainability and the Future of Fashion 55:11 Future Outlook 59:47 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail, & AGI Thought Leader, a Top 50 Management, Transformation, & Careers Thought Leader, a Top 100 Digital Transformation & Agentic AI Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and the Retail Cloud Alliance. He was most recently the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and a Retail Cloud Allianceadvisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Currently, Casey is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T. Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| BONUS Sharpening Retail Strategies | AI, Customer Experience, Retail Media, and Employee Impact | 29 oct. 2025 | 00:03:47 | |
BONUS - The Retail Razor: Data Blades Season 2 Trailer Data Blades Returns: AI, CX, and Retail Media for Executive Leaders
Welcome to a special cross-release of the Season 2 trailer for The Retail Razor: Data Blades—the podcast that slices through complex retail research to deliver sharp, actionable insights and retail strategies for executive leaders in the AI era.
In Season 1, we cut through the clutter with data-backed insights to identify strategies for:
Now in Season 2, we’re going deeper. Hosts Ricardo Belmar, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert & NRF 2025 Retail Voice, and Casey Golden, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert, preview what’s ahead:
If you're a VP, CMO, COO, or CEO in retail looking to make smarter, data-driven decisions for AI-first retail strategies, this is your podcast. Subscribe now in your favorite podcast player and stay ahead of the curve with insights that drive conversion, loyalty, and operational excellence. New episodes drop starting tomorrow! 👉 Stay Sharp. Be Data-Driven. Harness AI. Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://go.retailrazor.com/utube About your hosts:: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail & AGI, a Top 50 Management, Transformation, & Careers, and a Top 100 Digital Transformation & Agentic AI Thought Leader. Plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He was most recently the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and a Retail Cloud Allianceadvisory council member. Currently, Casey is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T. Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Tech Lore from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| BONUS Sharpen Your Leadership Blade | Insights for the AI Era | 27 oct. 2025 | 00:03:29 | |
BONUS - The Retail Razor: Blade to Greatness Season 2 Trailer Retail Executive Leadership & Coaching Insights for the AI Era Welcome to a special cross-release of the Season 2 trailer for The Retail Razor: Blade to Greatness — the podcast where retail leaders sharpen their edge. Hosted by Ricardo Belmar & Casey Golden, this series explores the essential skills & qualities every retail executive needs to lead boldly, stay sharp, & stay human in the AI era. In Season 1, we uncovered the fundamentals of great leadership:
Season 2 takes it further with new retail executives & coaching experts—to share actionable insights on:
If you’re a retail leader, this season will help you sharpen your leadership blade & lead with clarity. Subscribe to The Retail Razor: Blade to Greatness show in your favorite podcast player! New episodes drop starting tomorrow! 👉 Stay Sharp. Lead Boldly. Stay Human. Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://go.retailrazor.com/utube About your hosts:: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail & AGI, a Top 50 Management, Transformation, & Careers, and a Top 100 Digital Transformation & Agentic AI Thought Leader. Plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He was most recently the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and a Retail Cloud Allianceadvisory council member. Currently, Casey is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T. Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Swag, Tag and Brag from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| AI-Powered Store Teams: How Microsoft & SYNQ Are Transforming Retail Frontlines | 21 oct. 2025 | 00:55:06 | |
S5E10 From Task Overload to Customer Focus: AI Solutions for Retail Associates Retailers are asking store associates to do more with less—shorter staffing, longer task lists, and higher customer expectations. In this episode of The Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden explore how AI is reshaping frontline retail teams from overwhelmed to empowered. Joining the conversation are: • Jeff Strasser, General Manager of AI Business Solutions for Retail & Consumer Goods at Microsoft • Nolan Wheeler, CEO & Founder of SYNQ Technologies Together, they dive into: • The biggest challenges facing frontline store associates today: task overload, reduced staffing, and customer service trade-offs • How AI can automate and simplify corporate task lists, freeing up time for customer engagement • Why voice-first, hands-free AI is a breakthrough for associates, with SYNQ’s solution connecting two-way radios to Azure OpenAI for instant answers in the aisle • The importance of integration and governance when deploying AI at scale in retail operations • Real-world examples of AI reducing friction, improving training, and accelerating onboarding • How to measure success with the right KPIs: time-to-answer, customer satisfaction, and associate productivity • What’s next for AI in retail over the next 24 months—and how retailers can prepare their teams today This isn’t about replacing people—it’s about augmenting store teams with AI-powered tools that make their jobs easier, improve morale, and elevate the customer experience. If you’re a retail leader, innovator, or operator, this episode is packed with insights on how to start small, scale fast, and empower your frontline workforce with AI. Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube About our Guests Nolan Wheeler – CEO & Founder, SYNQ Technologies Nolan Wheeler founded SYNQ in 2015 after a successful multi-decade career in retail. With experience in asset protection, store operations, and store transformation, Nolan founded SYNQ with a vision for transforming how retailers think about operations and merchandizing. Nolan lives in Victoria, BC with his young family, spending as much of his time on the water as possible. Retail Clinic on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RetailClinic SYNQ Technologies - www.synqtech.com Jeff Strasser – GM, AI Business Solutions for Retail & Consumer Goods, Microsoft. Jeff oversees Microsoft’s AI Business Solutions portfolio for the US Retail & Consumer Goods enterprise customer segment. Jeffrey’s organization supports clients’ business priorities to grow revenue, optimize costs and deliver customer and employee satisfaction through AI led solutions. Recently, Jeffrey has been leading discussions on the application of generative AI to improve the efficiency of work and operations, accelerate decision-making, and support client leadership with strategies to build an AI first culture and deliver on business impacting solutions. Microsoft Cloud for Retail - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/industry/retail/microsoft-cloud-for-retail Chapters: 00:00 Previews 00:54 Show Intro 04:27 Welcome Jeff Strasser & Nolan Wheeler 07:29 Challenges Faced by Frontline Store Teams 14:14 AI Solutions for Retail Operations 19:59 Voice AI and Real-World Applications 25:34 Data-Driven Retail Insights 30:55 The Power of Voice Agents in Retail 32:05 Integrating IoT and Voice for Seamless Operations 34:22 Building Effective AI Agents 38:21 Starting with AI: Metrics and ROI 41:18 Overcoming Barriers to AI Adoption 4 7:24 Future Capabilities and Getting Started 54:01 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail, & AGI Thought Leader, a Top 50 Management, Transformation, & Careers Thought Leader, a Top 100 Digital Transformation & Agentic AI Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and the Retail Cloud Alliance. He was most recently the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and a Retail Cloud Allianceadvisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Currently, Casey is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T. Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| We Are RetailROI Champions: Celebrating Retail’s Impact on Children in Need | 30 sept. 2025 | 01:18:40 | |
S5E9 Retail's Best Kept Secret: Discover How RetailROI Transforms Children's Futures In this special replay episode of The Retail Razor Show, we shine a spotlight on the incredible work of the Retail Orphan Initiative (RetailROI)—a nonprofit transforming lives of orphans and foster children through the power of the retail industry. With a fresh introduction for 2025, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden revisit a heartfelt conversation with Greg Buzek, President of RetailROI, Vicki Cantrell, board member and retail legend, and Jeff Roster, former Gartner & IHL analyst and top retail expert, as they share the origin story, mission, and global impact of this powerful retail charity. Learn how RetailROI’s Super Saturday event at NRF has become the most meaningful gathering of the year, where retailers, tech vendors, and solution providers come together to help fund clean water, education, and life skills training for thousands of children worldwide. Hear inspiring stories of transformation, including previous keynote speaker Darryl McDaniels of Run DMC, and discover how just showing up at Super Saturday can help change lives. Whether you're a retailer planning for NRF, a technology supplier and potential sponsor, or simply passionate about retail’s role in social responsibility, this episode will move you to action. Join us in celebrating RetailROI’s rich history and accomplishments and learn how you too can become a RetailROI Champion. 👉 Learn more and register for Super Saturday at NRF 2026 at http://retailroi.org/super-saturday 🎧 Subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Goodpods to help us amplify this message of hope and impact! Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube About our Guests Greg Buzek, President, IHL Group & President, RetailROI https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbuzek/ Vicki Cantrell, CEO, Vendors in Partnership https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickicantrell/ Jeff Roster, Former Gartner & IHL analyst, top retail expert https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-roster-8828b8257/ Retail Orphan Initiative (RetailROI), https://www.retailroi.org The Purpose of the Retail Orphan Initiative (RetailROI) is to raise awareness and provide real solutions for the more than 400 million vulnerable children worldwide. RetailROI has 3 primary goals: Bring Awareness to the enormous needs of orphans worldwide Encourage companies (Retailers, Vendors, Manufacturers) to create programs internally for their companies to help with the need Raise Funds through to help “feet on the street” charities who are making a real difference 00:00 Previews 01:16 Show Intro 06:43 I am a RetailROI Champion 17:53 RetailROI Discussion 20:03 How RetailROI Began 23:08 How RetailROI Works 26:57 Accomplishments 36:44 The Trips 44:06 Getting involved 51:35 Finding Charities 55:47 A little goes a long way to make a difference 01:02:53 Fundraising 01:06:08 More Great Work 01:13:32 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, & Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and was most recently the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Amazon Prime Day Hidden Truths with Meghan Barden | 26 août 2025 | 00:40:23 | |
S5:E8 Prime Day Unveiled: Trends, Sales, and What Lies Ahead for Retail Amazon Prime Day 2025 may be over, but its ripple effects are just beginning. In this episode, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden sit down with Meghan Barden, Director of Global Retail Media at Rithum, to unpack the surprising data and shopper behaviors that emerged — and what they mean for retail and ecommerce leaders heading into the holiday shopping season. You’ll discover: • 📊 Prime Day outcomes that matter — from sales spikes to category standouts, and how they compare to past years • 🛍 Why the timing right after July 4th may have shifted discretionary spending patterns • 💡 Meghan’s expert take on how retailers can turn Prime Day insights into Q4 wins • 🔮 The strategic moves brands should make now to capture Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and beyond Whether you’re a retail strategist, ecommerce operator, or simply fascinated by the biggest shopping events of the year, this conversation delivers actionable insights to help you outpace the competition. Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube About our Guest Meghan Barden - https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghan-barden/ Rithum - https://www.rithum.com Meghan Barden is an accomplished retail media strategist with over 20 years of experience in marketing and client services in both retailer, brand and agency environments. Currently serving as the Director of Global Retail Media at Rithum, she leads the company's efforts in helping brands and retailers leverage first-party data to create personalized and impactful retail media campaigns. Her expertise spans various facets of retail media, including strategy development, media planning, and campaign optimization. For more Amazon Prime Day analysis by Rithum, access the full report → https://explore.rithum.com/prime-day-guide-cont/prime-day-lessons-for-peak-shopping-season 00:00 Previews 01:01 Show Intro 10:09 Welcome Meghan Barden 10:17 Overview of Prime Day and Rithum's Role 12:20 Prime Day Anomalies and Trends 16:15 Generational Shopping Behaviors 19:20 Impact of Gen Z on Retail Strategies 24:54 AI and Authenticity in Retail 31:51 Preparing for Future Retail Events 37:59 Final Thoughts 39:11 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, & Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| The AI-First Future of Retail - Inside RetailClub with Krystina Gustafson | 13 août 2025 | 00:42:34 | |
S5:E7 Unplugged and Unscripted: Retail Club's AI-First Event Revolution w/ Krystina Gustafson What happens when you blend cutting-edge innovation, authentic community, and the brightest minds in retail? You get RetailClub—the AI-first retail event redefining how industry leaders connect, collaborate, and shape the future. In this episode of The Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden sit down with Krystina Gustafson, co-founder and Chief Content Officer at Retail Club and one of the visionary forces behind RetailClub. Krystina shares the inspiration behind this exclusive retail conference, how it fosters meaningful connections among AI changemakers, and why RetailClub is more than just another event—it’s a movement. 💡 What You’ll Learn:
Whether you’re a retail executive, tech innovator, or curious observer of industry trends, this episode delivers a front-row seat to the future of AI in retail! Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube About our Guest Krystina Gustafson, co-founder & Chief Content Officer, RetailClub - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystina-gustafson-908a5a14/ Register for RetailClub’s AI Deep Dive Retreat - https://www.retailclub.com
Krystina is a co-founder and the chief content officer at RetailClub, a new retreats business from the founders of Shoptalk. RetailClub is building retail’s first AI-native community, bringing together 500 AI champions and changemakers for their inaugural AI Deepdive Retreat, taking place Sept 14-17, 2025 in Huntington Beach, CA. Prior to RetailClub, she was the senior vice president of content at Shoptalk and Groceryshop, the leading conferences in the retail, grocery and consumer packaged goods industries. She led the team that shaped the retail and ecommerce industry narratives across its four annual events – Shoptalk, Shoptalk Europe, Shoptalk Fall and Groceryshop – including agenda development and speaker selection. Krystina joined Shoptalk in 2017, after spending four years as a retail reporter and content editor at CNBC.com. Prior to CNBC, Krystina was a web editor at Women's Wear Daily, the trade publication for the fashion industry.She has interviewed prominent business figures from retail and beyond, including the CEOs of Target, Sam’s Club, The Honest Company and Warby Parker, Dreamworks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, and “Shark Tank” shark Kevin O’Leary. 00:00 Previews 01:04 Show Intro 08:44 Welcome Krystina and the Importance of AI! 09:56 Introducing Retail Club and AI Deep Dive Retreat 12:03 Event Structure and Unique Approach 14:07 Challenges and Opportunities in AI Adoption 17:56 The Future of AI in Retail & Event Experiences 22:46 Data Readiness and Tech Maturity 27:04 Agentic AI's Impact on Retail Operations 36:36 Event Details and Future Thoughts 41:26 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, & Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| How SHEIN is Rewriting Retail’s Marketplace Rulebook, with George Chang | 06 août 2025 | 00:40:44 | |
S5:E6 SHEIN’s Marketplace Evolution - A Conversation with George Chang, GM & Head of SHEIN Marketplace 🎙️What does modern marketplace success look like in the U.S? SHEIN is rewriting the rules — and George Chang, GM of SHEIN Marketplace and key member of the senior leadership team at SHEIN, is leading the charge with his energetic & visionary leadership style. In this episode of The Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden dive deep with George to uncover how SHEIN is building a curated, invitation-only marketplace designed for Gen Z and Millennial consumers. From fashion and beauty to lifestyle and social commerce, SHEIN’s ecosystem is built for discovery, agility, and growth. 💡 Key topics in this episode:
📈 Whether you’re a seller, strategist, or retail innovator, this episode delivers actionable insights into the next frontier of ecommerce! Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube About our Guest George Chang, GM & Head of SHEIN Marketplace. https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-chang-usc/ SHEIN Marketplace: https://seller-us.shein.com/homepage Prospective Sellers: https://seller-us.shein.com/get-started-shein-marketplace To learn more about SHEIN: https://www.sheingroup.com/ George is an Ecommerce and Marketplace veteran with Senior leadership roles at Rakuten, Newegg, Sears, Mirakl, VTEX, Spreetail, and Cymax Group. He is currently part of the leadership team at SHEIN U.S. and is leading the 3rd Party Marketplace business at SHEIN. He has a unique 360 degree perspective on Ecommerce Marketplaces having operated, licensed, consulted and sold on multiple marketplaces. Chapters 00:00 Preview 01:10 Show Intro 05:40 Welcome George Chang, GM SHEIN Marketplace 06:59 What Sets Shein Apart 08:55 Shein's Marketplace Strategy 11:50 Customer and Seller Experience 16:58 Expanding Beyond Fashion 20:16 Evolving with the Customer 22:06 Diverse Seller Community 24:03 Understanding Gen Z and Millennials in E-commerce 26:49 The Rise of Social Commerce and Live Shopping 30:08 Driving Customer Loyalty through Engagement 33:06 Sustainability Initiatives and Mindful Purchasing 35:15 Future of Marketplaces and Hyper-Personalization 38:08 Final Thoughts 39:36 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, & Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Innovation & Sustainability Inside Naturepedic: A Conversation with Arin Schultz | 25 juil. 2025 | 01:01:39 | |
S5:E5 Leading with Values: How Naturepedic Builds a Better Brand, with Arin Schultz What does it take to lead growth at the forefront of a movement for safer, healthier sleep? In this episode of The Retail Razor Show, we sit down with Arin Schultz, Chief Growth Officer at Naturepedic, a pioneering brand in certified organic mattresses and bedding. With over eleven years in the organic sleep industry, Arin shares how he’s helped Naturepedic expand its market share, launch innovative products, and build a trusted brand committed to health, sustainability, and safety. We talk about the evolution of the organic mattress category, how purpose-driven growth strategies translate to retail success, and the balancing act of leading multiple departments—sales, marketing, retail, R&D, and more. Whether you're in retail, health-conscious consumer products, or looking to build a values-based, mission-led brand, this episode delivers sharp insights from one of the industry’s most committed and capable leaders! Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube About our Guest Arin Schultz is Chief Growth Officer at Naturepedic, the leading organic mattress brand. As the lead on all Naturepedic marketing efforts, Arin develops and implements strategies that support the company’s business growth, customer retention, product innovation, consumer education initiatives and sustainability goals. Working for the certified organic, non-toxic mattress pioneer opened Arin’s eyes to the dangers of harmful chemicals and their pervasive presence in households across the globe. This knowledge has added a deeper purpose to his relentless push to help transform the brand’s vision into reality. A father of four and an empathetic listener, Arin’s success at Naturepedic is centered on his authentic understanding of the Naturepedic customer and his genuine desire to help families make the safest, healthiest sleep choices. 00:00 Preview 01:45 Show Intro 07:21 Arin Schultz, Chief Growth Officer, Naturepedic - The Mission 08:43 The Founding Story of Naturepedic 12:09 Challenges and Growth in the Mattress Industry 17:13 Retail Expansion and Customer Engagement 19:30 Product Innovation and Sustainability 23:10 Industry Environmental Impact and Continuous Product Improvement 35:20 Customer Experience and Meeting Their Needs 38:21 Replacing Your Mattress & Customer Service Excellence 43:20 Sourcing and Tariffs Impact 49:53 Embracing AI in Marketing and Operations 56:28 Advice for Growing a Values-Based Brand 59:23 Final Thoughts 01:00:38 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, & Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Retail Women in Tech is Breaking Barriers with Shannon Flanagan | 03 juil. 2025 | 01:10:03 | |
S5:E4 Empowering Women in Retail Tech: A New Era of Leadership In Season Five, Episode Four of The Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden engage in a captivating conversation with Shannon Flanagan, a seasoned retail leader and founder of Retail Women in Tech (RWIT). Shannon shares her journey from folding jeans at 18 to leading billion-dollar business transformations and emphasizes the importance of embracing change and innovation in retail. The episode underscores the critical role of diversity and inclusion in driving the industry forward, touching on the challenges and opportunities for women in tech and retail. Shannon discusses her vision for RWIT, a community aimed at fostering connections, mentorship, and leadership among women and allies in the retail tech space. With insights on change management, the impact of AI in retail, and the power of allyship, this episode offers valuable perspectives for retail professionals and tech enthusiasts alike. Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube About our Guest Shannon Flanagan, founder of Retail Women in Tech, https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-e-flanagan/ - Retail Women in Tech, https://retailwomenintech.org Shannon Flanagan caught the retail bug at 18 and never looked back. A retail strategist, AI enthusiast, and career change practitioner, she brings a 360-degree perspective on retail transformation—from product creation to customer experience—shaped by her work with hyper-growth startups to Fortune 500 retailers, consulting firms and tech companies. As a strategic partner and top industry voice, she collaborates with RETHINK Retail, RetailWire and the RetailAICouncil to drive conversations that shape the future of the industry. As the founder of Retail Women in Tech, Shannon has built a global community dedicated to creating life-changing connections for women and allies who share a passion for retail and technology. As social as retail is, there are surprisingly very few communities representing every facet of the industry. Shannon is on a mission to change that—stay tuned for more to come! 00:00 Preview 00:51 Show Intro 05:26 Welcome Shannon Flanagan 06:14 Shannon's Retail Journey Begins 08:47 Insights on Change Management 10:21 The Importance of Diverse Perspectives 15:03 Challenges in Hiring for Innovation 24:00 The Birth of Retail Women in Tech (RWIT) 34:42 Addressing the Leadership Gap 38:39 The Challenge of Asking for Help 40:36 The Harsh Reality for Female Founders 45:08 The Importance of Allies 49:01 Building a Supportive Community 59:32 The Future of Retail Women in Tech 01:06:22 Final Thoughts and Call to Action 01:08:53 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, & Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Unlocking Human Pride: Thriving in the Age of AI with Ron Thurston | 14 mai 2025 | 01:11:07 | |
S5:E3 From Retail Pride to Human Pride: Navigating Leadership and Connection with Ron Thurston In this episode, Ron Thurston returns to discuss his new book 'Human Pride' and its themes of optimizing human potential in a world increasing its reliance on technology and AI. The conversation takes us through Ron’s extensive experience leading major retail brands, his journey from publishing his first book 'Retail Pride' to 'Human Pride', and the crucial balance between human connection and technological efficiency. We explore various aspects of leadership, including the importance of empathy, curiosity, and the significant role of human connection in the workplace. Ron emphasizes the need for self-reflection, understanding core values, and maintaining strong interpersonal relationships despite technological advancements. Rejecting 'hustle culture' in favor of fostering meaningful connections and optimizing individual strengths, Ron highlights the need for human-centric approaches to recruitment, leadership, and career development via examples and insights from his own career. Tune in for an engaging conversation filled with practical insights and inspirational stories that underscore the power of pride and human potential in the workplace! About this episode's partner newsletter: The SKUpe Running a retail business means making nonstop decisions—inventory, staffing, marketing, tech. The SKUpe is the weekly newsletter designed to help you make smarter calls, faster. Curated by industry experts, The SKUpe delivers clear, trustworthy insights on what’s working for small and mid-sized retailers today. Join 20,000 retail decision makers who rely on it to stay sharp and ahead of the game. Subscribe to The SKUpe at www.theskupe.co About Ron Thurston: Author, “Human Pride: Optimizing Your Potential In A Digital Job Market” Ron Thurston is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and bold voice in the movement to reimagine leadership in a world transformed by technology. His new book, HUMAN PRIDE: Optimizing Your Human Potential in a Digital Job Market (May 2025), delivers a powerful roadmap for standing out, staying relevant, and thriving in the future of work. With over 30 years of executive experience leading teams at iconic brands like Apple, Gap, West Elm, Tory Burch, Bonobos, and Saint Laurent, Ron knows how to build winning cultures that drive performance. His first book, *RETAIL PRIDE (*2020) became a career-defining guide for thousands of industry professionals, helping them reclaim confidence and purpose in their work. As the creator and host of the Retail in America tour and podcast, Ron spent over a year traveling across 30 states in an Airstream to spotlight the real stories and remarkable people shaping retail’s future. Today, he serves on multiple retail tech supplier advisory boards, helping brands integrate AI and digital tools without losing sight of what matters most: people. A sought-after keynote speaker, Ron brings energy, insight, and inspiration to global conferences, C-suite offsites, and corporate events. His message resonates across industries: your greatest competitive advantage is human. Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube 00:00 The SKUpe Newsletter 00:34 Show Intro 06:51 Welcome Back, Ron Thurston! 07:43 Discussing Ron's New Book: Human Pride 08:46 The Importance of Human Connection in Retail 10:24 Optimizing Human Potential in a Tech-Driven World 15:37 Defining and Standing by Non-Negotiables in Job Search 22:54 The Role of Empathy and Curiosity in Leadership 26:48 Challenges in Modern Hiring Practices 35:11 The Future of Work: Balancing Technology and Human Connection 38:15 Career Longevity and Brand Affinity in Retail 41:56 Navigating the Fast-Paced Industry 43:36 Adapting to Office Culture 44:39 Broadening Job Search Perspectives 47:40 Leadership with Empathy and Emotional Intelligence, But Without Titles 51:21 The Future of Work and Technology 59:11 Balancing Technology and Human Connection 01:05:26 Final Thoughts and Takeaways 01:09:58 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2024. Thinkers 360has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, and a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is the CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2023 and 2024, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| The New Playbook for Digital Marketing with Chris Carl | 24 avr. 2025 | 00:43:26 | |
S5:E2 Influencers, Gen Z, & Beyond Social Commerce: Lessons from AliExpress with Chris Carl Welcome to the second episode of Season 5 of the Retail Razor Show! Join hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden as they dive into the fresh tactics and cutting-edge strategies that are driving the future of retail and e-commerce with Gen Z. In this episode, they are joined by Chris Carl, the US Head of Marketing for AliExpress (Alibaba Group), to discuss ‘the new playbook for digital marketing’ fresh from his insightful session on marketing to Gen Z at eTail West! Discover how AliExpress is capturing Gen Z's attention, building a robust social media presence, leveraging influencers like David Beckham, and exploring the future of cross-border shopping with a full-funnel marketing strategy. Chris shares the impressive growth metrics (500% increase in social media following, for example) and innovative campaigns that have set AliExpress apart - think social commerce, live shopping, Gen AI, and TikTok Shops. Plus, new enticing innovations in logistics to help onboard more US-based sellers to the AliExpress marketplace. Whether you're a product junkie, retail leader, or commerce technologist, this episode is packed with insights you won't want to miss! About Chris Carl: Chris Carl is a strategy, operations, and marketing executive with a proven track record in retail, beauty, spirits, lifestyle, hospitality, and luxury goods. As the first US Head of Marketing for AliExpress, Chris focuses on making online shopping more engaging and affordable. Since May 2023, Chris has increased order volume by 60%, increased brand share of voice by 75%, expanded headcount by 400%, boosted social media following by 500%, and doubled brand awareness. Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube 00:00 Show Intro 03:04 Introducing Christopher Carl from AliExpress & His Background 05:43 Conversation with Chris Carl, Head of US Marketing for AliExpress 08:52 Cracking the Code with Gen Z 16:00 AliExpress's Social Media and Influencer Strategy 21:22 Leveraging Social Media for Brand Growth 23:30 Navigating the Shifting Digital Marketing Landscape 25:46 The Future of Social Commerce and Live Shopping 28:17 The Importance of Brand Personality and Humor 31:50 AliExpress: A Unique Business Model 35:09 Expanding AliExpress's US Presence 38:45 The Future of Cross-Border E-Commerce 42:20 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2024. Thinkers 360has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, and a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is the CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2023 and 2024, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Transforming Retail Media into a Growth Engine with Drew Cashmore | 10 avr. 2025 | 00:53:23 | |
S5:E1 Unleashing Retail Media's Potential: A Conversation with Drew Cashmore Welcome to Season 5 of the Retail Razor Show! In our premiere episode, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden dive deep into retail media with special guest Drew Cashmore, Chief Strategy Officer at Vantage and a pioneer in the retail media space, with a background scaling Walmart Connect to a $2 billion business. Drew shares his insights on the evolution of retail media, the driving forces behind its rapid growth, and the challenges retailers face in scaling their media networks. Drew also discusses the importance of workflow automation, the use of first-party data, and the balance between digital and in-store media. We highlight the necessity for retailers to invest in their media capabilities to stay competitive and speculate on the future direction of retail media. We also touch on the complexities of managing multiple media platforms and the potential for consolidation within the industry. Packed with valuable insights, don't miss out on this must-listen episode for product junkies, commerce technologists, retail leaders, and everyone in retail tech! Plus, learn about the Retail Razor Podcast Network's exciting new shows! About Drew Cashmore: Drew is a retail media strategist and thought leader with a background in building, commercializing and scaling new business models in the retail sector across the globe. Heading up strategy for Vantage - the platform that powers self-serve and managed-service for The Home Depot among other retailers - Drew is helping to architect the next generation of unified retail media technologies. He was an original architect of and former executive at Walmart Connect in the U.S. and Canada, helping to scale the retail media business to $2BN and beyond. In addition, Drew was a founding member of Walmart eCommerce and the CMO of SoftBank-backed Live Shopping platform, Firework. Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube 00:00 Show Intro 07:38 Unleashing Retail Media's Potential: A Conversation with Drew Cashmore 08:43 Drew's Background in Retail Media 10:28 The Evolution and Challenges of Retail Media 14:18 ROI and Measurement in Retail Media 18:34 The Future of Retail Media 26:41 First-Party Data and Consumer Privacy 34:47 In-Store Media and Workflow Automation 47:21 Retail Media is a Different Business Model 50:06 Conclusion and Final Thoughts 51:05 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2024. Thinkers 360has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, and a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is the CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2023 and 2024, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Season 5 Trailer - Retail Revolution: AI, Media, and Human Connection | 12 mars 2025 | 00:03:54 | |
S5 Trailer - Retail's Next Chapter: AI and Media Meet Humanity Join hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden in Season Five of The Retail Razor Show as they explore the intersection of AI, media, and human connection in retail. This season will examine the power of AI-powered personalization, retail media evolution, and the role of in-store associates in enhancing customer experiences. Key discussions will include how AI makes retailers more resilient, the impact of media on commerce, and the next wave of retail tech innovation. Tune in to understand how technology transforms shopping, selling, and scaling while emphasizing that retail's core is human connection. Subscribe and follow for sharp insights and expert opinions so you don't miss out on unlocking new opportunities in retail! Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, and a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is the CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! | |||
| Cutting Through the Clutter: Retail Razor's Season Four Finale | 31 janv. 2025 | 01:29:29 | |
S4:E10 On the Razor's Edge: The Season Four Final Cut In the season four grand finale of the Retail Razor Show, guest host J.P. Kamel, managing director of RFID Sherpas, takes over to interview our regular hosts, Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden. This episode first reviews the top 10 retail predictions the team had for 2024, evaluating which ones hit the mark and which ones were a total miss! Then the discussion spans a range of topics from throughout Season 4 including the rise of retail media, the evolution from omni-channel to unified commerce, and the transformative potential of AI in retail. Key takeaways include the importance of unified commerce strategies, the necessity for retail media, and the enduring need for human connection in the retail experience. The episode also reflects on memorable moments from the season, the future of department stores, and evolving career paths in retail. Both insightful and entertaining, this grand finale offers an in-depth look into the current and future trends shaping the retail industry, and gives you a behind the scenes view of how our two hosts think about retail and the show! Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube 00:00 Show Intro 02:52 2024 Top 10 Check-in 03:03 Prediction No 1 05:00 Prediction No 2 06:31 Prediction No 3 10:31 Prediction No 4 12:45 Prediction No 5 16:33 Prediction No 6 18:43 Prediction No 7 21:19 Prediction No 8 23:12 Prediction No 9 30:41 Prediction No 10 33:13 Season 4 Recap 33:43 Favorite Moment 35:34 Most Surprising Moment 38:07 The Big Retail Avengers Reunion Episode 45:04 Smart Fitting Rooms 48:39 Unified Commerce & Everything Shoppable 52:39 Immersive Commerce & Livestreaming 59:47 Retail Media 3.0 01:02:08 Responsible AI 01:08:56 Retail Career Paths 01:15:21 Generative AI Transformation 01:17:43 Relay Race vs Rugby Approach 01:21:48 Data-Driven Decision Making 01:22:36 Key Takeaways from Season 4 01:24:56 Any hints for Season 5 and beyond? 01:28:33 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, and a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is the CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Reimagining Department Stores: Nostalgia Meets Innovation | 31 déc. 2024 | 01:08:05 | |
S4:E9 Department Stores 2.0: Building Experiences for Tomorrow In this episode, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden bring back the original Retail Avengers team for a highly anticipated reunion. What discussion could bring the team back together again? The current struggles and future opportunity for department stores! Welcome back Jeff Roster, Shish Shridhar, and Brandon Rael to explore why these once-iconic shopping destinations have lost their appeal and what innovations can bring them back into relevance. Key themes include the use of AI, retail media, and enhancing the human connection in shopping. The team covers detailed insights such as the need for improved customer data usage, creating engaging in-store experiences, and leveraging technology to empower store staff. The conversation also touches on successful strategies from other retailers like Target and the importance of loyalty and community in retaining customers. If you’re wondering how (or if) department stores can return to relevance with consumers, this is a can’t miss discussion full of insights and recommendations! Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube 00:00 Show Introduction 04:28 Retail Avengers Reunion - The Future of Department Stores 06:36 The Decline of Department Stores 14:01 Challenges and Opportunities 18:23 Future Strategies and Innovations 32:39 The Decline of Department Stores 33:52 The Marketplace Model for Department Stores 38:10 The Role of Technology in Retail 4 3:14 Creating Human Connections in Retail 46:38 The Future of Retail Experiences 55:37 Leveraging Technology for Better Retail 01:01:42 The Role of Department Stores in Modern Retail 01:03:57 The Balance Between Technology and Human Interaction 01:07:01 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2024. Thinkers 360has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, and a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is the CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2023 and 2024, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Unlocking Retail: AI, Ethics, and the Future of Commerce | 18 déc. 2024 | 00:43:46 | |
S4:E8 Navigating Responsible AI in Retail: Trust in a Digital World In this episode of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden dive deep into the ethical implications of AI and commerce technology in the retail industry. They reflect on past discussions about AI innovations and the necessity of critical groundwork before deploying new technologies. They cover the balance between leveraging synthetic media for marketing and maintaining brand trust, highlighting examples like Levi's virtual AI models. The conversation touches on the potential of generative AI, virtual influencers, and the risk of losing authenticity. They stress the importance of building an ethical framework for technology initiatives and the long-standing questions of deception in advertising, emphasizing transparency and responsible AI use. Ricardo and Casey also explore how brands can balance cost-saving measures with realistic, authentic representations and the impact of these decisions on sustainability and customer trust. Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube 00:00 Show Intro 00:43 Reflecting on Past Discussions 01:27 The Role of AI in Retail 02:49 Ethical Considerations in AI 03:50 Building Brand Trust 04:52 Listener Engagement and Feedback 06:31 AI and Virtual Influencers 07:07 The Future of Influencer Marketing 10:51 Cost and Authenticity in AI Marketing 11:45 Engineered Influencers 15:57 Transparency in AI Content 17:35 Aspirational vs. Unrealistic Marketing 22:10 The Evolution of Body Diversity in Fashion 23:36 Balancing Real and Virtual Models 25:44 Ethical Implications of AI in Fashion 29:35 Sustainability and AI in the Fashion Industry 30:48 The Impact of AI on Marketing and Operations 33:02 Navigating Ethical AI Deployment 36:52 The Future of AI in Retail and Fashion 42:20 Final Thoughts and Call to Action Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2024. Thinkers 360has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, and a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is the CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2023 and 2024, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Converting Customer Insights to Action Through Smart Fitting Rooms | 27 nov. 2024 | 00:55:46 | |
S4:E7 How Smart Fitting Rooms’ Data Insights Transform Store Operations & Shopper Conversion Hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden dive into the transformative potential of smart fitting rooms in the fashion and apparel industry. Joined by Matthew Cyr, founder and CEO of Crave Retail, the discussion explores how digital fitting rooms enhance customer experience, boost conversion rates, and provide invaluable analytics that can revolutionize store operations and merchandising strategies. The episode emphasizes the importance of integrating technology with personalized service to create a seamless and satisfying shopping experience. Discover how retailers can leverage smart fitting rooms to gain deeper insights into customer behavior, optimize in-store performance, and ultimately drive revenue. About Matthew Cyr & Crave Retail: Matthew is a seasoned and three-time founder, CEO and co-founder of Crave Retail. Starting back with Abercrombie and Fitch and Skechers, he developed the commit to convert program that led Skechers expansion across southeast Asia, opening over 250 stores and optimizing in store experiences. Matthew has earned a 40 under 40 recognition from Retail Touch Points. Crave Retail helps retailers elevate their stores by giving shoppers the best-in-class digital fitting room experience. Crave's proprietary fitting room technology and touchless experiences allow retailers to meet each customer's unique needs, access real-time insights into all customer activity, increase conversion, and improve customer satisfaction.. Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube 00:00 Show Intro 03:31 Converting Customer Insights to Action Through Smart Fitting Rooms 06:40 Challenges and Benefits of Smart Fitting Rooms 10:37 Customer Journey: Enhancing the Fitting Room Experience 18:16 Impact on Retail Operations and Return Rates 20:36 Leveraging Data for Retail Success 23:55 Implementing Smart Fitting Room Technology 26:56 Importance of Executive Leadership in Retail Strategy 28:28 Engaging Store Operations for Smart Fitting Rooms 30:15 Understanding Store Performance Metrics 32:47 Leveraging Fitting Room Data for Business Insights 38:03 Enhancing Customer Experience with AI and Technology 47:43 Future of Smart Fitting Rooms in Retail 54:39 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2024. Thinkers 360has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, and a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is the CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2023 and 2024, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Generative AI in Retail: Challenges and Opportunities for Retail CEOs with Peter Cohan | 22 oct. 2024 | 00:59:59 | |
S4:E6 Unlocking Generative AI for the Retail C-Suite with Peter Cohan In this episode of The Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden explore the transformative potential of generative AI in retail, featuring insights from Peter Cohan, an associate professor, strategy consultant, startup investor, book author, columnist and AI expert. The discussion covers AI's evolution compared to the dot-com era, the influence of large tech companies, and the substantial growth opportunities AI presents for retailers. Key topics include the contrast between the relay vs. rugby approaches to AI transformation, the crucial role of CEOs in AI adoption, and the importance of a quality data foundation for AI inputs. The episode highlights strategic investment, customer-centric innovations, and practical examples of successful AI implementations, guiding C-suite listeners on how to embrace AI as a long-term investment for unlocking new revenue streams versus a short-term quick fix. About Peter Cohan: Peter is an Associate Professor of Management Practice at Babson College, he is the faculty lead for the core undergraduate strategy course and has created popular electives on Startup Cities and Scaling Strategy. His strategy consulting firm has completed over 150 projects to help companies identify, evaluate, and profit from growth opportunities created by changing technology. He has invested in seven startups, three of which were sold for over $2 billion and one of which, SoFi, went public in 2021 at an $18 billion valuation. He is the author of 17 books, most recently "Brain Rush: How to Invest and Compete in the Real World of Generative AI" and he is a senior contributor at Forbes and a contributor at Inc. RETHINK Retail named him a Top Retail Expert every year between 2021 and 2024 and chose him as a Top AI Leader for 2024 this year. Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube 00:00 Show Intro 02:49 Meet Our Guest: Peter Cohan 04:21 Unlocking Generative AI for the Retail C-Suite 05:40 Peter Cohan's Background and Journey 10:25 Impact of Generative AI in Retail 12:48 Challenges and Risks of AI in Customer Service 16:34 Strategies for Embracing AI in Retail 17:21 Relay Race vs. Rugby Approach in Product Development 28:48 Best Practices for AI Implementation 32:43 Driving Company Growth: The CEO's Role 35:15 The Value Pyramid Framework 39:36 AI's Role in Retail Innovation 47:49 Challenges and Opportunities with AI Data 53:19 Entrepreneurial Insights and Cognitive Hunger 57:18 Concluding Thoughts and Future Directions 58:56 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2024. Thinkers 360has named him a Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader, and a Top Digital Voice for 2024. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and is the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, is the CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2023 and 2024, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Unlocking Retail Media 3.0: Measurement and Innovation | 11 sept. 2024 | 00:45:49 | |
S4:E5 Unlocking Retail Media: Measurement, Innovation, and Customer Engagement In this episode of The Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden explore the evolving landscape of retail media with expert insights from Andrew Lipsman, analyst and founder of Media, Ads + Commerce, and James Bauer, CEO and founder of Venvee. They discuss the progression of retail media 1.0 with online ads to retail media 2.0 - in-store media, highlighting key metrics like closed-loop attribution and incrementality. The conversation moves into innovative technologies such as spatial AI, the importance of first-party data, and privacy concerns. They also emphasize the collaborative efforts needed to integrate these advancements effectively for full funnel customer conversion and attribution in retail media 3.0. This episode delivers a comprehensive overview of how retailers and brands can use modern technology to bring the same level of measurement currently enjoyed in the 15% of retail sales happening in ecommerce, to the larger 85% of sales happening in stores! About Andrew Lipsman: Andrew Lipsman is an independent analyst and consultant at Media, Ads + Commerce. His industry coverage specializes in retail media—which he is known for anointing as “digital advertising’s third big wave”—and other areas of the digital media, advertising, and commerce ecosystem. He has published more than a half dozen articles in the Journal of Advertising Research and is frequently quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Financial Times, and Advertising Age. About James Bauer: James Bauer is the Founder and CEO of Venvee, a retail media technology company that is closing the loop on in-store measurement and attribution. Venvee leverages AI-generated digital twins of physical stores, combined with computer vision running on existing cameras, to enable precise measurement of impressions, interactions, and conversions on a shopper-by-shopper basis. This innovative approach requires no changes to the store and provides comprehensive aggregate measurement for in-store video, audio, fixtures, and products. Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube 00:00 Show Intro 02:50 Exploring Retail Media 3.0 & Measurement 03:29 Evolution of Retail Media 07:08 In-Store Attribution and Measurement 14:44 Challenges and Opportunities in Retail Media 32:37 Future of Retail Media and Final Thoughts 44:43 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar is a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2021 – 2024, and a Thinkers 360 Top 10 Retail Thought Leader, Top 50 Management Thought Leader, and Top 100 Digital Transformation Thought Leader. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 and 2023, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. | |||
| Beyond Omnichannel: Michael Zakkour on Immersive Commerce | 14 août 2024 | 00:59:11 | |
S4:E4 Retail Transformers: Michael Zakkour In this episode of The Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden are joined by special guest Michael Zakkour, founder of 5 New Digital and author of two Amazon #1 bestselling books, to discuss the transformative power of unified and immersive commerce in the retail industry. Michael, a thought leader and practitioner in digital commerce with 25 years of experience as a CEO, CMO, and Founder, shares his extensive expertise on retail strategies, AI, the evolution of e-commerce, and the impact of video as a foundational tool for immersive commerce. Together they explore key topics such as the shift from omnichannel to unified commerce, the impact of social commerce and livestreaming from Asia on global markets, and future opportunities with AI in retail. Michael also provides practical advice for retailers to enhance both digital and physical store experiences that resonate with today's digitally savvy consumers, while aiming for higher conversions, better customer engagement, and sustainable profitability. 00:00 Show Intro 04:36 Retail Transformer - Michael Zakkour 06:42 The Evolution of Retail 12:36 Challenges in E-commerce 16:35 The Future of Immersive Commerce 26:07 Video Commerce: The Next Frontier 28:39 The Evolution of E-commerce 30:04 The Importance of Immersive Commerce 32:10 Case Study: Live Streaming Success 38:47 The Role of AI in Retail 48:04 Navigating the Future of Retail 50:57 Future Trends 58:05 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024, 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 and 2023, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. Follow The Retail Razor Show on Social LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Facebook: https://bit.ly/TRRSface Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads BlueSky: https://bit.ly/TRRSbsky Host → Ricardo Belmar Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| Future of Retail Recruitment: An Interview with OSSY Founder Ron Thurston | 28 juin 2024 | 00:48:52 | |
S4:E3 Revolutionizing Retail Hiring: A Conversation with Ron Thurston In this episode of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden welcome back Ron Thurston, founder of OSSY, and author of 'Retail Pride’, to discuss the company's innovative approach to transforming the retail hiring process. Focusing on the integration of AI and the human touch, Ron shares insights into how OSSY is addressing common retail recruitment challenges, such as speed to hire, candidate experience, and the importance of clear career paths. The discussion highlights the broader implications for the retail industry and the immense value of creating supportive and accountable hiring practices. This episode is a must-listen for anyone involved in retail and retail hiring. 00:00 Show Intro 02:35 Revolutionizing Retail Recruitment with Ron Thurston and OSSY 04:07 Ron Thurston's Journey and OSSY's Mission 08:58 Challenges and Innovations in Retail Hiring 22:01 Best Practices for Retail Hiring and Career Development 27:23 The Influence of People on Your Success 28:02 Accidental Careers in Retail 28:58 The Importance of Mentorship and Leadership 30:41 Preparing for the Holiday Season 37:02 The Role of AI in Retail Hiring 42:21 Building a Retail Community 46:38 How to Get Started with OSSY 47:51 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024, 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 and 2023, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. Follow The Retail Razor Show on Social LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Facebook: https://bit.ly/TRRSface Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads BlueSky: https://bit.ly/TRRSbsky Host → Ricardo Belmar Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| The Future of Commerce is Unified Commerce, with Giri Agarwal of Incisiv | 28 mai 2024 | 00:45:46 | |
S4:E2 The Evolution from Omnichannel to Unified Commerce with Giri Agarwal In this episode of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden discuss the shift from omnichannel to unified commerce in the retail industry. Special guest Giri Agarwal, Chief Strategy Officer at Incisiv, joins to share insights on how unified commerce is transforming customer experiences and driving revenue growth. They explore the concept of unified commerce, the integration of AI, and the challenges retailers face in adopting this approach. Key highlights include the importance of customer identification, empowering frontline staff, and rethinking store experiences. Giri also addresses the financial implications, generational differences in consumer behaviors, and the need for a cultural shift towards unified commerce. Tune in for an in-depth discussion on why now is the critical moment for retailers to embrace this change. Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024, 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 and 2023, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey 00:00 Show Start 00:20 Show Intro 02:35 Unified Commerce with Giri Agarwal from Incisiv 05:10 Defining Unified Commece 09:24 Challenges and Strategies for Unified Commerce 16:43 The Role of AI in Unified Commerce 23:10 The State of Unified Commerce in 2024 26:19 Generational Differences and Consumer Behavior 31:10 Key Differentiators for Unified Commerce 35:20 Financial Implications and Future Outlook 38:46 Risks of NOT Embracing Unified Commerce 44:51 Show Close | |||
| Top 10 Predictions for Retail in 2024 with Ben Miller, ShopTalk | 19 mars 2024 | 00:52:50 | |
S4:E1 – Top 10 Predictions for Retail in 2024 with Ben Miller, ShopTalk In this episode of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden kick off season 4 by discussing their top 10 predictions for the retail industry in 2024. Amid personal anecdotes and a tribute to Ricardo's late father, the episode dives deep into the future of retail alongside guest Ben Miller, VP of Original Content and Strategy at Shoptalk & Groceryshop. Key predictions include the Temu-fication of retail, the evolution of Retail Media Networks (RMNs) and their impact on digitizing physical stores, the integration with streaming and social commerce platforms, and the re-emergence of heritage brands leveraging digital commerce. The conversation also touches on the increasing consumer expectations around sustainability versus the temptation of low-cost options like Temu, the potential of AI in enhancing customer experience and operational efficiency, and the death of the term 'Omnichannel' in favor of 'Unified Commerce' to better represent seamless retail experiences. The episode concludes with a look forward to the Shoptalk event and the importance of staying ahead in a rapidly evolving retail landscape. Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024, 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 and 2023, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey 00:00 A Personal Tribute and the Power of Inspiration 01:40 Show Intro 03:14 2024 Predictions with Ben Miller 04:23 Prediction #1: The Temu-fication of Retail 09:18 The Evolution of Retail Media and Digitization of Physical Stores 12:48 Retail Media Networks and the Future of Advertising 15:48 Social Commerce: The Next Frontier in Retail Media Disruption 19:03 Prediction #5: The Resurgence of Heritage Brands in the Digital Age 28:10 Prediction #6: AI's Growing Influence in Retail and Its Tangible ROI 31:09 The Evolution of Frontline Retail: AI-Augmented Engineered Influencers 35:21 Prediction #8: The Potential of Apple's Vision Pro in Retail 39:54 Consumer Expectations in 2024: Sustainability & Accountability vs. Temu-fication 45:07 Prediction #10: The End of Omnichannel - Embracing Unified Commerce 47:55 2024 Retail Predictions: A Year of Optimism and Challenges 50:44 Closing Thoughts and Looking Ahead to ShopTalk 51:48 Show Close | |||
| Season 4 Trailer - Unlocking Retail with AI, Humans, and Media | 12 févr. 2024 | 00:05:17 | |
In Season Four of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden explore the theme of Unlocking Retail with the Integration of AI, Humans, and Media. This involves discussing how artificial intelligence, human interaction, and innovative retail media are transforming the industry. Topics will include optimizing inventory, pricing, merchandising for online and offline channels with AI, enhancing customer service, connecting brands with consumers through engaging content, creating strong communities and increasing loyalty. The show will also discuss human centered design and the crafting of memorable retail experiences. Moreover, two of its mini-series from last season, Blade to Greatness and Data Blades, will be transformed into their own podcasts. Ricardo and Casey remind everyone that this season has more surprises in store for listeners! And we can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments. Your support allow sus to hit the top of the charts for Indie Management and Indie Marketing podcasts! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024, 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 and 2023, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E19 – The Razor’s Edge – Season 3 Recap and Predictions Check-In | 05 févr. 2024 | 00:38:19 | |
In the season three finale of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden provide a detailed recap of their journey throughout the season, discussing their top ten predictions for 2023 and evaluating their accuracy – did they nail it or miss the mark? The hosts touch upon diverse topics including private label domination, the evolution of retail media networks, investment in returns management, and the growth of store automation, among others. They also highlight a few memorable moments and important insights from their guests throughout the season. The episode concludes with a lively discussion on their expectations for retail and technology in 2024, teasing the audience with a glimpse of what's to come in season four. WOW! As we march into a new year on the show, we’re honored and humbled to have hit the top of the charts on the Goodpodspodcast platform on multiple episodes! We can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024, 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 and 2023, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E18 – Focusing on Customer Experience with Retail Transformer – Nadina Guglielmetti, Chief Customer Officer, The Vitamin Shoppe | 31 déc. 2023 | 00:50:40 | |
As we approach the end of Season 3 of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden engage in a rich dialogue with The Vitamin Shoppe’s Chief Customer Officer, Nadina Guglielmetti. They explore how customer behavior insights guide business decisions, the interplay between acquiring new customers and nurturing existing ones, and the evolution of customer experience amidst changing health trends. Nadina also details the role of The Vitamin Shoppe’s in-store health enthusiasts in enhancing customer engagement and trust, and their careful approach towards leveraging AI and 'headless commerce' platforms to enhance efficiency and personalization. In this final Retail Transformer episode of the season, you’ll learn why Nadina is truly more than meets the eye! We also bring you the final episode in Season 1 of our "Blade to Greatness" mini-series. This episode features an insightful conversation with retail expert, Ron Thurston, co-founder of Ossy, author of Retail Pride, the Guide to Celebrating Your Accidental Career, host of the Retail in America nationwide tour and podcast, speaker, advisor, board member, and former retail operations leader at numerous famous retail brands. Ron shares his three pillars of success in retail and life- empathy, curiosity, and focus. He illuminates strategies to bridge the communication gap between corporate offices and stores, emphasizing the importance of empathy in grasping the pressures faced by in-store teams, the power of curiosity to understand their needs and experiences, and the role of focus in dealing with the information obtained. Ron also emphasizes the importance of maintaining transparency and dialogue with retail employees from the recruitment stage, thus enhancing their sense of belonging and commitment. NEWS! We are thrilled to report that our fans support propelled us as a finalist in The Retail Voice Award for the Vendors In Partnership award gala at NRF 2024! You’re votes made a difference and we’re honored to be one of 3 finalists for this prestigious award! WOW! As we march into our 3rd year on the show, we’re honored and humbled to have hit the top of the charts on the Goodpodspodcast platform! #1 in the Top 100 Indie Management Weekly chart #3 in the Top 100 Indie Management Monthly chart #3 in the Top 100 Indie Marketing Weekly chart #5 in the Top 100 Marketing Weekly chart #6 in the Top 100 Marketing Monthly chart We can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, E-Motive, and Swag, Tag & Brag from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E17 – #NRFforBeginners with Andrew Laudato, Taylor’s Version | 13 déc. 2023 | 00:54:14 | |
In this episode of Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden talk about preparing for NRF 2024, celebrate being a finalist in the Vendors in Partnership gala for The Retail Voice Award, and bring the latest episode of Blade to Greatness, all in under an hour! They host a special “Taylor’s Version” replay of a prior interview with Andy Laudato, COO of The Vitamin Shoppe, sharing his comprehensive guide for maximizing your attendance at the NRF Big Show. Andy returns to the show for a new discussion of his anticipation for the combined NRF and supply chain shows, and the buzz surrounding AI, plus expectations for a great RetailROI Super Saturday event. In the latest episode of the ‘Blade to Greatness’ segment, April Sabral, founder of retailu and The Positivity Company, returns to share her insights on leadership and how to counteract negativity in the retail industry She explains why retail leaders need to stop enrolling in negativity and reinforce a positive attitude with their teams. After listening to this episode, you, too, will be ready for #NRF2024 in January in New York City! NEWS! We are thrilled to report that our fans support propelled us as a finalist in The Retail Voice Award for the Vendors In Partnership award gala at NRF 2024! You’re votes made a difference and we’re honored to be one of 3 finalists for this prestigious award! WOW! As we march into our 3rd year on the show, we’re honored and humbled to have hit the top of the charts on the Goodpodspodcast platform! #1 in the Top 100 Indie Management Monthly chart #2 in the Top 100 Indie Management Weekly chart #2 in the Top 100 Indie Marketing Weekly chart #3 in the Top 100 Marketing Weekly chart #4 in the Top 100 Marketing Monthly chart We can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, E-Motive, and Swag, Tag & Brag from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E16 – I Am A RetailROI Champion, Taylor’s Version | 05 déc. 2023 | 01:11:56 | |
In this episode of the Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden discuss their partnership with Retail ROI. The episode is dedicated to how the retail industry can make a difference in the lives of children in need around the world. Highlights of the episode include discussions with Greg Buzek, president of IHL Group and Vicki Cantrell, CEO of Vendors in Partnership, detailing the history of RetailROI, a unique charity supported by the retail industry. Together they discuss different initiatives that have been undertaken by Retail ROI, including providing technology resources to children in Liberia during the Ebola crisis and supporting schools lacking necessary utilities for education. Greg and Vicki share highlights of the upcoming Super Saturday event during NRF in January including the special guest keynote! Join us to learn how everyone can make a difference for so many children by supporting this amazing organization! Retailers that attend Super Saturday help bring clean water to 100 children just by showing up! Learn more about RetailROI and the Super Sturday event, including how to register at RetailROI.org! WOW! As we zoom past our 2-year anniversary on the show, we’re honored and humbled to have hit the top of the charts on the Goodpods podcast platform! We can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked and E-Motive, from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E15 – The Intersection of Data & AI with Retail Transformer – Mir Ali of Kraft Heinz | 30 nov. 2023 | 00:49:47 | |
Join hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden in Episode 15 of the Retail Razor Show, as they dive deep into the world of data and AI within the retail sector. This episode features our latest Retail Transformer, Mir Ali, head of digital engineering at The Kraft Heinz Company. They discuss Kraft Heinz's journey developing a robust data foundation, the influence of AI tools, and strategies for integrating these within the business. Also highlighted is the importance of interconnecting insights from various channels of data. Together they critically discuss examples of practical issues faced by Kraft Heinz in their digital transformation journey that they aim to resolve with AI tools. Watch and learn about Kraft Heinz's unique challenges, and future directions in the area of data and AI with our latest Retail Transformer! You’ll learn why Mir Ali is unquestionably more than meets the eye! Plus, Georgina Nelson, CEO of TruRating, returns for our latest episode in the Retail Razor: Data Blades min-series where we discuss real-world numbers and consumer insights based on research at the point of sale! It's episode 6 and Georgina emphasizes data that explains the strategic advantage of well-informed store teams and shares a successful global sporting goods retailer's experience where they saw a 27 percent increase in average shopper spend when customers were given several product options by store associates. Georgina also emphasizes how these consumer insights can help in personalizing the shopping experience, suggesting complimentary products through cross-selling or premium options through upselling, and eventually leads to higher overall purchase values. WOW! As we zoom past our 2-year anniversary on the show, we’re honored and humbled to have hit the top of the charts on the Goodpods podcast platform! We can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, E-Motive, and Tech Lore from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E14 - Unwrapping 2023 Holiday Season Trends with Roshan Jhunja & Andrew Lipsman | 22 nov. 2023 | 00:49:43 | |
Wondering how retail businesses are strategizing to enhance the role of physical stores for a more festive shopping journey this holiday season? What sales impact will Gen Z and millennials have this season? To find out, we asked two of our favorite commerce experts to share their insights and help us unwrap this holiday season’s mysteries! Roshan Jhunja, head of retail at Square, and Andrew Lipsman, principal analyst for retail & ecommerce at Insider Intelligence join hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden for an enlightening analysis of the 2023 holiday shopping season! We explore the unpredictable behaviors of consumers since the pandemic and examine consumer and seller sentiment going into Black Friday and Cyber Monday. We also consider the evolving dynamics of mobile and social commerce, AI, the continued importance of omnichannel, and Buy Now Pay Later, touching on established e-commerce giants and up and coming platforms. The conversation also reviews how businesses strategies have shifted regarding staffing and technology augmentations, and the implications of such changes on customer experience. There’s much to unwrap in this episode and it’s all covered in less than 50 minutes! Reports mentioned in the podcast: Square and Afterpay Festive Forecast 2023: https://squareup.com/us/en/press/festive-forecast-2023 Insider Intelligence Holiday Shopping 2023 Forecast: https://content-na1.emarketer.com/holiday-shopping-2023 NEWS! We are pleased to announce that the Retail Razor Show is a Vendors In Partnership Awards nominee for The Retail Voice Award at the upcoming NRF Big Show 2024! We're asking all our listeners and YouTube viewers to help us win by showing your love for our show in the voting polls: Here's how you can help by voting: 1. Visit https://bit.ly/3QlKr4X 2. Register to vote. 3. Vote for The Retail Razor Show in The Retail Voice Award category. WOW! As we zoom past our 2-year anniversary on the show, we’re honored and humbled to have hit the top of the charts on the Goodpods podcast platform! We can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Made It On Stream (Xmas), from the album Lo-Fi Christmas, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. Incldues sound effects provided by Free Sounds Library. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E13 Unpacking The Magic of RFID with JP Kamel | 17 nov. 2023 | 00:53:14 | |
Hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden explore the diverse applications and benefits of RFID technology in the retail landscape, unlocking the potential for innovation from supply chain to in-store operations. Special guest John Pierre Kamel, managing director of RFID Sherpas, demonstrates how RFID excels in offering inventory visibility and accuracy to drive significant performance increases in retail business operations and sales. We also bring you the latest episode in our "Blade to Greatness" mini-series. In this segment, we invite a retail industry leader to offer one skill or trait that all retail executives need to become great leaders. Whether in stores or at corporate, we'll uncover valuable tips and advice that you can apply to your own retail career path. April Sabral, founder of retailu.ca, an online leadership development portal for field leaders and the author of two books, The Positive Effect, and her latest, Incurable Positivity, joins us to share her insights on an incredibly important topic that every retail leader needs to master: how to cultivate a positive culture for your retail employees! NEWS! We are pleased to announce that the Retail Razor Show is a Vendors In Partnership Awards nominee for The Retail Voice Award at the upcoming NRF Big Show 2024! We're asking all our listeners and YouTube viewers to help us win by showing your love for our show in the voting polls: Here's how you can help by voting: 1. Visit https://bit.ly/3QlKr4X 2. Register to vote. 3. Vote for The Retail Razor Show in The Retail Voice Award category. WOW! As we zoom past our 2-year anniversary on the show, we’re honored and humbled to have hit the top of the charts on the Goodpods podcast platform! We can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! About our Guest: With over two decades of experience, JP Kamel is a seasoned retail technology veteran, with a keen focus on RFID, Mobility and Omni solutions. As the Managing Director of RFID Sherpas since 2010, JP has been a driving force behind transformative change for global retailers, branded suppliers, and technology companies implementing RFID. He specializes in helping to effect transformational change for his clients by harnessing the power of data, inventory accuracy & visibility, process re-engineering, and Artificial Intelligence. JP is a regular contributor to leading retail publications on the value of Inventory Accuracy and Visibility and has been a guest speaker and keynote at multiple conferences around the world. Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, E-Motive, and Swag, Tag, And Brag from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E12 Harnessing the Power of Spatial Computing with Neil Redding | #GroceryshopLive | 03 nov. 2023 | 00:54:01 | |
Our final recording, live and in-person, raw and uncut, from Groceryshop 2023 has our hosts, Ricardo Belmar and guest host Jeff Roster learning how to harness the power of spatial computing with returning guest, Neil Redding, Founder and CEO of Redding Futures! Part of our special cross-over event with This Week in Innovation podcast, Jeff and Ricardo sat down with Neil to understand how Auki Labs new product release is redefining retail operations via the benefits of spatial computing and augmented reality, resulting in increased productivity and efficiency for store teams. The trio discuss what the future looks like for spatial computing use cases in retail, attempt to forecast the market for spatial computing, consider applications with autonomous vehicles and robotics, and close the discussion with a fun look at how Apple’s mainstreaming of spatial computing might impact the technology’s future! We also bring you the latest episode in our "Blade to Greatness" mini-series. In this segment, we invite a retail industry leader to offer one skill or trait that all retail executives need to become great leaders. Whether in stores or at corporate, we'll uncover valuable tips and advice that you can apply to your own retail career path. Ron Thurston, co-founder of Ossy, author of Retail Pride, the Guide to Celebrating Your Accidental Career, host of the Retail in America nationwide tour and podcast, speaker, advisor, board member, and former retail operations leader at Intermix, Saint Laurent, Bonobos, Tory Burch, Apple, and Williams-Sonoma joins us to share his insights on the issues facing frontline retail workers and retail leaders today. In this episode, Ron talks to us about why it’s so important for retail leaders to implement a career development culture as the first step to change their mindset and make change in the recruiting and retention of retail employees! NEWS! We are pleased to announce that the Retail Razor Show is a Vendors In Partnership Awards nominee for The Retail Voice Award at the upcoming NRF Big Show 2024! We're asking all our listeners and YouTube viewers to help us win by showing your love for our show in the voting polls: Here's how you can help by voting: 1. Visit https://bit.ly/3QlKr4X 2. Register to vote. 3. Vote for The Retail Razor Show in The Retail Voice Award category. WOW! As we zoom past our 2-year anniversary on the show, we’re honored and humbled to have hit the top of the charts on the Goodpods podcast platform! No. 1 in the Top 100 Indie Management Podcasts of the week chart No. 2 in the Top 100 Indie Management Podcasts of the month chart No. 5 in the Top 100 Indie Marketing Podcasts of the week chart We can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! About our Guest: Neil Redding is a keynote speaker, author, Innovation Architect and Near Futurist. Neil has worked at the convergence of digital and physical for decades, and is an expert in spatial computing, virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), AI and convergent brand ecosystems. Neil currently leads Redding Futures, a boutique consultancy that enables brands and businesses to powerfully the Near Future. Prior to founding Redding Futures, Neil held leadership roles at Mediacom, Proximity/BBDO, Gensler, ThoughtWorks, Auki Labs, and Lab49. Neil is also editor of Near Future of Retail, author of the forthcoming book The Ecosystem Paradigm, and advises multiple startups at the leading edge of the digital-physical convergence. Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, E-Motive, and Swag, Tag, And Brag from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E11 State of Retail Media with Andrew Lipsman | #GroceryshopLive | 24 oct. 2023 | 00:50:52 | |
Our latest recording, live and in-person, raw and uncut, from Groceryshop 2023 shines a light on one of the top trends from the show – Retail Media Networks! Part of our special cross-over event with guest host, Jeff Roster, host of This Week in Innovation podcast, Jeff and regular host Ricardo Belmar invited leading retail media analyst, Andrew Lipsman, principal analyst for retail & e-commerce at Insider Intelligence, to the mic. Together they analyze everything from Instacart’s IPO, which landed on Day 1 of Groceryshop, to defining what it takes to create a successful retail media network, to identifying how RMNs will expand beyond search, and beyond in-store media. Hint – start thinking about connected TV and streaming TV! What will the future hold for retail media? Our trio spells it out in about 30 minutes! We also bring you the latest episode in our "Retail Razor Data Blades" mini-series, where we discuss real-world numbers and consumer insights based on research at the point of sale with the help of Georgina Nelson, CEO of TruRating. In this episode, Georgina continues our exploration of self-checkout to help retailers understand why the perception of choice is essential during the checkout experience for consumers! NEWS! We are pleased to announce that the Retail Razor Show is a Vendors In Partnership Awards nominee for The Retail Voice Award at the upcoming NRF Big Show 2024! We're asking all our listeners and YouTube viewers to help us win by showing your love for our show in the voting polls: Here's how you can help by voting: 1. Visit https://bit.ly/3QlKr4X 2. Register to vote. 3. Vote for The Retail Razor Show in The Retail Voice Award category. WOW! As we reach our 2-year anniversary with the show, we’re honored and humbled to hit the top of the charts on the Goodpods podcast platform! No. 1 in the Top 100 Indie Management Podcasts of the week chart No. 2 in the Top 100 Indie Management Podcasts of the month chart No. 5 in the Top 100 Indie Marketing Podcasts of the week chart We can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, E-Motive, and Tech Lore from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E10 Startup Trends with Shish Shridhar | #GroceryshopLive | 13 oct. 2023 | 00:55:00 | |
We continue our series of recordings live and in-person at Groceryshop 2023 this episode with a fascinating exploration of trends in the world of startups with Microsoft for Startups global retail lead, Shish Shridhar. Part of our special cross-over event with guest host, Jeff Roster, host of This Week in Innovation podcast, Jeff and regular host Ricardo Belmar sat down with Shish to discuss 3 trends at Groceryshop in the context of the startup community – Generative AI, meal planning, and automation. Plus, the trio take a look at what we should expect in the broader retail tech community over the next 6 months going into 2024. It’s a Retail Avengers reunion from back in our original Clubhouse days – get ready for a fun, raw and uncut, discussion with the potential to go in any direction with this trio! We also bring you the latest episode in our ‘Blade to Greatness’ mini-series! In this segment, we invite a retail industry leader to offer one skill or trait that all retail executives need to become great leaders. Whether in stores or at corporate, we'll uncover valuable tips and advice that you can apply to your own retail career path. Jeffrey McNulty, Founder and CEO of New Retail Ethos Consultancy, author of The Ultimate Retail Manual, and creator of The Ultimate Retail Course: Become a Retail RockStarreturns to the show for this powerful new segment to discuss an incredibly important skill retail leaders need – fostering intrapreneurship! NEWS! We are pleased to announce that the Retail Razor Show is a Vendors In Partnership Awards nominee for The Retail Voice Award at the upcoming NRF Big Show 2024! We're asking all our listeners and YouTube viewers to help us win by showing your love for our show in the voting polls: Here's how you can help by voting: 1. Visit https://bit.ly/3QlKr4X 2. Register to vote. 3. Vote for The Retail Razor Show in The Retail Voice Award category. WOW! As we hit our 2-year anniversary with the show, we’re honored and humbled to reach the top of the charts on the Goodpods podcast platform! No. 1 in the Top Indie Management Podcasts of the week chart No. 3 in the Top Indie Management Podcasts of the month chart No. 7 in the Top Marketing Podcasts of the week chart We can’t thank our Goodpods listeners enough! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! UPDATE - We're currently at number 20 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list – if you enjoy our show, please consider giving us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts & help us move our way up the Top 20! https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/ Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, E-Motive, and Swag, Tag & Brag from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Follow us on Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E9 Groceryshop Recap with Krystina Gustafson & Ben Miller | #GroceryshopLive | 01 oct. 2023 | 00:38:29 | |
Did you miss Groceryshop 2023? Or were you so busy there that you missed out on the best sessions and are left wondering what were the big, raw themes from the show? No worries – we teamed up once again with special guest host, Jeff Roster, host of This Week in Innovation podcast, to bring you the best live, in-person interviews from the Groceryshop podcast room! So, to bring you the final word on what really happened at this year’s conference, including all the hot topics and themes, we went straight to the source – the Groceryshop content team! Jeff Roster and Ricardo Belmar sat down with Krystina Gustafson, SVP of Content, and Ben Miller, Director of Original Content to cover all the details you need to know. What was the mood at the show? What were the hottest topics? What technologies had all the buzz? You can probably guess at least two of them – all things AI and retail media, but there’s more to the story and Krystina and Ben break it down for you in this insightful, candid, raw, unedited conversation with Jeff and Ricardo. UPDATE - We're currently at number 19 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list – if you enjoy our show, please consider giving us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts & help us move our way up the Top 20! https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/ WOW! Join us in celebrating our latest top of the charts achievements on the Goodpods podcast platform! No. 4 in the Weekly Top 100 Indie Management charts No. 5 in the Monthly Top 100 Indie Management charts No. 8 in the Weekly Top 100 Indie Marketing charts No. 9 in the Monthly Top 100 Indie Marketing charts Thank you Goodpods listeners! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclockedand E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E8 Unlocking Retail – Part One | 22 sept. 2023 | 00:33:05 | |
This episode has our hosts, Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden, reflect on this season’s three themes and past episodes, focusing on the technology that will unlock business potential for retailers and enhance the shopping experience for consumers. Ricardo and Casey share their vision for a personalized virtual shopping experience, where we can preview products and interact with sales associates before visiting the store. Underpinning the many experiences they highlight – customer data platforms! Ricardo and Casey discuss how CDPs are critical to the future of retail and how this critical technology will help retailers and brands diversify their channels to reach consumers effectively, as traditional channels are becoming less effective. Of course, that means a quick debate on where retail media is headed! We also bring back last season’s fan favorite segment, "Retail Razor Data Blades" to discuss real-world numbers and consumer insights based on research at the point of sale with the help of Georgina Nelson, CEO of TruRating. In this episode, Georgina highlights the power of self-checkout – exactly why do consumers like self-checkout, or do they? Georgina has the data that shows us the answer! We're currently at number 19 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list – if you enjoy our show, please consider giving us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts & help us move our way up the Top 20! https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/ Wow! Join us in celebrating our latest top of the charts achievements on the Goodpods podcast platform! No. 3 in the Weekly Top 100 Indie Management charts No. 6 in the Monthly Top 100 Indie Management charts No. 9 in the Monthly Top 100 Indie Marketing charts Thank you Goodpods listeners! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, E-Motive, and Tech Lore from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E7 What is the Future of Video Commerce? | 30 août 2023 | 00:56:13 | |
Our spotlight shines again on immersive commerce this episode! We are answering a critically important question for retailers - what is the future of video commerce? To answer this question and truly dive deep into the treasure trove of conversion that is video commerce we've invited Vincent Yang, co-founder and CEO of Firework to the show! Vincent guides us through understanding the true nature and capabilities of video commerce. It's a fascinating discussion where you'll come away with an incredible list of insights and best practices you can apply to your retail business! We start with livestreaming, move to shoppable video and areas far beyond. Join us as we venture into mid-funnel and bottom funnel marketing strategies, to brand awareness tactics, to understanding marketing vs advertising and learn how video drives human engagement online. If you thought livestreaming was all there is to video in retail – think again! You’ll learn why a video commerce strategy is the digital equivalent to having an engaging store associate guide your customer journey. Plus, we bring you the fourth topic in our new leadership segment on the show – ‘Blade to Greatness’! Ron Thurston, co-founder of Ossy, author of Retail Pride, the Guide to Celebrating Your Accidental Career, host of the Retail in America nationwide tour and podcast, speaker, advisor, board member, and former retail operations leader at Intermix, Saint Laurent, Bonobos, Tory Burch, Apple, and Williams-Sonoma joins us to share his insights on the issues facing frontline retail workers and retail leaders today. In this episode, Ron talks to us about one of the most important skills a retail leader needs to master: How to reframe your current job search processes to hire the right person! We're currently at number 18 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list – if you enjoy our show, please consider giving us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts & help keep moving our way up the Top 20! https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/ Wow! Join us in celebrating our top of the charts achievements on the Goodpods podcast player! No. 2 Podcast of the Week on the Management charts Top 5 Podcast of the Month in the Management charts Top 5 Podcast of the Week on the Marketing Charts Thank you Goodpods listeners! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, E-Motive, and Swag, Tag & Brag from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E6 Retail Transformers - Cynthia Hollen - mavi.io | 18 août 2023 | 00:58:45 | |
We return to our anywhere commerce theme for this season and shine a light on the future of in-car commerce! We’re answering a very important question - Will shopping on the go become the most important commerce channel for product discovery? We'll dig into what's new and what’s next for in-car product recommendation, BOPIS, and its impact on local search by meeting our latest Retail Transformer – Cynthia Hollen, CEO & co-founder of mavi.io! If you thought your mobile phone was all the mobile commerce you needed, you’ll think again after listening to this episode. Join us as we uncover the connection between car manufacturers, consumers, retailers, and brands that will deliver a new way of shopping from the convenience of your car. Did we mention how this will automate your routine shopping habits? And did you know that retail media networks have an important role to play in your car? All this and more in a fully loaded podcast episode! Plus, we have the third topic in our new leadership segment– ‘Blade to Greatness’! In this segment, we invite a retail industry leader to offer one skill or trait that all retail executives need to become great leaders. Whether in stores or at corporate, we'll uncover valuable tips and advice that you can apply to your own retail career path. April Sabral, founder of retailu.ca, an online leadership development portal for field leaders and author of two books, The Positive Effect, and her latest, Incurable Positivity, joins us to share her valuable insights into an incredibly important skill every retail leader needs to master: why having a positive mindset is an advantage in growing your business! We’re currently at No. 18 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list – if you enjoy our show, please consider giving us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts and help us continue our climb up the Top 20! https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/ Join us in celebrating our latest top of the charts achievements on the Goodpods podcast player! #2 in the Top Indie Management Podcasts chart #9 in the Top Management Podcasts chart #7 in the Top Indie Marketing Podcasts charts Thank you Goodpods listeners! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and send us your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, E-Motive, and Swag, Tag & Brag from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E5 Retail Transformers – Ron Thurston - Ossy | 26 juil. 2023 | 01:03:38 | |
Today as part of our Back to Basics of Retailing theme this season, we are once again focusing on people – the frontline workers in retail stores, and the process of hiring and retaining the best candidates. In this episode we answer two incredibly important questions– How do we change how we hire, connect, and match retail brands to retail workers, respectfully, transparently, and humanly? And can technology help? To answer these questions and more, we meet our latest Retail Transformer & fan favorite - Ron Thurston, author of Retail Pride, the Guide to Celebrating Your Accidental Career, Host of the Retail in America nationwide tour and podcast, former retail operations leader at Intermix, Saint Laurent, Bonobos, Tory Burch, Apple, and Williams-Sonoma, and now co-founder of Ossy, a business we’ll hear more about in the episode and how it’s disrupting the hiring process! Plus, we bring you the second topic in our new leadership segment on the show – ‘Blade to Greatness’! In this segment, we invite a retail industry leader to offer one skill or trait that all retail executives need to become great leaders. Whether in stores or at corporate, we'll uncover valuable tips and advice that you can apply to your own retail career path. Jeffrey McNulty, Founder and CEO of New Retail Ethos Consultancy, author of The Ultimate Retail Manual, and creator of The Ultimate Retail Course: Become a Retail RockStar returns to the show for this powerful new segment to discuss an incredibly important skill retail leaders need – supporting employee autonomy! Jeffrey is offering a special discount on his retail course for Retail Razor Show listeners with discount code RETAILROCKSTAR100OFF at this website: http://www.theultimateretailcourse.com/ We’ve moved up to No. 16 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list – if you enjoy our show, please consider giving us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts and help us continue our climb up the Top 20! https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/ Wow! Join us in celebrating our recent top of the charts achievements on the Goodpods podcast player! #1 in the Top Indie Management Podcasts chart #2 in the Top Management Podcasts chart #4 in the Top Marketing Podcasts charts Thank you Goodpods listeners! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star ratings and provide your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, E-Motive, and Swag, Tag & Brag from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey | |||
| S3E4 The Future of Delivery with Shipt | 12 juil. 2023 | 00:49:26 | |
In this episode we answer an incredibly important question in retail – what is the future of local delivery services? Delivery has become a core convenience service for most consumers in recent years. How will retailers continue to offer these services in a cost-effective manner for both them and their customers? The market for these 3rd party providers has also changed. Can business models adapt or will we continue to see consolidation and market exits from providers such as quick commerce delivery services? We’ve invited Raj Kapoor, COO of Shipt to help us answer these questions, and more, about the future of delivery! Plus, we introduce a new leadership segment on the show – ‘Blade to Greatness’! In this segment, we invite a retail industry leader to offer one skill or trait that all retail executives need to become great leaders. Whether in stores or at corporate, we'll uncover valuable tips and advice that you can apply to your own retail career path. Jeffrey McNulty, Founder and CEO of New Retail Ethos Consultancy, author of The Ultimate Retail Manual, and creator of The Ultimate Retail Course: Become a Retail RockStar returns to the show for this powerful new segment! Jeffrey is offering a special discount on his retail course for Retail Razor Show listeners with discount code RETAILROCKSTAR100OFF at this website: http://www.theultimateretailcourse.com/ We’ve moved up to No. 17 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list – if you enjoy our show, please consider giving us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts and help us continue our climb up the Top 20! https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/ Wow! Join us in celebrating our top of the charts achievements on the Goodpods podcast player! #1 in the Top Indie Management Podcasts chart #2 in the Top Management Podcasts chart #4 in the Top Marketing Podcasts charts Thank you Goodpods listeners! We love your support! Please continue giving us those 5-star rating and provide your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, E-Motive, and Swag, Tag & Brag from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Read my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey Read my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWCasey | |||
| S3E3 Retail Transformers - Jeffrey P. McNulty - New Retail Ethos | 05 juil. 2023 | 00:52:32 | |
What makes a great retail leader, especially during constrained times like retailers are experiencing this year? How do you develop executive retail leadership? How do these leaders shape the success of their entire organization? What qualities do they need to create that success? We’re speaking with Jeffrey P. McNulty, Founder and CEO of New Retail Ethos Consultancy, author of The Ultimate Retail Manual, and creator of The Ultimate Retail Course: Become a Retail RockStar to answer these questions and more! You’ll learn why Jeffrey, our latest Retail Transformer, is more than meets the eye! Our conversation with Jeffrey will look at what he’s learned from successful retail leaders throughout his 30-year retail career, and how this has helped him develop an extensive training program and framework for developing great retail leaders that lead successful retail organizations. We’ll learn just how a strong retail business begins with the right leadership skills and qualities. We’re at number 18 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list – if you enjoy our show, please consider giving us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts and help us move our way up the Top 20! We're really feeling the love on the Goodpods platform! So far this season, we’ve hit these major milestones on the Top Charts: #2 in the Top 100 Indie Management Podcasts chart #8 in the Top 100 Management Podcasts chart #9 in the Top 100 Indie Marketing Podcasts chart Thank you Goodpods listeners! Please share your feedback with us! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked and E-Motive, from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod | |||
| S3E2 Retail Transformers - Neil Redding - Auki Labs | 16 juin 2023 | 01:12:11 | |
How will retailers embrace immersive commerce? Will it be via AR or VR or both? To answer this question, we meet our latest Retail Transformer – Neil Redding, head of product at Auki Labs. Plus, we welcome special guest host back to the show, Jeff Roster, host of This Week in Innovation podcast. Together we explore why AR and spatial computing may be the answer retailers are looking for to give digital assets a physical presence in the shopper journey. We also examine the impact of Apple’s new Vision Pro mixed reality headset and how this both legitimizes and forever changes the AR/VR landscape. Join us for a unique discussion where we unpack why and how this matters for retail – our conclusions may surprise you! We’re at number 19 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list – if you enjoy our show, please consider giving us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts and help us move our way up the Top 20! Even more accolades! We’re feeling the love on the Goodpods podcast player! After our Season 3 launch with Generative AI, this past week we hit these major milestones on the Top Charts: Top 100 Business Podcasts - at #26 and Top 45 Indie Business Podcasts – at #15 Top 25 Management Podcasts – at #5 and Top 8 Indie Management Podcasts – at #3 Top 47 Marketing Podcasts – at #7 and Top 17 Indie Marketing Podcasts – at #6 Thank you Goodpod listeners! Keep it coming and post your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked and E-Motive, from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Read my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey Read my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWCasey | |||
| S3E1 What Can Be Done With Generative AI? | 09 juin 2023 | 01:07:01 | |
What’s the buzz on everyone’s mind in retail right now? Yes, it’s Generative AI! Taking the industry by storm, but exactly what can you do with generative AI that’s so transformative for retailers and brands? We break it down in what’s likely the most grounded discussion you could hear today on this topic with two special guests: our Retail Avenger, Shish Shridhar, Global Retail Lead at Microsoft for Startups, and Michelle Bacharach, CEO of FindMine. We cover the use cases for today and tomorrow, plus we go deep on the caveats and risks you should know before you dive in headfirst to this amazing technology. We’re now standing at number 19 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list – if you enjoy our show, please consider giving us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts! With your help, we’ll move our way up the Top 20! https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/ Even more accolades! We’re feeling the love on the Goodpods podcast player! This past week we hit these major milestones on the Top Charts: Top 100 Business Podcasts - at #89 and Top 34 Indie Business Podcasts – at #28 Top 18 Management Podcasts – at #10 and Top 6 Indie Management Podcasts – at #5 Top 31 Marketing Podcasts – at #21 and Top 12 Indie Marketing Podcasts – at #11 Thank you Goodpod listeners! Keep it coming and post your comments! Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked and E-Motive, from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Goodpods: https://bit.ly/TRRSgoodpods Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Read my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey Read my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWCasey | |||
| The Retail Razor Show - Season 3 Trailer | 17 mai 2023 | 00:06:03 | |
Ready or not, it’s Season 3 of the Retail Razor Show! Hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden are back to cut through the clutter to guide you through the most important trends in retail and retail technology. This season we’re bringing you more expert guests to explore 3 themes: Automation and AI, Immersive and Anywhere Commerce, and both of those against a backdrop of ‘back to basics’ retailing. Join us on the journey from store operations, to supply chain, to customer experience and back again – whether you’re a retailer, or a retail tech supplier, you’ll find something just for you this season. Coming soon to your favorite podcast player, so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a minute! We’re currently at number 19 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list – if you enjoy our show, please consider giving us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts! With your help, we’ll move our way up the Top 20! https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/ About Your Hosts: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring E-Motive, from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor Show Follow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShow Retail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPod Host → Ricardo Belmar, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Read my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden, Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey Read my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWCasey S3 Trailer [00:00:00] Ricardo Belmar: Ready or not. It's season three of the Retail Razor Show. The podcast where we cut through the clutter to give you sharp insights on the retail industry and retail technology. I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar, retail tech strategist and top retail influencer. Currently the lead partner marketing advisor for retail and consumer goods at Microsoft. [00:00:38] Casey Golden: And I'm Casey Golden, top retail influencer and retail tech founder of Luxlock, a unified experience platform. We're back for a new season of commerce conversations featuring a lineup of leading industry guests and unforgettable discussions you can execute against immediately. [00:00:56] Ricardo Belmar: That's right Casey. Listeners subscribe now to get new [00:01:00] drop notifications. In season three, we are exploring three major themes that are shaping the future of retail. [00:01:07] Automation and AI, immersive and anywhere commerce, and perhaps most important of all, how both of those themes are coming to us full steam against a backdrop of back to basics retailing. [00:01:20] First up, let's talk automation and AI. If there's one set of tech that's transforming how retailers operate, supply chain, store operations to customer service, and everything in between, it's AI. [00:01:32] Casey Golden: We're digging in to how retailers can leverage leading and emerging technologies to reduce costs, improve efficiency, automate and optimize operations while still enhancing the customer experience. We'll address the underlying challenges and undeniable opportunities that come with deploying artificial intelligence. [00:01:52] And implementing automation workflows in the real retail world, not a dreamy white paper or dreams [00:02:00] made of vaporware. If it's not real, there's no room for it in retail. [00:02:05] Ricardo Belmar: And jumping to the customer's perspective, immersive commerce and anywhere commerce are redefining how consumers shop. Online, offline, and everywhere in between, we'll uncover the technologies retailers are leveraging to monetizing engaging moments and personalized shopping experiences across sales channels and touchpoints. [00:02:23] Our hot take on hot topics will include live streaming, augmented reality, social commerce, computer vision, and open retail-tainment as a strategic initiative rather than just a buzzword. [00:02:34] Casey Golden: We'll also be exploring how retailers can adapt to keep up with rapid changing customer behaviors and expectations in a post pandemic world. Let's face it, we've all experienced some business whiplash and loved the view with our rose gold ray bans, but if we don't bring it back to center, the vision of our business will never become an experienced reality. [00:02:56] Back to basics retailing focuses on the core [00:03:00] elements of retail success, product, price, place, promotion, and most importantly, people. Oh, and profitability. That's another important p. [00:03:13] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. What's that? Like six Ps? [00:03:15] Casey Golden: I'd make it seven with process, but you might say that's a bit more than meets the eye. [00:03:21] Ricardo Belmar: Wait, that's supposed to be my line. [00:03:23] Casey Golden: Kind of known for stealing some good one-liners. [00:03:25] Ricardo Belmar: That's so true. It always happens. So we'll examine how retailers can optimize their performance marketing, conversion optimization, merchandising, pricing, and assortment strategies. We'll also look at how retailers can invest in their frontline store teams who, yes, it's true, they really are the face of the brand and the key to customer loyalty. [00:03:45] Casey Golden: Okay, Ricardo. Not only do we have these three incredible themes, we've also stacked new show segments we're introducing after teasing our fans with the retail razor data blades in season two.[00:04:00] [00:04:00] Ricardo Belmar: That's right Casey. In addition to the three themes, we'll have conversations with retail leaders about their most valuable leadership traits and best practices. We'll share insights based on data from consumer surveys and research, and we'll take a fresh academic viewpoint of retail technology issues with professors and experts from leading universities. [00:04:19] Casey Golden: We have killer content lined up for you this season. Not to give too much away, but here's some of the highlights that it's gonna include. [00:04:27] Ricardo Belmar: How live streaming is revolutionizing online shopping and creating new opportunities for retailers and a new generation of engineered influencers. [00:04:36] Casey Golden: How augmented reality and virtual or reality create immersive and interactive shopping experiences that drive more engagement for product discovery and drive conversion. [00:04:47] Ricardo Belmar: And how retailers can invest short term to reduce cost long term by adopting the right technologies like R F I D, cloud computing and new AI-driven prescriptive analytics, [00:04:56] Casey Golden: How performance marketing helps retailers acquire, [00:05:00] retain, and grow their customer base with data-driven strategies. [00:05:03] Ricardo Belmar: how retailers can manage and invest in their frontline store teams by providing the right training, tools, incentives and empowerment. [00:05:11] Casey Golden: And digital humans can create new possibilities for customer service, personalization and storytelling in retail and so much more. [00:05:20] Ricardo Belmar: So stay tuned for the third season of the Retail Razor Show. Coming soon to your favorite podcast platform. [00:05:25] Casey Golden: We can't wait to share our insights. Tune in with us and our special guests for the important conversations we should all be having to support the business of retail. Thank you for listening and supporting us. [00:05:38] Ricardo Belmar: I'm your host Ricardo Belmar. [00:05:40] Casey Golden: And I'm your host, Casey Golden. Ricardo, this trailer is a wrap. [00:05:45] Ricardo Belmar: Signing off for now. And remember, there's never been a better time to be in retail if you cut through the clutter. Until next time, this is the Retail Razor Show. [00:06:00] | |||