Making a difference for black-owned businesses is Kendra Bracken-Ferguson. Bracken-Ferguson’s establishment of BrainTrust, an innovative social, digital, and influencer marketing agency focused on growing brands from organic communities since 2016, recently launched BrainTrust Founders Studio. This membership-based community platform creates inclusive economic opportunities for Black Beauty and Wellness Founders, increases business performance, and builds sustainable growth and wealth creation pathways. Bracken-Ferguson joined Retail Refined’s Melissa Gonzalez to share her journey and the BrainTrust Founders Studio initiative.

Bracken-Ferguson, a black founder with a network of other black founders that she mentors and supports vice-versa, knew there needed to be a way to combine all this expertise into an ecosystem of resources, capital, investment to create the next generation of black beauty and wellness founders. And that purpose became the genesis for the BrainTrust Founders Studio.

And why is such a support system essential for young brands when some believe that funding is enough? “Even if someone gets an investment, are they set up operationally,” Bracken-Ferguson said. “Do they have the right team, the resources? Do they have a path to get there? Do they know where their business is going? Are we doing e-commerce, focused on retail, or are we focused on networks? You need all of those pillars to help make sure that not only is your business growing, but it’s sustained growth.”

Bracken-Ferguson recognized the enormous landscape of change in retail in the past couple of years, brought on by the pandemic posed new challenges and opportunities. But that also makes now such a fun time in her eyes. “On one hand, as a consumer, we’re in this place where we want it now. But on top of that, there are so many things we have to think about as marketers and brand builders. We’ve started to map out; where’s every possible place we can be, how do we want to use our products to be in those places, and what is the story we are telling.”

Steve Kramer, CEO at WorkJam, is a twenty-year veteran in e-commerce. His specialty is finding the gaps in how organizations manage their frontlines. He founded WorkJam in 2014 as a digital frontline workplace to solve retail industry issues. “Our platform essentially helps retailers and companies and other industries, such as healthcare, manufacturing, and distribution, to orchestrate their frontline workforces,” Kramer said.

The frontline digital workforce is a new category that reshapes how organizations bi-directionally communicate with their workers. It encompasses all the core elements of managing a frontline under one platform accessible through an employee’s mobile device. No matter how robust a platform is, it’s only a success if it makes a positive difference for employees. “We’ve been able to prove this in working with major organizations around the world,” Kramer said.

With retail worker shortages already rising before the pandemic, the past two and a half years have made the need for engagement and retention a top priority for retailers. “The need to be able to communicate became fundamental,” Kramer said. “And there were no tools available to effectively communicate from the head office down to the field. So, that became a priority for organizations to start addressing.”

The convergence of economic concerns for retailers coinciding with labor shortages is unique for the industry. “It’s pretty much a green field area for organizations where I think it can drive tremendous innovation as well in companies around the world right now,” Kramer said.

In a recent survey of retail and manufacturing executives and how they organized their workforce priorities, Kramer said there were a few main takeaways. Labor shortages & turnover were more significant challenges than supply chain issues, and the great resignation and the movement of employees was another primary concern. “Executives are really focused around solving these issues,” Kramer said. “They want to solve them, particularly through changing labor models and being able to provide flexibility to schedules in the field.”

While at the world’s largest retail conference and expo, Retail Refined Host Melissa Gonzalez spoke with Chris Georgen, Founder and Chief Architect of Topl, a company that sits at the intersection of sustainability, deep-technology, and innovation.

Topl, whose mission is to build trust between consumers and products, is set largely within an industry which has historically lacked that. Georgen remarked on Topl’s unique position within the market, particularly in increasing transparency within the fashion industry using Topl blockchain.

Using the tools created by and within Topl, the ESG impact of a company can vastly improve. Georgen remarked that, “Topl technology can take fashion supply chains from 18 months to 25 days,” which positively impacts these upward-trending ESG-forward values seen in the market as shorter time to delivery means less waste due to demand fluctuations.

Not only this, but Topl blockchain underpins and helps secure data while optimizing performance for different sectors.

As the demand in the market, namely pushed by GenZ’s habit in “voting more with their wallets” because “different things matter,” moves fashion towards different brand differentiators and new brands focus on equity, inclusion, and sustainability, Topl helps to secure trust between the consumer and the brand.

While brand and reputation used to largely underpin market demand, there has been, Georgen remarked, a “reset” caused by the pandemic which means these identifiers are no longer the only consideration in retail spending.

Additionally, Georgen emphasized the role Web3 has in the future of retail and sustainability tokenization. Web3 will be able to “cut off the places to hide” for consumers to see the truth behind company supply chains, resources, and materials and “greenwashing” will become much more difficult.

With ESG-forward values continuing to dominate retail trends, Topl stands at the intersection for providing trust in engagement between brands and consumers.

Ian Leslie, Senior Director of Retail Advocacy at Bolt, joined Retail Refined for a live chat at NRF 2020. Bolt is a San Francisco-based one-click checkout solution powering checkout across e-commerce merchants across the internet.

“We’re trying to bring one-click checkout to all merchants whether they’re big or small,” Leslie said. “Give them a best-in-class experience, and also allow them to be able to identify their customers and allow their customers to checkout as seamlessly as possible.”

Once Bolt gets installed on a merchant’s website, they have immediate access to the millions of shoppers on the Bolt Network. When a Bolt customer comes to that merchant’s website for the first time and has an existing Bolt account, having shopped on another Bolt site, they can quickly check out with a code they receive via text message or email they are in and out fast.

Many of the trends Leslie saw the industry heading towards involved more effortless online shopping experiences. And Bolt’s commitment was to help these merchants from enterprise to SMB make those easy purchase experiences possible. And with the growth of installment plans and APMs such as Apple Pay or PayPal check out, these are expectations the shopper has, and merchants need to deliver. “What’s great about Bolt is we’re gateway agnostic, so whether you check out via credit card or you check out via Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, or Klarna, it doesn’t matter to us,” Leslie said. “We just want the checkout to occur.”

Ohi’s mission is to enable every brand to offer instant post purchase experience. Ben Jones, Founder of Ohi, chatted with Melissa Gonzales about Ohi’s origin and values.

Jones founded Ohi when he had an injury that left him bedridden, and he realized he couldn’t order any of the products he needed and get them faster than within two or three days unless it was from Amazon. He created Ohi as a result. Ohi integrates into brand websites and runs data analytics to understand where demand is coming from and forward position inventory to micro warehouses. Micro warehouses are unused retail space where orders can be picked and packed.

Currently, Ohi covers 20 percent of ecommerce companies and exists in six cities. The goal is to reach 60 percent and 25 cities by 2022. Consumer hunger is driving the spread. “We’ve seen with COVID this real paradigm shift from consumers being happy with two-day delivery, maybe next day delivery, to really now an expectation of just getting everything straightaway.” He continued, “That paradigm shifting consumer expectation isn’t going to go backwards.”

Sustainability is one of Ohi’s core values. With increasing delivery speed comes more environmental damage. Ohi combats this by understanding what the consumer is going to buy beforehand and reducing packaging. Their packages are are tote bags because point-to-point delivery to and from micro warehouses is very short.

Looking forward, Jones said, “Ohi will get there slower, but we will get there in a way that is profitable and has longevity. But I really think we will get to a world where consumers will be able to order really from any brand that they like and get it in 15 minutes.”

With the assumption supply chain issues will continue to impact retail for the foreseeable future, how can retailers best optimize their assortments heading into 2022? This question was on Retail Refined’s Melissa Gonzalez’ mind when she spoke with Andrew Criezis, Head of Product for SMB Globally, at NielsenIQ.

At NielsonIQ’s SMB segment, Criezis and his group work with small start-ups and brands that haven’t had a lot of experience working with data and understanding the marketplace and how to enter retail.

“For our retailer partners, it’s definitely a challenging time,” Criezis admitted. “One thing we’ve advised is that they look into their brand makeup and look into their shelf mix to understand what are the brands that can weather this storm the best, and what are the ones that they can rely on that have more successful supply chains and able to adapt given the marketplace over the last twelve months.”

In-store shopping did see a comeback compared to 2020. “So, in-store is not going away, but also at the same time the conversion to online, those trends are significant,” Criezis said. “And then for your in-store shoppers, it’s what type different type of engagements are you going to have or change the way they might shopping in-store, or track them in the store.”

From NielsonIQ’s data, Criezis said they’d seen a 5% reduction in total SKUs across all retailers. “That tells us most likely retailers are reducing the number of SKUs on the shelf, focusing more on some of their existing store brands versus some of the national brands. I think we’re also seeing a focus on local. That calling that out is standing as ‘I’m actually pulling from something in the neighborhood,’ or something that you can connect to on a more personal level.”

The role of the store associate continues to evolve. This new profile is entrepreneurial and adaptive, selling to anybody anywhere. Brands with associates that build bonds versus being transactional only can see shopper value increase. Discussing this buzzy topic, Retail Refined host Melissa Gonzalez welcomed two experts, Bob Phibbs, Founder of the Retail Doctor, and Oscar Sachs, CEO and Co-Founder of Salesfloor.

Phibbs has a rich retail history as a coach, author, and speaker. He launched SalesRX virtual training platform for in-store associates. Sachs is a retail digital expert who founded Salesfloor to enable customers to shop online directly with a local store or associate.

“Retail had to transform during the digital revolution, and movement is faster. Rethinking the role of associates selling across channels is critical,” Sachs said.

This omnichannel strategy started years before the pandemic and shifted the associate to someone that engages and builds relationships. Sachs noted, “They have a connection marketing doesn’t.”

Phibbs, however, noted that the changing job scope included more tasks on associates that aren’t treated well. “The dark side is expecting people to just take it. When we give them training and know what success looks like, they can thrive. You have to fix the culture to take care of the employee and the customer.”

Phibbs remarked that many are missing the soft skills to pivot to a relationship.

Sachs agreed that training is critical but so is attribution. “You have to align incentives with behavior. The web can’t be a competitor. No matter where they buy if the store served the customer, the store and associate get credit.”

With the highly anticipated Tokyo Olympics and Tokyo Paralympics just around the corner, excitement for the Games has been building. Behind the scenes, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties (USOPP) team has also been hard at work, establishing new partnerships, and finding innovative ways to support its sponsors and licensees, and, ultimately, the athletes who bring the Games to life.

“Our athletes are amazing and truly in it for the love of the sport. They’re ambassadors for us as much as athletes on the world stage" -Peter Zeytoonjian

Melissa Gonzalez, Host of Retail Refined, was joined by Peter Zeytoonjian, Senior Vice President of Commerce and Events, for the USOPP, a veteran consumer marketing executive known for developing global commercial business strategies, to talk about the Games and the opportunities ahead. In 2018, Zeytoonjian was tasked with developing a ten-year consumer products business that will support and enhance Team USA—which is comprised of athletes who compete at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, among others—and LA28. “Our athletes are amazing and truly in it for the love of the sport. They’re ambassadors for us as much as athletes on the world stage,” he said.

The USOPP offers Team USA product lines to a wide variety of major retailers, from Macy’s and Old Navy, to Target, creating a level of exclusivity specific to those channels. For the Tokyo Games, USOPP formed a unique partnership with Sanrio, known for its Hello Kitty line. And it signed a deal with NBCUniversal, too. “Everyone is looking for something different. How do we bring different product lines, a different aesthetic, that still ties to a brand, but gives everyone a niche product, something unique in market share?” he said.  It’s a challenge that Zeytoonjian welcomes. The LA28 products, for example, will take hold in LA commercially before going national. “We’re different from other sports properties, different from other Olympics associations or committees,” he explained. “Every dollar we raise goes back to the team. When you put something on that’s Team USA, you’re supporting a national athlete.”

From building brands with musicians to connecting the dots between property owners and retail businesses, Jay Norris, CEO, and Co-Founder at Guesst has led an exciting career. Through each venture, though, he has loved working with talented small businesses, whether that was Biggie Smalls or Whitney Houston.

On this episode of Retail Refined, Host Melissa Gonzalez talked with Norris about his career as a serial entrepreneur that started in the music industry. The duo dug into the changes he saw in the music industry at the start of the internet. They also talked about Guesst, a business he started to address the pain points for retailers and restaurants.

“When I left the music business and started working in commercial real estate, there was a thread there that I loved working with talented small businesses." -Jay Norris

“When I left the music business and started working in commercial real estate, there was a thread there that I loved working with talented small businesses,” Norris said. He elaborated that when he worked with musicians such as Biggie and Whitney Houston, he did so when they didn’t have any following. He then had to market these musicians in a new market. This is where he learned about experiential, guerrilla, and influencer marketing.

“Guesst is a third-party verification platform that allows restaurants, retailers, and all other operators to share SELECTED DATA with their property owners, investors, and vendors.”

Listen to learn more about Norris’s career and how he’s trying to help the retail business.

The retail industry’s reliance on technology is more apparent than ever. The way people shop, buy, and experience brands have changed dramatically in the next year. What comes next will be powered by 5G. Talking about 5G’s mark on retail, Retail Refined host Melissa Gonzalez spoke with Michael Colaneri, VP of Retail, Restaurants, Hospitality for AT&T. Colaneri has decades of experience in retail technology and has over 27 years with AT&T. 

Colaneri described his role as supporting the consumer journey in verticals with the right technology solutions. “Delivering a consistent digital experience for brands is top of mind.”

So, what’s the role of 5G in the future of retail? Colaneri answered, “It’s expected to be a communications platform on top of which technology will rise. As consumer digital proficiency grows, demand will expand, and 5G is the infrastructure.”

Much of the new consumer life cycle is about speed and clarity, which 5G delivers. Colaneri noted that the pandemic accelerated consumer proficiency. With proficiency came higher expectations and the desire for real-time responses. 

Colaneri shared many examples of 5G becoming the backbone for retailers. “Sanitation and cleanliness won’t fade, so cashless and touchless transactions are permanent, and 5G makes this more seamless.”

Another use case is around “magic mirrors” for apparel where consumers don’t have to try on clothing physically. Experiential in stores is another opportunity. “To deploy experiential content, the bandwidth will need to be massive,” Colaneri said.

5G is also supporting the supply chain, something that had many disruptions in the last year. “There’s a need for diversity, and the supply chain was a bottleneck. Now it has to be flexible with alternate channels for fulfillment and flexing in a dynamic world. It’s another case for speed and latency. Constant signal strength for tracking isn’t there yet.”

The world of retail is shifting, influenced by the desire for more value and sustainability. Brands are answering this change with re-commerce and circular shopping. To discuss this new avenue of commerce, Retail Refined host Melissa Gonzalez spoke with Andy Ruben, Founder and CEO of Trove. Trove is the backend engine for circular shopping, working with brands allowing them to own this channel. Ruben has over two decades of retail leadership experience, holding various senior roles at Walmart.

“Getting more use out of products isn’t rock science; it just makes sense. The doing of it is complex, and that’s why I founded Trove,” Ruben said.

This entry into the market comes at a time when resale is growing 25 times faster than the rest of the industry. Ruben noted the reason why is three-fold—value, sustainability, and a more enjoyable shopping experience.

The re-commerce market is good business for brands in many ways. “It enables new customer acquisition and provides revenue that would otherwise go to third parties. It also builds greater loyalty,” Ruben added.

Ruben explained that brands should own these channels and partner with technology experts, which means they can be in the space in a few months and avoid millions in capital expenditures. With a robust infrastructure, brands can also analyze data and continue to optimize this new slice of business.

“Brands that engage in this macro shift are making equal or better margins on used business, and it’s an important sustainability move,” Ruben said.

Circular shopping is also good for in-store business. Customers can bring back items for resale and receive a gift card. It can be a draw to get consumers in stores so they can ensure someone else benefits from their goods and get what they need right now in the same shopping experience.

Creating a digital experience for a consumer is essential but an often overlooked aspect of retail. Business owners are constantly trying to figure out how to break through the noise. Laura Davis-Taylor, the Chief Strategy Officer for InReality, talks with Retail Refined host Melissa Gonzalez about digital strategy, shopper marketing, and consumer product goods in retail, especially in the age of COVID-19.

Davis-Taylor talked about her role at InReality and what they do. She has been focused on creating meaningful digital experiences that bridge home, life, and store for over 25 years, both as a consultant and within the walls of the most lauded global agencies.

InReality is an open platform that leverages IoT sensor data to make venues safer and more intelligent. Using a combination of digital signage, displays, category refreshes, and temp pop-ups, they get the data in front of customers. Once they have this data, they refine retail experiences through media and staff optimization, zone/display optimization, omnichannel optimization, and innovation concept optimization. Davis-Taylor noted the importance of gathering this data.

“Because how do you do optimization and how do you make sure something’s working if you don’t have analytics pumping at every single point of engagement,” Davis-Taylor said.

Successful retail requires flexibility. Recently, omnichannel was groundbreaking, but Retail Dive now reports it as a consumer baseline expectation. Let’s say a consumer is shopping on their mobile device. They transfer to their laptop to complete the transaction only to find an empty cart. These disconnections create enough friction for shoppers to jump and abandon ship. Platform unification is more important than ever. Enter: Fabric.

Fabric is a headless service. It ensures retailers' connection between multiplatform is seamless and reduces friction. “I’ve spent the last two decades plus in commerce,” said Fabric CEO Faisal Masud. Masud worked at giant retailers Amazon, Google, and Staples. He said, “Fabric was found out of an exercise we ran at Staples using a monolithic platform.”

Headless separates the front end from the back end. Major retailers want to influence the front end, not be restricted by templates that force them into a box and tell them what to do. Fabric enables that customization.

What sets Fabric apart from other headless services is “it’s a very democratizing process for folks looking to re-platform,” said Masud. The approach encourages clients to focus on their problem areas and address them individually. The updates are more immediate than a platform overhaul, which takes time and is often already obsolete when it launches.

“We’re the anti-re-platforming company. Tell us what problem you’re trying to solve, and we’ll try to solve it without a total re-platform… We try to sell modules where they’re most relevant. We encourage our customers to take a more iterative approach. Because then they can see the results as they make the changes, versus building a new platform that’s already obsolete by the time they go live,” said Masud.

Yahoo Finance reported that many retailers are investing in long-term omnichannel solutions after significant changes in consumer habits. “We encourage our customers to think of the thorniest problem to solve and bring in partners to resolve those challenges,” said Masud. To learn more about the modular and composable service, visit Fabric via fabric.inc.

Everything in life is an experience. They have just become more sophisticated and calculated, especially in retail, which is driving experiential marketing. Breaking down what it is, its evolution, and more, Retail Refined host Melissa Gonzalez chatted with David Title, Partner at Bravo Media.

Title offered an overview of Bravo’s history. “We started in the early 2000s when every company needed quality video and animation content. When that became commoditized, we moved into events and interactivity. We then saw opportunities in applying what we knew to more permanent spaces with experiential marketing.”

The company’s team includes designers, developers, and engineers. Their objective is to surprise and delight consumers, something Title says isn’t happening when you shop at Amazon. “With brick and mortar, there’s the chance to have an experience that impacts your day,” Title added.

What he considers to be experiential is connecting and sparking emotion. The company has carried that vision to many big-name projects. Title spoke about the redesign of the Krispy Kreme flagship store in Times Square. “We wanted it to feel like a show because you’re literally on Broadway. It’s multi-media 90-second stories capturing how it’s made and why it’s special, creating a fantasy land.”

In determining the “success” of such projects, Title mentioned ROX or return on experience. It’s a soft metric but one measurable by social media mentions and overall impact on shoppers.

In looking to what’s going to ignite experiential marketing, AR is a buzzword. “There are some applications, but there’s a way to go. We should use technology to enhance something, not just show it off. When technology solves a problem in an elegant and effective manner, it’s a wonderful thing.”

The pandemic’s impact on retail was so disruptive. It changed the industry forever, and a big part of this is the associate model. As retailers lean into technology, they’ve learned it can be the most significant component of agility around workforce management. To discuss the topic, Retail Refined host Melissa Gonzalez spoke with John Orr, Senior Vice President of Retail at Ceridian, an HCM (human capital management) platform that combines workforce, talent, and payroll management in one. 

Orr said of his career, “I’ve spent 30 years working with retailers to provide technology that adds value, both to the bottom line and empowers associates.”

The challenges that retailers are facing complex. COVID-19 was a catalyst for retail to examine their ability to respond and be agile. That prompted them to consolidate and streamline technology, seeking visibility in a more real-time nature. 

Orr noted that “employee engagement was often overlooked before the pandemic.” He now believes executives get it. “Around 75 percent of them view customer-facing employees as having a strong impact on sales, productivity, and profitability.”

Ceridian designed its Dayforce app to disrupt traditional barriers for retailers, getting rid of legacy designs that prevented them from moving faster. “They can make decisions quicker, have single access to accurate information, and stay compliant,” Orr added.

The app introduced some new features during COVID to engage employees, including on-demand pay and health and safety monitoring. “Last year, we focused on what do our customers need right now,” Orr said on changing product roadmaps. 

Orr provided some success stories of retailers leveraging Ceridian’s technology, including DSW and Sephora. “Sephora had a specialist model for associates. With fewer people in-store, their operational model changed to generalists. That triggered new training on procedures and their role, delivered by our LMS.”

What’s the value of the fitting room for retailers? Most don’t know because they don’t have data. In fact, many stores have little to no information on customer experiences in-store. Solving this problem is Crave Retail. The founder Matthew Cyr sat down with host Melissa Gonzalez to talk about the platform.

Cyr has an extensive background with experience in eCommerce software and in-store operations. He described Crave Retail as “an interactive experience and analytics platform that’s purpose-built for stores.”

When Cyr decided to launch the company, two driving factors guided him. First, most data that retailers have about customers is their online activity. “The goal was how do we help physical retail digitize stores to the get the same kind of data as eCommerce,” he said. 

The second part was creating technology that sales associates would adopt and use. “If you’re buying a technology solution for stores and not thinking about associates, you’re going to fail. They are the frontline driving force behind customer experiences,” Cyr added. 

Cyr said that one of the biggest gaps his customers are trying to understand is the value of the fitting room. Crave Retail’s Connected Fitting Room changes the game on in-store KPIs. It offers convenience and personalization. The technology works with RFID, showing shoppers the items in the fitting room, availability, pricing, discounts, and recommended items. If the customer needs help, they request it, and associates receive a notification. 

This technology is also usable on the sales floor. Employees can scan an item and have accurate information on what’s available and outfit ideas. 

Cyr also talked about a great success story. “The client came in with some benchmark data on fitting room traffic. After implementing Crave, they had the opportunity to measure more, seeing a 20 percent uplift in sales from the fitting room.”

What’s driving retail digital transformation post-pandemic? There are two main categories—customer interaction and transaction enablement, both of which are solutions of NCR. Their Retail President and General Manager David Wilkinson spoke about both with Retail Refined’s host Melissa Gonzalez. NCR is over 100 years old, with its roots in cash registers and ATMs, now focusing on enterprise technology solutions.

Wilkinson explained, “We have three primary businesses, banking, restaurants, and retail. Our role is to the core technology behind the scenes so our clients can focus on being a good retailer.”

Wilkinson pointed out that the retail technology stack has been behind. “There was an underinvestment in IT, and now there is new investment for consuming-facing applications, but you have to update the core,” he said.

The pandemic caused some major acceleration in technology adoption by retail with online ordering, BOPIS (buy online pick up in-store) operations, and mobile payments. Wilkinson thinks what will stick post-pandemic is “what’s driving convenience an ease of life.” However, he believes people want to return to shopping in-store, but there will be a melding of the worlds enabled by technology.

Ultimately, what will make the difference is for a retailer to offer a seamless experience no matter the environment or channel. The challenges and opportunities ahead will be how to operationalize these processes that integrate technology to increase ROI for their mobile app or self-checkout. Retailers need to answer the behavior changes of consumers while also engaging them and continuing to build loyalty, whether they are online or in-store shoppers.

While the shelves at stores look appealing to shoppers, they encompass lots of data from retailers and manufacturers. Collecting and analyzing data is critical for the future of retail. Talking about shelf data, host Melissa Gonzalez welcomed David Gottlieb, the Managing Director, Americas at Trax. Trax uses technology solutions to enable stores and brands to obtain intelligence that creates delight at the shelf.

Gottlieb explained that through image recognition and AI, they ultimately help their customers sell more and better, based on what’s going on on the shelf. That includes metrics called “shelf pulse.” He said, “It’s taking photographs from the store and turning unstructured data to structured, which generates interesting metrics.”

Those metrics can be basic, like is the item available to much more granular like a store’s private label versus national brand coverage.

The shelves in grocery stores look different now, forcing pivots by the industry. “Retailers are doing what they can with the constraints of availability while manufacturers are learning about opportunities and product needs,” Gottlieb noted.

With powerful data, manufacturers can make better allocation decisions of products to meet most consumer demands. Retailers are discovering how to support as much consumer need as possible, trimming categories to focus on must-have items.

Trax is also using augmented reality (AR) to streamline data collection. Manufacturers and retailers can use the tools, which eliminates human error and offers near real-time information.

Other advanced technologies they're implementing include automation and robotics. These tools add value and don’t take away jobs. They enable associates to focus more on customer experience, which Gottlieb believes will be a big trend moving forward. “The change of space in grocery stores will occur, and we could see a more experiential shopping journey with more kiosks and a restaurant feel,” he said.

Acquiring data is step one; understanding it and acting on it is what really matters. With data the fuel for better customer relationships, how can retailers capitalize? To answer the question, host Melissa Gonzalez spoke with Jonathan Silver, Founder and CEO of Affinity Solutions. Affinity Solutions is a data-driven intelligence platform, which helps companies develop stronger connections with buyers and grow their business.

The company began as a solution for banks to manage credit and debit card reward programs. Those entities would send all this payment data to the company, which they later realized they could leverage to help businesses make better decisions. 

Silver described some of the latest trends, with the important disclaimer that all purchase data is anonymized. “The massive switch to online is obvious, but digging deeper into what that means. Was it delivery or curbside? Then also seeing that the behavior soon became a habit.”

Silver noted that certain categories and retailers had successes based on positioning. “The first wave was companies changing delivery solutions and messaging with empathy. The second wave is about personalization and convenience.” 

They also discussed the opportunities with contactless payments and personalization. “With Google Pay, you’ve got an app within an app. The grocery store app knows what you bought, so there’s a connection between the two, which can then give recommendations,” he added.

Silver believes hyper-personalization is the future of big data in retail. He also notes that it will likely be consumer-driven, that they’ll “claim their data and permission it to have a personalized experience.” With this model, security and privacy are in the hands of the customer.

Host Melissa Gonzalez spoke with the company’s President and CEO, Dick Sullivan, about how the business is thriving.

Sullivan has a long history of working for top retail brands, including as the CMO of The Home Depot. He was also an EVP at the Atlanta Falcons. In both these roles, he worked for The Home Depot founder Arthur Blank. 

Sullivan and Blank saw an opportunity with the store, which only had a few stores before their involvement. Now, the PGA TOUR Superstore will reach 50 locations in 2021 and has a booming eCommerce business, as well. 

So, how did the business fare so well during the pandemic? “On average, stores were closed for 54 days. We pivoted to curbside in some markets and saw a 200% growth in eCommerce,” Sullivan said.

 But people wanted to go back to the store. Its experiential environment and large inventory were attractive. Golf added about six million new players in 2020, as it was an outdoor sport that didn’t involve close interaction. 

Sullivan also shared that the brand is about more than what it sells; it’s value-based. The company donated over $10 million to the First Tee organization, a program that helps at-risk youth life skills through golf. 

The store also sets itself apart with its associates. They strive to build relationships with customers and have in-depth product knowledge. During the store closures, the company rolled out new online product training for associates and continued to pay them. 

Sullivan said, “We aren’t a commodity. The store is an experience, and most decisions we make are based on interactions on the floor. It’s not about a transaction; it’s about trust.”

Host Melissa Gonzalez welcomed Jaysen Gillespie, SVP of Data and analytics for Shopkick. Gillespie has over two decades of experience in the industry and oversees all aspects of data and analytics for Shopkick. This retail app rewards consumers and feeds retailers and brands essential consumer data. 

The life of a consumer is changing, and while COVID-19 didn’t create these recent trends, it did accelerate them. Gillespie said, “Consumers want to know more. They are researchers, and they also care about the values of brands.”

Shopkick partners with retailers and brands to support their customer loyalty programs. “There’s a misconception if you have one, customers will love it. Not true if it doesn’t benefit them or is limited or confusing. It does impact buying behavior. A recent study we did found 69 percent of customers consider the quality of loyalty programs in buying,” Gillespie shared. 

In looking at how COVID has changed brand loyalty, supply chain disruptions caused some defection. If the brand of choice wasn’t available, shoppers had to consider alternatives. “What brands can learn from this how to improve operations to prevent this hopefully,” Gillespie added. 

While in-store shopping suffered during the pandemic, Gillespie thinks there is an upside ahead. “Our research shows that people want to shop and dine again. The key is for brands and retailers to marry brick and mortar with the digital world. There’s a lot of room for retail innovation.”

How the world shops and buys has always been a steady evolution. In the last year, that incremental change hit rapid speed. That caused huge ramifications for the supply chain, creating a real need for transparency in many ways. Tackling the subject of transparent supply chains, host Melissa Gonzalez spoke with Ryan Yost, VP and General Manager at Avery Denison, leading their printer solutions division.

The first topic discussed was microfulfillment and showcase stores. Yost said, “Showcase stores are about demand creation from consumers where they discover product. Microfulfillment is how to fill that demand and doing it with speed and efficiency.”

Consumers were once the last-mile part of the supply chain. Now, anything they want can be on their doorstep. While this reflects the time, transparency in the process matters.

“There are two parts to transparency in the supply chain. Consumers want to know where the goods come from and how they’re produced. The second part is retailers knowing where the product is and getting it there the most efficient way,” Yost explained.

Identifying where product is needs verification. Right now, barcodes are still the standard, which requires line of sight. RFID is more sophisticated and doesn’t, but adoption is lagging due to cost and complexity.

To illustrate the transparency paradigms, Avery Denison released a movie with a farmer, fisherman, and fashion designer. It gives a voice to both parts of the transparency story.

With so much disruption in the supply chain, what’s next? Yost answered, “The major trends will be frictionless experiences, which will be data-driven, figuring out how to keep the last mile experience but make it profitable, transparency to business partners and customers, and purpose-built automation.”

Designed for retail leaders and lovers alike, Retail Refined explores the in-store technology of the future, challenges the industry’s preconceived notions, and brings together retail’s biggest names to understand the brand strategies that will define the next decade in retail.

An in-store experience team is not unlike the UI/UX group for digital assets. It’s about connection, value, speed, and impressions. Diving into this topic today on Retail Refined, host Melissa Gonzalez welcomed retail expert Albert Vita. Vita is the Director of In-Store Experience for The Home Depot. His rich experience includes consulting for McKinsey, Deloitte, and IBM, serving some of the most well-known retail brands on the Fortune 500.

Vita describes the in-store experience as the “business of human connection and value delivery.” He prioritizes human-centered design as well as the company’s value wheel.

The two first chatted about the pandemic fallout, with Vita sharing, “With people spending more time at home, projects that were optional became must-have. In 2020, 75 percent of households took on at least one home improvement project.”

Gonzalez then asked about challenges managing store experiences. Vita said, “We have three primary customer segments that have different needs. The biggest opportunity, rather than challenge, is to create an in-store environment that’s optimal no matter why you’re coming into the store.”

Next, Vida offered some advice for retailers staying relevant in 2021. “Number one thing is to take stock of your mindset. Keep in mind the quality of the in-store experience reflects on the leadership team that brought life to it,” he commented.

“The over-competition trap is when we only look at competitors in our segment, but why not learn from what Starbucks or Chik-Fil-A are doing,” Vida added.

Another prominent point he made about in-store interaction is speed. “Time is the new currency. It’s an irreplaceable, nonrenewable resource. We have to look from that lends from parking lot to front door to shopping,” Vida said.

The popularity of BNPL (buy now, pay later) has grown tremendously over the past decade. The attraction of breaking purchasing payments up over weeks without interest or late fees is undeniable. In fact, “BNPL spending in the US is up 230% since 2020, per a September report by Accenture... [and] it’s estimated to total ~$226 billion this year, according to a Juniper Research report.”

And while there are many players in the BNPL world, there are not any that have disrupted the industry quite like Splitit. Retail Refined podcast host Melissa Gonzalex sat down with Splitit CEO Nandan Sheth to discuss the unique offerings provided by the company and how they are a step above the competition.

“I feel that Splitit is a unique buy-now, pay later company that stands in its own category. Splitit is the only white label installment solution in the market. We have the highest checkout conversion rates in the industry because we are white label and we are available across 100 global markets,” said Sheth.

Launched in 2012, Splitit allows consumers and retailers to participate in its installments-as-a-service thereby increasing sales. It eliminates credit risk for retailers by guaranteeing the full transaction amount for purchases made through the platform. For consumers, it simplifies the BNPL process by utilizing existing credit cards thereby eliminating the need for additional applications or credit checks.

“Very simply put, Splitit allows consumers that have existing credit cards to leverage their open to buy, or their credit, or their line for installments at retailers. We never charge the consumer. We never impose any fees on the consumer, and we exist to empower retailers rather than to disenfranchise them,” Sheth explained.

Recently, OCM (On Campus Marketing), which powers e-commerce to more than 900 college campuses and 1,500 campus organizations, has announced that they will implement Splitit's top-of-wallet, white-label, installment solution.

Customer experience, inventory control, and interactions are all challenges for retailers. The pandemic only exasperated them; however, technology is closing the gap. Host Melissa Gonzalez spoke with entrepreneur and technology expert Skip Howard, Co-Founder and CEO of Spacee, about what his company is doing to support retailers.

Spacee has several computer vision and AI products for retailers, including contactless touchscreens and automated inventory solutions that use augmented reality. Howard summed up the company’s niche with, “We use computer vision to solve retail and supply chain problems.”

Since COVID, the company has been a great answer to customers not wanting to touch anything. With their Hover framework, customers can experience the product without contact.

What’s unique about their touchless technology is that it’s not dependent on a touchscreen display. It’s also reusable with a content updated. In designing the product, Howard said, “You can have the greatest tech in the world, but if the UX isn’t good, it won’t matter. We have a UX-first approach.”

On the interactive side of the house, the technology can also attribute and track, modeled on standard KPIs similar to Google Analytics. “The technology can track actions taken with digital experiences, count triggers for conversions, and provide granularity on browsing vs. buying. We also have data scientists that identify trends and practice multi-variant testing, which we deliver to clients,” Howard explained.

They are also assisting grocery stores with inventory management with their Deming Robotics products.

“Grocery stores, in general, are more cash positive right now but dealing with problems in fulfilling online orders, so our robotics products have taken off. Knowing what’s on your shelves in real-time is solving these challenges,” Howard noted.

Gonzalez and Howard also discussed the “what’s next’ for in-store experiences, touching on the future of self-checkout, AI, human interaction, and automation.

The ecosystem of eCommerce is always evolving, and the last year has seen a rapid pivot for retailers. So, what can an eCommerce expert share? Host Melissa Gonzalez sat down with Hatch CEO and Founder Joris Kroese to learn more about what Hatch does and the changing online shopping environment.

Kroese has an extensive history in eCommerce, once owning a brand that sold technology products. He noticed that the manufacturers weren’t usually sellers, and consumers weren’t able to find where they could buy a TV or appliance. This “hatched” the idea of Hatch, an eCommerce platform that connects brands and retailers.

In looking at the last year, Kroese said, “I was surprised at the agility of retailers and the pace at which they adapted. It happened in months, not years.”

The acceleration of online sales in the pandemic was astronomical, and Kroese said, “We are driving consumers to online retailers, and some clients are seeing 20 times for business than the year prior.”

He does acknowledge there were and are hurdles to retail in the pandemic. “Coping with the supply for online demand, the supply chain, delivery logics, brick and mortar stores shifting to digital, which requires different skillsets and comes with new competition,” he noted.

While eCommerce is climbing, Kroese doesn’t believe in-store experiences are over. In fact, having a local store is a good complement to digital channels.  “Omnichannel solutions provide a competitive advantage. With local stores, you have proximity and the ability to see the product and get advice from a salesperson. That’s not going away,” he commented.

Overall, the new retail experience should be seamless from online to offline. Physical stores are also filling the needs of eCommerce, offering BOPIS (buy online pick up in-store), curbside, and last-mile delivery. Kroese believes these trends will continue. “Those retailers that embrace these changes will do well,” he added.

Listen to Previous Episodes of Retail Refined Right Here!

Data-driven retail delivers insights that lead to better decision-making. On the digital side, retailers have easy data sources, but offline retail is harder to quantify. Location analytics is closing the gap. To learn all about this exciting segment of data analytics and how it’s redefining retail, host Melissa Gonzalez welcomed Ethan Chernofsky, VP of Marketing for Placer.ai.

Basic concepts about foot traffic had been around for some time, with perimeter circles, but those lack accuracy and detail. Placer’s location analytics platform is different, providing a real break down of where people come from, a revolutionary approach. 

So, what has the industry learned in the last six months? “The trends likely stay are the shifts regarding economic uncertainty and consumers rethinking how they spend. It's why off-price retailers are doing better than department stores,” he said.

Others are likely to be fads. Chernofsky added, “Mission-driven shopping of going to fewer places but spending more and the home improvement surge aren’t likely to stay.”

Placer recently launched a free tool, The Square, which includes quarterly indices based on sector. In looking at certain segments, there were surprises. “In the fitness sector, they were hit hard, but Planet Fitness is performing well while competitors close. Whole Foods is facing a unique set of challenges. As grocery, they aren’t trending up like others, but that could be due to their price points and mostly urban footprint,” Chernofsky said. 

Chernofsky also spoke about the trends for 2021 and beyond, noting that offline retail is still critical. That data can support what’s next. In tackling the subject of malls, which have been in decline, he thinks a brighter future is possible. 

“With a fundamental shift in how we view locations, malls could become smaller but also more diverse with targeted experiences based on specific audiences,” he noted. 

Another essential factor for the future is that one size does not fit all, and chains have to adapt based on their audience and location. Chernofsky spoke about how Target was able to do this. “Locations are very diverse depending on the audience from stores on college campuses to more suburban stores. If a brand of that size can do this, others can adapt as well,” he added. 

Steve Hornyak oversees Fabric's global sales, marketing, business development and customer success business functions. He has worked in the retail technology, software, and SaaS business sectors for the past 30 years, including executive and senior management positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Oracle, SQL Financials, Clarus, Brickstream (Nomi), Trax Image Recognition, and Symphony RetailAI. He has also actively participated in, prepared for and executed two IPOs, raising over $300M in the public market.

All of that expertise makes him the perfect guest for this episode of Retail Refined with host Melissa Gonzalez, which focused on rethinking malls for the post-COVID world, closing the gap between brick-and-mortar experiences and their online counterparts, and why leveraging and repurposing existing real estate is going to be critical for eCommerce success.

Fabric helps retailers quickly scale operations, using their proprietary technology and robotic-picking systems to provide profitable, and efficient logistic solutions without sacrificing delivery times.

Below, you’ll find a portion of Gonzalez and Hornyak’s conversation. To hear all the insights in this episode, listen now.

MG: Everybody's trying to shrink that last mile. What challenges have you seen, and how have you helped retailers fulfill it? When we see companies taking stores that have been closed and turning them into “dark stores” and centers of fulfillment, [what impact does that have]?

SH: That's typically the first step. To take existing store and either turn it into a dark store or pickup from an existing store – and that's going to stay around. That's not going to go away. That'll be there.

You're going to have picking from storage for fulfillment where there is high velocity, high demand and high density consolidating that, and automating that will absolutely happen now. … Why are they going manual first? Well, it's quick. It's quick, and it's cheap. And they can. It's lower risk. …

We're starting to see a transformation of and leveraging of retail footprints to be able to provide the localness for eCommerce fulfillment.

Listen to Previous Episodes of Retail Refined Right Here!

Melissa Gonzalez, host of MarketScale’s Retail Refined, knows what’s at the top of everyone in the industry’s mind as 2021 dawns – more personalized experiences and better supply chain efficiency.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, these two trends are paramount. Consumers are still hesitant to shop in person in many cases but, when they do, they’ll likely return to elevated expectations for personalized and tailored experiences. Those experience also transfer to online shopping, where data and analytics can help find ways to cater to individual consumers engaging in eCommerce.

More pressing on the backend of retail operations, though, is the need to find ways to ensure the supply chain keeps pace with all of this innovation.

To dive further into personalization and optimization of the supply chain, Gonzalez invited Paul Burel, Senior Consultant within Fujitsu America’s Consumer and Commercial Industries Group, onto the show to share his insights.

Prior to joining Fujitsu, Burel held several senior management roles in Store Operations and IT at Home Depot. He is also a consulting engineer with extensive experience in retail store design and construction andcomes from a family retail business that owned and operated grocery, hardware and convenience stores.

“A lot of conversations we're having as we're relooking at store design are about how we make these environments as agile and modular as possible, so they can flex as needed throughout key times of the year,” Burel said. “It’s a lot to think through, for sure, with all these technology integrations. I think one of the silver linings is all the learnings that we can garner, and I think that there's a much more concerted effort within brands and retailers to understand that data and take actionable steps based on that. I think it also helps the ability to deliver upon personalization and really being able to map out customer journeys and offerings to satisfy what different consumers are looking for.”

Listen to Previous Episodes of Retail Refined Right Here!

Retailers learned many lessons in 2020 relating to the “new” in-store experience. This knowledge now shines the light on what’s to come regarding inventory accuracy, flexible fulfillment, and more trends. Sharing thoughts on these subjects and the role of technology is Tim Kane, Retail Solutions Consultant for North America, Zebra Technologies. Zebra supports retailers with devices and solutions for inventory, fulfillment, operations, the customer experience, and analytics.

“The biggest lesson learned from 2020 is how quickly retailers could respond. In early March, when the pandemic was becoming a reality, retailers made immediate changes associated with digitizing. One customer advised me they had made 147 operational changes from March to May, and that’s incredible,” Kane said.

With the acceleration of adaption and technology growth, analytics becomes more vital for retailers. “There’s so much more data to capture than just POS. There are shelf cameras and robotics that can capture data and feed it to a machine learning engine. It can then send tasks to store managers and associates about inventory gaps,” Kane explained.

These new tools are elevating the role of store associates. They can focus on more high-level work, while technology automates simple, repetitive tasks. That’s especially beneficial for grocery stores. Customers can use devices to scan products themselves and pay for a frictionless experience. Associates can use them to pick and process orders. “The technology can also track when the customer is nearing the store for pickup when they arrive, and what spot they’re in; all creating a positive experience at curbside,” Kane explained.

Micro-fulfillment for grocery is becoming very sophisticated, learning on technology, as well. “The most expensive parts of online grocery are the labor to pick and the delivery. Now grocery stores are automating this with robotics. They are then partnering with delivery services to reduce costs but meet customers where they are.”

Listen to Previous Episodes of Retail Refined Right Here!

If there is anything recent events have taught us, it’s that being adaptable is a key trait in life and in business. To gain insight into the business side of things, Melissa Gonzalez, Host, Retail Refined sat down with Adam Gam, US Chief Marketing Officer for Perfect Corp. to discuss the importance of adapting and embracing a 360 degree direct to consumer strategy.

What does Gam think is needed to make this strategy successful? Gam explained that consumers are spending more time online and are shopping more online. He feels that they have a big opportunity to capture those users’ needs by having a strong and complete service and direct to consumer (D2C) opportunities. “As the user's behavior changes, you know, due to COVID and all the lockdowns we've seen in 2020, we're also seeing user demand shifting to new needs. And once consumers experience the benefits of digital technology, there's no way for them to really go back to the old norm,” Gam said. He explained that they’re really seeing that e-commerce and “brand.com” are fundamental pieces of a complete D2C strategy.

In regards to beauty tech — which is Gam’s area of expertise as the US Chief Marketing Officer for Perfect Corp. — Gam noted that beauty tech can really benefit from D2C strategies. “Especially the beauty tech that Perfect Corp. provides can play a very important part in enriching the web and e-commerce user experiences,” Gam said.

For more insight into D2C strategy, adapting during COVID-19, and the beauty industry, don’t forget to check out the latest episode of Retail Refined!

What lessons can retailers and brands look back on this year to make 2021 a better year?

An expert on retail data and trends, consumer engagement, and predictive analytics, Greg Petro, Founder and CEO of First Insight, joins Melissa Gonzalez on this episode of Retail Refined.

What Melissa asked Greg Petro:

Why did First Insight launch the new Next-Gen Experience Management platform?

What are the different pillars of the new platform? Can you share examples of each pillar (ex: employee, product, consumer, etc.)

This platform expands First Insight’s offering into new industry sectors including consumer products, travel, leisure and entertainment, automotive and financial services. What did you see if the retail industry and are there any parallels expanding into new categories?

How will the Next-Gen Experience Management platform help companies make better business decisions?

What is your predictions for the retail industry in 2021 – from a consumer perspective and a retailers perspective.

Ned Hill is the founder and CEO of Position Imaging (PI), a pioneer in the field of advanced tracking technologies. 

Under Ned’s leadership, PI has successfully developed an industry leading tracking solution, utilized computer vision and laser guidance to simplify item delivery, and created unique AI-based technologies. These combine to improve logistics efficiency by providing continuous visibility to product location at any stage in the process. 

Listen to Previous Episodes of Retail Refined Right Here!

Retail in 2022 and surviving as a brick-and-mortar store means keeping up with the consumers and consistently improving the customer’s experience. Keeping up with the consumers means being able to know what is convenient for them and what drives a consumer to make a purchase. In this episode of Retail Redefined, hosted by Melissa Gonzalez with special guest, Nick Delyani, Director of Retail at Xovis NA, takes a seat in the studio to provide valuable insights that span over a decade’s worth of experience in marketing, sales, and creatives.

Xovis specializes in personalized solutions for retailers to track store traffic, data and analytics in a safe, comfortable, and ethical (GDPR Compliant) manner. Xovis uses 3D technology people counting sensors and a cloud-based software for people flow management systems. One unique feature is Xovis’s innovative, flexible dashboards that can serve multiple purposes and use-cases for retailers to properly gauge what exactly is the right targeting methods and customer experience delivery they need.

Going back to the notion of retail’s evolution and shifts in consumer behavior; Retailers have provided an omnichannel of different opportunities to procure products, from curbside pick-up to delivery, self-checkout, and regular cashier checkout. Consumer behavior has sort-of changed to more of an immediate gratification-utilitarian approach. Reiterating what Mr. Delyani said, “how to get the product faster, rung out and move on from shopping.” Nick validly believes that sales associates are the core foundation to a customer’s shopping experience. “Give retail associates more tools, give them data and simple data to digest so that way they can action against it,” said Delyani. There’s a lot of gaps to be filled and elevation of store associates is crucial.

Nick offers some more solid advice for retailers including what is important: The development of your space and does it cater towards what the customer is looking for in terms of merchandising? Understand the experience, could it be efficient or influential? There’s a lot of metrics that goes into the consumer journey and understanding it is the first step in evolving the customer experience.

“The customer experience keeps getting better with more data and that’s what retailers are getting after,” said Delyani. Currently, Xovis can detect footprint from point A to point B of the customer journey, what time the shoppers usually shop, etc. The firmware is AI-based so it’s learning with all kinds of different sample sets addressing the questions of “If they are customers? How do we tell that they’re a customer?” and other metrics involved. Delyani says that there is always room for improvement and investments in new features within their firmware. Next on the roadmap may be object detection to gauge what exactly customers are carrying with them.

Listen To Previous Episodes of Retail Refined Right Here!

Listen To Previous Episodes of Retail Refined Right Here!

Listen To Previous Episodes of Retail Refined Right Here!

Listen To Previous Episodes of Retail Refined Right Here!

With over 12K retail locations closing in 2020, leaving 159M square feet of retail space unoccupied, many might be thinking that the future of brick and mortar retail locations is permanently on the decline. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, retailers opened more stores than they closed in 2021, “with a nearly 40 percent increase in year-over-year store opening announcements” (AZ Big Media). Retail Refined host Melissa Gonzalez, spoke with

Brent Paulsen, Managing Director and Head of Retail at UNTUCKit about the company’s brick and mortar store strategy, the future of retail, and how data analytics can be utilized to drive decisions and increase profitability.

Paulsen has spent 30 years working in retail store operations for multiple companies including Bloomingdales, Home Depot, Sears, Montgomery Ward, and Lord & Taylor. His breadth of experience in brick-and-mortar operations made him a perfect fit to join UNTUCKit in 2015 when the company was looking to expand its store presence. At the time, the company had two locations. Since joining the company, Paulsen has been part of the company’s rapid growth leading to the addition of 86 stores in the U.S., Canada, and the UK as of June 2022.

For those who are not familiar with the brand, UNTUCKit is casual apparel that is designed to be worn at work with the ability to successfully transition to life after the workday is done. “Our tag line, ‘Shirts Designed to be Worn Untucked,’ is how we differentiate ourselves from other retailers… our job is to really get people into a product that fits them. A shirt that is designed to fit well that is not a custom product is our market niche,” said Paulson.

In discussing the company’s brick and mortar strategy, Paulson noted that “we are definitely believers that the role of a store is important to a brand. So UNTUCKit was initially a direct-to-consumer brand, DTC brand, we positioned our first store after opening a popup in New York in the Fall of 2015. The customer response to being able to see and feel and touch and try on our product was exceptional.”

Online sales data helped determine where to open stores based on where the product was already selling well. This helped build credibility for the brand while increasing online and in-person sales. And it helps defray the costs of traditional advertising such as TV, radio, and social media – the cost of introducing a customer to the brand through a physical store can be very cost-effective compared to other advertising methods.

The belief that necessity drives innovation has never been more prevalent than it is today. As the world is catapulted into new norms and expectations, we are seeing the baseline of ease and convenience being reset and converging with a heightened expectation of meaningful experiences. We are passing through the rubicon of digitization and brands, and retailers will be in a race to catch up. There will be a heightened need for an agile and nimble approach to retail. In this episode, join a dynamic conversation with Joe Jackman and Melissa Gonzalez addressing how today’s “workarounds” are driving organic innovation, what we can learn from it and how to create a muscle around listening, learning and adaption in a timely manner.

Joe Jackman is the CEO of Jackman Reinvents, the world’s foremost reinvention company and author of The Reinventionist Mindset: Learning to love change and the human how of doing it brilliantly. Throughout his 30-plus-year career as strategist, creative director, marketer and Reinventionist, he has helped companies create the most powerful and relevant versions of their brands and businesses in record time. He is widely considered to be the leading expert on rapid reinvention.

– You are often referred to as a Reinventionist. Can you share you methodology in how you approach reinvention?

– What does it mean to have a human-centric approach?

– You speak about change being a human endeavor not a commercial answer. How do brands balance that priority of putting humans first and knowing positive ROI will follow?

– As you see the world transitioning today, we aren’t necessarily seeing a reinvention of technology, but rather adoption of what’s been in the marketplace. How do you see consumer adoption of technology driving reinvention of the store? What are you guiding brands and retailers to prioritize when it comes to future investments?

– What kinds of companies do you think are best positioned when we evolve into our new norm and when doors are fully opened again?

– We are living in a WFH environment and travel is limited. When life goes back to normal, what are the three must-do things/must-see places to visit in your hometown?

As the physical world becomes more digitally integrated, strategies around signage will become more comprehensive and sophisticated. Brands and retailers will need to uncover opportunities to interact in ways that not only feel safe but also educate, entertain and build customer loyalty. Digital signage is only the medium, experience is the crucial layer on top. From order queing via geofencing strategies to AI and personalization to voice activated messaging, learn how Raydiant CEO Bobby Marhamat and his team are helping position their clients to think outside the box and discover ways to bring their stores to life.

Bobby is the CEO of Raydiant, a digital signage provider that helps businesses turn their TVs into interactive signs that drive sales, improve the in-store experience, and reinforce brand messaging. Prior to joining Raydiant, Bobby served as the COO of Revel Systems where he worked on the front lines with over 25,000 brick and mortar restaurateurs and retailers. Bobby has held leadership positions including CEO, CRO, and VP of Sales at companies such as Highfive, Limos.com, EVO2, Verizon Wireless, LookSmart, ServerPlex Networks, and Sprint/Nextel. Bobby is also the author of “You got that P.H.d.?” a book written to give entrepreneurs a blueprint of what to focus on to quickly scale their business. When Bobby’s not spending his time thinking about the future of brick and mortar experiences, you can find him traveling, reading, hiking or tending to his colorful vegetable garden.

Raydiant uses technology to help businesses bring their physical locations to life. Whether showcasing the steam off of a coffee in a menu, playing in-store music, or even displaying employee messaging, Raydiant ensures a brand’s messaging is consistent – all while offering the ability to tailor each screen to varying audiences and interactive content.

1. We are living in unprecedented times, times that are fueling consumer and retailer adoption of technology – putting Raydiant in an interesting position. In what ways have these changes impacted Raydiant.

2. What role do you see Raydiant playing in the growing adoption of order ahead and curbside order pick up?

3. What are the most common challenges you see for clients being able to streamline content distribution across locations and how does Raydiant help streamline that?

4. How do you work with your clients to help find creative ways to create unique ways to distribute content?

5. The digital signage market is set for significant growth over the next couple of years. What advancements in display technology are also likely to drive the market in your opinion?

6. The out-store location segment is expected to witness considerable growth through 2027 owing to growing adoption of digital signage in various outdoor applications, how are you foreseeing this trend evolving?

In a post-COVID world, sampling will be a new experience. The evolution will be solved by the digitization of vending led by a curated consumer journey. In this episode, host Melissa Gonzalez speaks with Marci Weisler, Chief Commerical Officer of Vengo Labs, a leading digital marketing and retail tech company connecting brands and consumers in the places they go by combining media, product sampling and retail.  Learn how digital machines will go contactless and be a key tool for data collection from top of funnel to conversion for brands and retailers, as consumers are empowered to have a “remote controlled” shopping experience in the future.

Marci Weisler is an accomplished executive and advisor with broad experience growing and managing digital businesses for both startups and brands, with a focus on strategy and execution, innovation and transformation. She’s currently Chief Commercial Officer of Vengo Labs, and prior she had her own consultancy with clients including Kellogg’s, Gilt and Entertainment Benefits Group as well as startups disrupting health, media, and mobile. Marci also founded SWSI Media (Smart Women. Smart Ideas), which powers women-founded and women-led businesses and co-executive produced Queen Boss, a series combining competition and mentorship for black women entrepreneurs that aired on BETher.

Vengo is a leader in marketing and retail technology, at the intersection of unattended retail, digital out-of-home (DOOH) media, and attributable product sampling.  Vengo continues to expand both its Core Network and In-Retail solutions and offer new solutions for brands, locations, and stores engaging with consumers.

https://vengolabs.com/

1. Marci, tell us about your role as Chief Commercial Officer at Vengo?

2. You are no stranger to digital strategies and innovation for brands, what are your thoughts on how those aspects will be even more intertwined into physical retail post COVD-19?

3. Sampling in particular will be a challenge in store, especially when it comes to things like beauty testers, how do you see Vengo helping the industry solve for this?

4. What kind of data do you capture and how do you help your clients contextualize that data and glean insights?

5. What have been some of your most successful activations and why? What are key elements for a successful formula?

6. With the world moving to a less touch reliant world, how do you see digital mini machines like yours evolve. You recently implemented contactless machines, how will it work?

Melissa will be hosting a webinar titled The New Consumer Behaviors That Will Reshape The Physical Store on June 9th. During the session, she will cover how stores will approach the reallocation of front-of-house and back-of-house employees to better serve new logistical needs and customer expectations.

For more information or to register for the seminar, you can visit Retail Innovation Week.