Cutting through the clutter in retail strategy, retail technology, and executive leadership.
Welcome to The Retail Razor Show—your go-to podcast for bold insights and real-world innovation in the retail industry. We spotlight the trends transforming retail, from AI-powered solutions and retail media networks to the human connection that drives exceptional customer experience and maximizes employee satisfaction. Hosted by RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert, Thinkers360 Top Thought Leader and one of NRF’s 2025 Retail Voices, Ricardo Belmar, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert and retail tech startup founder, Casey Golden.
🎙️ Episodes feature:
🔹 Executive leaders from top retail brands
🔹 Influential industry analysts and retail strategists
🔹 Startup founders driving innovation in retail technology
🔹 Case studies of successful retail tech deployments
Whether you’re a retail executive, frontline store team leader, tech innovator, product junkie, or customer experience champion, this show delivers actionable strategies to help you lead your business and your teams with clarity, adopt emerging technologies, and stay ahead in a constantly evolving retail industry.
Now in its fifth season, The Retail Razor Show is part of the Retail Razor Podcast Network.
Generative AI in Retail: Challenges and Opportunities for Retail CEOs with Peter Cohan
Season 4 · Episode 6
Tuesday, October 22, 2024 • Duration 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.
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.
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
Season 4 · Episode 5
Wednesday, September 11, 2024 • Duration 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.
S3E16 – I Am A RetailROI Champion, Taylor’s Version
Season 3 · Episode 16
Tuesday, December 5, 2023 • Duration 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!
S3E15 – The Intersection of Data & AI with Retail Transformer – Mir Ali of Kraft Heinz
Season 3 · Episode 15
Thursday, November 30, 2023 • Duration 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 on the podcast platform!
S3E14 - Unwrapping 2023 Holiday Season Trends with Roshan Jhunja & Andrew Lipsman
Season 3 · Episode 14
Wednesday, November 22, 2023 • Duration 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!
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:
S3E12 Harnessing the Power of Spatial Computing with Neil Redding | #GroceryshopLive
Season 3 · Episode 12
Friday, November 3, 2023 • Duration 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.
S3E11 State of Retail Media with Andrew Lipsman | #GroceryshopLive
Season 3 · Episode 11
Tuesday, October 24, 2023 • Duration 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:
S3E10 Startup Trends with Shish Shridhar | #GroceryshopLive
Season 3 · Episode 10
Friday, October 13, 2023 • Duration 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 Startupsglobal 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!
S3E9 Groceryshop Recap with Krystina Gustafson & Ben Miller | #GroceryshopLive
Season 3 · Episode 9
Sunday, October 1, 2023 • Duration 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!
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.
Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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:
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.
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:
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:
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.
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.
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:
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:
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.
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.
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