Podcasts about retail systems research

This episode we welcome our fellow "Rethink Retail Top Influencers"  Nikki Baird, Ricardo Belmar, and Alicia Esposito. Julia Raymond Hare and Gabriella Bock also join us to explain what the Rethink Retail's list is all about. But first we take on the news of the week, including the continuing "profitless prosperity as exhibited by Warby Parker's expanding losses and the big drop in market capitalization among disruptive retail brands. We also unpack the National Retail Federation's annual forecast, including how to think about the impact of inflation, whether their e-commerce prediction is a bit optimistic and how impacts are likely to be bifurcated. Then we welcome our panel of experts and delve into what they as see as remarkably important for the future, including innovation within brick-and-mortar locations, how to drive innovation through iteration and the growing embrace of convenience. We also explore what our influencers see as important technologies and get their quick take on retailers (legacy and up-and-coming) to keep an eye on this year.  Rethink Retail's Top Influencers List.  Steve's recent Forbes articles related to our news segment After Earnings Whiff Maybe Warby Parker Can Learning Something From Old School DTC BrandsThe Profitless Prosperity of Retail Disruptor BrandsWayfair, Stitch Fix and Pure-play E-commerce's Scaling Problem. Relevant Past Podcast Episodes Why Does It Take a Crisis for Retailer's to Innovate? The Profitless Prosperity of Disruptor Brands Understanding Warby Parker and the Power of Customer-based Valuation To record a question for us to answer on a future episode go to speakpipe.com/remarkableretail About Nikki BairdNikki Baird is the vice president of strategy at Aptos, a retail enterprise solution provider. She is charged with accelerating retailers' ability to innovate. She has been a top global retail industry influencer for several years, with a background in retail and technology. She is a regular contributor to Forbes.com and has been quoted as a retail subject matter expert in The Economist, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Huffington Post, and National Public Radio, among many others. Nikki brings perspective from all sides of the retail technology equation: she has been an industry analyst for nearly fifteen years, co-founding Retail Systems Research, the premier boutique analyst firm focused on the retail industry. Prior to co-founding RSR, Nikki was an analyst at both Forrester Research and Retail Systems Alert Group, where she covered retail industry and technology topics. Prior to that, she was director of marketing for StorePerform, a store execution management software provider, and director of product marketing for Viewlocity, a supply chain software provider focusing on adaptive supply chain execution and exception management. Nikki came to Viewlocity from PwC Consulting, now IBM Global Services, where as a senior manager she led IT strategy consulting engagements for retail and CPG clients. Nikki has an M.B.A. from the University of Texas, Austin, focusing on operations and IT. She also holds a bachelor of arts in political science and Russian, with a minor in physics, from the University of Colorado, Boulder. About Ricardo BelmarRecently named a top 100 retail industry influencer by RETHINK Retail, Ricardo is a marketing strategist and digital transformation specialist. He founded Retail Razor, to advise retail tech organizations of all sizes with their go-to-market, brand strategy, and integrated marketing by leveraging his many years of tech industry experience, and media and industry analyst relationships. He also advises retailers on how to build & scale transformational customer experiences. Most recently, he joined Microsoft as Senior Partner Marketing Advisor for Retail & CPG where he strives to use his experience and network to strengthen Microsoft's retail tech partner community.A frequent contributor to blogs, podcasts, and publications in the retail, payments, and enterprise software industries, focusing on digital transformation and customer experience, Ricardo is a Top 10 social media influencer at the annual NRF Big Show. He is a featured member of RetailWire's BrainTrust panel, a previous ICX Association director, a RETHINK Retail Advisory Council member, and a founding Advisory Council member of George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation. He has been named Social Media Mayor by RIS News four times at retail conferences and is a contributor to Retail Customer Experience, Mobile Payments Today, and The Robin Report. Ricardo is a supporter of the RetailROI charity organization and can be found leading industry discussions on Clubhouse in the Retail Razor Club and on Twitter and LinkedIn.Throughout the past two decades, Ricardo has worked for technology and managed services providers targeting the retail ecosystem in roles as head of their product, product marketing, or marketing organizations. Ricardo holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia and is a Section4 Certified Strategist, Brand Strategist, Product, Platform, and Innovation Strategist. About Alicia EspositoWithin my eight-year tenure at G3 Communications, I have evolved extensively. Starting as an Associate Editor for our B2B retail publication, Retail TouchPoints, I have worked my way up the ranks, quickly becoming an expert and thought leader in all components of retail and customer experience. In my time as Associate Editor and Senior Editor of Retail TouchPoints, I interviewed some of the industry's top C-level executives from brands like Reebok and have covered a myriad of different "beats," including social marketing and commerce, mobile, omnichannel strategy and even supply chain management. I covered several key industry events nationwide, including NRF's BIG Show, Shop.org and eTail, and became a VIP press attendee at user events for vendors like Aptos, Demandware, JDA and Salesforce.Beyond my editorial obligations, I helped build the proprietary research and custom content division of Retail TouchPoints, helping our clients ideate, develop and roll out some of their top-performing assets. Now, as Content Strategist for G3 Communications, I help my internal team members create content, plan marketing campaigns and manage our family of events, including the B2B Marketing Exchange (Content2Conversion Conference) and the Retail Innovation Conference. I also help clients across all three of our brands (Retail TouchPoints, Demand Gen Report and Content4Demand) in several key areas of their content marketing journey, including: - Persona creation - Buyer-focused messaging - Content audits and gap analysis- Content ideation - Content creation - Repurposing and modularization- Content and design alignment - Long-term content strategy and nurture planning About Julia Raymond HareI ask a lot of questions - it's one of the most exciting parts of my career! I'm a podcast host, marketing professional and data nerd all in one. After spending 4 years in global marketing roles for the digital agency Valtech, I co-founded its media brand RETHINK Retail. By interviewing retail executives, academics and thought leaders, I deliver retail insights for leaders, from leaders.My "formal" 3rd-person description: Julia Raymond is passionate about marketing management, building connections with others, analytics and research, with a core focus on the retail industry. She earned her BSBA with honors from the University of Florida while she was a teenager. Her post-graduate degree is a Master of Science in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University. Julia is knowledgeable about international markets from her experience in global roles reporting directly to the Chief Marketing Officer at Valtech where she led creative and marketing teams; she is the Editor in Chief and co-founder of its media brand RETHINK Retail, curating the latest content around the evolution of retail in today's connected world through mediums such as podcasts, research and periodicals.About Gabriella BockRETHINK Retail's Managing Editor + Writer/Producer of the Retail Rundown, an award-winning retail podcast featuring news, insights and interviews with the world's most influential retail thinkers. What does the future of retail look like to you? Pitch me at gabriella@rethink.industries. About UsSteve Dennis is an advisor, keynote speaker and author on strategic growth and business innovation. You can learn more about Steve on his       website.    The expanded and revised edition of his bestselling book  Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption is now available at  Amazon or just about anywhere else books are sold. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a      Forbes senior contributor and on       Twitter and       LinkedIn. You can also check out his speaker "sizzle" reel      here.Michael LeBlanc  is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice.   He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience, and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.  Michael is the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts including Canada's top retail industry podcast,       The Voice of Retail, plus  Global E-Commerce Tech Talks  ,      The Food Professor  with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and now in its second season, Conversations with CommerceNext!  You can learn more about Michael   here  or on     LinkedIn. Be sure and check out Michael's latest venture for fun and influencer riches - Last Request Barbecue,  his YouTube BBQ cooking channel!

Welcome to the Retail Rundown, your go-to weekly podcast where RETHINK Retail teams up with industry experts to discuss the news and trends defining the world of retail. In this episode, we're joined by Gary Newbury and Liza Amlani as we examinee the unpredictability of the supply chain and the actions businesses must take to become more efficient and agile. This episode is guest hosted by Paula Rosenblum, the managing partner and co-founder of Retail Systems Research. She's also a RETHINK Retail Advisor and widely recognized as a top retail influencer. Gary Newbury is a Senior Exec On Call specializing in Retail Supply Chains & The Last Mile. Liza is the Principal at Retail Strategy Group - a consulting practice that helps companies in the retail space dramatically improve profitability. If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know by subscribing to our channel and giving us a 5 star rating us on Apple Podcasts. - - - - - - Hosted by Paula Rosenblum Written and produced by Gabriella Bock Edited by Trenton Waller Social media by Madison Freeland

Retail Systems Research has been a tried and true source for industry benchmarks and insights for more than a decade. E-Commerce trends and priorities have been ongoing topics of discussion for the firm, especially the recurring issue of performance. According to Steve Rowen, one of the firm’s managing partners, site speed has consistently been “disturbingly slow” ...and it’s only getting worse. During this episode of the Holiday Insights Series, Steve shares relevant takeaways from RSR research and how third-party applications, which have become critical to the online shopping experience, hurt site reliability and performance. Follow RSR on Twitter at @RSRResearch. This episode is sponsored by YOTTAA 3rd party eCommerce technologies, such as live chat, personalization, and customer reviews, are critical for delivering great online experiences to your shoppers. However, these 3rd parties have also been proven to significantly slow down site performance which can lead to decreased conversions. Yottaa recently published the 2019 3rd party eCommerce Technology index which rates the performance impact of 400 of the top eCommerce 3rd parties. Click here to download the index and see if your 3rd parties are slowing down your site.

Today's Buzz: clickz.com reports that 44% of shoppers indicated they would become repeat buyers after a personalized experience, and adoption of AI by marketers is expected to increase by over 250% over the next two years. According to smartdatacollective.com, “Retailers are saying goodbye to intuitive guessing based on old-school data-gathering methods to convert customers. Welcome to the age of machine learning in retail.” howtotoken.com reports “Artificial intelligence and big data are being applied in new ways across the entire retail product and service cycle – from assembly to post-sale customer service interactions. According to Gartner, by 2020, AI chatbots will manage 85% of customer interactions in retail. We'll ask five experts for their take: Gray Scott, Futuristic Now; Kashif Rahamatullah and Chip Kleinheksel, Deloitte; Roger Roney, SAP; Brian Kilcourse, Retail Systems Research. Join us as explore “AI Goes Shopping: Humanizing the Retail Customer Experience.”

Today's Buzz: clickz.com reports that 44% of shoppers indicated they would become repeat buyers after a personalized experience, and adoption of AI by marketers is expected to increase by over 250% over the next two years. According to smartdatacollective.com, “Retailers are saying goodbye to intuitive guessing based on old-school data-gathering methods to convert customers. Welcome to the age of machine learning in retail.” howtotoken.com reports “Artificial intelligence and big data are being applied in new ways across the entire retail product and service cycle – from assembly to post-sale customer service interactions. According to Gartner, by 2020, AI chatbots will manage 85% of customer interactions in retail. We'll ask five experts for their take: Gray Scott, Futuristic Now; Kashif Rahamatullah and Chip Kleinheksel, Deloitte; Roger Roney, SAP; Brian Kilcourse, Retail Systems Research. Join us as explore “AI Goes Shopping: Humanizing the Retail Customer Experience.”

Today's Buzz: “As the concept of “New Retail” spreads globally, many Fortune Global 500 retail companies are implementing AI technologies such as computer vision and NLP in unmanned stores and warehouses or virtual stores and are accelerating supply chain upgrades to better position themselves for the future of shopping” (medium.com). “Retailers often feel understandably reluctant to give emerging technologies a try unless they feel extremely confident in the eventual payoff. A Capgemini Research Institute study…showed that if retailers branched out and deployed AI across their operations, they could save more than $340 billion by 2022” (www.mytotalretail.com). We'll ask four experts for their take: Brian Kilcourse, Retail Systems Research; Praful Karanth, SAP; Matt Laukaitis, SAP; Roger Roney, SAP. Join us for “Truth or Dare: Is AI the Future of Retail?”

Today's Buzz: “As the concept of “New Retail” spreads globally, many Fortune Global 500 retail companies are implementing AI technologies such as computer vision and NLP in unmanned stores and warehouses or virtual stores and are accelerating supply chain upgrades to better position themselves for the future of shopping” (medium.com). “Retailers often feel understandably reluctant to give emerging technologies a try unless they feel extremely confident in the eventual payoff. A Capgemini Research Institute study…showed that if retailers branched out and deployed AI across their operations, they could save more than $340 billion by 2022” (www.mytotalretail.com). We'll ask four experts for their take: Brian Kilcourse, Retail Systems Research; Praful Karanth, SAP; Matt Laukaitis, SAP; Roger Roney, SAP. Join us for “Truth or Dare: Is AI the Future of Retail?”

Our guest is Paula Rosenblum, Managing Partner and co-founder of Retail Systems Research. She is recognized as a top analyst in the retail industry and has held retail technology executive positions, as well as a member of the editorial advisory boards of several B2B media publications and a Forbes contributing writer. Join us as we explore technology in physical stores, consumer privacy, and varying retailers’ models.

Bob Phibbs interviews Paula Rosenblum Managing Partner and co-founder of Retail Systems Research. She is well known for her pragmatic approach to retail and talks about shiny object syndrome, possible cracks in Amazon's model and how retail continues to evolve.

The buzz: Crytal ball for 2018! If your #1 business wish this holiday is to know what 2018 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we've got the next best thing: predictions from 75 thought leaders about the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2018 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Game-Changers Radio 2018 Predictions–Part 1 live. And mark your calendar for Dec. 13, Jan. 3, 10 and 17. Guests: John Santagate, IDC; Andrew Mack, AMGlobal Consulting; Prof. Rajeev Srinivasan, Indian Institute of Management; Nance L. Schick, Esq., The Law Studio of Nance L. Schick; Brian Kilcourse, Retail Systems Research; Prithvi Sen Sharma, Prakshep; Dr. Sara Diamond, OCAD University; Sherryanne Meyer, ASUG; Otto Schell, Opel.com; Tami Reiss, Just Not Sorry; Elizabeth Milne, SAP; Dirk Lonser, DXC Technology; Gary Adams, Vistex; Thorsten Leiduck, SAP; Barbara Giamanco, Social Centered Selling. Happy holidays from Game-Changers!

The buzz: Crytal ball for 2018! If your #1 business wish this holiday is to know what 2018 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we've got the next best thing: predictions from 75 thought leaders about the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2018 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Game-Changers Radio 2018 Predictions–Part 1 live. And mark your calendar for Dec. 13, Jan. 3, 10 and 17. Guests: John Santagate, IDC; Andrew Mack, AMGlobal Consulting; Prof. Rajeev Srinivasan, Indian Institute of Management; Nance L. Schick, Esq., The Law Studio of Nance L. Schick; Brian Kilcourse, Retail Systems Research; Prithvi Sen Sharma, Prakshep; Dr. Sara Diamond, OCAD University; Sherryanne Meyer, ASUG; Otto Schell, Opel.com; Tami Reiss, Just Not Sorry; Elizabeth Milne, SAP; Dirk Lonser, DXC Technology; Gary Adams, Vistex; Thorsten Leiduck, SAP; Barbara Giamanco, Social Centered Selling. Happy holidays from Game-Changers!

The buzz: “The most promising privacy thing is stupid phones. I'm dumping all my smart phones” (John McAfee). We as individuals have welcomed Internet-connected, often mobile devices to help us make daily decisions. But whether asking a chatbot for directions or researching products online, youre leaving digital breadcrumbs that advertisers, manufacturers, and others can capture and analyze to build detailed profiles about your lifestyle. Do you care who sees and uses your private data? Should you? The experts speak. Brian Kilcourse, RRS Research: “If we're going to be connected, we've got to be protected...” (Barack Obama). Frank Diana, TCS: ““Simply put, it is possible to have convenience if you want to tolerate insecurity, but if you want security, you must be prepared for inconvenience” (Gen. B W. Chidlaw). Larry Stolle, SAP: “The way I see it, if you want to see the rainbow you have to put up with the rain!” (Dolly Parton) Join us for You Don't Own Me: But What About My Data?

The buzz: “The most promising privacy thing is stupid phones. I'm dumping all my smart phones” (John McAfee). We as individuals have welcomed Internet-connected, often mobile devices to help us make daily decisions. But whether asking a chatbot for directions or researching products online, youre leaving digital breadcrumbs that advertisers, manufacturers, and others can capture and analyze to build detailed profiles about your lifestyle. Do you care who sees and uses your private data? Should you? The experts speak. Brian Kilcourse, RRS Research: “If we're going to be connected, we've got to be protected...” (Barack Obama). Frank Diana, TCS: ““Simply put, it is possible to have convenience if you want to tolerate insecurity, but if you want security, you must be prepared for inconvenience” (Gen. B W. Chidlaw). Larry Stolle, SAP: “The way I see it, if you want to see the rainbow you have to put up with the rain!” (Dolly Parton) Join us for You Don't Own Me: But What About My Data?

The buzz: “Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping” (Bo Derek). Ongoing digital innovations in our hyper-connected world have dramatically impacted consumer buying behaviors and expectations, challenging retailers to change or become obsolete. Smart retailers are already taking action to avoid becoming dinosaurs. But is it too late for the laggards? The experts speak. Brian Kilcourse, Retail Systems Research: “Amazon and online sales is killing traditional retail, and what's true there is going to be true throughout our economy” (U.S. President Barack Obama, Jan. 2017). Doug Stephens, Retail Prophet: “We try to rationalize why innovations from other sectors don't apply to us, rather than focusing on why they do” (George Blankenship, Apple, Tesla, GAP). Greg McStravick, SAP: “There is nothing wrong with change if it is in the right direction” (Sir Winston Churchill). Join us for Retail in 5 Years: Digital Dinosaurs vs Survivors – Part 2.

The buzz: “Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping” (Bo Derek). Ongoing digital innovations in our hyper-connected world have dramatically impacted consumer buying behaviors and expectations, challenging retailers to change or become obsolete. Smart retailers are already taking action to avoid becoming dinosaurs. But is it too late for the laggards? The experts speak. Brian Kilcourse, Retail Systems Research: “Amazon and online sales is killing traditional retail, and what's true there is going to be true throughout our economy” (U.S. President Barack Obama, Jan. 2017). Doug Stephens, Retail Prophet: “We try to rationalize why innovations from other sectors don't apply to us, rather than focusing on why they do” (George Blankenship, Apple, Tesla, GAP). Greg McStravick, SAP: “There is nothing wrong with change if it is in the right direction” (Sir Winston Churchill). Join us for Retail in 5 Years: Digital Dinosaurs vs Survivors – Part 2.

There should be no doubt of the importance of mobile commerce today. The fact that retail executives are now losing sleep over it is a sign that the magnitude of the opportunity is starting to sink in. Chuck summarizes the key findings from the third annual retail benchmark surveys by Retail Systems Research that details this and other key findings.

There should be no doubt of the importance of mobile commerce today. The fact that retail executives are now losing sleep over it is a sign that the magnitude of the opportunity is starting to sink in. Chuck summarizes the key findings from the third annual retail benchmark surveys by Retail Systems Research that details this and other key findings.