Podcasts about retailnext

Sonia Kirkman is a successful businesswoman in a niche area covering a diverse range of golf related sectors, including golf retail and tournament merchandising, business analysis and management, and in transforming golf shops. How many of us have any understanding of the behind-the-scenes of retail golf shops? Today, we’re going to learn more.Our guest today is Sonia Kirkman of Kirkman Sports and Transform Golf Shop Specialists. Sonia is a successful businesswoman in a niche area covering a diverse range of golf related sectors. Sonia has extensive experience in golf retail and tournament merchandising, in brand sales, in golf business analysis and management, and in transforming golf shops. In her time, she has noticed a lot of change in the model of golf shops and the way they are run. She is also a very handy golfer and therefore understands the golfer’s perspective in all the areas in which she works. We all like to dawdle around golf shops, getting delightfully lost in clothes and merchandise, but how many of us really have any idea of what’s going on behind the scenes? Today, we’re going to find out from someone who knows better than anyone – and have a look at golf’s dress code. Links related to this episode:Kirkman Sports: www.kirkmansports.com.auTransform Golf Shop Specialists on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/transformgolfshopspecialistsJamie Sadock: http://jamiesadock.com/about/jamie-sadock/RetailNext: https://retailnext.net/why-retailnextRetailtainment: Hot Stuff: Top 4 U.S. Summer Retail Trends Of 2024 | RetailNextNGF article: The Business Case for Golf’s Dressing-Down - National Golf FoundationGolf Monthly article: Is It Time To Abandon Golf Dress Codes Altogether? | Golf MonthlySonia’s charity- Australian Golf Foundation: www.australiangolffoundation.org.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of many people's regular routines and the holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday—a term coined in 2005 by the National Retail Federation—has become the biggest online shopping day of the year, thanks to the deals and the hype the industry has created to fuel it. Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping, expected consumers to spend a record $13.2 billion on December 2 (Monday), 6.1% more than last year. That would make it the season's—and the year's—biggest shopping day for e-commerce. Online spending was expected to peak between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. that Monday night, per Adobe—reaching an estimated $15.7 million spent every minute. For several major retailers, a Cyber Monday sale is a dayslong event that began over the Thanksgiving weekend.  Consumer spending for Cyber Week—the five major shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday—provides a strong indication of how much shoppers are willing to spend for the holidays. At the same time, credit card debt and delinquencies have been rising. More shoppers than ever are also on track to use “buy now, pay later” plans this holiday season, which allows them to delay payments on holiday decor, gifts, and other items. Other data showed physical stores saw fewer customers on Black Friday, underscoring how the huge crowds that were once synonymous with the day after Thanksgiving are now more than happy to shop from the comfort of their homes. RetailNext, which measures real-time foot traffic in stores, reported that its early data showed store traffic on Black Friday was down 3.2% in the U.S. compared to last year, with the biggest dip happening in the Midwest. Jie Zhang, a marketing professor at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, told The Associated Press ahead of the post-Thanksgiving shopping weekend that he expected shoppers to “indulge themselves a bit more” when it comes to “self-gifting,” increasing interest in categories like self-care. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Has Black Friday lost its significance as a singular shopping day, or is it evolving into something more strategically beneficial for both consumers and retailers? Today, we're thrilled to welcome Joe Shasteen, Global Manager of Advanced Analytics at RetailNext. Joe is here to share insights into the 2024 holiday shopping season based on early Black Friday weekend data and what these trends tell us about the shifting consumer behavior landscape. From the rise of intentional spending to the evolving importance of integrating online and offline strategies, Joe will help give us a clearer picture of the holiday retail outlook. Joe Shasteen is the Global Manager of Advanced Analytics at RetailNext, where he's been for over seven years. Using Retail Labs, Joe and the Advanced Analytics team at RetailNext help retailers understand in-store shopper behavior. This leads to the testing and design of the impact of in-store changes, ultimately improving the shopper's experience. RESOURCES RetailNext website: https://www.retailnext.net Wix Studio is the ultimate web platform for creative, fast-paced teams at agencies and enterprises—with smart design tools, flexible dev capabilities, full-stack business solutions, multi-site management, advanced AI and fully managed infrastructure. https://www.wix.com/studio Don't miss Medallia Experience 2025, March 24-26 in Las Vegas: Registration is now available: https://cvent.me/AmO1k0 Use code MEDEXP25 for $200 off registration Register now for HumanX 2025. This AI-focused event which brings some of the most forward-thinking minds in technology together. Register now with the code "HX25p_tab" for $250 off the regular price. Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.show Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Has Black Friday lost its significance as a singular shopping day, or is it evolving into something more strategically beneficial for both consumers and retailers? Today, we're thrilled to welcome Joe Shasteen, Global Manager of Advanced Analytics at RetailNext. Joe is here to share insights into the 2024 holiday shopping season based on early Black Friday weekend data and what these trends tell us about the shifting consumer behavior landscape. From the rise of intentional spending to the evolving importance of integrating online and offline strategies, Joe will help give us a clearer picture of the holiday retail outlook. Joe Shasteen is the Global Manager of Advanced Analytics at RetailNext, where he's been for over seven years. Using Retail Labs, Joe and the Advanced Analytics team at RetailNext help retailers understand in-store shopper behavior. This leads to the testing and design of the impact of in-store changes, ultimately improving the shopper's experience. Resources RetailNext website: https://www.retailnext.net Wix Studio is the ultimate web platform for creative, fast-paced teams at agencies and enterprises—with smart design tools, flexible dev capabilities, full-stack business solutions, multi-site management, advanced AI and fully managed infrastructure. https://www.wix.com/studio Don't miss Medallia Experience 2025, March 24-26 in Las Vegas: Registration is now available: https://cvent.me/AmO1k0 Use code MEDEXP25 for $200 off registration Register now for HumanX 2025. This AI-focused event which brings some of the most forward-thinking minds in technology together. Register now with the code "HX25p_tab" for $250 off the regular price. Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.show Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

David Tannous is the VP of Analytics and Technology at Shoe Palace. Joe Shasteen is the Global Manager, Advanced Analytics at RetailNext. 

In this episode of Spieckerman Speaks Retail, host Carol Spieckerman sits down with Joe Shasteen, global manager of advanced analytics at RetailNext, to discuss the latest trends in retail analytics and in-store technology. RetailNext is a pioneer in bringing e-commerce-level analytics to brick-and-mortar stores, helping retailers optimize their physical spaces and enhance the customer experience.Joe introduces RetailNext's concept of "full path analysis," which provides detailed insights into customer behavior throughout the store. Using strategically placed sensors, retailers can track customer movements, dwell times, and engagement with displays, fixtures, and other store elements. The data collected from the sensors helps retailers capture customer attention, optimize store layouts, and improve staff allocation.The conversation explores the critical role data plays in improving store operations, from optimizing labor allocation to enhancing conversion rates. RetailNext's analytics connects the dots, enabling retailers to align staffing with customer traffic patterns and identify opportunities to engage shoppers more effectively.The interview also touches on how RetailNext's technology can assist with loss prevention and asset protection. Using AI to flag potential instances of theft or suspicious behavior, retailers can react in real time as incidences are identified. Joe wraps up by sharing insights on broader retail trends, highlighting the importance of creating meaningful in-store experiences that go beyond simple transactions. He emphasizes the value of using data to optimize the customer journey and strengthen brand connections in physical retail spaces.Key Takeaways:How retailers can leverage full-path analysis to drive conversion, mitigate shrink, optimize labor, and elevate store design.Why basing labor allocation on traffic trends rather than sales data improves store efficiency and conversion rates.How in-store data analytics can create deeper brand experiences and bridge the gap between online and offline retail.How retailers can validate test-and-learn experiments in advance of rollout. RetailNext WebsiteJoe Shasteen on LinkedInWant to be a guest on Spieckerman Speaks Retail? Contact team@spieckermanretail.comCheck out more of Carol's retail insights and updates Follow Carol on LinkedInFollow Carol on Twitter

Ever wondered about the twists and turns that make a successful marketing career? In this episode, I sit down with Kim Feil, Aspire Brands' Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, unravelling her unconventional path in the marketing realm. How did Kim navigate her unique journey and collaborate with major consumer brands? What insights does she share on ambition, self-improvement, and aligning personal values with professional pursuits? Join our conversation as we explore the nuances of handling challenging work environments, the weight of reputation, and the art of articulating one's worth. Come along for an insightful and personal exploration of the dynamic world of marketing and the keys to a truly gratifying career.Learn more about Kim:Kim Feil is Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer of ASPIRE® Healthy Energy Drinks, an international brand reinventing energy for adults with all natural caffeine and vitamins for every day use. Following a 32-year public company career as CMO of OfficeMax, Walgreens, Sara Lee, Kimberly-Clark; CEO/President of divisions of Information Resources, Inc., and executive roles with Dr Pepper/7UP, Kim now draws on her transformation experiences as a manufacturer, retailer and insights provider to grow PE-backed companies and brands.Kim serves on the boards of ASPIRE, Naturally Chicago and The CMO Club. She has been an advisor to retail tech companies Rubikloud, RetailNext and 12Digit Marketing. She is a past board member of Roundy's, a public grocery retailer, PowerReviews and On the Border Cantina Restaurants.Kim's Links:Kim's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-feil/Aspire Brands Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aspiredrinks/Aspire Brands LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aspiredrinks/Connect with Veronica on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vromney/If you're serious about advancing your career in marketing and you're looking for some personal insights into how then I invite you to schedule a free Pathway to Promotion call with me: https://pathwaycall.com/If you found value in today's episode, I would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review.

We are presenting our 2nd annual Black Friday special episode, where we focus on an aspect of retail, looking back on the current year, as well as to what retailers should be keeping in mind for next year. With the prevalence of online shopping and growing ecommerce providers, brick-and-mortar retailers require business intelligence tools dedicated to in-store analytics to stay competitive in an omnichannel world.  Today we're going to talk about real-time data and AI for in-store retail operations.  To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome Joe Shasteen, Global Manager, Advanced Analytics at RetailNext. RESOURCES PartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding! The Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcast Sign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com Get the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/ For consulting on marketing technology, customer experience, and more visit GK5A: https://www.gk5a.com Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

We are presenting our 2nd annual Black Friday special episode, where we focus on an aspect of retail, looking back on the current year, as well as to what retailers should be keeping in mind for next year. With the prevalence of online shopping and growing ecommerce providers, brick-and-mortar retailers require business intelligence tools dedicated to in-store analytics to stay competitive in an omnichannel world.  Today we're going to talk about real-time data and AI for in-store retail operations.  To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome Joe Shasteen, Global Manager, Advanced Analytics at RetailNext. RESOURCES PartnerHero: to waive set up fees, go to https://partnerhero.com/agile and mention “The Agile Brand” during onboarding! The Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcast Sign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com Get the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/ For consulting on marketing technology, customer experience, and more visit GK5A: https://www.gk5a.com Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company SYNOPSIS Real-time data analytics can empower employees to make better decisions and meet customer needs by providing a clear understanding of their preferences and behaviors. This enables retailers to adjust strategies and approach to deliver a personalized and tailored experience for each customer. For instance, when a store experiences a high influx of customers, real-time data analytics can alert employees to crowded areas, allowing them to allocate additional staff members to manage queues and provide assistance. This ensures that customers do not have to wait for extended periods and receive prompt service. Moreover, real-time data analytics helps retailers identify peak traffic hours, enabling them to plan non-selling tasks such as restocking or cleaning during slower periods. This ensures that employees are available to assist customers during peak times. Additionally, real-time data analytics assists in optimizing operations by providing insights into staffing levels. By analyzing the data, retailers can determine the appropriate number of employees needed at different times of the day or during specific events, such as holiday shopping. This ensures adequate staff coverage to meet customer demands and provide a seamless shopping experience. Overall, real-time data analytics empowers employees by equipping them with the necessary information to make informed decisions and effectively meet customer needs. By leveraging this technology, retailers can enhance the customer experience, increase operational efficiency, and stay competitive in the ever-evolving retail landscape. Real-time data analytics also plays a crucial role in making better staffing decisions and adapting to changes in traffic and occupancy. By utilizing real-time data, retailers gain a clear understanding of their store's current situation and can make informed decisions about staffing levels. For example, if there is a sudden surge in customer traffic, an alert system can notify store employees to allocate additional associates to manage queues and ensure a smooth shopping experience. Additionally, real-time data analytics helps retailers identify peak traffic hours, such as during the holiday season, enabling them to plan non-selling tasks accordingly and avoid disruptions during high-traffic periods. Overall, real-time data analytics empowers retailers to optimize their operations by efficiently managing staffing levels and adapting to fluctuations in customer flow. Effective use of real-time data analytics requires cross-communication and collaboration among different teams responsible for different parts of the customer experience. It is not just one team, such as operations or visual merchandising, that is responsible for utilizing the data. Instead, it is important for all teams involved in the customer experience, including marketing, advertising, and clearance areas, to utilize the data to drive the desired behaviors. For example, the data can be used to direct customers to specific parts of the store where key products are located, showcase certain advertisements or new displays with new products, or highlight clearance areas. By working together and utilizing real-time data analytics, retailers can optimize their operations and create a seamless and personalized customer experience.

In this episode of Retaili$tic, your host Deborah Weinswig welcomes special guest, Alexei Agratchev, Co-Founder and CEO of RetailNext. Together, they embark on a captivating journey through the dynamic world where retail meets technology. Dive deep into cutting-edge innovations, industry trends, and gain valuable expert perspectives. Uncover the profound impact of tech in reshaping our shopping experience, from immersive AI-driven encounters to groundbreaking e-commerce strategies. As always, head to coresight.com for more research at the intersection of retail and technology.

Episode Summary Paul Curto's career journey from a technical background to sales leadership is characterized by a strong technical foundation. He initially worked on network upgrades and designs, later transitioning into consulting with Deutsche Telekom to explore network technologies and innovation. His foray into technical marketing provided a unique blend of technology and marketing expertise. About a decade ago, he transitioned into sales with Aruba Networks, where he highlighted the importance of aligning solutions with desired outcomes and building enduring relationships. RetailNext, the company Paul discussed, specializes in retail analytics, offering e-commerce-style insights to brick-and-mortar stores. Their solutions encompass sensor-based systems for customer traffic tracking, loss prevention modules, and in-store analytics, helping retailers make data-driven decisions. Paul also shared insights into the MEDDIC and Miller Heiman sales methodologies, emphasizing understanding customer pain points, decision processes, and the role of economic buyers and champions. For those implementing MEDDIC, he recommended coaching, tracking keywords with conversation intelligence tools like Gong, and consistent use of Salesforce for reinforcement. About the Guest Paul Curto is passionate about enhancing sales teams and customer experiences, specializing in alleviating retail analytics challenges. His focus lies in empowering brick-and-mortar retailers with e-commerce-style analytics, driving data-driven decisions. With a career marked by inspiring sellers, he emphasizes matching solutions to outcomes and fostering lasting win-win relationships. Sales strategy, enriched by customer-centric methodologies, is his forte, driven by enablement and sales technology. Paul is dedicated to helping clients achieve business success while ensuring exceptional, fact-based decision-making and unparalleled customer satisfaction. Connect with Paul Curto Key Takeaways - RetailNext brings e-commerce-style analytics to brick-and-mortar stores, aiding in business growth. - Data-driven sales involve tracking customer behavior, optimizing operations, and improving the customer experience. - Paul highlighted the MEDDIC and Miller Heiman sales methodologies. - Economic buyers are crucial, and champions play a pivotal role in influencing buying decisions. - A strong action plan is created through MEDDIC, incorporating red flags and strengths. - Reinforce MEDDIC concepts through coaching and deal reviews with the sales team. - Utilize sales technology, like conversation intelligence tools, to track and analyze MEDDIC-related keywords. - Implement MEDDIC opportunity review forms in Salesforce to ensure consistent adoption and reinforcement. Quote "People buy for personal reasons even at work, and so when the sellers try to help you look good for your boss and try to help you make the right decision and become seen as a superhero inside the buying team, that's when you start to make magic happen with MEDDIC in these deals."  – Paul Curto Recommended Resources Books: - "Cracking the Sales Management Code" by Jason Jordan and Michelle Vazzana - "The Sales Development Playbook" by Trish Bertuzzi - "Never Split the Difference: Negotiate Like Your Life Depends on It" by Chris Voss Newsletters: - Charlotte Lloyd's LinkedIn Newsletter - Matt McNamara's YouTube Channel - Josh Braun's LinkedIn Newsletter - Becc Holland's LinkedIn Newsletter ⁠Connect with Paul Curto⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠Follow us on LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠

Description:In today's episode, gifting expert Bridget Johns shares her story, from selling piglets for pocket money in Western Pennsylvania to following her passion for retail and working for upscale brands like Lancôme, Links of London, and Tiffany & Co. Join us as Bridget shares why she decided to build a “holistic gifting” platform and offers some insight into gifting occasions and trends, as well as the assumptions she made about fundraising, the lessons she learned from launching her first company, and so much more! Exclusive Deals from Our Sponsors:• AWESOME CX by Transcom provides high touch, personalized customer experience services to consumer brands of any size! Email Lee at lee@stairwaytoceo.com to learn more about their award-winning services and Awesome Coffee Chats. In This Episode You'll Hear About:• [02:50] Bridget's humble upbringing and her early foundational experience in retail.• [05:52] How her career aspirations evolved and her love for retail grew.• [09:28] Major takeaways from her time at Ralph Lauren, L'Oréal, and Tiffany & Co.• [11:40] Why Bridget refers to herself as a “weaver” on the path to success.• [15:24] What gifting means to her and how To&From approaches it holistically.• [25:08] Entrepreneurship from Bridget's perspective and why nurturing relationships is key.• [28:52] Investor bias against gifting and other lessons from Bridget's fundraising journey.• [30:51] Metrics to measure success by, the data points of gifting, and trends to watch.• [37:32] Why Bridget encourages founders to take more time to reflect and think.• [41:10] Advice for entrepreneurs: keep talking to people!To Find Out More:To&FromBridget Johns on LinkedInBridget Johns on TwitterLee Greene on LinkedInStairway to CEOStairway to CEO on InstagramAwesome CXQuotes:“When I think about entrepreneurship, the thing that does not scare me at all is how much hard work it is, because that's what I've done my entire life.” [0:07:50]“Retail is an amazing career. There are so many things you can do with it and so many ways you can grow and stretch yourself and earn a fantastic living.” [0:08:22]“There are people who have a straight line to success and there are people who weave. I'm definitely a weaver.” [0:12:30]“I may not have artistic talent (I would never say that I do), but I am in fact a really creative person. It took me most of my life to figure that out.” [0:14:17]“In order to solve gifting and make gifting a better experience for people, you have to think about it holistically.” [0:15:33]“I have incredible connections. I have nurtured my connections over time. Part of being a good gifter is keeping your relationships up to date.” [0:26:36]“With gifting, you can be too cutesy or too clever, and we really wanted a name that would support us as we grew and solve a lot of different problems over time.” [0:30:35]“I didn't take any time [between] RetailNext and To&From and I felt this pressure to start building and to know what I was going to build right away – I wish I had taken more time to reflect and think and talk to people.” [0:38:23]“The number one thing for any entrepreneur is to just keep talking to people.” [0:41:23]“[Be open to having conversations] with people who are competitive in the space, because you always learn things. You learn the macro picture that helps to shape the industry more than it's actually going to help shape your company.” [0:44:37]

This week on #LocationWeekly we talk about Subway launching new smart fridges for Grab & Go service, RetailNext acquiring Retail Performance, DRAKO's location data now available in The Trade Desk + NextNav and Metcom partner in Japan for location services! Tune in Now!

Gabriela Ariana Campoverde sits down with Harshul Sanghi, Founder and Global Head of Amex Ventures. Harshul has over thirty years of operating experience, and for the past 10 years has led the venture arm of American Express and oversees global investment activity across the company. To date, Amex Ventures has invested in 80+ companies and has offices in New York, San Francisco, and Boston. He has led investments in Abra, Better.com, Bill.com, Boom Supersonic, Boxed, Instacart, Learnvest, FalconX, Finix, Next Insurance, Philanthropi, Plaid, RetailNext, Stripe, Toast, and Turo, among others. Amex Ventures now has a portfolio valued at over $1 billion dollars. In this episode you will hear about: - The birth of Amex Ventures - 10 years of investing - What differentiates Amex Ventures from other corporate VCs - Investment-worthy trends in the payments space - Harshul Sanghi's career - And much more! About Harshul Sanghi Harshul Sanghi founded Amex Ventures in 2011 to accelerate the digital transformation of American Express by investing in and partnering with innovative start-up companies. Prior to joining Amex, Harshul was Managing Director of Motorola Mobility Ventures and has over 30 years of operating experience. About Amex Ventures Amex Ventures invests in and partners with start-ups to accelerate innovation for consumers and businesses. For additional information on Amex Ventures, please visit www.americanexpress.com/us/business/american-express-ventures For more FinTech insights, follow us below: Medium: medium.com/wharton-fintech WFT Twitter: twitter.com/whartonfintech Gabriela's Twitter: twitter.com/byGabyC Gabriela's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gcampoverde

Talk to, or about, CircleCI CFO Chitra Balasubramanian and you'll hear the word “team” early and often. The phrase describes her leadership approach and to how her finance group equips colleagues with next-level business and customer insights. Current and former colleagues will tell you how much value (and fun) she brings to any “solve team.” And Balasubramanian refers to her “insights team” when discussing her group's FP&A activities  at CircleCI, a continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) platform that helps developers do their work faster while ensuring high-quality code. The key to delivering actionable business nights, Balasubramanian notes, includes creating clear problem statements and outcomes. When that clarity is wanting, Balasubramanian's insight team clicks into exploratory mode. Once the financial analysts have gleaned what the business needs to make better decisions, it's time to distill. “We don't want to simply relay a party bag full of information,” Balasubramanian asserts. “Our role is to deliver insights that are consumable and that immediately stimulate a productive dialogue among our stakeholders.” That those financial analyses could influence shareholder value marks a touchstone career moment for Balasubramanian, who previously worked at RetailNext. “Finance teams have a lot of opportunities to lean in and drive the business forward,” she adds. “By looking at customer data from a finance perspective, we can glean new insights that help other business stakeholders actually improve the end-customer experience.” A focus on delivering beyond-finance insights is fitting given that Balasubramanian is the only CFO currently on the board of trustees team at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif.

Retail futurist Doug Stephens is joined by a panel of experts to tackle the tricky business of collecting, understanding and using data to improve retail.   In retail, data can be a powerful tool to help brands understand their customers and how they engage with products. But just as retail itself has changed dramatically over the past few years, so have a retailer's most important metrics of success — it's no longer just about sales. As highlighted in the BoF Professional Summit: What's a Store For?, it's not sufficient for retailers to solely measure variables related to purchase — such as sales per square foot, or average footfall. But while there is no shortage of data that retailers can capture (and hundreds of ways to do it), not all data is worth paying attention to. Knowing what data is worth paying attention to can be tricky. “Simply because you can measure something, doesn't necessarily mean that you should or it doesn't necessarily make it important,” said Doug Stephens, retail futurist and BoF columnist. This week on the BoF Podcast, Stephens is joined by Brittany Hicks and Jessica Couch of Fayetteville Road, a consulting firm which helps retailers understand niche markets and women of colour, as well as Alexei Agratchev, co-founder and chief executive of in-store analytics firm RetailNext to discuss how retailers should be using retail data. Retailers have access to an overwhelming amount of information: what percentage of passersby enter a store, how much time those visitors spend inside, what merchandise they interact with and how many times they return to the space, as well as demographic details like age and gender. “The most important thing that stores can do to be great is to constantly invest in tools and processes to listen and respond to their customers,” said Agratchev. Retailers need to be agile and translate the information they gather into actionable strategies for trying out new formats, layouts and sales associate engagement tactics. “It's not not just a matter of implementing the technology to gather data but potentially using it as a means of experimentation and testing as well,” said Stephens. Couch says retailers also need to dig deeper to understand some of the more complicated attributes about their consumers, like where they come from, what communities they belong to, and what their sentiments are about the brand. “There is a disconnect,” said Couch. “A lot of brands don't understand how people feel about their products or experience.” Related Articles: The BoF Professional Summit: What's a Store For? What's a Store For? Selfridges' Andrew Keith on Post-Pandemic Retail Join BoF Professional for the analysis and advice you need. Get 30 days for just $1 or explore group subscriptions for your business.

Lauren Bitar is the head of retail consulting and customer experience insights at RetailNext. She's an experienced retailer with a passion for creating the new paradigm of customer experience and the brand organizations that support it.

Welcome to a new episode of the DemandGen Club Podcast. Our guest today is Be'Anka Ashaolu, Director of demand generation at Propel, the platform that helps companies build better products and offers a single source of truth for product success. Be'Anka is in charge of all demand generation and marketing operation activities at Propel. Prior to Propel, she was Director of Marketing at Dor, and before then, she was in charge of demand generation at RetailNext, where she managed a cross functional team of seven people for ABM program execution. She's an experienced demand generation professional with demonstrated success building lead engagement engines that convert through the funnel.

Alexei Agratchev is the cofounder and CEO at RetailNext which enables retailers and manufacturers to collect, analyze, and visualize data about in-store customer engagement. The company has raised to date $200 million from investors such as Qualcomm Ventures, August Capital, American Express Ventures, or NGP Capital.

Alexei Agratchev is the cofounder and CEO at RetailNext which enables retailers and manufacturers to collect, analyze, and visualize data about in-store customer engagement. The company has raised to date $200 million from investors such as Qualcomm Ventures, August Capital, American Express Ventures, or NGP Capital.

EP126 - American Eagle former CDO Joe Megibow We caught up with Joe Megibow at the RetailNext party at ShopTalk this year. Joe is the former chief digital officer at American Eagle Outfitters, he's also served as President at Joyous.com and General Manager for Expedia.com.  We talked with Joe about his impression of ShopTalk this year, his early experiences in the e-commerce industry (including at TeaLeaf which was acquired by IBM), how American Eagle thinks about Omni-Channel. About RetailNext Conference: Retailers and brands at scale can apply for a complimentary pass for the CommerceNext conference - The Summit for Next Level Customer Acquisition - Jul 25/26 2018 NYC.  This show is a combination of strategic keynotes from the likes of (Amit Shah – CMO 1800flowers; Sid Jatia – VP, Global Commerce at Under Armour; Charlie Cole, Global Chief Ecommerce Officer and Chief Digital Officer, Samsonite/TUMI, etc.); and tactical ‘how-to’ speakers like Amy Africa (CEO, Eight by Eight) and Facebook expert Emily Hickey. Announcing the CommerceNext "Nexty's": A new peer-reviewed award program identifying and rewarding the best marketing performances among retail and eCommerce professionals. Awards include “Marketing Innovator of the Year” and “Highest ROI with the Least Resources”. Visit commercenext.com to nominate a fellow retailer for an award and to apply for your free conference pass. Episode 126 of the Jason & Scot show was recorded on Monday, March 19, 2018. http://jasonandscot.com Join your hosts Jason "Retailgeek" Goldberg, SVP Commerce & Content at SapientRazorfish, and Scot Wingo, Founder and Executive Chairman of Channel Advisor as they discuss the latest news and trends in the world of e-commerce and digital shopper marketing. New beta feature, Google Transcription: Transcript Jason:  [0:25] Welcome to the Jason and Scott show this episode is being recorded on Monday March 19th 2018 I'm your host Jason retailgeek Goldberg and as usual I'm here with your Scott Wingo. Scot:  [0:39] Hey Jason I'm walking back Jason Scott show listeners we are here live from the shop talk show in Las Vegas and are one of the hottest parties at shop. Scott Silverman in Allen Dick's Commerce next party this party is a who's who of the digital Commerce crowd. A couple of housekeeping things before we jump into a visit with one of our guest here who we plucked out of the party so. Little thank you for the folks at Commerce Max they wanted to let you know that retailers and brands that scale can apply for a complimentary pass for the Commerce next conference. That's going to be the summit for Next Level customer acquisition held July 25th and 26th in New York City. The shows a combination of strategic Keynotes from the lights of 1-800 Flowers and Under Armour and then also tactical information from Amy Africa and Facebook. Facebook expert Emily hickey there also starting something called the next these which is a peer-reviewed award program if you're interested in learning more about that go to Commerce next.com. Jason were excited to have on the show Joe megibow Joe has had a story 20 year history and Retail and e-commerce including on the retail side American Eagle Outfitters Expedia and hotels.com. Then he has been on the vendor side like you and I are today over a tea leaf IBM and is currently operations advisor with Advent International that's a private Equity Firm that has a portfolio of retailers including Lululemon welcome to the show Joe. Joe:  [2:04] Thank you I appreciate you plucking me out of the party. Jason:  [2:07] We were thrilled to get you. [2:10] Usually we start at the show by kind of getting a quick rundown on guest background and how you came into the e-commerce industry in your case this could be the start of a long answer. Joe:  [2:24] Okay I'll try not to make it too long. I've been in been in the internet or really webspace since since it began actually started as a. Engineer so I I find some of us in e-commerce based came up from war of the traditional retail merchandising route others came up the technical route II came up the technical route. And I was in the web early days good friend of mine and I worked in a Advanced Technology Group for a manufacturer actually in Upstate New York. And those days we we still coming to work every day with one question we asked each other. Have you found any new websites because we've been to all of them. And wished we literally had a noun or a little modems at the time hitting the early days of the web so I. Yeah I've been fighting the fight on trying to educate companies and organizations on what this thing is about and how to how to embrace it as something other than a sideshow novelty since since it began. [3:27] But I am. Ended up in management consulting for number years help launching e-commerce practice for one of the big Big 5 consulting firms ended up at interesting little start up a company called Tea Leaf technology. Tea Leaf back in the day was way ahead of its time but we we realized early on that just basic. Numerical tracking of what pages you had been on what was often called his web logs just wasn't enough for a truly understanding. The ladies are experience a customer experience and we had come up with some novel technology to allow you to see everything that was happening with the customer and it in retail it's not that different than say. Going into the store and Walking the Floor something any good retail executive does they go in and watch the customers and see what's going on and see what's working and what's not and speak with them. And there really wasn't an analog for that online so we we built some initial technology to do that. For me personally what was amazing about it is 4 years working with hundreds of a transactional companies. I got kind of a front row seat on seeing what really work. And what really didn't whether we're talk to human factors human psychology understanding why is it that. So many websites at the time just kind of shocked and head was just really hard to get things done friction issues getting in the way that's a lot of the stuff was built by engineer is not. By people who understand human so I did that for a lot of years ended up an Expedia for 6 years running a number of things ultimately running the expedia.com us business. [5:02] American Eagle Outfitters for 3 years running digital there really at their transition tree. Of being. A great brick-and-mortar store but understanding not only getting e-commerce right but truly leaning into an Amish handle experience should I happy to chat with you guys about and. Stood up for about a year did an interesting start up with a joyous a video based e-commerce retailer and what I loved about that was the focus was bringing the Humanity online just how do you control a. Help understand what makes a product great outside of the traditional just grid and content view of a products which we ended up. Selling the company hand doing advising and Consulting now. Jason:  [5:45] That's awesome nice concise recap of an amazingly Rich career. [5:54] TV this is super exciting to me cuz for the Wizards. I'm familiar it was a real game-changer like I sent you yet records sessions so that site team can watch Shopper behavior for. [6:09] Learning about conversion optimization and an opportunity to improve things and also for troubleshooting problems so before that like. [6:17] Your sales would be way down on a promotion day and you really had no way to know if you look at the metrics and see that nothing converted but you really have no I didn't see that like. [6:27] You are losing customers at this form or at the. Joe:  [6:30] Yeah we and it was interesting we, like I stumbled onto some insights just again trying to figure out why did conversion not hit the numbers we wanted like one of the early observations we had we ended up creating a kpi around this week all the PSR purchase success rate. And it turned out we were looking at this was in my in my travel days but it's it works in in retail as well. We knew what the fall off was on the traditional funnel I mean when you attack of conversion rate in the in the funnel. We knew that they were getting to the last step in the process but the Fallout you expect if someone's going all the way through the checkout process that you have a very high percentage of people who then complete the transaction and it was it was not it the high-percentage we thought. So why are people dropping out and with no one had figured out at the time and what we stumbled into by looking at this more complete view of the data is a ton of people were in fact trying to. We just weren't letting them and whether it would means that the transaction was failing. It was for a whole lot of reasons account failure where the credit card not being processed or incorrect information on doing the verification on the credit card and it needed you know somewhere between 1 and 5 + 1 + 4. 20 and 25% of the people may think about this you walked into a store you browse around you found something you want to buy. You've actually gone through the process you gone up to the POS you've gone through this and I'm online it's much more challenging. [8:00] My home address and my information my credit how you typed all this and you've actually clicked the button complete transaction the please take my money I want to do business with you. And the response was no you no soup for you tonight and it's it's it's crazy in the end the. Recovery rate on this was very low as well and you don't step 1 and in fixing things is acknowledging the problem and we were measuring the wrong thing we didn't even realize that was a failure to measure and. Yeah we've we turned out you never get to 100% purchase success rate some people always have credit to clients. But the ideas how do you actually look at that make sure anyone who should be complaining a transaction. Let him complete it and get that up to the high 9 days which took months of work to fix but no one again it's like turning a light on in a closet it's been dark with never even seen that. Scot:  [8:52] Then I'll wear your Expedia when they were part of interactive Corp or was this. Joe:  [8:56] This was shortly after I see spun out all the the travel properties which was a collection at the time of Expedia hotels.com Hotwire TripAdvisor, since I laughed the acquired orbits Travelocity and then the number of the other players. Scot:  [9:13] Some ways to travel world even then but even today was kind of a couple Generations ahead of us and e-commerce World about. Current traffic monetizing it always amazes me how they're they're totally friendly with each other and always routing traffic through each other in a much different world than we would it and e-commerce. You'll see Amazon cycle traffic over to Walmart or something like that. Joe:  [9:33] I know and I think that's actually how I ended up in retail is. One thing about travel for sure it's a great experiences and it's not about the transaction I mean it's ultimately about the trip and the places you're going and, I I think some of the players are realizing what I think travel is crossed over into retail lives that yet travel was. It from A disruption standpoint 10 years ahead of retail but was still deeply consumer-focused. What was interesting to me going from travel to retailer really from Marketplace two or more vertically two-player as a lot of the tricks that I expected would work didn't work at all in retail. And it was some some fascinating learning so you one example is the funnel. I'm in bed the oldest trick in the book if you want to like make them more quickly it started the bottom of the funnel and start working up and find the people who are the most qualified most committed and what's not working find that friction rooted and it's free money. And in a fashion apparel retailer American Eagle didn't work. I am going I mean he joined a new company and you pull out your playbook that always works and it doesn't work it's sort of this oh crap moment of what have I gotten myself into. And the internet turned out in a in a fashion business it's an upside-down funnel. The consideration where they fall out is at the top of the funnel it's discretionary spend I'm trying to decide. [11:04] I need a new pair of pants I need a new top what am I going to buy at you you hope you have loyal fashion brand followers. The reality is even your most loyal customers still don't exclusively shop with you so when you're in that consideration said you're at the top of the funnel. They're deciding hey what's new with trash was out there that's when the Fallout occurs by the time they're at the last step of check out. Big decided I'm giving you my money this is the the transaction I want it if it doesn't work it turns out though actually that is a different elasticity will try again or go to the store. The call the call center there's a much higher probability you'll get this a lot but then the flipside happens which is at the top of the funnel. If you are not getting a ride especially if your vertical integrated if you're the only place where can I buy the product that's where it really matters and we ended up switching everything around and then how do we make sure we're educating on the brain. I can give you the right information without relying and Associates in stores because that's where the Fallout was occurring fascinating difference. Scot:  [12:09] Search more detailed product pages more serendipitous Discovery stuck at the top tell people at self-educate. Joe:  [12:16] Yeah I hardly I am I looked the stores a lot for inspiration and it's kind of a digital guy I think it's easy to fall into hey we don't need stores or. But there's a lot about stores that work really really well and have for decades that I have yet to see online replicate. Scot:  [12:33] The bigger shopping cart. Joe:  [12:35] Other interesting Lee there I was fascinated when I joined that but a lot of the apparel companies use the notion bag and not shopping cart and I was frustrated by this. I actually sat down to prove that we were getting a wrong and then I discovered every apparel company use bag which. I think it's all just a bunch of silliness it doesn't really matter but but if you walk into a retail store. There are people there there are Associates their customers and you get a vibe from this within seconds you know if you walk into a restaurant or store if you're in the right place how hit me up if you're a straight-laced person and you walked in and saw a bunch of. Bikers wearing leather and whatever you feel like this is not my scene where you walk into a place that supposedly popular and it's empty. And you see this what are people shopping what are they buying what are the associates doing how are they engaging is it is it a heavy cell is an inclusive is an exclusive and you pick this up almost free. Online it's kind of like saying find me my flagship store. Perfect inventory position perfectly assorted perfect graphics and displays but you walk in at 2 a.m. on a Sunday when nobody's there you're on your own. And that's that's most shopping online and this is a huge gap and helping people discover and the Serendipity of shopping this is just not been figured out. Jason:  [14:02] Said you feel like you have you run into any tactics that you think partly address that cuz it's. Joe:  [14:07] For sure I think and it's all just little Windows into the human psychology to try to solve these things and then sometimes it can be a very subtle ways one of the biggest lips we got back of my travel days. Wait we called it a sense of urgency messaging but the idea was you're not allowed in part of the inside came from the number one call to the call center. Was a simple question that needed to be answered was just is this hotel room going to be okay just it's a big expense it's going to be a bad Hotel it's kind of ruins your vacation. And we we put these little pop ups on the screen which were just 10 people are viewing this hotel right now. 15 people have booked this hotel in the last 24 hours the last hour. Scot:  [14:50] One room left. Joe:  [14:51] One room left which is sense of urgency but one more popular people are here right now and it was just anything to give that same replication of that store experience. It's popular you walk into a store and there's a popular item on the ground or at the front door on display and there's only one left in your size and your smile what do you do. You grabbed it off the rack and you hold it you may not buy it but it is my option to choose I'm going to hang on to this thing until I decide I don't want it so how do you create that same sense. Requires being there and seeing other people around and knowing the scarcity of the item how do you create that same sense online send me that just one example of like a digital proxy for creating that that we've done. Jason:  [15:34] Yeah it is interesting I call that the sort of first Shopper problem cuz everyone that comes with e-commerce side feels like the first shopper. [15:42] It's ever been on that site like there's your point there's no footsteps of those previous customers. I started my career in brick-and-mortar retail and I was looking up to work with this legendary visual Merchant this guy named Joe was sheer and he used to. [15:59] Do the most amazing product displays all would like way higher conversion than any of his peers. [16:07] And the coolest thing he ever taught me is like you do this beautiful visual display and then the last thing you do before you open the store. Is you randomly take three scuse off that display. [16:19] Cuz no one wants to walk in and buy you know how to take that first SKU out the pyramid and feel like they're the first one to make this risky purchase they want to feel like. [16:28] Man that was just a customer here ahead of me and grabbed it. [16:33] There's this they're out of business now on Saturday but that jackthreads these type of my favorite features that used to. [16:40] Expose their there like high-level analytics on the product detail pages so I can you could literally see like five thousand people looked at these trousers and a thousand of them. Joe:  [16:53] I ate an educated just trying to replicate I eat you talk about product displays I think another interesting test we did that worked out rather well so we. Is there very tight control especially from the merchants in the product owners on how you display product online. Yummy you want this to be the best presentation of the product and lizards lay down or lifestyle shots are on body but how do you really bring this product life and make it be true to the Brandon to the product. The challenges it's in at 8 that off in 3 aspirational it's reaching people want to know how's it going to be. I need a store again you get that for free because other people are in the store wearing the product whether it's real humans were Associates or whether it's other customers you can get a sense of how the product. So am I in where you often have is your social feeds that you're getting photos posted Instagram information based marketing. Tag my brand include me in the conversation get it up there but this stuff is off and relegated to a blog or style board or somewhere off on the side where if you true to be that brand customer to look it's interesting. But it's very disjointed from the shopping experience so the idea was how could we make this part of the product experience twins on the product detail page not only do I see the grade. Produce Merchant LED photography but let me see the real user photographs as well. Which man tagging them flowing through so they came into the product detail page but it created tension inside of retailers because it now I'm giving up control on house. [18:25] It's not you and not everyone do consumer truly represents that idealistic brand standard and and how do you reconcile that but what was interesting is. It kind of credit just in these are my words become a book end. Approachability you've got the very perfect on point brand beautiful people who show the product and the aspirational luck you know I want to look more like that. But then you saw a real world people who showed you this was approachable achievable I can do that. If they can wear that I can wear that I'm going to look good and enjoy giving it that grounding and they're the real you know that this is real people wearing real product alongside having sort of what the division of what you want to look like. Turn up work really well and you know and then to change how we approach things and then the idea was truly let's get this real user. On as many product pages as we could and do that in an automated systematic way but again to me it's just it's just tapping into that human psychology of bringing the real world experience. Scot:  [19:29] You guys were very early on mobile to because your audience being Millennials was like really pushing that are any interesting insights that you learned kind of. Joe:  [19:38] We we did a many many many and I've been I've been passion about mobile so I Expedia we had the first Transit. [19:49] Psych on which we launched on the iPhone when it came out we had one of the first. [19:56] Best for Bravada years. [20:03] But I would have never guessed so we've got this at American Eagle we have an app it does pretty well it's it's our loyalty program. Scot:  [20:09] I need the address. Joe:  [20:11] Customers and Maya my head of mobile at the time who's been in the mobile space since since the old. Days he he's hammering me for let's put radio in a rap music. Scot:  [20:24] What am I cramping. Joe:  [20:26] Brand experience. Scot:  [20:28] Stores. Joe:  [20:29] We had a partner who could be relatively low. Classic basic. [20:36] Free. Scot:  [20:37] A lot of my life playlist. Joe:  [20:41] It just didn't seem that important to me. Finally thanks Jeremy he he just wore me down and he's like I got it I've actually already. Scot:  [20:49] Actually already done. Joe:  [20:52] Due diligence you just got to say yes and it's going to be. Any apps and we put in a nap and some amazing things happen. Scot:  [21:01] Customer. Joe:  [21:07] They hated it but for reasons that were more comical to me they love the music as well and they said and they turned out they were good customers of ours, and they using. Like I can never leave this. Jason:  [21:20] Score now yeah. Joe:  [21:23] Store and I'm like oh that's that's actually when you know that's just kind of hidden in a complaint but he was the interesting thing when we started getting into the. And we were very religious I'm looking. At the metrics and how all the opolis Performing the uninstall rate. Scot:  [21:39] So we would look at my coworker. Joe:  [21:40] So we would look at my cohorts of 7 days out how many people still have the app installed dropped in half we had twice. Scot:  [21:47] Install. Joe:  [21:50] The average session duration everything we were saying massive Improvement which also meant are rank improved and in. Because the number of downloads weren't changing and yeah there's always been sort of thoughts on hey is a. Scot:  [22:05] Engagement uninstall Ray. Joe:  [22:11] You're busy chat just it was a better app. Scot:  [22:13] And we were not only were born. Joe:  [22:20] Former warden in range and guess what rank is more download the engagement and there's a virtuous cycle there so yeah it's a stick. Scot:  [22:28] Traffic getting into tonight. Joe:  [22:31] Before and giving them what they need. Scot:  [22:34] We have some beginning marketers on the show talking about cohort analysis and I think that's an interesting topic and you probably have done enough of this year I have like your favorite view of that. So maybe it's a pretend you're talking to someone that you know is just getting an e-commerce. Somewhat technical on the marketing explain cowardin Alice's we can use the app. I know there's a lot of nice ones explain that and then maybe talk about some best practices using. Joe:  [22:58] Sure I may take it up a level I just say. Scot:  [23:01] How to say how do you say before eating. Joe:  [23:04] Analysis it means to have clean data to understand who my customer is and how can I start. [23:11] It's a fancy way of just looking at groups of people and comparing them typically overtime so you can. Scot:  [23:15] So you can understand it's something worth. Jason:  [23:19] You can charge more for a cohort then you can for a. Joe:  [23:23] But I ate nothing scares me more than making really good decisions on bad data and I think part of the challenge and I think this is getting harder not easier is how do you actually. [23:41] User Axe and I've got Bob or Susie out there and who is. Scot:  [23:44] Who is Bob Mackie what have they done so I can come over. Joe:  [23:51] In a world where. Scot:  [23:54] I got more people going. Joe:  [23:56] But still transacting a desktop may I mean think about this most people's mobile conversion of 1/2 to 1/4 of what their desktop site is and if I were. Scot:  [24:04] Basic now and oh by the way mobile sound 50% the majority of my business is going to be. Joe:  [24:13] A half or a quarter of my traditional business. Scot:  [24:17] My business. Joe:  [24:21] So there's a paradox here which is. Scot:  [24:23] I am I not getting my business completely call Omar. Joe:  [24:27] Where the basic metrics are true and really what it is. Scot:  [24:31] If people are coming your side 3 times. Joe:  [24:35] Purchase now they're going twice on mobile and once on desktop and oh by the way my desktop conversion you know which I attribute. Scot:  [24:42] So glad of that stalking her for not being able to. Joe:  [24:53] Because the way most of these. Scot:  [24:54] Looking. Joe:  [24:56] Where did I see you first and where the transaction occur and if you can't connect the dots and say hey I saw you on. Scot:  [25:00] Can't connect the dots and say hey I saw you on mobile but I don't know who you are. Joe:  [25:05] Find ways to tag remark you but then you. Scot:  [25:06] But then you transact. Joe:  [25:16] Stop channel it's digital to store it it's a challenge. [25:27] Good am I think it was an accident. Scot:  [25:30] How do I increase my customer identifier. Joe:  [25:37] Be getting them to log in or getting to engage with a promotion so long before you get into cohort guidance make sure. [25:47] How am I getting consistent measurement how am I attacking some of the consumer data problems which is a really big deal if you can get there and you know. Scot:  [25:55] Tricks that you can do. Joe:  [26:00] What you can do on testing thing. Scot:  [26:02] Two different audiences information variation sometimes. Joe:  [26:13] Can be great on hey if I give someone. Scot:  [26:15] How often do I see one. Joe:  [26:21] 2 Days Later 60 days later and tell her it's going to be in a very. [26:26] Way to look at that. Jason:  [26:29] Very cool and you you touch on another topic is very near and dear to my heart. [26:34] Talking about attribution omni-channel attribution American Eagle owns a lot of drone stores that website I presume was sort of the flagship store. [26:48] The front door too many of those physical sores often like did you guys Implement any kind of omni-channel attribution or headed you think about. Joe:  [26:56] We we did a lot around on the channel That the marketing attribution was trickier for us and it's some of it was just reframing the question I am like to say round numbers that we were doing. [27:12] Which means oh by the way 75%. Wasn't online and if I'm the CIA. Company and I'm looking at how I'm really thinking about what's really in a driving my. [27:27] It sure looks like stores no matter a lot more and on. Basis certainly that was mathematically true but I refrained the discussion we had cameras and all their stores and we could. Into the stores in at the mall level what if we looked at this differently and said look at this from a consumer engagement standpoint how many people said put into our stores everyday and how many people set foot in our digital. One thing is. What stores are not buying the product and then I tried to Apples. It's us us brand brand stores don't know no uniques it just no sanity. [28:10] Let's take not unique's just total visits and you don't find a way to do it. [28:15] And the interesting thing was it wasn't 75/25 now it actually flipped and it was more. Scot:  [28:20] 73rd Avenue. Joe:  [28:23] Depending on where and how we were looking at it with the majority of our daily. Scot:  [28:26] What actually is. Joe:  [28:34] Which means you can see. The people walking into the store where already online the majority. [28:45] Putting it in information on non offense. [28:53] And that actually was a profound shift Ross's beginning. Scot:  [28:55] Beginning of recognize. Joe:  [28:58] Point isn't still years away when we're 50% of transactions the Tipping Point already occurred this is the primary channel for us to reach and engage with the customer. Do you want to give it because if I would. And online fully was realized by the person coming to the store that also means that store isn't as important as we think it is. Scot:  [29:20] Crediting on sale. Joe:  [29:22] And it starts to get very very tricky in understanding how I'm going to really be. Scot:  [29:27] How am I really do that with you no more. Joe:  [29:30] Credit and entering. [29:34] So I ate it becomes a bit of a soft skill I think for now and connecting the dots that way where we could measure things in a single-use coupon codes and showing where the activation actually occurred or even if the inventory management I mean for us the biggest win on the channel. It was how we exposed inventory with things like buy online ship from store which. [29:57] But I'm in that was massive massive winter for. Jason:  [30:02] So like what were the big omni-channel experiences go to Wings for you you mentioned ship from the store. Joe:  [30:07] Is it shipping store for sure was a lot of it and if you think about it we we had a couple DC's. [30:15] Popular but it's always a limited Supply so the idea that hey we have an item that's no longer our current sets you can get. [30:26] Not right it's still a great product and still relatively recent but it's only available in extra extra large. [30:34] But the idea that we actually have a unit. Scot:  [30:36] Somewhere are awesome store. Joe:  [30:38] Of that item is pretty high and at the local store level which is just very very Atomic view of managing inventory whatever assortment they have. Scot:  [30:47] They're just. Joe:  [30:49] Down 10 off 25 off move it to the back and then ultimately if they can't get it they're going to liquidate it out of the store so the idea was just simple it was how do we. Scot:  [30:58] Can anybody any. Joe:  [31:01] Existing inventory roofing supply against existing demand and it turned out to be way bigger. When we began we didn't even know what we do this in all stores we only pick a couple hundred stores and by the time we were done it was fleet-wide every single store became it. And it was a win-win we were given. Scot:  [31:19] Give me the. Joe:  [31:21] Customer demand. [31:25] Our margins were actually dramatically better because we were able to move stuff much earlier in the in the in the mall. And by the way just even you can talk about with your. May I have a foundational belief that the notion of e-commerce as a p&l will be gone within 5 years ndia like to do this on a channel exercise we did with buy online ship from store so what if you look. [31:51] In order to make sure the stores were truly giving a pro. Disorders we gave the stores credit for the sale we won. [32:02] Really great job which they did on for the like that so they're going. Scot:  [32:06] What is 5 *. Joe:  [32:09] Clearance merchandise. Eroding because we're increasing the frequency of sales I had a clearance item that's operating cost for increasing split you. Shipping more out of stores in general which does the the shipping an operating cost of shipping out of stores is more expensive expensive than what we could do at the distribution center and I had to manage a whole new order management system and. [32:34] My product more guns are all getting worse. Scot:  [32:35] Chris sails. Joe:  [32:38] Credit in stores are looking good and you know how you can just took an e-commerce piano of you you'd say this isn't work. Company level me if you think what's the definition of omni-channel with all channels we were saying increase sales we were saying higher transactions were improving on margins the lowest liquidation rates and even. [33:03] And it just come Sunday if I'm standing in a store and they don't have. Scot:  [33:04] And they don't have to talk on my mobile phone. Joe:  [33:08] 70 Commerce a list or sell if I'm if I'm at the store if I'm on the. Scot:  [33:16] Very very boring day at work. Joe:  [33:19] And I think it's missing the point cuz the notion of trying to create a channel is Disney on. [33:28] They don't care they're just engaging with. Jason:  [33:30] American Eagle sale. Joe:  [33:33] I think it's the wrong question and I think brands are slowly coming to grips with a chop block here it's one of the most. Scot:  [33:37] Hookah Bowl think I'm hearing. Joe:  [33:42] I think brands are finally recognizing this isn't about a different Channel or different approach or different tea and that's how do we really start to take this consumer-centric View. Scot:  [33:52] Could you think stores last long enough to get to this point where they rationalize the piano at Toys R Us didn't make it in the players and a lot of these guys are filing for bankruptcy now. Joe:  [34:00] Yeah I I don't think stores are dead I'm very bullish on stores I just think stores are going to be different and they're no longer just about convenient places to store inventory. [34:12] I think the square footage will change I think the purpose of Discovery and and the serendipity. Scot:  [34:19] Experience. Joe:  [34:20] Brands will change but we're social beasts were looking for that human connection will look. And I think Associates do a great job in the same day and I'd say online is going to become less mechanistic and we're going to bring more humans then I am a big fan of things like chat. Scot:  [34:38] About ARB Rd to Goldfield storage Grove totally virtual reality. Joe:  [34:42] I am yeah you know I I I think there's going to be opportunities and their categories like furniture that I think I'm very interesting where where a RV are already starting to take hold it's very interesting companies are going. I need the idea fit and feel. [35:01] Content and it's going to be a lot harder in the immediate future to truly do an ARB our approach for that to me. Shannon and we keep running the math problems and to me a rvr as its a math solution. Scot:  [35:19] I'd much rather. Joe:  [35:20] Solution I'd much rather invest in most call centers have conversion rates of 30 40%. You're nowhere near that if I can get people to call and I can understand how to staff them. For service and get a ton of opportunity and sandwich at when as you get it in the Millennials in the youngers the younger customers they're very comfortable chat that's no different than a phone call to them and if I can engage to them. Scot:  [35:46] How to make silent. Joe:  [35:49] Commendations where use it works and if it's the same conversations you have in a store but it requires human beings to know that customer which means good CRM but date about. 10 in training in the associates you can do that digitally at scale it's just it's learning and it's it's it again it's blurry. Scot:  [36:09] Who am I. Jason:  [36:16] Joe that's great advice and it's going to be a great place to end it because it's happening again we've used up all at a lot. [36:24] I was super grateful for you taking time to sit down and chat with us and as always is westerns want to continue the conversation they're welcome to jump on it. [36:33] Page if you enjoyed this episode it's a great time to jump on iTunes and give us that 5-star review. Scot:  [36:40] Joe people want to follow you online do you have a Twitter or LinkedIn or. Joe:  [36:46] You can find me LinkedIn it both megibow and Twitter is megibow m e g i b o w. Scot:  [36:51] Cool thanks we appreciate you taking time out of the parking and you can go have a drink on us. Jason:  [36:57] Until next time happy commercing.

Lackluster stores will continue to shutter and those that survive will adopt more immersive experiences and extreme curation, says Lauren Bitar of RetailNext.

This episode is an interview with Bridget Johns, Head of Marketing and Customer Experience at RetailNext. We spoke with Bridget about how IoT is being used in Smart Stores, some of the changes we have seen over the years across all types of retailers, and how in-store performance is being impacted by the adoption of IoT technologies. Don't forget to subscribe on iTunes, Google Play Music, or Stitcher! If you enjoy this podcast, please leave us a review on iTunes. Helps a ton! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/brickdatacast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/brickdatacast/support

Welcome to episode #255. On the show: Pinterest says location for every pin; Westfield and Commbank beacon Australia; Get yer booze really easy see from Drinkeasy; Cat mapping; MoveLoot does the heavy lifting; Pikato acquired by RetailNext; SIM Partners + Show Carnival; Niantic Labs raises $20M; #OpenUpTheFun with Tostitos Canada; Gimbal gets Phigital; Mapping America's cursing.

Welcome to episode #255. On the show: Pinterest says location for every pin; Westfield and Commbank beacon Australia; Get yer booze really easy see from Drinkeasy; Cat mapping; MoveLoot does the heavy lifting; Pikato acquired by RetailNext; SIM Partners + Show Carnival; Niantic Labs raises $20M; #OpenUpTheFun with Tostitos Canada; Gimbal gets Phigital; Mapping America's cursing.

Welcome to episode #217. On the show: Panasonic reinvents the retail shelf; the Locr platform; Moovit closes $50m to help public transportation; Snapchat for business?; Deehubs makes us all vandals; Softcard deflating?; Uber Cargo launches in Hong Kong; RetailNext and StepsAway; Path Talk pretty; Je Suis Charlie app. Our special guest is Jonathan Berlin of Iconeme. Full show notes can be found here.

Welcome to episode #217. On the show: Panasonic reinvents the retail shelf; the Locr platform; Moovit closes $50m to help public transportation; Snapchat for business?; Deehubs makes us all vandals; Softcard deflating?; Uber Cargo launches in Hong Kong; RetailNext and StepsAway; Path Talk pretty; Je Suis Charlie app. Our special guest is Jonathan Berlin of Iconeme. Full show notes can be found here.

Welcome to episode #190. On the show: Google's Chromecast gets Ultrasonic; Chicago's Array of Things makes the city smarter and creepier; Telefonica deploys Brainstorm's platform to all markets; ReservationHop takes reservations hostages; Amscreen and Garmin partner at the Tour de France; Muuzii taps SMS for real-time translations; Nescafe's PopUp Cafe puts real coffee in the newspaper - including the cup; RetailNext and iZettle close financing rounds; Ubisoft shows us the map of the future; TAB unveils spot ratings for billboards thanks to Inrix. Our special guest is Gilad Amitai of Ubimo from Israel.   Full show notes can be found here: http://untether.tv/2014/twilbm-190-free-our-reservations/

Welcome to episode #190. On the show: Google's Chromecast gets Ultrasonic; Chicago's Array of Things makes the city smarter and creepier; Telefonica deploys Brainstorm's platform to all markets; ReservationHop takes reservations hostages; Amscreen and Garmin partner at the Tour de France; Muuzii taps SMS for real-time translations; Nescafe's PopUp Cafe puts real coffee in the newspaper - including the cup; RetailNext and iZettle close financing rounds; Ubisoft shows us the map of the future; TAB unveils spot ratings for billboards thanks to Inrix. Our special guest is Gilad Amitai of Ubimo from Israel.   Full show notes can be found here: http://untether.tv/2014/twilbm-190-free-our-reservations/