Podcasts about show closing

PWTorch editor Wade Keller is joined by PWTorch's Mauricio Pomares to discuss WWE Raw on Netflix. They begin with reaction to the compelling, tense C.M. Punk-Cody Rhodes segment where Punk made it sound like Cody is burned out and vulnerable and he plans to take advantage of it, Plus, Drew McIntyre confronts Paul Heyman, Sami Zayn lands another errant kick, and much more Royal Rumble and WrestleMania news. They talk with live callers, react to the chat and emails, and talk with an on-site correspondent from Atlanta too.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/wade-keller-pro-wrestling-post-shows--3275545/support.

Make sure you stay through the end of the episode to hear a potential new intro song for the show! Let us know your thoughts. Episode 242 of The Independent Characters has us joined by Skye Herrick, who is filling in for Josh at the moment. Skye and Carl spend time discussing how Warhammer 40k (and other gaming related things) can help both your personal and professional life. What skills they help develop, and how you can think about balancing your time for what is important to you. Special Thanks to Corporate Citizen for their music! Time Stamps: 0:00:00 - Show Intro, Elite Choice 0:19:40 - Hobby Progress, and Games Played 0:52:20 - The Role of 40k in Life and Work Pt 1 1:37:10 - The Role of 40k in Life and Work Pt 2 1:57:40 - Show Closing 1:58:40 - Preview of potential new opening music Relevant Links: The Independent Characters Patreon Tablewar! - SPONSOR Herrick Games & Hobbies - SPONSOR Goonhammer Media Network Life After the Cover Save Podcast Adepticon Games Workshop The Black Library Corporate Citizen

Make sure you stay through the end of the episode to hear a potential new intro song for the show! Let us know your thoughts. Episode 242 of The Independent Characters has us joined by Skye Herrick, who is filling in for Josh at the moment. Skye and Carl spend time discussing how Warhammer 40k (and other gaming related things) can help both your personal and professional life. What skills they help develop, and how you can think about balancing your time for what is important to you. Special Thanks to Corporate Citizen for their music! Time Stamps: 0:00:00 - Show Intro, Elite Choice 0:19:40 - Hobby Progress, and Games Played 0:52:20 - The Role of 40k in Life and Work Pt 1 1:37:10 - The Role of 40k in Life and Work Pt 2 1:57:40 - Show Closing 1:58:40 - Preview of potential new opening music Relevant Links: The Independent Characters Patreon Tablewar! - SPONSOR Herrick Games & Hobbies - SPONSOR Goonhammer Media Network Life After the Cover Save Podcast Adepticon Games Workshop The Black Library Corporate Citizen

The Buffalo Bills are set to open up Training Camp for the 2024 season on Wednesday, July 24th. Judge and Tilt are fresh off their summer break and will be diving into all of the top storylines as the action gets underway at St. John Fisher. Media and fans alike will have a close eye on a number of intriguing position battles, new faces at the wide receiver position, and the return from injury for some key contributors, to name a few. The guys dive into all of these topics in more on tonight's jam packed show. Share the storylines piquing your interest in the comments section. Go Bills!Show Segments -0:00 Welcome In!4:23 Filling The Leadership Void11:08 Joe Brady Storylines14:29 Josh Allen Storylines17:20 Running Back Storylines19:54 Dalton Kincaid, Keon Coleman, & Receiver Storylines34:50 Connor McGovern & Offensive Line Expectations45:07 Dorian Williams & Kaiir Elam49:32 Von Miller & Matt Milano51:52 Bobby Babich Storylines56:21 Defensive Line Storylines1:03:04 Linebacker Storylines1:07:06 Secondary Storylines1:16:51 Special Teams Storylines1:21:48 Show Closing

Make sure you stay through the end of the episode for a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT about our 2024/2025 Hobby Progress Challenge! Episode 240 of The Independent Characters brings on two special guests from the newly reconstituted Life After the Cover Save Podcast. Ed and Travis join us for a great round table discussion! Time Stamps: 0:00:00 - Show Intro, Elite Choice, Hobby Progress, and Games Played 1:18:00 - The Warrior Lodge Part 1 2:10:05 - The Warrior Lodge Part 2 2:51:35 - Final Discussion and Show Closing 2:58:35  - SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: 2024/2025 Hobby Progress Challenge Relevant Links: The Independent Characters Patreon Tablewar! - SPONSOR Herrick Games & Hobbies - SPONSOR Goonhammer Media Network Life After the Cover Save Podcast Adepticon Games Workshop The Black Library

Make sure you stay through the end of the episode for a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT about our 2024/2025 Hobby Progress Challenge! Episode 240 of The Independent Characters brings on two special guests from the newly reconstituted Life After the Cover Save Podcast. Ed and Travis join us for a great round table discussion! Time Stamps: 0:00:00 - Show Intro, Elite Choice, Hobby Progress, and Games Played 1:18:00 - The Warrior Lodge Part 1 2:10:05 - The Warrior Lodge Part 2 2:51:35 - Final Discussion and Show Closing 2:58:35  - SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: 2024/2025 Hobby Progress Challenge Relevant Links: The Independent Characters Patreon Tablewar! - SPONSOR Herrick Games & Hobbies - SPONSOR Goonhammer Media Network Life After the Cover Save Podcast Adepticon Games Workshop The Black Library

This episode delves into the future of the Buffalo Bills offense, focusing on potential upgrades for 2025 and beyond. With Spencer Brown in a contract year, several positions are highlighted for possible enhancement in the 2025 NFL Draft. Key insights on the 2024 iteration set the stage for strategic planning in the upcoming seasons.0:00 Show Intro2:57 Spencer Brown contract extension?15:57 Other notable Bills UFAs on offense in 202520:44 Possible Bills 2025 NFL Draft Needs30:17 Show Closing

Discover the magic of a 6-second kiss with "6 Seconds to Marital Bliss: Unleash Love with One Kiss!" Dive into the world of Snooks and Lovey from the "Married into Crazy" podcast as they explore how this simple act can transform your relationship. Whether you're newlyweds or celebrating decades together, this video is your gateway to deeper connection and intimacy. Join us as we unpack the secrets of oxytocin—the 'love hormone'—and how it not only bonds but also brings laughter, love, and a little lip gloss drama into your life. Learn why these brief moments of affection are not just romantic but a cornerstone of a thriving, passionate marriage.  Ready to Raise The B.A.R. in your marriage? Snooks and Lovey are here to guide you through real stories, heartfelt advice, and a touch of humor that will leave you both inspired and entertained.  Don't miss out on their unique insights and couple-to-couple coaching that could take your relationship to the next level of joy and understanding. So, why wait? Click play, feel the love, and let's journey together into the heartwarming world of marital bliss. And remember, it's not just about staying married, it's about staying 'Married Into Crazy'!  Sign up for the Virtual Game Night at: https://mailchi.mp/b3843c75f27e/wtxtpdfhk6 FREE Marriage Health Toolkit https://www.marriedintocrazy.com/marriagetoolkit-optina “Raise The B.A.R. in your marriage” www.RaiseTheBarMarriage.com Married Into Crazy www.MarriedIntoCrazy.com CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Show Introduction 0:48 - Entertainment Tonight Feature 1:18 - Welcome Back Segment 6:38 - Upcoming Events Preview 8:32 - Benefits of a 6-Second Kiss 11:59 - Oxytocin Release Explained 23:50 - Oxytocin Impact on Sexual Intimacy 24:35 - Dealing with Low Libido 27:55 - Building a Strong Marriage Team 34:30 - Daily Affection Tips 38:24 - Show Closing

Judge & Tilt walk through the Buffalo Bills roster on offense and piece together all the storylines ahead of training camp. Who are the cornerstone players? What positions still need upgrading? What spots will be up for grabs in Training Camp? They answer all that and more. 00:00 Show Intro3:16 Buffalo Bills Quarterbacks10:57 Buffalo Bills Running Backs19:56 Buffalo Bills Wide Receivers26:48 Buffalo Bills Tight Ends30:45 Buffalo Bills Offensive Line43:08 Show Closing

The Chris Russell Show Hour 3: Tony Khan joins the show to talk about the upcoming draft, Dave Gardi coming to DC, his relationship with Josh Harris, and the start of the AEW season, Back to your calls on the Commanders front office moves, Closing out your calls, DDOTD: Scottish man dressed as a storm trooper was stopped on the train for fears in public safety

Judge & Tilt assess the Bills wide receiver room in the wake of the Curtis Samuel and Mack Hollins signings. Then they tier ALL the wide receiver prospects in this year's class and discuss who the Bills should have their eyes on in the draft and where they should target them.00:00 Intro & Curtis Samuel7:03 Mack Hollins9:59 Bills Draft Needs at Wide Receiver17:20 Tier 1 | 1st Round WRs24:29 Tier 2 | 1st/2nd Round WRs30:49 Tier #3 | 2nd/3rd Rd WRs39:10 Tier #4 | 3rd/4th Rd WRs48:04 Tier #5 | 4th/5th Rd WRs55:36 Tier #6 | Late Round WR Options59:55 Tier #7 | UDFA WR Prospects & Show Closing

The Chris Russell Show Hour 3: Capitals radio voice John Walton joins the show to talk about the state of the caps before the NHL trade deadline, Chris and Doc give their thoughts on the Kuznetsov drama, Closing out your calls for the show, DDOTD: Weightlifter ate magnets and coins because “zinc is good for you”

The Chris Russell Show Hour 3: Matthew Coller joins the show to talk about the importance of analytics in the game. Quick reset to get back on track, Closing out the call lines for the day on the Super Bowl and Coaches, DDOTD: man arrested for drunkenly assaulting a manatee

The Chris Russell Show Hour 3: Ben Standig joins the show to talk about Adam Peters presser, who the team is looking at for HC, and who he thinks will still be on the team next year, your calls on id you'd be open to an older head coach, closing out your calls for the hour, DDOTD: Oklahoma Lawmaker wants to make Furries illegal

Doc filling in for The Chris Russell Show Hour 3: Thom Loverro joins the show to talk about the state of the Commanders, Right back to your calls on what to expect down the stretch, Closing out some thoughts on the Commanders coaching control, Ending the show with your calls on the Commanders

In this episode, we go over Legions Hereticus formally for the Emperors Children. We also do a Christmas wishlist for miniature games we play. Want to buy some conquest at a Discount? Use our affiliate code "TerrainKickers" for 10% off in the para-bellum store. https://eshop.para-bellum.com/?ref=terrainkickersnj@gmail.com We also now have a patreon, linked here: patreon.com/TerrainKickersPodcast If you have the means and enjoy our content, consider joining. Remember we have both a facebook to follow and a discord to join now. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087035568532 Discord: https://discord.gg/mfmgVaXfSs 00:19:00 Hereticus Emperors Children 01:02:50 Wish List 01:58:00 Show Closing

The Chris Russell Show Hour 3: Gabe Ramirez from 670 the Score in Chicago joins the show. Back to your calls on tonight's game, closing out your calls on tonight, and scuttlebutt in NYC, DDOTD: Buccee's owner's son was spying on bathrooms and bedrooms

Judge & Tilt give their biggest takeaways from the Bills 48-20 win over the Miami Dolphins, thoughts on the Tre White injury, and begin to preview the Jaguars game in London next week.00:00 Show Intro7:00 Tre White Injury24:11 Biggest Takeaway33:32 Bills Offense vs Miami56:51 Bills Defense vs Miami1:19:07 Bills Special Teams vs Dolphins1:21:30 Bills vs Jaguars Early Preview1:35:19 Show Closing

On today's episode, Scott Gulbransen & Moe Moton react to Derek Carr's recent comments about his play last season and why he may not have been at his best. Then, the guys share their thoughts on the perception of drama around the Raiders organization this season and explain why the stories are not as big a deal as the media would make you think. Finally, we close the show with a look at the NFL Supplemental Draft returning after a few years. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Opening remarks from the booth with Everett Fitzhugh and Dave Tomlinson, while Mike Benton anchors from the Coors Light Landing and section 20 ahead of the Apr. 13 matchup between the Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights at Climate Pledge Arena.

The Chris Russell Show Hour 3: 3 Up 3 Down (Penguins are out, Nats are coming home, MLB Beers), Scott Abraham Joins the show to talk about the sale of the Commanders,  Chris argues that we can't change the name again,  closing out your calls on the same if the commanders

Jordan Cooper spends time discussing strategy for DFS contests, and taking questions from chat on Thursday, 3/16/23.

Jordan Cooper spends time discussing strategy for DFS contests, and taking questions from chat on Thursday, 3/16/23.

Seg 1: Why the Government of Canada isn't equipped for modern National Security threats. Guest: Vincent Rigby, Former National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister Seg 2: How does the province intend on closing the gender pay gap? Guest: Kelli Paddon, Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equality Seg 3: How the first female Assistant Secretary to the Prime Minister inspired public services in Canada Guest: Janet Smith, First Female Assistant Secretary to the Prime Minister and Author of Standing in Possibility Seg 4: How will food security funding impact local farmers? Guest: Liana Glass, Operator of City Beet Farms Seg 5: How Canada is elevating First Nations, Inuit and Métis stories Guest: Odette Auger, Alumni for Audible's Indigenous Writers' Circle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you leverage micro-fulfillment capabilities as a retailer? What are the costs and capital investment necessary? Micro-fulfillment is a hot trend to bring retail products closer to the customer to meet rapid delivery schedules. But is there a better way, at a lower cost, without capital investment, that can deliver the customer experience you want? Enter 1MRobotics, a nano-fulfillment as a service provider that turns the concept into a cookie-cutter approach the size of a shipping container!This episode continues our special podcast cross-over series, #NRFLive, with the This Week In Innovation podcast. In Part 4, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Jeff Roster speak with the VP of Sales at 1MRobotics, Gonen Gershuni. 1MRobotics delivers a nano-fulfillment center as a service to retailers, designed especially for urban deployments at scale. Join Jeff & Ricardo as they learn how nano-fulfillment can revolutionize retail with new use cases. Regular cohost Casey Golden also joins Ricardo for a quick introduction and recapThis discussion was recorded live & in-person during #NRF2023, in the fabulous Avanade lounge. A big thank you to Avanade for sponsoring this series and making the recordings possible!News alert! We've moved up to #18 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list - please consider giving us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts! With your help, we'll move our way up the Top 20! Leave us a review & be mentioned in future episodes! https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/Meet your regular hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, a Top 12 ecommerce influencer, advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring E-Motive, and Overclocked, from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor ShowFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazorConnect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazorSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeSubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShowRetail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPodHost → Ricardo Belmar,Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmarConnect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmarRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWRBelmarCo-host → Casey Golden,Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCaseyConnect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICaseyRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWCaseyTRANSCRIPTS2E10d Micro-fulfillment with 1MRobotics[00:00:00] ​[00:00:00] Show Intro [00:00:00] Ricardo Belmar: Hello and welcome to a special season two episode 10 part four of the Retail Razor Show. This is the fourth in our multi-part series recorded live and in person at the N R F 2023 Show in January. I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar.[00:00:33] Casey Golden: And I'm your co-host, Casey Golden. Welcome to the Retail Razor Show, retail's favorite podcast for product junkies, commerce technologists, and everyone else in retail and retail tech alike. And once again, for this special bonus, welcome N R F fans to our hot take hashtag N R F Live mini-series.[00:00:54] Ricardo Belmar: So Casey, we are here again with our podcast crossover event with [00:01:00] Jeff Foster and the This Week in Innovation podcast. And thanks to our sponsor, Avanade, we were able to record in this series live and in person at the N R F Show in Avanade's fabulous lounge space overlooking the main expo floor.[00:01:12] Casey Golden: A big shout out to our friends at Avanade for giving you and Jeff such a great space to record from. They know how to get things done![00:01:20] Ricardo Belmar: Absolutely. So let's dive right into this week's discussion. Casey, when I say micro fulfillment to you, what do you think of and what would you say if I said micro fulfillment specifically for dense urban locations?[00:01:32] Casey Golden: Hmm. Quick and smart fill-ins for your best sellers so you don't miss out on a sale?[00:01:37] Ricardo Belmar: Ah, well, I think you're gonna be fascinated by this discussion with our special guest, Gonen Gershuni, the VP of Sales at 1 M Robotics. Have to say, when Jeff and I sat down with him in the lounge to talk about how they're transforming micro fulfillment, especially for dense urban areas where, let's face it, you, you don't expect to find a lot of available space for really [00:02:00] large micro fulfillment centers.[00:02:01] And, and yeah, I know it sounds kind of odd to say large micro fulfillment centers, but that's the way, the way it goes. But 1 M Robotics, they're, they're talking about a fully automated, micro fulfillment center, that's basically the size of a shipping container. And did I mention they can easily convert it into a fully automated store that's customer facing.[00:02:18] We're, we're gonna hear about a lot of different possibilities and configurations of this technology.[00:02:23] Casey Golden: So the first thing I thought was, sounds expensive for a large micro fulfillment center. Now I'm intrigued when you said shipping container. So I'm ready for it. And you know how much I love powering the future of e-commerce, and this sounds like something really interesting to help those use cases.[00:02:43] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, I, I a hundred percent agree. So let's jump right in and listen to Jeff and my discussion with Gonen from 1 M Robotics.[00:02:55] 1MRobotics Interview[00:02:55] Ricardo Belmar: Hey everyone. We are back at NRF 2023 [00:03:00] with another special bonus episode in our series here. I'm Ricardo Belmar, and I'm here with my special guest host Jeff Roster, host of This Week in Innovation.[00:03:09] Jeff Roster: Ricardo, how you doing today?[00:03:11] Ricardo Belmar: I am doing great. A little tired at this point after I lost track of how many days this is again, we start each of these sessions trying to remember where are we, , what are we doing?[00:03:22] How far into the event are we? And I guess that says it's kind of back to normal because in a normal NRF, I'd be lost by the time we get to the end,[00:03:30] Jeff Roster: I can see the finish line.[00:03:32] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, there you go. There you go. [00:03:33] Jeff Roster: I can feel it. We're running through the tape. And what a tape it is to run through.[00:03:38] What what an amazing week couldn't be prouder of, of N R F, the industry, the tech community. They showed up strong strong energy. Literally, literally at the end of the show. And they're still laughing. Some of your colleagues at Microsoft are toasting. I know. I noticed you've giving up the champagne toast, just so you know.[00:03:54] I'm not sure I would've done[00:03:55] Ricardo Belmar: I know. Yeah, I know.[00:03:56] Jeff Roster: know. So just a fantastic deal. Excellent. All around. Could not be [00:04:00]happier, could not be proud of the industry.[00:04:01] Ricardo Belmar: Yep. I agree. I agree. And to that end, we are fortunate enough to have another special guest. So we're joined here by Gonen Gershuni of 1M robotics and Gonen I think we're just gonna jump right in. First of all, I'm, I'm super excited that we've got some time with you here to record, but why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about your background how 1M Robotics came to be and what your solution is, how you're helping retailer is, and, and give us the, the scoop on [00:04:31] that.[00:04:32] Gonen Gershuni: Sure. So Ricardo, Jeff, thanks so much for this opportunity. Couldn't be more excited to be here with you today. What an amazing stage this is. I mean, NRF B Beck, B Beck larger, bigger than ever. And this is an amazing facility. Well done for the NRF crowd.[00:04:50] A bit about myself, Goen Gari, VP sales at one of robotics.[00:04:54] I joined the company a bit under a year and a half ago. Prior to that, I worked at another successful [00:05:00] Israeli startup called Bring. They're also here. Shout out to the Bring team. You guys are[00:05:03] Ricardo Belmar: know The Bring team. Yeah.[00:05:04] Jeff Roster: met them, I bumped into them.[00:05:05] Gonen Gershuni: Yeah. So[00:05:07] Jeff Roster: the[00:05:07] only company that actually had a bottle of wine that we toasted while we were, while, while we were talking.[00:05:14] That, that, that's a, that's a first now I've had, I've had people at, at happy hour bring, not in the middle of the day. So that was, that was a fun, fun interview.[00:05:22] Gonen Gershuni: It's yeah, it's always Happy Hour at Israeli Startups. And Israelis like the party, so it's a great it's a great company. I worked at Bring for about five years in various sales roles, from business development to global partnership sales, overseeing various strategic initiatives.[00:05:37] So this gave me, I would say, a very rich and deep understanding and background on e-commerce, last mile fulfillment and all that. Prior to that, I was about, I was in performance marketing for about three to four years, so for the better part of the last decade and a bit more, I wa I'm, I've been in various high-tech companies in very, at various lifecycle lifecycle stages and very proud to be at 1M robotics today.[00:05:59] In a [00:06:00] nutshell, one of robotics is a startup that's focused on automating hyper-local logistics infrastructure. It's a mouthful, but this pretty much means that we are creating urban facilities for last mile fulfillment that are leveraging automation and robotic technology to alleviate the main pain points of last mile.[00:06:19] Those two, those are being, those are mainly two challenges, unit economics and scale operating at scale while remaining ROI positive.[00:06:28] Ricardo Belmar: I think that was a mouthful, but I'm, I'm like it so far. So let me ask you this, give us a little more go down another layer and tell us how you're doing that.[00:06:36] Gonen Gershuni: Okay, great. So let's first start with a quick background story or the origin story, as I like to say in comics of 1M Robotics.[00:06:43] 1M Robotics was founded by co-founder and ceo, Eyal Yair, and co-founder and coo, Roee Tuval. Eyal is a seasoned entrepreneur having led various startups, this is his fourth, two were sold, one was less of a success story, but nonetheless, a great experience to be [00:07:00] had. And he brings a wealth of experience in sales, business development, and other related functions.[00:07:05] Roee Tuval co-founder and COO, brings a rich background in robotics, photonics and other related materials, material handling. The two collaborated as they got together to identify the main needs in last mile or fulfillment infrastructure, and they saw that micro fulfillment or just about any other large sized facility leveraged today, that's a hotly contested field, a red ocean as they, as it's typically called, meaning tons of competition, tons of players operating in the space, and they're all great formidable companies addressing some major pain points, but not last mile fulfillment, not rapid delivery. They are at best able to offer what's called same day order today, receive it later in the day toward the evening time at best. Again, most of the time it's next day, but really they saw a major gap when it came to rapid delivery.[00:07:54] And when we say rapid delivery, yes, it can be the quick commerce type of delivery increments of [00:08:00] 30 minutes and below, but it's just about anything below two hours.[00:08:04] And that was a, a really blue ocean with tremendous opportunity and a major need from just about any retailer and CPG brand looking to address or to reach their customers in a closer and faster, timely manner. So they saw that there was zero automation in that space, and that's how they decided to form this company to create urban facilities that are way smaller. So we're talking about facilities that are about the size of a standard store, convenience store, et cetera. So think some, think somewhere along the lines of hundreds to to thousands in the few of square feet.[00:08:40] Ricardo Belmar: Okay. So I, I take it then based on, on the size, right? When you, when, when I, when I think of micro fulfillment, I think of a larger format, large store, not the size of a distribution center, but, or fulfillment center, but something smaller than that.[00:08:54] So clearly larger form factor than you're talking about, which I guess makes it difficult to put that in an urban [00:09:00] environment cause it's hard to find that large space. So is the idea here then, that, by doing this in that smaller format, you're able to get a higher density in an urban environment for someone that wants to do this kind of rapid delivery.[00:09:12] Gonen Gershuni: It's twofold. First of all, spot on. Physically it's very challenging to place a micro fulfillment center in a dense, urban, metropolitan area, think downtown Manhattan.[00:09:22] It's impossible. Authorities wouldn't allow it. It's very costly and it would create lots of friction because those facilities are predominantly not 100% automated. Now, let's take a facility that's about the size of a standard seven 11 store Micro fulfillment operators would not take such a project on.[00:09:38] It's too small for them, and they also would have to adapt their technology solution to fit inside a way smaller form factor. And this is where we come in with our technology innovation. We're able to fit into very densely populated urban metropolitan areas and locate our, or deploy our facilities within a very small retail footprint. By introducing [00:10:00] automation, we're able to also do two things. For one, expedite workflows alleviate the pain of the human workforce, and in doing so, also completely eliminate shrinkage, human error and other related challenges.[00:10:12] Ricardo Belmar: So, so how automated are, are we talking about? Are, are you saying this is, this is a fully automated facility or is very light to no human touch required?[00:10:20] Gonen Gershuni: So we have two types of solutions, two types of installments or two types of systems, as we call them. One, an autonomous lights out facility. And that, as you said, Ricardo, is 100% lights out, an end-to-end automated facility. We've already got this deployed with various exciting customers around the world, such as Nespresso, such as AB InBev, et C.[00:10:41] And that is a, a facility that requires zero headcount. A customer places an order on an online channel, and then our system does everything picking, packing, and the pushes out an order for a delivery guide to collect or a customer pickup. In addition to that, this can also serve returns and [00:11:00] things are way faster and easier to do from one single, let's call it omnichannel presence.[00:11:04] Second option or the second infrastructure that we've created is what's called collaborative automation.[00:11:09] In cases where the, the human workforce is still required to operate some sort of function within the facility, we expedite and simplify workflows by introducing automation into the game, taking a fully manually relying operation and adopting it to this new reality.[00:11:30] Incorporating innovation into the story and automation makes things a lot faster. It's sort of like, think about the assembly line as it was first introduced in the days of. All the way to where it's at today with Tesla,[00:11:40] a lot more innovation, a lot less reliance on the human workforce while still having some workforce, some, some work tests done by the human operator.[00:11:48] Jeff Roster: Now you you showed the ne I can't even talk right now. My, my throat's so thrashed, the coffee example. How many SKUs was that in that automated footprint store?[00:11:58] Gonen Gershuni: So in that specific facility, because [00:12:00] we're talking about a rather limited product assortment to begin with, right? That's a few hundreds we can support all the way up to around 4,000 SKUs. And I would say another differentiating factor in our technologies is that we also support frozens.[00:12:13] That's unheard of in warehousing automation,[00:12:16] Jeff Roster: So 4,000 SKUs. What's a typical 7-Eleven. [00:12:19] Le less than 4,000 SKUs. Okay.[00:12:22] Gonen Gershuni: Aldi US for example, they're around, they're somewhere along the lines of 2000 [00:12:27] Average quick commerce players between 1,500 to 3000 ma max. We are, we are not trying to address a hypermarket.[00:12:36] I am less relevant for that Costco, that Walmart, but for the small format stores, for the convenience store chains, for consumer, electronic, small format stores like the Best, like Best Buy is trying to now launch. This is a great fit.[00:12:49] And this is where we play. We're playing in the fast moving goods line where we're talking about product assortment that you want to get out your customers as fast as possible, offer that brand new [00:13:00] iPhone as fast as possible.[00:13:02] As you are doing the npi,[00:13:04] Jeff Roster: There's also a almost a loss prevention component of that too, I would assume. I, I'm, I'm in California and we have loss prevention's, a major, major issue.[00:13:11] You sort of solve that by no one's inside the, the store. [00:13:15] Exactly. [00:13:15] Wow. Interesting.[00:13:16] Gonen Gershuni: Yes, we provide the software suite as well, so we've developed our own wms.[00:13:20] It's not a must, it's not a mandatory element to, for our customers, but we do have live visibility and true inventory tracking at any single point. And this also allows us to provide demand forecasting, restocking, and replenishment reporting, and other smart alerts to support our businesses with their mission critical operations.[00:13:37] I would also add that shrink is a major pain point because at the end of the day when we're talking about consumer electronics, we, we are operate, we are already working with some leading apple distributors globally. And in many markets, the product it's that is being sold might be more costly than the human workforce.[00:13:53] One single human employee. And in such case, if you lose one iPhone, this is a major [00:14:00] challenge for you as a business. And we're able to completely eliminate that by providing live visibility to each and every single skew that we.[00:14:06] Jeff Roster: That's so interesting. Wow. How many deployments do you have of that? That that example where it's literally, I mean, it's, it's automation, but I mean, it almost feels like a giant giant you know, kiosk.[00:14:19] Gonen Gershuni: Yeah. So we've touched on an important point. Our system go, comes shipped in a container sized form factor, meaning we use standard shipping containers to ship our systems globally by land or sea.[00:14:32] This allows us to operate very flexibly and to ship out our system super fast. In addition to that, we can deploy the system just about anywhere, either as is, as a standalone unit within the container, and then it's a great way to address smaller towns, rural areas and also deploy this next to a venue or where ever.[00:14:50] Second option is to remove it from the container shell and just re and place the system as is within a retail facility within a retail real estate in such [00:15:00] case takes us about under two hours to deploy inside of a facility. So it's an off-the-shelf solution with almost with near as the zero launch time.[00:15:09] So this for a business is a game changer.[00:15:11] Jeff Roster: Yeah. So, so you are in fact an automated store.[00:15:15] I didn't realize that.[00:15:16] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah,[00:15:16] Gonen Gershuni: but I think that that's also a[00:15:18] Jeff Roster: I mean, you're, you're a really automated, automated store. I mean, cuz you're not even, I guess the difference is, you know, some of the examples we look at I don't wanna say which, which vendors, but I mean, you walk into the store, you pick it up and you, you know, so shop and go, or however you wanna say it.[00:15:31] You're not, I'm obviously not getting into the store, which makes you a perfect loss prevention.[00:15:37] Gonen Gershuni: Correct.[00:15:37] But I would add though, that in some cases, for example, let's think of Walgreens. Okay? They work with Verizon. Verizon effectively develop, gives them a store within a store, right? A designated section that's purely the product assortment of a, that Verizon is selling.[00:15:52] At Walgreens, we can also incorporate our system directly into a retail facility. So for example, this we be, we can be talking to a [00:16:00] retailer. And he might be thinking, okay, how do I utilize this within my existing real estate network? They can just allocate or designate, designate a specific zone for us to add to automate, and then they can have one third store automated for e-commerce orders and deliveries and colle and customer pickups.[00:16:18] And the other part be experiential. Have the customers, the walk-in traffic roaming around the store doing their purchases. Not nothing is interrupted. And this allows me to avoid that friction of couriers coming in, flocking into the store, while also having walking traffic roaming around.[00:16:36] Ricardo Belmar: Hmm. Interesting. But then, and then, So you have lots of different ways and that you can help because I, I'm assuming because of the automation, you could also operate in a truly totally dark, you mentioned before a lights out mode right? Where completely standalone everything is, is, is packaged up. You just have whoever's doing the delivery basically picks it up.[00:16:53] Gonen Gershuni: Yes. [00:16:54] Ricardo Belmar: Right.[00:16:55] Gonen Gershuni: I would also add that because it's it's an automated robotic mechanism, we're able to also [00:17:00] leverage addition, I would say expansion dimensions. What I mean by that is that if, for example, the ceiling height within retail facility is around four meters. We're able to expand going higher, longer, or wider, accommodating the needs or the challenges and constraints of the actual retail facility.[00:17:17] So let's say it's an L-shaped facility, the system can be expandable to accommodate and to maximize on storage capacity. [00:17:24] And in doing so, we can cover more SKUs. We can reach higher, wider, longer, whatever. Some, some, some specific areas where a human operator simply put would not be able to. I'm not four meters tall.[00:17:37] I wish I was [00:17:38] Ricardo Belmar: right.[00:17:39] Gonen Gershuni: I'd have a promising NBA career.[00:17:41] Ricardo Belmar: Right. . Right, right. So there's so a lot of flexibility obviously in the, in the form factor you can take and how you support a given retailer. So and I guess that's the differentiator then for you versus other. You know, cause like you said at the beginning, there's so many other micro fulfillment players, but they're all geared around the much [00:18:00] larger form factor where almost each location is like, is like a custom build out.[00:18:04] Gonen Gershuni: Yeah. [00:18:04] Ricardo Belmar: And you've almost made this into almost a cookie cutter approach for the retailer [00:18:08] Gonen Gershuni: it's, exactly a cookie[00:18:09] Jeff Roster: I would a yeah.[00:18:10] Ricardo Belmar: yeah. [00:18:11] Gonen Gershuni: an off-the-shelf solution with zero [00:18:13] launch [00:18:13] Jeff Roster: shipping in the cart, the container that you would just drop at a stadium or at a [00:18:19] racetrack or something. You literally just drop it.[00:18:21] Gonen Gershuni: it. Indy 500, let's go.[00:18:23] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah,[00:18:23] Yeah [00:18:23] Gonen Gershuni: do[00:18:24] Jeff Roster: somebody, there's somebody already there though.[00:18:25] Gonen Gershuni: No problem. You're right. But I think it's three main differentiators. It's size, scale, and the fact that we're off the shelf size-wise. Again, we can work in a very impractically, a way smaller facility that's about the size of a standard convenience store scale because the system is off the shelf.[00:18:41] This means that it can be deployed in zero time and can easily be deployed in many, many more locations. It's practically, it's practically something that can easily be duplicated to address more crowds, reaching more customers. And third it's an off the shelf offering so that we are able to mass produce these systems [00:19:00] and be up and running faster.[00:19:02] The, just to give you some under general understanding on the micro fulfillment space, a traditional facility requires around a year to just launch one single site. It costs in the millions, and it requires a lot of onsite construction. Here we're talking about a plug and play offering that costs a fraction of the price at an OPEX commercial model, meaning we're only pay, the customer is only paying us one a monthly usage fee.[00:19:28] No installation fee, no hidden costs. Nada. It's way faster and easier to adopt. I think that it's pretty much an an adoption or an adaptation of a SaaS model. Mm-hmm. on a hardware and software base.[00:19:41] Ricardo Belmar: Hmm. Wow.[00:19:42] Gonen Gershuni: It's an adaptation.[00:19:43] Ricardo Belmar: that's an interesting model![00:19:44] Jeff Roster: That I know we're, we're, Ricardo and I both looked at each other and after five days of exhaustion, that, that, that perked me up[00:19:50] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, exactly.[00:19:51] Jeff Roster: And I, I didn't realize in the demonstration, you're literally an autonomous store.[00:19:55] I, yeah, I got the whole, the whole pick and pack or thing, but boy, that's a, that's a whole interesting [00:20:00] con scenario to say the least.[00:20:02] Gonen Gershuni: the retail. I think that the retail angle is clearly a very strong one for us in terms of product market fit, but we are also seeing high demand now also from coming from upstream, meaning taking this into a DC. A facility that still is very much manually operated and incorporating our systems directly into that to address a specific line of products within the DC or to take this into industrial use cases, auto parts.[00:20:26] Just think of an example. Let's say you're now about to board that plane taking you home, right? If right now there's a maintenance issue, they're putting out a, a real-time request, right? Calling the maintenance crew to bring that missing part, even a tiny. Every single, any single minute of delay is now costing millions to the airline.[00:20:44] Customers are now frustrated. They're, they're, they're annoyed. They're gone to demand compensation. So that's a lot of, that's millions of dollars in fines. We're able to address them with front, front frontline warehouse that is fully [00:21:00] automated with full visibility into inventory. This is also a game changer for the airline industry, and that's just off the top of my head. Yes, [00:21:07] Jeff Roster: that's, I [00:21:07] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, [00:21:08] that's a big deal. [00:21:08] Yeah.[00:21:09] Jeff Roster: Wow. [00:21:10] Ricardo Belmar: So, so then if we look out into 2023 and this year and, and beyond, obviously you, you, you've got a really positive outlook on, on the potential here. I, I'm just thinking this year in particular, how, how would you gauge the retailer interest?[00:21:24] Just based on what you've seen here at the show? Are you expecting to have. A really successful 2023. You think you expect to see a lot of engage new engagements with retailers because there's a lot of pent up demand for this.[00:21:36] Gonen Gershuni: So I, yes, there's definitely a huge demand for this, but being a startup, we need to be minded to the fact that we should also be focused on the markets where we are seeing the immediate the, where there's a clear line of site on the ROI we're bringing for our customers and the value to be had.[00:21:53] If it's a nice to have. Then we, we'll probably not dive into any such opportunity. We're mainly [00:22:00] addressing the businesses that have, that have an immediate need for this. Whether it's urgency driven in terms of their customers demanding faster service, whether it's because of the tight SLA that they're promising to customers and are failing to meet or various other parameters.[00:22:14] I would say that the immediate sectors that we are addressing are those in retail, where there is a urgency for the product to.[00:22:22] And also an understanding on the retail side that automation is their way to go forward, their future for the business. We're not trying to replace an existing warehousing automation technology stack.[00:22:34] Contrary. On the contrary, we are happy to work alongside an MFC because we are not replacing them. It's an additional node in their supply chain, and we see this as an ecosystem play. Where're partnering up with additional players such as Microsoft powering their tech stack such as SAP maybe, or any other player, is an additional part in this holistic approach.[00:22:57] Ricardo Belmar: wow. [00:22:57] Jeff Roster: Yeah.[00:22:58] Very[00:22:58] Ricardo Belmar: interesting. Very, yeah, [00:23:00] really fascinating. Wow. Looking forward to seeing how, how this plays out for you this year. Yeah. This is[00:23:05] Gonen Gershuni: When are you guys coming to either Israel or, or either dep, other deployments? [00:23:09] Jeff Roster: You gotta invite me. [00:23:10] I'd come in a heartbeat.[00:23:11] Gonen Gershuni: Okay. We need to check two things first, number one, that you that you are open to having lots of hummus. Number two, that you're open to drinking anytime of the day.[00:23:20] Ricardo Belmar: I, I, I think we've got those two covered. [00:23:21] So, yeah.[00:23:23] Jeff Roster: so funny story on that. I've never, ever, ever liked eggplant. And well, well, you'd have to see how Americans cook eggplant. And I got, I got to Israel and we're having, I mean, I've never seen more hummus in my entire life.[00:23:36] And I'm eating, there's, I'm eating this and I go, wow, what is this? And the, the waiter comes and says, well, that's baba ganoush. [00:23:42] Ahhh. I go, what's [00:23:43] Ricardo Belmar: yep. I love Baba ganoush.[00:23:44] Jeff Roster: It's eggplant. ah,[00:23:47] Gonen Gershuni: I'm with you Jeff. I'm not a fan of eggplant. Eggplant is my nemesis, archnemesis[00:23:52] Jeff Roster: But I'll [00:23:52] lead [00:23:53] Ricardo Belmar: that baba gsh all day[00:23:54] Jeff Roster: I like saying it, I like [00:23:55] eating it. So that is, that is a, that is an, an offer I will like gladly [00:24:00] accept.[00:24:00] Gonen Gershuni: Okay. Sounds good to me.[00:24:01] Ricardo Belmar: Yep. That'll work. All right. Well, Gonen, thank you so much for joining us today. This has been an, an another really special learning experience, I think for us to, to hear about what you're doing. And this is really fascinating. I'm looking forward to seeing how this grows.[00:24:16] Gonen Gershuni: Ricardo, Jeff, thank you so much for this opportunity.[00:24:18] I've been following your show for a long time now, and I love your work. Keep up your amazing energy and pretty much driving innovation across retail through your thought [00:24:26] Jeff Roster: It's, It's,[00:24:27] wilted, but we'll rally when we get home.[00:24:29] Ricardo Belmar: And, and.[00:24:30] right. After we recover and [00:24:31] Jeff Roster: me just say special thanks to Microsoft for Startups, Shish and, and Ricardo for what you've done up here. We're up in this beautiful suite overlooking NRF and there have been a per a parade of startups that have come through and, and I, you've just done a fantastic job.[00:24:46] So well done Microsoft and Shish. Looking forward to seeing more of what you do going forward.[00:24:50] Ricardo Belmar: Yep. And then I'll also add another special thank you to Avanade for having made this series that we did possible by graciously letting us use some of your space. And [00:25:00] helping us be, be quite flexible on the timing and our ability to react quickly to use this. So thanks to to both groups for, for helping us out on this series.[00:25:09] Gonen Gershuni: Just to chime in, thank you. Also, I'd also like to thank Microsoft, our close partners for their amazing work, Shish and the rest of the team. You guys are phenomenal. Keep driving the industry forward with your forward thinking, thought leadership, and amazing work.[00:25:22] And thank you Ricardo and Jeff.[00:25:23] Jeff Roster: Excellent. [00:25:24] Ricardo Belmar: excellent. Thank you. [00:25:25] Jeff Roster: Safe travels.[00:25:26] Show Recap[00:25:26] Casey Golden: Welcome back everyone. So, wow. Talk about endless possibilities with something that started out as just a small form factor micro fulfillment service. I mean, I can totally see this being integrated into other stores in urban geographies and maybe by e-commerce brands trying to offer rapid delivery.[00:25:54] So much opportunity here.[00:25:55] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, it's like I previewed at, at the start, Gonen goes through a number of use [00:26:00] cases that I just wouldn't have thought of as micro fulfillment as the solution for those.[00:26:04] Casey Golden: when you think about it. I can really see these guys taking off and being very successful.[00:26:11] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, a hundred percent. I, I certainly came away learning so much about new use cases for micro fulfillment with the way 1M Robotics can deliver it. Honestly, we, we may have to have Gonen or, or one of their founders come on the show next season just to give us an update on how they're doing.[00:26:25] Casey Golden: Absolutely. [00:26:27] Well, Ricardo, I think that is a wrap for part four of our N R F Live crossover series. Can't wait to see how you and Jeff wrap up this next episode.[00:26:37] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, Jeff and I saved a really great fun discussion with Greg Jones from Avanade to wrap us up with a discussion on trends we saw at NRF. Plus a few thoughts on the startups in retail. So tune in next time for part five.[00:26:49] Casey Golden: Oh, I love to hear that. So that means this episode is a wrap.[00:26:55] Show Closing[00:26:55] Casey Golden: [00:27:00] If you enjoyed our show, please consider giving us a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Remember to smash that subscribe button in your favorite podcast player so you don't miss a minute. Wanna know more about what we talked about today. Take a look at the show notes for handy links and more deets.[00:27:18] I'm your co-host, Casey Golden.[00:27:20] Ricardo Belmar: If you'd like to connect with us, follow us on Twitter at Casey c Golden and Ricardo underscore Belmar, or find us on LinkedIn. Be sure to follow the show on Twitter at Retail Razor on LinkedIn, and on our YouTube channel for the latest updates and content. I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar.[00:27:36] Casey Golden: Thanks for joining us.[00:27:37] Ricardo Belmar: And remember, there has never been a better time to be in retail if you cut through the clutter. Until next time, this is the Retail Razor Show. 

When you hear, “web3” and “blockchain”, if you're like most retailers you might panic or realize that you just don't know how to leverage these technologies in your retail business. Do you gain operational efficiencies? Reduce costs? Improve supply chain visibility? Deliver a better customer experience? Increase brand loyalty? Or is it all the above if done with the right technology partner?This episode continues our special podcast cross-over series, #NRFLive, with the This Week In Innovation podcast. In Part 3, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Jeff Roster speak with the co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of zblocks, Max Cacheux. Zblocks mission is to be retailers' the easy button for web3 and blockchain! Max walks Jeff and Ricardo through numerous web3 use cases on customer experience, gated commerce, and loyalty programs, plus a few surprises. If you have questions about web3 & blockchain, you'll find answers in this episode, recorded live & in-person during #NRF2023!A special thanks to our sponsor Avanade for making this series possible by providing an amazing recording space in their NRF lounge.Listen, or watch on YouTube, to see how much Jeff and Ricardo learn from Max about web3 & blockchain! Regular cohost Casey Golden also joins Ricardo for a quick introduction and recap.News alert! We've moved up to #18 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list - please consider giving us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts! With your help, we'll move our way up the Top 20! Leave us a review & be mentioned in future episodes! https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/Meet your regular hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, a Top 12 ecommerce influencer, advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, and RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2023. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring E-Motive, and Overclocked, from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. The Retail Razor ShowFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazorConnect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazorSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeSubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShowRetail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPodHost → Ricardo Belmar,Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmarConnect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmarRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWRBelmarCo-host → Casey Golden,Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCaseyConnect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICaseyRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWCaseyTRANSCRIPTS2E10c web3 & blockchain with zblocks[00:00:00] ​[00:00:00] Show Intro [00:00:00] Ricardo Belmar: Hello and welcome to a special season two episode 10 part three of the Retail Razor Show. This is the third of our multi-part series recorded live and in person at the N R F 2023 Show in January. I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar.[00:00:35] Casey Golden: And I'm your co-host, Casey Golden. Welcome to the Retail Razor Show, retail's favorite podcast for product junkies, commerce technologists, and everyone else in retail and retail tech alike. And once again, the special bonus. Welcome N R F fans to our hot take, hashtag N R F Live miniseries.[00:00:56] Ricardo Belmar: So Casey, we are continuing our special [00:01:00] podcast Crossover Event with Jeff Foster and this week and innovation podcast. We recorded this series live and in person at the N R F Show in the fabulous lounge space. Our good friends at Avena graciously allowed us to use overlooking the main expo floor.[00:01:14] Casey Golden: Special shout out to our friends and sponsors at Avanade for giving you and Jeff such an amazing space.[00:01:21] Ricardo Belmar: Absolutely. So let's jump right in. Casey, this episode is one that is near and dear to your heart. It is all about web three and taking the complexity out of it for retailers and consumers.[00:01:33] Casey Golden: I love it. I'm a big fan of a velvet rope strategy, so naturally I'm an advocate for gated commerce experiences and more efficient ways to manage VIPs and loyalty in general.[00:01:45] Ricardo Belmar: Well, you are going to love this discussion. Jeff and I had with Max Cacheux, co-founder of Z Blocks. Max talks to us about how Z Blocks is enabling so many use cases for retailers from gated content to NFTs and loyalty [00:02:00] programs in a way that any consumer can participate in, not just as Max calls them crypto enthusiasts and for the retailer, wait until you hear what some of the special sauce Max has cooked up for them to make everything web three as easy as pressing a button.[00:02:13] Casey Golden: Very cool, and I know our listeners have to be dying to get into the discussion now.[00:02:20] Ricardo Belmar: I agree. So let's jump in and listen to our interview with Max Cacheux, co-founder of zblocks. Soon to be everyone's new web three best friend.[00:02:30] Casey Golden: Looking forward to hearing this one. ​[00:02:37] zblocks Interview[00:02:37] Ricardo Belmar: Hey everyone. We are back at the NRF 2023 Show, continuing our bonus series. I'm Ricardo Belmar and I'm here with a special guest host Jeff Roster from This Week in Innovation. How you doing, Jeff?[00:02:50] Jeff Roster: I am tired.[00:02:51] Ricardo Belmar: It's like, I don't remember. I was gonna say which day it is, but I've lost track. I just know it's the last[00:02:56] Jeff Roster: It's the last day.[00:02:57] Well, actually it's not, some of us are still [00:03:00] working tomorrow. We have meetings Wednesday.[00:03:03] Ricardo Belmar: on Wednesday, so I can't even say[00:03:05] Jeff Roster: but I am exhausted, but I'm elated. Yeah, [00:03:08] Ricardo Belmar: exactly. [00:03:09] Jeff Roster: show, fantastic energy.[00:03:11] Ricardo Belmar: I'm with you on that.[00:03:12] Jeff Roster: just an amazing, amazing celebration of retail and the, the energy and the startup community, the energy and the, the, the tech landscape.[00:03:21] Fantastic.[00:03:22] Ricardo Belmar: Yep. I agree. Well, and, and to that end, we have one of those tech stars with us today. So I'm gonna introduce Max Cacheux, co-founder of Z Blocks. Max, how are you?[00:03:33] Maxence Cacheux: Very good. Great to meet you. Thanks for hosting me.[00:03:35] Ricardo Belmar: Absolutely. Thank you for joining us.[00:03:37] So why don't we just start, and Max, I'm gonna let you give your own introduction. Tell us a little bit about yourself, about Z Blocks, how Z Blocks came to be and, and what it is that you're doing for retailers.[00:03:47] Maxence Cacheux: Absolutely. So thanks for your opportunity. So I'm Max from Z Blocks. I'm one of the, one of the cofounder at Z Blocks and I've been in the tech space and enterprise space for more than 20 years.[00:03:57] And, What Z Blocks is [00:04:00] about, is about making blockchain adoption easy for enterprises, right? So we come from an enterprise and tech background at Z Blocks together with the, the co-founders. And what we realized more than a year ago when we started Z Blocks, is that there are many barriers for enterprises to add blockchain.[00:04:17] And we have created a platform for them running on Azure that give them the ability to build blockchain application quickly and easily without the complexity. So we're abstracting that complexity for them.[00:04:28] Jeff Roster: So you're taking the complexity out of blockchain?[00:04:32] Okay. , that's a very . Bold statement.[00:04:34] Maxence Cacheux: We want to be the easy button for web3[00:04:36] Jeff Roster: Okay.[00:04:37] Ricardo Belmar: I like that. The easy button for web three. Well,[00:04:39] Jeff Roster: what, you can be, I'll be your Guinea pig cuz I'm trying to do web three and there there's zero anything easy. So I'll be your Guinea pig to see.[00:04:46] Maxence Cacheux: There, there are many barriers for adoption. So we look at solving them. So,[00:04:50] Ricardo Belmar: Okay, well, let me back into that a little bit then. Talk to us a little bit about what are the, the most common complexities that hold retailers back from being [00:05:00]involved in a web three project That, that would speak to what you're simplifying essentially.[00:05:04] Maxence Cacheux: So I'll give you challenges that are applied to retailers, but also other verticals, right? I'm seeing five key challenge and these are like the five barriers that we saw that when started, right? So number one, you have a lack of blockchain developers, right?[00:05:17] They're hard to find, they're expensive. Blockchain programming language are complex. Number two web three World is different from the Web two world. I mean, we're talking about crypto wallet. You need your private key, your public keys and retailers and others are used to email ID. So how do you reconcile?[00:05:34] number three, retailers are looking at building in blockchain, but they want to connect to their existing systems, right? So how do you do that? How do you connect the, the two worlds together, right? And then a lot of them are looking at blockchains and seeing different protocols that are available. You have multiple layer one, right?[00:05:50] And which one should I choose for what use case? Can I build once and deploy another? Right? And finally, when you talk to their cfo, it's, I don't want crypto on the balance sheet. [00:06:00]So you need to solve all these barriers for them and make it easy for them to develop. Right? And that's where we come with our, with our platform.[00:06:07] Jeff Roster: So give us an example of what that would look like.[00:06:09] Maxence Cacheux: So one of the vertical use case that we built on the platform is a solution leveraging NFT or digital tokens that give them the ability to engage with consumers and they can engage with consumers in acquisition, in retention, and leveraging these digital token for loyalty program retention.[00:06:30] And we're seeing a lot of potential of the NFT technology for such use cases, right? Because it's becoming harder to acquire customers for them. So using web three, using blockchain for retention, for loyalty has a lot of potential and we're seeing a lot of very interesting use case around that and we're helping them in that space.[00:06:49] Ricardo Belmar: give me an idea what, when you have this conversation with a retailer around loyalty, I, I'm thinking of, and, and I'm, I guess this, the example here is you'd be talking to a retailer who [00:07:00] wants to add value into their loyalty program beyond, you know, let's say just offering someone discounts, which so many loyalty programs do.[00:07:06] But your, I'm guessing your message to them is, if by leveraging this technology, You're gonna have something much more tangible to offer in, in a loyalty program.[00:07:15] Maxence Cacheux: Yes. Yes. So we're, we're not telling them, you know, to throw away their existing program. What we are telling them is, Hey, if you add this additional layer, leveraging this additonal layer of blockchain, there's some very interesting use case that you can do, right?[00:07:29] So if you look at for example, the utility that you can provide with digital token, you can provide gated access to certain content. So it could be a website where I'm giving access to v i p customer to a pre-sales event, right? And only the NFT holder are able to access it, right? It could be an NFT or a token that give you access to an event in real life or in a, in the digital, right?[00:07:52] So, so on the very interesting use case around utility. The transferability, right? It's one of the key [00:08:00] property of these tokens makes some very interesting business cases, right? So you could have a membership that I can transfer to, friends that I could potentially resell. You could potentially collect royalty from the resell of that membership.[00:08:13] Right. So there's some very interesting use case around the transferability. What we're seeing as well is around customers that are creating collectibles and they're rewarding with these customers, with the collectibles, and there's a gamification around this collectible that can be exchange traded as a way to engage your existing community consumers as well.[00:08:33] Ricardo Belmar: I like this concept of, you know, the ability to offer the gated access to things or, or use that as a token to access things in, in, in real life events. Do, do you have some examples of, of retailers that are, are pursuing that and how they're, you know, what's the impact of them doing that?[00:08:48] Is what, what? I'm curious, you know, for example, when you have this conversation with the retailer , will they ask you, how do I measure the impact of offering this? How do I know this is gonna create more loyalty with my customer versus what I'm [00:09:00] doing today?[00:09:01] Maxence Cacheux: Yes. So that's, that's definitely a quick key question that they have. Right. Who is going to bring some move the needle versus my existing web two program?[00:09:09] So in many of this cases, it's very new. We might not know in advance, right? So what we do is that we're able to connect these NFTs and this blockchain solution to the existing CRM and marketing tools.[00:09:25] So they have the ability to do ab testing and compare what is the engagement of of this token, right?[00:09:31] So for example, we're giving them the ability to mint NFT that can be dynamically updated with different offers and push notification and token gated access. And they can provide some very interesting you know, token gate access to these customers, right? The token gated access that we see that makes sense is access to special offers e-com website or access to a special , community room where you can meet [00:10:00] other consumers that have the same interest as you so that you get a sense of community ownership as well.[00:10:05] So that's also an interesting use cases that we're seeing there.[00:10:08] Jeff Roster: how much work does it take to do that? So in other words, let's say and I'm gonna watch the San Francisco 49ers win this Sunday. And it's just, it's such a logical thing to say, if I'm gonna go to that game, why don't I just have coupons, programs, unique content related to that game? And why don't I send it out?[00:10:27] Why don't I brand that? Why don't I, you know Levi's Stadium is in Silicon Valley. Intel's all over it. Why wouldn't they create programs or something specific to that event? How hard is it to do that?[00:10:39] Maxence Cacheux: So we're making it very easy for the brand or the retailer to create this campaign, right?[00:10:44] So starting from a one click minting, right? So you just upload the content that you want. The NFT is being minted very easily. We can distribute that across different channel. And we make it easy so that a hundred percent of consumers are able to claim it. Right. [00:11:00] So I don't know if some of you have have been trying to claim in nft it's quite complex because you need to set up crypto wallet and keys.[00:11:06] So here we just do one click claim[00:11:08] Jeff Roster: never tried to claim an NFT for [00:11:11] Ricardo Belmar: because of that complexity.[00:11:13] Jeff Roster: here.[00:11:14] Maxence Cacheux: Exactly. So here, that's what we looked at because when we talked to brands and retailers say, Hey, I want to engage a hundred percent of the customers. I don't want to talk to the crypto enthusiast, so, we're making it very easy. It could be a QR code on a big dashboard. It could be a, a text message, anything. And in one click with a social media id, you're able to get the nft either arrive in the wallet, you might not even know it's blockchain. Just look like a coupon[00:11:40] Jeff Roster: Why would I care?[00:11:41] Maxence Cacheux: You won't care.[00:11:41] Jeff Roster: a consumer, why would I care?[00:11:42] Maxence Cacheux: You don't care. Right. And, and we're able to update that dynamically. So we provide them with the platform to build these use cases. Right. And then based on what they want to do how they want to engage a consumer. We give them the ability to remotely update that token and provide different experiences while getting all the analytics [00:12:00] from these experiences from the blockchain back to their existing marketing tool.[00:12:04] Right? So back to the AB testing. How can I compare that versus my web two marketing campaign? What is the clickthrough rate? How are people engaging? Are they taking the offer? Are they, are they transferring it or not? So what is working, what is not working? So this analytics is really important for them, and we provide that to them as part of the platform.[00:12:23] Jeff Roster: so in that scenario, fully built out, when would I get that nft? When I walk in the stadium, do I scan a barcode? Does it come to me via text? Do I have to give, how do I, how do I actually start that whole process[00:12:34] Maxence Cacheux: imagine you arrive in the stadium. There is a big jumbotron, there's a big QR code. You scan that QR code on the jumbotron.[00:12:42] Then one click access. You log in with your social media id. It could be Instagram, Facebook, gmail, outlook series.[00:12:50] You get the NFT to write in the wallet, the wallet gets automatically created. You don't even know you are in the blockchain. So you have that token and it will be a branded wallet that is made [00:13:00] available to the brand.[00:13:01] And that could also be made available as part of the existing app. So we have a way to integrate with any existing mobile application from from the customer, right? So the onboarding is seamless.[00:13:13] Like a web two experience, right? Because we want to have everybody on board. We don't want to lose anybody, right?[00:13:18] So we're not only talking to the crypto enthusiast there. [00:13:21] Jeff Roster: and the verification is in the social media login or the id Okay.[00:13:26] Maxence Cacheux: media login. And then what's interesting is that suddenly you can see from your crm, Hey, I have all this person who logged in, I have their social media. And now you have a direct relationship with.[00:13:38] So you can further engage them, right? So you can engage em during the event. After the event, they can receive an additional NFT that is memorabilia of that event that they attended, which could be a collectible. We would have value because that was an important event. There could be a video of the event, try to add, right?[00:13:55] And then they have the possibility to upsell you and engage for further events, right? It's [00:14:00] really, we're talking from a switch from CRM to orm Ownership Relationship management. Where?[00:14:06] Jeff Roster: om, yeah. Ownership[00:14:07] Maxence Cacheux: owner, relationship [00:14:09] Ricardo Belmar: Owner relationship Management [00:14:10] Jeff Roster: that one?[00:14:11] Ricardo Belmar: I can't say that I have, that's a new term on me. I'm, I'm paying attention here. I'm, I'm learning.[00:14:16] Jeff Roster: got a new [00:14:17] Maxence Cacheux: new[00:14:17] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. ORM.[00:14:18] Maxence Cacheux: in the future. Brands are going to need to have a direct relationship with the wallet of consumers. Right. In the past you had a connect with the emails, but more, we're missing more. Many of our emails today, not everybody's reading[00:14:32] Jeff Roster: well by design,[00:14:33] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. Right. Yeah. By design. Yeah.[00:14:35] Jeff Roster: just so you know, I am doing that on purpose, my friend, right?[00:14:39] Maxence Cacheux: So in the future, so having a connection to the wallet of consumer is going to be very important, right. The direct consumers. Without the platform in the middle, right? Having first party data in that direct interaction with your customers and also getting them the ability to choose what they share with you and how they engage with you.[00:14:57] Jeff Roster: I have [00:15:00] garbage, 95, 1 thirty4@yahoo.com that I give to retailers because they have proven to me they are not trustworthy with not spamming me. So you're telling me, I, I, now I'm gonna give access to a wallet, so, so I can't get rid of them. That's, I guess from a consumer that's a concern.[00:15:17] Maxence Cacheux: Yeah. But you will, you will accept to claim that NFT or that digital token because there is a utility in it, right?[00:15:25] If I'm a retailer and I'm just minting and distributed nft, you need to provide goodies, right? So if you're not providing value to that consumer, and with the roadmap of features that provide benefits to them, they're not going to be interested to engage with you. Right. So that's super important.[00:15:42] Jeff Roster: So okay, interesting [00:15:43] Ricardo Belmar: Okay. [00:15:44] So from the consumer's perspective on this, if I go through, I'm engaging with a retailer.[00:15:50] I've, I've done this. I, I'm not a crypto enthusiast, so I, I'm, I'm thrilled that all, I don't have to know anything about that, right. In order to engage in this manner I'm curious what, so what happens [00:16:00] as that same consumer goes to another retailer, Do they know that they have this crypto wallet that this digital wallet that's been created, are they taking that with them?[00:16:09] Does that sit with the re that retailer they got it from, or how, how does that part of this work for the consumer?[00:16:15] Maxence Cacheux: Yes. So typically what we provide, we give the ability for the retailer to mint and distribute these tokens very easily to any consumer. And when you click on that link that you receive either on social media or via text message or via email, right? Or in a jumbotron on a QR code that you see on a product, right? One click, you have a wallet that gets automatically created.[00:16:39] This wallet is a branded wallet, right? So it'll be a retailer branded wallet, and it gives the ability for the retailer to engage you through that wallet, right? So it's like a a direct connection between you as a retailer and the, and the consumer. Right? As a consumer, if I'm a crypto knowledgeable person or I already [00:17:00] have a wallet, I could potentially transfer that to another wallet where I have all my NFT or tokens, right?[00:17:05] But another retailers would not know that a retailer send me that token, right? So there's no sharing right of this data.[00:17:13] Jeff Roster: So how many wallets would I have? Hundreds.[00:17:17] Maxence Cacheux: You could have multiples. You may have you may have a issue of the brand. You love the retailer. You may have that, that wallet for that retailers like you have different loyalty card today, right? In your wallet. So you could have different different NFT wallet with different experience at the retailers are providing[00:17:31] Jeff Roster: so NFT wallet by store or a brand or Oh, okay.[00:17:36] Interesting.[00:17:37] Maxence Cacheux: The key is for the, the retailer really to provide utility to keep you engaged, right?[00:17:42] There needs to be a benefit for me to come back, being part of a community, getting coupon discount invitation tokens points that I can exchange. So this is really the, the key for a retailer to engage consumers. Right?[00:17:55] Jeff Roster: how far off do you see mainline adoption? You know, maybe 30, 40% of [00:18:00] retailers doing something like this.[00:18:01] Maxence Cacheux: So I think in this year we're going to see definitely a lot of movement in that space. You probably have heard about Starbucks.[00:18:09] Ricardo Belmar: right[00:18:10] Maxence Cacheux: starbucks have an amazing web two loyalty program and they decided to revamp that and basically add the web three layers to provide new experience to their consumer.[00:18:20] Program called Starbuck all this is going to be launched this year, and everybody's looking at that. There's still some secrecy here on that, but I think it's going to be a lighthouse. For many retailers and many B2C brands many of the, the brands that we're talking to, they are really looking at creating token based loyalty programs, right?[00:18:38] Airlines hotels. So it's happening across the ball in the B2C space, right? Because. It can allow you to create new experiences that are not possible in web two today. And it also provide an additional layer of security. Again, the transferability of these tokens make it very interesting in terms of new use cases as well.[00:18:58] So[00:18:59] Jeff Roster: Okay. [00:19:00][00:19:00] Ricardo Belmar: All right. Interesting.[00:19:00] Jeff Roster: It's a pretty, pretty aggressive prediction. We'll see..[00:19:03] Maxence Cacheux: Yeah.[00:19:04] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. Okay.[00:19:05] Jeff Roster: be watching that[00:19:06] Maxence Cacheux: But we need as Satya Nadella was saying few days back, we need a chat GPT moment in in web three and we think that's[00:19:15] right. [00:19:15] Jeff Roster: that's a pretty, that's a pretty high bar to get over though, to[00:19:18] Maxence Cacheux: And I think the use case, the use case that we're saying where is a lot of interest, is really around loyalty, around the experience that you can provide, right?[00:19:25] So how do I engage consumer di differently? How can I get first party data, first party consumer engagement? There's a lot of interesting things we're discovering every day. I'm, I'm discovering new ways of using the technology, so every day. So there's a lot of use cases that are being brainstormed right now, so it's a fantastic space to be in.[00:19:44] So, [00:19:44] Jeff Roster: Sounds good. Where am I gonna bump into your technology?[00:19:48] Maxence Cacheux: Cool.[00:19:49] Jeff Roster: Which, any, any examples today that I can use?[00:19:52] Maxence Cacheux: Yeah, you can use it for we did recently campaign an NFT marketing campaign for a major retail bank in Asia called [00:20:00] Access Bank. And what they wanted to do is to target younger audience, gen Z millennial, so they maintain thousands of NFTs.[00:20:08] And these NFT gave you the ability to enter into contest. And win the tickets for World Cup. Right. So the more you reshare the token and talk about it on social media, you could increase your chance of winning the tickets, right?[00:20:21] Jeff Roster: Thanks. Thanks for the warning on that one.[00:20:23] Maxence Cacheux: And they were able to see clickthrough rates that were much better than the existing web two marketing campaign.[00:20:30] And very interestingly, the quality of data that they got back to their CRM was very interesting because they were able now to engage directly with this consumers younger audience directly to try to convert them as customers. So that was a very interesting NFT marketing acquisition use case. The other use case that we're seeing is, are on the loyalty space, so brands that want to re reward consumer with experiences.[00:20:54] So again, the, the token gated access is very exciting around that.[00:20:57] Jeff Roster: Hmm. Okay.[00:20:58] Maxence Cacheux: yeah.[00:20:58] Ricardo Belmar: Interesting. Wow. [00:21:00] I guess definitely something we're gonna have to be watching out for Jeff.[00:21:02] Jeff Roster: Yeah. Boy. Oh boy.[00:21:03] Maxence Cacheux: And there's lot of use case. One that I didn't talk about as well is the digital passport certificate. We're seeing a lot of retailers looking at this either in the fashion or in white goods.[00:21:13] So a token being a digital passport certificate of your product where you can have your warranty proof of purchase. You could have all the maintenance if a white goods, for example if it's a fashion nft, you could potentially wear it in the metaverse in the game where some people are spending a couple of hours per day.[00:21:32] So there's also very interesting use cases there. So[00:21:35] Ricardo Belmar: Hmm. I, I guess the, the. Last question I have for you on that though, I just triggers from, as you were describing that, is there a particular segment or segments within retail that you think are more inclined to be the early adopters here?[00:21:48] You know, what you do, you expect to see it more in, fashion versus luxury goods versus home goods and, and so on. Are, are there leading segments that you expect to see this this year?[00:21:58] Maxence Cacheux: Yes. So we're [00:22:00] seeing a lot of traction in luxury in fashion with retailers that are also produce their own product rights. So, not Pure retailers, but designers and retailers because this token can have multiple properties, right?[00:22:12] It could tell the story about the brand. Who created this where did it come from? Was it responsibility stores or made, right? What is the, the story? It becomes like a proof of ownership, proof of authenticity. It could be a token that I transferred to someone.[00:22:27] When I'm reselling it and to the brand is like super important because you can then engage with the secondary market customers.[00:22:34] So for these type of retailers, fashion and luxury, it's a token that you can use from cradle to recycling for the full life cycle. You have very interesting use cases that are being explored by by those brands, [00:22:49] Ricardo Belmar: Hmm, interesting.[00:22:53] Jeff Roster: My first nrf, I worried about point of sale devices, [00:22:58] Maxence Cacheux: Yes. [00:22:58] Ricardo Belmar: and here you are now waiting [00:23:00] for what, which retailer is gonna go dive into Web three[00:23:03] Jeff Roster: point of sale devices and merchandising. And in 22 years we've come from that, which was cutting edge technology at the time to where we're talking about this and some of the other things we've talked about in the last two or three days. Really just an amazing acceleration of what we're talking about.[00:23:19] Ricardo Belmar: Absolutely. Absolutely.[00:23:21] Maxence Cacheux: Yeah.[00:23:21] Ricardo Belmar: Well, max, thank you so much for joining us today. This has been a really illuminating discussion for me. I'm actually kind of excited to see where this is going. I think there's, you've described a lot of interesting use cases and scenarios that would let retailers do new levels of engagement.[00:23:36] I think, so this is gonna be really fascinating to watch.[00:23:39] Maxence Cacheux: Yeah. Thank you. Thanks Jeff. Thanks Ricardo. So very excited. So for what's coming up,[00:23:44] Jeff Roster: Our pleasure[00:23:44] Ricardo Belmar: Thank you. [00:23:45] Maxence Cacheux: Thank you.[00:23:46] Show Recap[00:23:46] Casey Golden: Welcome back everyone. So are you as excited as us to watch how retailers and brands will use Web three and blockchain to transform their [00:24:00] customer experience? It's truly more than meets the eye.[00:24:03] Ricardo Belmar: Hey, wait a minute. I thought that was my line. I thought I'm the one who's supposed to make all the eighties pop culture references.[00:24:08] Casey Golden: As soon as I said it, I knew. Oh, at least you're a good influence, Ricardo.[00:24:14] Ricardo Belmar: Hundred percent. A hundred percent . So I have to say I came away learning a lot more about the challenges retailers are facing, implementing Web three and blockchain from listening to what max told us. But most importantly, now we've all got an easy button for this thanks to zblocks.[00:24:30] Casey Golden: Absolutely. [00:24:32] Well, Ricardo, as amazing as this episode was, I can't wait to hear what you and Jeff come up with next. Who do we have to look forward in the next show?[00:24:41] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, Jeff and I have yet another super interesting person to talk to coming up. Next time, we are diving into what I'll call a new take on micro fulfillment that you might not have expected. So believe me, it's the one that nobody wants to miss.[00:24:56] Casey Golden: super, but now it's time to wrap this [00:25:00] episode. [00:25:00] Show Closing[00:25:00] Casey Golden: If you enjoyed our show, please consider giving us a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Remember to smash that subscribe button in your favorite podcast player so you don't miss a minute. Wanna know more about what we talked about today, take a look at our show notes and handy links for more deets.[00:25:24] I'm your co-host, Casey Golden.[00:25:27] Ricardo Belmar: And if you'd like to connect with us, follow us on Twitter, at, Casey c Golden and Ricardo underscore Belmar, or find us on LinkedIn. Be sure and follow the show on Twitter, at Retail Razor, on LinkedIn, and on our YouTube channel for the latest updates and content. I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar.[00:25:43] Casey Golden: Thanks for joining us.[00:25:44] ​[00:25:47] Ricardo Belmar: And remember, there's never been a better time to be in retail if you cut through the clutter. Until next time. This is the retail Razor Show.​[00:26:00]

Back to mechanicum coverage. This time we go through all HQ options and elites. Remember we have both a facebook to follow and a discord to join now.  Archmagos Prime/Abeyant 00:02:00 Magos Dominus/Abeyant 00:20:00 Calleb Decima Invictus 00:30:00 Archmagos Draykavac 00:42:00 Archmagos Scoria 00:57:00 Inar Satarael 01:08:00 Tech-Priest Auxilia 01:17:00 Acruitor Magisterium 01:44:00 Domitar Battle-Automata Maniple 01:31:00 Myrmidon Secutor Host 01:52:00 Closing thoughts 02:08:00 Show Closing 02:15:00

Gary Roux Junior joined his father in their family business called Aerial and Satellite City (AS City) as the MD, and his challenge is that it seems as if only himself and his father can close deals. He steps into conversation with Allon Raiz, CEO: Raizcorp on how to overcome this challenge.

Everett Fitzhugh and Dave Tomlinson greet you from Edmonton while Mike Benton anchors pregame coverage back at 32 Bar and Grill ahead of the Jan. 17 matchup between the Seattle Kraken and Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place.

Dayna has been in western New York for the holiday since December 18th. She's a victim of that Southwest Airlines cancellation mess! Unfortunately, she's still not back in Las Vegas... but safe with her parents. Sean enjoys a warm holiday in Vegas doing yard work and keeps us up to date on what's coming up on New Year's Eve. Exciting news for Vegas Revealed coming up in 2023, so stay tuned for that. Plus, a fairly new show at the Paris Hotel Casino is closing already. 'Bat Out of Hell' was set to the music of the late Meat Loaf and will exit the stage after January 1st.  We appreciate the support and will be back for season 4 in January! Plus, you will be able to SEE us in Los Angeles a couple times a month. VegasNearMe App If it's fun to do or see, it's on VegasNearMe. The only app you'll need to navigate Las Vegas. Support the showFollow us on Instagram: @vegas.revealedFollow us on Twitter: @vegasrevealedFollow us on TikTok: @vegas.revealedWebsite: Vegas-Revealed.com

Direct-to-consumer. DTC. What emotional response do those words conjure for you? The formula for DTC used to be simple – spend marketing dollars to acquire new customers. Today, customer acquisition costs can be 10X higher than they used to be, so what should be the new strategy in these challenging, post-pandemic economic times? Polly Wong, president of Bellardi Wong, and our latest Retail Transformer, has the answers. Polly's agency works with the best, most successful DTC brands and she is sharing the best practices every DTC founder, brand manager, and category manager need to know to be successful in this episode! Should you open stores? Leverage print? Catalogs? Is Facebook still worthwhile? What about TikTok? Listen and find out!News alert #1: The Retail Razor Show has been nominated for The Retail Voice Award at the Vendors in Partnership Award ceremony during NRF 2023 in January in New York City! IF you're a fan of the show, please give us your vote! You can vote here: https://bit.ly/VIPretail News alert #2! We've moved up to #19 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list, so please keep those 5-star reviews in Apple Podcasts coming! With your help, we'll move our way further up the Top 20! Leave us a review to be mentioned in upcoming episodes! https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, a Top 12 ecommerce influencer, advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring E-Motive, and Overclocked, from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno.The Retail Razor ShowFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazorConnect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazorSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeSubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShowRetail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPodHost → Ricardo Belmar,Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmarConnect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmarRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWRBelmarCo-host → Casey Golden,Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCaseyConnect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICaseyRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWCaseyTRANSCRIPTS2E5 Retail Transformers - Polly Wong[00:00:00] Pre-Intro[00:00:00] Casey Golden: Ricardo, I've got one word for you to describe this week's show. Dtc. [00:00:06] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, so Casey, I'm thinking that's technically three words, but, but nevermind that. Um, I don't think we've done an entire show focused on DTC before, have we?[00:00:13] Casey Golden: Hey, I didn't write the script. So[00:00:21] So this is exciting and. I'm especially pumped for all [00:00:24] the DTC founders out there tuning in. This one is for you.[00:00:28] Ricardo Belmar: That's true, and honestly, if you're a direct to consumer founder listening or, or watching us on YouTube, stop right now. Go grab a pen and paper or your iPad or whatever you like to use to take notes, because believe me, you are going to be writing things down nonstop in a mad fury throughout this episode.[00:00:45] Casey Golden: Oh yeah. The tips and tricks are going to be flying. And you just don't wanna miss a[00:00:50] minute.[00:00:51] Ricardo Belmar: So should we just start the show or should we make listeners suffer a little bit more first, with more of our carefree and eloquent banter,[00:00:56] Casey Golden: Oh, you're so cruel. Let's get to the music already. [00:00:59][00:01:19] Show Intro[00:01:19] Ricardo Belmar: Hello and welcome to season two, episode five of The Retail Razor Show. I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar.[00:01:25] Casey Golden: And I'm your co-host, Casey Golden. Welcome to the Retail Razor Show listeners, retail's unapologetically authentic podcast for product junkies, commerce technologists, and everybody else in retail and tech alike. [00:01:39] Ricardo Belmar: We are [00:01:40] back with another [00:01:41] episode in our Retail Transformers series, and honestly, if you thought last episode's guest, Alan Smithson was an absolutely incredible, never ending source of value on the Metaverse, wow are you gonna be blown away with today's guest and topic![00:01:54] Casey Golden: Yeah. As a founder, I'm so excited we're going to dive into this world of D to C and talk with amazing expert that's working with most of the top D to C brands out there. You would not believe how much knowledge she has to share, and that could really impact your DTC business by multiples [00:02:16] Ricardo Belmar: Indeed! Faithful followers, you will learn exactly why Polly Wong is more than meets the eye. This may go down as one of our most listened to episodes. We're gonna hear about what the right marketing and media spend mix should be for customer acquisition today. Because honestly, if you think it's the same as it was in the early days of D to C, boy are you in for a shock.[00:02:35] Casey Golden: Yeah, I mean, did you even consider print, like say catalogs? I bet you didn't. You will after this episode.[00:02:44] Ricardo Belmar: And then there's all the tips you're gonna hear [00:02:46] on growth strategies, how to activate your CRM for more profitable growth, retargeting those customers. And what about opening stores? Have you thought about where to open stores? [00:02:55] Casey Golden: There's just so much we could list. I mean, you're going to hear so many incredible [00:03:00] nuggets on marketing, roi, ROAS, and just so much more. [00:03:04] Ricardo Belmar: All right, then let's get to it. [00:03:06] Casey Golden: Let's roll.[00:03:07][00:03:12] Polly Wong Interview[00:03:12] Ricardo Belmar: And we're here with our special guest and latest retail transformer to visit the show. Polly Wong, President of Belardi Wong, which some people may know as a direct to consumer marketing agency. But more on that in a moment. First of all, welcome Polly.[00:03:26] Polly Wong: Thank you for having me.[00:03:27] Casey Golden: It's great to have you on the show. Since we first met you, we've both been looking forward to this conversation and really digging in. So excited [00:03:36] Ricardo Belmar: Polly just to get us started, why don't you give us a more complete introduction of yourself and tell us about your company and what you do.[00:03:42] Polly Wong: You know, I've been in retail for 25 years. I've had an incredible amount of experience. Really. It's both on the client side at some major retailers. I started 25 years ago at eddiebower.com. I was fortunate to work at Williams Sonoma Inc across their portfolio of brands before jumping to the dark side to the agency side, which is a lot of fun and an incredible learning curve.[00:04:06] It's like learning on steroids, I like to say. Today at Belardi Wong, we have 400 active clients, about 90% D TO C brands. Of course, D to C brands have stores as well. And then some very large retail brands that that all of you would know as well. A tremendous amount of experience in fashion, at home decor, furnishings also in some niche categories as well.[00:04:28] We definitely do tend to work with premium brands targeting an affluent consumer. So much of the vantage point that I have to share with you today is really from that angle of brands who are really targeting, you know, an affluent consumer. The folks out there buying, you know, two or $300 sweaters and expensive shoes and $5,000 sofa.[00:04:47] So I, I like to make that clearer, but we're really privileged just to have an incredible vantage point into the industry. [00:04:53] Casey Golden: Really excited to dig deeper in this. As I mentioned before, I'm very intrigued in, in, into the side of the business of marketing. Compared to a lot of the more traditional route that have been taken over the last decade. So clearly you're focused on direct to consumer brands, both old and new, but certainly more established brands.[00:05:10] I think based off of what you said, one of the areas getting a lot of press lately in the D to C space is really how the marketing spend is being shifted from Facebook, Google, versus other mediums. Can you tell us a little bit about what's happening here with D to C brands and how that's changing this marketing mix?[00:05:30] Polly Wong: Sure. So it's been a really fascinating year to watch how the Apple platform changes have really impacted all of the digital platforms. Specifically meta we've found, as an aside, we've found that really Google is quite a resilient, steady, reliable channel. You know, Google continues to make enhancements that work for advertisers.[00:05:52] Performance Max on Google has worked very well for our clients over the last several months, so, so Google's very kind of reliable and steady. Google has had 10 to 50% increase, 10 to 15% increases. And, you know, costs, but really in line with kind of all the cost increases we're seeing across the p and l as a brand or as a retailer.[00:06:12] So really the challenge on the digital side in the last year has really come from meta and the Apple platform changes basically led. To less effective targeting and less effective measurement. And at the same time that our clients have seen a less effective measurement and less effective targeting on meta, they've also seen some pretty steep double digit increases on CPMs, on meta or Facebook, if you will.[00:06:38] And so we've seen dramatic underperformance in the last year, specifically in the social landscape. And so, you know, D to C brands inherently were built on Facebook and Google. The inherent DNA, if you will, of, of D to C brands is that one, they're performance based marketers, and two, you know, they're just wholeheartedly focused on new customer acquisition.[00:07:01] And so now you've seen that this Facebook channel just, you know, one of the top two most critical channels for new customer acquisition for DTC brands has really begun to plummet in the last year. I know across our client base through August, our clients have spent 19% less this year versus last year on Meta.[00:07:21] And that's because of the significant underperformance. But obviously Meta has taken the lion share of most of the marketing dollars for D2C brands. So, the question is, where is it going? You know, where are they shifting marketing spend? And that's been really interesting to [00:07:35] Casey Golden: That's great, and you really mention it as like a CRM strategy. [00:07:39] Is that, Is that right? [00:07:40] Spending shifts and pivots[00:07:40] Polly Wong: Yeah, so I think, well, I think we can talk about kind of where they're shifting their spend, but also, you know, what are some of the, the pivots that D to C brands need to make in order to be successful. And I think most D2C brands have not realized yet that the most incredible asset that they have is the customer file, the customer database.[00:08:01] That they've built up over the last five to 10 years. Now they've spent millions and millions of dollars building their customer file. New customer acquisition always comes at a cost. It's an investment. You cannot have a profitable business when you are only focused on acquisition as a fact.[00:08:15] Casey Golden: Oh my God, can you just like, say that [00:08:17] Ricardo Belmar: we should just frame that just to make that clear for, for everyone who's doubting that [00:08:22] Casey Golden: We're putting that in bold print.[00:08:24] Polly Wong: Yes. Also I'll just go out on a limb and also say you can't have a large, scalable, sustainable business when you only have a handful of product as well, we can get to that later. But definitely you can't just single handidly focus on new customer acquisition so I actually see, you know, there's a lot of headwinds right now, but I see a major tailwind that D to C brands could lean into is really crm, right? You know, I've talked to many, many brands over the years that when you ask them, they say they spent a hundred percent of their marketing budget on acquisition, and it's almost like crm, customer retention management. It's just an afterthought, right?[00:08:59] Like, Oh, we have email now, of course they'll say, We have email and sms. But there are really five major channels in the CRM toolbox, and we don't see D to C brands leaning into that. It's a discipline and a skill set they need to evolve to very quickly because that's where the profit is going to come, as we kind of stare down some economic uncertainty.[00:09:18] So the five channels that we really think about, obviously e email. Second is sms. Some clients have leaned into it very quickly. Some have not. It's still a huge opportunity. I, for one, wondered at the beginning if really SMS would just be shifting sales from email, but we do find that SMS is an incremental revenue driver.[00:09:37] So you've got email and sms. Obviously D to C brands are pretty good at targeting their customer file on Facebook, but they let it work too often on its own. And you really have to think about the segmentation and targeting of lapse customers. You have to carve out specific marketing dollars at targeting customers who've not bought from you in over a year.[00:09:58] There's still a better focus for your marketing dollar than pure new customer acquisition. And so you really wanna target your lapse customer file, on Facebook, and you wanna make sure you're looking at the frequency and the messaging and the targeting and the testing against that segment. [00:10:13] So now hopefully you've got brands, you know, leveraging and leaning into reactivation on social. I think what we don't find enough is actually proactive spending on search with your lapse customers. Let's say that Mary Jane bought a sweater from you a year and a half ago, and now Mary Jane is on Google searching for a turquoise turtleneck sweater.[00:10:36] You should be there targeting her. You should be buying that ad against Mary's search, right? Her click, you should be targeting her. And so really targeting lapse customers when they're searching for your product is a huge opportunity. We don't see clients carving out marketing dollars to really have that kind of proactive approach at customer reactivation on search, so I think that's a low hanging opportunity.[00:11:00] And then for definitely print. So all 400, you know, retailers and brands here, at Belardi Wong, are in the mail. They're leveraging direct mail and catalogs for customer retention. It's extremely effective. And driving up purchase frequency and revenue per customer and overall lifetime value. The great thing about print is that, you know, you've got a hundred percent reach.[00:11:22] So if you want to target Mary Jane who bought from you a year and a half ago she's gotta at least touch the piece to recycle it, so you've got a hundred percent reach. All of our data over the last year as we've looked at it, we've found that if you want to target a specific customer at a specific time within social, you've got about an 18% chance.[00:11:43] Basically, you've got an 18% chance of reaching who you want. When you want to on Facebook, and that's because you're competing with other advertisers for her impression. Mary Jane your customer only has so much impressions and frequency on Facebook and you're competing with other advertisers, and especially in our case, as I said, our clients tend to target, you know, affluent consumers and so Mary Jane is a great shopper and there's a lot of advertisers who want her impressions, and so you can't be sure that you're going to reach her.[00:12:13] And on email, you know, maybe you're lucky if you've got a 20, 25% open rate, but once you start looking at your lapse customers, maybe you've got a 10 or 15% open rate. And so the only way that you could make sure that you get a hundred percent reach is in the mail. And so we see this CRM toolbox with email, sms, social, search and print really is a major opportunity for D to C brands who built very expensive customer files at this point, to really lean into that as a major growth strategy.[00:12:42] Casey Golden: It seems so basic, but yet at the same time, like, but nobody's doing it. , Right. Is to like really go back into that core of, of all those customers.[00:12:54] Ricardo Belmar: And I, and I thought that a lot of these DTC would have used search when. came up, right, to try to get that initial customer acquisition. So I, I find it kind of curious that if, maybe I'm wrong about that, but I, it seems to me that that's one of the original tactics I expect to see DTC brands use at the start, maybe they don't come back to it, to your point.[00:13:15] Polly Wong: You know, we don't see a fine level of segmentation and targeting honestly, within digital media buying. You know, I, I think about digital media agencies and I think of them as master tinkerers, and I can almost just see all the people behind the scenes, almost like behind a clock, you know, turning the dial a little bit this way and a little bit that way.[00:13:33] And it's really about bids and CPMs and it's about creative and frequency and the type of ad. It's really not about. Okay, This is our cheerleader cohort. This is our loyalist cohort. This is our, you know, former cheerleader cohort meeting. This used to be a best customer, and now she's not a best customer.[00:13:52] What percent of our spend are we going to target against her? What should be the target cost to retain? You know, the industry talks about the target cost of acquisition, you know, the cost to acquire a new customer, but you never hear anyone talk about the cost to retain a customer. And I think we're gonna have to see a major shift in how people think.[00:14:11] I think that's the one thing in my, my 25 years in retail. I think there has to be an inherent pivot for D to C brands to embrace some of the real kind of retail operation discipline that has existed, you know, for many years and has allowed companies to exist for decades and to become billion dollar retailers.[00:14:30] And that definitely includes financial planning. It includes inventory planning, merchandise planning, and definitely really thinking about, you know, your target customer and your segmentation and CRM and how you're allocating those dollars.[00:14:46] Casey Golden: I always say, if you spent [00:14:49] half as much time retaining your customers as you spent all of these resources on acquiring them, you'd have a completely different business.[00:14:58] Polly Wong: Yeah. You know, and I think we we're seeing, I think it's actually kind of exciting. There are definitely always some D to C brands who are leading in the space and we see. Really three major growth strategies and definitely activating more channels for both CRM and for active acquisition. You know, testing TikTok, testing connected TV or streaming tv, leaning into print for both acquisition and crm.[00:15:22] And so definitely activating more marketing channels is an important opportunity for D to C brands. But also, I can emphasize enough, and I touched on this earlier, as a matter of fact, the more product you put in front of. Across categories and price points, the more revenue you will drive from her. And I always tell people, I learned two things in my years, at Williams Sonoma Inc.[00:15:45] When I was on the client side. The first is that the best way to drive response rates is to have a range of product across categories and price points. So, okay, you know, she bought a sofa from you, what is she gonna buy next? And that's why you see these types of brands have an incredible assortment in tabletop and seasonal decor and all of those other categories, bed and bath.[00:16:06] The second thing I learned at Williams Sonoma I tell people, is that on my second day on the job Chuck Williams himself, so I'm dating myself a little bit, he said to me, Polly, you know how you sell a $200 toaster? You put a $400 toaster next to it? And I never forgot that [00:16:19] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. And, it completely makes sense. I mean, I to, I have to give credit to William Sonoma, right? Who has, mastered that technique of positioning and curating the right selection at different price points to drive a particular one that you might wanna drive, I think they, I've an amazing job at doing that, and that's certainly a lesson a lot of DTC brands would need to learn.[00:16:40] And, and also kind of speaks. Theory, I've always put out that, you know, so many of these DTC brands that came to be, know, is digitally native, know, wanted to just disrupt one particular product they started with that one product and I always felt that, you know, the one question that does not get asked when they're seeing some initial success, right?[00:17:02] They're getting a lot of new customers, they weren't thinking through, okay, what's the frequency with which these customers I've paid to [00:17:10] Polly Wong: Yes. [00:17:11] Ricardo Belmar: now in some way are going to buy again the [00:17:14] Polly Wong: Yes, exactly. [00:17:17] How often? ,[00:17:18] Ricardo Belmar: most things people don't buy every week.[00:17:20] Polly Wong: Absolutely. So how often do you need to buy a mattress and how often do you need to buy a suitcase? Right? Thinking [00:17:26] Ricardo Belmar: Two. two, good examples.[00:17:27] Polly Wong: popular, [00:17:28] Ricardo Belmar: good examples. [00:17:28] Adopting Basic Retail Operations[00:17:28] Polly Wong: Brands that we've seen now struggle to grow. Absolutely. You know there are some really great smart brands out there. You know, we've seen a lot of the really high growth soft goods companies, so bedding companies, you know, there's a reason why they launch into lounge wear, right?[00:17:43] There's a reason why they launch into bath, right? So you see these bedding soft good companies launch into other categories because, okay, so I bought a set of sheets. I bought, you know, a beautiful comforter, but what am I gonna buy next from you? And you've seen home brands lean into apparel.[00:18:00] You've seen apparel brands lean into home. You know, we're going to continue to see that. Absolutely. But honestly, you know, we were just putting together some strategies internally for clients cuz there are, as I said earlier, a significant amount of headwinds, I think facing brands and retailers in the next six to 12 months.[00:18:18] There's a lot of really inexpensive ways that don't require a lot of research and development that don't require a lot of product development and long timelines. We were doing an assessment for a women's apparel company. And we were looking at their tops and we were looking at tops and the price points and the sizes and the colors of their competitive set.[00:18:38] And as we were looking at the tops, we realized, you know, you sell that long sleeve basic tee in four colors, but on average your competitors sell their long sleeve basic tee in eight to 10 colors. And also you sell yours for $8 more on average. And so maybe if you could take and just add color ways, take your top selling.[00:18:59] Products and add new colorways. Think about, you know, how much would a four, $6 price cut to be competitive? What kind of incremental revenue would that bring? And I think it's that type of merchandise analysis and merchandise planning and inventory management that honestly is a discipline that D to C brands don't inherently have.[00:19:17] So it's time, as I said earlier, to hire some good old fashioned retail operations [00:19:21] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. Yeah, I think that that's an [00:19:22] That. an excellent point and [00:19:23] it's one that I think that has never been quite so obvious, right, to the DTC brands, because they had that single minded, I have this one product that we're gonna disrupt. It's this one product category, this one selection we're gonna disrupt. And there wasn't enough thought to, Well, what happens next? After you've done that? [00:19:37] I, do wanna ask you one question because you know, when Casey and I were thinking of, what we, we were gonna learn from you in this episode, and we thought, it really tells a story about that we think of as, you know, making old media, new media in a way, in a sense that as you've been describing to us now, different marketing mix and moving from a lot of pure.[00:19:57] Digital marketing spend to other perhaps more, more traditional, maybe some non-traditional, because I heard connected TV in there as well. But I'm really intrigued by the success your clients are having in print and with catalogs, which call that maybe the most traditional option a lot of brands can go with.[00:20:14] and when we've spoken to you before, you've mentioned that. When people hear catalog, sort of have an idea in their head of what that might look like. But what you're now with your, your, your clients is not exactly the same kind of format. I, I think it's a much. And maybe you could tell us a little bit more about what's evolved in this, in the print catalog space.[00:20:33] Polly Wong: Yeah. They're not your mother's catalogs anymore. You know, it used to be that you have a hundred page catalog and you've got, you know, five to 10 items per page and you put the whole store inside the catalog. And it used to be that, 80% of catalogs went to women over 55. And she only bought what she saw on the page.[00:20:51] And there's been just really a fundamental shift. First of all, there is a significant amount of print pieces folded pieces, catalogs going in home, The 20 year olds, 30 year olds, 40 year olds. And so now the catalog isn't something you, you shop from the, the catalog or the direct mail piece is a channel driver and it's driving her to the store to buy or is driving her to e-commerce to buy.[00:21:15] And over the years, as we've analyzed the results, we've seen and found that actually only about a third of the product that she buys after she gets the piece was depicted in the piece, meaning that two outta three times what she buys was not in the actual piece, but it drove her to the site or it drove her to the store.[00:21:34] So she thought she wanted one sweater, she got to the site, she bought a different sweater, So as we began to understand that there was a new purpose to print that really it was to drive her to a channel to engage and then to buy, right? Always measuring, of course, the ROAS, actually, I think it's ironic, catalogers were really the original D to C brands and catalogers were always performance based marketers.[00:21:57] So I like to throw that out there. But today, especially for our fashion clients and our home brand clients, definitely catalogs look more like look books they're more aspirational, more lifestyle photography, more storytelling. You know, we actually one of the most successful catalogs in history and the thousands and thousands and thousands of campaigns we measured, when you open up this catalog, the first two spreads are actually just really an aspirational story.[00:22:25] And yet it was extremely productive as measured by sales. And so really you're here to engage the customer and to drive her to a channel to buy, and that is the ultimate goal. Now, what we've found, depending on the product assortment, depending on the price point, depending on the target consumer, First of all, you don't have to send a full, so full, huge catalog anymore, right?[00:22:46] So most of our clients are sending catalogs that are maybe 28 or 36 pages, but not, you know, 80 plus pages. So you don't have to send her as many pages. You don't have to put the whole store. In the catalog, you wanna just say, Here's our our new products, here's our best sellers, and you wanna be compelling and you wanna send her to the channel to buy that she wants to buy in.[00:23:08] And then also we've seen a whole new lifeline because print is acting as this channel driver and you don't have to put the full assortment in front of her. We've seen an incredible amount of success with folded pieces. You know, here is our top five new products of the season. Check it out online, check it out in store.[00:23:25] And so we've found that there's a different messaging and creative strategy also because of this kind of new purpose and how consumers are interacting with print. And I should say that it, it has been an amazing ride. Really just, you know, hundreds of new brands in the mail the last couple of years.[00:23:42] But, you know, starting over a decade ago, we launched brands like Shutterfly, Minted, Revolve, Zappos, One Kings Lane. You know, we Allbirds, right? We started with Allbirds had zero customers. You know, over a decade ago we launched all of these brands into the mail. And so some folks I think already could see it, you know, early on.[00:24:03] I think what's happened is that the cost of digital marketing has become extremely competitive and saturated and promotional and expensive, and you can't always reach who you wanna reach. There's an amazing amount of real estate in print to tell your story and to put your product, and also it's effective for both.[00:24:20] Crm. I would say that mailing customers is like printing money, but also for new customer acquisition. We tend to work with premium brands and you know, to get someone to buy a $300 sweater from you when they've never heard of your brand before, the amount of real estate goes a long way in convincing new customers to buy.[00:24:36] Ricardo Belmar: That's a good point cuz in those scenarios, right, you're really asking that new customer to buy your story as much as your product.[00:24:43] Polly Wong: Absolutely. And you know, I think there's an amount of credibility and authority just as stores give D to C brands credibility. I think the same is can be set of print and I like to say that millennials can spot a manufactured brand from a mile away. And I think that there's an amount of real estate that you have to tell your story.[00:25:03] And if it's authentic, like we have clients, brands like Outer known who just have incredible, authentic story around sustainability and apparel. And a really, you know, just a huge commitment to that as a business. And they're able to build that story with their community through print [00:25:19] On Opening Stores[00:25:19] Casey Golden: one of the initiatives that's been happening lately that has me very excited, just cuz I think we all kind of started in stores, is more of these digitally native brands or pure play brands actually opening up stores and more pop up. I'm a big advocate of the in-store experience. Not that many of us have had one lately, but with the world closed for a little bit.[00:25:42] But I think it's a great opportunity to actually connect. Are you, are you helping them essentially kind of understand where they should be potentially opening up stores or opening up popups or working on that strategy based on, because you guys know so much about where the consumer lives and that community, [00:26:02] Polly Wong: Certainly you can build models regarding, you know, around trade areas to understand where your customers are at today and where your perspective best customers are at. I think to answer your original question though, you know, around just this kind of continued push of D to C brands in stores, honestly, it's really, really very simple.[00:26:26] in any category, more than 50% of sales are still in physical stores. So if you're not selling either in your own stores or on the floor at Nordstrom's, for example, if you're not building your wholesale network, then you're missing out on 50% of your market. And so that's really what it comes down to. I think one of the things that I find more encouraging today about the retail landscape than I did before the pandemic.[00:26:54] Before the pandemic. You just saw almost an absurd level of store openings from DTC brands. Brands that were suddenly opening 20, 30, 40 stores a year. When you open stores that quickly, you're not going into just a markets, you're not negotiating the best real estate deals. You aren't taking the time to build the models to understand where your customers are and where your best.[00:27:17] New perspective customers are, but I think what's great to see is I'm seeing a more cautious approach. I'm seeing the D to C brands understand they need to have a physical footprint and that maybe at the same time, now they're only opening up five to seven stores a year. They're also exploring partnerships with department stores and other retailers to be on their floor.[00:27:38] We have so many brands that we work with who sell on the floor at Anthropology, for example. And so I think that most of our clients have realized you have to have that physical presence in order to reach your customer where she's at when she's shopping, and also because it's a significant business opportunity.[00:27:55] I also think, I mean, there's no question, you know, there is, I think, better real estate deals to be had in 'A' markets because of the amount of store closings in the last couple of years, I think there are still some significant opportunities in terms of finding the right space, the right price with the right consumer.[00:28:12] And so I think that's very encouraging. I think from what I've last seen, this is gonna be the first year in a very, very long time where the number of store openings will actually outpace the number of store closings [00:28:22] Casey Golden: Yeah. I kind of saw, you know, it's nice to see that this, this natural transition, essentially it's all coming back to all these different channels and touch points where there was that moment. where it's just like you just need to be online and everybody else is doing it wrong, and then you just see it come full circle where they're starting to join. We've already went through this cycle.[00:28:45] Polly Wong: Well, you said it yourself. Yeah, you said it yourself. What's old is new again, honestly, to me, advertising on podcasts, it's radio. to me, connected TV is TV advertising, right? Like it's all we've been through these channels. Even outdoor media is having a huge resurgence right out of home media. And so I think that, you know, what it really comes down to is that the most sophisticated marketers have realized that you need a channel mix.[00:29:13] Online, offline, you need to be where your customer is at. You need to have multiple distribution channels, you need to have multiple products. And I think that the high growth brands, you know, have realized that, and I think everyone else is beginning to learn as well.[00:29:25] On marketplaces [00:29:25] Ricardo Belmar: So let me ask you too, on, on, that Polly, one of the areas that I, I think is also interesting here is how these brands leverage different marketplaces you know, within that channel mix. I mean, what, what are your thoughts there and how do you advise brands around marketplaces?[00:29:39] Polly Wong: Definitely D to C brands have had a lot of, you know, trepidation around the marketplaces. I definitely think though that they're going to be forced to consider it. we've already found is, we've just discussed that you can't have an e-commerce only business. And so we saw these e-commerce brands open up stores, and then we saw them add wholesale partners. And so now really the last major distribution channel as a source of revenue growth is the marketplaces.[00:30:03] And historically, D to C brands have been very protective of their brand's message and of their new customers. And they don't want to let anyone kind of expose their brand other than how they want it presented. However, I do think that the pressure to continue to drive revenue with all of these headwinds and because the reality is that all consumers are on the marketplaces, and you know, now we've got Macy's leaning into their marketplace.[00:30:30] I mean, every single major retailer is going to have their own marketplace online as well. I think you have to be there. I think, you know, we're finding clients kind of tiptoe into it. They're testing different strategies. They might only put part of their assortment within the marketplaces. They might actually develop a specific collection for the marketplaces.[00:30:50] So definitely I think they're cautious. But I think that they're going to be forced to consider trying it in ways they might not have a few years ago because they've gotta drive revenue growth. And because there are so many, you know, headwinds, unfortunately at the moment,[00:31:05] Retail Media Networks[00:31:05] Ricardo Belmar: So one of the other big trends that we're talking about this season on our show are retail media networks. We've, dedicated an episode on it. I was just at the grocery shop event and that was a huge, huge trend there as well.[00:31:17] So I'm curious, what, what's your recommendation for brands around you know, whether it's with the marketplaces that they may be new to or as they're getting into stores and, and wholesale agreements there? How are you advising DTC brands around retail media networks?[00:31:31] Polly Wong: You know, it's interesting. I don't think that we'll see D to C brands leverage their own assets and their own impressions and their own emails and their own social for advertising income and revenue. Because D to C brands usually are not big enough to actually make it worthwhile to suddenly open up their own assets for advertising, but certainly as it relates to the really large retailers and the real large marketplaces, I don't know why you wouldn't choose to advertise there.[00:32:01] You know, in order to make that advertising work, those platforms have to offer the level of targeting and segmentation that will drive the performance to justify the CPMs and the media spend. Why would you not test it? I mean one, I think really positive quality of DTC brands is that usually they're willing to test anything.[00:32:19] And I think in this case, not only why would you not test it and consider it, as long as you know that your target consumer is there from a sociodemographic profile perspective. But in some cases, if you are going to play, for example, on the marketplaces, you have to buy media on the marketplaces. It's not like if you build that, they will come.[00:32:37] You've gotta have the advertising dollars to actually support your sales on the marketing place on the marketplace.[00:32:42] Casey Golden: for a lot of our listeners. I'm sure they've been nodding their heads as as you speak. There's a lot of question marks though still [00:32:49] for anybody who hasn't been looking at their, their media spend in this way. What should brands be looking at a D to C or D to C brands? Be looking at a media spend breakdown.[00:33:01] You know, what portion are you seeing more of a trend? Because we see it's so scary to move a portion of your business over to something new, even if it's starting to break, There's what are, what do you see more as a breakdown? Just so people can go ahead and make the shift and just close their eyes and go[00:33:21] Polly Wong: Yeah. large brands that we see, large brands and retailers that we see doing well, that are significant in size and have e-commerce and have stores, they've really shifted to almost a 40, 40 20 marketing mix where 40% of their spend is digital marketing. 40% is offline, which could include actually tv, radio, print, out of home media.[00:33:47] And then 20% is really PR partnerships, sponsorships, influencers, you know, things around content and community. So, You know, to 40% across the digital channels, 40% across all kind of other, you know non-digital channels. And then what's really encouraging to see and smaller brands can't afford often to spend, you know, top of funnel.[00:34:12] But as a matter of fact, high growth brands do spend top of funnel. And so you'll see the. Companies are beginning to carve out 10 to 20% of their spend. So they get the pr, they get the influencers, they get the sponsorships and the partnerships that allows them to build community.[00:34:27] Launching Direct Mail[00:34:27] Casey Golden: So if there's a, if there's a direct to consumer brand right now that's listening what's the ballpark range they'd need to be? Looking at for budgeting to launch a campaign a, a direct mail campaign.[00:34:40] Polly Wong: Okay. Well, I thought you were gonna ask a bigger picture question. What percent of top line revenue do you have to spend high growth, emerging brands are spending, you know, 20 to 25% of top line revenue on marketing. Mature businesses spend closer to 10 to 15% of top line revenue on marketing and big retailers and wholesale brands might only spend, you know, six to 10% of their top line revenue on marketing.[00:35:10] But definitely if you're an emerging DTC brand today, you're definitely spending 20 to 25% of your top line revenue. So for every hundred dollars, you're spending 20 to 25 dollars. To get that. So just in terms of what you have to spend as an emerging brand to get traction. Absolutely. If you think you can build a brand from scratch that's spending, you know, $10 on the a hundred dollars, it'll never happen.[00:35:34] Unfortunately, those days are, are past us in terms of, you know, really testing print, well here at Ballardi Wong, we only, you know, we run the largest, you know, Scalable, sophisticated programs in the country. So we don't do anything small, cheaper, schlossky. So we're, we're a little bit more on the premium side here . Really to get.[00:35:52] A solid proof of concept with all of the industry best practices in place for both CRM and acquisition. You're looking at about a 75 to a hundred thousand dollars test in print and we've launched over 250 DTC brands into the mail successfully. And even little baby ones with a few thousand customers and they're all spending that much money.[00:36:11] So on their first campaign still less expensive, you know, still half as much as a three week TV campaign. So,[00:36:18] Casey Golden: mean hey, I mean, I mean that could just be one post by a tick, a certain, a couple TikTok influencers too. So, I [00:36:25] mean, you [00:36:26] know, [00:36:26] Polly Wong: That's the, you know, here's the ironic thing. You can put a beautiful full size catalog in front of a consumer for 85 cents. Your cost per click nowadays is, you know, two or $3. So the thing that's really crazy is that you can mail. 4, 5, 6 catalogs to a highly targeted audience for the cost of one click.[00:36:47] So I think that that's, you know, it seems expensive, but actually, quality touch, yes, it's [00:36:54] Casey Golden: I agree. And it's really just being able to say like, instead of spending that hundred k, the 200,000 on this, let's just go ahead and move it over here and run a test. Because I think everything that you've really kind of ran through through this conversation and what you guys are doing is just, it's, it's incredibly compelling. And it's a lot of things that potentially these customer bases or the brands are just not as familiar with because they don't have a lot of seasoned retailers in their company orgs. And so a lot of it, we see somebody doing something or like, you really only have one product. Like you do realize that there's like issues with this who gave you. You know, and then now those [00:37:43] conversations [00:37:44] Polly Wong: think, well, you know what's gonna be really interesting to see is that it's not gonna be very easy. We're already finding this. We actually do due diligence on D to C transactions because of all of our experience at Belardi Wong. And not this summer, but last summer we worked on six transactions, and this summer we didn't work on any transactions.[00:38:03] I think very quickly. It's going to be a very tough landscape for raising dollars at this moment in time. And already the industry has become a little bit weary because some of the evaluations and the losses that have happened over the last couple of years. And so I think companies are gonna have to be scrappier and smarter because it's not gonna be so easy to get someone to give you, you know, 20, $30 million just like that. [00:38:25] Casey Golden: Yeah. no, I mean yeah, I think it's great. I mean, I, I think that this is, I'm really excited to see some comments once this kind of goes, gets pushed out because I know that this is gonna be some new content that they haven't really thought about as even an option think it's [00:38:39] Using Influencers [00:38:39] Ricardo Belmar: I I, do wanna go back to one thing that you mentioned in the 40 40 20 split where you had in that 20%, you know, kind of lump together in, in pr, things like influencers, and that tends to get a lot of attention. Around, you know, what brands are spending with influencers and how they're using them.[00:38:56] Are they on TikTok yet? What? are you seeing there that's actually successful?[00:39:01] Polly Wong: You know, the truth is, is that for most clients you know, influencers can reach a small target community. But we haven't seen for most clients a huge amount of scale unless you're willing to spend, a few hundred thousand dollars, with an influencer who really has significant reach and real influence on what consumers are buying.[00:39:25] We just haven't found that for most of our clients, that actually influencers can drive any kind of sustainable scale. So maybe you pay a lot of money and you know, Mary Jane, the influencer does a series of posts maybe over two weeks about some of your new product. Maybe you get a momentary surge in sales, but it's not sustainable and you can't continue to spend those kinds of dollars for those really high touch posts. And so the one challenge that we do find with influencer marketing is it takes a lot of leg work to implement and it is often not truly scalable. It's also kind of interesting to see what's going on on TikTok, because definitely, you know, that that cut meta spend is shifting to TikTok. But TikTok is also hard to measure for the same reasons that it's hard to measure meta, right? Because of platform changes and challenges. And for the most part, because it's hard to measure the return on ad spend, on TikTok, it tends to be a top of funnel channel. Well, I can tell you that in a recession the money for top of funnel marketing is going to dry up very quickly.[00:40:37] And so you're gonna be focused on those channels that can drive real performance and ROAS because you just don't have enough funding to, to, to, to spend on those top channels. So it'll be really interesting to see, over the next six months how advertising dollars shift around. I usually feel pretty comfortable giving my predictions for retail sales and e-commerce sales, but honestly, at this point, just hand me an ball. I have [00:41:01] Ricardo Belmar: I think that's where [00:41:02] Polly Wong: I'm gonna continue to be I'm gonna continue to cross my fingers and my toes and hope that at least for our clients, that affluent consumers are still spending [00:41:09] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. And so, so on what you just said, right around top of funnel and those, is there an argument to be made that if you're going to spend on influencers or TikTok, that you're, you might wanna save that for when you have a new product launch versus just trying to drive sales of an existing product? [00:41:27] Polly Wong: Absolutely. It's not something [00:41:29] Ricardo Belmar: Right. Because you scale it right [00:41:31] Polly Wong: you're gonna turn it on. You can't, you're gonna, you're gonna turn it on maybe three or four times. You know, in the world of retail, we think about five seasons winter. Spring, summer, fall, and holiday. And so you're really going to lean in just a few weeks of each season into your influencer marketing and that spend and really, lean into your peak sales curve to drive those new product sales and to get that reach.[00:41:55] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. If that makes sense. That makes complete sense. So, so last question for you Polly, and if, someone were to come and ask you right now, what's your top recommendation when you think about growth strategies for a DTC brand, what would you tell 'em?[00:42:07] Polly Wong: Considering the economic uncertainty, the headwinds and the rising costs across the entire p and l, I would say that my top two recommendations are to one, lean into crm. Make sure that you're activating all five channels targeting your existing customer base, and then two, Because you're targeting your existing customers, continue to focus on your product category expansion, you know, what is your range of product across categories and price points.[00:42:37] Consumers may start spending down they may be more value focused than ever. So, you know, what is your good, better, best merchandise strategy, right? Not only are you adding simple things like more color skews to your long sleeve t-shirt, but you know, is there a good, better, best strategy for your product?[00:42:53] Motorcycle clients we've have worked with have done this extremely well. There's a good, better, best motorcycle helmet and the best one has got bluetooth and all kinds of fun things in it. And in, in addition to keeping your, your, your head safe. So definitely I think, leaning into your customer file is a tremendous, profitable asset.[00:43:11] And then just giving existing customers more to buy. I do think there's plenty of time to lean into new customer acquisi. You know, as we begin to see some of the, the economic uncertainty clear up, hopefully by spring, I actually am quite confident that I do think things will level out and I think we'll be back sailing along by spring of 2023 is, is my hope.[00:43:33] So fingers crossed. [00:43:34] Ricardo Belmar: I think you maybe, may be right about that. And it kind of says that if I kind of read into, the two areas you highlighted for a lot of DTC brands, there's probably some new hires they need to look for to help them with those strategies, particularly around merchandising those new products.[00:43:47] Products like you talked about earlier.[00:43:49] Polly Wong: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think you have to, and also to pay attention to the competition. You know, it's amazing to me. I think brands do tend to be inwardly focused and. You know, maybe now people will have the time and to kind of step back and say, how does my assortment look compared to my competitors?[00:44:06] What are my price points? What are my size ranges? What are my number of colors? You know what is my returns policy? You know, how do I stand up against the competition? Everybody's gonna have to just be a little bit smarter. [00:44:16] Ricardo Belmar: I think that's another great point. I mean, I, even on for traditional retailers, I, I can't count how many times in the past I've been in, in a room with retailers and asked them, Well, when was the last time you walked one of your competitors' stores to see what they were doing? you know, I, I, I don't know sometimes whether I wanted to laugh or cry at the fact that they were just crickets in the room and nobody responded when I asked that question.[00:44:38] so there's definitely some truth to that.[00:44:40] Polly Wong: Absolutely. [00:44:43] Ricardo Belmar: Well, thank you So [00:44:44] discuss. I'm probably gonna go down as one of the, our, our most commented episodes with so much in good information and, and advice and I think really unique details that you've helped surface here for, for DTC brands as they grow into, I would call becoming a, full channel retailer in a sense.[00:45:03] and really didn't, know, cover a lot of ground around making old media, new media, like we started to talk about earlier.[00:45:09] Polly Wong: Great. Well, thank you so much for having me. It's been fun this afternoon to connect with you and I, I hope you both have a, a lovely fall season.[00:45:16] Casey Golden: Definitely. For our listeners who have been furiously taking notes during this episode, what's the best reach way for them to reach out to you or follow your company?[00:45:26] Polly Wong: Yeah, obviously we're on the social channels, but if you wanna reach out through the contact us page at Belardi Wong, if you would like to talk to me directly or have any questions or comments for me directly, I know that they'll, they'll make their way to me and I'm always happy to chat and connect.[00:45:39] Casey Golden: Great.[00:45:40] Ricardo Belmar: Well, thank you again, Polly, for joining us. We hope to have you back soon.[00:45:43] Polly Wong: Thank you so much. Have a great one.[00:45:45] Casey Golden: You too. That's a wrap, Ricardo.[00:45:48] Show Closing[00:45:48] Casey Golden: We hope you enjoyed our show and we can't ask you enough to please give us a five star rating and review on apple podcast to help us grow and bring you more great episodes. If you don't wanna miss a minute of what's next, be sure to smash that subscribe button in your favorite podcast player. And don't forget to check out our show notes for handy links and more deets. I'm your host, Casey Golden. [00:46:18] Ricardo Belmar: And if you'd like to learn more about the two of us, follow us on Twitter at Casey c golden and Ricardo underscore Belmar, or find us on LinkedIn. Be sure to follow the show on LinkedIn and Twitter at retail razor. Plus our YouTube channel for videos of each episode and bonus content. I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar.[00:46:35] Casey Golden: Thanks for joining us.[00:46:36] Ricardo Belmar: And remember, there's never been a better time to be in retail. If you cut through the clutter until next time, this is the retail razor show. 

Interested in the metaverse and need to know how to get started? Meet Alan Smithson, founder of MetaVrse, multiple TED Talk speaker, and builder of “The Mall” in the metaverse, but not just any mall! If there were a hundred-page encyclopedia of the metaverse, Alan would fill every page but you'd still need more room to cover his vast knowledge of all things metaverse. It's season 2, episode 4, and we're continuing our Retail Transformers series – you'll see why Alan Smithson is truly more than meets the eye!Alan tells you what you need to get started with the metaverse, but takes us on an even deeper journey that touches on the future of jobs in digital technologies, how education needs to change to keep up, how the metaverse could make the world a better place, and of course, why shopping should be fun again! Plus, we'll learn why asking children what they want to be when they grow up is the wrong question to ask. The real question is …News alert! We're back at #20 on the Feedspot Top 60 Best Retail podcasts list, so please keep those 5-star reviews in Apple Podcasts coming! With your help, we'll move our way further up the Top 20! Leave us a review and be mentioned in a future episode! https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, a Top 12 ecommerce influencer, advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring E-Motive, and Overclocked, from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno.The Retail Razor ShowFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazorConnect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazorSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeSubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShowRetail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPodHost → Ricardo Belmar,Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmarConnect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmarRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWRBelmarCo-host → Casey Golden,Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCaseyConnect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICaseyRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWCaseyTRANSCRIPTS2E4 Retail Transformers - Alan Smithson[00:00:00] Pre-Show Intro[00:00:00] Alan Smithson: Good morning. Retail Razor. No, maybe too much. [00:00:05] Ricardo Belmar: actually we might, we might use that at the, in the intro beginning. [00:00:07] That was pretty [00:00:08] Good. ..That [00:00:09] Alan Smithson: like bit connect . I wanna go to a crypto conference and start doing that. Bit connect[00:00:17] Ricardo Belmar: Now that would be fun to see. [00:00:19] Alan Smithson: Too early maybe. Okay. We'll just start now. [00:00:21] Ricardo Belmar: Okay. All right, here we go. Here we go. [00:00:23][00:00:23] Introduction[00:00:23] Ricardo Belmar: hello, and welcome to season two, episode four of the Retail Razor Show. I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar.[00:00:49] Casey Golden: And I'm your co-host, Casey Golden. Welcome Retail Razor Show listeners to retail's favorite podcast for product junkies, commerce technologists, and everyone else in retail and retail tech alike.[00:01:01] Ricardo Belmar: And we have a truly special treat this week. Following up from our season debut episode on the Metaverse, we are back to talk more metaverse this week, aren't we?[00:01:10] Casey Golden: Yes, and I'm excited. Our listeners and viewers should be excited because this week we're not only talking Metaverse, but we're continuing our Retail Transformer series with special guest, Alan Smithson, founder and CEO of the company, Metaverse.[00:01:24] Ricardo Belmar: Yes. Our faithful followers will learn exactly why Alan is 'more than meets the eye'.[00:01:31] Casey Golden: Aww, you're gonna use that line, every time for these series, aren't you?[00:01:35] Ricardo Belmar: Absolutely, a hundred percent. I am totally here for that.[00:01:39] Casey Golden: Okay, so let's talk about Alan. There are few people in the early days of the Metaverse that can talk in depth about what retailers need to look at when building their metaverse strategy.[00:01:49] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, when we first talked to Alan, you know, when he first came to one of our clubhouse rooms, I was really impressed. And just like you said, he's got the knowledge about the metaverse. We'll also hear about his solution, the mall, that he's building, that will really change how retailers look at the metaverse.[00:02:03] And listeners or viewers are gonna come away with a really smart plan on, on how to attack the metaverse and get experimenting right away, just like we predicted back in season one episode four.[00:02:13] Casey Golden: And experimenting, and experimenting, trying things out is a matter of showing up and learning how to experiment. Alan hits on all of these topics and more honestly, each episode this season has been incredibly informative, but our guest energy is solid, true innovators. I don't know how we keep doing this from one episode to another, but keep those notepads handy.[00:02:35] You'll need it.[00:02:37] Ricardo Belmar: That's right. I mean, we could go on and on about all the juicy details Alan will talk about, but I think I can sum it up by saying if you were gonna write a hundred page Encyclopedia of the Metaverse, Alan would be on page one all the way through page 100, and you'd probably be asking for more pages after that.[00:02:54] Casey Golden: Agreed, so let's get to it then. Our interview with Alan Smithson co-founder of MetaVrse. [00:03:04] AlanSmithson Interview[00:03:04] Ricardo Belmar: And we are here with our very special guest, Alan Smithson, co-founder of the company MetaVrse, whose mission is to enable creation in the Metaverse for everyone. Following from our clubhouse session in our season one opener on the Metaverse and one of what's likely to be many more discussions we'll have on the metaverse going forward.[00:03:23] Alan, welcome to the Retail Razor Show. [00:03:25] Alan Smithson: Thank you so much, Ricardo and Casey. Thanks for having me. This is so, so exciting. You know, we we got to meet in person before these things, which is super cool, you know, and normally it's the other way around. You do all these podcasts and things, and then you finally meet somebody, you're like, Oh, yeah.[00:03:38] So it's really great to see some familiar faces and, and dive into the, the Occam's razor of retail .[00:03:46] Ricardo Belmar: exactly[00:03:47] Casey Golden: I'm so glad to see you Allen and having you here with us this morning. I'm just really excited to catch up and learn what's been going on since the last time we saw each other. [00:03:59] We're [00:03:59] Alan Smithson: many things. [00:04:00] Casey Golden: right. We're not casting from the, the metaverse yet. But who knows? This time next year, a seismic shift is taking [00:04:06] Alan Smithson: time next week we're gonna be releasing some cool stuff and we built in full video chat capabilities into our project. So we'll get into that later. But yeah, the three pushed some technology that will allow us to do this inside of virtual world.[00:04:21] Casey Golden: Interesting. Yes. Experiences on the internet are expected to be more immersive, three dimensional and virtual with the realization of web three . I believe the metaverse will will play , an integral role in product discovery and brand experiences.[00:04:36] Some people are saying it's dead and now it's like coming back. Some people said it's, this is just natural traction. So I mean, I think we're all here for the dips and we're all here for the eyes.[00:04:47] Alan Smithson: I really love the articles that say, you know, the Meta versus Dead or, you know, these are the same articles that in 10 years from now, people will look back and go, Oh yeah, you, you're the guy who wrote the internet as dead article. Good for you. You know, that really inspired a whole generation of people to build the internet, so, [00:05:04] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, it's like how many years ago when everybody was saying physical retail was dead,[00:05:09] Alan Smithson: I mean, yeah, like you can say everything's dead. Look, when we invented tv, people said, Oh, this is gonna replace radio. Every car still has a radio in it. [00:05:20] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. [00:05:21] Alan Smithson: like, radio didn't go away. It just changed and morphed. And you know, now we, now we have Spotify. Okay, maybe radio is not the primary thing, but it never died.[00:05:32] You know, TVs didn't go away when we got the internet. You know computers didn't go away when we got mobile phones. And, you know, mobile phones aren't going away anytime when we get VR and, and AR glasses. So, you know, adding new mediums does not necessarily mean that you, the other one fades away and dies, you know, it just becomes another medium.[00:05:51] There's, , let's say 10 years ago you had, I don't know, a billion people on the internet. Now we have 4 billion people on the Internet. Like, you know, the, the time right now is, is explosive growth. I mean, companies are raising, hundreds of millions of dollars, you know, tens and then hundreds of millions of dollars for internet technologies and metaverse technologies and web three technologies.[00:06:14] You know, this is just the money going in to invest to the future. So, I mean, we're in for a, a really, really interesting next, I guess, eight years now that we're almost kind of at the end of 2022. , By the end of this decade, the world will look very different than it does today,[00:06:30] Ricardo Belmar: Oh yeah. Yeah,[00:06:31] Casey Golden: I agree with that a hundred percent.[00:06:33] Ricardo Belmar: so, [00:06:34] Alan Smithson: none of the things will be dead.[00:06:35] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. No, none. None of it. We're just keep adding more and more I think as we're gonna get [00:06:39] into [00:06:39] Alan Smithson: more people coming on the[00:06:40] internet and more [00:06:41] Casey Golden: I'm [00:06:41] all [00:06:41] Alan Smithson: I like reading. [00:06:42] Casey Golden: web, like 6.0 already, right?[00:06:45] Alan Smithson: Why don't we have six G? I mean, my 5G phone doesn't really do anything for me. I'm like, 5g. I still have no signal. What the heck?[00:06:55] Casey Golden: It's still a marketing boy.[00:06:57] Alan Smithson: I bought a big phone that folds in half so that I can have all the things[00:07:02] Ricardo Belmar: And you're still waiting. And you're still [00:07:04] Alan Smithson: That's the wait. I still[00:07:05] Ricardo Belmar: so [00:07:06] Alan Smithson: but the technology's getting super fast. The the one thing that's exciting that. Most people are consuming the internet on a mobile phone now. Mobile phones and computers are the kind of dominant, but mobile phones kind of leapfrogged and it's places like Africa. They, they just bypass computers altogether and just went straight to phones.[00:07:22] Same with China. And so the phone technology is[00:07:25] Casey Golden: say, with 10 year olds,[00:07:27] Alan Smithson: exactly. 10 year olds in the Chinese, they, they just bypass computers all together.[00:07:32] Ricardo Belmar: Right. [00:07:33] Alan Smithson: But yeah, the, the world is using mobile phones to access the internet, and the mobile phones are getting so good. You know, the iPhone 14 came out y. These things are super, super computers now.[00:07:45] I mean, if you, One of the people that I, I really think highly of is a guy that runs this company called Otoy. They're a rendering engine and I can't remember the guy's name, but they came up with this concept of the render token. This was way before the whole crypto craze, and they said, What if we could tap into everybody's phone and computer and do batch rendering around the world?[00:08:06] So let's say Disney as a project, right? And they, you know, they need 500 servers to, to run this, you know scene of a Disney movie. Well, can't we then just push it out to a thousand phones, Have everybody, you know use the GPUs that are bit, you know, kinda sitting idle for most of the time on your phone.[00:08:22] Can we leverage that and then pay people for, for using this idle time on their phones?[00:08:27] seem to take off because I think it was a bit early, but that ability to tap into the billions of smartphones and computers out there and the processing power that is sitting idle, I think is going to be a key part of the metaverse moving forward in, in kind of the long term strategy. I mean, this is not, it's not an overnight thing. Nobody's really figured it out yet. But if we can do that, you think of how many computers around the world we could tap into for ai, for modeling, for protein folding for, you know, the good of mankind.[00:08:55] We can really use these these idle devices that are sitting idle for, you know, let's say most people, their phones are only sitting idle while they sleep, but[00:09:04] you know, it's, eight hours of sleep, depending on who you are. Casey, who only sleeps four hours a night,[00:09:12] What is MetaVrse & The Mall[00:09:12] Ricardo Belmar: Right. Well, Alan, so, diving into this space a little bit more, tell us a little more about what Metaverse is in your company and what you're doing and what you're and what that means for retailers and brands.[00:09:24] Alan Smithson: So we we started a company called Metaverse back in 2016, spelled M e t A V R s E, you know, for the vr idea, we built all sorts of projects in, in virtual, augmented, mixed reality, and 3d. We've done over 160 projects now but we've done everything from building retail locations virtual stores.[00:09:43] We've done virtual showrooms for automotive. We have built virtual training for, for medical, for consumer electronics. We did a lot of work for Samsung where we took their their new phone models, actually including this one, and then we animated them opening and you could turn it around and, you know, look inside and all this stuff.[00:09:59] We did a bunch of stuff for Samsung. We built virtual showrooms for MasterCard, but all of these things were actually built on our own engine. And so over the years we actually were building and working on our. What you would call a game engine or a creation platform. So similar to Unity and Unreal we have our own base, you know, rendering technology that allows us to render directly to the internet, directly to a web browser on a mobile phone.[00:10:24] So one of the, the claims to fame for us is that we have a low code, easy to create platform that bypasses the app stores. We actually don't have to go through Apple or Google. We just hit publish. It goes to a browser and works on any device. So this is super powerful and we really set up a goal in mind to build a platform that would let anybody participate and create in the Metaverse.[00:10:47] And so our mission is Metaverse creation for every. That's you know, that's always kind of been our ethos. It used to be XR creation for everyone, and then the whole world moved to the word metaverse. So we're like, Okay, well I guess we should jump on the bandwagon. Even though we started the bandwagon,[00:11:01] Casey Golden: What was xr [00:11:02] Alan Smithson: virtual augmented mixed reality or XR or extended reality is like a[00:11:06] Ricardo Belmar: yeah,[00:11:06] so it mixed, all of it[00:11:08] Alan Smithson: Yeah, I mean, we, we were all in on xr. We did the XR for Business podcast. We did the XR for Learning podcast. We did XR collaboration, which is a whole thing on, you know, collaboration platform. . We really, truly thought the whole world was going to xr and then outta nowhere Zuckerberg said, Hey, we're gonna be called Meta.[00:11:24] And the whole world went to Metaverse and we're like, Oh, well it's a good thing. We called our name That, and applied for the trademark before then[00:11:30] Ricardo Belmar: Ha. Good thing.[00:11:31] What moment led to creating MetaVrse?[00:11:31] Casey Golden: What was that one moment? Where you're just, cuz you've had some other businesses, you've had some worked in some other spaces. But what was that, that moment? Was there a special aha moment or something where [00:11:44] Alan Smithson: yeah. [00:11:44] Casey Golden: you're just like, I'm gonna build like the next version of the world,[00:11:48] Alan Smithson: It was a combination of things. Casey, honestly, it we owned a, a DJ product company called Emulator where it was a big glass, see-through touchscreen that you could play on and you could perform, but the crowd could see what you're doing cuz it was a see through piece of glass that you were DJing on.[00:12:01] We worked with, you know, infected Mushroom and Morgan page. And actually just recently a year ago Jean Michelle Jarre did a huge New Year's Eve virtual New Year's Eve party. It was huge. 7 million people attended and he used our emulator on stage in the virtual world as well.[00:12:15] So, I mean, we built this piece of tech.[00:12:17] We brought it to the world. We were working with big artists. And then we unfortunately brought on the wrong investor and so we lost that company. But right before that happened, I got invited to perform at Curiosity Camp by Eric Schmidt. And Eric Schmidt is, you know, obviously the former CEO of Google and he has this camp that everybody goes to called Curiosity Camp.[00:12:36] And so you go there and it's like camp in the middle of nowhere. I performed, it was kinda like a mini burning man for like 150 entrepreneurs, investors. AI nerds and a bunch of really smart people getting together just to have an UN-conference about what's coming in the world and, and, you know, new economic models and new technology models and these types of things.[00:12:55] So I got to perform. And then after that, I tried the R for the first time in this tiny little tent. And I remember putting it on, it was like a giant brick putting on my head. It was the DK one, the Oculus, and this was in 2014. Put on these giant headphones. And I sat there and they turned it on. And I remember sitting there going, Oh, like having this gasp of, Oh my God, this is amazing.[00:13:14] And I remember staring and I was looking at a concert, but it was so visceral that I felt like I was at the concert. The sound sounded right and, and I just sat there and I was like, Wow. And I remember somebody taking their hand and putting them on my shoulder, and I was on a swivel chair and they turned me around like this, and I realized that I could look everywhere. I was like, Oh my God. I could see the ceiling and the lights and the floor, and I just looked every. Then they hit a button and put me on stage, like I was up in the crowd. And then all, I was standing on stage next to Beck, looking at the artist, hearing it from my ears, looking up the crowd. And I thought, Oh my God.[00:13:49] And as a DJ myself for 20 years, I had this kind of moment where I was like, Holy crap. They just put me on stage in a place where nobody in the world gets to stand. Think about that. You know, like only the artists and the band or the DJ and maybe his manager get to stand on stage. Nobody gets to see this . And by transporting me in vr, I was there and I was like, This is gonna change everything, everything.[00:14:13] And that's, you know, right after that, we kinda lost the company, the, the DJ company. And I said, Well, let's just get into this now. And so in 2014 we started working in VR and we 3D printed our own cameras. We, we had 360 cameras built out of GoPros. We did everything. We did 360 videos. We did AR apps.[00:14:30] We did projection sandbox where you, you had connects and you, if you dug the sand out, it actually projected different things like topography of the sand. Did a VR photo booth for Samsung, which is super cool. We use their camera and you could take a picture with you and your friends and would Photoshop you into space, so you jump outta the machine and you could look at yourself in space with your friends in vr.[00:14:50] Casey Golden: That's great. So like as soon as you got like that one exposure hit, [00:14:54] it [00:14:55] Alan Smithson: that was it. That was.[00:14:56] Casey Golden: we're going this way,[00:14:57] Alan Smithson: Oh yeah. You know, I, I kind of had this thought that this is the future of human communication. This was like, okay, if I'm gonna communicate with somebody from long distance and we can stand there and like put these glasses on and be in the same room, this is gonna be the future of human communication.[00:15:11] And that was my whole ethos. I've since expanded that because, you know, and even if you go on our website, metavrse.com, we say that the Metaverse engine is the future of human communication, collaboration, commerce, and culture, because if you kind of take all of those four, that's really where we are right now.[00:15:29] The metaverse is impacting these things. So yes, we can communicate better, we can have a sense of presence, we can collaborate. You know, the, the new Bugatti was just designed in nine months rather than three years because they used VR to collaborate. You know BMW's been using VR to calibrate all the automotive companies are using it, not just to sell things, but to create.[00:15:47] Ricardo Belmar: yeah, to build,[00:15:48] to help them build faster. [00:15:49] Alan Smithson: so you know, collaboration is gonna be a big part. And then commerce, obviously 3D retail, duh. I mean, you know, Shopify's already showing in 96% improve, you know, uptick in conversion rates when using 3D on a site versus just 2D images and videos. So we're gonna go to 3D for sure.[00:16:09] Everything in the world, every brand, every company in the world will need all of their products and assets. Converted to 3D into 3D worlds, and over the next, you know, by the end of the decade, let's say. And that's a challenge because, you know, how do you convert them? Do you take CAD models and change them into 3d?[00:16:27] Do you take photographs and try to use photogrammetry? Do you use the scanners that are coming in the phones now? Do you use AI just using photographs to convert to 3d? So I think the biggest challenge over the next, you know, eight years or 10 years, end of the decade, This technology is showing massive upticks and, and conversion rates and all of the things from training to marketing to retail to e-com.[00:16:48] All of these things are being impacted positively, really positively, but it's still hard to make them. It's still hard to create the 3D worlds, the 3D environments avatars, clothing for avatars, these types of things. And so I think we're only just scratching the surface of what's possible. But AI is going to fill in a lot of the blanks over the next decade [00:17:07] Casey Golden: That's great.[00:17:08] Nexus of Three Technologies[00:17:08] Alan Smithson: I recently wrote an article called The Metaverse is the nexus of these three technologies. And the article, it, it's kinda like you have to read halfway through the article before I talk about them, because you know what, A little leading thing there. But the idea is that you have three technologies in addition to the internet we have today.[00:17:24] So the internet today, we have the ability to have video and audio and record and all these things that we're doing now, but then you wanna have depth, you wanna be able to walk around a virtual world. So it has 3D or XR vr, right? So you've that 3D component we call xr. Then you've got ai, which is gonna be, you know, natural language processing for maybe you wanna talk to a character, maybe you wanna get help in the store.[00:17:44] You can have conversations. Then computer vision, maybe you wanna see a product and you're like, What does that look like in my house? I hit a button, it changes the camera. Now I can see that couch in my house because the camera itself is using computer vision to understand my living room. Actually, IKEA came up with this really cool thing.[00:18:00] A quick video of your house and it blocks stuff out. Like it'll take your existing couch out and put the new one in for you. You're like, Whoa, this is crazy. So[00:18:08] computer [00:18:08] Casey Golden: love AR for home goods, like for furniture. I mean,[00:18:12] Alan Smithson: So you've got, you know, this 3D ar and then you've got ai, which, you know, kind of enables all that. And the new AI algorithms are allowing you to we have one called in World where you can talk to characters, and the other one that we're looking at right now is anything world.[00:18:26] And the idea is that, Use a text description and it will build a 3D environment for, you can say, I, I need a room with four walls, five windows, a tree in the corner, and a couch over here, and it will build it for you. Now it's very low poly and it's, it's not, you know, it's not perfect, but it's, it's automatic.[00:18:44] It's kinda like, you know, Have you seen Mid Journey and Dall-e yet[00:18:47] Casey Golden: I love Mid Journey. I've been playing on there until like I ran out of [00:18:52] Alan Smithson: credits [00:18:52] Casey Golden: could play [00:18:54] Alan Smithson: I was like,[00:18:55] What the amount of credits, Here's my credit,[00:18:57] my [00:18:57] money, [00:18:58] Casey Golden: do it again. I was having so much fun with it. [00:19:01] and it. [00:19:02] Alan Smithson: and licensing. So like, why would I ever go to a stock photography site ever again? Because I say, Okay, I need, the other day I said I needed a metaverse, whatever. I typed in whatever I, you know, description. It gave me a couple. I was like, not happy. I did it again. I was like, Oh, that one's nice. I up resd it and now that's the image for my article.[00:19:20] Casey Golden: Yeah,[00:19:21] Ricardo Belmar: it's exactly what you wanted. [00:19:22] Casey Golden: I, actually think that it's brilliant that if I could just go ahead and create one. and then it would create like 500 versions.[00:19:31] Alan Smithson: Oh, I'm sure that's coming. I,[00:19:33] I'm sure. [00:19:33] Casey Golden: I'm just like, okay, I like this, but like, don't gimme one now I want like a set of four. Well, you know what, just gimme a set of 500.[00:19:41] Alan Smithson: Yep. You know, this was a really good processing power at that point[00:19:45] because these images, so you know, instead of four it can generate 400. It's, this is the thing with ai, if people don't understand, it's just raw processing power. That's why if we can tap into the phones around the world, You know, use some of this idle processing power, then you just have more power available to do it.[00:20:01] Because right now it's kind of expensive, right? You, you put in a request through mid journey, it goes up to their cloud. Somebody's gotta pay for, you know, an actual computer to process that. Create these four or five or 400 images for incident em back. Anyway, the last technology that we didn't touch on, so xr, ai, and the last one's blockchain. know, how do you have a decentralized ownership of assets? How do you have a record of maybe, you know, maybe you just want something simple like a record of your employment or your record of the things you took for training. Cuz right now you go to university, you have a degree, right? That degree is held by, let's say, you know, let's just use Harvard, right?[00:20:36] Harvard holds your degree. You now put on your, on your LinkedIn, Hey, I went to Harvard at, you know, there Now does, do employers go and verify that? Do they go to Harvard? Chances are, or they. a lot of times. So maybe having a, you know, verified way to not only take your degree, but all the courses that you took.[00:20:53] Maybe you took a course on Udemy or Udacity or you, you did a side course. The side courses are really the skills that you're gonna need, because that's why people are taking, that's why people are learning on YouTube, because right now the world's moving faster than the universities, colleges, and high schools can keep up, and so the curriculums have to go through rigorous vett.[00:21:13] By the time they go through that, it's maybe two, three years, the technology's already passed and like moved on. So we're kinda in this weird technology meets, you know, learning model. And actually I did a TED talk called the, the Marriage of Technology and Education and where I just said, Look, we should be using all these technologies that are, that we're inventing not only to train people on those technologies and how to use them, but use them for this, for for learning.[00:21:39] So we should be using AI algorithm. To do this, and actually something I read yesterday, you know, the company Striver s Str r ivr, they do all the training in VR for Walmart. They've trained over a million people for Walmart. And one of the things they said in their early Stanford hit Human Interaction Lab, the, the early study they did was a teacher, very simple study.[00:22:00] They had a teacher and two students, and they were all represented as avatars in VR. Now the teacher is looking at a student, right? So they have eye contact with the student. But imagine the avatar can look at both students equally. So even though the teacher may not be looking at either student, maybe looking down the middle, the avatar looks like it's looking right at you.[00:22:19] And so you have this personal one-on-one connection, even though it's one to many. And so you imagine if a, a class of a hundred people, everybody feels like you're looking directly at them, and this is super powerful.[00:22:31] Casey Golden: That's [00:22:31] interesting. Yeah, I think that, you education versus application. It's definitely behind. I don't feel like we're, we're really preparing kids for work or to understand what the career opportunities are because it's just so antiquated of yet you don't have to do that anymore. Like, these are all the new jobs in that space, under that topic that literally nobody's talking about.[00:22:58] So I think it's very interest. I asked a, a nine year old before the pandemic, which I'm like, So what do you wanna do? Like when you grow up, right? The, the, the number one question. And she just like, shrugged and pushed back on the pool and like, went backwards. 11. She's like, It doesn't really matter.[00:23:19] It's not like they'll ex, they won't exist anymore by the time I need it. [00:23:25] I just mind [00:23:27] Ricardo Belmar: Hmm. Wow.[00:23:28] Yeah. [00:23:28] Alan Smithson: think that the key to this is asking a different question. The different question is, is this instead of what do you wanna do when you grow up? Or what job do you want to get? Because we don't know what the jobs are gonna be. We don't, we're inventing them as we go. And something like, I read a stat, something like 60% of jobs over the next decade won't exist,[00:23:45] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, that's right.[00:23:46] Yeah. [00:23:46] Alan Smithson: So what are we training people[00:23:47] for? [00:23:48] We don't [00:23:48] Ricardo Belmar: Right. We don't [00:23:48] Casey Golden: a nine year old to tell me that.[00:23:50] Ricardo Belmar: we, We don't even know. That's why we need better tools, Right. To be able to do [00:23:53] What problem do you want to solve?[00:23:53] Alan Smithson: so here's the better question to ask in my opinion, is what problem do you wanna solve in the[00:23:58] world? [00:23:59] Ricardo Belmar: That's the [00:23:59] Alan Smithson: know, technology can be used. It doesn't matter if you have a problem you wanna solve, like climate change, I want to solve, I wanna stop sharks from being harvested for their fins. Okay? If you take that, that singular cue, you can use all sorts of technologies to disrupt supply chains to, you know sink ships. You could do everything in your power to people from fishing for sharks, cutting their fins off and throwing them back. I mean, imagine just one person had a singular vision on that and used every piece of technology to disrupt that industry. Of course, you do [00:24:32] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. It, it's like the, the number one thing, right, the technology brings is agility to do these things quickly. [00:24:37] Alan Smithson: we're not teaching people. that, one, they have all the technology at the fingertips as long as you have access to the internet and a phone or a computer. Two, you can make a big difference as an individual. And three, we're not teaching people to set goals and look at long term horizons. So when Julie and I got into Metaverse, this was actually not our long-term goal.[00:24:59] Our long-term goal is to build a new education system using this technology. But we're in year seven of a 30 year plan. mean, literally, you know, we started in 2014, we're now in, you know, 2022 and we're going out to, you know, 20, I think it was 2048 or something, was our kind of goal. So imagine looking 20 years out as a student instead of saying, What do you want to, what kinda job do you wanna get?[00:25:22] Well, I'll get a job and then six months later, my employer will lay me off and then I'll go through this thing. And once you get into the the rat race of having to pay rent, your opportunities to dream huge and solve world problems really diminishes. Because you just need to pay your bills. And I think this is one of the one of the things that we can do better as a society is, is give people a bit of a safety net so they can start to try to cha to take on big problems in the world.[00:25:47] But you have to tell them what the problems are and what are some of the solution opportunities, and then say, here dedicate your life to one, solving this problem.[00:25:55] Casey Golden: Yeah, no, I agree. And I think that that's a much better way of looking at it. And I think it's just gonna be inevitable. Like I will never ask that question again after I got that answer because I too realize that like, it's a wrong question.[00:26:09] Alan Smithson: You know, ask me, what are you gonna do when you grow up? And I'm like, Well, I don't know. I, I have been in my life, I, I graduated with a degree in molecular biology. I was a pharmaceutical rep. I owned a medical billing company. We owned a hostile, We we had a nutraceutical company.[00:26:26] We had a DJ business. I was a DJ for 20 years. We had a technology company and now we own a game engine. So who knows where life will take you. But now we have a, a singular vision and, and mission to, to create a new education system for the world using the technologies that we're talking about today.[00:26:41] And we, we actually settled on retail as a model to focus on that because all the technologies we need for retail at the highest levels. So, you know, we're building a virtual mall, which is insane, but we're building the world's largest virtual mall, and all the technologies in there are actually being built in mindfulness of what we're gonna need for education.[00:27:02] So the hundredth floor of the mall, each floor of the mall is a million square feet, so it's a hundred floors tall. Each floor is a million square feet, so you have a hundred million square feet of virtual space to build retail. Experiences and entertainment and all these things. But the hundredth floor is actually owned by the Unlimited Awesome Academy, which is Julie and i's trust to build this new education platform.[00:27:23] So the hundredth floor of the mall will benefit from the entire mall. The 20th floor of the mall is an education floor, so we have, you know, floor one to 20 is owned by the mall and leased to brands. So we've got like a luxury floor, automotive floor, consumer electronics, all these things. Floor 20 is actually reserved for education.[00:27:39] So we're gonna put education systems in there and let them have the, the floor, There's no charge for that. So we really do have this kind of long term vision of how we can leverage the, the retail world for the technology. Cuz we're, we're working with our partners to build insane amounts of technology, like crazy stuff.[00:27:56] We can, We built a technology recently called Infinite, l o d, or infinite level of detail that allows us to have an infinite virtual world. Meaning the mall's one building, when you leave the mall, it's vast. I mean, you could build anything you want in as far as you see. And it could be out in space like we designed it so that it doesn't, it, it loads on any phone fast and you can load and go anywhere in the world and walk around and it's just vast, right?[00:28:22] So that technology, I think is gonna revolutionize how. Build these things, because now what it typically happens is you build a scene and the scene is a fixed map, like, you know, Decentraland, a fixed map, sandbox, it's a fixed map. And then what you do is as you walk around the map, it's kinda loading different parts of the map.[00:28:40] Well, we don't have a fixed map. We have the fixed mall, but then the map is completely open to the world and what they wanna build. And so this is kind of our way of saying, okay, what does an open and unlimited metaverse look like? You know? And because that's really what people want. They want a persistent. Is never ending. It's kinda like Second Life, but you know, at a much, much larger scale available. And then Second, Life is still successful. They still have probably a million people a year on Second. Life doesn't work on mobile, Decent land, doesn't work on mobile Sandbox doesn't work on mobile. Roblox barely works on mobile.[00:29:11] So you know, having the ability to onboard billions of mobile phones into the Metas is gonna be the key. And then of course, we'll move to glasses over the next decade as well. You're seeing Oculus moved over to Meta now. Meta is introducing a new a new headset. So we're gonna see vast improve improvements of this. And then I would, I'd venture to say Apple makes their entrance into this space probably in the next year, would be my guess. We've been waiting for years and there's been lots of rumors over the years. I remember somebody in 2014 saying, Apple's gonna come out with VR glasses this year.[00:29:43] And I was like, I don't know about. Now, here we are, seven years [00:29:47] later. It's still [00:29:48] Why are brands coming to the mall?[00:29:48] Ricardo Belmar: So, so Alan, let me ask you more about the mall. I'm curious, when you talk to retailers and brands about the floors in the mall that you've got set aside for them, what, what's, what's your pitch to them? What, what's the selling point for the retailers to, Is it, for example, because you'd run on mobile where so many of these other platforms either barely do or, or don't what, what's the big selling point for the retail on the brand to, to be in the.[00:30:10] Alan Smithson: sure. I think it's, it's being part of something bigger. First of all, you know, you look. Brands are jumping into De Central and because it's, it's there and it works and it's bigger, right? It's a bigger community and there's gonna be more chance of eyeballs falling on. The problem is there's just not a lot of users there because the graphic fidelity is ma and there's a lot of barriers to entry.[00:30:27] If you wanna buy something physical, you cannot, If you want to use your credit card to buy something digital, you cannot, You have to buy with Manna, which is their in world currency. So we took a lot of the ideas from what these other platforms were doing. We said, Okay, well, how. Specifically make that for retail.[00:30:46] And really it was less about what we thought. And we've just had a lot of meetings with a lot of brands in the hundreds. And so when we, when we show them the mall, when we walk around, when we show them stores, when they say, Oh, well can it do this? Can it connect to our backend order management system?[00:31:00] Yes, it can because we use JavaScript. Can it, can we connect our loyalty program? Yes, absolutely. We have a, a backend system. And so it's just a really, a combination of. Having this idea for 'em all because we were building virtual showrooms for all different brands, and they were saying, Oh, I want a video chat on this one.[00:31:18] And this one would say, I want to dress the avatars and I, I want something over here. And so all these different disparate virtual showrooms that we're building, we built one for MasterCard, we built one for, for Samsung. We built all these things and they were asking for the same thing in different ways.[00:31:30] So we said, What if we built in a persistent mall so that if,[00:31:33] if we build a new piece of tech for one, one person, one brand, it now everybody in the mall. So you have the central part. Now brands can start driving people into their stores. So the mall.io/brand, it drops you right into the brand store. You can walk around, you get the full brand experience, but you can walk out the door as well. [00:31:52] So we've been meeting with, with hundreds of brands, and the brands that have interest in the mall, they want to get into the metaverse. And now here, here's the thing is it's a big cluster. You know, everybody's like, Oh, talking about the metaverse, the buzzword of the year. You know, do I make NFTs, do I not?[00:32:06] NFTs are kind of got like a, you know, negative connotation now that they've lost half their value. So it. Do we build our own virtual store? Do we go into Decentraland? Do we build something over here? Do we go into Roblox? And you know, the question or the answer's probably you gotta try all of the things, right?[00:32:23] And so you know, what we recommend is, look, take a budget, you know, whatever it is, 50 grand, a hundred grand, 200 grand, whatever your budget is, that's discretionary. You know, don't invest too much in this right now because nobody knows what's gonna work and whatnot. So we have like a 50 grand entrance package.[00:32:37] You get lease, you get, you know, kind of all the things included. We build everything out for you.[00:32:41] We have a full studio. And so the idea was how do we just get rid of all of the barriers to entry for a brand and then just get them into the mall. Because it's, it's all new for all of us, right? You know, people are saying, How are you gonna get any traffic in the mall?[00:32:53] Well, you know, of course we're the mall. We have to get traffic in there. But we're coordinating that effort with the brands. With the brands that we're working with, because really we don't have the brand gravitas of a, you know, of a, of a large shoe company or a, a large electronics manufacturer. You guys have, they have hundreds of thousands or millions of consumers. [00:33:12] And we're working with a candy company. They're gonna put QR codes on the candy, so that's gonna drive people directly into their store in the mall. And, they have multiple stores in the mall, so it's. It's really intriguing how, we've kind of realized that the marketing and getting people into the mall is, is less our responsibility is more of the brands, but where our responsibility is to have the right brands there and encourage them to build cool stuff because it's really less about, you, know, a store and it's more about an experience. And so, you know, one thing that I think the mall replaces or, or at least adjuncts is that, or not replaces, but adjuncts is that Amazon and Mall Walmart are the two largest retail stores on earth digitally, right? amazon.com and walmart.com. But you wouldn't invite your friends to go shopping on amazon.com.[00:33:58] You'd be like, Hey, we're gonna have a shopping date on, Go on Amazon. See what I'm ordering in my cart. It, it's taken the fun out shopping it, it's taken a front out. It's, it's just ruthless procurement of goods. Casey we'll go Amazon shopping[00:34:12] Buying vs Shopping - it should be fun![00:34:12] Ricardo Belmar: Yep. It's buying versus shopping. [00:34:14] Alan Smithson: it is. Procurement of goods versus shopping and shopping should be fun.[00:34:18] There is a reason why malls aim the cultural center of communities, and we wanna do the same thing. So our, our mall is multiplayer. You can invite your friends, you can go walk around. It's super fun actually. And we're putting little mini games in there. There's daily games that change every day so you can win prizes.[00:34:34] Just super cool stuff. So. [00:34:35] Casey Golden: That's awesome. Yeah, I mean, I think that big, that big benefit at the end of the day of participating. It may not necessarily be a conversion rate because that's not necessarily the goal Right. [00:34:48] now. What would you say is that roi? Because I don't feel that it's going to be money, like sales revenue, but I might be wrong.[00:34:59] Like today, if somebody wanted to go and have their first Metaverse experience with you, what is that main transformation or moment that you expect that that brand is going to be mentioning in the meeting to a hundred thousand or 800,000 next season? There?[00:35:19] Alan Smithson: I think you nailed it. Is, is really up to the brands to build some cool stuff and, and look, right now we made the mall look like, like a mall. It's got stores you can walk around. It doesn't need to look like a mall. It could be a, a field, it could be a space, it could be anything, right? So when you walk in your store, , Yes.[00:35:34] It looks like a store from the outside. And then when you walk in through the barrier of the door, it changes and, loads a new project. And the new project is like, Oh, now I'm in a, you know, basketball court, or now I'm like sitting court side watching you know, Nicks and nets, right? So it's one of those things that right now there's a term called skew amorphism, meaning we kind of tend to take what is already existing and build things like that.[00:35:56] So we. A mall. Looks like a mall. We put it into digital format so it feels and looks like a mall. Like you're walking around. You don't, it just feels right. It just looks like a mall or, Okay, great. I get it. I understand it this, really understand it. But that doesn't mean we can't push the absolute limits on the other end.[00:36:09] But what we need to do, and we need to do this for everybody, is make people feel comfortable in these virtual spaces and, and skew amorphism or, or bringing kind of the traditional world into the virtual world for now seems to. The right path. We've done some crazy, crazy stuff on the, on the, you know, way out there, NFT galleries and stuff. [00:36:30] And it doesn't really resonate with people. They don't know how to navigate it. They, they don't understand it. They're, there's a bit of a mix mix mash, so I think it's really gonna be up to the brands to build cool experiences that engage with their customers that. Really drive brand awareness. You look at Samsung's 8 37 store in New York. I think it's a prime example. And even Nike Store in New York City, I mean, yes, they sell shoes, but it's really about the experience of experiencing the brand. You go into Nike store and the whole first floor is the history of Nike. You can look at the old shoes, like it's just really, really cool. Yes, you can buy some shoes on, you know, one of the other floors, but it's not about that. It's about the experience of, oh my God, I was in New York and I went to this crazy store. And it, it, made me realize how how much research has gone into the Nike shoes and then like, you can really build these experiences and Samsung 8 3 7 in New York as well.[00:37:16] You go in there, you can't buy anything. You can literally just, you can look at the fridges, you can look at the kitchens, you can look at the, the mobile phones. You can, there's all these really cool experiences. There's lots of places to take selfies, which is fun. And you, you know, people's new selfie flex is gonna be, Hey, I gonna dress up my avatar.[00:37:33] And dripping in Gucci and and take a picture. But I think people's online personas are going to start being more important than their in-person personas. We're already seeing that. I mean, like, you know, people in virtual worlds are spending billion, billions on skins. [00:37:49] Ricardo Belmar: Oh yeah. Oh [00:37:51] Alan Smithson: You know, night skins.[00:37:53] I mean, I think Fortnite did something like $9 billion last year, Something [00:37:57] Ricardo Belmar: Hmm. [00:37:57] It's crazy. Yeah. So, Alan, let me ask you this. What, what would be your top advice right now for, for, let's say for this over this next year for retailers, DTC brands, I mean even retail tech businesses who are all looking at the metaverse and kind of thinking, Okay, how do I get in? What, what, what are my first steps?[00:38:17] What do I do to get started?[00:38:19] Alan Smithson: Sure. Find a, a decent partner who understands retail, who's done with this. There's, you know There's a company called Max, a Maxent. They do a great work on kind of, you know, for furniture companies, a bunch of retailers. [00:38:30][00:38:30] Alan Smithson: Marxent [00:38:31][00:38:31] Yeah, they, they do a great job. Converting things to 3d, you're gonna have to have teams that understand 3d.[00:38:36] And 3D is not easy. It's not as easy as creating a JPEG or a video. It's quite complicated. There's. You have a 3D model, then you've got layers and layers of of images that go on top of that to make it look realistic. You've got a bumpy one that makes it look bumpy. You've got texture files, all these things.[00:38:51] It's not, it's not really that easy a technology. Now, it's getting easier and we're getting there, but I think by starting now and starting small, taking a, you know, let's say 50,000 to a $500,000 budget, building something and then starting to have your teams internally. Understand how the sausage is made. How do we go from an idea or a concept or some photographs of a store to a fully, 3D environment with avatars, with products in there and everything, and, click to buy everything.[00:39:19] And so one of the reasons we did the mall is because we've done this a bunch of times for individual clients and it, it ended up becoming kind of rinse and repeat, right? We're like, Okay, well this, this client wants, and now we can build a virtual showroom in. Oh man, the last one we built, we took three days and it was beautiful. Just because we're getting really good at that. So I think the first thing is understand, learn a bit. So there's lots and lots of . I don't know how many guides to the metaverse there are, but there's probably at least a hundred that I know of. So go read some of those. You know, have somebody in your team dedicate somebody in your team to be the head of Metaverse, you know, and it's not just about, you know, 3D and that sort of thing, but you have to understand the crypto world as well.[00:39:58] People are gonna start buying in cryptocurrencies. What does that mean for you? How. How do you get paid in cryptocurrency and convert that to fiat because brands don't have accounting systems that that can take into account crypto. Right. So we have a, a partner named BitPay. So anybody can pay in any crypto they want using 95 different wallets.[00:40:16] It automatically takes their money, converts to U s D on at the end of the day and then settles with the brand at the end of the day. So you, the brands get settled in USD. . And, and the client doesn't know any, any difference in between and it's actually cheaper. So a stripe is like 3% for, you know, paying with credit cards or whatever.[00:40:34] With fiat and BitPay is only 1% because, and there's no chargebacks. Cuz once a crypto payment's paid, it's, there's, you can't reverse it. So I think there's gonna be a, a combination of. Onboarding customers or guests, we call them guests in the mall. Onboarding guests into, the crypto world slowly, but allowing them to pay in anything they want.[00:40:52] You pay credit card, PayPal, Amazon Pay, you know, it doesn't matter. We will, we will take any form of payment for physical and or digital goods in fiat and or cryptocurrency. And so from a brand standpoint, something like the mall kind of gives you. A boost because you don't have to reinvent the wheel.[00:41:10] If you're going into Decentraland again, there's a platform already there, there's people there. Roblox is great if, let's say, for example, you're a brand and your, your target customer is 25 to 30, well, your next target customer is, you know, 15 to 25. Right? Like that block. So if they're playing Roblox, and then I think something like 62% of Roblox players are under the age of 16. So if that's your next target demographic, like Gucci wants to be in the next, you know, they wanna be generationally relevant. [00:41:39] So if you're a brand that wants to be generationally relevant and be put in front of millions of people, go Roblox, you know that, that's a great starting point there. But it's, it's hard to get people's attention in there too. You've got, something like 10 million games on Roblox or something, or 4 million games on Roblox. So and then with the mall, it is a dedicated retail experience. You know, people are going there for that. They know what they're getting, and there's, there's gonna be a lot of, malls, digital malls, metaverse malls and these sorts of things.[00:42:06] But I don't think a lot of the startups that get into this realize the true depth of what's required. I mean, we spent seven years building a game engine for Enterprise. So when a, when a client says, What are your security protocols? We, we have a SOC two compliance and SOC two is not an easy thing to do.[00:42:23] It's, you know, it's eight months of, they basically take everybody on your team rip apart of their computers and you know, digitally [00:42:31] inside, make sure you don't have anything hidden. You gotta go through all these security protocols. So now that when we go to our clients, we say we are of SOC two, we also have Kronos compliance.[00:42:40] So Kronos is a 3D standard so that if you have a 3D model that you use on walmart.com, you can just pick it up and drop it into the mall and it will look the. This is important. Your product is not gonna look real in Roblox. It's gonna look like it's made out of Lego. You go, same thing with Sandbox, same with the Decentraland.[00:42:58] And they use a technology called voxels. So it's, very gamey looking like, like it's made out [00:43:02] Ricardo Belmar: Very [00:43:03] blocky. It's very [00:43:04] Casey Golden: of a standard of visual aesthetic that a lot, the higher end the brand, the less familiar that feels. And it's, but it's being adopted and it's, You don't have to be photorealistic all the time, [00:43:21] Alan Smithson: Yeah. You can have fun with it. And that's what I tell brands. Look,[00:43:24] You can use Unreal Engine for your commercials, your, your Hollywood movies. You know, they, they high, super high end. Maybe you want to build a film, a car, you know, driving through things. You can use the Unreal Engine for that. Then you can take the same asset. Down res it put it into Metaverse Engine. And now you can use it on the web, on, on the mall, right? You can use that same thing now it's interactive. You can drive it, you can, you know, on a mobile phone. Then you can take that same thing, pixelize it, and throw it into, into Decentraland or sandbox or, or Roblox or Minecraft.[00:43:51] And the idea is that you're using one asset to create several experiences and brands are gonna start doing this. I mean, it's just very few brands are doing it. [00:44:00] But I predict that you're not gonna be in one metaverse. You're gonna be in a bunch of different things, try different things, and some will be successful, Some won't.[00:44:06] Try things on your own website as well. I mean, our system. When you b build a store in the mall, you can actually build a hit, copy, paste, make a separate one and put it on your website as well. Now it'll link over to the mall, but it can reside on your know your brand.com website. We, we've taken out as many barriers to entry for brands as possible from, from our standpoint. [00:44:26] Casey Golden: Yeah. [00:44:27] Alan Smithson: We just, we've done so many meetings and it's been, I mean, our FAQ page is 50 questions long now for the mall [00:44:33] Casey Golden: Yeah. I mean, it's, it's hard enough to wrap your brain around it. At least once you make the decision. Let me take you right to it. [00:44:44] Alan Smithson: Let's just get it done, shall we? [00:44:46] And shouldn't be like one year thing. Oh my God, we're gonna build this thing in a year. Like what? No, man. If you can't build it in a, you know, eight weeks. [00:44:53] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. you'll be too late. [00:44:55] Alan Smithson: Yeah. maybe. Maybe. [00:44:58] Ricardo Belmar: You might be too late. [00:44:59] Alan Smithson: It's a crazy world we live in. It's moving so fast. That's why, one of our benefits of the engine is that it's low code.[00:45:04] We can build these things in in hours, you know like building the whole thing from scratch takes three days. You imagine how long that used to take? Six months ago, that took three weeks.[00:45:14] Ricardo Belmar: There's definitely a magic to to low code for sure, to really speed things up.[00:45:18] Alan Smithson: Yep. [00:45:19] How to reach Alan?[00:45:19] Casey Golden: what's the best way for someone to get in touch with you and follow the journey? [00:45:23] Alan Smithson: Sure. I, I, there's a couple ways. Metaverse Engine, which is, you know, the creation platform that is powering the, the mall. You can go to metaverse.com, m a t a v r s e.com. The mall is simply the mall.io. You can go sign up there, and if you sign up now for the mall, whether you're a brand or a guest, or an investor it'll ask you, you know, a dropdown for that.[00:45:43] You'll get put into a, an email funnel. So you'll have, if you sign up now, you'll have all early access to everything. So, for example, we're launching a new website for the mall, And that new website is fully built as a 3D world. So you scroll down the mall and you actually walk in and you end up inside of 3D website walking around.[00:46:00] It's not the mall, it's the website for the mall. we used our engine to build a revolutionary new website. So go to mall.io, the mall.io. And then you can just add me on LinkedIn. I can't add anybody from that, but you can follow me on LinkedIn. Cause I hit the limit of LinkedIn. Just use this my name alan Smithson. And you'll see fireworks above my head. I, I took a picture at the Formula one and that's my profile pick now [00:46:22] Casey Golden: Oh, [00:46:22] Ricardo Belmar: Oh, nice. [00:46:23] Alan Smithson: was like, this [00:46:24] Ricardo Belmar: cool [00:46:24] Alan Smithson: awesome. [00:46:25] Ricardo Belmar: Very cool . [00:46:26] Alan Smithson: Yep. [00:46:27] Ricardo Belmar: Well, I, I, I know I have really learned a lot today, Alan. Thank, thank you for that. I'm sure all of our listeners and, and viewers did too. Casey cause, you're already a, a Metaverse and, and web three advocate, so I'm sure a lot of this was old news for you after your debut event. Right. [00:46:40] Casey Golden: Yeah, I mean, we just had our second successful brand activation with Lux Lock on the 12th for New York Fashion Week. So with five brands everyone is enjoying. The experiences and looking forward to the future of commerce, like the brands are excited, the con consumers are excited. Making these early experiences is just critical into understanding like what these channels could potentially mean to your company.[00:47:06] Just do something And see what happens. [00:47:11] Alan Smithson: Yep. No, it's absolutely true. And look, one other thing that I, I didn't really mention is set some KPIs. What, what is it you want to get out of it? Because a lot of times, you know, for the last five years or six years, we've been building all sorts of marketing things, and they never really set KPIs.[00:47:25] They're just like, Hey, let's do this cool thing over there. And you're like, Yeah, I'll take your money and we'll do it. No, there's no measurement of success. So then you don't get a subsequent budget. And, and marketing teams are, they, they sometimes do this a lot, you know, they'll, they'll do things without measuring it, and that's fine.[00:47:41] Then maybe they want the media hits or whatever it is. But you have to have some metrics of success. Is it conversions? Is it time spent on platform? Is it, is it the number of visitors? What I, is the metric that you're measuring for success?[00:47:52] Because then, you can measure that. We can make changes. You can change completely everything or just some things, and you can get to the successful metrics. If you're not measuring it there's no point. So that's why actually one of the things in our mall is, complete analytics dashboard with, with everything from time spent on how much time somebody spent on a product. I mean, looking at it did they invite a friend? Did they convert from there? You know, these things are all really important.[00:48:15] And so we built, built this cool dashboard so that you can kinda look at your store and, and see a heat map of where people walked. Cause if somebody walks in your store and they all go right, and you want them to go left, well you can put a little display. [00:48:27] Casey Golden: they always, always go right. [00:48:29] Alan Smithson: Do they[00:48:29] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. Yeah. Excellent. [00:48:33] Casey Golden: apartment? Buildings. We'll go right[00:48:38] Alan Smithson: love it? Well, you know what? The heat map data will tell us where people go. [00:48:42] We'll find it. Yeah. Once we have this segregated data in the mall, we'll be able to tell, you know, okay. 57% of people went that way. 37 went that way. [00:48:50] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. And then you can keep adjusting, right? I mean, that's kinda the whole point is you want to keep adjusting and adapting to what, What's gonna work? [00:48:55] Alan Smithson: Yeah, you could put a plant there to make them sure. They go around it the other way. You just literally, and this is the other thing, you can re-merchandise your store for every day if you wanted to, you could be like, Hey, today we're gonna do, you know I don't know. It's October, so we're gonna do a Halloween theme, and for the month of October, it's Halloween theme.[00:49:10] And then, you know,

06 - Phones still open... Show closingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy Wednesday! On today's show, Chilli has some unwanted guests in her garage. Then Producer Kala is trying out a new subscription service to cure her thirst. Have you ever injured someone that drastically affected their hobby....well Toby is feeling guilty after accidentally hurting his girlfriend's foot. And then we talk to Keli Kirby is going viral for singing in Walmart. All of this and more on today's show.

S1E7 – SPECIAL: ShopTalk 2022 Recap – Retail's Great ReunionWelcome to Season 1, Episode 7, a special episode of The Retail Razor Show!For episode 7 we've changed things up a bit and Ricardo and Casey bring you a recap of the ShopTalk 2022 event in Las Vegas, which has come to be known as Retail's Great Reunion! Sure, you've probably heard plenty of recap shows on this year's ShopTalk, but this show doesn't just tell you “what” happened, we also explain “why” it matters and what that means for retail's future.I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation, and lead partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.And I'm your co-host, Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock and slayer of retail frankenstacks!Together, we're your guides on the retail transformation journey. Whether you're thinking digital and online, mobile, or brick & mortar stores, we'll help you cut through the clutter!And big news! Our podcast is holding strong on the Feedspot Top 60 Retail podcasts list! We're sitting strong at #21, so please do give us a 5-star review in Apple Podcasts or Spotify Podcasts if you like the show! With your help, we'll be on our way to a Top 10 spot! Check it out here: https://blog.feedspot.com/retail_podcasts/The Retail Razor ShowFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazorConnect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazorJoin our club on Clubhouse: http://bit.ly/RRazorClubListen to us on Callin: https://bit.ly/RRCallinSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeSubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShowRetail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPodHost → Ricardo Belmar,Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmarConnect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmarRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWRBelmarCo-host → Casey Golden,Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCaseyConnect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICaseyRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWCaseyTRANSCRIPTS1E7 ShopTalk 2022 Recap - Retail's Great Reunion[00:00:00] Show Introduction[00:00:20] Ricardo Belmar: hello Retail Razor show listeners! Welcome to a special season one bonus episode. Our 2 Part Shop Talk 2022 recap episode. I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar a RETHINK Retail, top retail influencer and lead partner marketing advisor for retail and consumer goods at Microsoft. [00:00:38] Casey Golden: And I'm your co-host Casey Golden CEO of Luxlock obsessed with the relationship between a brand and the consumer. I've spent my career on the fashion side of the business and moved over to supply chain technology slaying Frankenstacks![00:00:53] Ricardo Belmar: So once again, we have changed things up a bit and interrupted our regularly scheduled episode to bring you our thoughts on what we saw, what we learned and what surprised us about last week's shop talk event in Las Vegas. [00:01:06] Casey Golden: Everyone is reinvigorated to be working in retail. So let's head to the floor.[00:01:11] Ricardo Belmar: All right. Let's give a listen to part one, which we recorded live about a day and a half into the show. [00:01:22] Live from ShopTalk, Part 1[00:01:22] Ricardo Belmar: Hey everybody welcome to retail razor show live from Shoptalk 2022. This is a special live version on Callin. I'm here with my cohost Casey Golden. [00:01:32] Casey Golden: Hello everyone. [00:01:35] Ricardo Belmar: And it is a pleasure to be coming to you live from the show. This is a new thing for us on the Retail Razor Show. Isn't it? Casey. [00:01:42] Casey Golden: It is. And it's a new thing for the record attendance increase at shop talk as well. It's standing room only at retail's biggest reunion. [00:01:51] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. I've heard everybody calling it that- retail's biggest reunion. I think the, numbers I've heard of, up to 10,000 people maybe. [00:01:58] It's pretty incredible. [00:02:00] Casey Golden: It's pretty incredible. I mean, I think we actually got New York together again.[00:02:03] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly.[00:02:08] It's like I can't go down a hallway. . Every time I take 10 steps down the hallway and suddenly there's somebody looking back at me thinking, Hey wait, do we know each other? We haven't met in the last two years, but it feels like we know each other, [00:02:19] Casey Golden: you know, I have to say , I'm really glad that, we got our LinkedIn pictures that we're just trying to place, but then when everyone started switching their, their Twitter photos to NFTs, I'm like, I don't remember what you look like. [00:02:31] Ricardo Belmar: what do you look like? You don't look at all like your NFT on Twitter. [00:02:35] Casey Golden: No, not at all. I've been like glancing at badges, but - you know, I, this is a first for me. This is my first shop talk.[00:02:41] So I guess I'm starting at the top here[00:02:44] it's, it's really great. So many brands, so many people everybody just really pulling. It's going to be a big year this year. Like everyone's excited. [00:02:55] Ricardo Belmar: There's a huge amount of energy here. It's like everybody has been dying to get back together. See everybody they haven't seen for two years in this industry.[00:03:03] And it shows, it shows that they're, I don't think there's been another show yet for retail. That's been able to do that. [00:03:09] Casey Golden: No, I mean, we started off in day one. The vibe was electric. We literally with electric bands and presentations, and we've got Flo Rida here, which is exciting. [00:03:22] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. [00:03:22] Casey Golden: I know Fabric's doing a big party tonight.[00:03:25] Ricardo Belmar: Yep. There's that too. There's that too, lots of I think every night there's so many things you can't keep track of how many different activities there are? [00:03:31] Casey Golden: No, I mean, I'm, I'm pretty impressed so far. [00:03:34] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. So let's talk about some of the sessions so far. I'm going to call it day one. Maybe we should call it day one and a half. It was like a half day yesterday, I guess. [00:03:42] Casey Golden: Unknowingly. It was a half day. I arrived quite early. [00:03:47] Ricardo Belmar: I arrived late. So I missed part of yesterday. That was kind of unfortunate. [00:03:51] Casey Golden: You missed a lot of waiting.[00:03:56] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. How many people did you say there were two, [00:03:57] Casey Golden: a couple of breakfasts. A couple of lunches. It's like, oh my bad. [00:04:01] Ricardo Belmar: Right? Exactly. [00:04:02] Casey Golden: It starts in what time? [00:04:05] Ricardo Belmar: So I did, I did manage to hit a couple of the keynote sessions yesterday. There was some good, good experiences given out by Kath McLay, the CEO at Sam's Club on their pandemic experience and how they started changing how they think about customers.[00:04:20] Casey Golden: Yeah. I mean, that, that was like, it was nice to see the opening with just like three amazing women opening up that stage for conversation.[00:04:27] I spent my, my morning over at the shark reef, [00:04:32] Ricardo Belmar: of course. [00:04:32] Casey Golden: Yeah. Lot of great startups, you know, it was just, it's so nice to actually just be around a pitch competition where everybody's a retail tech startup. [00:04:42] Ricardo Belmar: Yep. [00:04:42] Casey Golden: It's so exciting. There's so much going on. There's so much innovation happening and.[00:04:48] All of the pitches were really well. [00:04:49] Ricardo Belmar: Very cool. And then I think just finishing now, by the time we're recording, I think there was a whole series of metaverse related keynotes going on, right? [00:04:59] Casey Golden: Yeah. I mean, I think maybe everybody will know what an NFT is and what the metaverse might do by the end, by what?[00:05:06] Tomorrow by the end of the week. [00:05:07] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. [00:05:07] Casey Golden: I think brands and techies might just have been able to cross the chasm here. [00:05:12] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, definitely. [00:05:13] Casey Golden: The Superbowl, ahh QR code was not lost. He's alive and well here. [00:05:19] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, no kidding. No kidding. Yeah.[00:05:22] Casey Golden: So some of the tracks we've got, developing tomorrow's retail, innovating growth opportunities, global shopping experiences, love hearing that global shopping experience. And the shark reef startup pitch. So, I mean, these are the way that they're kind of running the day based off the theme and then going down with new speakers, I think it's really great.[00:05:42] Just being able to really dive into these themes because all the brands seem to be aligned on key initiatives. [00:05:48] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. [00:05:49] Casey Golden: You know, [00:05:49] Ricardo Belmar: everybody seems really focused. [00:05:50] Casey Golden: It's really focused. And. Just all about the technologies and customer experience, and everybody's really just ready to go outside of their box and learn.[00:06:01] I think that's the biggest thing is so many meetings about, tell me about what you do, how do you want [00:06:07] to do it? Right. It's a, [00:06:10] Ricardo Belmar: everybody's genuinely interested and there's a lot of focus. Everybody wants to learn more. And everyone's just so excited to see each other. It's just, [00:06:19] I know that's right. That's right.[00:06:21] Yeah, exactly. Exactly. It's a good, if you're at this show, then you're coming away thinking it's a good time to be in retail tech[00:06:30] Casey Golden: by golly. It took long enough Katia Walsh from Levi's they had a great talk yesterday. On attracting and developing and retaining top digital talent. Where's Ron, when you need him. [00:06:40] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. Shout out to Ron. [00:06:42] Casey Golden: Yeah. There was a lot of people that were coming out of that just feeling really invigorated and excited.[00:06:47] Ricardo Belmar: yeah. What else, what other cool sessions have you been to so far?[00:06:49] Casey Golden: You know what I've gotten pulled out of a lot of sessions for meetings. Today is really gonna be focused on sessions and tomorrow the first day I was just so excited to leave my apartment. [00:07:01] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. I've been hearing that a lot from everybody, everyone I run into. It's so good to be away. [00:07:06] Casey Golden: Yeah. I wanted to meet as many people as I could.[00:07:09] I made so many new friends on Twitter over the last two years from clubhouse where these conversations started. Yeah. I've got a whole crew of like new BFFs [00:07:22] Ricardo Belmar: and they're all here. [00:07:23] Everybody's here. That's amazing. [00:07:24] Casey Golden: Being able to spend time to actually talk to people and socialize rather than I got 30 minutes for zoom.[00:07:35] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. [00:07:35] Casey Golden: There's nothing like real life. [00:07:37] Ricardo Belmar: And it's like standing and it's like standing room only. Like you want to meet with someone around here. There's no space. So you gotta find like where where's the empty space that you can kind of huddle around to meet with whoever you want to meet. Yeah. In the next minute.[00:07:49] Casey Golden: Yes. [00:07:49] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. [00:07:50] Casey Golden: It's like, I'll meet you in the corner of here and there. We'll just sit on the floor. It's good. [00:07:56] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. And then I got to say about half the people that I've met with, every conversation starts with , I feel like I don't remember how to do a conference any more and , I'm so lost.[00:08:07] I had a dozen people say to me, I forgot how far away everything is in Las Vegas. You think it's right across the street and that's not a five minute walk. I was like, oh, we want to meet in which room? In the convention center. Oh, that's just down the hall, except that the hall is, you know, a thousand feet long.[00:08:22] Casey Golden: Yeah. oh, I'll be right there. And it's like 10, 15 minutes. It's my bad. [00:08:26] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, exactly. So let's see [00:08:28] Casey Golden: oxygen this way.[00:08:33] Ricardo Belmar: Let's see what other, what other trends I'm hearing people talk about sustainability again, I'm hearing more and more talk on retail media, which was one of our predictions for the year, understand there's that there was Instacart session. They talked a lot about retail media advertising on their platform, and that makes sense. You'd expect that [00:08:50] Casey Golden: Yeah, getting much more targeted. A lot of people want to diversify from the Facebook, Instagram ad models and find some new channels to really reach their customers and build on a lot is getting lost in those customer acquisition costs and really being able to actually acquire those customers.[00:09:08] Ricardo Belmar: Right. [00:09:09] Casey Golden: Everybody's on the same platform. So people are getting really creative. Super creative.[00:09:13] I am super impressed too, to see there's a lot of Silicon valley here. [00:09:17] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. [00:09:18] Casey Golden: I was, I was blown away. I'm walking by, I'm like, wait, what Andresseen Horiwitz just took the whole sec. Okay. They're there on almost every panel. There's somebody almost on every panel from Silicon valley, which is, we're just pretty easily.[00:09:34] That means, you know, everybody knows that this is going to be the next 24 months in retail is going to be a big deal. Yeah. And we'll get to see how all of this kind of shakes out what the customers think right in what, 2024.[00:09:51] So this is all for 2025 right now. It's all for 2025.[00:09:56] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. And then as usual for a shoptalk, right. A lot of big brands on stage , besides Sam's club and the opening, I think there was Macy's and Target today. A lot of big names talking about what their vision of the future of commerce. I haven't walked the show floor yet [00:10:11] Casey Golden: across the gamut. I mean, going from Ralph Lauren to Albertsons. [00:10:15] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. And everything in between.[00:10:16] And if there's one phrase that almost every single session repeats, it has to be meeting our customer where they are being able to let them transact any way they want anywhere they want that. That's, there's like one theme that's hitting every single session.[00:10:31] Everybody's got [00:10:31] that talk, track that enablement. [00:10:34] Casey Golden: A lot more about enablement rather than necessarily building the solution. It's all about how you connect with other solutions. [00:10:39] Ricardo Belmar: Right. Right. [00:10:40] Casey Golden: So a lot of API builds here coming up, [00:10:43] and just a really big rise and a headless. I mean, you can't really walk through here with, without the entire, all the walls talking about headless commerce, but I think there's going to be a lot of interesting changes here going in with.[00:10:55] Some, some replatforming to be able to have that flexibility to connect to all of these new emerging technologies.[00:11:01] Ricardo Belmar: Yep, absolutely. That is a big, big theme. And I've just even, yeah, I can looking forward to walking through the show floor and checking out all of these different companies that are doing just that if I gauge, just by what I see, all the photos I see from the show floor being posted on social. It's like every other one is something related to headless commerce.[00:11:22] Casey Golden: I mean Fabric's doing some killer job right now. Yeah. Commerce tools. It's getting really interesting. I mean, I know a lot of brands right now that have a lot of headless commerce projects in the works which is just opens up so much flexibility for being able to deploy new innovation. [00:11:39] Getting off of some of these. Proprietary systems.[00:11:42] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. And then I'll have to come back to metaverse again, because there's so many sessions today on that. I have a feeling that as soon as we leave this recording, all we're going to hear people talking about in the hallways is which brand did what? In a metaverse experiment so far this year.[00:11:56] Casey Golden: Yeah. There you either see a smile or like some eyes rolling, [00:11:59] Ricardo Belmar: right? Yeah. It's like one extreme or the other, right? There's no one between, everybody's either on the one extreme of, I gotta try more. Or are there on the other side and rolling their eyes, thinking, why are you even doing that? What, where do you hope to get from that?[00:12:11] How are you making money from that? [00:12:13] Casey Golden: But this is where we find the utility, right. Is being able to get to experiment. [00:12:17] Ricardo Belmar: It's just like when we did our predictions episode, right? If they're not experimenting, you're not learning. And if you're not learning, you're not going to get anywhere. [00:12:24] Casey Golden: If you're not experimenting, the learning process is not fun. [00:12:29] it's a lot of complicated reading. You just learn as you go and experiment. It's much more fun to learn, by trying and just, you know, go buy an NFT. Go get some Oculus goggles, join discord, [00:12:42] Ricardo Belmar: sign on to Roblox. [00:12:44] Casey Golden: Right. But it is, it's definitely the theme. I just, I just hope that it doesn't turn. You're just this marketing puff. Right. You know, where we do things everybody's talking about it. But then at the end of the day, nobody executes against the plan[00:12:58] Ricardo Belmar: and it all falls apart.[00:12:59] Casey Golden: And we talked about it, but nobody did anything. So I'm really hoping that this really fuels that conversation into the future and really looking at all the priorities that these companies have. Cause I mean, I think.[00:13:12] We're coming into the beginning of April and a lot of projects have already been tested out for the entire rest of the year.[00:13:19] Ricardo Belmar: That's right. Yeah. [00:13:20] Casey Golden: So if you're trying to get into a company to implement technology, you're trying to get a new piece of software approved. A lot's already been allocated.[00:13:29] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. [00:13:30] Casey Golden: A lot's already been allocated. So if anything, if there's a big takeaway here, hopefully there's some slush funds that are created just for innovation on the fly because everything's changing so fast. [00:13:41] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, that's right. That's right. The key is to keep experimenting and trying it. The other thing that I've noticed too, more people talking about that this wasn't true.[00:13:51] Not, not even just a few years ago is the idea of sharing the knowledge and collaborating with others that you might've thought, oh, I don't want anybody to know what I'm doing because it's my competitive advantage, to a shift where, well, that's not your competitive advantage, right? The fact that you're thinking about doing these things and experimenting, that's not your advantage, your advantage is going to come when you actually get it done and how you do it and how well you execute it.[00:14:14] That's going to give you your advantage. But if somebody else learns along the way, it's one of those rising tides lift all boats, right? So if everybody in the industry starts doing it correctly in a meaningful way, then more and more consumers get interested in this. And then everybody wins. [00:14:28] Casey Golden: But this is one of those things,[00:14:29] Ricardo Belmar: it's not a zero sum game.[00:14:30] Casey Golden: No, this is the, the more, the more people that kind of come together and start doing the same thing, the stronger the whole entire initiative is going to be rather than keeping things so tight, [00:14:40] Ricardo Belmar: right, . Yeah. . I think that that's something we have, I don't remember seeing in past shows, pre pandemic. So I'm wondering if [00:14:47] Casey Golden: there's not even in a culture period. [00:14:50] Ricardo Belmar: No, it wasn't. So I think that's a new takeaway. That's coming from this. And I kind of feel like a lot of it has to do with everybody. You know, everyone in this industry has been around in so many ways, people know people , which sounds silly to say, but it's so true.[00:15:04] Right. That's why everybody, you see this happening right. In every hallway at the show, people just running into each other. I haven't seen you in two years. And I think that's just caused everybody to want to share. [00:15:13] Casey Golden: Yeah. I mean, what have you been up to?[00:15:15] Ricardo Belmar: Exactly, exactly. [00:15:16] Casey Golden: Being able to take those conversations into just not what the agenda was for a call. Yeah. You know, and just kind of speak freely and things that you're excited about or things that you've been learning about or what you've been doing on the side, a lot of the stuff , we've had a lot of extra time to pick up new hobbies and new interest in a lot of that.[00:15:32] Right. I don't know any retail person that really has a life outside of retail, you know, what is it? Eat, sleep. Like we breathe retail. The drift, the brand right. Brand DNA. Right. So I mean, there's just so much that there's been so many new books that have been written during the pandemic.[00:15:51] There's been so many perspectives that have been shared. Yeah. And just kind of going down rabbit holes. So I'm super excited for the rest of the week on this. I think we'll probably have some good takeaway notes to kind of add on here. [00:16:03] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. Yeah. We're going to have to do a followup show on how the rest of shop talk went after this one, [00:16:10] Casey Golden: because the big thing are we coming back?[00:16:12] Well, I know you are, but this is a show that I would not have normally have come to. Yeah. I wasn't planning at all. I bought a ticket on Thursday and flew out Saturday because there's just so many people that are going to [00:16:26] be here. No. I'm like the opportunity. [00:16:29] Right. All right. Let's go check out [00:16:31] this Shoptalk.[00:16:32] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. Well that was my first one too. It was, but I, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it definitely, definitely is well worth the vibe. [00:16:39] Casey Golden: Yeah. They really brought the energy here knowing that it was going to be every, a lot of people's first time back out and like, yeah, there's some good entertainment.[00:16:49] There's some good design. They put a lot of effort into keeping the energy level high, especially in such a big space. [00:16:55] Ricardo Belmar: That's a good point. That's a good point. Although I think the one, if my one suggested tip for them. So any of the, anybody listening from the event, because I'm sure they're all listening to every single word we're saying, but my big tip is more meeting spaces for just impromptu, nice little seating areas.[00:17:11] You're just for when you have those moments. When you run into somebody in the hallway, you don't have to just stand around in the middle of the floor and chatting. You don't have some place to sit somewhere. I mean, come on. [00:17:20] Casey Golden: Yeah, because it has, okay, let's meet all the way on the other side.[00:17:25] Ricardo Belmar: It takes 10 minutes to walk down. It takes time. [00:17:27] Casey Golden: We'll meet there in a half an hour. Because it is that I forgot like a guy here and I was just like, oh yeah, this is like bigger than a New York avenue. A Las Vegas block is bigger than a New York avenue.[00:17:41] So what is on your schedule for the rest of today? [00:17:44] Ricardo Belmar: I had to try to check out some, I got some sessions I'm gonna try to check out. I've got fun things going on, doing some other interesting video recordings with some other, other fellow friends haven't seen in two years. So that'll be cool.[00:17:58] And how we'll see, we'll see what comes from that. I'm looking forward to Sessions. Cause there are a lot of different topics once we get past the the metaverse that's going on now. There's some things on just on like data. There, there is interesting to see if there's, few sessions on future of work and how frontline worker conditions are changing.[00:18:17] I think those would be interesting and I think there's some really cool keynote ones left. With some interesting brands. [00:18:24] Casey Golden: Yeah, I'm going to head over to cultivating customer relationships have got the chief data officer over at Poshmark and the information officer over at, from Maui, Jim, and then experienced design with best buy, which I just find completely foreign for cultivating customer relationships.[00:18:41] So Annie A's going to be there as the interviewer. So this is going to be. Really interesting. Because when you think of Poshmark, I don't think of customers service or relationship, or I fall in love with my poshers, right. That they gift wrap my purchase and they send me these beautiful little handwritten notes.[00:19:00] I'm like, come on. Like frankly, shopping on Poshmark is, so much sweeter and kinder than ordering online. You can put little confetti in my box.[00:19:12] So I'm really excited to kind of dig into that because I only look at it from such a tight perspective. So this for me is really about opening up my mind to kind of see what everybody else is doing. Since I have such tunnel vision in general,[00:19:26] Ricardo Belmar: it's called focus. We call that focus, Casey. [00:19:29] Casey Golden: That's right. Focus. [00:19:31] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, bring the marketing speak.[00:19:33] Casey Golden: I, I was focused on until I saw this. I'm like, wow, you guys are all over the place. [00:19:36] Ricardo Belmar: Exactly, exactly. You, and then I think there's a couple of looking forward to on some interesting new innovative tech to do so hope to get through those. [00:19:44] Casey Golden: A lot with check out.[00:19:46] There's a lot of stuff happening with checkout. [00:19:48] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. [00:19:48] Casey Golden: You get to pick where, how you want to check out five different ways. [00:19:52] Ricardo Belmar: A lot of focus on that, yep. [00:19:53] Casey Golden: It's kind of interesting [00:19:54] Ricardo Belmar: all about making it a frictionless experience. [00:19:57] Casey Golden: So let's get back out on the floor. [00:19:59] Ricardo Belmar: All right. Then we'll wrap up here and we're going to plan on circling back after the show at some point.[00:20:04] See what the, rest of the week plays out for us. [00:20:06] Casey Golden: Yeah. We'll have a full, good recap of what you missed.[00:20:09] Ricardo Belmar: Everything we liked, anything we didn't. [00:20:10] Casey Golden: what you need to google [00:20:12] Ricardo Belmar: exactly. Yeah. What to look up? Who to talk to all that good stuff. All right. Cool. So we will call this one a wrap! [00:20:18] Intermission[00:20:18] Ricardo Belmar: And we're back. That was the first part of our special Shop talk recap episode, which we recorded live on the Callin app about halfway through the event. Hopefully, you are ready to jump straight into the second half of the Great Retail Reunion so we can give you the rest of the juicy story. Let's listen to part two of our shop talk 2022 recap also recorded in the Callin app. [00:20:50] ShopTalk Recap on Callin, Part 2[00:20:50] Ricardo Belmar: Casey. [00:20:52] Casey Golden: Good morning. Good morning. [00:20:53] Good morning. [00:20:54] Ricardo Belmar: Good morning. We are back on Callin. How cool is that? [00:20:58] Casey Golden: I like it. [00:20:59] Ricardo Belmar: All right. So when we were last on here, We did our live day, one and a half. I think I called it session from shop talk, where we talked about what we saw on the first day and on like the, what we about halfway through the second day, the first day was only a half day, right?.[00:21:14] Casey Golden: Unexpectedly, yes[00:21:16] Ricardo Belmar: unexpectedly, yeah, unexpectedly, but we did both note that it was unexpectedly a half day. So now we're back to do our whole recap summary of the entire events and kind of run through some, all the big themes that we saw there. And there were quite a few, I think I'm gonna say like the biggest one that sorta surprised me, but maybe shouldn't have, is this whole idea that everybody, it seemed like every session couldn't stop talking about how stores are quote back.[00:21:41] Or, as I like to say as if they ever really went away, because they never really did go away, but, but everybody seems to act like, oh, brick and mortar is coming back. [00:21:49] Casey Golden: Yeah.[00:21:49] Stores weren't closed in a lot of locations for, for too long. So it is a little bit surprising to hear stores are back. Maybe there has been this, this huge focus for e-commerce. [00:22:00] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. And I guess maybe for shop talk that's especially true, right? [00:22:03] With a lot of digitally native vertical brands starting out online.[00:22:07] A lot of founders, always presenting at shop. Talk about the cool new new products they're bringing to the market. So I guess if I think about it in those terms, yeah, might be a little strange to see people talking about stores coming back, but there were more and more founders and DTC is getting up on stage, talking about how, you just can't grow past a certain point.[00:22:26] Like I heard, at least one mentioned how you, if you want to get past a hundred million, you got to start opening stores. You just can't do it. Cause like customer acquisition costs are too high. [00:22:35] Casey Golden: Yeah. I've seen a lot of people putting plans open to open up stores, more pop-up shops. We did lose some stores.[00:22:42] But I think, you know, we're still working on that right set of what's the right amount of stores and where should they be? [00:22:47] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, that's true. [00:22:48] Casey Golden: With a lot of underperforming locations in general. [00:22:52] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. It is all about the location and getting the right spot. [00:22:55] Casey Golden: Yeah. Got to know where that customer is.[00:22:57] Ricardo Belmar: And I think we've seen it proven out time after time, that time one of these direct to consumer brands opens a store, their e-commerce sales actually go up in the surrounding zip codes. [00:23:07] Casey Golden: Yeah. I mean, a lot of that online browsing, it drives that, that in store experience I found more opportunity in looking online so that I can go into the store and see what inventory is there. But I do have to say it's been increasingly difficult because that's not a, that's not an option that I personally even used to use, but now it seems to be that I need to check to see what's in the store because so much inventory is light.[00:23:34] Ricardo Belmar: That's right. Yeah. Right. [00:23:36] Casey Golden: And I'm like, well, if I go there, Are you going to have that? What I just saw online. So I think there's going to be a lot of tech going back into brick and mortar, new budgets. Let's hope that brick and mortar stores are back means that they also have budgets. [00:23:52] Ricardo Belmar: I, you know, if I judged from the general sense I got at the show, it's a hundred percent true. [00:23:58] Casey Golden: Yeah.[00:23:59] Ricardo Belmar: And we talked about that right. In our prediction to show at the beginning of the year that there was going to be more investment in stores, that stores were going to go strong and that were, that investment level was going up. The IT spend was going up.[00:24:11] I think if anything, I come away from shop talk thinking that our predictions are going to hold true. [00:24:15] Casey Golden: I agree. I've never seen so many people happy and reinvigorated about their careers. And like, we do have an opportunity in, in this, the best industry right now. I feel there's going to be so much change so much excitement and everybody is just really excited to talk with each other to collaborate and to learn.[00:24:37] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. I when you had sessions, like Sam's club CEO, Kath McLay, when she talked about all the interesting convenience shopping features that they introduced over the last two years. And the impact of that had not just on their shopping experience, but just with what business impact that had and how people started to spend more, how they serve customers and the things that everybody has talked about this for a while, right.[00:24:59] Things like scanning, go checkout. They had an interesting concept of scan and ship from the store for things when they're out of stock and you can just scan it and have it shipped to you, on the spot. It really kind of reaffirmed that I heard this, not just in that session, but in other ones that , if you're not embracing everyone's favorite word to hate in retail, and that's omni-channel, if you're not a brand that's doing that then you're completely missing out, right? You're not going to grow your relationship with those customers. And that's why so many of those digitally native brands kept getting onstage, talking about how many stores they were going to open up. [00:25:30] Casey Golden: Yeah. And, and it's very interesting when you take the DNV B and...[00:25:36] The information they're looking at when they're opening up a store compared to a traditional retailer. When they're looking at where where's my customer, who's going to engage in store versus an online DNVB's have a very much broader detail on, on their customer base. Just because they've collected so much more of that direct to consumer data and had those relationships online.[00:26:01] So it will be interesting, when, some of these locations open up it'll be interesting to see where everybody puts themselves in what communities what towns, because it's not going to necessarily be the largest. [00:26:14] Ricardo Belmar: You're right. There are going to be super smart about where they put these just based on the data they've got about their existing customer base.[00:26:23] And I think this, this whole expansion of them into more. Omni-channel mode, just kind of, for me, reaffirms that whether you love or hate the term, the idea around it, it really is just a synonym for how consumers want to shop period. End of statement. Right. It's just that everybody now realizes, that there's almost, wasn't a point. Thinking about individual sales channels, because that's not how people shop or people have completely adopted this mode of whether I'm in a digital channel or I'm in a store. I'm blending them every single moment. I'm shopping with a brand I'm blending all of these channels and that's how I expect to shop period. [00:27:01] Casey Golden: Yeah..[00:27:01] Ricardo Belmar: Then that's what every brand has to accept and embrace now.[00:27:04] Casey Golden: So ricardo, are we saying that. Omni-channel is coming back into conversation and we might just figure it out this year? [00:27:10] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, I think anybody who hasn't figured it out yet is definitely going to figure it out whether or not they want to call it omni channel.[00:27:17] I think there's still plenty of people that hate calling it omni-channel as a term. And I'll admit that I go back and forth on that one. I would almost prefer to just think of it as pure commerce. Right. It's just, it's the normal mode of operation. It's not a special thing anymore. It's just the way we all shop.[00:27:33] Casey Golden: Yeah, no, [00:27:33] I think that's great. Ikea also put a lot of new tech into their digitization strategy for stores with click and collect and, doing that customer journey using a lot more technology tools inside of their locations. [00:27:46] Ricardo Belmar: Let's expand a little on that because there were, as much as we just said, it's not about the channel. It's about the customer but let's for a moment, think about channels. There were a lot of interesting new channels being talked about at Shoptalk. One was live streaming which again was another one of our top 10 predictions. [00:28:01] Casey Golden: Favorite![00:28:02] Ricardo Belmar: Yep. That's right. I saw , a cool demonstration one session on started giving you a way to integrate live streaming in all of your other channels.[00:28:10] So for example, whether it's your mobile app or your website, and so you have some live streams going when someone gets to a product page on a product that's tied to a live stream, you can insert the live stream right then and there, right? So you don't have to add an extra step for the consumer to pop into that live stream and see what's going on.[00:28:26] So I thought that was an, an interesting approach. Now, there was a lot of talk that live streaming is huge in China and throughout Asia. The big question is, is it going to work the same in Western countries? I I'm, I'm thinking that it's, it's not, I'm not going to say that it isn't going to work. I absolutely think it will, but I think it's going to be different. [00:28:45] Casey Golden: It's going to have to be different. [00:28:46] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. [00:28:47] Because, because people shop differently, people look at this technology differently in Western countries and the, in that sense, and it's not that one is better or more right. Or more wrong. It's just, it's just different.[00:28:57] And everybody has to adapt to. The one thing I heard that I was most excited for live streaming. I think you and I talked about this in our predictions episode was the idea of using your store associates to run your live streams. And I think you and I've talked about that with our friend, Ron .[00:29:12] And I actually heard that mentioned on stage about how there is an expectation that maybe that's going to be the way it goes, which for me is a little different than what we see happening in Asia. I like this term that we've talked about before the sort of the, the engineered influencer, when a retail brand creates their own influencer by using their store associates for that.[00:29:31] Casey Golden: Yeah. I'm obviously a big fan of that. I also do though see the value in having the studios. I see a lot more studios popping up. I see more people, more brands creating a dedicated space for live streaming and setting up that area specifically for live streaming and getting that personality.[00:29:50] That is kind of like the base of the brand that they're pulling in for those. I do think it's a different talent than being a salesperson on the floor. But I like the direction either way. [00:30:01] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. And it wouldn't surprise me if we see a mix of the two, right. More, depending on the, maybe the size of the retailer, whether you build out these studios or whether you do something else, it's more smaller scale.[00:30:11] But but I think we're gonna see both of those happening from large and small retailers, [00:30:16] Casey Golden: I agree. And just kind of taking control on bringing that to their own website rather than relying on the. Tik TOK or the Instagram live, or even some of these Amazon lives, right? There's a lot of third parties where they've already built quite an audience, but most of the tech that I saw was about bringing that live stream conversation and event onto the brands' website and owning that engagement on the site where they can convert. [00:30:45] Ricardo Belmar: Right. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. That's big. That's big [00:30:49] Casey Golden: still not, not saying that they're going to stop using other channels, but I just saw a lot of an emphasis of bringing these e-commerce stores to life. [00:30:58] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, I agree. And. On that note, one of my other favorite topics that kept coming up or retail media networks and a lot of shop talk sessions, especially any session that had one of the local delivery guys, whether it was the Uber CEO or Instacart CEO or somebody from door dash.[00:31:12] I mean, they were all talking about converting their delivery service into more of a marketplace where, you know, some of them even admitted, right. That the delivery part of the business is probably no better than a breakeven business, but where they're really going to get their revenue in the future is from advertising.[00:31:29] Because like any other marketplace, you've got to sell advertising on it. So the brands to get customers to notice. So again, another one of our predictions from the beginning of the year, right? This was another popular one. Obviously, you know, Amazon's killing it. Walmart and target. Aren't doing too bad on that.[00:31:46] Kroger is crushing it with their media network. Everybody wants to get in on this. I dunno, what are you, what do you think on that one, Casey? [00:31:52] Casey Golden: Well, it's not a space where you're printing cash. You're burning it. And so these last mile and these delivery services, like they have been wonderful over the last two years.[00:32:03] It's it's exposed customer bases that have never even thought that they would ever order their groceries online or have something delivered. Those services are getting pushed back because it just hasn't been as profitable. It's not a big money maker, but they got the customers and they got, they built their brands.[00:32:22] They've made it onto the front of an, of hundreds of thousands of consumers phones. Their app is now on the front because we have relied on it for the last couple of years. And so they're gonna, they're finding new ways to be able to monetize and move with those customers and hopefully something that just makes them a little bit more profit because some of the, a lot of these services are pushing back in, in certain areas.[00:32:46] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. Totally true. So that one to me is an interesting one. Looking forward to watching how that one, how that develops across the board with a media networks and with all of these delivery, guys are already starting to see some shake out of that, which again, another topic we had in our top 10, right, was that there was going to be some consolidation or some sort of shake out in that space.[00:33:04] And we see that happening. [00:33:05] Casey Golden: Forgive me. I don't re I don't recall. But some of these multi-brand retailers are launching retail media networks and focusing on media, which I found very interesting that rather than being that distribution point and that stock point for the customers to be able to come in and shop across multiple brands in our traditional retail model.[00:33:28] They've launched their own retail media network. And charging brands for the content. [00:33:33] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. So I can't wait to see what some of these DNVB brands that have come up right. Who are used to spending all of their marketing and customer acquisition on all like Facebook and Instagram, places like that.[00:33:45] And now suddenly if they start going into wholesale agreements with other retailers who have their own marketplace, guess what? They're going to be buying advertising space from the retailers. [00:33:53] Casey Golden: Yeah.[00:33:54] Ricardo Belmar: So that's going to be an interesting one to see what that does to their to their cost model. [00:33:57] Casey Golden: I, a hundred percent agree.[00:33:59] Ricardo Belmar: Okay. So we have to talk about the metaverse because it kind of felt like on the second day, it's like every other session at shop talk was about metaverse and, and I, and it's, it's funny to me because there are, at least I can think of at least one, but there were a bunch of our, friendly retail expert friends who were kind of getting tired of hearing so much about the metaverse that they felt.[00:34:19] You know, metaverse, doesn't seem to exist outside of retail conferences. [00:34:23] Casey Golden: Oh, you got that, too?[00:34:25] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. I heard that too. Yeah, I know. [00:34:26] Casey Golden: But something thing about the metaverse and like, "if I hear that word one more time" or[00:34:31] " I'm not, he's like, I'm going to be done with the word by the time I leave." [00:34:34] Ricardo Belmar: yeah, that's right. That's right. Yeah. [00:34:35] Casey Golden: I mean, just rolling of eyes. I mean, you could really see , who was, kind of rolling their eyes and then at the same time, whose eyes wanted to pop out because they were so excited. [00:34:45] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. It's like you had two extremes of the show. You had every. Could not wait to jump up on stage and show off what they're want to do in the metaverse. And you had the other half of the people rolling their eyes saying, oh no, not another metaverse session. Come on. It's not real. [00:35:01] Casey Golden: Exactly. I'm like, it's like, well, we know who's on Twitter.[00:35:04] Don't we? [00:35:06] Ricardo Belmar: That's right. That's right. And I had my, one of my favorite, one of my favorite comments on that is, and I can't remember now who said it first, but it was said a bunch of times as you know, for as much. People are getting up on stage, talking about how stores are back. If they weren't talking about how stores are back, they were talking about the metaverse and it's like, you've got these two extremes, .[00:35:24] Either everybody's going back to the stores or everybody's going to jump into the metaverse and do their shopping there. [00:35:28] Casey Golden: Yeah. It just, I think at the end of the day, people want to be together again. [00:35:32] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. I agree. I agree. But I'm still gonna say though. If you're a brand that's not a reason to stop doing whatever your experiment you're doing on the metaverse that this is still the year where you should be trying things out, testing the waters, see what your customers are going to accept what they like, what they don't like, and just figure out what, what you might do in the future.[00:35:52] This isn't the year where you're gonna make a lot of top line revenue out of the metaverse and whatever presence you have. It's the year where you're just going to experiment and try things and see what you, what you're going to invest in later. [00:36:02] Casey Golden: Exactly exactly. I mean, we haven't had something this fun and creative to talk about for, I mean, probably most of the history.[00:36:11] I mean, it's, since we had e-commerce the metaverse brings a new, a new life and a new, energy to the space in general. So, it has to be exciting to talk about. We have traditionally, it's been very much supply chain. Supply chain is not the sexiest industry and conversation. There's not a lot of creativity on there's definitely no fluorescent green or neon lights when we're dealing with the supply chain.[00:36:36] We've got a lot of barcodes. So I think it's going to be. Really interesting how this kind of merges into these conversations into these budgets to be a fly on the wall in 2022 at a brand I'm slightly missing that opportunity to be able to hear these conversations as they happen. [00:36:54] Ricardo Belmar: Right, right.[00:36:55] Yeah. And you know, one of the interesting supply chain conversations, I heard a lot of, which I was pleased to see is this a sort of acceptance that you can't look at your supply chain as a cost center anymore, but it's really more of a, of a differentiated asset for your business. Just given all the challenges that are still out there in the supply chain, around the world, [00:37:15] that we haven't solved all those problems in the last couple of years. There's still issues there. And, and that, to me, kind of led to some more discussions around just profitability in general, right. We used to go to these shows and, and just listened to a speaker after speaker talk about this new disruptive thing they were doing and all of this VC money that was pouring in to help prop everybody up and, fund them to try to get growth really fast, but nobody ever worried about profitability.[00:37:40] And now it seems like. Maybe it's because there are people or something to worry about and inflation and some of these other supply chain issues. But now there's a little bit more of a thought as to, well, when are these things going to turn profitable? [00:37:51] Casey Golden: Yeah, I mean, just for the presence of venture capitalists at Shoptalk it was big and so.[00:37:58] Really seeing how, they've made a lot of investments in direct to consumer. So I find it very intriguing of their attendance. And then also getting so much on supply chain and physical stores, because traditionally that's just not really been where their money has been spent. But I think that they, everybody kind of realizes that that's where that's where the budgets are going to go.[00:38:20] That's where the investment's going to go. And that's, what's going to set apart winners from losers over the next few years.[00:38:26] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And, and I guess it, you almost kinda have to say after, after watching all the VCs that were there, but it turns out that shockingly, these VCs actually want to make a return on their money.[00:38:37] They don't just want to give it to everybody. [00:38:39] Casey Golden: I think there's been some hard lessons in the space. And then also with the pandemic, you know, digital is definitely risen, but it's about next steps. [00:38:47] Ricardo Belmar: Right, right. And what are those next steps? [00:38:49] Yeah. Yeah. Just be more of the same Sam's club. Right, exactly.[00:38:52] Casey Golden: Yeah. You know, opening up more stores. [00:38:54] Ricardo Belmar: That's right. That's right. And. Yeah. And then another topic that kind of related to that, that I started hearing more about that I think is sort of taking a back seat the last couple of years, and that was sustainability. You know, consumers still care about sustainability. I've seen some numbers lately, one study said 84% of consumers still say that sustainability is important to them when they're making a purchase decision. I saw another report that 60% of consumers are willing to change their shopping behavior. If they believe that change will reduce environmental impact.[00:39:24] And this one kind of surprised me, I'd say that I saw had a number of like 66, 67% people say they were willing to pay more for a brand that demonstrates real sustainable practices. And that's the, big fact right there at conferences, pre pandemic people were talking about sustainability.[00:39:41] You couldn't find a brand or a retailer that was going to say, oh no, I'm not worried about that. Everybody was worried about everybody said they were doing something, but at the end of the day, how many were really doing something tangible? [00:39:52] Casey Golden: Yeah. I mean, there's, there's a lot more going into packaging.[00:39:56] The marketing content is much more focused in that area. It's really gonna come down to like proof in the pudding, you know, in the coming year of how much you've actually executed against. But I find it very interesting. As the economy shifts, sustainability conversations go up and down. We tried to do this in 2007, with organic lines, more sustainability.[00:40:19] We tried to do it. And the economy went down. And the sustainability companies and the organic apparel companies closed their doors. So I hope that this time it's, it's here to stay and I think it's here to stay. Consumers are ready for it, and they're willing to change their behavior to take hold of it.[00:40:39] We've also had a lot of negative press over the last two years about the impact of our industry, because I do have to say like the fashion industry is, is part of the problem. [00:40:51] Ricardo Belmar: You're absolutely right. Absolutely. Right. So that, probably could have gotten even more attention at shop talk.[00:40:56] I think I heard more hallway discussion around that maybe then than actual speaking sessions, but it did come up. The last thing, I guess, worth mentioning, you just touched on it the economy that we've had these essentially for, a lot of retailers two booming years of sales and revenue and profitability.[00:41:11] So the, the retailers that went into the pandemic with the right technology investments and the right operational structures, they won, they came out as winners, everybody else? Maybe not so much and that they hopefully learned some lessons over the last couple of years on where they need to improve and what they need to do.[00:41:27] But so now that leaves, for me two big questions, but just sort of heard rumblings about at the show, one being, how do you comp against those last few years, if you were one of those spectacular retailers, can you still eat out another year of spectacular growth or do you expect it to level off?[00:41:41] And if you were not one of those winners, do you recover now? What are you going to do? How are you catching up to the winners and recover from that. And in both of those cases, is, the economy and is inflation going to be something that challenges you, you've got, some other unknown factors with consumer spending around people wanting to buy less stuff now, because we can all go out again.[00:42:01] So people want more experiences. Travel is probably going to come back more. People are going back to restaurants and it's all the same pile of money at the end of the day, so to speak. So what if, if consumers over the last two years shifted their spend to stuff and now it goes back to services and experiences, then we'll, if you're one of those brands selling stuff, you might not sell as much. [00:42:20] Casey Golden: Yeah that's going to be, it's going to be really interesting on consumer behavior coming out of the pandemic. I mean, I myself have made some dramatic differences in my shopping behavior and even how I want to spend my money. And I'm not a typical consumer we know too much, don't we?[00:42:37] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, we do too, but we're dangerous that way as consumers, but, you know, [00:42:41] Casey Golden: So I think it's going to be interesting because what are you copying? Because so much happened during the pandemic with consumer behavior and some of it was forced. Some of it was a natural progression. Some of it was. Introspect.[00:42:55] So when it comes down to comp-ing, we're looking at 2019, we're looking at 2021, but we're really going to be building these projections kind of fresh. And there's going to be a little bit of instability on meeting those goals because we're going to be learning. They're going to be learning so much every quarter, this year of what's real.[00:43:15] And , what stuck. And what is the future look like? [00:43:19] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, a hundred percent, a hundred percent. So that's going to be really interesting to see when all of these brands and retailers start doing their quarterly reports with their forward-looking statements are going to be, I think that's going to be the most, the most telling thing of, of what we learned from them.[00:43:33] So any, last thoughts that stood out to you Casey? Before we close this out? [00:43:37] Casey Golden: Well, you know, I have some last thoughts. I found that the convention hall was buzzing which I find rare at trade shows. It's not used the energy. Isn't typically. Convention hall. But I found it to be very different. It's my first experience at Shoptalk. I had a great one and everybody had, I mean, everything was buzzing. Everybody wanted to talk and learn and, I heard some great questions and people just really digging in and open to the idea of selecting new vendors.[00:44:07] So I'm pretty excited. [00:44:09] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, you're right, the excitement level was high and everybody came away from the show feeling just as excited about their retail and retail tech future. [00:44:16] Casey Golden: I mean, how lucky are we? [00:44:18] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, if anything, shop talk, convinced anybody that went, this is a great industry to be in. And for most people that reaffirmed that Not only is it a great industry to be in, but that you're probably really happy to be in it. [00:44:29] Casey Golden: Yep. I agree. [00:44:33] Ricardo Belmar: All right. Well with that, I think we going to wrap up our great retail reunion. Shoptalk recap on Callin [00:44:39] Casey Golden: bye everyone.[00:44:40] Ricardo Belmar: Bye everybody. [00:44:46] Show Summary[00:44:46] Casey Golden: Welcome back everyone. We hope that you enjoyed our fun recap of retail's big reunion.[00:44:52] Ricardo Belmar: Well, I know I did. I hope we captured the energy from the show last week, Casey. I know it's been what, like two years, since most people in retail had been to a major conference, but it really did feel like a reunion! [00:45:02] Casey Golden: New friends, old, Shoptalk was the place to be. And the hottest industry for doers, retails driving change with the most unsuspected players.[00:45:15] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, you are absolutely right about that. I think that will pretty much close this out for a special episode of the show and we hope to see all of our listeners again next time! [00:45:25] Show Closing[00:45:25] Casey Golden: If you enjoyed the show, please consider giving us a five-star rating and review on apple podcast. Remember to smash that subscribe button in your favorite podcast player. So you don't miss a minute. Want to know more about what we talked about? Take a look at our show notes for handy links and more deets.[00:45:42] I'm your cohost Casey Golden. [00:45:44] Ricardo Belmar: If you'd like to connect with us, follow us on Twitter at Casey C golden and Ricardo underscore Belmar, or find us on LinkedIn. Be sure and follow the show on Twitter at RetailRazor, on LinkedIn, and on our YouTube channel for video versions of each episode and bonus content. [00:45:59] I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar.[00:46:01] Casey Golden: Thanks for joining us.[00:46:04] Ricardo Belmar: And remember, there's never been a better time to be in retail. If you cut through the clutter . Until next time, this is the retail razor show. 

S1E4 – Top 10 Trends & Predictions for 2022Welcome to Season 1, Episode 4, the fourth ever episode of The Retail Razor Show!I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Influencer for 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation, and lead partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.And I'm your co-host, Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock and slayer of retail frankenstacks!Together, we're your guides on the retail transformation journey. Whether you're thinking digital and online, mobile, or brick & mortar stores, we'll help you cut through the clutter!For episode 4 we've changed it up a bit and jumped over to the Callin platform to record this special episode where we give you our Top 10 Trends and Predictions for 2022!Hear what we're thinking matters most for 2022 and what we expect it means for retail and retail tech. If you have any comments on what we've said, be sure and hit us up on Twitter or LinkedIn! And be sure and follow us on Callin so you don't miss future episodes where we'll be interviewing the people who are transforming retail and retailtech!The Retail Razor ShowFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazorConnect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazorJoin our club on Clubhouse: http://bit.ly/RRazorClubListen to us on Callin: https://bit.ly/RRCallinSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeSubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShowRetail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPodHost → Ricardo Belmar,Follow on Twitter - ****https://bit.ly/twRBelmarConnect on LinkedIn - ****https://bit.ly/LIRBelmarRead my comments on RetailWire - ****https://bit.ly/RWRBelmarCo-host → Casey Golden,Follow on Twitter - ****https://bit.ly/twCaseyConnect on LinkedIn - ****https://bit.ly/LICaseyRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWCaseyTRANSCRIPTS1E4 Top 10 Trends & Predictions for 2022[00:00:20] Introduction[00:00:20] Ricardo Belmar: Hello everyone. And welcome to retail razor show our first recording here on the Callin platform. So this is exciting, isn't it? Casey. [00:00:27] Casey Golden: It is. [00:00:28] Ricardo Belmar: I'm looking forward to our future episodes here. We're going to do some really cool interviews with people who are really doing things to transform retail and commerce.[00:00:37] Casey Golden: Anything that makes it easier to have these conversations, I'm in. [00:00:41] Ricardo Belmar: Exactly. Exactly. So today we've got some fun stuff we're doing. We're going to talk about our top 10 trends and predictions for 2022. Because it's the beginning of the year. So of course we have to do that. Right. [00:00:52] Casey Golden: We do. And we have what, nine months to implement ?[00:00:55] Ricardo Belmar: That's right.[00:00:56] So we're hopefully improving our odds of success so that when we can do this next time, everyone can come back and say, Hey, they got that one right.[00:01:03] Casey Golden: Exactly. I will be keeping score!. [00:01:07] Ricardo Belmar: Well, we'll see how we each do here. I think we've each got five to share. So we'll see how we do this time next year.[00:01:13] #1 - Retail Media Networks & Customer Data[00:01:13] Ricardo Belmar: All right. So let's jump into top 10 trends and predictions. I'll kick off. And my first one has [00:01:20] to do with retail media networks which I know people who might be listening to, they're going to say, oh, that's not much of a prediction, but the slight twist I'm putting on this is a, they're kind of two schools of thought on this.[00:01:32] A number of people in the industry are saying that they're starting to see too many of these retail media networks and that they're all competing for the same ad capacity with brands. And how is any individual retailer really going to make a dent when Amazon's commanding over a third of all of this retail media network ad spend.[00:01:51] And my take on that is it, I feel like that's the wrong perspective to take because these networks aren't necessarily competing with each other. What they're really competing against are other forms of media, whether it's print, TV, streaming, video networks, all those kinds of things, or just plain old display ads on Google.[00:02:11] You know, these retail media networks are designed so that knowing that I'm already on the retailers platform and that's, we're assuming that retailer has a [00:02:20] marketplace on their e-commerce. So really what are they trying to do? I think they're trying to do two things here. Yes. There is an added revenue stream they're trying to generate by getting brands to spend money with them and to, buy product placements. And obviously Amazon is the most successful, but there are plenty of others, Kroger's doing well with this, Home Depot is doing well with this. And I think there's lots of room for other retailers to do the same even Target does well although their marketplace is kind of by invitation so it's a closed one. It's not quite the same, but I think there's plenty of room for, for retailers to succeed here. Because again, it's not, you're not really measuring yourself against how much ad market share am I taking from Amazon? It's just how much ad space am I selling on my marketplace site?[00:02:59] That's really the metric that matters. So I think any retailer with a marketplace can make this work and that's why we're going to see so many, even Best Buy announced. I think within the last week that they're doing this, and there's also room to expand just beyond your own marketplace, I think Best Buy's announcement also said that not only can you buy ad placement on the marketplace site [00:03:20] bundled into this would also be promotional ads in the store. So if you're a brick and mortar and online marketplace retailer, you've got both of those available and best buy is also saying we'll do third-party placement on third party networks, as well as part of the bundle.[00:03:33] So they'll get some revenue out of that, even if the brand is saying, yeah, give me some ads on the Best Buy site, but then I also want it on, Google search. And it seems like Best Buy is saying, we'll manage that for you as part of the program. So I think lots of room there, the second really important thing for this, which is the one I, I believe everybody overlooks.[00:03:51] This is another great way for a retailer to generate customer data because as customers interact with the digital ads for this, That's new customer data that's feeding into, hopefully the retailer has a customer data platform. They add this in with all the other first party data they have. And guess what?[00:04:07] They're going to learn a lot more about how their customers are shopping. And I would argue that's even more important than the incremental revenue they're going to get from the retail media networks. So that's my prediction that we're just going to see every retailer that [00:04:20] does a marketplace on their site.[00:04:21] They're going to introduce a retail media network this year. [00:04:23] Casey Golden: I think we've, we've definitely learned over the last two years with the increase of the cost of advertising that a lot of brands and companies need to diversify those channels and, and spread that out because it's been quite concentrated and the prices were driven up extensively while everybody moved their media buys into digital.[00:04:44] Ricardo Belmar: That's true. That's true. [00:04:45] #2 - Brick & Mortar Expansion[00:04:45] Casey Golden: I'm coming in at number two with brick and mortar expansion. Physical retail is not dead. I it's going to change. Amazon's new department store is re-imagining the shopping and buying experience. Really reaching customers in a, in a non-traditional way for them. And we're going to see a lot more pop-ups versus anchor stores changing these physical spaces from stacks of shirts to entertainment and showrooms.[00:05:08] I think we can all agree that Glossier has been the big winner here and pop-ups, and with that model, I think we're going to be seeing a lot more short-term and flexible leases so that more brands can go [00:05:20] into a space, spend three months and have the opportunity to create an extension. Really starting to understand who your customers are, where they live, where your biggest market opportunity is and create moments where brands and consumers can go through that product discovery and experience the brand, circulates a lot more neighborhood freshness. And when brands are trying to increase that LTV you know, we're fighting very low conversion rates online. Having a pop-up store can really increase that LTV over the long run, because it can create that brand affinity that e-commerce just, hasn't been able to capture the same way that brick and mortar has with getting into routine and, and making that meaningful connection to a consumer [00:06:06] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, I like this prediction a lot. I really agree with you on all those points. The big thing that a lot of people miss here with this, even when we're talking about natively digital brands that are just starting to open stores too, I think that's included [00:06:20] in what you're saying here at the end of the day, in some ways, right?[00:06:23] This is just one big experiment for the brand. And, and I think that's a good thing because we don't historically think of opening stores as an experiment. I think maybe Amazon changed everyone's viewpoint on that for the better. And I think that is how everyone should look at it because you can learn a lot from that pop-up experience, just like you described, and then feed that back into even other sales channels.[00:06:42] You have to make you adapt to your customers. And that's really the whole point, isn't it? [00:06:46] Casey Golden: It is. You know, we've got to get in front of customers in general, and sometimes that's just showing up in their neighborhood and saying, we're here to serve you. Come experience our brand. [00:06:57] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. And I'd say, if we really want to go out on a limb, we can kind of call this one, the the end of the retail apocalypse storyline.[00:07:03] Right. Because we're going to see more store openings as a result. [00:07:06] Casey Golden: I have seen a lot of announcements for new stores. [00:07:09] Ricardo Belmar: Exactly. [00:07:10] #3 - Social Commerce & Livestreaming [00:07:10] Ricardo Belmar: All right, let's go to number three. So number three, this may not come as a surprise to a lot of people because I know I, I think we've all talked about this frequently.[00:07:18] We've got some [00:07:20] other podcast episodes coming on it and that's social commerce and live streaming going big. This year across the U S and in north America, it may not get as big as we see it in China and Asia, but that's okay. It's got room to grow. I think this is going to be something we see from both small and large retail.[00:07:35] I think the big twist I'm going to put on this is when we think about particularly the livestreaming piece. And in fact, I'm going to say the live streaming component to this is more important than social commerce as a whole, even though we tend to lump those things together, a lot of people assume that when we say social commerce, we're talking about selling through Instagram and Facebook and all the different social media platforms.[00:07:57] And I think small retailers will keep doing that. I think that's where the growth for them is. But the challenge with that, and we've said this before in our, at our clubhouse sessions is you don't own the platform then, right? You're borrowing the social media platforms access to customers. So you're not owning the relationship there in your sales process.[00:08:15] I think live streaming is going to help retailers change that perspective a couple of different [00:08:20] ways. One is using their frontline store associates as the live streamers versus paid influencers. So rather than going out and spending a lot of money, hiring an Instagram influencers, we're going to see retailers start leveraging frontline staff, who, by the way, if you look at the demographics of who you have, a lot of your I'll assume younger, but not necessarily right.[00:08:39] A lot of your staff, they already know how to do this, they've got their own YouTube channel for other reasons outside of the job. Retailers are going to get smart and say, Hey, we can just use the folks we have. It actually turns into a career incentive to want to work in retail, above and beyond the challenges every retailer is facing in the current labor shortage and trying to figure out how they can pay workers enough. This becomes a new, I don't want to say career perk, but it's certainly a new skillset and something that makes the employee more competitive and retailers are going to want them.[00:09:08] So picture your store associate doing live streams in a one to many format, right from the store, or maybe even from a studio-like space that the store has now carved out of their back room [00:09:20] a front of the store in some way to do this kind of production on a regular basis and hosted from their website.[00:09:25] So they don't have to be dependent on the social media platforms to do this. They're going to build a following that way. Both the retail brand and the individual associates are going to build the following for the associate. It's a great skill. I think it's something they'll enjoy doing. Not every associate is going to do it.[00:09:41] And that's okay. I think this speaks to the our podcast, a couple episodes back with, with Ron Thurston. When we talked about segmentation of skillsets and, and frontline workers, some staff will be better at doing some of the backroom functions. Some are going to be better at fulfilling buy online pickup in store orders, and some are going to be your live streamers.[00:10:00] And I think the analogy for me here is the same way we look at the fitness instructors in the Peloton app. That's what we're going to see happen with frontline staff and retail stores because of live streaming and really go out on a limb and say, if mall operators out there are listening, I would be telling you, you should be thinking about how you can turn this kind of concept into a [00:10:20]service you offer your tenants in the mall, especially the smaller retailers you might land, or even better as an enticement to those digitally native brands that you're trying to get to either set up a pop-up or set up a short-term lease in the mall. This is another incentive you could create by providing the live streamer.[00:10:36] So think of it in terms of what happened in the gaming world on Twitch and YouTube with live streamers. We're going to start to see this happen in the retail world. And I think this is going to really change how we perceive those frontline store associates. You could even see tie-ins to loyalty programs may be a perk.[00:10:52] When you reached the loyalty tiers, you get to participate in one of the live streams with, at your local store, with one of the live streamers that you shop from. And all of that I've just described as kind of in that one to many format. There's also the concept of doing this one-on-one with a customer from a store.[00:11:06] I actually believe smaller retailers. They're going to be the ones to drive this forward first, and then we're going to see the larger retailers start picking it up. [00:11:13] Casey Golden: I agree. You know, one of my favorite examples of this is Cameron from Walmart. He, [00:11:20] launched a tech talk in Walmart and he changed a lot of people's perspective of Walmart and just, he made it fun.[00:11:27] I, this done like one of the best jobs Taking that on and Walmart embraced him and promoted him. In turn, there was a gentleman Tony that worked at Home Depot who was mixing paints on Tik Tok and he was fired. And so I think changing some thought leadership inside these organizations and sanely, there is a possibility that one of your associates could potentially go viral, create this position before you're ready for it.[00:11:56] But how do you feel about it? And are you going to embrace it and start moving it into an initiative? Or are you going to, you know, shut it down? So I think it's we've had enough experiments in the space That more grand should really be looking at if this happened. [00:12:11] Ricardo Belmar: Right. And I really think to your point, right, brands should be looking at this as a way of improving the work environment for [00:12:20] those associates that are doing this, because they're going to find that they'll start hiring associates, that this is the big part of the job they liked.[00:12:26] So as you do this, it's going to help you solve that labor shortage problem you're experiencing right now. And you can't hire enough people. This is an enticement, and it starts to turn that retail job into something about more than just what's the hourly salary, ? Because this is now something that an associate can turn into a meaningful career path too, especially if you're thinking about hiring younger associates or even college students, for example, that are probably every college student can talk to you right now. If we brought them on the show, we'll say, oh, I would love to do live streaming. And now what, if you tell them what you can get paid by a store to do it on the store floor to help them sell products. Like you probably already know a lot about them.[00:13:00] So what could be better. [00:13:02] Casey Golden: I agree. [00:13:03] #4 - Personal Shopping[00:13:03] Casey Golden: I'm coming in at number four, we've got personal shopping. I'm obviously biased if anybody knows what I do on a regular basis. But consumer expectations have reached an all time high. And there is no one way about it. There are so many different ways to engage [00:13:20]between sales associates, a customer brand, buying, a product is not always an easy process especially with so many new brands and new types of products tech enabled products.[00:13:32] There's a lot of questions that happened through the path, the path to purchase. So personal shopping, always a core aspect of the luxury industry. But it has yet to truly been scaled. A lot of clientelling software has been focused in store versus being digitally native. So I think we're going to see a lot more of sales associates being empowered.[00:13:55] And that is associate led goes big into bringing digital into the store and bringing those real human relationships and knowledge online. So, when you're working with an influencer, you're following an influencer, you don't have, you don't always get to talk to them and ask them a question and have a response without a delay.[00:14:14] And this is really where I see personal shopping and clienteling technology, being [00:14:20] able to enable these store associates that are already on payroll to be able to scale up their services, scale, their reach, and for brands to be able to pull that customer engagement from a question into a real time experience.[00:14:36] The front lane staff tech explosion is incredible. When we think of how many of them are already tech enabled, they're already tech savvy. Like you were mentioning for a lot of the social commerce and live streaming. But they are, their job is to work for X brand. And how are we enabling them?[00:14:53] You know, if we spend X amount of percentage of our budget to enable influencers and people who don't work for us, why are we not, doubling down. And enabling the people that do. So a lot of this software is coming out and being adapted for digital, if not coming out digitally native in the first place, but it alleviates a lot of mundane tasks and without losing jobs, [00:15:20] right.[00:15:20] It, it makes your staff more productive. And frankly happier if somebody said Hey, I need you to work into a store, but you can't sell online. You can't talk to a customer that you connected with again. You're just going to start from scratch every hour.[00:15:39] It's the reality, but it let's go ahead and take that a step further. I think with a lot of the younger people in retail This is a lot of people's first jobs. And I think we've all learned a few things from, from Ron and our accidental careers in retail, that this is an opportunity to really bring in talent and building , that brand relationship very early into their careers by being an employee.[00:16:05] So it's getting more and more common and easier for brands to be able to scale up one-to-one conversations and relationships and turn them into conversions. So obviously I'm excited about this area. I believe in personal shopping and product experts and [00:16:20] talent the last thing I would ever want to see in the world is that shopping turns into a completely automated and machine experience.[00:16:28] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, and to your last point there, about how alleviating the mundane tasks, I think that's where a big part of the conversation around automation, especially in the store, keeps getting overlooked. People focus on oh, no, oh no, . The robots are coming, they're going to replace all the employees, but that's not at all right.[00:16:44] It's more about how is that technology going to help get rid of all the mundane, tedious tasks so that those associates and, and personal shoppers can focus on what the job should be, that's helping customers, helping customers shop and buy and convert them. [00:16:58] Casey Golden: Exactly. And, and this all comes back to, coming all the way forward to customer data, right?[00:17:04] Every single one of these is really wrapped around the customer experience, how we serve a customer and the number one process into how do you serve a customer is to understand who they are and build that relationship as soon as. [00:17:18] Ricardo Belmar: That's right. That's right. [00:17:19] #5 - Shopper Experience [00:17:19] Ricardo Belmar: And [00:17:20] that kind of takes us on into number five, which is all about that shopping experience itself.[00:17:24] Particularly in the, what I'm going to call an in store experience revolution that really meets digital and in a more immersive way. So here, I'm talking about how we can add computer vision and AI elements into that shopping experience. There's already lots of talk of how you can leverage AR and VR platforms in the store.[00:17:43] And really what I'm envisioning here is you're coming into a store. And even in addition to having that store associate help you with something, the products themselves, the displays are going to help immerse you in what the product is. So say, you're looking at a display and you pick up a product, maybe there's a surrounding screen or mirror around that that just suddenly starts showing you content about that product.[00:18:05] And it helps you understand better what it is. You know, we, we could think of a grocery shopping model where via AR, I pick up maybe I don't even pick it up. I am just standing near inappropriate area of produce. And I'm looking at, two different varieties of [00:18:20] oranges and I might scratch my head and say, well, which one do I want to buy?[00:18:23] And via AR suddenly I can see popping up in front of me, all kinds of information. What's the difference between those varieties, what kind of flavor they have, some of these things sound silly, but the fact is right, these are little things, even though it's a, it's a big piece of technology. There are little things that make that shopping experience so much more immersive and different from just tapping a product image on your phone and putting it in Instacart order.[00:18:47] So, you know, when we think about how you getting people to continue to want to shop in the store, it's building these immersive experiences. And sometimes that also means it's going to see a rise of cashier less checkout. So yes, Amazon was the first with the GO stores and they're expanding it to their grocery stores, but they're not the only ones doing this.[00:19:04] There are plenty of startups out there delivering this technology. Lots of retailers, both testing it out and even deploying it to the point where we're even now starting to see autonomous stores where these are really meant to be more of a convenience model, right. Where I might walk in and I pick up [00:19:20] something off the shelf, it registers that I picked it up.[00:19:22] I walk out and I get. You know, it's not the kind of, it's a different kind of shopping experience. It's not the one, like if you're going to buy luxury apparel, right. That wouldn't work in that model. But then there are things where I love what in the past year, what Schnucks markets did with their shelf, scanning robots to help eliminate a lot of the tedious employee tasks.[00:19:40] Like you were talking about Casey, where, you know, in the grocery store you're doing like across the chain, thousands upon thousands of temperature checks in the cooler cases all day long. Well, that's a pretty tedious task to ask your staff to do when they could be helping the customer find the item on the shelf.[00:19:55] That's where you're going to deploy things like robots and IOT and use computer vision to just get rid of all these things. So it had those have an indirect impact on the shopper experience. But when you put all of this together, I think now we're really talking about the whole, it's almost like the in-store experience as a customer platform is the way I would think about it, where all these technologies plug in and really immerse the shopper in the experience [00:20:20] by eliminating all the mundane things that kind of surround it and letting at the same time, letting the store staff focus on helping those customers.[00:20:27] So that's the shopper experience revolution I see is going to happen this year. And it's partly because most retailers I've talked to they're significantly increasing their technology spend in ways they never have before. If you think of it as a percentage of sales revenue, and that's because pandemic, I think has caused everyone to wake up and say, Hey, we've got to really convince people why they should be shopping with us, with me, with my brand in my store.[00:20:51] And that's where this is going to come from [00:20:52] Casey Golden: a hundred percent. I've seen so much engaging technology from startups in this space. That's just completely blown away. [00:21:00] Ricardo Belmar: Right. Oh yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.[00:21:02] #6 - Buy Now Pay Later - Bubble Burst[00:21:02] Casey Golden: So with that, we've got buy now pay later. Oh, I love it when we fund shopaholics anonymous, right. I mean, [00:21:10] Ricardo Belmar: exactly that [00:21:11] Casey Golden: my personal opinion on this just because I've seen some terrible, terrible stories in the past. But at the same time, you know, prices are getting more expensive. [00:21:20] And people are having a harder time getting, you know, a job or they're moving into becoming their own boss.[00:21:26] And with that, we need more payment options. You know, lay away doesn't always exist with companies these days. I know there's some people that are trying to reinvent it, but it's, it gets hotter and hard hotter. And the regulators are the only ones that are not going to know how this is going to shake out.[00:21:41] Klarna has done an incredible job making this a common narrative and a button you see on, on nearly every single e-commerce store. There's a lot of players in this space and some, some major credit card companies and banking operators are cutting out that middleman as well. So this really comes down to, you know, the lack of consumer protections today and really high APRs for buying something that was $40.[00:22:08] Instead of necessarily using it to buy something that was, $4,000. So I think we're going to see a lot of adjustments over the next two years with the buy. Now pay later. One of the biggest constraints I see are [00:22:20] returns and this has been a common concern is when you make a purchase the amount of time, it takes to make that return. And for the retailer to update the payment system of the return can incur late fees and then trying to get the customer service in order to get your return. So deeper integrations, I think that we'll see here easier to be able to start tracking returns.[00:22:41] And I think that this is going to get a lot bigger over the next 12 months and the regulators are coming in a very meaningful way. There's been a lot of, action in it's going to keep some attorneys, well fed let's say that. [00:22:54] Ricardo Belmar: Right. Do we put our line in the sand on this one, Casey, and say the bubble on this one may burst by the end of the year, [00:23:01] Casey Golden: it could very well burst by the end of the year.[00:23:03] And sometimes we kind of have to think about it as well. Should some things exist when it's can very easily negatively impact a consumer. [00:23:11] Ricardo Belmar: Right. Yeah. I agree with you on that one. This one, I do think you're right. It's going to, it keeps getting hotter. It keeps getting more popular, but at some [00:23:20] point there's, it almost seems like, you know that because we're talking about consumers, financial is there, there's a reckoning that comes along somewhere along the way, and the bill comes due so to speak, right?[00:23:29] So whether you're splitting up payments in it, eventually it also comes due and you still gotta pay it eventually. And in some ways, I dunno, I, I hear a lot of stories too. Like you said where this just bites people in the end because you either forget to make the payment or you miss something and no one I'm sure. I'm sure. No one is paying attention to the terms behind these. When they make a purchase using these, these, [00:23:51] Casey Golden: I don't even think you see it. I mean, I've never seen an APR when I've gone through the process, I've done a couple... [00:23:56] Ricardo Belmar: Yep. And they've been lucky enough to get to hide from the regulators so far. So I suspect what we'll see that come about, but before the end of the year, [00:24:05] #7 - AI, ML, Analytics in Sustainability, Traceability & Returns Management[00:24:05] Ricardo Belmar: so on our next one, and I'm going to come back a little bit to something you mentioned that I hadn't even thought about, right, but in this buy now pay later mode. And that's the impact on returns because for number seven, I'm going to talk about how the pervasiveness of [00:24:20] AI and machine learning and analytics in areas like sustainability, traceability, and returns. And I'm kind of putting all these things together because we've been talking about AI and retail for a while.[00:24:31] It's been particularly fruitful in supply chain management, right. Especially during the pandemic and for forecasting, but I think we're going to see this spread to pretty much every operational area of a retailers business. Particularly around getting to predictive and prescriptive analytics where before many retailers were just getting started with it.[00:24:52] This is all going to, it's going to go mainstream big this year. This every area functional area is going to get touched by AI and machine learning. And some way that particularly, I think the most interesting one here is going to be around returns. And that's because this, you know, even if it was a temporary burst, or bubble and increasing e-commerce buying during the pandemic, even if only some of that sticks around.[00:25:15] The fact is if you think about in apparel, right, we're talking easily 35, [00:25:20] 40% return rates from those purchases, and you have so many people doing things like, well, I really like this item, but I don't know if that size is going to work. So I'm going to order it in two sizes and return one. And when you start to add up all those things, just the, the massive reverse logistics and the costs involved with that, it's not just enough to optimize that returns process.[00:25:37] I'm starting to see, at least one really interesting startup I've worked with. and some others that are asking a better question, which is, what can I do to get smart about preventing returns in the first place? And maybe people aren't used to thinking of it that way, but I think it's the right way to look at it is how can I make the overall buying process such that my customer doesn't feel like they have to buy an excess amount of these things and with the intention to return, how can I build that trust in advance?[00:26:03] We're seeing AI and machine learning, being applied to help with that analysis to help the retailer understand how can I change my processes to reduce my return rate overall before the purchase is even made. And I think that's a unique way of framing it. And we're going to see more of that this year.[00:26:17] It's really going to become a popular thing. [00:26:20] I see people only just starting to talk about it in this context, but I think it's going to be much more mainstream by the end of the year. [00:26:25] Casey Golden: I agree. And with that traceability, even product origin and how it got to where it is. It, I think it's, we're going to see a lot more customer facing analytics where the customer's going to start being able to see the sustainability impact, the traceability, the origin, how it was created, how it got to my store in my neighborhood.[00:26:47] And those types of KPIs and analytics will be available for consumer consumption. [00:26:51] Ricardo Belmar: I agree, completely agree. Customers are looking for that now much more than they used to. [00:26:56] #8 - Rapid Delivery Shakeout[00:26:56] Casey Golden: So at number eight, going into rapid delivery, hyper-focused deliverability getting a rapid shake out. I'm in New York. I can have anything on my doorstep and in 30 minutes and it really, during this pandemic it was a necessary adoption.[00:27:13] Customers adopted it, retailers deployed it at any cost to stay alive and to, to maintain [00:27:20] those sales. It's going to be really interesting how we start seeing this shake out over the next 12 months as more stores open and the cost of these last mile delivery services and micro fulfillment.[00:27:31] Hit the bounce hit the bottom line, right? It's been extraordinarily expensive for some rural communities or areas where they've never even thought of having their groceries delivered to becoming a really great convenience that consumers don't want to give up, but there is definitely, you know, lots of different vendors.[00:27:49] And the trend bubble could very easily burst as these ebbs and flows of shutdowns and, and the pandemic, come to an ease So it really comes down to sustainability. It's not inexpensive to operate a last mile or micro fulfillment business in general. And so a lot of that cost has been incurred over onto the customer through like the door dash and Uber's where there's delivery fees and tips and, and things of that nature.[00:28:13] So one of my biggest trends I'm seeing here is companies are looking at where should they have human delivery [00:28:20] and third-party partners versus do it themselves. And implementing drone structures. [00:28:25] Ricardo Belmar: Now that's getting really interesting, right? [00:28:26] Casey Golden: I mean, I couldn't have the drone here in New York.[00:28:29] I don't have a doorman. My little drone would just like sit outside the door. Right.[00:28:34] Ricardo Belmar: It'd just keep hovering and waiting.[00:28:35] Casey Golden: It would just sit there and keep pattering. I mean, I can just foresee, you know, a whole bunch of people with pool nets, you know, out on the streets, [00:28:43] grabbing drones, [00:28:45] Ricardo Belmar: how many drones can I catch today!.[00:28:48] Casey Golden: I'm like, oh, look at that. It's a madewell bag. I've got this kind of redefines, you know, think about like, you know, these doorstep, burglars maybe everybody's going to move into the air, but it really does. It offers solutions that we've never really even thought about. Right. And, and really deploying so much more technology into the delivery aspect.[00:29:09] And I couldn't imagine going back to a world where my life wasn't delivered on my doorstep. I like it. [00:29:16] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. Right, right. [00:29:17] Casey Golden: I don't think the company... [00:29:18] Ricardo Belmar: nobody is going back, [00:29:20][00:29:20] Casey Golden: but it is, does come down to the customer experience and really making sure that your supply chains are optimized to be able to support [00:29:29] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, a hundred, a hundred percent, a hundred percent. I think what, to your point, when you, when you kind of started this one, there there's been such an explosion of these. At some point, there just becomes too many of these third party services for this rapid delivery, right? So at some level you know, even in New York, if you've got 10 of these, can you really handle 20 of them that does the city need 20 of these services or whatever the number is?[00:29:50] I think what we're saying is, they're certainly not going away because the convenience is just too good for too many consumers. And it's probably not likely , most retailers can do it on their own because of the cost and the internal costs. Not, not that the third-party service is going to be a low cost for them, but I just think, there's gotta be some consolidation and these are just too many of these services out.[00:30:10] There's gotta be some consolidation before the end of the year. [00:30:12] Casey Golden: Yeah. I definitely see that. It's going to have to cover that whole entire lifecycle. And they're going to need to combine the resources, I think. [00:30:18] Ricardo Belmar: Yep. Yeah, I think that totally [00:30:20] totally makes sense. [00:30:20] #9 - Low-code/No-code Revolution[00:30:20] Ricardo Belmar: Well, that's bringing us to number nine, so I'm going to get really techie on this one.[00:30:24] And, and I'm going to talk about low-code and no-code software development here, and I feel like outside of your, your hardcore deep developer techie circles, not a lot of talk, it seems about what the benefits of low code technology is. But I can't think of almost any major retailer that's not using these technologies right now and the significance of this and why I'm putting this on my list is that the, level of adoption and the speed of which new applications are going to get rolled out by retailers driven by low code is just going to go through the roof.[00:30:57] I think this is where if we, if we're not already there, we're going to see the turning point where most new applications retailers bring out, are going to be built using the low code technology, if for no other reason than for just speed of development and deployment. So what used to take six months to create that's no longer good enough, right?[00:31:14] I think every, certainly the major retailers learned during the pandemic. It's not acceptable to say, oh, that product [00:31:20] is going to take six months to finish. Nope, it's gotta be done in six weeks or less. And even that might take too long, it's gotta be a more iterative process. We have to be able to iterate more often and faster to get better and better.[00:31:30] And the best way to do that right now is with low code technology, especially when almost every new customer service or customer experience that retailers come out with. You know, someone is always rightfully going to say, well, okay, once we bring this out, where's the report that's going to tell me how successful it is? Where's the dashboard that's going to show me its impact on conversion rate or the increase in average order value. Who's building that view for the management team and store ops that wants to know how this is running, who is building this so that the marketing team knows where they have to focus some of their marketing budget to try to get more impact all those kinds of reporting and all kinds of dashboards, who is those used to be a real pain to create, right?[00:32:09] You go to IT and you ask them and they'd say it takes six months for us to put that together. Well, that's not acceptable anymore. If the project has to get done in six weeks. So does all the reporting and the dashboards and everything else with it, and the [00:32:20] low-code technologies that are out there, make it super easy to do these things in a rapid way to the point where now it can even say, oh great, you need a new dashboard.[00:32:28] You know, you guys in marketing can build that yourselves. And if you run into problems, we'll help you out. And that's okay now where, before you wouldn't see a lot of IT, teams want to do that because they felt like they were giving up control, risking their very existence. But now what happens?[00:32:41] Now, they're, they're more in a support role where they're helping their business colleagues actually get these things done for themselves in a meaningful, fast way that just helps the business overall. I think these are all things, with low code, you can do it. There's no reason to ever say no to these kinds of things, which is going to just help with everything retailers learned over the last two years about agility and resilience.[00:33:02] This is going to be the development platform of choice. [00:33:05] Casey Golden: I think this is going to be one of the most disruptive areas and retail technology whether or not it's it's low code or plug and play solutions. Professional service models, I think, is going to be the biggest disruption in this space because it's [00:33:20] predominantly been a professional services led business where we don't have six months let alone 18 months to roll out a new solution.[00:33:29] Because by the time you go live. The market's changed. And so it's really going to come down to speed and adoption and experimenting and getting the KPIs of is this working, do we do it for another three months and being able to turn on and off solutions to find what the right recipe is? Because six months to implement, we've got nine months until holiday for next year, right?[00:33:52] How many? And we've got 10 things that, [00:33:56] Ricardo Belmar: and every one of them, you know, now going in, right, you've learned that you've got to iterate on every single one of those to get it to the point where you want it to be. And you gotta learn from each iteration and keep feeding that back in. And this is the technology that makes that easier to do [00:34:09] Casey Golden: a hundred percent, because if it wasn't complicated enough before.[00:34:14] #10 - web3, Crypto, NFTs, and The Metaverse![00:34:14] Casey Golden: The complexity of going into our number 10 of web3. [00:34:18] Ricardo Belmar: Exactly. [00:34:20] Exactly. Bring us home with number 10, Casey.[00:34:22] This is the big one.[00:34:24] Casey Golden: This is enough to give any brand or retail whiplash, because we're still working on our regular business on, I don't know, you can call it web two. But we're still optimizing and brands are still optimizing the way we currently do business.[00:34:37] Digital transformation initiatives are at an all time. High tech spend is at an all time high and the creators and consumers are adopting web three faster than a brand can even absorb the information to understand what it is and how it's going to impact their business. [00:34:56] So this is one of my playgrounds, you can say. I think it's one of the most exciting and fun things to be able to deploy in a brand is to start experimenting in the metaverse building out thought theories on your company on whether or not you're accepting crypto currencies and getting NFTs out into the market. [00:35:14] We don't know what exactly the metaverse or web three is going to provide to [00:35:20]build a long-term strategy around, but the creators and consumers are adopting at such a rapid rate that we've seen several, big brands just drop in. And say, I don't know what we're doing, but we've got a great partner and we're going to figure it out and we're going to do something and we're going to experiment now.[00:35:37] Well, I've also heard a lot of brands say, we're gonna wait and see, we have to stop waiting to see how it shakes out. This is going to be a longterm. It's here to stay. I don't think it's going anywhere. But it's really gonna come down to, I think who is at Balenciaga is the first one of the first companies to actually create a division internally and make hires. Nike just purchased artifact to pull them in there, you know, web three partner , and absorbed it.[00:36:05] And I think these are the right moves. We're not gonna be able to go ahead and take this all on ourselves. I think partners are going to be key in this area and. Starting with payment options is a really easy first move start, [00:36:20] accepting cryptocurrency. Coinbase business has started coming in to be able to integrate with Shopify stores.[00:36:25] Shopify is working on being able to sell NFTs on the Shopify store and we've got new marketplaces that are popping up that is essentially your new type of retailer. Right? My big take on web three and the future of what three is really gonna come down to data interoperability, which is a really, really terrible word.[00:36:46] But if you have a relationship with the brand in real life, how is that being translated over into web three? And how's the company measuring it? What's your overlap? Right now these are, we built a lot of islands in the real life with systems not integrated And brands. And now we're building on web three where this isn't one thing.[00:37:06] It's not one piece of technology. It's, we're building a lot of islands again. [00:37:10] Ricardo Belmar: Right. [00:37:11] Casey Golden: And I think this is going to come down to how does a consumer walk across four worlds and not lose the experience that they're having [00:37:20] with the brand. And how is this being able to be shoppable? Are you shipping in real life?[00:37:24] Is it a digital asset only? Is that an experience? I think the commerce aspect being added into the metaverse in web three is going to be the one aspect that can push customer adoption through the roof. But it also offers brands, the ability to experiment with less risk [00:37:43] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, I think the keyword there is experiment, right?[00:37:45] I see a lot of people talking about this in a way where, where there's taking a perspective where, oh, my, my commerce plain and metaverse and web three is almost like taking the place of my existing commerce and the physical space. And, I think it's a subtle difference.[00:37:59] But if I change that around and say, well, how am I using web three in the metaverse augment that shopping experience to use it in a way that makes my brand loyalty more sticky. I think that's a better way of evaluating how you're going to take advantage of this, you know, in this let's call it this first year because it's going to constantly evolve.[00:38:18] I don't think anyone's ready to say , yup, by the [00:38:20] end of the year, the whole metaverse is ready to go [00:38:21] Casey Golden: no [00:38:22] Ricardo Belmar: and whatever form that means it's going to evolve and every brand has to evolve with it and they've got to learn as they go. So I think. A hundred percent with the way you described this. I think the key again is going to be retailers, brands, they got to get into the mindset of experimenting with this now and throughout the year and try different kinds of experiments. It's not just about finding one approach and iterating over it five times over the next 12 months. It's about trying five totally different things. And I'm going to come out here and say, you know, if your experimentation is to say, how do I duplicate my store in the metaverse I think you're doing it wrong.[00:38:58] Casey Golden: I I've just seen some things that I loved seeing that H and M was going in with at scale.[00:39:04] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. [00:39:04] Casey Golden: And then I, I'm just asking myself, why is my avatar standing on an escalator [00:39:10] Ricardo Belmar: exactly. Right. [00:39:13] The digital space and everything. Just come to me. Yeah, exactly. Where's the fun in that [00:39:19] Casey Golden: [00:39:20] interesting ways to engage that customer and let these imaginations just blossom. I mean, retail space, the fashion space, the beauty space. We have some of the most passionate and creative and talented minds that already work for us. And we've constantly had to design around a bill of materials and work with the supply chain and constraints of not having that instant access to a customer to even try something before it even exists. Right. [00:39:49] Ricardo Belmar: Right. [00:39:50] Casey Golden: This can open up so many opportunities to bring things to market in the digital world before you even go to production and experiment and discover products and engage with brands that you may have had a perception of the brand because you didn't have a brick and mortar store, or maybe you didn't get great service.[00:40:10] Or the assortment was different, right? I get the best assortment in the world. When we're here in New York, we get the best collections. Every single store has the [00:40:20] best product, but when you go down into a bottom door and you walk into a retailer and it's got six skews or 12 skews of a brand, you're not really getting that full experience because there's dollars attached to it.[00:40:32] There's logistics, distribution. This is really going to be able to provide brands a way to create moments that they could never afford to create in the real world. And to do it in a way that lets the creativity of the brand, take the spotlight. So I'm, I'm very bull on web three. But at the end of the day, if the world can't connect to each other and the brands can't understand who their customer is on web three, to understand how much money they need to build that lifetime value and merge some of these KPIs that they're used to seeing. I think it's going to take a long time. So I'm hoping that more brands partner with people who are well-versed in the space and can lead leadership into fail fast experiment. The only negative thing that can [00:41:20] happen to your company is not participating [00:41:22] Ricardo Belmar: that's right. And that that's the best kind of takeaway. I think for every retailer and brand from this is to not be afraid of it and just experiment freely. And, and I would even add too, for retailers should look at this as, how am I going to work with the brands that I sell in my retail business to build something unique.[00:41:42] So if I'm am going to think about this in terms of a virtual store model, that instead of, you know, relying on aisles and shelves and escalators, right? Cause that adds no value to doing that. Right? Exactly. You don't need a digital hand picking things up off the shelf and throwing them back. But if you work with the brands, [00:42:02] and think in terms of like little miniature brand experiences that, your customer in your virtual store is going to go from one brand experience to another, to get really immersed with them. Cause then where's that customer getting to value. They're going to see it from the brand and from the place that connected that customer to these brands. [00:42:20] It's kind of like the original advantage in physical stores at a department store was supposed to have because it was the place you went to to see the collection of all the brands you like in one place. And I think there's maybe a new opportunity to do something kind of like that here.[00:42:34] As long as, as the retailer, you embrace working with the brand to do something unique and you're in your virtual space. [00:42:40] Casey Golden: Yeah. I mean the storylines and the storytelling opportunity here of understanding the product, understanding the brand, their ethos, things that are important to them. This is going to be a really great narrative for product discovery and discovery.[00:42:55] And, and pulling the narrative away from you left this in your cart. You wanted it, right, right. Or this really hard sell to add the level of romance of product discovery and being able to, to, you know, really connect with consumers in a way to say like, wow, this brand is awesome. And I'm having so much fun, engaging with it.[00:43:17] I should probably buy something by now. [00:43:20][00:43:20] Ricardo Belmar: Exactly, exactly. And I'll, throw in one more component to this too, because everybody likes to focus on the consumer side of it. But from the retail businesses perspective, think about what you can do in this space to make your environment better for your employees, even if it's as basic as training.[00:43:36] You know, what, if you did your, your associate training in your metaverse space versus in the physical store, can you make that training so much more engaging that the employee learns that much faster and retains the knowledge that much better? So now when they go and actually work with a customer, whether it's in that physical store or, big surprise, wait for it. When that associate helps the customer in the virtual space, because there's no reason you can't have that interaction too. Right? If you have the right associate, it's no different than the live streaming we talked about in the earlier prediction now they're really equipped, right?[00:44:07] And, and circling back again right now that employee is motivated. They're having fun doing this and via web three. Or in the metaverse with a customer, you've made the whole process more engaging. Not only does it help build your brand [00:44:20] loyalty with the customer, but it most likely helps you retain that employee.[00:44:23] And we don't ever know that that's going to be more competitive, [00:44:25] Casey Golden: employees are. Our first customer, you know my first job in retail, I still have a aggressive brand affinity to them because I had a great experience. And I'm still resonate with the brand, whether or not I'm too old to be wearing it or not.[00:44:40] My employee experience was so good that I am a die hard advocate, practically, 20 years later. [00:44:48] Ricardo Belmar: There you go. [00:44:49] Casey Golden: You know, so they're our first customers and it's an opportunity to, to make it or break it for a long LTV and word of mouth. So I'm, really excited for this. It can be done so well. And so far, I think we've seen some ways that it can be also done so bad.[00:45:05] Ricardo Belmar: Right. That's so true. That's so true. So that's, it's going to make it fun to watch this year. But I think that's why we can't do a trends and predictions for the year without talking about this the whole way web3 metaverse play, because it's just going to be both fun and scary to watch what the [00:45:20] stations and experiments are with this.[00:45:23] But it's going to be a major learning experience for everybody [00:45:26] Casey Golden: as a place where we can actually kind of bring in, you know, all press is, bad press, any participation in web three, right? [00:45:34] Ricardo Belmar: It's the beauty of treating it like an experiment, . You know, you're going to learn from it no matter what, and just make it.[00:45:39] And no one, no one should have the expectation that there's an end game to this 12 months from now. [00:45:46] Right? Exactly. Exactly. [00:45:50] That's right. That's right. Yeah. So waiting for those that's right. Waiting for those, of course, when we get those flying cars are going to be dodging drones. So it's going to be a lot more challenging than we think,[00:46:03] because now I'm going to have this picture in my mind. When you said, the people chasing drones with their butterfly nets are going to be to flying cars now hanging out, the window trying to scoop out of the mid air all, as many drones as they can. That's the part that nobody's thinking about.[00:46:18] Are we ready for that?[00:46:20] Casey Golden: [00:46:20] Are we ready for the future? [00:46:21] Ricardo Belmar: That's right. That or I'm just picturing people on New York city rooftops trying to catch passing drones. [00:46:28] Casey Golden: These are the realities we live in. [00:46:30] Ricardo Belmar: That's right. That's right. Somebody has got to think about it before we make it a reality.[00:46:34] Casey Golden: There is no commerce without loss prevention. [00:46:39] Ricardo Belmar: That's a new kind of lost prevention, right? That hopefully somebody out there is thinking about. Yep. Maybe that'll be on our list next year.[00:46:49] All right. Well with that, I think we're ready to close this out. That was our 10. And hopefully everybody who listens to this episode either whether you agree or disagree with our 10, we want to hear from you. So hit us up on Twitter or LinkedIn and let us know what you think after you hear about it and join us again for the next episode.[00:47:06] We'll be back here on Callin very soon. Thanks everybody.Show Closing[00:47:09] Casey Golden: If you enjoyed the show, please consider giving us a five star rating and review on apple podcast. Remember to smash that subscribe button in your favorite podcast player. So you don't miss a minute. Want to know more about what we talked about? Take a look at our show notes for handy links and more deets.[00:47:25] I'm your cohost Casey Golden. [00:47:27] Ricardo Belmar: If you'd like to connect with us, follow us on Twitter at caseycgolden and Ricardo_Belmar, or find us on LinkedIn. Be sure to follow the show on Twitter at Retail Razor on LinkedIn and on our YouTube channel for video versions of each episode and bonus content. [00:47:42] I'm your host Ricardo Belmar.[00:47:44] Casey Golden: Thanks for joining us.[00:47:48] Ricardo Belmar: And remember, there's never been a better time to be in retail. IF you cut through the clutter. Until next time, THIS is the Retail Razor Show. 

S1E3 – The Retail Avengers & The Celebration of RetailROIWelcome to Season 1, Episode 3, the third ever episode of The Retail Razor Show!I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top 100 Retail Influencer, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation, and lead partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.And I'm your co-host, Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock and slayer of retail frankenstacks!Together, we're your guides on the retail transformation journey. Whether you're thinking digital and online, mobile, or brick & mortar stores, there'll be something for you!For episode 3 we have a truly special treat in what may be the most important episode we do this season, and it's only episode 3! We're celebrating the history and accomplishments of industry charity organization, RetailROI, with two special guests:·       Greg Buzek, President & Secretary of RetailROI, Inc., and Founder & President of IHL Group.·       Vicki Cantrell, Vice President of RetailROI, Inc., and co-founder of Vendors in Partnership Awards.These two retail legends and many more you'll hear about in the Clubhouse recording lead one of the most important organizations in the retail ecosystem today. RetailROI's purpose is to raise awareness and provide real solutions for the more than 400 million vulnerable children worldwide by working with other charities serving those children, such as orphans, foster kids, building schools, bringing clean water to communities, and more. Give a listen to this episode to learn what RetailROI has accomplished in its history over the past decade, what the future holds, and most importantly, what you can do to support them. You'll hear about RetailROI's most important fundraiser – Super Saturday, happening at NRF 2022 on January 15th. For more information about RetailROI, the important work this group does for vulnerable children everywhere through all the charities they work with, to register for Super Saturday if you're a retailer, or to learn how you can sponsor Super Saturday if you're a solution provider, visit https://www.retailroi.orgThe Retail Razor ShowFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazorConnect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazorJoin our club on Clubhouse: http://bit.ly/RRazorClubListen to us on Callin: https://bit.ly/RRCallinSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeSubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShowRetail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPodHost → Ricardo Belmar,Follow on Twitter - ****https://bit.ly/twRBelmarConnect on LinkedIn - ****https://bit.ly/LIRBelmarRead my comments on RetailWire - ****https://bit.ly/RWRBelmarCo-host → Casey Golden,Follow on Twitter - ****https://bit.ly/twCaseyConnect on LinkedIn - ****https://bit.ly/LICaseyRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWCaseyTRANSCRIPTS1E3 Retail Avengers & The Celebration of RetailROI[00:00:22] Ricardo Belmar: Hello. Good morning, good afternoon. Or good evening, whatever time of day you're listening. Welcome. Welcome. This is season one, episode three, the third ever episode of the retail razor show. I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar, RETHINK Retail top 100 influencer and one of RIS News, top 10 movers and shakers in retail for 2021. And lead partner marketing advisor for retail and consumer goods at Microsoft [00:00:46] Casey Golden: And I'm your co-host Casey Golden CEO of Luxlock, where I'm obsessed with the relationship between a brand and a consumer determined to slay retail, Frank enstacks [00:00:57] Ricardo Belmar: All right, Casey. So how many Franken stacks have you slain since last episode? Inquiring listeners want to know? [00:01:03] Casey Golden: Well, now that I'm counting, we've got three in the works.[00:01:06] Ricardo Belmar: That's incredible. Can't wait to hear how many more it is next time. Let's see if our listeners start tweeting out their guesses for next time on how many that might be. [00:01:13] Casey Golden: I love a good tweet storm.[00:01:15] Ricardo Belmar: Absolutely me too. Me too. So Casey, this episode is a really special one for me and a topic that I think carries [00:01:22] so much meaning for so many people in retail, I'm talking of course, about the retail ROI charity organization. That's run by Greg Buzek and supported by some incredibly thoughtful and giving people, including our second special guest this week, Vicki Cantrell. Someone with an incredibly rich history in retail.[00:01:39] And for those that don't know, retail ROI, it's an organization that helps vulnerable children around the world, whether it might be orphans, foster kids adoptions, or just helping schools that lack running water or electricity or need just a better chance at education and bringing food to their table.[00:01:56] Retail ROI works with a number of other charities to bring these missions to life. And they've helped hundreds of thousands of kids around the world over the last decade. I first became involved with them about five or six years ago in a project they supported in Liberia during the Ebola crisis and even a webinar to school kids in Honduras about career paths.[00:02:15] But I'll save that story for after we listen to the session [00:02:18] Casey Golden: And this was an emotional clubhouse sesh, listening to [00:02:22] Greg and Vicki's stories. You just, you can't help but celebrate their massive accomplishments. [00:02:27] Ricardo Belmar: That is so true. Absolutely true. And actually, one of our retail avengers team, Jeff Roster, he's also had an incredibly huge role in their activities over the years.[00:02:37] In fact, he's the one that introduced me to retail ROI all those years ago. [00:02:40] Casey Golden: This is such an important topic. One with such rich accomplishments. And Greg is just one of the nicest people in retail and in Vicki, she's just literally amazing. It's such a treat to have conversations like this and share the impact retail ROI is making with vulnerable communities and supporting our youth. Let's get started![00:03:01] Ricardo Belmar: I'm totally with you. This might just be one of the most powerful, both heartwarming and heart wrenching podcast episodes we're going to do this season . We'll let Greg and Vicky and Jeff tell us the real story behind retail ROI, all of their past accomplishments and where they're going in the future.[00:03:17] So let's give a listen to the Retail Avengers and the Celebration of RetailROI.[00:03:22]Clubhouse Session[00:03:30] Ricardo Belmar: Welcome everybody to another session in the Retail Razor Club room. We've got a special one today where we're doing a celebration of one of what I feel is one of the most important organizations in retail today and that's Retail ROI. And some of you in the audience are very familiar with retail ROI and what it's accomplished and what it's done in the past.[00:03:56] And maybe others in the audience might not be quite as familiar. You'll get to learn quite a bit about it through the course of today's session. We've got a couple of special guests with us today, Greg Buzek and Vicki Cantrell, who I probably can't think of anyone else who can do a better job of telling us everything there is to know about RetailROI[00:04:15] and and as I say that, I'm sure Jeff is ready to, to jump in and, and raise his hand as well. Being the person that introduced me to retail ROI many years ago. So with that, why don't I ask Greg and Vicki, to give a brief introduction to yourselves. Vickie, why don't you go first?[00:04:29] Vicki Cantrell: Hi, [00:04:30] everybody. Great to be here on a Friday afternoon at five o'clock. I will give Ricardo any grief cause everybody does, but this is a topic that's worth a Friday at five o'clock. And I've been involved with retail ROI since the beginning and, and pleased to be working alongside Greg and Randy to figure out how we increase our shop and how we make a great experience and, and divide the money and make the biggest impact.[00:05:00] So I started 10, 11, 12. Are we 12, 11 years and have many great experiences not only traveling myself to various countries, but also taking both my children there, and the impact has been on our life and our hearts pretty impactful and happy to tell you more about it. I've been in retail for ever and ever and all sides of retail.[00:05:28] So [00:05:30] I guess that's how I got involved because it's my fellow cohorts in retail that brought this to bear[00:05:36] Greg?[00:05:37] How RetailROI Began[00:05:37] Greg Buzek: And I'm Greg Buzek I guess my day job or my first day job is being president of IHL group we're a retail analyst firm Gosh, this started because I had started a orphan care ministry at our church and we were at Oracle open world.[00:05:53] And it was the day that Lehman brothers went under September 15th, 2008. And Paul Singer of SuperValu and previously with target was there. And I knew he was an adoption advocate. So we had a meeting and said, you know, Hey, maybe we can do something in the industry. And we could call it, you know, at that time there was a lot of mergers and acquisitions and everything was focused on efficiency.[00:06:17] And then we just call it, we'll call it ROI, a play on words which ends up being the world's geekiest name for a charity retail ROI. And we just said, we call it the retail orphan initiative and that's how we get our acronym there. [00:06:30] And that day with the help of Rose Spicer from Oracle Paul Singer basically did his OpenWorld presentation about 10 minutes on target and the rest on adoption , and we were all astounded and we came out of that meeting and said, Let's let's do something together.[00:06:49] And I know Jeff was there Rose was there Cathy Hotka, Mark Milstein, and I think Cathy Marder were there and we said, yeah, let's do something together. Instead of just competing with each other, we all know each other. We see each other all the time. It'd be fun to do something together in the industry.[00:07:06] So that's the start of retail ROI . And we had everybody assumed that Paul would be the guy to lead it. Paul had been the guy that took over for Dave Thomas, at Wendy's lobbying Congress for funds, for foster kids and adoption. In fact, he has started a group called the congressional coalition on adoption Institute , that he helped fund.[00:07:25] Initially that is the only thing in Washington that has over [00:07:30] 350 members of Congress, I think in total that are on the caucus together and agree on something. Paul, was a giant for that. So we all assumed he would run it. There were three of us, myself, Paul and Mark that put up the initial seed money to get started.[00:07:44] And we signed the paperwork. And three days after we signed the paperwork, Paul called me and said Greg, I just got a call from the neurosurgeon. I have a tumor and I have to have surgery next Monday. And unfortunately Paul, when he had surgery never regained the ability to speak clearly and, and reason and stuff.[00:08:07] So it kind of fell, fell to me to take the leadership role for retail ROI. So that's how we started in 2008, [00:08:15] Ricardo Belmar: Thanks for the quick description for that, Greg. Jeff, you've got a pretty long history with retail ROI as well. why don't you give a quick introduction, [00:08:21] Jeff Roster: hi, Jeff roster. Let's see, what am I a co-host of a, I guess this week in innovation, on some advisory boards and try [00:08:30] to keep Ricardo out of trouble at the center for retail transformation, which we're both doing a very poor job at so lots of trouble down the road.[00:08:40] Ricardo Belmar: We're working on that.[00:08:41][00:08:41] How RetailROI Works[00:08:41] Ricardo Belmar: So Greg Vicki, let me ask maybe a couple of questions. So with that history that Greg just gave , on how things started with RetailROI. Give us a quick overview on how retail ROI works. I always describe this to everyone as a charity group, that's basically built by the retail industry, run by people in the retail industry and that it works with other charities to do a lot of great work around the world, helping children in need, whether it's orphan children's foster care.[00:09:09] Greg Buzek: Sure. Yeah, just to begin with, the first step we had to make is we needed to raise, Hey, we had a charity, we got to raise money.[00:09:17] So we said how do we, how do we raise money? And we looked around the room and said, gosh, we know events. We know who all the best speakers are. And let's put on an event aligned with the timing of the NRF [00:09:30] show. We'll call it Super Saturday and we'll invite all the retailers to come for free.[00:09:35] And we'll charge vendors that want to sell to retailers a fee, a sponsorship fee to get access. So we just basically said ladies night at a bar, so to speak was the approach. And that became our fundraiser in terms of the initial charities that we did. The first initial charities were people that I had already started working with through some other experience.[00:09:57] And then after that, it started to blossom as other people got involved in. So we have really three criteria when it comes to working with charities. Obviously it's gotta be a 5 0 1 C3 based in the United States. They're involved with vulnerable children, orphan foster care clean water, something to do with vulnerable children in some, in some manner.[00:10:19] Number two, it can't be a church or a synagogue or a faith. It's gotta be a separate entity altogether. So it can have a faith-based component to it. [00:10:30] But it's not something that's part of a community of faith in and of itself. And then the third piece of it is somebody in the industry has to be personally involved in the charity themselves and vouch for the integrity of that charity.[00:10:44] And then we start really small with grants as low as $5,000. And we go up from there, we present that back to the board with the results, and then, then we grow from there. So in total, I think we've, we've teamed up with over 55 charities to date with different variety of grants and they work in 27 different countries.[00:11:04] Ricardo Belmar: Thanks for that overview, Greg. I want to read some stats that you've given me before, just for, to kind of set the stage a bit for everyone here on what some of the accomplishments are. And to let everyone know, we recently at Microsoft had a, special giving event held to try to raise some funds for retail ROI, and Greg and Vicki were kind enough to join that session.[00:11:22] And Greg presented , a little bit of background for the employees that were attending that event. And I just want to read some of those and see if anybody on the stage [00:11:30] has some reactions and wants to share some other info from that. So the one that kind of grabbed me a lot that you mentioned, Greg was, if orphans were a country, they would be the eighth largest country in the world.[00:11:40] And for other one was that for foster kids that age out of the U S system within 18 months, 85% of the boys are homeless or in prison. And over 70% of the girls are pregnant, homeless, or in prison. Those stats are just astounding to me. And I'd never had thought about just how significant,, this really is.[00:12:01] Greg Buzek: Yeah, it's a, it's a huge issue. And that's, that's part of our, our role. We see our role as three parts. One's the knowledge of this problem that you just outlined. Two is leveraging our skill, sets our networks who we know what we know to make a difference and coming alongside different organizations that are doing great work, where we can double triple or quadruple the impact.[00:12:24] And then third is funding for projects . So you just gave some of the core stats out there[00:12:30] for things. [00:12:30] Accomplishments[00:12:30] Ricardo Belmar: And then I'm going to go ahead and share some of the accomplishments stats that you shared with me before. So this is since 2010 retail, ROI has funded over 206 projects in 27 countries.[00:12:42] Installed 26 computer labs. I think those were all in schools, correct [00:12:47] Greg Buzek: schools and, well, there's been a couple that have been like an after afterschool programs. [00:12:51] Ricardo Belmar: Oh, okay. Okay. [00:12:53] Yep. And then also on the, on the list of what you provided before, built or remodeled 21 school buildings in or homes and help rescue over 1400 women and children from sex trafficking through border monitoring, help support over 1500 adoptions and built 14 wells and clean water projects.[00:13:11] I think overall you, calculated and estimated that over 252,000 children have been helped by the people of retail ROI since 2010, which I think has an amazing accomplishment worth celebrating.. [00:13:23] Greg Buzek: Yeah. And, to be, just to be perfectly transparent, it's our charity partners that have done this work.[00:13:29] We've, [00:13:30] we've kind of played matchmaker at times , and lended some, funding for things. But it's the, the real benefits of retail ROI is when we take really successful people in the retail industry and connect them with these charities and then let them go just, just make the introduction turn I say, turn the light bulb on if I can turn the light bulb on and just point people in the right direction.[00:13:54] Amazing things happen. So I'll give you an example. So this makes it all clear. So we had a need in Honduras, we had a school of 650 kids that literally could, they had enough money to feed the kids or to pay the teachers. They couldn't do both. So they reached out to us and we said, well what do you need?[00:14:14] He says, well, we need corn. Cause we make 4,300 tortillas a day by hand of there to feed the kids. And so he said, we looked at it and said, well, who, where can we get corn? And we said, who's the biggest buyer of corn? Well happened to be [00:14:30] Cargill. So we placed a call to Cargill. Cargill ended up donating the two containers of corn.[00:14:36] There was only one problem. It came in individual pieces. And they were literally, you know, comes out of the grain silo into the train car and that's how they deliver it. Well, we needed to figure out how to get it to Honduras and some sort of package. So somebody at Cargill then took it upon himself and said, you know what?[00:14:52] I know somebody, that's got a seed packing plant, let me call them and see if they're willing to pack it for us. And so they did, they agree. Fisher seas agreed to packing in, into 50 pound bags . And then there was another lady who does shipping and logistics for a living. She ships containers all over the world[00:15:08] every day, she came on board and she scheduled the FDA inspection, the shipping, and we had a year supply of food delivered for $7,500 for 650 people. That's just one example of a project that was there. [00:15:22] Vicki Cantrell: You know, Ricardo that's a, that's a great one that Greg talks about, but when we talk about [00:15:30] bringing retailers or bringing people in the industry alongside these charities, it could be in any number of ways.[00:15:37] And it's largely based on, as his example shows what's already in their sweet spot, how their job every day, and just suddenly applying what they do every day to, to a new situation. We had a guy Bob Moncrief who developed an entire curriculum around. Kind of how kids could build their business. And what we, you know, when Greg talked about that, we go alongside our charity partners.[00:16:08] These are people that are on the ground and understand how to, you know, get things where they need to be. But they also, what we're trying to do is give these charities or people, we work with the ability to sustain themselves, whether it be growing crops or, or whatever. And so this was a [00:16:30] situation where these kids, when they graduate, they needed to have a skill start a business, go to college, et cetera.[00:16:37] And so he developed an entire curriculum. I think he was with Accenture at the time, Greg. And so we had this startup shark tank competition where we on our trip to Honduras, Jeff, me, Laurie Mitchell-Keller you know, several other heavy hitters in the industry. We're able to judge these and listen to their pitch as is after they had been through the whole curriculum.[00:17:04] So I guess, you know, it really is and that has continued every year and has now expanded into Jamaica, [00:17:13] Greg Buzek: Jamaica, south Africa. Yeah. So four different countries that has gone. In fact, just recently in Jamaica Parker, Avery group to shout out to them. They've taken it to a whole new level with the entrepreneurial program and we had six [00:17:30] students go through an eight week course.[00:17:32] And I'm telling you the winning presentation there. I've seen 40 year old MBAs not do as well as this 18 year old. And sharing their vision for the cosmetics business they wanted to create, basically it's a cosmetics for African or dark skin, people that have acne. And how do you, how do you provide cosmetics that heals the skin as well as provides beauty and makeup on top of it.[00:18:01] And it was just fabulous and they invested Parker, Avery invested. I think it was close to $6,000 a us into seed funding to help get that launched there as a result. So it's, it's really special when, like I said, when we can get people connected and go and there's so many, there's so many examples of it.[00:18:23] Sometimes it's just funding. So like in the country of Liberia, The the [00:18:30] heart over there was, Hey, you got 85% unemployment. So you've got kids in schools. We now need to get them job skills. Well, one of the great things that happened is we started funding, a vocational training program there in both construction computers computer learning what we had interior design cosmetology.[00:18:51] And this week we got noticed that 54 kids graduated from those programs and have the opportunity to jobs. But here's where it's really exciting through the funding of Intel and HP. We built a school there. We paid for a school to be built. It cost about $35,000 to, for a K through six school. The kids in the construction on the supervised, by the the engineers over there that were teaching them.[00:19:17] They built their duplicate of that school for middle school for $10,000. As a result of that. And they learned along the way, and they've since built a dorm for the, for the girls [00:19:30] side. And so that's, that's one there. So those are the kind of projects that we take on where we can really impact things.[00:19:38] Vicki Cantrell: And I would think of it the way that to think about it is it's a hand up. Not a handout. [00:19:43] Greg Buzek: Right, right. And it's how do you change? How do you give an in South Africa as a perfect example of it? Because in South Africa is the only place where we have a continuity of care from three years old, all the way up through getting jobs through college.[00:19:59] We have there's a school there in, for, for little three to five-year-old preschool kids that are our kids from the townships that are there. We actually help pay for for kids to go to English speaking school for about 15 to 20 kids there. And then 14 of those kids to go into a leadership high school there, which is the only mixed gender mixed mixed race school in that area.[00:20:26] And it's like a us it's as high quality as a U S private [00:20:30] school so we have 14 there, we seed funded a small college fund , and we just two years ago had our first student come from the township and graduate from college. And I got word today that we have five more that are graduating this week. In South Africa as a result of that opportunity. So that continuity of care. And then what, so when we go there, you know, on a trip, the small kids, we've helped build the school. We, we essentially just make sure that our money's being used properly play with the kids and have fun there.[00:21:02] But when we go to that high school, we teach class. We literally share our career trajectory. We, we give forecasts Dave Finnegan from Orvis and myself, we taught about leading, what the impact of AI and machine learning is going to be, how graphene can transform the world for things, he shared, how they've got fishing rods with graphene now that have accelerometers in there, and you can benchmark yourselves on the fishing rod compared to the best fishermen [00:21:30] in the world with doing things. So as to inspir on these things, I think Vicki's done a call. You've done a call down there, right. With the students. Did you not? [00:21:42] Vicki Cantrell: And, we taught marketing classes when we were in Honduras.[00:21:46] Also, you know, there's one thing that I know we're going to probably talk about trips, but they are the heart of. How we see what we can do and how we get our reward, kind of just seeing these things, but. It's directly related to what Greg is talking about. So we've had the great fortune to take our children to many of us have taken our children on these trips.[00:22:17] And, [00:22:18] The Trips[00:22:18] Ricardo Belmar: And Vicki, can you, can you kind of describe for everyone, how the trips take form and when we say we're talking about these RetailROI trips, what does that really mean? So [00:22:27] Vicki Cantrell: I'll, I'll use Honduras as an example. We have [00:22:30] somebody in. In our kind of group that kind of is the leader for a particular country.[00:22:36] And and again, remember that we're working with on the ground a charity. So they help us with the logistics. We don't have to figure a ton of this out ourselves. But we arrange to all get to the airport at about the same time flying from various and sundry places and across the U S and we try to get there around the same time and we have transportation that gets us to our final destination.[00:23:03] Many times the hotels that we stay at are they're certainly absolutely fine. And sometimes very nice. Greg had a very great experience with almost a resort. And then we spend the time. At the, at wherever we are, whether it's, you know, at the school or in, in my case, in Honduras, this was the place with the 600 kids [00:23:30] of various ages.[00:23:31] And so our meals are, are handled, et cetera. And so again, you're working with a partner on the ground, so it's, we always feel safe. And our children, we say. You know, 13 is about the youngest, maybe 12, depending upon the child. But I took, I started taking my son when he was 15, I believe he's been on six or six trips and my daughter's been on two or three trips.[00:24:01] You know, just to dovetail what Greg talked about. So here we had a panel on the stage talking to the, I guess, technically the juniors and seniors about interviewing techniques and we did role playing and we did, some mock interviews and we talked about each person's business, whether it was SAP or Gartner or IHL or whatever, we talked about the businesses and we talked about how they can, what, how they.[00:24:29] [00:24:30] Be in a corporate environment and all of this. And I will tell you, because kids, all of you who have kids don't listen to their parents. It was, our kids got as much of an education as all of the children at that school. And I, I would honestly say that we've gotten tremendous benefit for our retail children who have listened to the people that are in our industry while they're in a foreign country.[00:24:58] It's just one of those little side benefits, [00:25:01] Greg Buzek: I think Jeff would agree,. Yeah. [00:25:05] Jeff Roster: Yeah. I can't emphasize what Vicki just said more probably the single best amount of money I've ever spent in my life was taking my two twins to Honduras four times. I dunno, what was it? Probably 10, 10, 12 grand, for all those, all those fall, three of us for those four times, they got a better business education than they probably did at the UC system that they both went through.[00:25:26] I mean, when you think about, you know, Vicky, when you think about what our kids [00:25:30] heard in Honduras, when they heard, when they got to hear business executives talk and, and they listened, but then they also got to see what happens. You know, if things don't work well on a country. And so they just came back better people, they just flat out, came back better people, and it just grey was a great, great investment.[00:25:48] Greg Buzek: The most fun I have in retail ROI is going on a trip where we take our teams and I get to watch my friends. Being at the, at the things that their teams are doing. We were the handing out the Tom's shoes instead of buying the Tom's shoes and to watch the kids thrive and to watch the parents and the pride in their parents of watching their children give back was really, really special.[00:26:17] When we do trips, we have some minor projects, but we're not, it's not like you would say with a church mission trip or somewhere, Hey, we're going to go build something and we're going to do something. I mean, that's a waste of time for, for most of us. So [00:26:30] we, we, some of us may have a skill set there, but what we do have is a lot of knowledge and a lot of networking.[00:26:37] And so when we ask people to go on trips if we've got our students with us, certainly we got to keep them busy , but for the most part for the adults in the industry, we want you to see the work, just come experience the work, see the impact because there's literally 30 things a day that we do and take for granted that we don't even think about because we're so proficient at it that the charities we're working at, it's a real struggle..[00:27:04] And they may not know how to do that. So most charities, for instance, they live month to month. Are we going to get enough money here to make it through the month? And then you bring somebody down and says, Hey, what's your five-year plan? Where would you like to be in five years? Let me walk you through that and put together a plan for how you can move forward and reach the goals you want to look for.[00:27:25] Cause most times you're just too busy doing the work to [00:27:30] think through the plan of how you might get there. And so that becomes really advantageous to them. So every trip we have a brainstorming session every single night at what we saw and how we can help and whose network we can tap in to help solve that issue.[00:27:46] And that's where the real value comes in. It's not that we go build a building or, you know things there, you know? Yes. We teach classes. Yes. We provide some things there. But the real value is when we come back after seeing the project. And put our networks and our knowledge together, John Geyerman's a perfect example.[00:28:06] John went down there, saw the kitchen situation. And he, he was vice president of Schlotzky's franchise operations. He went back to Schlotzky's and asked all the suppliers to donate the equipment. And when he put a million dollar kitchen into that school for about $65,000 total cost but he didn't stop there because he was so touched by the kids that he was [00:28:30] serving.[00:28:30] He said, these kids can benefit through certification. So he took the food safety course of Schlotzsky's translated it into Spanish, taught that class down there on a next trip and then gave certification to the kids so they could go get jobs at hotels, et cetera. That was all his idea.. After being down there, seeing it and working, and those are the kinds of things I haven't.[00:28:52] Mark Haney, another one, he was installing Chromebooks with an SD card for us down in Dominican Republic. He said, there's a better way of doing this. And he came up with this concept of internet in a box using a raspberry PI, and now they've created an, their own charity called control alt delete poverty, which may be a geekier name than retail ROI, but they have now put computer labs in 27 countries.[00:29:19] And it's literally a carry on bag that can provide first world education in three different languages anywhere in the world. At a moment's notice because it creates its own little wifi network, [00:29:30] battery powered. And those are the kinds of things that happen when people go on trips and say, there's a better way of doing this.[00:29:37] And it's been so special to watch and be part of.[00:29:40] Getting involved[00:29:40] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, that seems like in such an amazing process, when you get the knowledge and skill sets from all the folks who are coming on the trip and you come up with all these new ideas. The other thing I wanted to ask, so that that's one way from the trips. How else do you have retailers? And I shouldn't just say retailers, because I know there's plenty of engagement from people throughout the industry, not just from retailers, but how do, how do people get involved to begin with, what are the inroads that, how do you reach people and how do they first get involved typically [00:30:12] Greg Buzek: that typically the first start for most people is the Super Saturday event. And simply coming to Super Saturday for every retailer that attends Super Saturday we generally can raise about $5,000 in sponsorship money from vendors. And that's usually the first step. [00:30:30] Now, when you think about $5,000, what does that mean?[00:30:32] Well, that means, that means first world education for about 400 kids. That means clean water for community of 500 by just, and just attending the event. So that's the first step. The next thing is just joining your colleagues on a trip and Jeff can attest to this. I'll let Jeff share this story.[00:30:51] Just the, the impact of the community that is built on the trip and the breakdown of barriers. When it comes to business relationships, as a result, that's a lot better than golf. So, Jeff, do you want to share your story with Lori about Lori and how, when you were at Gartner, the challenges of getting her on a call.[00:31:09] Jeff Roster: Well, probably the most effective in let's see in 20 plus years of being an analyst is probably the single most effective time I ever spent was that those two hour bus rides in Honduras and Vicki was on those. I mean, we literally had a who's who on that, on that bus. And as an analyst being trapped with, with leaders from all the software companies was just [00:31:30]phenomenal.[00:31:30] And so what was neat about that is, especially as an analyst and, the vendor analyst relationship can be kind of, loving like a linebacker in a, in a running back. But when you're actually working and sweating and, and out of your, your business attire, it was just phenomenal.[00:31:43] I mean, it just was absolutely phenomenal. Now that doesn't mean there was any, I pulled back on any of the analysis I would do with any vendor, but it's just nice to be able to have that sort of underlying relationship and, and it really cool. I mean, it was really, probably easily, I think the best money I've ever spent.[00:31:59] And I, I don't say that, I don't say that loosely. It. just was, it was a grand slam on, on every single level.[00:32:05] Ricardo Belmar: Jeff, you brought up a good point about the vendor, community and supplier community in retail and how their participation is. And that's the side of the industry that I come from. And that's how I got involved with retail ROI. But, this all makes over an open question for you, Jeff Vicky, Greg, really, for any of you, how do you engage with the, the vendor community on this apart from, just as the sponsorship at the super Saturday event, that typically is what gets the part of the community [00:32:30] engaged in supporting the charities?[00:32:31] Or are there other things that happen based on your experience?[00:32:34] Vicki Cantrell: I would say there's two aspects of it. And the reason that that Greg talks about super Saturday is just. The exposure. Okay. It may be treated as a sponsorship, but what the real benefit is the content that happens that day and the exposure.[00:32:50] The other thing where solution providers get involved is when people understand the need. Okay. And let's say it happens to be a retailer and they're dealing with a project or see a need, they have an entire ecosystem of solution providers that they deal with in their everyday life. And they will reach out to them to, to get involved or, or to help.[00:33:17] So those are, you know, two ways that I would think I'm sure Greg can add on to that. [00:33:24] Greg Buzek: Well, they've, they've helped the vendors have also leveraged what they do. For part of this. So we've had [00:33:30] situations where people want to donate their cloud business, first things. We've had an offer. We've had an offer from a vendor before to handle the mobile devices.[00:33:39] One of our charities has a strawberry business in Zambia and you know, right now it's still a paper-based business with delivery drivers and other things, but to set up a, you know, full on accounting system and that is, that is just like you would have for any vendor here calling on your local Kroger or Walmart associated with that and offering their solutions that way.[00:34:03] The other thing that is funding related is, is often incorporating retail ROI in their customer events. When they've done things like for SAP, we did a food packing project Jeff was involved in that one where they filled a container worth of protein rich meals for orphans and vulnerable kids in the afternoon instead of playing golf.[00:34:23] Jeff Roster: That was a fantastic event, actually. That was Lori. Again, cause she got so motivated from being in Honduras. She [00:34:30] actually built that into what was it? One of the SAP conferences we literally took over [00:34:34] Greg Buzek: a full room or something like that. Yeah. Something, it [00:34:37] Jeff Roster: was, it might've been bigger than that, Greg.[00:34:38] But it was, it was a big conference and they brought in teams and what happened was like SAP sales teams from regions would come in and would compete with each other. And you know, you've got a bunch of engineers in there. So these guys are all recreating the processes while they're filling and there was hooping and hollering.[00:34:56] Gosh, it was probably the most fun I've had in a business event in an awful long time, because Anna was, it was, you know, I don't know how many hundreds of boxes we've we, we produced, but it was a ton and literally a ton, more than a ton [00:35:07] Greg Buzek: and close to 25,000 meals that you guys provided. [00:35:12] Ricardo Belmar: Wow. [00:35:12] Jeff Roster: So there's ways of just, I guess the point of, of ROI is just, how do we, how do we do something impactful, but fun and, and support business.[00:35:23] And I would argue, I'm sure more business was done inside that room than, than out in the golf course, because [00:35:30] you know, salespeople would bring their clients and it was just, it was a blast we've got, I mean, dusty and all that stuff, but just a phenomenal thing. And there's probably 15 other examples where the other executives that have adapted different, different processes inside their own business processes.[00:35:45] And that's really the kind of magic. [00:35:47] Greg Buzek: Yeah, and I can't overestimate or underestimate how valuable it is when a company joins a trip and says, you know what, we want to make this part of our core belief system for our company. And that's what happened with Aptos. When they got involved, they started going to a variety of different places and decided Hey, we, we would really like to adopt the program with Lifesong and Haiti, and they've done, I think, nine different trips now and help build a school a community center like with just like a hotel, I guess there's like a hotel type thing.[00:36:22] They brought in people from Marriott to teach you know, hospitality training there. Then Verlin got involved when he [00:36:30] was with Verizon and got satellite communications there, but the company is behind it and has made it part of everything that they do for customer events and continues to invest.[00:36:40] And Parker, Avery is now taking over. Jamaica for us, which is really the next place where we plan on taking a lot of our youth, because we don't have the language barrier and we have a huge opportunity in the middle of Jamaica there. So it's a nice weekend trip, a long weekend where we can take our kids as well as, as other executives, and really start to have an impact on a community, providing job opportunities, providing insight training, [00:37:09] Finding Charities[00:37:09] Ricardo Belmar: Greg, let me ask you, with all the examples that everyone's brought up here today, how, how do you come across the different charities? Do they come to you? Do the retailers, for example, who want to get involved, say Greg I'm, I'm working with this charity and I think they'd be a great candidate for retail ROI.[00:37:25] How does that happen?[00:37:26] Greg Buzek: yeah, that has happened. And that's where we love to have that where it's [00:37:30] not all on Greg Vicky and Randy to pick the charity. So we've had several charities, like Jeff has been involved with Terry with Senegal and they created a charity to reach out there. But it's, it's usually somebody who's passionately involved with the charity.[00:37:46] So Gary Craig in Canada has been involved with a group called sunrise homes and it's the actual work is in Myanmar , which obviously has been through a lot in the past year , but it's an orphan home in Myanmar. And that's the start because they're personally involved with this charity and I didn't know anything about it when it started, but we started with a very small project.[00:38:08] We get the video back, we get the story back. We let, Gary share about the impact and then we decide whether or not we want to invest more into that. We've done that with some charities quite a bit, because so many people have gone on trips with them that, it's just kind of like a no-brainer same thing with like free for life international John Geyerman.[00:38:29] And I [00:38:30] mentioned earlier, Got introduced to free for life through super Saturday after doing that work in Honduras. And he's now chairman of the board of that charity. And they're the ones that did the rescue of over 1500 women, I think now and children on the border of Nepal and India as a result of that.[00:38:50] So there are things that, you know, where do you bring the results back and say $10,000 helped rescue 1500 women this year? You know, that's, no brainer to do things. The best way is that way. And then I've had others that I've just been fortunate as I've gone through my learning curve to say, man, this really has a huge return.[00:39:13] So I'll give you an example of two here in the United States. One's called. Say families, the other one is called together for good. What we found out through that process is over half the kids that go into foster care in the United States are not there because [00:39:30] of neglect or abuse in any way.[00:39:32] It just meant at a point of crisis, there was no safety net for the kids that that crisis could be escaping an abusive relationship that could be drug abuse, short-term prison, sentence, somebody that has an accident and has to have a surgery. And there's no safe place for the kids, but it's tragic. Once those kids go into the foster system, they not only cost $92,000 a year for that, the average time is three years in the system.[00:40:01] So you're talking $270,000 there. Well, if that happens to you or me , we usually have family members or somebody else that can watch our children. So what safe families and together for good is, they basically provide that safety net for that short-term care. So a family steps up and said, you know what?[00:40:19] I watched these children for 45 days, 60 days, mom and dad still have, they still have legal responsibility for them, but in this point of crisis, [00:40:30] we're going to come alongside and be that safety net for this family in that cost about a thousand dollars per family. So that thousand dollars covers , all the things related to social workers, transportation, medical care, all that stuff for the children that saves a family, saves the the government $270,000 on average for a thousand dollars.[00:40:55] So we look at that ROI and say, that makes sense. To do. So we've had over 22,000 kids now, 22,000 families that have been preserved through those programs as a result of this. And so those are things that, you know through my education, I just personally found and said, this makes sense for what we're doing and this, this needs to increase because it has a big societal impact.[00:41:20] Ricardo Belmar:[00:41:21] A little goes a long way to make a difference[00:41:21] Ricardo Belmar: One of the things that I've always been both surprised and impressed with when I listened to all the different charities at super Saturday is how effective, [00:41:30] what seems on the surface, like a relatively small amount of funding, but the amount of impact that can have you know, one, one example.[00:41:38] I always remember, cause it was, I think one of the first ones that it got involved in that first year that that we sponsored super Saturday Greg and it was with more than me in Liberia. And I think this was when they through some of the sponsorship dollars, right. They bought the first ambulance in that area, I remember.[00:41:53] And I remember you telling me afterwards that, the impact was, and this for everyone listening was during the Ebola crisis at that time. And if you remember when the year, the time magazine labeled the Ebola warriors there, person of the year it was that timeframe. And I remember you telling me the impact of the ambulance meant that doctors visits in that town went from what otherwise could take a day's trip just to get to four days, four days.[00:42:19] But it went down to like 45 minutes. Right. Right. Which is [00:42:23] just such a massive impact. [00:42:25] Greg Buzek: Yeah. Yeah. With Ebola first day, you feel like you got the cold or the flu second [00:42:30] day, it gets a little more serious, but it still feels like malaria or the flu things that you normally have. But the third day is when the really bad stuff happens.[00:42:40] And by day four you're dead. So when you can imagine that in the largest slum in Liberia, which is an area about the size of your normal large mall in the United States in a hundred thousand people live there, ebola's in the middle of it. And if you touch a person that's infected with Ebola, you get Ebola. And that's how many people are in that area.[00:43:03] And it was taking four days for an ambulance to come. And so when Katie, she, when she asked me for money for an ambulance, it was pretty much a no brainer for me. And so, and here was the other part, there were only four ambulances in the entire country, which is the size of New Jersey. Yeah. So you can imagine how, how tough that would be, but yeah, they were able to get the call rate down to less than an hour.[00:43:30][00:43:30] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, that that was just an amazing impact for what, and ultimately is not that great a spend, just to pay for that ambulance compared to what I think the expectation that a lot of people probably have before they learn about what you're doing and what all the charities are doing is that, you know, how can I raise enough money to have an impact?[00:43:46] And I think the biggest takeaway from all the work it's ROI does is that at any amount, can be put to good use. [00:43:55] Yeah. And that's an example. Yeah. I'm sorry. I just wanted to say that's an example of where all we did was provide money period, and it had that impact. Go ahead. [00:44:04] Vicki Cantrell: You know, let's talk about the money for a minute because, as we all reach a point in our lives where we really feel like we want to be doing more and giving back, and I remember when it felt that way, and there's always this strange feeling when you hit that point in your life of.[00:44:21] How can I make an impact? Yes. I could write a check to something, and, but it didn't have, [00:44:30] it didn't feel like it was something I was connected to because you really do want to make an impact beyond being able to donate. And so I have learned a hundred times over that. It. And you think whatever I, as a single person would do is not going to have enough of an impact.[00:44:50] And what I've learned and seen a hundred times is all you have to do is impact one person, literally one person, because that person gets such a benefit. It is such a, circle of, it just ripples out from there, you help one person, they got a leg up or they, it you've meant something to them at that moment in their life.[00:45:17] They help somebody else. They help somebody else. Your impact is astounding just by helping one person. And we help a [00:45:30] lot of people and we help them a lot of, you know, just the interaction. Listening to these kids' stories and, sponsoring them, which is minimal money impact, but it makes a huge difference to their life.[00:45:45] So you will make a huge difference with just the smallest amount of effort because of the ripple effect that you will create. [00:45:56] Greg Buzek: Yeah. So I'll give you an I'm sorry, I give you one example with a real live person . When we went in 2016 to Liberia, we met a young lady named Grace who was going into the 12th grade.[00:46:13] And this is prior to Mark creating these raspberry PI computer labs. She was in the 11th grade. She lost both of her parents to Ebola and she got placed in this orphanage. And she had potential and we gave her a Chromebook, a $250 Chromebook, [00:46:30] and she not only graduated from high school, she went on to graduate college and is now a school teacher because we were able to give her a Chromebook with Khan academy to help her learn and finish her education for 250 bucks.[00:46:46] Ricardo Belmar: That's fantastic. remember at each year at each super Saturday event, , you've always got one, at least one of those stories of how that, impact has affected that one person. They've been on onstage at super saturday and told their story from, everything about their story from where, where the low point was and how everything's changed for them once these, what you might otherwise think are very small impacts, but they have such a major change in someone's life it happens. I think these are just amazing stories. [00:47:17] Greg Buzek: Yeah. We have a special reprised edition of a young man named Demetrius Napolitano. Demetrius is coming back to share an update on his life. And for the listeners here, [00:47:30] Demetrius is a young man who grew up in 32 different foster homes in Harlem growing up and he had one social worker that believed in him.[00:47:39] He should have been a statistic. He should have been dead. And he was on that path and that social worker believed in him. And he has since graduated from NYU. He was an intern in Congress. There, he got to work for the Robin hood foundation in New York city with John Paul Tudor Jones .[00:47:59] And he's now impacting youth in his region there, but I don't want to give the whole story. He's an amazing young man who happened to get adopted when he was 24 by a 32 year old, a couple there, and then, so now he has the name Demetrius and the Napolitano. So he's a young black man that looks like Eddie Murphy with an Italian last name.[00:48:21] And it's, it's a really special story and we're going to be catching up with him at super Saturday. [00:48:27] Fundraising[00:48:27] Ricardo Belmar: That's fantastic. That's fantastic. So, [00:48:30] Greg Vicki, let me ask you, and we've kind of talked about how some of the retailers get involved. We talked about how a solution providers in retail have helped but both from their sponsorship and, and resources.[00:48:41] How do other people, you know, let's broaden kind of the retail ecosystem, if you will, and how do other people get involved? Maybe they're not a retailer, they may not work for a tech company providing retail solutions, but how, how does one get involved with retail ROI? [00:48:55] Greg Buzek: Well, I guess I said attending, coming to super Saturday, being a part of that, we also have a fundraiser each year related to the March madness.[00:49:03] We call it March gladness, where we do small things where people donate gift cards that we have as prizes and we play brackets. And so we built a school in Haiti that by playing brackets and winning prizes, so that's, that's a real simple way broader than that is just joining a trip, get involved, join a trip.[00:49:24] I will tell you one way you can impact it has nothing to do with retail ROI, but has an amazing [00:49:30] impact go to our YouTube channel retail, ROI, YouTube channel, and look up Nicole Taylor and the social life program that is right in your community. What Nicole found out is that social workers Are some of the people with the highest turnover in the country because of the burnout and the emotional impact of that.[00:49:50] They found is children that go into the foster care system. If they have one social worker, 74% of the time, they find permanence and find a family to live in. 74% of the time. When that social worker changes, it's only 26% of the time. So they created a program called socialite, which was just adopting a social worker, encouraging a social worker, providing a gift card and note of thank you, flowers on their birthday, inviting them to lunch and just telling them that they mattered in their one county.[00:50:24] They dropped the turnover rate from 69% to 29% in [00:50:30] one year. Just by people being appreciated for what they do. And that's something we can do in every one of our communities is, find out from our local foster care. Can we get a list of folks in and leverage our networks in our area? Maybe it's your community of faith that wants to come and be a part of that, but just adopting those folks encouraging those folks, telling them that they matter.[00:50:54] They're making a difference in, in that has such a dramatic impact on the potential for children that they serve. It's just, it's hard to quantify it because it's so impactful.[00:51:06] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. That one is just amazing to me, the level of impact and effect it can have just by doing something so simple, right. To just thank someone for what [00:51:17] Greg Buzek: Right. And there's a saying in this, this foster care adoption community is, is not, everybody's called to adopt. Not every person is called to be a foster care, but we can all do something to assist that [00:51:30] can be respite care for an adoptive family that can be just providing a dinner.[00:51:34] They're providing a night out for a foster family . But just coming alongside of those folks in that community to make a difference. , [00:51:42] More Great Work[00:51:42] Ricardo Belmar: so one question for you given the different charities you're working with today, are there any of those that maybe we haven't touched on yet that you want to highlight that maybe anybody listening or someone that catches on the replay might want to get involved with?[00:51:56] Greg Buzek: Well, gosh, I don't want to pick, I don't want to pick favorites. There I've mentioned several, I think there's opportunities with control alt delete poverty. If you want to sponsor a computer lab. And first world education. There's one called the Fergus Simpson foundation that we're working with in Jamaica.[00:52:12] That is really a grassroots just getting started there. But an opportunity to completely impact, the community of Chappleton in Jamaica with job opportunities and with you know, one of the things that happens is that, you have give a man a [00:52:30] fish versus teach a man to fish.[00:52:31] Well, what happens if there's no pond? And that's what we're doing is helping create a pond in that part of Jamaica. I will give you actually one it's a for-profit company that I think retailers and anybody on this call may be interested in. Then there's a group called tide rise. If you look up tide rise, I think it's tide rise.co co, but look it up.[00:52:54] Behind it is the organization that created the app called flip that is digitized as retail circulars. So you can see deals. They the CEO of that company went to Malawi and was working with an orphanage and came up with that same problem. How do you, if there's no pond, how do you teach a man to fish?[00:53:14] So they created a technology business incubator there that cleans data for artificial intelligence and they took their lead sales guy for flip. And he's now leading this organization and they're looking for projects from retailers [00:53:30] and companies that want to have clean data and tag data for artificial intelligence.[00:53:35] And that's what the folks there do in this community now. And it's building up jobs in that community as a result.[00:53:41] So tide rise, Ferguson, some foundation control, alt delete poverty are some of those.. [00:53:47] Vicki Cantrell: There's also Kasita Copan in Honduras, which is a different place than we used to go there. And they have been able to purchase a big section of property during very recently in the last six months. And so they are going to be able to serve many more kids and have them have a family environment.[00:54:11] And so they, that's another kind of enclosed thing that people can really see the impact of their involvement. [00:54:19] Greg Buzek: And one last one comes to mind for impact in the United States, as well as Dominican Republic to the thrive and joy foundation was started by Mary , [00:54:30] who used to be with chain store, age magazine Jay and Mary tragically lost their son, Nick.[00:54:35] When he was 19 years old by a freak lightening strike. in Southern California. He was washing his feet off in the ocean and got struck by lightning. We encouraged him. He had a passion for Dominican Republic for some reason, and they started going down there and that's been common life mission for them.[00:54:53] They started a US-based version called C 11 that's underneath them, which is 11 character traits. And they're teaching them in public high schools here in the United States and it's become clubs. So just like you have the, the singing club and the chess club or the fellowship of Christian athletes or whatever, they now have a club called C 11.[00:55:17] That's now in the LA county schools where the kids meet with Jay and Mary and other folks that become leaders to teach character qualities that they may not be getting at home or, at [00:55:30] school. And they were about two years into that one. So that's a, that's a charity as well that I would encourage people to get involved with.[00:55:37] Ricardo Belmar: All of those are absolutely wonderful ones. Thanks for sharing all those Greg. Before we close out the room, as we're coming to the top of the hour here, any last thing you want to mention about the upcoming super Saturday event? [00:55:52] Greg Buzek: Well, it's, it's the the Saturday before NRF January 15th.[00:55:56] It's going to be right in times square. You can find out more information, the agenda at retail, roi.org, and there'll be a link right on the homepage there. We have former special agents of the FBI sharing the latest ransomware techniques and things coming in and sharing how to protect yourself and your family and your companies as a result of that. We have, Andy Laudato is going to talk about his, new book and share some things on how to build a world-class IT organization, , and how to build innovation , even during a point of crisis[00:56:30] , and then we're going to share our latest data from consumer study what's going on with all these digital journeys.[00:56:36] And then finally our annual store study that we do with RIS news. So that's all part of the content that day. And then you get to meet a lot of the charities right there. [00:56:45] Ricardo Belmar: This is always the best event during NRF week. [00:56:48] Greg Buzek: Thank you,[00:56:49] Ricardo Belmar: Vicki. Any, final comments you want to share just in general about ROI or about the super Saturday or how everyone can support them [00:56:57] Vicki Cantrell: No, I, you know, I think that we covered all the different aspects. Again, there is no substitute for seeing it feeling it. We always say and it's true in super Saturday, too, a little bit, but when you go on a trip, you experience everything with all five senses and that's what really makes the impact.[00:57:18] Ricardo Belmar: Wonderful. know I haven't been fortunate enough to go on one of the trips, but I hope that at some point I'll have a chance to do that. But I always make a point of getting super Saturday on my agenda. Cause I wouldn't miss that for [00:57:30] anything. Both for the content and just to learn about what all the charities are doing and do anything I can to, help with that.[00:57:35] Jeff, any final thoughts from you? [00:57:37] Jeff Roster: Gosh, it's just such an amazing thing. When you can put your business skills to work. I think we've said it again and again and again, when you get into Senegal or Congo or Honduras or any of the places I've been, it doesn't take much. It just, any anybody that's an assistant manager.[00:57:53] 22 year old system manager in a store can just crush it. When you go into, into emerging economies, our skills are our ability to schedule or just absorb information. Those are all just the skills. These are all they're all crying for. And by the way, a lot of the charities could use that skill just as much. [00:58:10] Gosh, the charities folks are, you know, the heart's two sizes too big, but sometimes their business experiences two sizes too small, and that is a perfect match for what any retailer could do. It's really, really worth the effort. Take your kids, get them involved. You'll never, you'll never regret it.[00:58:25] It's just a huge, huge opportunity that you think you're doing good. And [00:58:30] guess what you end up getting more than you'll ever give guarantee in that? [00:58:33] Ricardo Belmar: I think that's a great point. Great point. So I think on that note, we will go ahead and close out the room. .[00:58:38] I know I recognize a lot of names down there and a lot of great supporters for retail, ROI and hope to see some of you at the super Saturday and thanks everyone for joining us. We want to thank Greg Vicki. It's been wonderful hearing all the stories today. I always enjoy talking about retail ROI and trying to find new ways to support all the great work that's being done.[00:58:58] So thank you so much for joining us today and everyone have a great weekend and we hope to see you the next time in the retail razor room. Thanks everyone. Bye. [00:59:08] Greg Buzek: Thank you.Welcome Back[00:59:13] Ricardo Belmar: Welcome back everybody. We hope that was as memorable and inspiring a session for all of our listeners as it was for the two of us.. [00:59:25] Casey Golden: I think it's important for us to remember how much our supply chains and network can be leveraged for more than clothes. How'd you ge

S1E2 – The Retail Avengers & The Future of Frontline Staff, Part 2Welcome to Season 1, Episode 2, the second ever episode of The Retail Razor Show!I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top 100 Retail Influencer, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation, and lead partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.And I'm your co-host, Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock and slayer of retail frankenstacks!Together, we're your guides on the retail transformation journey. Whether you're thinking digital and online, mobile, or brick & mortar stores, there'll be something for you!In episode 2 we dive into the future of retail frontline workers, with none other than Ron Thurston, author of Retail Pride, The Guide to Celebrating Your Accidental Career. Ron joins our Retail Avengers team on Clubhouse to talk about the impact of AI and automation on store teams and how retailers can, and should, equip their frontline staff with technology. Plus, Ron gives us a preview of his latest project, kicking off in 2022 – Retail In America!For more information about Ron, and how you can Take Pride Today in your retail career, visit Ron's website: https://www.retailpride.comThe Retail Razor ShowFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazorConnect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazorJoin our club on Clubhouse: http://bit.ly/RRazorClubListen to us on Callin: https://bit.ly/RRCallinSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeSubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShowRetail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPodHost → Ricardo Belmar,Follow on Twitter - ****https://bit.ly/twRBelmarConnect on LinkedIn - ****https://bit.ly/LIRBelmarRead my comments on RetailWire - ****https://bit.ly/RWRBelmarCo-host → Casey Golden,Follow on Twitter - ****https://bit.ly/twCaseyConnect on LinkedIn - ****https://bit.ly/LICaseyRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWCaseyTRANSCRIPTS1E2 Retail Avengers & The Future of Frontline Staff, Part 2[00:00:20] Ricardo Belmar: Hello. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. No matter what time of day you're listening. Welcome. Welcome to season one, episode two, the second ever episode of the Retail Razor Show. I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar, one of RIS News top 10 movers and shakers in retail for 2021 and lead partner marketing advisor for retail and consumer goods at Microsoft. [00:00:42] Casey Golden: And I'm your co-host Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock obsessed with the customer relationship between a brand and the consumer. I spend my days slaying franken-stacks.[00:00:52] Ricardo Belmar: So Casey, how many franken-stacks have you slain since our last episode? [00:00:55] Casey Golden: I can't even count right now. [00:00:57] Ricardo Belmar: Okay. No worries. I think maybe our listeners are gonna want to start keeping track though, since we keep, , talking about it, maybe, maybe they'll start tweeting out to us, their guesses on how many between episodes.[00:01:06] Casey Golden: I love a good tweet storm. [00:01:07] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, me too. So any listeners out there who want to tweet a guess on how many franken-stacks Casey has slain since episode one. Be sure and tweet your guess and tag the Retail Razor account so we see it. We'll be sure to give a shout out to whoever [00:01:20] comes the closest next time we record our episode, right Casey?[00:01:24] Casey Golden: I guess I'm going to have to start keeping count myself. [00:01:26] Ricardo Belmar: There you go. [00:01:29] Casey Golden: So regarding the last week we kicked off the show with our friend, Ron Thurston, author of retail pride, and he's joining us again this week [00:01:36] Ricardo Belmar: that's right. This is part two of our Retail Avengers and the Future of Frontline Staff session. Last week, we focused on the current state of frontline workers in retail and how tech will become more and more of an integral part of that experience.[00:01:49] And this week we tackle a few of the biggest issues that concern the retail workforce, around automation and AI versus the human staff, how to best leverage technology in the hands of store associates. And we take on some interesting questions from the clubhouse audience on digital versus analog experiences and in the human connection in retail.[00:02:08] Casey Golden: These are tough topics. I'm a big proponent of human augmentation, but let's face it. We gotta automate the things we don't want to do. [00:02:16] Ricardo Belmar: That's right. Yeah. , I totally hear you. And I completely agree. So [00:02:20] many people are getting scared of the automation that's coming, but I think that's the wrong way to look at it.[00:02:25] And we'll, talk about that in this session, because there's so many benefits to having that automation do exactly what you just said, right. To get rid of all the tasks that are not the interesting fun ones and let's face it, not the ones that make the customer experience better. [00:02:39] Casey Golden: Exactly. We've got to enable the heart of our business, which is that engagement between the consumer in the brand and the consumer never walks into corporate, you know, they walk into the stores and that's where their experiences. So I really believe, you know, scaling that part of the business and making sure that the heart has software. It's going to be able to just move everything further.[00:03:11] They're not spending any time doing admin work. And there's ways to, for them to focus on what's really important to the business and what's important to the [00:03:20] consumer. [00:03:20] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, I totally agree. And even when we're talking about basic things like we're going to get to in this session about store associates, getting mobile devices to use when they engage with customers [00:03:29] Casey Golden: Yeah, I love talking about frontline staff and Ron is one of the best people to dive into this topic. So glad he'll be joining us after we listen to the clubhouse recording, let's go get to it. [00:03:39] Ricardo Belmar: You got it. So without further delay, let's give a listen to the Retail Avengers and the Future of Frontline Staff, Part 2.Clubhouse Session[00:03:54] Ricardo Belmar: Welcome everyone. Thank you for joining us here in the retail razor club room, we're continuing our conversation with special guest Ron Thurston, and about the future of frontline retail staff.[00:04:04] So let's do some quick introductions. I'll start with our special guests, Ron Thurston, author of retail pride, and Ron, I know you have some special announcements that I'll let you share about what, you're going to be doing.[00:04:16] I think then you've also got some special activities happening in New York this weekend share with us. So let me give you a moment to introduce yourself and tell us about those two things. [00:04:25] Ron Thurston: Awesome. Thanks so much, Ricardo. I really appreciate it. So yes, I'm the author of retail pride, the guide to celebrating your accidental career, which is why I love to talk about everything, frontline worker retail related, and I'll start with myself.[00:04:39] So yes, until last week I was the head of stores of intermix, as part of kind of their sale to private equity and such. It was a great time for me to launch my own brand. So I'm launching an umbrella, brand under Take Pride [00:04:54] Today, which will be consulting. And I'm speaking opportunities, additional books under the umbrella of retail pride.[00:05:01] And I'm really excited to get this started, kind of building out the infrastructure for what that will look like. So thank you for, for helping me, get that out into the world. [00:05:10] Ricardo Belmar: All right. Thank you for that, Ron. Appreciate it, [00:05:13] Trevor welcome. Why don't you introduce yourself? [00:05:15] Trevor Sumner: Hi, I'm Trevor Sumner. I'm the CEO of perch. We do interactive displays at retail.[00:05:21] And what's cool about them is they use computer vision to detect which products you touch. So it's like minority report, it touch a product. And literally the shelf starts talking to you about the product ratings, reviews, videos, augmented reality, all that kind of stuff. [00:05:33] Ricardo Belmar: All right, fantastic. And move on to Shish. [00:05:35] Shish Shridhar: Hi, good morning. Good afternoon. I'm the retail lead, with Microsoft for startups and essentially create a portfolio of retail tech, early stage retail, tech startups, I'm, on the lookout for innovative startups in the space. I'm always meeting up with [00:05:54] startups and learning a lot as well in that process. I've been in retail for about 20 something years, 24 years in Microsoft.[00:06:02] And about 15 of those years, working very closely with the top retailers around the world. Looking forward to the conversation today. Thank you.. [00:06:11] Ricardo Belmar: Thank you, Shish. Brandon. [00:06:12] Brandon Rael: Hello everyone, my name is Brandan Rael.. I've been in around the retail industry, both within retail companies, across a variety of merchandising and planning.[00:06:21] And I love that that role but I'm mostly on the other side now, currently I'm one of the transformation leaders at Reach Partners a boutique consultancy that works with the retailers, CPG companies, DTC companies to not only, stay ahead of disruption, but self disrupt themselves to really pivot their organizations and, provide an amazing customer experiences, both in store and online and, happy to be here. [00:06:46] Ricardo Belmar: All right, thank you, Brandon. And Jeff. [00:06:48] Jeff Roster: Hi, Jeff roster, a former Gartner and IHL retail sector analysts. Now, sit on several advisory [00:06:54] boards as well as the co-host for This week in Innovation podcast.. [00:06:57] Ricardo Belmar: Thank you, Jeff and I'm Ricardo Belmar. I founded the Retail Razor Club here on Clubhouse. I've been in retail tech for the better part of the last two decades, working for a different technology providers and service providers in retail, currently at Microsoft as a senior partner marketing advisor for retail and consumer goods.[00:07:15] Recap of Part 1[00:07:15] Ricardo Belmar: So let me do a quick recap of what we discussed at the last session. We've focused then on what new roles may emerge for frontline workers. We had an example of Levi's talking about, skills training and data science. We talked about new skills for clientelling supporting self-checkout and click and collect operations at the store. We came to a conclusion there was going to be a strong focus on supporting convenience services and experiential retail, which in this case led to a prediction that there will be more segmenting of staff into specialists or subject matter expert areas so that you won't see [00:07:54] a frontline position description might not just be as a sales associate, but it may include things like being a live streamer or doing something else around a particular area of product expertise based on what the store sells.[00:08:06] And that segmenting is something that should lead to an embracing of uniqueness and diversity in the staff. And then we also covered some interesting new retail tech, that we thought front lines are going to be enabled with around collaboration, assisted selling, other store operational tools, things that would support fulfillment, particularly stores that may operate sort of a micro fulfillment area, in part of their footprint.[00:08:30] And that led us to also talk about what the perception of roles would be. Ron had brought up an interesting point about frontline workers asking, what do I call my role? Because it was becoming much more than a traditional sales role. And again, that tied back to the area of segmenting. [00:08:47] This week we're going to dive into a couple of different areas.[00:08:50] The main one is going to be what the impact of [00:08:54] AI and automation will have on frontline staff. And we're also going to touch on things we think retailers could be doing to improve that work environment for front lines, but both in and out of the automation conversation. So for example, before we dive into those, I'm going to pose a question for the panel , we learned that Walmart is buying 740,000 Samsung smartphones for their frontline workers, that's going to include a very special integrated app. That's supposed to help them with all of their daily work tasks and, and managing everything related to being on the job essentially.[00:09:27] And also they're going to give their frontline staff the option of adopting that device as their personal device. And the claim from Walmart is that they are not going to have any visibility or access to any of those personal data areas, on the device should you choose to use it that way.[00:09:44] So I'm sure everyone has some thoughts on that. My question do you see this a, is this a trend? You know, we we've always talked in the past about how this was going to be the [00:09:54]year of associate enablement, whether it was technology or training.[00:09:57] And it seemed every year that we would start the year talking about that, but we wouldn't see a lot of evidence from most retailers to do anything about that. And here comes Walmart with what I've seen, some calculations posted online that, depending on what Samsung's price was for these devices, it's easily a 350 to 380 million investment.[00:10:16] Mobile Devices for Store Associates Trend[00:10:16] Ricardo Belmar: Is this a trend? Is this a sort of a turning point that we're going to see retailers put frontline workers, in a better light and really focus on equipping them with the technology they need to put them on par with the technology, customers are walking into the store with, or is there some other meaning to this?[00:10:33] For example, one of the app functions, is an AI based tool called ask Sam, which Walmart says has been heavily used in, trials already where workers can ask just about any question to this AI sort of a chat bot, I suppose, that helps them find answers and help customers. So with my long explanation there, Ron, [00:10:54] I'll start with you.[00:10:54] What do you think of this? [00:10:55] Ron Thurston: Thanks Ricardo. So I I'll approach it from two different sides. I think from the, from the Walmart side. And as, as someone who was kind of deep into also providing tech to employees, there, there are so many legal implications about the idea of offering you. I know the pilot was about bringing your own device and let's pilot this, but it's become increasingly difficult from a legal perspective to ask anyone to do anything off the clock as they shouldn't.[00:11:25] And so when you think about the majority of these employees, significant majority are hourly employees, the ability for then Walmart to provide things like scheduling tools requesting time off, probably putting in something around like vacation days. You can do all of that on this device actually is really helpful for them to be able to just control the control the data control the, the use.[00:11:53] It [00:11:54] sounds like it is only enabled when they're in the store. It's probably connected to the wifi, which is, pretty normal. And so I actually think it's a fantastic way for Walmart to have a recruiting advantage because that's also a huge call-out today of how do we attract and retain top talent, or, at least be able to fill all of our open jobs.[00:12:15] And this is a great way to do that. And secondly, provide The opportunity for, kind of data collection data use and be able to provide tools that the employees have access to, where normally in scheduling, you'd have to kind of come into the store and make a phone call and you can't ask an employee to check their personal email, or even use their personal email accounts when they're off the clock.[00:12:38] There's so many legal implications. And on the employee side, it's a huge perk for a low hourly frontline worker to have something you could use for your personal device, whether you think the company is, is tracking you or not, this is [00:12:54] TBD, but the benefits, I could see huge benefits on both sides.[00:12:57] And I, applaud them for making the move. And I think it's the first of many, many to come in this, in this arena. And, I'm excited that they were the first to move. [00:13:07] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, thanks, Ron. I agree with you , , I see this as a overall positive move, although certainly with plenty of potential gotchas and, I suspect Trevor has a few things to say about some of those gotchas. [00:13:18] Trevor Sumner: I have I've, I've lots of things about many gotchas. I Ron, I think that's a really interesting point about, you know, kind of compliance and risk mitigation and, you know, even, making sure that off the clock, you have a device that they could use and could log and could track.[00:13:34] And so they are properly compensated for such. And I don't know if they're going to start that it doesn't sound like they're starting there yet to be connected to wifi, but they may end up going in that direction. In terms of greater compliance, as we, continually kind of do CRM and one-to-one marketing and for sales associates outside of store, [00:13:51] I think this is. There's [00:13:54] something else at play. Like I think this is great. And you know, there's no reason you can't have most of the utilities that they talked about in the release on, some type of web based app or, or support both iOS and Android and basically hit everything anyway. So why provide your own devices?[00:14:10] And I think, you know, part of it's like the controlled environment it's access, but I also think the data play is really interesting. So I think about, like ask Sam and other tools that, I think voice interfaces are highly inefficient. A lot of these technologies need to be refined. A lot of data needs to be collected to optimize things.[00:14:27] And all of a sudden you've got, basically you can track every sales associate in the store and where they are at all times. You can track if they're using ask Sam, you can look at the most common queries you can, you know, do a bunch of voice recognition. You can give yourself an advantage. Like one of the things that, Google, had a voice recognition advantage over a lot of people is that they already had all these voice recordings and all this voice data.[00:14:49] So I think there's a data pipeline play here that they're going to use and, to [00:14:54] test bed different applications before they release them to consumers and, and use the sales associates as a testing ground, to improve the UX, the UI and the underlying technology, for everything that they do.[00:15:04] And I think that that ultimately is the value because that makes everything they do from a technology perspective that they eventually released to the, to the end consumer, to be a much more mature. And well-vetted. [00:15:15] Brandon Rael: No to add to that point, I think, there probably rarefied the amount of companies that can make these significant investments in digital technologies and sales associate enablement via technologies like mobile devices.[00:15:28] So, it's can take, , such an investment like from a Walmart or potentially a Target that can actually, , invest in these capabilities, but also do the training necessary to empower store associates, to really make these a value added asset of what providing a, an outstanding associate experience, which w you know, Ron and others know, will translate over to a outstanding customer experience, then it, to help them enhance that relationship and enable the store associates to keep up with it, with, evolving [00:15:54] and always informed, and always empowered a customer who has a mobile device in their hands and access to information, review his competitor information prices.[00:16:03] Why not empower and enable your store associates keep up with that changing paradigm.[00:16:07] Shish Shridhar: I kind of think this is actually a very interesting move for Walmart. I've been, following the space and working on that space and empowering employees for a couple of years. And one of the points that Ron made about the legal implications, that was one of the big barriers in the past where they wanted, you know, The ability to control it, where the information and the task list and the ability to read work-based information outside of hours was a big concern.[00:16:38] And today with the capabilities available of controlling that I think it is becoming more of a possibility. Then it was maybe about five to 10 years ago. And that is, I think one of the drivers as well. And the other [00:16:54] aspect is, if I look at it from a startup perspective, oldest startup are in the space.[00:17:00] There's a lot of interesting technologies that are, that are being deployed. A lot of retailers are experimented with it primarily because the looking at, one, the more empowered the employees are, the happier customers are going to be. And also the other aspect of it, you know, when we look at it from the perspective of the future of frontline staff, And the, the evolving role of the frontline staff.[00:17:25] This is an important element of that. And I think it is the start of that journey where a frontline staff is going to be empowered, but a lot of information that they need, as they grow into, into that new role of being subject matter experts, into that role. Really fitting into a higher level of customer expectation.[00:17:49] So the features like the ask Sam, those are things that I'm seeing a lot of [00:17:54] where store associates can connect to real time information that can connect to conversational systems and be able to ask questions, get responses very quickly so that they're better informed and are able to help customers as a result.[00:18:11] They know exactly whether a product is in stock than not. They know if it's in the back room. So that quick access to information is an important element of that evolving role of the, of the frontline worker. And I think this is, this is huge in a way. I've been working with companies like Theatro, for example, that use a headset based system.[00:18:35] There's a company called Turnpike that is deployed in H and M. That is using wearables for companies that feel that, you know, a mobile device looks like a bit of a distraction. There is, other companies that use mobile devices and working with natural gourds that are using mobile devices. So there's multiple [00:18:54] formats that startups are experimenting with and also, what appeals to different types of retailers.[00:19:00] And, and in my mind, this is actually the beginning of that journey of evolution for, for the frontline worker, where they become empowered and also become subject matter experts, not necessarily to knowledge they have, but the connection to the backend knowledge that enables them to be far more effective and, and cater to the, the evolving expectations.[00:19:24] Trevor Sumner: Shish that actually just, inspired something, connecting the dots. When you talked about all these new startups doing interesting things, there's a startup out of VRA where I mentor, and they're called RilaVoice. And what they do is they mic up sales associates and they listen to every conversation they tag.[00:19:41] They look at the most common questions they can provide compliance on whether sales associates are answering questions well, using the right keywords, et cetera. But, again, I focus on the sheer scale of [00:19:54] this network. And what if, Walmart couldn't do that with your own device, but they couldn't do that.[00:19:58] I mean, we, we joke about how face you say something and all of a sudden you see Facebook ads for that thing. Like, there's no reason that Walmart couldn't enable these devices to listen all the time and start recording conversations and use that information in an interesting way. There's just so many tremendous opportunities to leverage this.[00:20:16] Ron Thurston: Yeah. And it's Ron, I was going to jump into about what Shish said, because this kind of idea of being enabled and encouraged and empowered, I think what was likely happening is that customers were engaged in. With frontline asking questions and they were pulling their own phone out of their back pocket.[00:20:35] And, and probably going to the website, probably looking at pricing, trying to do whatever they could to do that. And that there's legal risk put into that. So the idea of say, we're providing you all of these resources, we're empowering you with information and data. We're giving you everything that you need and let's leave your [00:20:54] personal phone in your locker when you get to work.[00:20:56] Like there's a lot of, there's a lot of potential, kind of positive and positive employee sentiment doing something like this that can really help from a recruiting standpoint to,[00:21:08] Brandon Rael: I also think to Ron's point, this generation is ready for this, these technologies and tools and solutions. We have a generation that's grown up, the next wave of retail, frontline workers who know nothing but digital. So why not empower these gen Z or, or the younger millennials to truly take on , and run with it because, when the guy came up with a customer who is light years ahead, so it's all about empowerment, it's all about enabling.[00:21:32] It's all about trusting your associates and given the tools and capabilities and need to provide an experience that's extraordinary and really helped our discovery [00:21:42] Ricardo Belmar: for the customers [00:21:42] and isn't there an element of consistency , too? [00:21:44] Because you want that experience to be consistent across associates, across stores, across customers.[00:21:50] I'm just thinking of Ron's example of the associate pulling their own device [00:21:54] out of their pocket to try to answer a question for a customer. That just seems like it's always going to lead to inconsistency, right? Because you're not providing the associate with the right tool for the job to get that consistent response.[00:22:06] And I have to believe that, if I'm Walmart, I want that consistency because what's my brand value to the customer. It's part of it is that consistency of experience that any Walmart you walk into, you know you're going to get this experience and if I'm not providing the tools to the staff, then how can I deliver that?[00:22:23] Shish Shridhar: That actually reminds me of the conversation I had with the retailer couple of years ago, where, we found when we were working with that retailer, every one of the stores had a Facebook group for having internal conversations. And this was mainly because the company hadn't provided a platform for store associates to have those conversations, to sort of standardize it and not go rogue.[00:22:46] And, and they kind of found that when they were able to provide that platform, there was sort of a control place, [00:22:54] but things could happen. This is secure and it's not out in the public. Many of these sites were actually out in the public and you could go into these Facebook groups, look at all the internal conversations and bright the was going on, within, within the store itself.[00:23:09] That was, again, I think one of those things where companies decide we need to standardize and provide a consistent interface. Thank you. [00:23:17] Trevor Sumner: Well, not just consistency, something that you can monitor. Right. And, that's one of the values and, and, and I thought the earlier point is great. It's like, let's be honest that a lot of Walmart, you know, sales associates, they're making minimum wage or close to it.[00:23:31] So the notion of having, free phone service and a free device that's meaningful. Right? And if you think about the data rates that are probably pre negotiated by Walmart, they're probably getting a very good deal.[00:23:43] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, I think that speaks back to Ron's point earlier about the incentive as a recruiting incentive, right.[00:23:48] To find more as we've heard, certainly in other rooms and in clubhouse at another news stories, there's [00:23:54] a big difficulty right now for a lot of retailers to recruit enough staff as stores have reopened and customers are coming back. So I think I do agree that that serves as a good incentive. I think Trevor, your point is right about that.[00:24:06] I'm going to ask Jeff, you've been quiet and listening to everybody's comments. If you had anything that you disagreed with or wanted to add to this? [00:24:13] Jeff Roster: Yeah, so really interesting. First, first thought is we've been waiting forever to really get into the BYO D discussion, bring your own device in this case, it's really not a BYO D it's a, B Y B Y CD.[00:24:25] Bring your own company device. So there's gonna just be some amazing learnings that are going to come out of this huge fan of, of having associates have to have the tools, probably everyone in this, in this conversation. And obviously everyone on clubhouse has, has a powerful, a smartphone that they're using.[00:24:40] Why shouldn't our, our store associates have it, that I pop on my loss prevention hat and think what happened. And so I agree with Trevor that there's some crazy interesting voice technology that's coming out, sentiment analysis, how, you know, tone of voice, all that sort of stuff. Before [00:24:54] listening to the conversations to help in that.[00:24:56] What happens when you can recover some loss prevention problems, two associates, maybe, maybe talking a about stealing something or whatnot. What do we do there? Is there a privacy concern there? How do we turn that device off? When store associates have the expectation for, for a private conversation, don't have the answers, but this is going to be fascinating to watch.[00:25:16] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. I think that's a good point. It is absolutely going to be interesting to watch the deployment of this. I think it's gonna be fascinating to see what percentage of employees decide to use this device as their personal device. [00:25:26] One of the things that I think is interesting in, in a couple of us touched on this . So, the ask Sam app is an example of that.[00:25:33] AI Impact on Frontline Workers[00:25:33] Ricardo Belmar: Where else do we see AI based technologies, stepping in whether in that case being billed as an augmentation or something to assist in associated, or you could see this as well in a clientelling scenario, and compare that with other automation technologies. And is this going to be competition for [00:25:54] frontline workers?[00:25:54] Is it going to be an assistance? Is it a combination of the two there there's certainly a perception out there that certain types of automation technology are a threat to frontline jobs. Certainly if you start talking about robotics, you get lots of folks who will come back and say, the robots are going to take those jobs away from frontline workers.[00:26:13] And if you think about a grocery store scenario where you're using a robot to do shelf counts, for example, people start to think there may be some truth in that statement. In other scenarios, you, you might respond to something like that and say, well, what's really happening is we're shifting the tasks.[00:26:27] We're trying to eliminate the more mundane, repetitive tasks that don't really add to the employees. Productivity don't necessarily help that frontline worker help a customer and free them up to do those jobs. So we're, we're shifting tasks, not necessarily shifting labor. There there's arguments on all sides of this.[00:26:46] I want to open up the discussion now to that point. Where do you see this, dividing line between. AI [00:26:54] technologies, automation, technologies being a threat versus it assisting frontline workers. And Ron, I'm going to start with you again, putting you on the spot. [00:27:03] Ron Thurston: This is the complicated question, but you got to thank you. I mean, here's what, what I would say is that there, there has always been, and there will always be a high demand and a high expectation of people who are exceptional every day and committed to delivering great customer experiences.[00:27:24] And, and maybe as the types of our businesses evolve and scale in different ways and you know, kind of evolution continues in retail. There will always be that side of it that needs great people who have incredible human interaction skills and they, they are unaffected by all of this because what they're hired for and what they're celebrated for is their ability to connect and sell.[00:27:51] And then I think that there's a whole other [00:27:54] side of the pendulum that says, could some of these things be automated and, put through machines and done differently. Absolutely. Yes. And I think that that's fine, but when I look at it, I say, well, then there's an enormous training opportunity and ability to take, to up-skill people who may potentially frontline workers and then build their careers in retail, through training, and that they can become that person that becomes really invaluable to companies because of their ability to connect, because that's, what's bringing people back to stores today.[00:28:28] And so that's how I kind of look at it of like the ultimate machine and the ultimate, lack of machinery that is entirely human. [00:28:38] Trevor Sumner: Yeah. And, you know, I think that's really an interesting point because especially as you look at this pandemic and who did really, really well, Walmart target best buy all these guys took e-commerce share from Amazon because in part, because there's this identity of being local, being part of a local [00:28:54] community.[00:28:54] And even as we talked about the 740,000 devices. Maybe that's a way that Walmart's looking at creating communities of its workers and those workers are a significant presence in the community. So I think this focus on community is absolutely right, whether it's, you know, sales associate to customer, whether it's sales, associate and worker to worker, I think there are new opportunities that are going to be uncovered as we create some of this automation to, to connect the connect the world.[00:29:20] Brandon Rael: And I think a retail and especially the luxury sector, which can't wait to hear Casey's perspective on is the battleground to win the hearts and minds of consumers. That retailer's always going to be a blend of the arts and sciences. Yes, automation, AI, machine learning, artificial intelligence, everything, augmented reality that really adds to the value of the customer experience matters.[00:29:44] But also the in-person engagement that Ron has alluded to that sense of community. The sense of togetherness all matters. And if it can be personalized by knowing your customers, by having the data [00:29:54] first customer first strategy that all the better, and it will make the store associates empowered, then have a really defined career path that's built on data and analytics [00:30:03] Casey Golden: a hundred percent. This is Casey. I think being able to separate what builds value versus administration work and how we can automate more administration work and streamlining the processes so that sales associates or retail associates can focus on things that create value to the customer and to the company.[00:30:25] I mean, how much time do you spend with customers and selling versus doing all of the paperwork or logging. And measuring everything that you need to do to, to be able to pick up that conversation again, or to create more value or to follow up. There's a lot of sales associates that either have no software or they have to use three or four pieces of software.[00:30:49] And I think that can cause a lot of, just it's more work that great, we got technology, but [00:30:54] now they have so much technology that's not connected or not helping them. It's just creating more work. But social media has, has really been at the pinnacle of building relationships and being able to have that sense of community, clubhouse is a perfect example of that.[00:31:10] In store experiences can facilitate it, but retail hasn't really facilitated that on e-commerce, or built their own community. A lot of retailers have relied on other social platforms to build their community on. And at the end of the day, they don't have access to their customer because it's on somebody else's platform.[00:31:31] So I think the more we can kind of bring those experiences and connect them to the brand, consumers will be able to start feeling what brand loyalty is supposed to like, why they would want to be loyal to a brand.[00:31:42] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, I agree. To build that loyalty, right? It requires people. I don't think you can. Claim you'll accomplish that by just automating every interaction. It makes me think about, the typical customer service [00:31:54] scenario that every comedian will talk about, right.[00:31:56] When they're trying to reach a retailer to return something, for example, and they have to get through the chat bot or they have to get through the AI before they can reach a person. It's not too many years ago when the jokes used to be about, IVR phone systems where you'd call in and you'd have to keep, press nine to get through this menu, then press seven, then press five.[00:32:14] And everyone tried to figure out what's the special key. You have to press on the phone to get out of the automated part and get to the person. And it's in some ways, right? From a customer experience, point of view, that doesn't change that, that human component of it doesn't change. And that's why you need people.[00:32:30] Casey Golden: Yeah. a subscription to a company called Billy and their, a, razorblade like subscription for women. And I picked them because there were a startup, a New York startup. I liked the founders. I signed up for it. I've been on a reoccurring for probably three years.[00:32:47] I liked them, but they just magically show up in my mailbox. I don't engage with the brand. I never go to the brand's website. I don't [00:32:54] touch anything. They just arrive in my mailbox every other month. Which is nice and convenient and I never have to shop for them, but I also never say the brand out loud.[00:33:02] I never think about the brand. I never think about the company ever. I'm never engaged with the company whatsoever. So I think there's a, there's a difference between seamless building brand loyalty and also. What kind of brand loyalty am I, am I loyal to the brand or am I loyal to the fact that they just show up every other month?[00:33:20] And I never think about the brand. It could be anybody. [00:33:23] Trevor Sumner: Yeah. And so I think it's dangerous to say like, yes, there, there are always going to be sales, some sales associates, but what if we removed half the sales associates or half the warehouse pickers, or, half that's a pretty significant reduction.[00:33:37] And I think it's, we just have to be careful about being reductionist here. I think technology and automation is going to reduce a lot of the repetitive tasks. And ultimately the question is, can we find new tasks that are valued at minimum wage or higher that add enough value [00:33:54] to be competitive? And, you know, certainly at a luxury, like a Gucci or Chanel, there are plenty of ways that you can surprise and delight, and they'll always find new ways to differentiate, but at a Walmart or target where convenience is really kind of, and the affordability value is the key. I think you're going to see significant reductions in staff and that's I think, does anybody disagree with that? Like when I say significant, let's call it 20% [00:34:21] Ricardo Belmar: i'll give you another example, along those lines, Trevor. Cause I'm not going to disagree with you. In fact, let's go beyond the mass merchandisers, but let's think about a franchise businesses like QSRs, where, you also have a scenario with limited staff, lower wages and no business running on an extremely slim margin, right? So if that's your scenario and let's face it in, in a franchise QSR, the highest cost that franchise owner has is their labor costs. So anything they can do, that's going to cut that in some way, without hurting the customer [00:34:54] service, you can bet I think that franchise owner will pursue it. What I think happens is that there's a mix here, right? There's yes. There a reduction. I don't think you can get away from that. In fact, I could, I won't name the brand, but I can give you an anecdotal story from a brand in Europe where over a lengthy period of time, many years, they actually reduced kitchen staff across their restaurants, by as much as 40% because of automation.[00:35:19] And of course, this isn't something you heard about in the news. You're not, it's not something they would publicize, but they did. In fact, create new positions and new roles in their restaurants when they did other things that were more front of house customer facing. Did those new roles displace all of the kitchen staff reduction?[00:35:38] Probably not. So there is an aspect here of eliminating the. Let's call them more mundane jobs because they're very repetitive, and not necessarily the more enjoyable tasks that get eliminated by automation. The [00:35:54] efficiency brought from that has distinct business advantages for the business owner.[00:35:59] Of course not so much for the frontline worker who's at risk of losing that job. This usually leads to discussions which we kind of touched on in our last session, but the example of Levi's wanting to train frontline workers in areas like data science and trying to create those new roles and areas.[00:36:15] And you are, as Ron described last time, those new segmented skill sets that can allow them to stay on in a different capacity, perhaps in a different wage or different salary, but not completely risk losing all of those jobs. I think that's what we've seen throughout history, right. You know, once upon a time we had people that operated elevators and then the elevators got buttons that automated the process.[00:36:36] What happened to all of the elevator operators?[00:36:38] Trevor Sumner: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you're talking about, I think you're going to have fewer, potentially fewer sales associates who are superpowered. And can summon products and inventory and help you do omnichannel delivery, you know, at will. But you're going to have fewer of them. They'll [00:36:54] probably be slightly higher paid because to Ron's point, there'll be even better at customer service.[00:36:58] And in the back of the house, you're going to see a gutting in terms of number of people. I mean, we're not even talking about self-driving trucks, right? There are 3.5 million truck drivers in the U S like, I don't know how you turn a truck driver or a warehouse worker into a premier sales associate at an Uber echelon, kind of value where it's even more highly competitive.[00:37:21] The expectations are higher. Your ability to adopt technology is more critical. I think, we're really going to struggle with what that looks like. [00:37:30] Casey Golden: Yeah. I mean, as a Walmart and a Target implement more things that automate and reduce workforce at. I feel like at the same time, we've got premium brands that need to increase their workforce because Gucci still has 10 million pieces of monthly traffic.[00:37:49] How do you provide that high touch service to all of those people? I think there's going to be a [00:37:54] massive need to flux the skillsets and hopefully it can become more of a career again, that stable, I only time will tell, [00:38:03] Brandon Rael: Casey and everyone would the, the fact that the intangibles that matter as well, especially luxury and fashion, as it relate to the customer and the emotional intelligence that is needed in the marketplace, to understand the customer's needs to have empathy, to build community, to build relationships that extend beyond just an AI/AR.[00:38:22] Machine learning model, but that's certainly it can be there, but, end of the day, it's about relationships and one-to-one personalized selling whether it's through digital channels or in person, and that's not the Walmart model, but for sure, but for the luxury market, it's great. [00:38:36] Ricardo Belmar: That's a good point, Brandon. [00:38:38][00:38:38] How Do We Use Digital to Solve Analog Problems?[00:38:38] Ricardo Belmar: We brought a couple of folks up to the stage with a, hopefully some questions for us. Michael, welcome to the stage. No stranger to the retail razor club.[00:38:45] Michael Zakkour: Hey Ricardo. Hey guys. The only thing I want to posit is. [00:38:51] That technology is the means to the end. It's not [00:38:54] the end. Right? So when we think about the frontline worker and the empowerment that technology data, AI, VR, AR will give them in the workplace. Ultimately, I go with what Ron's saying it's to empower great frontline employees, great frontline workers who want to move up through the organization. The technology is about applying digital means to solve analog problems. So when I think about what's going on in the rest of the world today. You look in China where somebody sits down at the salon and they sit in the hairdresser's chair and they're looking at an AR extended reality, augmented reality mirror.[00:39:39] And they can see their head with every kind of color cut style, whatever they go through a million permutations. Ultimately that technology is empowering the hairdresser to better serve the frontline consumer.[00:39:54][00:39:54] And I just wanted to chime in and say, it's not an either, or for me it's how do we use technology and how do we use AI and data? How do we use digital to solve analog problems? That's what this is about for me.[00:40:07] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah. I think an excellent point. I'm going to put it to the panel here, Ron and everyone went, what do you think.[00:40:13] Casey Golden: I'm going to, I feel like there's a lot of solutions out in the marketplace, but at the end of the day, they have to be implemented and sold in. I have had several conversations with people saying, this is exactly where we want to go. We've loved this, but we're not there yet. We're still working on basics and it's like, why are you spending money on basics instead of spending money on things that generate revenue and value and fill in the basics afterwards, we can build basics while you're making revenue.[00:40:48] That's the biggest struggle of any of these tech companies. Being able to create these solutions is to be [00:40:54] able to have proof of concept and run at scale. And it's really hard for a lot of them to get in, and, and actually adopt and roll out the entire software.[00:41:07] Brandon Rael: I think Casey, you touched on a critical point, change management and organizational change are the most critical components of any adoption of any innovative technology solutions that will drive a better associate experience or customer experience. And, it's been a challenge in my field as an advisor and consultant a critical part of our, our transformation work is around change management.[00:41:29] And without that adoption rates. Be very minimal and most transformations fail for that matter. The cultural obstacles and challenges of the companies are not ready to change or understand the imperative to change. So the why is that they can pick and pull it there. [00:41:44] Casey Golden: Yeah. I mean, we need to be able to build with customers and with real use case scenarios and do AB testing. And I feel like a lot of brands expect [00:41:54] everything to have already been done and working, even though they haven't had the chance to do it in real time with those brands that have real use cases.[00:42:05] So it's hard to have innovation and technology go when the sales cycle is too slow or traction numbers are too slow because. That's how you build tech, right? I'm not building just to sit on my server. [00:42:16] Ricardo Belmar: No one ever said it was easy. [00:42:17] Trevor Sumner: Yeah. And what I think is really interesting is I think that kind of COVID has, is because retailers and brands have had to more fiercely collaborate around data inventory, supply chain, because of the need to create, you know, omni-channel delivery and BOPIS and all these different things that we actually do need real-time data on a per store basis about what's going on at a product level.[00:42:40] I actually do need all the products and the skews and all the data about those products to be available and, have integrity and I think what's really interesting to me is that some of the foundations that we're missing to [00:42:54] be able to execute on this plan are now starting to be in place so that we can get to these kind of higher level experiences, these higher level technologies and you know, given all the money flowing into retail right now I think there's going to be the cash to actually do [00:43:06] Casey Golden: I agree the next two years is going to be, really fun [00:43:09] Ricardo Belmar: absolutely, absolutely wildly it's going to happen and the embracing of technology to facilitate that change.[00:43:16] What I like to say is that it's finally expected to happen in a way that's not going to be technology for the sake of technology. It's going to be technology with the purpose and ideally technology that's seamless and as well as transparent. So it doesn't get in the way it just helps accomplish something.[00:43:32] So with that, let me move on to Neil, I think you were the next one up on stage. You had a question or comment for us.[00:43:37][00:43:37] Is Tech Disrupting Human to Human Connection? [00:43:37] Neil Redding: Yeah. Thanks so much, Ricardo. [00:43:39] It's great to be here I'm Neil Redding. I run a boutique consultancy called Redding futures, which is really focused on creating holistically integrated digital and physical ecosystems around brands. And we've done a lot of work for retail clients over the years. Ron and I had a [00:43:54]conversation this past week where I think I just expressed my fundamental enthusiasm about technology in this whole context.[00:44:01] But what's funny to me is, earlier in the conversation, listening to the discussion about Walmart deploying all of these phones into the hands of store associates, I felt actually a little bit sad because I also am super passionate and just love the quality of human interaction that comes when technology is not a mediator.[00:44:24] And I've been thinking a lot during this conversation about, and I guess I'm also excited about the next few years about how technology can fade a bit into the background when we are physically together. And I suppose I'm old enough to not find a. Being on my smartphone, but someone standing next to me on their smartphone, you know I find that sort of a substandard kind of quality of interaction at the human level that I I'm excited to see how [00:44:54] yeah, AR and sensors and spaces and various other kinds of technologies and gather the data that's needed, that we've talked so much about in this conversation and provide access to, all this cloud-based information about products and services, inventory, and so on.[00:45:10] Well also getting out of the way the allowing humans to have when they're physically together have a really rich interaction. So I guess if there's a question in there, I'm curious about those of you who are paying close attention to having phones in hands. You know, when you're a store associate at a customer, is there any thought going in yet to that context or that use case to how that can be done?[00:45:34] While minimally disrupting the human to human connection, you know? [00:45:37] Shish Shridhar: So, so that's one of the areas that have been working with a bunch of startups that have alternatives. And specifically for the scenario that you described, where many retailers are reluctant to have the store associates walking around with the phone and using the phone [00:45:54] appear distracted and not interested in the customer.[00:45:57] And you're right. It creates that barrier. Between the customer and the store associates and makes them unapproachable. And as resolved, they're looking at alternatives to bonds that have seen headsets is one of them, which is still a question of whether that makes you unapproachable.[00:46:12] And the one that I particularly like is from a startup called Turnpike, and they use thing variables, which is the watches, but they can get information. It is discreet in a way where there is constant information flow on tasks and, and aisle clean ups or replenishing products and all those things keep coming in, but they're not, holding a phone or appear distracted.[00:46:37] And I see other technologies coming in as well as we progress that will kind of make it sort of invisible. And I think it's all about that, the best technologies invisible and they are heading towards that direction, moving away from [00:46:54] a device that is, making the store associates unapproachable and creating that barrier. [00:47:00] Ron Thurston: Hi Neil. I would just add, I don't think the challenge, isn't the technology and using it. The challenge is great store leadership as someone that can spends a lot of time in stores and coaching leaders, a great leader on the floor manager on duty, whatever terminology you want to use, you're observing the interactions, you're coaching the team.[00:47:20] You're seeing who's paying attention and who who's not, you're fully engaged, which comes from great training, but I've actually liked to provide the opportunity for the technology when necessary, but at the same time kind of be involved as a leader and coach and, and say it's time to put it away and time to bring it out.[00:47:41] And I, I love that idea that we can actually do both with well-trained leaders in our retail space. [00:47:47] Ricardo Belmar: I think that really underscores the point that the ability to really recognize what [00:47:54] frontline workers mean to the brand really does start at the top of the management chain.[00:47:58] Just like the corporate culture that's established in any organization also starts at the top. And if those things don't align, then you're not going to get the results that you want to see from that frontline staff, because they're in turn, not going to recognize what you're hoping will recognize out of the organization, because you're just not delivering it to them in the first place.[00:48:18] So you can't get what you don't give back. And in a sense, and I think that's pretty much reflected there. [00:48:24] Casey Golden: Hundred percent. [00:48:24] Ron Thurston: Yeah. I don't want to give Cathy the floor, but I'm looking at the, my homepage on LinkedIn. The number two story is why retail workers on why they fled. And I clicked into it and the stories are horrendous about the way they were treated, , from their leaders and quotas.[00:48:40] And yeah, I mean, it pains me to even read these when I think about the power of retail, but it's the number two story on LinkedIn. Like we have so much work to do as leaders. I put it back on the, I put it back on all of us that work in [00:48:54] stores. Our responsibility is to lead these teams in a way that engages and that they're proud to work for who they work for and the leaders that are around them.[00:49:03] And they're getting trained and they're being inspired and they're doing better every day. These stories are, and they're from a variety of different brands. They're terrible. I mean, God forbid you go on Glassdoor. That's even worse, but I mean, just. The story was posted on LinkedIn and now it's trending, it really pains me and we can do better.[00:49:23] We have to do better. And this is, this is the future of our industry tech or not these stories about how retail employees are treated is the future of this growth and all this money that's being fueled into it, or the continued bad news and high turnover rates. It's really like this just put me in a spin right now, but I think it's really critical.[00:49:47] Casey Golden: Or what is it titled? Is it on your LinkedIn? [00:49:49] Ron Thurston: Yeah, it's, it's on, you know, where it says LinkedIn news. It says retail [00:49:54] workers on why they fled. [00:49:55] Casey Golden: Okay. I've just been hearing some horror stories myself. I interview about a hundred people every two weeks. We have these massive rooms and then everybody breaks out into segmented, next group interviews and it's been absolutely horrendous. [00:50:10] Some of the things that I've heard and there's been a lot of highlight lately on wellness and a lot of corporate culture and brain culture around wellness and providing services to your employees and things of that nature. But it's only for corporate it's for corporate employees.[00:50:27] It's not for the retail associates that work in the stores. They don't get summer Fridays. They don't get the wellness program. They don't have access to so much. That's part of corporate. It's like, they're all, they've always been like the ugly redheaded stepsister. That's just kind of been used in a lot of ways.[00:50:45] And they're, they're brilliant. They've got so much information. I really think that this is the time where they're able to get the recognition and support that they've [00:50:54] deserved for the last 50 years. And start being part of corporate. [00:50:57] Ricardo Belmar: Ron I know you get asked this question all the time, but as you raised a moment ago, it does require the right leadership for these things.[00:51:08] And you have to start asking why don't we see more leaders come out and say the things that you're saying about frontline workers and giving the reasons why we need to change the way we look at the front line. And I know they're out there. I know they exist. I've talked to other retail leaders who agree in principle, what's executed is not always aligned with the principle of what they believe, but I have to say that, the evidence makes it seem that there just aren't enough of those leaders.[00:51:36] Why do you think that is?[00:51:37] Ron Thurston: Yeah, I I think often by the time. you've. Maybe ended up in those positions where you're, you are the decision-maker you were likely didn't come from stores. And so I don't know that you have a full grasp of actually what it means to do this work [00:51:54] every day and to experience it and, spending a few days a month or sometimes less just doing store visits, which is, always the show and the entourage as we used to call it, is that that's not enough to know what's going on.[00:52:09] And so I think more of more people like myself that grew up from sales to heads of stores, we have to be the ones that speak because we understand it. And sometimes that's not always the case, but even if you didn't the ability to find your voice and speak for all of them, that can't, that don't have that voice or the ability to influence change again, I'm sure all these Walmart employees are really happy. And most of them, I should say, but they can't influence change the decision makers influence change, and we have to be able to listen and learn and make the tough decisions sometimes, which is in the benefit and, and the cost investment of doing the right things for our store [00:52:54] teams.[00:52:54] And I, want to be someone that actually encourages other heads of stores to talk about it because that's how we'll make a difference in our industry for all of these people writing these things about their experience working in retail. [00:53:06] Ricardo Belmar: Yeah, you're absolutely right. It does require all of us to, in a sense fight for the industry and raise the issues that need to be raised and also highlight the positives that, that just don't get highlighted enough in order to shift the mindset.[00:53:19] How Does Adoption Factor Into Successful Tech Deployment?[00:53:19] Ricardo Belmar: All right. Let me have a couple more folks up on the audience, Cathy welcome to the stage.[00:53:23] Cathy McCabe: Hi. Hi, good to see everybody. I'm Cathy CEO of Proximity Insight, and we're a clienteling and a tool really to sort of do all of those things about connecting and helping stores to connect and transact with their customers. [00:53:38] There were a couple of points around adoption. And obviously because we have a tool that's very much there to, to help, to deliver sales associates, to have as much information at their fingertips as possible so that they can serve the customer more adoption is absolutely key.[00:53:53] And there are [00:53:54] definitely ways in which you can ensure that adoption and onboarding is as seamless as possible and is easy for the store teams. To be embraced, from the top down and you have to be able to also share the successes.[00:54:07] And if you don't, you know, if it's not just a project that you stick in and then walk away and move on to the next project, it has to be something that becomes your DNA and part of what you're doing as a brand and very sort of your purpose, your values that you wrap around the tools and the tools aren't there.[00:54:24] It's not the tech, the tech is gives you the capability, but you have to deliver the why, why you're using it, what it's there for, how you're, how you're going to use it. [00:54:34] And I think one of the other things that I just wanted to say, cause it's, there's so many points that resonated. Really interesting point. We're actually seeing some of our brands investing in more people on the shop floor now because they're giving them tools to be able to connect to not just the person that's in the store, but also [00:54:54] the people that you know, that the customers that are online and therefore, you know, the demand is there to be able to actually speak to a person, to show them the product, to, sort of talk about their expertise and share their knowledge and information, and to be able to, find those items that someone's looking for.[00:55:12] And actually now we're seeing that they're actually investing more in their teams. So. All of the automation that AI that goes into the backend of the tool and is then surface to help the store teams to, to connect more and ultimately to transact more, you know, we're seeing them actually investing more on the sales floor, which is a great, a great place to be.[00:55:32] Ricardo Belmar: Thanks Cathy for those comments. I agree. I think this, as, many of us now on the stage have said, and this is a really great industry and there are so many positives to be drawn from it and so much that it contributes to, so many other industries. And I think it's just unfortunate that we don't necessarily all say collectively do enough to highlight the benefits and the positives.[00:55:53] I

Matt and Jon Close out October with a solo episode, Jon joins us from his hotel in Portland, Maine and we talk current events.

The boys are back after the NFL Draft has concluded starting with a recap of the AFC South. Analytics guru (and degenerate gambler) Jason Fandrich joins the show this week, teaming up with our resident Jags fan (Mike) to discuss all the ways they continue to be disappointed...Need a good drink and show to binge combo? We got you covered!Segment Notes:Intro: 0:00 - 5:00Our take on Goodell/Virtual Draft: 5:00 - 9:15Titans Draft Recap: 9:15 - 13:00Texans Draft Recap: 13:00 - 17:30Colts Draft Recap: 17:30 - 21:10Jaguars Draft Recap/Tanking.Further Analysis: 21:10 - 39:00Post Draft Talk: 39:00 - 44:00Binge/Drink Combos & Show Closing: 44:00 - 47:15The Ball or Nothing Podcast is a weekly recorded show hosted by Joey Kapusta (and friends) who share their thoughts and analysis on all NFL league news, and of course, results from each week during the football season. You can follow the show on Twitter and Facebook for episode releases and join the conversation for all things NFL!

Is Nate right or wrong for asking for something to eat 5 minutes before a store closes?!?! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 88 of The Independent Characters is all about Battlefleet Gothic. While all of the specialist games by Games Workshop have been cancelled, we have had this on our schedule to talk about for quite some time. So now that it has been cancelled, we figure why not talk about it!? We have played a bit of Battlefleet Gothic lately, and while we are no experts at it, we are happy to share our experiences and talk about some of the ins and outs of the game. As usual, we talk hobby progress and games played. But in addition to that, Geoff has a very important announcement at the beginning of the show that all our listeners should hear. We hope you enjoy! Time Stamps: 0:00:00 – Show Intro and Special Message 0:18:20 – Workbench and Games Played 0:59:30 – Battlefleet Gothic: Part 1 1:46:30 – Battlefleet Gothic: Part 2 2:17:30 – Show Closing and Final Thoughts Relevant Links: KR Multicase - SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! - SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming - SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter - SPONSOR Spruehammer - SPONSOR Wargamma - SPONSOR Kanban Flow - Project Organization Tool Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library BFG Rules from GW

Episode 87 of The Independent Characters has us revisiting Apocalypse! Now that 6th Edition has come about and the new version of Apocalypse has been released we take a look at how it actually plays. To help us do so, we are having one of the most experienced players and GM's of Apocalypse in Northern California! Anthony runs Norcon and regularly plays Apocalypse as one of his preferred methods of 40k. He and his group (The G3 Group) have tons of experience with massive games. We spend quite a bit of time talking about the rules changes for this new version and the Fires of Sidonia Apocalypse game some of us participated in at Endgame Oakland a few weekends ago. In addition to that, we finally release our Forbidden Lore Segment for Death of Integrity with Guy Haley! But wait, there's more! Even with all of that, we have a new edition of The Warrior Lodge, with a whole new host of topics to discuss. This episode is not only about Apocalypse, but it is Apocalypse sized! We hope you enjoy! Time stamps: 0:00:00 – Show Intro 0:15:30 – Workbench and Games Played 1:20:20 – Apocalypse Redux 2:12:50 – The Warrior Lodge 3:02:50 – Show Closing and Final Thoughts 3:07:00 – Forbidden Lore: Death of Integrity with Guy Haley Relevant Links: KR Multicase - SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! - SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming - SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter - SPONSOR Spruehammer - SPONSOR Wargamma - SPONSOR Kanban Flow - Project Organization Tool Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Norcon Gaming Convention

Episode 86 of The Independent Characters is full of some great hobby content. With Geoff on holiday, we have Justin stepping in to talk about hobby progress and games played. A recent games-day at Carls house led to plethora of games being played we can talk about! The main topic of the show focuses a discussion around the much maligned Double Force Org. We talk about our experiences and thoughts about it and whether it deserves the negative reputation it has been given. Additionally, we were lucky enough to have both Jason and Jon from The Overlords Podcast while they were out here in California visiting. We took Jon on a tour of the local game stores and then Carl has a discussion with them in which we focus on the differences and observations between US Gaming (or at least California!) and gaming in the UK. We had originally intended to have our Forbidden Lore with Guy Haley this episode, but we are moving that to Episode 87 due to a scheduling conflict. We know you were waiting for it, so were we. But it will be available soon! Time Stamps 0:00:00 - Show Intro 0:14:25 - Workbench and Games Played 0:55:05 - Double Force Org 1:26:30 - The Overlords visit The Boiler Room 2:16:00 - Show Closing and Final Thoughts Relevant Links: KR Multicase - SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures - SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming - SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter - SPONSOR Spruehammer - SPONSOR Wargamma - SPONSOR Kanban Flow - Project Organization Tool Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library

Episode 85 is right around the corner and with this one, we fill our third chair with regular favorite guest Adan. But what is this episode all about The game has been changing. The introduction of 6th edition has been met with quite a lot of criticism from the tournament scene over the last year. The fast changing release of codexes and codex expansions is quickly changing the face of the game, preventing any one build or codex from maintaining a lead over another for long. We explore the impact of how this is changing not only the tournament scene, but how this is having an impact on purchasing models & armies for non-tournament gamers, as well as how it is effecting retailers. We also take an in depth look at the new Imperial Armour Apocalypse released by Forge World as well as the new release of Apocalypse Warzone: Damnos by Games-Workshop. Not only that, we have an interesting interview for you from Erasmus, the driving force behind the video The Lord Inquisitor, which has the blessing of Games Workshop and the participation of Aaron Dembski-Bowden. So sit back. Relax. And enjoy Episode 85 of The Independent Characters. 0:00:00 - Show Intro 0:05:00 - Workbench and Games Played 0:46:20 - Rapid Release Schedule Discussion 1:49:00 - Imperial Armour Apocalypse 2:18:00 - Interview with The Lord Inquisitor 2:46:00 - Show Closing and Final Thoughts Links: KR Multicase - SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! - SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming - SPONSOR Wargamma - SPONSOR Celesticon Game Convention Kanban Flow - Project Organization Tool Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library

Episode 82 of The Independent Characters takes us into the deadly arenas and dangerous combats of Zone Mortalis! Zone Mortalis is a set of rules from Forge World which are free to download from their site. Within this set of rules you will find some of the most deadly close quarters combat of the 41st Millennium! Explore Space Hulks, root out enemies in abandoned mines and sewer systems, and battle against forces inside of secret Mechanicus Bases! We talk about the rules themselves, how this method of play actually works, some alternatives to Forge Worlds incredibly (and pricey!) terrain, as well as some suggestions for those playing AND developing the rules. And just when you think it's over, we pull in Black Library Author Steve Parker to talk to us about his book Deathwatch in our latest installment of Forbidden Lore! WARNING: Spoilers abound in any Forbidden Lore segment, and this is no exception! We hope you enjoy! 0:00:00 - Show Intro 0:11:05 - Workbench and Games Played 0:48:10 - Zone Mortalis: The Rules 1:31:10 - Zone Mortalis: Playing, Terrain & Suggestions 2:13:05 - Final Thoughts and Show Closing 2:16:20 - Forbidden Lore - Deathwatch with Steve Parker 3:11:30 - The REAL Show Closing Links: KR Multicase - SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! - SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming - SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter - SPONSOR Spruehammer - SPONSOR Wargamma - SPONSOR Celesticon Game Convention Kanban Flow - Project Organization Tool Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library NOVA Open Eternal Crusade MMO

Episode 79 will complete our two episode series on the running of events. The intention of this series is not to tell you a bullet pointed list of what to bring and exactly how to do it, but to inform on thoughts and ideas around running and growing events. While this is 40k focused for our purposes, the information contained in these episodes is not limited strictly to any one gaming system. This episode focuses on Regional and National (bordering International) level events. We have quite a few guest interviews this time around, and the audio quality can vary from interview to interview. We have done our best in places to clean it up where it seems messy to us. We take our sound quality very seriously and this is why we tend to avoid doing lots of Skype Interviews. However, the value of the content presented here in Episode 79 was such that we felt it was worth some of the background hiss. We hope you agree. Not only do we have a fantastic episode lined up for you, but at the end of it, we have our Forbidden Lore segment on Guy Haleys Black Library novel – Baneblade! We get Guy to join us for this hour long discussion, and lend us his insights! Forbidden Lore is full of Spoilers though, so if you haven't read Baneblade, and you don't want it spoiled, you will want to skip this segment. We have placed it at the end of the episode, after the closing music to make it easy for you to stop listening if necessary! Thanks Guy for joining us and writing a highly entertaining book. We hope you enjoy! 0:00:00 – Show Intro 0:08:56 – Workbench and Games Played 0:46:14 – Interview with Dan Benavidez from Da Grand Waaagh GT 1:12:20 – Interview with Reece Robbins of Frontline Gaming 1:41:40 – Interview with Mike Brandt of The NOVA Open 2:08:35 – Interview with Matt Weeks of Adepticon 2:44:15 – Final Thoughts and Show Closing 2:54:40 – Forbidden Lore: Baneblade with Guy Haley Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter – SPONSOR Spruehammer – SPONSOR Wargamma – SPONSOR Celesticon Game Convention Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland Frontline Gaming Adepticon NOVA Open

Episode 78 begins a two episode series in which we discuss what goes into, and how to run events. While this will include tournaments, this is not limited to just that style of play. Over the course of these two episodes (78 and 79) we will discuss the thinking behind running events, how to avoid problems that may pop up and how to make your event more successful. We will start off by talking about smaller events, on a personal and local level, and then move into regional and finally national level events. We will have guests that include some of the best in the field and hear their thoughts as to what goes into the event and how you come out the other side unscathed! As usual we lead off with some hobby progress and games played, and devolve into a little bit of arguing about the new Eldar and pricing. We hope you find this topic insightful, informative and inspirational! Show Timestamps Show Overview and intro – 00:00:00 The Workbench & Games Played – 00:07:00 Running Personal Events – 00:51:00 Running Local Events – 01:23:15 Final Thoughts and Show Closing – 02:19:50 Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter – SPONSOR Spruehammer – SPONSOR Wargamma – SPONSOR Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland IC Campaign Site

Episode 77 sweeps through the sector as we cover Imperial Armour 12: The Fall of Orpheus. This is the latest book from Forge World that details a massive Necron invasion (cleansing?) of The Orpheus sector and pits the soulless androids against The Death Korps of Krieg and The Minotaurs Chapter of The Adeptus Astartes! Of course, we have been gone for some time from our normal programming, so we have a massive section of hobby progress to cover (well at least one of us does!) as well as games we have played in the intervening time. This includes Carls visit to San Diego to attend The Broadside Bash. And finally we speak with James Hakola, but you may know him better as Mr. Dandy. He has an incredible new line of resin terrain that we think you are going to be interested in! We hope you are glad we are back, because we are back with a large episode for you to gorge yourselves on! Show Timestamps Show Overview and intro – 00:00:00 The Workbench & Games Played – 00:05:35 IA12: The Fall of Orpheus (Part 1) – 00:55:30 IA12: The Fall of Orpheus (Part 2) – 01:59:30 Interview with Mr. Dandy – 03:13:45 Final Thoughts and Show Closing – 03:30:30 Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter – SPONSOR Spruehammer – SPONSOR Article on the 40k forums that inspired this topic IC Campaign Site Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland

Episode 76 of The Independent Characters addresses the topic of Cheating on your spouse with 40k! We all know someone who has a significant other who is Gamer Intolerant. We go over some tips and tricks to keep your love affair with Warhammer 40k going while keeping those closest to you in the dark! We also spend quite a bit of time discussing hobby progress, games played, Zone Mortalis and the new Tau. To top it all off, we have our fifth outing of The Warrior Lodge, where we discuss everything from the state of the Warhammer 40k game, the new Tau (again!) to favorite moments in tournaments. It should be noted that we stated our next show would not be until May 5th due to Carl touring England (and more importantly Warhammer World), but we should have said May 12th. However, you can still hear Carl soon as he will be guesting on The Overlords 40k Podcast while he is in London! Be sure to follow our Facebook page and front page of The Independent Characters as it will be receiving frequent updates on Carls journey to the Mecca of 40k! We will miss you probably more than you will miss us though. So we will see you in about a month. Show Timestamps Show Overview and intro - 00:00:00 The Workbench & Games Played - 00:06:00 Cheating on your spouse with 40k - 01:06:20 The Warrior Lodge #5 - 01:30:00 Final Thoughts and Show Closing - 02:19:10 Links: KR Multicase - SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! - SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming - SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter - SPONSOR Spruehammer - SPONSOR Article on the 40k forums that inspired this topic IC Campaign Site Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland Game Kastle