Retail Refined

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

CPGs and retailers have always had strong ties. With consumer behavior shifts, more competition, and new technology tools, that relationship is evolving. In the center of the CPG-Retailer Relationship are AI and machine learning. Taking on this topic, Retail Refined host Melissa Gonzalez spoke with Ryan Powell, VP Retail Strategy and Consulting, at Insite AI. Insite AI offers a solution built on A...

Ecommerce adoption has never been higher, but that doesn’t mean shoppers want standard shopping experiences. They’re expecting more and for brands to delight them. Many of these companies are investing in experiential ecommerce. Retailed Refined host Melissa Gonzalez spoke with Neha Singh, the Founder and CEO of Obsess, about this topic. Singh, a returning guest, started Obsess, an experienti...

Over the past year, ecommerce and online shopping, as well as BOPIS, saw a significant bump. Now, even with reopening marching along, will stores continue to use more of their space for ecommerce fulfillment? Retail Refined host Melissa Gonzalez shared her insights in this MarketScale soundbite. "Will stores continue to use their space for ecommerce fulfillment? The answer is undoubtedly yes. Stor...

With customer expectations higher than ever before, will brick-and-mortar stores lean more heavily into personalizing the guest experience? For insights, MarketScale turned to Retail Refined host Melissa Gonzalez. "The answer is yes, but it will be to varying degrees. We're seeing a long spectrum of where we can go when it comes to personalization. The good part is, as consumers are getting more a...

Flexible work schedules and work-life balance were a thing before the pandemic, but COVID-19 accelerated the work-from-home model. It also pushed it firmly into the public's psyche that finding balance in the workplace should be a priority, particularly for women. On this episode of Retail Refined, Host Melissa Gonzalez talked with Greg Hanover, CEO of Liveops, a leader and pioneer in the virtual...

Connecting consumers to products they want to buy can sometimes be a complicated venture. Converting a shopper to a paid customer can be challenging, especially in an online environment. On this episode of Retail Refined, Host Melissa Gonzalez talked with Nilay Oza, the CEO and Co-Founder of Klevu, a powerful and extensible eCommerce search solution that delivers search results based on shopper in...

Last year saw a 35% increase in cross-border e-commerce as a result of the pandemic keeping consumers at home. While brands have unprecedented access to growth outside their home markets, many don’t have the digital capabilities and local expertise they need to fully leverage international opportunities. Will this massive expansion of global e-commerce continue unabated? To discuss current trends...

On this episode of MarketScale's Retail Refined, host Melissa Gonzalez dove into what the move into a post-pandemic summer could mean for retailers in the United States and beyond. "Well, we are officially in June, and we are getting close to the official start of summer. Stores are opening. People are coming out. Mask mandates are evolving, and we're seeing continued evidence that consumers had p...

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

The past year has been a deeply transformative one for the retail industry, which saw already emerging trends in online shopping, curbside pickup and more accelerated in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, even with vaccines continuing to roll out and a true reopening commencing, retail isn’t going backward. In fact, the evolution could be just beginning. On this episode of MarketScale’s Retai...

From building brands with musicians to connecting the dots between property owners and retail businesses, Jay Norris, CEO, and Co-Founder at Guesst has led an exciting career. Through each venture, though, he has loved working with talented small businesses, whether that was Biggie Smalls or Whitney Houston. On this episode of Retail Refined, Host Melissa Gonzalez talked with Norris about his care...

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

The world of retail is shifting, influenced by the desire for more value and sustainability. Brands are answering this change with re-commerce and circular shopping. To discuss this new avenue of commerce, Retail Refined host Melissa Gonzalez spoke with Andy Ruben, Founder and CEO of Trove. Trove is the backend engine for circular shopping, working with brands allowing them to...

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

Everything in life is an experience. They have just become more sophisticated and calculated, especially in retail, which is driving experiential marketing. Breaking down what it is, its evolution, and more, Retail Refined host Melissa Gonzalez chatted with David Title, Partner at Bravo Media. Title offered an overview of Bravo’s history. “We started in the early 2000s when every company need...

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

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

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

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

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

Host Melissa Gonzalez spoke with the company’s President and CEO, Dick Sullivan, about how the business is thriving. Sullivan has a long history of working for top retail brands, including as the CMO of The Home Depot. He was also an EVP at the Atlanta Falcons. In both these roles, he worked for The Home Depot founder Arthur Blank.  Sullivan and Blank saw an opportunity with the store, w...