Retail Remix

Rachel Frederick oversees various aspects of Sur La Table’s digital business, from digital marketing to the brand’s direct-to-consumer ecommerce site, fraud prevention and even fulfillment offerings.  To ensure Sur La Table creates experiences that meet and exceed customer expectations, Rachel and her team rely heavily on customer data. During this episode of Retail Remix, Rachel discusses how aud...

Merchants of all sizes and across categories have heard the call: to survive in an era of heightened expectations, they must empower consumers to buy anytime, anywhere and in any way they want. And oh yeah, they have to get those products to customers’ doorsteps faster.  Companies like Feedonomics are making it a reality by ensuring product data is accurate, compelling and integrated across all pl...

For his latest book, Gary Hawkins wanted to explore the gap between technology's rapid evolution and retailers' slow adoption of it. With Bionic Retail: How to Thrive in an Exponential World , he identifies what's holding retailers back, and how they can adapt their systems, processes and cultures to embrace innovation. During this Retail ThinkTank Ideation Session, Hawkins explores what's happeni...

The beauty and wellness industries are brimming with new trends and growth opportunities. Yuriy Boykiv and his team at Front Row are focused on helping brands in these dynamic markets adapt, innovate and drive growth.  During this episode of Retail Remix, Yuriy outlines:  How the growth of marketplaces has created new challenges for smaller brands;  Why social commerce may reach a tipping point, e...

Bodegas are a fixture in local communities and large cities alike. Rachel Krupa has her own fond memories of local corner stores, which is why she’s leveraging her deep CPG experience to reimagine and elevate the experience.  During this episode of Retail Remix, Rachel provides insight into why she founded The Goods Mart, and how she has:    Created a distinct space for “good for you” brands to en...

The streaming era isn’t just giving households one-click access to a seemingly endless supply of content; it’s enabling brands and retailers to deliver relevant and impactful advertising to target consumers, making media moments shoppable.  Walgreens Advertising Group is capitalizing on this opportunity by testing new connected TV (CTV) advertising offerings through Roku. For this week’s Retail Re...

Consumers want to make more thoughtful decisions about what and how they buy. They don’t want to just minimize their environmental impact, though. They also want to purchase high-quality goods that are good for them and the individuals they love. Yes, that even includes their pets. During this episode of Retail Remix, we explore Nestlé Purina PetCare’s vision and launch of Purina ONE DualNature. G...

Have you ever walked into such a beautiful store, you couldn’t mutter another word other than, “dang”? Well, that was Nicki Gitlin’s inspiration when the time came to name her design and architecture business. With years of hands-on experience, including a stint at Theory when she designed stores worldwide, she focuses on “intersecting architecture and interaction with daily life,” including the u...

More than half of U.S. shoppers are concerned with the quality and legitimacy of the product discovery channels they use most, according to research from Reddit. And yes, that includes social media. That is why, rather than relying solely on social media ratings and reviews, brands need to connect with consumers in context, according to Bob Ferdman, Reddit’s Head of Retail. During this week’s Reta...

Although some use the words “membership” and “subscription” interchangeably, 64% of consumers believe there is a distinct difference in these types of programs.    But what do consumers really expect from these commerce experiences? Retail TouchPoints and CI&T collaborated on a survey of 1,000+ consumers to find out. Melissa Minkow, author of the report, sits down with host Alicia Esposito to...

Rebekah Kondrat has worked for brands known (and loved) for their incredible store experiences: Apple, Starbucks and Warby Parker, among others. She has taken these experiences to start Rekon Retail, a company that helps brands scale their retail operations and set them up for long-term success.   During this RetailThinkTank Ideation Session, host Alicia Esposito sits down with Kondrat to discuss...

Milani Cosmetics has been around for more than 20 years. And although plenty of beauty trends have come and gone in that time, the brand has maintained relevance and even acquired new customers by staying true to its core value props — and its distinct marketing approach. During this episode of Retail Remix, we’re replaying an episode of Experience Insiders featuring Milani Cosmetics Chief Marketi...

In its early days, Birdy Grey was very much an “Instagram brand.” That means Grace Lee Chen, Monica Ashauer and their entire team looked to social communities (and especially Instagram) to gather feedback and determine what products they should sell in order to grow their business. Birdy Grey has relied on this community to grow and position itself as a disruptor in the wedding industry, which has...

TikTok and Alibaba are just two of many tech juggernauts testing virtual influencers, and these AI-generated personalities are bringing immersive commerce experiences to a completely new level. What is happening in this space today…and what will the future hold? Most of all, what will the rapid evolution and maturation of this space mean for how we build our own digital identities? Alicia Esposito...

Hearst is harnessing its expansive portfolio of brands and its highly credible editorial team to take a curated, content-driven approach to commerce. Robert Gash, the company’s CTO of Ecommerce, has played an integral role in this new, exciting era for the company, onboarding key partners to support the new experience. During this episode of Retail Remix, Robert shares details into Hearst’s missio...

Taking a big leap that drives you — and your business — outside of your comfort zone can be scary. But Steve Dennis believes those leaps are critical to surviving, if not thriving, in this new era of disruption. Host Alicia Esposito has author Steve Dennis back on the show to chat about his latest book, Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption , to discuss the personal an...

Despite headlines claiming the death of the shopping mall, some developers are reimagining the experience to make it memorable, even unforgettable, for consumers.  During this episode of Retail Remix, host Alicia Esposito sits down with someone who is helping shape the future of the mall: Justin Stein, EVP of Leasing at Tanger. During this episode, he shares details on: Tanger’s transformation, in...

When Anna Harman wanted to get a new ear piercing, she only had two viable options: an upscale boutique that would charge her hundreds of dollars...or a tattoo parlor. While the latter was just as safe as the former, the experience left her feeling wanting more.  Most of all, the experience made Anna realize what a big white space there was in the market, which inspired her to start Studs with Lis...

Will Eadie is in the world of employee experience, also known as EX. He and his company WorkJam believe that a great EX leads to a great CX.  If that’s the case, why do so many retailers struggle to invest in the right tools and strategies that drive EX? We had Will on Retail Remix to find out.  Listen to this episode to learn:  What EX entails and why it matters more than ever;  How EX can lead t...

Alex Weinstein is equally passionate about marketing and data science, and he’s putting that passion to good use as Chief Digital Officer of Hungryroot.  Although one could easily lump Hungryroot in with other grocery delivery services, the company is investing heavily in artificial intelligence to power customer-facing touch points as well as back-end operations. During this episode of Retail Rem...

We are taking this week off, but tune in next week for another great episode of Retail Remix! Be sure to subscribe to hear the latest episodes when they launch.

We’ve all heard about subscription models that give customers monetary perks in exchange for recurring purchases. But brands like IPSY are elevating this concept by integrating compelling content, community and exclusive access to products.  IPSY’s merchandising team plays a central role in bringing the brand promise to life. Led by Chief Merchandising Officer Kristy Westrup, the merch division te...

As CTO and Global General Manager for Zenni Optical, David Ting plays a critical role in determining the company’s key technology investments and experience priorities.  It should come as no surprise, then, that artificial intelligence (AI) has been at the top of his priority list. During this week’s Retail Remix, he shares how he researched, tested and optimized AI investments for the business. H...

Jill Pavlovich and Francisco Bram work very closely on shaping the customer experience for Albertsons shoppers. Together, they collect, integrate and analyze rich customer insights and then transform this information into compelling experiences across all channels.  During this episode of Retail Remix, they share more details on:  How their teams collaborate to shape omnichannel strategies and pri...

Dr. Marcus Collins isn’t just a professor. He is an author, a marketing strategist who has worked with some of the world’s top tech brands and musical acts, and a cultural translator. It is this rich career history that has inspired his latest book, For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be , and is why he’s taking the stage at the Retail Innovation Conferenc...