Retail Unwrapped - from The Robin Report

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! A quick history lesson explains that inflation is caused by too much demand chasing too little supply. Now it’s one crisis after another: a global pandemic, economic uncertainty, the potential for a world war – all funneled into the highest level of inflation in 40 years. The typical anti-inflation...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Global retailers are facing an unprecedented challenge: How to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The soft power of economics is not trivial: Over 300 brands have ceased doing business in Russia in protest, but what about the ones that are still there? Join Robin Lewis and Shelley E. Kohan...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! The return rate of online sales has escalated to 17% of sales, but surprise, you can transform a return into a valuable customer experience. This may sound counterintuitive, but when you manage the process as a positive customer touchpoint, you can create a better customer experience. Steve Prebble...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! The metaverse is not science fiction. People can play virtual games, attend virtual concerts, go shopping for virtual goods, collect virtual art, hang out with virtual avatars and attend virtual work meetings. Are you ready for this? There’s money to be made. Join Robin Lewis and Shelley E. Kohan,...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Have you been marketing to your customers the same way with diminishing results? Savvy retailers are building their own digital networks to up their marketing and advertising strategies. Permission-based data unlocks valuable customer insights and the power of predictive analytics that reshape how...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! It’s another weekend: Do you know where your inventory is? Customers want everything now, wherever they are, and new digital ID tech delivers transparency and trust. Inventory accuracy is key to agile fulfillment -- mobile, BOPIS, curbside delivery, marketplaces, social commerce, in store. Join Rob...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Organized retail crime has become a $70 billion business and continues to plague retailers. What’s the backstory? There is a proliferation of thieves who use online marketplaces to fence stolen goods. Tune into Robin Lewis and Shelley E. Kohan, TRR’s chief strategist, as they pull back the curtain...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Special guest Charlie Youakim, CEO of Sezzle, joins Robin Lewis and Shelley E. Kohan, TRR’s chief strategist, to dig into the crackdown on the BNPL industry. There’s plenty to talk about with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau looking into the BNPL space to determine if the industry may be us...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Predictions about the end of worldwide pandemic conditions – and their impact on global supply chain logistics – have been ridiculously wrong. There is a total supply chain meltdown and with China the home to about a third of global manufacturing, lockdowns on top of a 126% increase in delivery tim...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! There is too much money chasing too few goods. There’s no real problem with the supply chain or production, the issue is demand has surged out of control and the supply chain can’t handle it. Join special guest, the outspoken industry expert Jan Kniffen, CEO of J Rogers Kniffen Worldwide, Robin Lew...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Retail is cresting the wave but could fall into the depths if the industry doesn’t heed the warning signs. A global pandemic and climate change are ongoing existential issues; supply chain, stagflation and labor shortages are real and present operational challenges. Join Robin Lewis and Shelley E....

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! How can the “Closer to You” mantra of Nordstrom deliver an integrated premium customer experience if the Rack is riffed out? There are so many more questions than answers in this debate. Join Robin Lewis and Shelley E. Kohan as they discuss the pros and cons of this hot topic. And here’s a bright i...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Quit rates are up across all industries and retailers are facing the music with a power shift from employer to employee. There are fewer workers which translates to reduced services which then translates to unhappy customers. Workers are creating a movement for higher pay, better working conditions...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Who will blink first? Will consumers resign themselves to higher prices, or will retailers face up to inflation, lower their prices and take a hit on margin to gain more market share? Retailers can take a page out of CEO Doug McMillon’s playbook at Walmart who is taking a pragmatic approach and man...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! The shift away from credit cards purchases to debit and cash by next gens has prompted a slew of companies to offer a buy-now-pay-later solution. In fact, BNPL growth will reach $680 billion by 2025, and many retailers are already offering these services for ecommerce business. Gen Z and millennial...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Don’t write off physical stores just yet. Both digital natives and retail giants realize that brick-and-mortar stores are the key to customer acquisition and excellent depots for same-day pick up and returns. Plus, shipping from physical stores is less costly than shipping from warehouses. Join Rob...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Two-day delivery, one-day delivery, same-day delivery has now morphed into a 15-minute delivery craze with consumers demanding near real-time product deliveries from local stores. There is a surge of well-funded small startups, especially in grocery, that are chomping at the bit to deliver products...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! The Great Resignation hit retail hard. And it’s causing a labor shortage just in time for the Holidays. It’s a buyers’ market for employees, and they are being very selective in rejoining the retail workforce, if they rejoin at all. What does this mean for the busiest time of the year? Join Robin L...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Global supply chain issues are catching up with retailer’s financial performance impacting Q3 and Q4 profits. There is much optimism, however, in holiday revenue as compared to last season but the performances across segments will vary greatly. Some retailers are in-stock and ready to roll while ot...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! It’s the promise of a great divorce: Separate your ecomm business from your brick and mortar and thrive apart. Saks, Macy’s and even Kohl’s are in the crosshairs going against the cardinal rule of retail: Customer first and foremost. There’s a lot of chatter about short-term profits outweighing lon...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! The linear supply chain needs a makeover. Actually, more like an overhaul. Think instead: Supply Chain Network. And then think of an orchestrated movement of complex, interconnected parts. Jim Hull, Retail/CPG Industry Strategy Executive at Blue Yonder joins Robin Lewis and Shelley E. Kohan, TRR’s...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Combine ambiguity with anxiety and you have a preview of retail 2022 and beyond. The supply chain collapse is just the tip of the iceberg. Steve Sadove, former CEO of Saks and sought-after retail advisor, joins Robin Lewis and Shelley E. Kohan, TRR’s chief strategist, as they dig into the collatera...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Subscription startups like Stitch Fix promise high touch through customized styling powered by high tech algorithmic formulas. But is this model actually an oxymoron? Can these brands really deliver a highly personalized service systematically? And if they can, why are they transitioning to freesty...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Consider the many roadblocks preventing smarter online pricing and merchandising decisions. An innovative tech team developed a platform to help brands and retailers consume massive amounts of online market intelligence data into actionable insights to enable building measurable and effective ecomm...

We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us! Why is good design usually taken for granted – even when it delivers results? Design and architecture have always taken a back seat in the board room. Listen in as Kevin Roche, internationally renowned architect joins Robin Lewis and Shelley E. Kohan, TRR’s chief strategist, have a provocative disc...