The Retail Podcast

Can physical retail still outperform e-commerce? In this exclusive interview recorded live at NRF 2026: Retail's Big Show Asia Pacific, Steven S. Tan, President of SM Supermalls, explains why physical shopping centres continue to thrive by putting customers at the centre of every decision. SM Supermalls operates nearly 100 shopping centres across the Philippines and China, welcoming approximat...

The retail marketing stories that matter this week: why the brands winning Wimbledon aren't the official sponsors, Naomi Osaka's 350% search spike, Charlotte Tilbury lands in Boots, and Google's Head of Agencies UK reveals the World Cup ads topping YouTube's leaderboard. Google's Carl Read joins Alex and Simone Oloman (NIFT) to discuss the week's biggest marketing stories,...

Sumeet Yadav, Head of Reliance Brands Limited, on luxury retail, global partnerships and what international brands need to understand about India. How do global brands enter, adapt and scale in India? In this episode of The Retail Podcast, we sit down with Sumeet Yadav, Head of Reliance Brands Limited, just before his keynote at NRF APAC 2026 in Singapore. Reliance Brands Limited sits at the centr...

Retailers are facing a new discovery challenge: what happens when AI search becomes the layer between brands and customers? In this episode of World Retail, Alex is joined by Niamh and Ian from World Retail Congress to discuss what is top of mind across global retail. The conversation starts with one of the biggest concerns raised in a CEO survey: whether AI-driven search could reduce brand visibi...

This week on Five Things Friday UK Edition, Alex is joined by Simone Oloman, co-founder and CEO of For Tonight / Neft, a rapid delivery business for retailers, to unpack five retail stories from a quieter but still revealing week in UK fashion, lifestyle and consumer culture. From Lacoste transforming Selfridges into a tennis clubhouse to Ralph Lauren’s Wimbledon activity on Sloane Square, this ep...

Retail innovation continues to accelerate. In this episode of Five Things Friday USA, Joe and Jill explore five major stories shaping the future of commerce: • Meta's expanding partnership with Best Buy and the rise of AI-powered smart glasses • Walmart's aggressive drone delivery rollout targeting millions of Americans • Amazon Prime Day's expansion into a four-day retail event • Quin...

What happens when brands can no longer rely on social media to reach younger consumers? In this week's Five Things Friday UK, retail expert Simone Oloman, Co-Founder and CEO of NIFT, joins us to discuss one of the biggest questions facing retail marketers today: how brands stay connected to youth culture as social media regulations evolve. We explore: ✅ The potential impact of proposed social...

This episode of Five Things Friday explores major retail developments across APAC and global markets. Ruth Kewell and Alex discuss Pomelo's mobile-first retail model in Southeast Asia, the worsening retail conditions in Australia, and the international expansion of Chinese retail brands including Miniso, Urban Revivo, Temu and Shein. The conversation highlights how mobile commerce, changing co...

Global retail is moving fast and this first international briefing looks beyond the US to track where the biggest growth stories are happening. In this episode, we cover Frasers Group’s reported $2 billion takeover bid for Hugo Boss, JD.com’s UK expansion through Joybuy and its summer Black Friday positioning, Lulu Retail’s ambitious store growth across the GCC, Dubai’s two-month summer shopping p...

Madrid isn’t just a tourist destination. It is becoming a retail destination. In this episode, we explore how Sephora and Calvin Klein are using street-level activations in Madrid to create community, experience and engagement. What does this reveal about the future of physical retail? Retail doesn’t happen in the boardroom. It happens where customers Madrid is famous for tourism, culture, tapas a...

Recorded live at NRF APAC 2026 , this episode features Toru Koyama , Executive Officer & Head of IT and Digital Promotion Group at H2O Retailing Corp. , and Executive Officer & GM of Digital Innovation Division at Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores, Inc. In this conversation, Toru shares H2O Retailing’s transformation journey — from backend IT and ERP foundations to CRM, unified commerce, re...

I was ranked number one on the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Retail 2026 list this week. I am proud of it. But this episode is not really about who is number one. It is about what the retail industry should be measuring in the first place. No ranking system is perfect. No algorithm can fully measure judgement, generosity, lived experience, commercial impact, or trust. But visibl...

WooCommerce is live at Shoptalk Europe in Barcelona , and the team is bringing open-source ecommerce conversations, enterprise growth strategy, and a local Barcelona touch to the show floor. In this episode, we cover WooCommerce’s presence at Booth B30 , where attendees can meet the Woo team, speak with developers and specialists, and explore how open-source ecommerce can support online store grow...

Retail AI is moving quickly — and this episode looks at what that means for retailers, ecommerce platforms, brands, and technology leaders. In this discussion, the hosts cover a range of retail and commerce stories, including Currys in the UK, European retail activity, Hasbro, TikTok influencers, Rep AI, Claude, Debenhams, and the wider shift toward AI-powered retail platforms. The episode also to...

Retail brand protection is no longer just about stopping counterfeit products. For many brands, the bigger issue is margin loss. In this episode of The Retail Podcast, Alex speaks with Megan Harman, founder of Thorn Crest, about how unauthorized sellers, copycat products, online price undercutting, broken case packs, and weak reseller agreements can damage retail profitability. Megan explains how...

The future of retail is being shaped by Asia. Recorded live at NRF APAC 2026, this conversation features Isabelle Allen, Global Head of Consumer, Retail & Leisure at KPMG, discussing the trends transforming retail worldwide. Topics include: ✅ Why Asia is becoming a retail innovation powerhouse ✅ How GLP-1 medications are changing consumer behavior ✅ AI adoption challenges facing retailers...

Ryf Quail joins Alex to walk through the NRF 2026 APAC agenda just before the show opens in Singapore. This episode is a practical guide to the sessions, speakers and themes shaping this year’s event, from AI-powered supply chains and retail media to omnichannel, luxury, malls, content commerce, Japan-style transformation and the rise of APAC as a global retail growth engine. Ryf explains why this...

This week on Five Things Friday UK , Alex and Simone unpack the biggest retail stories shaping the UK and European market. The episode covers Ocado’s major tech partnership , Lidl overtaking Morrisons , and why the UK grocery market continues to be watched globally as a model for digital and physical retail. Alex also shares reflections from recent retail visits across Europe, including the Coach...

Retail is no longer just competing for customer spend. It is competing for attention. In this episode of Podcast Sessions, Richard Fisher, Head of Store Design at Holland & Barrett, joins us live from the EuroShop floor to explore how physical retail is changing in the attention economy. Richard explains why retailers now compete with Netflix, Disney, sport, and other entertainment platforms f...

NRF APAC 2026 is shaping up to be a major moment for retail in Asia Pacific. In this episode, Ryf Quail, Managing Director of NRF APAC, joins Five Things Friday to preview the upcoming show in Singapore and explain why the event continues to grow across exhibitors, registrations, international attendance, and senior retail participation. Ryf discusses the expanding expo, major keynote speakers, AP...

AI is forcing a complete rethink of ecommerce, retail operations, and digital commerce architecture. In this episode, Kelly Goetsch — President at Pipe17 and one of the most influential voices in modern commerce technology — explains why the “status quo is no longer acceptable” in the age of AI. Drawing on experience across Oracle, ATG, commercetools, and modern AI-driven commerce systems, Kelly b...

Amazon vs Perplexity could redefine the future of AI commerce. In this episode of World Retail Signals, the panel explores: Autonomous AI shopping agents Retail workforce transformation WHP Global’s Marc Jacobs acquisition Greggs’ expansion strategy Wellness retail growth AI-powered customer experiences A fast-moving breakdown of the retail stories shaping commerce right now.

Retail is entering a new era shaped by AI, organized retail crime, and a renewed investment in physical stores. In this episode of Five Things Friday — USA Edition, Alex sits down with Jill Dvorak, SVP of Content at the National Retail Federation (NRF), to unpack the biggest retail developments shaping the industry right now. Topics include: The bipartisan progress of the Combating Organized Retai...

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AI-driven retail is reshaping how consumers discover products and private label brands may be one of the biggest winners. In episode of Five Things Friday- APAC Edition, the conversation explores why private label adoption across Asia-Pacific is accelerating, how retailers are using customer insight more effectively, and why future retail competition may shift from branding toward relevance, perso...