Spieckerman Speaks Retail

Carol Spieckerman

Retail is exciting, fast-moving, and filled with opportunity, yet information overload is a constant challenge. Join retail strategist and top influencer Carol Spieckerman every other Tuesday as she navigates past the noise to get to the heart of what really matters in retail. In every episode, Carol harnesses her latest retail trajectories and interviews with industry experts to distill tools, tactics, and takeaways for wherever you play in retail. If you’re ready to cut to the chase, or just want to be inspired by where retail is going next, this show is for you. Visit spieckermanretail.com for more retail insights and event updates.

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Top 10 Spieckerman Speaks Retail Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Spieckerman Speaks Retail episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Spieckerman Speaks Retail for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Spieckerman Speaks Retail episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Are You Ready for the Retailer-as-Service Revolution?

Spieckerman Speaks Retail

04/09/21 • 15 min

Retailers are investing in services as never before to keep shoppers engaged and explore new revenue streams. Forays into healthcare, advertising, and financial services are becoming commonplace as retailers like Walmart, Kroger, and Target take platform-building to the next level. But what happens when retailers begin to see themselves as services, not just companies that provide them?

In this episode, Carol reveals her latest retail trajectory, retailer-as-service, and details how it changes the game for the industry and retail suppliers of all stripes. She wraps up with a lightening round on the rush of brand introductions hitting retail right now and how it’s setting the stage for post-COVID profitability.

In this episode you’ll learn:

The unexpected customer groups driving retailers’ growth strategies

How retailer services will shift spending for brand marketers

Why “if they build it, you must use it” should be suppliers’ new mantra

Why retailers see portfolio-building as a post-COVID safeguard

Want to be a guest on Spieckerman Speaks Retail?
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Check out more of Carol's retail insights and updates
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Mad for Ads: Retail’s Latest Disintermediation Disruption

Spieckerman Speaks Retail

02/22/22 • 13 min

Retailers have the data, now they’re ready to shop it! Announcements are coming right and left as a growing number of retailers establish in-house media networks and ad shops. While individual ad offerings may vary, retailers are united in their determination to turn brand partners into paying clients. Traditional advertising agencies are on edge, brands are weighing their options, and retailers are set to fight it out for a multi-billion-dollar global opportunity. In this episode, Carol Spieckerman explores multi-stakeholder motivations, incentives, and drawbacks as the battle for ad bucks heats up.

In this episode you’ll learn:

· How retailers’ carrot-and-stick strategies will budge brands

· Why Ecommerce media networks can triple-dip

· How retailers’ ad shop buildouts will shift brand budgets

· Why third-party data houses might win in the end

Want to be a guest on Spieckerman Speaks Retail?
Contact [email protected]
Check out more of Carol's retail insights and updates
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Keep or Toss? Retail Pruning Predictions for 2022

Spieckerman Speaks Retail

01/11/22 • 14 min

Throughout 2021, retailers monetized their online platforms and pushed further into solutions and services. Brands delved into direct-to-consumer outreach and took ownership of their brand stories. If 2021 was a year filled with explorations of endless possibilities, 2022 will be defined by setting new priorities. In this episode, Carol Spieckerman reveals her predictions on where retailers and brands will pare down, even as their options pile up.

In this episode you’ll learn:

· How retailers’ ad shop build-outs will shift brand budgets

· Why off-price operators will likely get dinged

· How the democratization of high-tech will fuel direct-to-consumer

· Why the data wars have only just warmed up

Want to be a guest on Spieckerman Speaks Retail?
Contact [email protected]
Check out more of Carol's retail insights and updates
Follow Carol on LinkedIn
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Is Retail Ready for the Phygital Future?

Spieckerman Speaks Retail

12/27/21 • 41 min

Brands are more determined than ever to reach their digital destiny by directing their brand stories and customer relationships, yet traditional two-dimensional experiences haven’t evolved to meet the challenge. The landscape is set to change with a wave of immersive innovation that will be unleashed in 2022 and beyond. CEO of ByondXR, Noam Levavi, is pushing the limits of digital shopping experiences by creating immersive interactive 3D journeys in shoppable virtual environments. With an eye to the future, leading brands like Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble, Lancome, and L’Oreal are drawing on ByondXR’s vision to build dazzling virtual store simulations, dynamic virtual showrooms, and 3D visualizers that expand the boundaries of human imagination in visual design.

In this episode, Carol and Noam discuss the future of digital brand marketing, virtual commerce, and new best practices in digital content creation.

In this interview, you will learn:

· How extended reality will open a profusion of possibilities

· Why immersive devices are set to snowball

· How the metaverse will transform ecommerce (for the better)

· Why virtual brand showcases can venture beyond “style over substance”

Guest Information:

www.byondxr.com

Noam Levavi LinkedIn

Want to be a guest on Spieckerman Speaks Retail?
Contact [email protected]
Check out more of Carol's retail insights and updates
Follow Carol on LinkedIn
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3 Ways Retailers Have Boosted Immunity Going Into 2022

Spieckerman Speaks Retail

11/15/21 • 20 min

Retail has exhibited incredible resilience even in the worst of times. Yet, despite the obvious headwinds, retail leaders have been preparing for this moment all year. The rock stars have already brought in reinforcements and placed their big bets. In this episode, Carol reveals three potent power plays that are inoculating retailers against further disruption and how they will change the game for suppliers going into 2022.

In this episode you’ll learn:

· How the brick-and-mortar bounce-back and retailer brand boom might upstage Amazon

· Which categories are primed for take-off in 2022

· Why retail service providers face new threats (and opportunities)

· How retailers’ test-then-invest tactics will shake up the startup situation

Want to be a guest on Spieckerman Speaks Retail?
Contact [email protected]
Check out more of Carol's retail insights and updates
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Will Retail’s Trouble Trifecta Hamper the Holiday Cheer?

Spieckerman Speaks Retail

10/31/21 • 21 min

No sooner had pandemic lockdowns become a thing of the past than supply chain snags, labor shortages, and price upticks piled on. The fact that all three dynamics are mutually reinforcing only adds to the angst. We’re heading for another unprecedented year-end and fortunately, retailers have a few arrows in their quivers. Carol outlines ways that Kroger, Dollar General, Amazon, Walmart, and other top retailers are mitigating the madness and reveals four trajectories that tie it all together.

You’ll learn:

· Why scarcity might upstage discounts this holiday shopping season

· How smaller retail players are poised to slay labor shortages

· Why higher pay and automation only scratch the surface

· Why retail solution and service providers should step up now

Want to be a guest on Spieckerman Speaks Retail?
Contact [email protected]
Check out more of Carol's retail insights and updates
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Leading with Awareness for Positive Effect

Spieckerman Speaks Retail

05/10/21 • 45 min

Despite the encroachment of Ecommerce and tech-driven experiences, people will play an important role in powering retail forward, yet traditional leadership and employee incentive models will no longer work as the industry transforms.

April Sabral is the author of The Positive Effect, a companion book to her training and coaching platform, RetailU. The book is an inspiring story of overcoming and empowerment that pulls together April’s years of experience leading store teams for global brands like Apple, Banana Republic, and Starbucks. In this interview episode, April and Carol discuss the new-world realities that will transform retail leadership and how retailers can maximize the opportunity to empower associates and engage shoppers.

In this interview, you’ll learn:

The three pillars of leading with awareness

Why new models and metrics are required to motivate retail teams

Why filling the retail leadership pipeline has never been more critical

How to make career leaps with confidence

Want to be a guest on Spieckerman Speaks Retail?
Contact [email protected]
Check out more of Carol's retail insights and updates
Follow Carol on LinkedIn
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Why You Should be Hyped About Your “Happy Accidents”

Spieckerman Speaks Retail

04/22/21 • 13 min

A new vibe is rippling across retail. Do you feel it? Consumers are returning to stores, live events are on the calendar, meeting are scheduled. It’s time to get serious about your B2B strategy!

Many successful companies that rely on retail have built big businesses on “happy accidents,” when a customer request, RFP, or competitive lunge prompts a new product, category, or service launch. Yet all too often, these shiny new offerings languish when they could be replicated and scaled.

In this episode, Carol reveals one of the most common missed opportunities for companies positioning for retail B2B opportunities. She shares realworld examples and tactics for owning your unintentional creations and parlaying them into new opportunities.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How to monetize your mishaps (without fessing up)

Why clued-in sales teams make magic happen

How to sell your stuff despite competitive constraints

Why COVID-era contortions are a blessing in disguise

Want to be a guest on Spieckerman Speaks Retail?
Contact [email protected]
Check out more of Carol's retail insights and updates
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Solutions, Services, and Social Action. Can Store Design Make a Difference?

Spieckerman Speaks Retail

03/25/21 • 53 min

Brick-and-mortar retail is primed to benefit from pent-up demand in a post-pandemic world. But should transactions be the only end game? Stores can play a powerful role in promoting causes, showcasing solutions and services, and fostering employee engagement, yet realizing the potential requires a shift in priorities.

Carol’s guest is passionate about harnessing the power of design to make a difference. Ian Johnston is the founder and creative director of Quinine, a UK-based integrated research, strategy, and design consultancy specializing in establishing and scaling brickand-mortar concepts for non-retail companies.

In this multi-topic interview, Carol and Ian discuss how placing a higher priority on achieving higher purposes benefits retailers across every channel. The episode wraps up with Ian giving his fresh take on multi-format retail, sustainability’s next act, the limits of localization and other hot topics.

In this interview, you’ll learn:

Why brick-and-mortar’s distinctions drive digital success

How store design aids retailers’ service expansion aspirations

How to balance uniqueness and scale to level-up localization strategies

Why virtuous brands will win as store shopping surges

Want to be a guest on Spieckerman Speaks Retail?
Contact [email protected]
Check out more of Carol's retail insights and updates
Follow Carol on LinkedIn
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Full Path Analysis: Decoding Shopper Behavior Beyond Footfall

Spieckerman Speaks Retail

07/01/24 • 31 min

In this episode of Spieckerman Speaks Retail, host Carol Spieckerman sits down with Joe Shasteen, global manager of advanced analytics at RetailNext, to discuss the latest trends in retail analytics and in-store technology. RetailNext is a pioneer in bringing e-commerce-level analytics to brick-and-mortar stores, helping retailers optimize their physical spaces and enhance the customer experience.

Joe introduces RetailNext's concept of "full path analysis," which provides detailed insights into customer behavior throughout the store. Using strategically placed sensors, retailers can track customer movements, dwell times, and engagement with displays, fixtures, and other store elements. The data collected from the sensors helps retailers capture customer attention, optimize store layouts, and improve staff allocation.

The conversation explores the critical role data plays in improving store operations, from optimizing labor allocation to enhancing conversion rates. RetailNext's analytics connects the dots, enabling retailers to align staffing with customer traffic patterns and identify opportunities to engage shoppers more effectively.

The interview also touches on how RetailNext's technology can assist with loss prevention and asset protection. Using AI to flag potential instances of theft or suspicious behavior, retailers can react in real time as incidences are identified.

Joe wraps up by sharing insights on broader retail trends, highlighting the importance of creating meaningful in-store experiences that go beyond simple transactions. He emphasizes the value of using data to optimize the customer journey and strengthen brand connections in physical retail spaces.

Key Takeaways:

How retailers can leverage full-path analysis to drive conversion, mitigate shrink, optimize labor, and elevate store design.
Why basing labor allocation on traffic trends rather than sales data improves store efficiency and conversion rates.
How in-store data analytics can create deeper brand experiences and bridge the gap between online and offline retail.
How retailers can validate test-and-learn experiments in advance of rollout.

RetailNext Website
Joe Shasteen on LinkedIn

Want to be a guest on Spieckerman Speaks Retail?
Contact [email protected]
Check out more of Carol's retail insights and updates
Follow Carol on LinkedIn
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