RETHINK RETAIL
RETHINK Retail explores the evolution of retail in today's connected world, discussing the most recent trends and innovations in commerce.
Episodes
The Retail Shift: From AI to Lived Experience
In an era of AI-driven information overload, consumers are moving away from pure search queries and toward trusted, human-centered proof.
“People want answers that are grounded in human experience.”
David Trencher, Managing Director of Reddit (UK & EMEA), sat down with Lavina Suthenthiran to break down how consumer trust is actively shifting away from polished brand messaging and moving toward p
Preserving Human Ownership: The Key to Measurable AI Success in Retail
As retailers scale AI across their operations, a clear picture is emerging of exactly where automation elevates the business and consumer experience, and where it creates friction.
For Eyebuydirect, success came by optimizing technology to enhance human ownership and streamline pain points throughout the buyer's journey.
In this episode, Eyebuydirect CEO and President Sunny Jiang sits down with
AI in Retail: Operational Enabler, Not a Strategy
While agentic AI is reshaping operations, retail still runs on its core fundamentals: great products, strong brand identity, exceptional service, and operational excellence.
In this week's episode of Retail Therapy, Top Retail Experts Ricardo Belmar, Brandon Rael, and Marie Driscoll break down why AI matters most as an operational enabler, not a creator of customer demand.
“Keep the focus on the
AI Is Changing How We Shop. Are Retailers Ready?
“Ultimately, it's the people that determine the success or the failure of technology, not the technology itself.”
The latest report by Arktic Fox and Six Degrees dives deep into why brands and retailers will only win in retail media, personalization, and AI if they pair rising investment with stronger data foundations and better product content.
Teresa Sperti, Director at Arktic Fox, sits down w
Beekman 1802: Beating Content Slop with Creative AI
In an already competitive market, Beekman 1802 is maintaining steady growth through human connection and is using AI to do it.
David Baker, Chief Revenue Officer at Beekman 1802, sits down with Jeremy Goldman to discuss how his team is cutting through industry traffic and content using human creativity and emotional brand building.
"AI is not coming for our jobs. People who know how to use AI wi
Build for Omnichannel Success: Partnerships, AI, & Clean Data
As the path to purchase continues to splinter over multiplying channels, brands need to be everywhere their customers are.
Suzy Davidkhanian, Vice President of Retail Insights at eMarketer, sits down with Jeremy Goldman to discuss why long-term retail success depends on a multichannel model and durable partnerships, despite the rise of generative AI.
Inside the Episode:
- The Omnichannel Busine
The Chatbot Hangover Is Over: The Future of Retail Customer Service
Are basic chatbots hurting your customer experience?
In this episode of the RETHINK Retail Podcast, guest host Christine Russo sits down with Antanas Bakšys, CEO and Co-Founder of Ace Waves, to discuss the massive transformation happening in retail CX.
Antanas shares insights from his 15 years in ecommerce, explaining how retail customer support is shifting from rigid software into an elite auto
Shoptalk Europe 2026: Moving from AI Theory to Execution
As retail leaders prepare for Shoptalk Europe 2026, the conversation is no longer centered on what AI could do. It’s shifting toward what AI in retail is already doing, where it is creating measurable value, and what it takes to move from pilots to profit.
In this episode of the RETHINK Retail Podcast, Jeremy Goldman, VP of Insights at RETHINK Retail, sits down with Joe Laszlo, Head of Content at
Insights from eTail Toronto 2026 (Part 2)
The conversation continues! In the conclusion of our special two-part coverage from eTail Toronto 2026, host Jeremy Goldman sits down with four more industry experts to explore the shifting dynamics of modern retail and what it takes to stay ahead in an increasingly automated landscape.
Featured in this episode:
- Janet Ihm (Vice President, Channel Strategy & Digital Experience, Ontario Cannabis
Beyond Viral Trends: Stanley 1913’s Strategy for Lasting Relevancy
Stanley 1913 has moved far beyond a single blockbuster product.
Graham Nearn, Chief Product and Sustainability Officer, PMI WW Brands, LLC (Stanley 1913), sits down with Jeremy Goldman to discuss how a brand with a century of history stays absolutely relevant in a trend-driven market.
Inside the Episode:
- The Credibility Ladder: Why every expansion must pass the four filters of quality, origin
Store to Door: Making E-commerce Operationally Viable
Retailers have spent 25 years trying to make in-store picking profitable. Most are still struggling because fulfillment is managed as an afterthought.
In this episode, Top Retail Expert Vinny O'Brien sits down with Xavier Pym, Partnerships Development Manager at Vusion and Kristofer Browall, Head of Solution Sales at StrongPoint, to bridge the gap between digital strategy and operational reality.
B2B AI Secrets: How RS Group and Rezolve Ai Scale
B2B commerce is built on a foundation of extreme complexity. When a part fails in a 100 million dollar machine, the customer needs a solution, not just a search result.
Carl Holt, Director of Digital Product and Transformation at RS Group plc, sits down with Howe Gu, Group SVP, Customers and Partners at Rezolve AI, and Evan Burgess, Global Sales Director at Rezolve AI.
They discuss the leap from
Insights from eTail Toronto 2026 (Part 1)
We’re live from the floor of eTail Toronto 2026! In the first half of our special two-part coverage, we’re digging past the buzzwords to find out what is actually driving retail innovation in 2026.
Host Jeremy Goldman sits down with three industry leaders to discuss everything from boardroom AI mandates to the digital rebellion of the next generation of consumers.
Featured in this episode:
- Da
How Australian Retailers Are Rethinking Store Systems
Automation and Openness: Lessons from the Australian Frontline
Australia has a 20-year head start on the self-service revolution. Kristie Longhurst from Diebold Nixdorf and Top Retail Expert Nick Harbaugh discuss why automation is the only viable answer to the global labor crisis and rising operational costs.
Inside the Episode:
- The Demographic Surprise: Why the elderly are embracing self-che
Precision as the New Competitive Advantage: Inside the Next Frontier of Grocery Operations
Shrinking margins, labor shortages, and the complexity of omni-channel fulfillment are putting unprecedented pressure on grocery and convenience retailers. On the latest RETHINK Retail Podcast, recorded live at EuroShop, Renee Hartmann, Top Retail Expert, sits down with Zsuzsa Hordai of SPAR International and Aidan Mittra of OrderGrid to unpack these operational pressures, and what they demand fro
Agentic AI: The Realization Phase of Retail Commerce
Beyond Vanilla AI: The Era of Agentic Commerce
The retail industry has moved past experimentation. We are now in the realization phase where AI agents deliver frictionless, store-like expertise to digital channels.
Vic Miles from Microsoft and Crispin Lowery of Rezolve AI join Jeremy Goldman to discuss why the early adopter advantage is now a requirement for brand survival.
Key Discussion Point
Crate & Barrel: Store Design for Digital Shoppers
Store design used to be about defining a set path for the customer. Today, it is about providing a flexible canvas.
Crate and Barrel's VP of Store Design, Nicholas Effler joins Top Retail Expert Cynthia Ortiz to discuss how Crate & Barrel balances historic architecture with the high-tech expectations of the modern shopper.
Inside the Episode:
- Digital Echoes: How the pace of app-scrolling tra
Digital Joy: Hershey’s Strategy for Retail Design
Retail design is at a crossroads. As customer expectations rise, physical stores must offer more than just products: they must deliver animation, meaning, and connection.
Steve Calhoun and Andy Hunt, from The Hershey Company, join Top Retail Expert Elisa Servais to discuss how Hershey’s uses technology to amplify nostalgia and joy without overstimulating the shopper.
Inside the Episode:
- The D
The Future of Food and Grocery: Trends, Technology & Global Best Practices
On the latest RETHINK Retail Podcast, host Toby Pickard of the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) sits down with Aidan Mittra, Co-founder of OrderGrid.
They explore how real-time inventory technology is transforming store efficiency, supply chain management, and the future of grocery retail.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Location and expiry awareness is now essential: Retailers need to know exactly whe
Patagonia’s Purpose: Angela Clark on Digital Strategy
Traditional retail is designed to drive the next transaction, but Patagonia is built to drive a movement.
Angela Clark, VP of Digital at Patagonia, joins Marie Schwartz to discuss leading a digital organization where activism is a primary KPI and short-term conversion is never the goal.
Activism as a Metric: Why Patagonia treats a local cleanup sign-up with the same weight as a high-value produc
How Bealls Inc. Builds Trust in Autonomous Agents to Transform Planning Operations
The real bottleneck in retail planning isn't a lack of data; it's the time lost reconciling it. When planners spend the first half of their week manually pulling reports, they aren't strategizing—they're just catching up.
The tension for 2026 is moving past "Black Box" AI that demands blind faith to Agentic AI that provides actionable transparency.
Karen Beebe, CTO of Bealls, Inc., details how a
Scaling Luxury: The Elizée Digital Playbook
Emerging brands cannot outspend the giants. They have to out-think them.
Avani Oswal, Head of Digital at Elizée, joins Marie Schwartz to share how they build trust for a high-price product in a market dominated by legacy names.
THE HIGH-LEVEL INSIGHTS:
- The Margin Trap: Why focusing on contribution margin is the only way to build a sustainable luxury business.
- The Discovery Layer: Moving be
Loyalty and DTC Basics: Jennifer Peters on OLLY
Innovation is often confused with complexity. In this episode, Jennifer Peters, Director of DTC and Martech at OLLY, argues that the most successful brands in 2026 are the ones that execute the fundamentals with relentless consistency.
They move past the hype of custom builds to focus on what actually moves the needle for a modern wellness brand.
WHY YOU SHOULD LISTEN:
- The Headless Trap: Why
Micro-Arbitrage: The New Retail Media Strategy
The long waves of efficiency are over. If your brand waits 18 months to pivot, you have already lost the margin.
Jason O'Toole, Head of Connected Commerce & Media at Gildan, and guest host Spencer Lian-Thornton, VP Growth & Partnership of Mindgruve, discuss why the "Fail Fast" culture is now a requirement for survival.
INSIDE THE EPISODE:
- The ROAS Trap: Why high returns often hide cannibaliza
Navigating AI and Strategic Partnerships in Grocery
On the latest RETHINK Retail Podcast, host Fritz Finlay sits down with Jeannie Scarlet Freis-Terry of Albertsons and Aidan Mittra, Co-founder of OrderGrid, to discuss how grocers can modernize their technology stack.
They explore building lasting vendor relationships and laying the operational foundation for an AI-driven future in the grocery sector.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Great partnerships solve bi
Building on Solid Ground: Dataiku on Why Retail AI Is About to Have Its Reckoning
The era of curiosity is over. Retailers are finding that moving from a flashy demo to a trusted, scalable production environment is much harder than a slide deck makes it look.
In this episode, op Retail Expert & AI Leader, Charisma Glassman sits down with Mark Abramowitz, CMO of Dataiku, to discuss how leaders can hit their performance targets before the 2026 budget reckoning.
WHY YOU SHOULD LI
The Future of Grocery Retail: Consumer Behavior, AI, and the Case for Better Operations
Consumer habits are shifting fast, and the pressure on grocery retailers to keep up has never been greater.
On the latest RETHINK Retail Podcast, R.J. Hottovy of Placer.ai and Aidan Mittra, Co-founder of OrderGrid, discuss the state of the industry and how retailers can adapt to modern demands.
THE KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Shoppers are more fluid than ever: Consumers are moving freely across in-store,
Visibility to Action: Tom Meehan on RFID Strategy
Here is the Spotify-optimized version for the Inventory Truth episode with Ted McCaffrey and Tom Meehan. I’ve focused on making those "Core Perspectives" pop so listeners can quickly see the technical value of the conversation.
The Optimized Spotify Version
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DESCRIPTION
Retail transformation fails in the gap between corporate data and the sales floor. In this e
Selling Without Sales: Ankur Goyal on Growth Strategy
Most growth leaders spend their lives chasing the promotional calendar. Ankur Goyal spent his time building a brand that didn't need one.
In this episode, Marie Schwartz sits down with Ankur Goyal, the man who helped lead Coterie to a major acquisition. They move past the standard "growth hacks" to reveal the discipline required for true innovation.
THE GROWTH BLUEPRINT:
📊 The Data Foundation:
From Chore to Ritual: How quip Uses Agility to Disrupt Oral Wellness
The era of "testing" AI is over. For retail leaders, the tension has shifted from theoretical potential to a mandatory operational overhaul. If you aren't actioning data within 24 hours, you’re already behind.
Recorded at Shoptalk, quip CEO Meredith Glansberg joins Kimberly Morgan, a Top AI Leader, to dismantle the hype surrounding retail tech. Glansberg argues that AI isn't a "point solution"—it
Scaling Community: Sarah Grosz on the Allbirds Blueprint
Most brands treat influencers as a side project. At Allbirds, it is a unified revenue engine.
Sarah Grosz joins Marie Chevrier Schwartz to discuss moving the brand beyond ad-hoc product seeding to a 3,000-plus member network that drives predictable ROI.
THE CORE STRATEGY:
🛑 The Problem: The Ad Plateau: Traditional paid channels hit diminishing returns as spend increases. An influencer ecosystem
Why Most Companies Lose Their Edge as They Scale
Most organizations break the same way: they get bigger, slower, and more rigid.
Ujjwal Dhoot of Tractor Supply Company argues for the opposite approach: if you want to scale, you have to build like water—not like a box.
ADAPTABILITY OVER RIGIDITY:
💧 Build Like Water: Scaling doesn’t mean chaos; it means fluidity. The best teams know when to standardize—and when to flex.
🏗️ Structure Without Co
Agentic AI in Luxury Retail: Making Personalization Work at Scale
Top Retail Expert Joshua Rockoff was joined by Yuliya Samsonava from EPAM and Vic Miles from Microsoft onsite at Shoptalk Spring to explore how agentic AI is being applied within luxury retail.
In this episode, we dive into connecting data across systems, supporting decision-making in real time, and elevating the role of store associates.
RETAILERS WILL GAIN INSIGHTS INTO:
📱 The Modern Associat
Why Your Store P&L Is Lying to You
If your digital team and your store team are arguing over attribution, you don't have a measurement problem. You have a customer problem.
Most retailers still treat stores like isolated P&Ls—judged on what happens inside four walls.
But something else happens the moment a store opens: Search spikes. Traffic shifts. Conversion improves—everywhere.
On the ground with Courtney Hawkins of CH Retail
Stress-Testing (Retail?) Vendors in the AI Era with Levain Bakery
Most retail AI isn't solving problems; it's hiding them. The industry is currently addicted to "overlays"—cheap, automated layers that promise instant compliance—but building on a mask is just waiting for the legal or operational consequences to catch up.
At Shoptalk, Gustavo Cardona, VP of Technology at Levain Bakery, joined us to dismantle the "plug-and-play" fallacy. For a brand scaling from a
Designed for Change: How Modular Architecture Is Rewiring Retail
The Central Nervous System: Rewiring Retail with Modular Architecture
Diebold Nixdorf and Kitestring explain how modular architecture serves as the foundation for resilience.
Guests Bernd Kraus and Eugene Park move beyond the "rip and replace" mentality to show how retailers can modernize while keeping the lights on.
Core Insights:
- By separating hardware from software, retailers gain the freed
Crossroads of Commerce: Scaling Beyond DTC
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) gave brands control over experience, data, and customer relationships. As brands grow, that model alone becomes limiting.
This episode explores how brands move from subscription-based models into retail and multi-channel strategies — and what changes when products leave controlled environments and enter broader distribution.
Podcast Overview
Fritz Finlay is joined by Reba
How Hanna Andersson Is Navigating AI-Driven Discovery in Retail
Most retailers are still optimizing for a world where a human types a keyword into a bar. But at Hanna Andersson, Matt Ezyk is architecting for a reality where AI agents browse and filter on behalf of the consumer.
In this episode, we discuss the architectural survival of brand identity in a decentralized world.
- The Bilingual Storefront: LLMs crave data density (fit, texture, origin) that ruin
How Boot Barn Turns AI Into a Store Associate, Not a Chatbot
What if the real problem with AI in retail isn’t intelligence—but expertise?
Recorded live at Shoptalk Spring in Las Vegas, this conversation breaks down how Boot Barn is tackling one of retail’s hardest challenges: scaling deep, technical product knowledge across 500+ stores—without losing credibility on the floor.
Instead of relying on generic chatbots, Boot Barn built a custom AI “associate”
Unified Commerce: Bridging the Execution Gap
Moving Beyond the Buzzwords
Unified Commerce isn't a new term, but true execution remains the "Holy Grail" for enterprise retailers. In this episode, Steven Bailey, Partner at EY and Jonathan Aitken, SVP at RADAR, discuss why the gap between vision and reality is still so wide, and how to close it.
The Foundation of Real-Time Retail
From the friction of in-store returns to the high cost of order
Turning 'Silent Boxes' into Living Stores: The Blueprint for In-Store Edge Intelligence
The “Connected Store” has moved from concept to operational priority. In this episode, Pauline Monin (Vusion) breaks down how digital shelf technology is transforming physical stores into responsive, data-driven environments.
Operational Excellence & Local E-Commerce
Automated pricing removes manual processes and reduces errors at scale, allowing store teams to focus on higher-value tasks. At the
AI Responsibility, Agentic Futures, and Transparent Retail Media — The Costco Way
Recorded live at Shoptalk Spring, this episode of the AiR Podcast tackles the shift from AI experimentation to real-world accountability. Mark Williamson, AVP of Retail Media at Costco Wholesale, joins Kimberly Morgan, CEO of The Fashion Tech Exec and a Top AI Leader, to discuss why Costco is building its technology ecosystem "from the studs up."
The Path of Most Resistance While many retailers o
The Compliance Playbook Every Global Retailer Needs
This podcast features Darko Pavic, CEO at Fiscal Solutions and Michael Zakkour from 5 New Digital, discussing a critical yet overlooked pillar of global expansion: fiscalization.
Why Compliance is Your Transaction Architecture: Fiscalization is more than bureaucracy. It is the technical foundation of every global transaction. Darko introduces his new book,
The Fiscalization Compliance Maturity Mo
Retail AI: Closing the Reality Gap
Most AI projects die in the boardroom because they ignore the person holding the handheld scanner. In this episode, Sharon Gai, Matt Redwood, and Paula Angelucci move past the hype to discuss what actually works on the shop floor.
The Pivot from Shiny to Useful Stop starting with the technology. Matt Redwood argues that the most successful AI implementations begin with a specific human frustratio
Winning in The Agentic Era: The Commerce Roadmap for Success
Your product data wasn't built for AI agents. Here's why that's a problem.
In the latest episode of RETHINK Retail's award-winning AiR (AI in Retail) podcast series, host Jamie Tenser sits down with @Anne-Claire Baschet, Chief Data & AI Officer at @Mirakl and a Top AI Leader recognized by RETHINK Retail, to explore the seismic shift happening in retail discovery right now.
Anne-Claire brings a r
Retail 2026: Magic, Data, and Human Connection
In this episode of the RETHINK Retail podcast, Julia Rogers Vargas, VP and GM, Identification Solutions at Avery Dennison and Sasha Wallinger, contributor at Forbes move past the buzzwords to find the "magic" in the retail grind.
The End of the Visible Transaction
We are rapidly approaching a "post-transactional" world. As AI bots begin to automate our daily chores, from replenishing diapers to c
Solving Fashion Supply Chain Overdevelopment
Liza Amlani (Retail Strategy Group) and Aimee Heuschkel (Lectra) joined RETHINK Retail at NRF to discuss why the industry is currently making too much of the wrong product.
The Overdevelopment Crisis Right now, brands are throwing supply at consumers and hoping demand follows. With 81% of retailers struggling to keep up, the result is massive waste and shrinking margins. The fix requires moving f
Gen Z 2026: Navigating the New Trend Cycle
Marie Schwartz caught up with MaryLeigh Bliss from Ypulse at NRF to talk Gen Z in 2026. The old marketing playbooks? They’re history.
The 20-year trend cycle is over. MaryLeigh explains how social media has created a "firehose" of fragmented trends where Gen Z is nostalgic for everything at once. Whether it’s a 90s reboot or a meme from two weeks ago, the pace is moving faster than most retailers
Experential Retail: The Permanent Jewelry Boom
In this episode, RETHINK Retail host Marie Schwartz sits down with Jake Randolph and Adel Cruz from LINKED Permanent Jewelry to discuss the explosive growth of experiential retail.
Key Highlights:
- Experiential Sales: Why "permanent" products are winning on social media.
- The AI Advantage: How solo owners use AI to scale marketing and operations.
- Future of Retail: A first look at LINKED’s new
Pragmatic AI: Solving the Retail Data Gap
Retailers often chase AI for its own sake instead of solving specific operational problems.
In this session of Retailer Tech Tips, Thaddeus Segura from VusionGroup and Guy Courtin from Tecsys discuss how to move past "irrational exuberance" to build an operating model that survives the current industry bifurcation.
Key Discussion Points:
- The Hardware Flywheel: Intelligence starts at the shelf,
Shoptalk Spring 2026 Preview: How AI Is Transforming Retail
As Shoptalk Spring 2026 approaches, one theme is shaping the conversation across the retail industry: AI is moving from experimentation to real-world application.
In this episode of the RETHINK Retail Podcast, Fritz Finlay speaks with Joe Laszlo, Head of Content & Insights at Shoptalk, about the ideas and trends expected to define this year’s event.
Their discussion explores several themes emerg
Ecommerce Now: Elevating Shopper Experience and Discovery
In this episode of the RETHINK Retail Podcast, Digital Shelf Institute Executive Director Lauren Livak joins Paul Murphy to discuss what’s shaping the next phase of ecommerce, from changing shopper behavior to the growing gap between browsing and buying.
They discuss why many digital experiences still struggle to help shoppers make decisions, and what retailers can do differently to better captur
Intelligence at the Edge: Powering the Store of Tomorrow
Is Your Store Ready for What's Next?
Modern retail is about more than just selling products. It’s about being fast, reliable, and smart right when the customer needs it most. In our latest podcast, Intelligence at the Edge: Powering the Store of Tomorrow, we’re breaking down how the world's leading retailers are using edge computing to transform the shopping experience.
Why Listen?
Host Michael
Luxury Retail Strategies: AI and Human Connection
Luxury Retail: High-Tech Meets High-Touch
In a market saturated with options, true luxury is defined by the depth of the experience.
In this episode, Barney Stacher and Shunda D. Lynch of Bloomingdale’s, explore how leading retailers stay relevant in a digital-first world.They break down the necessity of storytelling and why the most advanced AI should serve the sales associate, not replace them
The Future of AI and Human-Centric Retail
The Human Heart of Retail Innovation
The message from NRF 2026: Retail's Big Show was clear: Technology is the tool, but humanity is the strategy.
In this episode, Chris Igwe and Dominik Olejko, Head of Customer Insights at Pepco, debrief on the "thousands of years of experience" that met in New York this year.
They dive into how global leaders are integrating AI to empower staff and why the "Us
From Aisles to Insights: How People-First AI Is Rewriting Retail Operations
Is your AI strategy solving problems or just building more dashboards?
Retailers are drowning in data, yet most still struggle to move the needle on store performance. In this episode of the AI in Retail podcast series, Top AI Leader David Polinchock sits down with Corey Spencer, GM & GVP of AI at UKG, to dismantle the "ivory tower" theories failing the frontline.
They explore why the industry m
Is Your Tech Strategy Lighting Money on Fire?
At a time when "agents" and AI dominate every conversation, it is easy to forget that the ultimate channel is the consumer.
In this RETHINK Retail episode, host DeAnn Campbell, Head of Retail Strategy at AAG Consulting and Scott Wueschinski, AVP of Retail Applied Advisory at Genpact, cut through the noise to explain why the human experience is the only real competitive advantage left.
They dive
Redefining Fashion Through Process Innovation
Is Your Supply Chain Your Biggest Competitive Advantage?
We often hear about "the art of the merchant," but rarely do we discuss the unsexy mechanics that actually make a brand profitable. In this RETHINK Retail sit-down, Kimberly Lee Minor, CEO of WOCRA, catches up with her longtime friend and fellow retail expert Liza Amlani.
From starting on the shop floor at 13 to consulting for the world’s
Scalable Omnichannel Expansion Strategies
Is Your Brand Built to Last or Just Built to Sell?
Most brands treat retail as a "shiny" trophy, but the reality is that expansion often breaks your margins before it builds your brand. In this RETHINK Retail sit-down, host Gail Rodwell-Simon talks with Brett Gallagher, COO at Nulastin, about the disciplined path from a 2010s DTC startup to a true omnichannel player.
They dig into the "ugly" sid
The Big Picture on AI: Inside the NRF Center for Digital Risk & Innovation and AI Council
How do brands scale AI governance without slowing down innovation?
In this episode, Yael Kochman sits down with NRF leaders Christian Beckner and Caroline Reppert to discuss the industry’s shift toward responsible, high-ROI AI adoption.
While this conversation was recorded just before the NRF Big Show, the insights remain the definitive roadmap for the year ahead. They dive into why the most suc
The Shift to Intelligent Retail: Beyond Digital
The Future of the Store Isn’t Digital. It’s Intelligent.
Are we drowning in data but starving for results?
Recorded on the ground at Euroshop, host Martin Bailie sits down with industry heavyweights Sam Vise, Marc Jamieson, and John Magill to dismantle the biggest myths in the industry.
For years, we’ve been told that "more technology" is the magic bullet. Yet, store teams are more distracted th
Elevating Frontline Retail Strategy for 2026
People have been declaring “the store is dead” for years. They were wrong. What’s actually dying is lazy retail.
Stop leading from the top down. In this episode of Rethink Retail, experts Linda Johansen, David Polinchock, and Paula Angelucci reveal why a successful frontline retail strategy starts on the shop floor.
Key Takeaways:
- Respect the Peak: Move corporate planning to Mondays to protect
Beyond the Pilot: The Shift to Applied AI in Retail
Generative AI is moving beyond the lab and into the production environment. But for many enterprises, "pilot fatigue" is becoming a major bottleneck to real ROI.
In this episode of AiR (AI in Retail), Top AI Leader, Barry McGeough (Group VP, AmeriCo) and Top Retail Expert, Michael Zakkour (Top Expert) deliver a masterclass on Applied Innovation. Through a real-world case study, they reveal how br
Humanizing Retail Digital Transformation in 2026
As artificial intelligence and immersive technologies dominate the headlines, the core of the industry remains unchanged: the human connection.
In this episode of Rethink Retail, Monica San José (Retail Escool) and Richard Honiball (NEXCOM) explore why a successful retail digital transformation must be rooted in a company’s mission and values rather than technology for technology's sake.
From th
Where Retail AI Delivers ROI Today
AI is now a core requirement, not a side project.
In this episode of the AiR Podcast, Top AI Leader Kimberly Morgan sits with Sameer Sharma and CK Wang from MediaTek, to discuss how edge AI and AIoT platforms are delivering measurable ROI across retail operations
The conversation explores why intelligence is moving closer to the device, how edge AI supports real-time decision-making, improves co
Real-Time Inventory Management in Grocery
Real-time inventory management is reshaping how grocery retailers manage availability, labor, and store execution.
On the latest RETHINK Retail Podcast, DeAnn Campbell speaks with Aidan Mittra, Co-Founder of OrderGrid, about how real-time, location- and expiry-aware inventory gives retailers true operational visibility that drives better product availability, reduced waste, and stronger margin pr
Turning Retail Into Unforgettable Experiences
Physical retail isn’t just surviving, it’s thrilling, immersive, and unforgettable!
In this episode, Sandi Danick, SVP at Triple Five Group, shares how immersive attractions, authentic experiences, and tech-driven insights are transforming shopping into something people can’t wait to return to.
Key Takeaways:
- Why experience drives loyalty and foot traffic
- Engaging Gen Z authentically
- Blend
AI Checkout, Shrink Reduction, and the Future of Front-End Optimization
Frictionless checkout has become one of the most discussed topics in retail technology. But for enterprise retailers, the real question is not whether checkout can be frictionless. It is whether it can perform consistently under pressure.
Checkout is where throughput, labor efficiency, compliance, and shrink converge. It is the operational control point of the store.
In a conversation hosted by
Gen Z Marketing Strategy with Sourabh Sharma
What does it really take to win over Gen Z and Gen Alpha in 2026?
Aliyah Flowers, B2B Community Manager at RETHINK Retail, connects with Sourabh Sharma, Head of Marketing at Histoires de Parfums, to unpack what younger generations actually value.
They discuss:
- Why community and values now matter more than visibility
- How Gen Z and Gen Alpha think differently about sustainability and spending
Marie Schwartz on AI, Community and Retail
At NRF 2026, April Sabral, Founder of April Sabral Leadership & Ask April AI, spoke with Marie Schwartz, CEO of RETHINK Retail, about leadership, community, and the real future of AI in retail.
They explore:
- Why true community starts with deep listening, not followers
- What retailers must prioritize in 2026 beyond chasing every new AI trend
- How leading with vulnerability can be a competitive
Hammitt Retail Strategy in Modern Luxury
From garage startup to global cult following.
During NRF 2026, one thing really stood out in this conversation between Marie Schwartz and Jennifer Sprague, CMO at Hammit.
Hammit has built something rare. Customers do not just buy a bag. They collect them. They trade them. They know the story behind the rivets. That kind of loyalty is intentional..
They discuss:
- How Hammit protects its brand i
Moving past pilots: What enterprise AI actually takes
Enterprise AI doesn’t fail because the models aren’t ready. It stalls when operating models, data foundations, and decision paths can’t keep up.
Recorded at NRF, this AiR Podcast features Yael Kochman in conversation with Rakesh Srinivasan (The Estée Lauder Companies) and Chris Daniels (Toptal) on what it takes to move from scattered experimentation to repeatable, enterprise deployment - across b
Retail Therapy Podcast: NRF 2026 Debrief
There is a reason NRF is called Retail’s Big Show. Each year, it generates an unmistakable buzz across the retail industry. What matters most, however, is how that buzz translates into real insight and action.
NRF 2026 delivered bold predictions, big ideas, and no shortage of conversation around AI. The real question is what retailers actually took seriously this year.
In this episode of Retail
Retail Media Measurement: Top NRF 2026 Insights
Recorded live at NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show, The RETHINK Retail Podcast features Fritz Finlay, Head of Production at RETHINK Retail, in conversation with Will Burghes, Head of Professional Services at Rockerbox & DoubleVerify.
The discussion focuses on how retail media measurement is evolving as brands and retailers move beyond impressions and clicks toward outcome-based metrics that matter to t
Brand Growth Insights: Marketplaces & Ecosystems
Unlock the Future of Brand Growth
Discover what’s changing fastest in how brands grow today, straight from industry leaders who are shaping modern commerce.
The RETHINK Retail Podcast takes you behind the scenes of marketplace strategies, ecosystem-driven growth, and omnichannel success.
Learn from the expertise of Tim Derner of Authentic Brands Group and Remington Tonar of Cart.com as they expl
How to Restore Trust in Retail Communications
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