Preparing for 2025: Navigating Retail's Future

If we had to pick a couple of words to describe the last few years, "volatile" and "uncertain" are very likely to be at the top of anyone's list.

What words and themes will define this next year? Chaos? Clarity? Prosperity? Purpose?

Will struggling retailers at long last make the bold leaps they must, or edge ever closer to the precipice? Can the promises of innovation be met, taking consumer experiences to new heights?/

2025 looks to be a year where agility and resilience reign supreme as retailers must navigate a world of accelerating technological change, constrained consumer spending, new political realities, and greater power concentrated among only a handful of large retailers.

When more and more change is certain, but the way forward is often less than clear, you need a compass, a map, keen insight and no-nonsense advice.

This is Steve Dennis, strategic advisor, keynote speaker, and best-selling author. I invite you to join me and fellow retail insider Michael LeBlanc each week as we make sense of an increasingly volatile and uncertain retail world.

The Remarkable Retail podcast is the only podcast hosted by two of the NRF's 2025 top retail voices. In this, our tenth season, we'll continue our award-winning formula by giving our hot takes on the week's most important retail news and by featuring guests who are on the leading edge of what's new and next in commerce today.

So be sure to follow us on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your podcasts so you won't miss an episode. Get ready for a steady stream of lively conversations, inspiring leadership stories, and no BS perspectives.

Our tenth season of the Remarkable Retail podcast debuts on Tuesday, January 14th. If you want to surf the waves of change and thrive in 2025, we hope you'll join us. 

About Us

Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur.  He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. 

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google.  He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer.  If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.