Retail Gets Real

MM.LaFleur empowers customers to focus on the things that really matter — like preparing for that client meeting or business trip — through styling, thoughtfully designed products and community. Vice President of Brand Marketing Jennifer Braunschweiger joins this episode to share how her team supports women and brings the brand to life. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

As customer expectations and behaviors change, retailers need to change too. That means creating new processes, implementing new technologies, and building teams with new skills. To learn more about the logistics of improving both the customer and employee experiences, we sit down with Wayfair’s Director of Supply Chain Engineering Dustin Bennett. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Nordstrom is known for offering a great customer experience, and they manage to continue offering exceptional experiences even as customer needs change in our constantly transforming world. To learn how Nordstrom stays ahead of disruption and their customers’ changing needs, we sit down with Senior Vice President of Customer Experience Shea Jensen, who was recently honored at the NRF Foundation Gala as a Disruptor on the List of People Shaping Retail's Future. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Zulily launches over 9,000 new products and 100 sales every single day — and curates a unique storefront for each of its millions of customers. Through personalization and stories told through images, videos and social media, Zulily turns the shopping experience into an entertainment experience. Vice President of Technology Bindu Thota talks about the technology and the people that make it all happen. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Getaway takes a fresh approach to hospitality, offering cabins in the woods designed for city dwellers overworked and burned out by the digital age. Getaway replaces amenities that people have come to expect, like Wi-Fi, with a simpler experience that will bring more balance to their lives. Founder Jon Staff discusses reimagining an established industry and creating an experience for an unmet consumer need. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Jo Malone is an English “scent maverick” responsible for creating some of the world’s most loved fragrances. A Dreamer on the NRF Foundation's The List of People Shaping Retail's Future, she discusses her Jo Loves brand and how she is changing the way the world wears fragrance — for a second time. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Beauty was a $500 billion industry that hadn’t been disrupted since the market shifted from department stores to specialty stores — until Birchbox came on the scene in 2010. Now the subscription box pioneer is partnering with Walgreens to bring its highly personalized experience into physical stores, meeting customers at the intersection of efficacy and delight. To learn more about the partnership and the evolution of this disruptive beauty brand, we chat with Birchbox co-founder and CEO Katia Beauchamp. Recorded at NRF 2019: Retail’s Big Show. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Automation isn’t just a trend, it’s a new way of working. Chris Wong, vice president of strategy and alliances at IBM Global Consumer Industry, shares learnings from a new global study conducted by IBM's Institute for Business Value and NRF that reveals how retailers are using AI-powered automation. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

How does one of the world’s largest and most successful retailers achieve digital transformation at scale? From NRF 2019: Retail’s Big Show, Walmart Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Jeremy King describes the investments the company is making in supply chain technology and more, and what emerging technologies like machine learning and blockchain mean for the future of retail. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Partnerships that create customer value are good, but for partnerships to be great, they should be built on shared values. Joining us at NRF 2019: Retail’s Big Show, Stacy Brown-Philpot, CEO of TaskRabbit, takes us inside the partnership between TaskRabbit and IKEA and talks about her incredible career journey. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.