Retail Gets Real

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.

In the last year, Ed Stack, Chairman and CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods, has made headlines and left a lasting impression on the retail industry. The company has also navigated a time of great change in retail, all while committing to support youth sports programs across the country. Stack sits down at NRF 2019: Retail’s Big Show to share more about the vision that drives Dick’s. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Levi’s experienced almost a decade of sales stagnation and nearly lost a generation of young consumers, but new leadership and a clear strategy helped the brand reclaim lost ground and reemerge as a cultural touchstone. On this episode, we talk with Levi Strauss & Co. President and CEO Chip Bergh, who was recently recognized as “The Visionary” by NRF. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

People might think reporting on retail is simple because “it’s just about shopping,” says Phil Wahba, senior writer covering retail at Fortune magazine, but there's a lot more happening. Wahba joins Retail Gets Real to talk about what goes into reporting on this complex industry and the stories to watch in 2019. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

The retail store is transforming, and innovation means opportunity and change. Oliver Chen covers retail for Cowen and Company and sees a lot of this transformation firsthand. In this episode, Chen discusses how modern retailers are updating their success metrics for a new age and what the future of retail holds for companies and their customers. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

2018 has been one of the best years for the retail industry in a decade. While the economic environment will be more complicated in the year ahead, retail CEOs are feeling optimistic about 2019. Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, reflects on the state of the industry and what’s to come in 2019. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Last year, we talked to business guru Scott Galloway about what it takes to succeed in retail today, the importance of a great workforce and what Amazon’s next move should be. Ahead of his appearance at NRF 2019: Retail’s Big Show, we’re revisiting his industry predictions. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

A lot of consumers spread out holiday shopping over the last two months of the year, but “people still have a lot of shopping left to do,” says NRF Director of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen. She joins the third installment of the podcast’s holiday mini-series to discuss who’s still shopping and what retailers can expect during the last weekend before Christmas, including Super Saturday. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.