Retail Gets Real

For millions of people around the world, Pinterest is the first stop on their retail journey — it’s a place to discover, get inspired and personalize. For retailers, Pinterest is an opportunity to engage with customers earlier and more often, well before a transaction takes place. To learn more about how brands of all sizes are taking advantage of this social media platform, we sit down with Amy Vener, the head of retail strategy at Pinterest. Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Shopping for bras is generally an unpleasant experience — so ThirdLove takes shoppers out of awkward dressing rooms and allows them to shop for underwear at home, using data to create a more personalized shopping experience and better products. Chief Creative Officer Ra’el Cohen shares how ThirdLove is disrupting the bra industry by “taking data and using it in a really personal way.”   Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Brandless is “unapologetically a brand,” says co-founder and CEO Tina Sharkey, and it’s one specifically designed to appeal to millennials. On its online platform, Brandless carries everything from applesauce to knives for no more than $3, and all products are sustainably manufactured, organic and non-GMO. On this episode, learn how Brandless makes the business model work while also donating a meal to Feeding America for every purchase.   Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

Back-to-college spending is expected to reach $55 billion this year, and many of those shopping for themselves are members of Generation Z. Katherine Cullen, NRF’s director of retail and consumer insights, discusses trends from NRF’s annual survey of back-to-class shoppers and how this generation of consumers that grew up with the internet and smartphones is shaping retail.   Learn more at www.retailgetsreal.com.    

Intel is at the forefront of today’s retail revolution, driving the technology that incorporates the best of the physical and digital store. Stacey Shulman, chief innovation officer for the retail solutions division at Intel, discusses Intel’s role in retail and some macro technology trends that affect everyone in retail. Learn more at www.retailgetsreal.com.

Boon Supply is a vertically integrated product company that gives 50 percent of each purchase to various causes and schools. It’s a disruptive new idea in the world of fundraising that already supports over 500 causes and gives $12.5 million to schools annually, and CEO Lily Kanter has some big ideas for how it can leverage capitalism to do better in the world.   Learn more at www.retailgetsreal.com.  

Julie Averill has been at lululemon athletica for just over a year and is still impressed by how innovative and entrepreneurial the 20-year-old company is. “It truly acts like the startup that it was,” she says. Averill talks about her role as chief technology officer — overseeing the tech that keeps the business running smoothly, from inventory and supply chain to store management and human resources — and opportunities for women to rise to top tech positions.   Learn more at www.retailgetsreal.com.

FreshPaper is a simple but powerful innovation that keeps food fresh for up to four times longer, in or out of the fridge. It started as a middle school science project inspired by an Indian home remedy, but now makes a huge impact on food waste in over 180 countries. Founder and inventor Kavita Shukla tells the story behind the product and the difference her company has made in global communities.   Learn more at www.nrf.com/retailgetsreal.

Brittany Underwood’s first visit to Uganda as a college student completely changed the course of her life. “I had never witnessed extreme poverty,” she says, and she just wanted to help. Fifteen years later, her nonprofit Akola Project helps hundreds of women through the creation, distribution and sale of handmade jewelry. In this episode, Underwood describes how Akola is on its way to achieving its mission of becoming the leading global retail brand that creates economic opportunity and transforms communities by empowering at-risk women. Learn more at www.nrf.com/RetailGetsReal

The “do-it-for-me” segment of the home remodeling and renovation industry is worth over $200 billion annually — but it’s fragmented, with no one having the largest percentage of sales revenue between countless individual professionals and small companies. Gary Kusin, chairman and CEO of Treehouse, a sustainable home improvement company, is on a mission to transform the industry and emerge as the market leader. Learn more at www.nrf.com.