Future Commerce

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"Ingredient Brands are the Future" Live from NRF 2019 Jan 25, 2019

Show notes

In this episode we bring a review of the best and brightest from the show floor at NRF 2019 - we talk Innovation Lab, "Ingredient Brands", Shoppable AR, and much more. Listen now!

Main Takeaways:

Phillip and Brian podcast twice live from NRF
Body data is still in vogue in retail-tech company spaces, but has anyone learned to implement it properly?
Want a 3D rendering of Brian's face? Take our survey.
Will Walmart finally impress Gen Xers?
Clothes that fit the customer, not the creator's specifications need to be the future of retail.
Millennials are killing the curse of boring retail.

Everything's About The Innovation Lab: NRF Edition Part 2:

Brian went on a curated tour of the Innovation Lab put together by Tusk Ventures, that highlighted all the latest in retail innovation.
Phillip attempts a French accent.
Allure Systems (who we last saw at Shop.org) was featured in the Innovation Lab, as were a lot of other body-data focused companies, proving that body-data is still all the rage in the retail tech space.
Brian notes that body-data is a consistent trend, but as of yet, retailers have struggled with application, though Amazon purchasing Body Labs for 50MM may make room for better implementation.
Allure is still running their Walmart case study. And it's pretty impressive to see how their body-data technology can help to cut costs and reduce time through the use of virtual models.

2019 is Going to be All About Clienteling: The Year of The Customer:

Phillip points out that long-term customer engagement used to be much simpler because luxury retailing was 30-40 year career, and retailers had actual long term relationships with their clients.
Retail turnover is pretty notorious anyway. And now these roles have been so diminished, that there isn't that same connection between retailer and customer especially in luxury.
One example of modern-day"clienteling" Hero, a software company that connects the sales associate with digital info and then they can feed that back up to the website.
Retailers should already know this: Building relationships with your customers really is the best way to build brand loyalty.

Will Walmart Become a Grown-Up Version of Itself?

Walmart isn't exactly known as a luxury retailer, and it hasn't always had the best reputation.
Walmart has been trying to shed it's notoriety lately though, it opened a Lord and Taylor's flagship store, featuring several more upscale brands like Lucky Jeans and Vince Camuto.
Walmart has also gone on an acquisition "shopping-spree" buying up popular brands like Bonobos and Modcloth, and expanding into plus-sized fashion with Eloquii.
But Phillip says Walmart may have aways to go in convincing Gen Xrs because that generation views Walmart through a specific lens, and that lens is quite dirty.
But still be hopeful because Walmart's future may involve becoming what Starbucks Reserve tried to be: an ultra-niche market experience.
Perhaps Walmart could be Amazon 4-Star but with their own products.
And speaking of house brands: Decision Minds, another Innovation Lab favorite helps retailers to make decisions on creating house brands and white-labeling products.
And Decision Minds is already working with Wayfair, which makes them officially not #vaporware.

Customer Service is Everything: Can Onfleet Deliver For Retailers?

Super cool service alert: "Onfleet is the last mile delivery solution for companies in food and beverage, retail, pharmacy and more".
Onfleet helps
Phillip and Brian compare OnFleet to other service-based companies like Uber or Lyft because it allows for retailers to know where and when their products are.
And one of the reasons that Onfleet is so unique is that it helps everyone involved in the delivery process: It allows for route optimization, direct contact with drivers, and has it's own auto dispatch engine.
Phillip needs an Onfleet for optimizing grocery aisle routes.

Are Custom-Fit Clothes The Retail of Past and Future?

With body-data tech being all the rage, and with customers starting to expect clothes that are more tailored to their preferences, perfect-fit clothes may become a reality.
Future Commerce has been talking about body data for two years,
But with all the focus on individuality when it comes to clothes, retailers are starting to try to pair customers with clothes that fit better.
Subscription companies like Stich Fix and Trunk Club provide prospective customers with detailed questionnaires so that they can find out not only the customers measurements but also their preferences on fit, color, and personal style.
Manually entering measurements may not be the best way to get an actual perfect-fit, which is why the future of subscription boxes seems to be custom-made clothes.
Which is ironic, because that's how the clothing industry (or poorer people sewed their clothes at home) started anyway. All clothes (and shoes) were custom before the advent of ready-to-wear.

Survival of The Fittest: Only Non-Boring Retailers Will Survive:

With all of the hullabaloo about the end of retail and the retail apocalypse, there's one lesson to be learned, and it's not that retail is dead.
Millennials, spend differently, and expect different things from their shopping experience, and favor the in-store experience despite being part of the digital generation.
Which means that retailers will really have to step it up if they want to stay relevant.
Which should really shine a light on companies like Rituals Cosmetics, and Sheetz.
Phillip moderated a panel with Emily Sheetz (from Sheetz) and Marjolein Westerbeek from Ritual Cosmetics USA, two companies with a solid focus on customer experience and innovation.
It's companies with that strong emphasis on building customer relationships, bringing a customer experience both in-store and online, and consistent innovation that will survive and thrive.

Go over to Futurecommerce.fm and give us your feedback! We love to hear from our listeners!

Retail Tech is moving fast and Future Commerce is moving faster.

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"Instagrammable Moments" Live @ NRF 2019 Jan 17, 2019

Show notes

Products that are sharable are all the rage - in part 1 of our recap of NRF we come to you live from the show floor and talk about how retailers are using customer engagement to shape how their product assortment and marketing are crafted. Listen now!

Main Takeaways:

Walmart is stepping up its technology game in a serious way.
2018 really was the year of open source, and sneakers, and content.
Content continues to be king of community creation, and retailers are finally picking up the mantle.
Behind-the-scenes ingredient brands are going mainstream
A 2019 Future Commerce prediction episode is coming up: What will Philip and Brian forecast?

Walmart Is Making Moves: Can They Beat Out Amazon?

Walmart was well-represented at NRF by CTO Jeremy King, and it seems that Walmart is working to keep his promise (when he started at Walmart) of Walmart's tech stack becoming 100% open source.
Brian mentions the-company-not-to-be-named (which starts with the letter A) less than 5 minutes into the show.
Walmart Technology has come a long way, especially since they started on their acquisition shopping-spree.
Brian is super excited about Walmart in every way, especially with how they are expanding their tech team by the thousands this year.
In news that should shock literally no one who hasn't been living under a rock: 50% percent of all digital retail transactions in 2018 happened on Amazon.
The real question remains: Who will win in the battle of the massive retailer?

Commerce 2040: Looking Ahead to Retail's Future:

Euromonitor International has put out a report that looks at what the future of commerce will look like, and the future looks a whole lot like Future Commerce predicted.
Drones will continue to be popular in the future, which means that Pizza delivery drones could become a reality in the United States.
And It seems that the term "experiential retail" is going to be around forever, and retailers will find new ways to engage consumers.
Also: Luxury retail spares no detail, Canada Goose is using freezer-esque dressing rooms so customers can test outwear against the elements. This is taking experiential retail up a few degrees (or down a hundred degrees).
Phillip and Brian conclude that while Macklemore would probably wear one of Canada Goose's winter jackets in a music video, he'd probably of purchased it second-hand.

Practical AR Was Big at NRF: Next Step is Running in Virtual Shoes?

Practical AR was everywhere at NRF: With Augmented Reality being able to help consumers and retailers in everyday-life.
Unity3D had a really cool sneaker demo that was nearly photo-realistic.
Even Amazon has been pushing their AR functionality (though not at NRF because they didn't show up in any real way)..
Phillip describes the shoe demo: The shoe that they used was a Nike VaporMax which has a translucent sole, and with the exact environmental lighting combined with Nike's level of accuracy with 3D models, this "sneaker" was next-level-authentic.
Phillip and Brian predict that real-time models of this level becoming the norm is pretty much only two years away.

Show vs. Tell: User Generated Content is King in 2019:

Retailers are starting to understand that user-generated content coming from social networks, is the best way forward for sales and brand authenticity.
As Phillip points out Facebook is the only social network that has both the retail integration technology, and the trust of its users.
Not even Facebook as it stands though: Basically just Instagram.
Because somehow, Instagram has been completely divorced from Facebook's scandals . At least for right now.
One great example of this push towards UGC: Farfetch has acquired Stadium Goods (the home of many a hypebeast worthy sneaker as well as limited edition streetwear) for 250 million.
The real reason for this acquisition though: Stadium Goods partnerships with brands like Complex for content creation, and the retail experiences around those partnerships.
For example: Zeitgeist-influencer-powered-content like John Mayer doing long-form interviews through Complex.

Shareable Moments For The Win (Can You Even Instagram?) :

Product development in 2019 is going to be all about creating "shareable products."
Can retailers bridge the gap between social media and user experience?
Brian says that now there will be two types of businesses existing in this space: Content-ready, or not content-ready.
Investors are picking up the content-generation trend as well, with StockX picking up 44 million, Grailed raising 15 million, and the acquisition of Stadium Goods.
Phillip says that 2018 is the year of the sneaker because of course it is.

Amazon is Trying to Stay Relevant: RIP Sears:

Amazon didn't even bother to show up in any significant way for NRF.
Amazon is building a second headquarters, and also a third headquarters:
Phillip observes that everyone interacts with Amazon for pretty much every aspect of life, which is what Sears used to be 100+ years ago.
Brian quotes Jeff Bezos is saying that "Amazon may go bankrupt one day like Sears."
Fun fact: Amazon looks they are doing a lot more hiring than other major companies, but there's a catch. Amazon only hires within their own ranks, and have to hire in-house for each new piece of technology.
Google and Walmart are much more partnership-centric, and create many, many jobs not attributed to them (They've even partnered up with each other), so it's a much better story.

Europeans May Understand Experiential Retail Better: Can U.S Consumers Adapt?

Phillip hosts a panel with two companies with well-known customer experience, Ritual Cosmetics, and Sheetz Inc.
Phillip observes that European retailers understand the idea of "experiential retail," and European customers may expect that level of service.
Sheetz, a gas-station convenience store brand has built their entire brand identity on delivering the best experience for their customers, and they can do so because they know their customers so well to begin with.
Somehow everything always comes back to Amazon.

Collaboration is Cool: Ingredient Brands Built Finally Gain Customer Awareness:

Phillip and Brian both want to see a Starbucks-Toms collaboration.
Ingredient brands, which once were pretty behind-the-scenes, are going mainstream.
Ingredient brands are brands that go into other brands products and aren't marketed directly to consumers, but they are brands that consumers already trust.
Phillip thought ingredient brands referred to companies like McCormick: Which actually makes a lot of literal sense.
Should McCormick have an ingredient food truck?
Consumers are now actually looking for these ingredient brands, as opposed to just trusting their efficacy, with retailers like Woolrich becoming a lot more ingredient brand focused.

Phillip and Brian Preview Prediction Episode 2019:

Brian says 2019 is going to be all about using data to make informed decisions about products, this can refer to using past data to re-invent and re-brand (like Story does every season)
Somehow this entire episode is about shoes.
Phillip's 2019 prediction is that 2019 will be the "year of the customer," and more specifically the year of guided commerce, giving customers the ability to have the retail experience that they want.

Go over to Futurecommerce.fm and give us your feedback! We love to hear from our listeners!

Retail Tech is moving fast and Future Commerce is moving faster.

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"New Commerce" with Brandon L. Singer, Cushman Wakefield Nov 27, 2018

Show notes

"Stores within stores" is a concept often spoken but seldom understood. With retail closures on the rise we look at how real estate is adapting to new digitally native brands, how flagships are shifting focus, and how companies like Cushman and Wakefield are helping brands get to market faster than ever. Listen now!

Guest

Brandon L. Singer, Managing Director @ Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.

Show notes

Main Takeaways:

A perfect storm in physical retail vacancies has led to an emerging retail renaissance.
Retail space is being utilized to bring a new experience to customers.
For brands to survive, retailers need to see the internet as collaborative, not competitive.
The most interesting store in the world is bringing new commerce straight to interested customers.
Community seems to be the future of commerce, can consumers bond over toilet seats?

The Retail Renaissance: The Re-Emergence of Brick-and-Mortar:

Brandon Singer of Cushman and Wakefield explains that there have been two factors that have led to an uptick in traditional retail space vacancies: The rise of the internet, and e-commerce, and an increase in the cost of renting and maintaining space in new york city.
Now, brands, as well as large tech companies and even some familiar faced traditional retailers are finding new innovative ways to utilize their space in a way that brings a sense of experience to their customers.
Brian points out that though the United States is one of the most over-retailed countries, retail is still on the rise in new and exciting ways.
Brandon makes the point that when the internet really started everyone said e-commerce was the end of brick and mortar retail.
Lots of brands are moving from online to brick and mortar even if they're traditionally online are realizing that having a brick and mortar location can help increase customer retention and in-store experience.
Phillip points out that in-store experience is also about entertainment.

Internet vs. In-Store: Collaboration Not Competition:

As Brandon points out, one of the biggest challenges for traditional retail is that they have historically seen the internet as their competition. Brick and mortar retail space with a value-added in-store experience combined with an online presence is crucial to success in commerce.
And this has actually been the downfall for those retailers who's decision makers have been unable to adapt, and consider the internet to be collaborative.
Here's looking at you Sears.
"New commerce: a new initiative that is taking advantage of the new age of commerce."
Brandon points out some brands that are doing this well:
Bonobos, a formerly e-commerce only brand turned retail space into a showroom, called a Guideshop allowing customers to achieve optimal fit and feel before having their purchase shipped to their home.
Warby Parker started out entirely online and moved into brick and mortar, and now has over 100 stores where customers can try on frames to best fit their face and their style.
Fun fact: Sears's business model actually inspired Warby Parker, which is ironic to anyone who knows anything about Sears.
Brian brings up the new Nike 68,000 sq ft flagship store, called the House of Innovation 000, which is all about the in-store experience, in just about every possible Nike-esque way.

The Most Interesting Store In the World: A New Kind of Mall:

One of Cushman and Wakefield's retail clients is Showfields, a direct to consumer retail outlet that in their own words: "We empower the brands of tomorrow with access to physical retail space at the heart of the direct-to-consumer conversation.".
Showfields is a different kind of retail experience and will be set up in a 14,700 square-foot townhouse in Noho (Manhattan) with a real focus on experience for the consumer.
A store-within-a-store retail trend.
Phillip points out that this has concept has been somewhat tried by single-owner companies like Citizen Supply, but poses the question of whether this will be an opportunity for clicks-to-bricks without a commitment by brands to a full store-front.
Brandon makes a comparison between ShowFields and co-working companies, who rent space to companies who don't want to have to make a significant investment in retail space for employees as they grow.
Phillip declares that: "experience is at the forefront and the opportunity to browse and discover is at an all-time high."
ShowFields is like the We-Work for physical retail space.

Community Driven Commerce: Making Shared Values Cool Again:

Amazon keeps trying to sell Phillip toilet seat covers because apparently, the push notifications for Chewbacca bobbleheads wasn't weird enough.
How community can really drive commerce: Phillip ponders starting a community for toilet seat seekers.
Brandon points out that community-driven commerce is becoming a huge focus in retail space.
For example Fithouse: a fitness studio on a mission to bring lovers of boutique fitness classes together at a much lower cost.
Who is the intended audience for a studio like this? People who already attend group-fitness classes, and share a love for fitness, but don't want to have to take on a hefty price tag for participating in that community.
Brian points out that Future Commerce did an entire episode on community-driven commerce.

Can Suburban & Rural Commerce Keep up With Changes in Retail?

Brians asks Brandon what if anything is happening in suburban and rural areas concerning commerce?
Macerich one of the largest mall operators is actually helping e-commerce brands develop brick-and mortar spaces.
The program is called BrandBox, and it will give e-commerce brands unprecedented access to tools like foot-traffic analysis, and the lease agreement will only require a six to twelve-month commitment as opposed to a traditional lease of ten to fifteen years.
Also: Simon Property Group another major mall owner has partnered with Appear Here to bring Edit which is a new shopping experience which allows tradionally online brands to "pop-up" at their local mall.
And as Brandon says, once a brand has a successful pop-up-shop experience, it will lead to an expansion of a physical retail presence.

Brandon Singer's best advice for retailers going forward: Brick and mortar and online are not competitive they are collaborative. Also, create the best in-store experience possible, millennials are going to want to experience your brand, so build that in for your customers in a brick-and-mortar setting.

Go over to Futurecommerce.fm and give us your feedback! We love to hear from our listeners!

Retail Tech is moving fast and Future Commerce is moving faster.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

First Look: Mobile Optimization Study Nov 20, 2018

Show notes

Main Takeaways:

"We are now at the beginning of the experience economy".
Retailers are looking for a way to turn mobile browsers into mobile buyers.
Millennials seem to be at the forefront of a data revolution.
Mobile customers tend to commit to a purchase when they feel that their personal information is secure.
Can mobile-commerce really beat out desktop conversions?

How to Win Customers and Influence People to Purchase Mobily:

Paypal (Braintree), Magento, and Hi Conversion are working together, along with other merchants and system integrators on The Mobile eCommerce Optimization Initiative to share data on the best (and worst) practices in conversion to sales in the mobile-commerce space.
CEO of HI Conversion Zee Aganovic says that retailers took about 10-15 years to truly understand desktop-based (traditional) e-commerce.
According to Zee the invention of mobile brought new challenges as the mobile-commerce customer is entirely different.
Since individual merchants cannot handle the enormity of addressing their mobile-customer base by themselves (especially when they are competing with behemoths like Amazon), system integrators are teaming up to bridge the gap.
Fun fact: Mobile is quickly becoming a much bigger piece of retail revenue, on Black Friday, mobile-based sales accounted for almost 40%, even though Black Friday is much more of an in-store shopping holiday.
"This is all about experience economy + invent of mobile".
The purpose of this community is to immediately provide value to merchants, where they get access to experience optimization tools, and community data (on par with the largest e-commerce companies) on what actually works, and what doesn't.
Brian loves the idea of merchants sharing data to address markets because this makes it easier for merchants to achieve scalable results.
Also, Amazon apparently has teams to address 1-click optimization, and probably everything else.

Proper Data Usage Can Prevent Resource-Allocation Death Spirals:

Phillip and Brian interview Hasan Elkomey, the SVP of strategic partnerships at Redstage, an e-commerce company with a focus on B2B.
Philip asks how Redstage is helping retailers to become more data-centric, and how they can properly utilize this crowdsourced data to improve outcomes for customers?
Hasan hits on a critical point: Sometimes data-based solutions seem minuscule but are incredibly effective: One test proved that adding a padlock to the checkout button improved conversion rates by 17.37%.
Perhaps because customers feel more secure entering their payment details when they feel the website they are purchasing from is more secure?
Data can also be used to justify budget-based decisions, allocation of resources, or cuts to funding, Phillip refers to this as the "death spiral".
Hasan refers to himself as a grey-area millennial, and millennials seem to be leading the charge on proper data acquisition and usage by investing serious resources in doing so.
Millennials are at the forefront of digital transformation in e-commerce.
So how can merchants get involved in this initiative?
All any interested party has to do is go to mobileoptimized.org and sign up, and it really is all about the data: The more community data that becomes available, the more merchants will be able to utilize that data to produce optimal results conversion-wise in the mobile-commerce space.

Mobile vs. Desktop: Battle of The Buying Power:

Brent Peterson, Chief Evangelist for Wagento Creative, goes to bat for mobile, saying that new studies are proving that mobile-sales could, in fact, outperform desktop browse-to-buy conversion.
One of these studies involves a security icon being added to the checkout page, ensuring the customer that all their information is encrypted and safe, and while this only increased conversion by 7% on desktop, mobile had an increase of 17.37%, which is pretty spectacular.
One test that seemed to fail, surprisingly enough: Autofilling zip codes, which actually had a negative impact on conversion for mobile users.
Brian says that this data can help other retailers learn from these results, taking the ideas out of the realm of the possible, by putting some structure behind it.
Brent makes it clear that these results are not necessarily uniform across demographics.
"Challenge assumptions and use data to prove out outcomes".
Wagento has offices all over the world, including an office in Minnesota.

Guests:

Zee Aganovic of Hi Commerce
Hasan Elkomey of Redstage
Brent Peterson of Wagento

Go over to Futurecommerce.fm and give us your feedback! We love to hear from our listeners!

Retail Tech is moving fast and Future Commerce is moving faster.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Wayfair: Building Durable Customer Experiences Oct 31, 2018

Show notes

Main Takeaways:

Wayfair has curated in-house brands and has seen success due to its focus on customer experience and lack of awareness of brand.
Consistency is the name of the game when it comes to customer experience.
Wayfair understands that investment in its own teams is the best way to fill gaps in talent.
Wayfair is popping up in two physical locations this holiday season.

Wayfair: E-commerce Ahead of Its Time:

When Wayfair (then called CSN Stores) was launched in 2002, online shopping was beginning to pick up speed, although e-commerce certainly wasn't putting up the kind of numbers it is today (2.3T in sales).
According to co-founder Steve Conine, Wayfair's target customer is a 45-55-year-old woman. This is entirely understandable since women make about 94% of purchasing decisions when it comes to the home.
And now, sixteen years later Wayfair is known as a major global brand.
Wayfair customer base is mostly direct to consumer (B2C), with a growing portion of their business being B2B.
Referencing Wayfair's new partnership with VR company Magic Leap, Phillip notes that it would be incredibly entertaining to see a person of that generation wearing a Magic Leap.

How Did Wayfair Manage to Escape House Brand Criticism?

The difference is that branding doesn't really exist in the home-furnishing marketplace. This is certainly not the case with massive retail marketplaces like Amazon, where certain brands are held up as higher standards of quality.
Consumers are looking at where they purchase in this space, as opposed to who manufactures it.
An exception to this standard, may be well-known brands like Kitchenaid.
Wayfair tries to help customers better navigate this space by creating "house brands" (these brands actually accounted for 60% of Wayfair revenue sales in 2017) where they put together the best pieces from different manufacturers and curate it into a collection, making it much easier for a customer to shop according to their style and budget.

Wayfair Really is The Jimmy Choo of Home-Furnishing-Commerce:

Wayfair really stands out as an "experience company" and can be placed in the same category as Jimmy Choo or Nike for constant innovation, and customer engagement.
Some noteworthy moves? Wayfair has invested serious money internally, training their own teams in 3-D and machine learning,
Super cool feature alert: Wayfair has a customer 3D library that they launched on SketchUp in 2017, to allow for designers to place furniture within their designs,
Also, Through Wayfair's VR app (Wayfair View), customers can view furniture or decor in any space they chose.
Wayfair has even utilized search tool Pinterest so that customers can curate their own furnished rooms, per their style and budget. This would be super helpful for those shoppers who want to ball on a budget.
Phillip points out that this is what Zappos could've been in a bygone era.

: Seek and You Shall Find Talent: How Wayfair Filled a Gap in The Market:

Wayfair recognized the need for talent in high-level modeling and 2D rendering and decided to train their own team to fill the gap.
The company also now offers a "3D university" curriculum to home furnishing suppliers and manufacturers, proving they want the entire industry to become more cutting edge and innovative.
According to Steve, Wayfair has the most extensive 3D modeling teams in the entire country now.
Brian loves this news so much.
Speaking of innovation: Wayfair Next, Wayfair new R&D department set up to "explore next-generation experiences" is also doing some incredible things with shipping & logistics. Wayfair is working to fill another gap in the market for products over 100 lbs. This will allow Wayfair to control the entire process from ordering to the delivery.

Is Wayfair Really Trying to Compete With Walmart and Co?

Historical retail has been about how to keep costs as low as possible, which puts companies in competition with their supply chain.
Steve says that they are really trying to create a platform where everyone can have a successful business, not trying to compete with massive retailers.
Brian says that the culture of innovation that Wayfair has is best in class, and questions whether Wayfair would ever move beyond the home market.
Steve says that Wayfair's focus really is on crushing it in the home category, and providing the best customer experience.
Phillip promises to remind Steve of this moment when Wayfair starts selling subscription boxes.

Wayfair's Brick and Mortar Experiment: Popping up This Holiday Season:

Wayfair is wading into the brick and mortar craze, with two pop up shops for the holidays season. This will allow for Wayfair's focus on "customer experience" to seep into an in-store experience.
Steve says that this is an experiment for the company to see where/if they fit into the physical space, and what opportunities they have to get products in front of customers.
Anyone wondering if a Wayfair 4-Star could ever be a possibility?

Go over to Futurecommerce.fm and give us your feedback! We love to hear from our listeners!

Retail tech is moving fast, and Future Commerce is moving faster

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"Shopify LA" = Apple Genius Bar? Oct 25, 2018

Show notes

Main Takeaways:

Retail consolidation is happening, and it really is survival of the best fit.
Phillip really wants Alexa to stop trying to figure him out.
Amazon raises its minimum wage to $15, but are workers really benefiting?
Shopify launches a glorified Apple Genius Bar in Downtown LA.
Adobe has an uphill battle in integrating its acquisitions into a seamless ecosystem.

Traditional Retail is Making Moves in Pretty Much Every Direction:

DSW, (everyone's favorite place to buy trendy ankle boots), has along with Authentic Brand Group has made a deal to acquire Camuto Group for 375MM. DSW will contribute 200MM to this deal.
it seems Toys 'R Us has been revived. On October 1st the retailer filed papers in bankruptcy court to halt the auction of their intellectual property.
In news that will shock almost no one: Sears (a company that has somehow survived for 132 years) has filed for bankruptcy, and is simultaneously trying to tread water.
Sears has already shuttered thousands of Sears and Kmart stores, and its future remains uncertain, to say the least.
Levi Strauss has posted massive gains (10% for Q3), This news must be very exciting to lovers of high-quality jean jackets everywhere.

Should Everyone Just Feel Sorry For Billionaire Bezos?

Amazon raises its minimum wage to $15, and yet some are suspicious of the retail giant's sudden goodwill.
Amazon has faced prior criticism for its treatment of warehouse workers, including insane production quotas, too short break times, and a "big brother environment at work. Some of these stories sound like they are from a different century.
And some of the criticism may be warranted: NBC News is reporting that Amazon is cutting bonuses and stock options to those same warehouse employees. This allows Amazon to enjoy the political benefit, and public adoration, while still being able to undercut employees.
While Amazon has received praise for the minimum wage hike from former critics including Senator Bernie Sanders, it is still being hit with criticism for the cutting of benefits.
Phillip and Brian lament that poor Jeff Bezos cannot seem to catch a break

Shopify LA: Just Another Apple Genius Bar?.

Shopify has set up shop in a brick and mortar space in downtown LA, the location choice being a mystery to most.
According to Philip and Brian, this store is more proof of concept than anything else.
Shopify putting its footprint down in a physical space seems to come at a time where digital and native brands are realizing they need to move beyond digital.
Shopify LA seems to operate similarly to the Apple Genius Bar. Merchants can come to the store for IT support and ask questions about Shopify's offerings.
Shopify seems also to be using this store to reposition themselves: many users would describe Shopify as an e-commerce platform or use terms that include "digital commerce".
Instead, TechCrunch (and perhaps Shopify themselves) describe Shopify as "provider of payment and logistics management software". Does this sound like rebranding to anyone else?

Will Shopify Ever Set Up a "Shopify 4-Star"?

Since Shopify has set their new brick and mortar space to be more "Apple Genius Bar" than anything else, will Shopify ever set up a retail space similar to Amazon 4-Star?
Moving from digital to a physical retail space would allow for Shopify to showcase the best of their merchant's products.
Brian makes the case for Shopify not wanting to have to compete with Amazon.
Philip argues that Shopify's competition wouldn't even be Amazon it would be Etsy.
What would really set Shopify apart if they would enter into a physical retail storefront, would be an element of product discovery mixed up with a really creative in-store experience.
A lot of e-commerce merchants are realizing that reinventing brick and mortar and giving customers a really innovative in-store experience may be the way to really up their commerce game.

Can Adobe Create a Seamless Ecosystem Through Its Acquisitions?

Adobe is working hard to compete with heavy hitters SAP, Oracle and, Salesforce.
One way Adobe is trying to accomplish this feat is through all of its acquisitions.
Adobe is an enterprise applications company because of Omniture and Magento and its experience manager.
Through various strategic acquisitions, Adobe is trying to create a seamlessly integrated ecosystem with all of its working parts and acquisitions working together.
Some of Adobe most recent acquisitions Magento, an e-commerce platform, and Marketo, a marketing automation tool are signaling Adobe's attempt to best be adaptive for marketers.
Adobe most significant mindshare is through their creative cloud.
CEO Shantanu Narayen spoke at Magento EU all about Adobe's transformation from a deployed software model to a cloud-based company that is able to iterate faster and deliver software on a perpetual basis.

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Retail Tech is moving fast and Future Commerce is moving faster.

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Amazon Cake Mix® Oct 16, 2018

Show notes

Main Takeaways:

Amazon takes a third (actually more like fifth) leap into physical retail.
Phillip takes a trip down memory lane, was Service Merchandise the original Amazon?
This episode would make it into Amazon's 4-star store.
Retailers may want to jump on the Amazon copycat train for better in-store curation.

Amazon Opens Yet Another Retail Space: Is Brick and Mortar Back?

Amazon adds another retail store to its collection, Amazon 4-Star will join Amazon Books and Amazon Go.
This is the first of Amazon's stores that replicates Amazon in an in-store experience.
Whole Foods also counts as an Amazon retail experience (Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017).
Amazon 4-Star will exclusively feature products from it's website that have a four-star rating or better. This will allow for more consumer confidence in quality.
Still, with millions of products, Amazon will still have to curate the best products and create an engaging in-store experience.
Amazon 4-Star is the latest slap to the face of the so-called "retail apocalypse", and Amazon proves that innovation really can change the game.
We learn that Phillip is really into the Hamilton musical.

What Can Other Retailers Learn From the Amazon In-store Model?

Retailers should follow the curation metric that Amazon has laid out in Amazon 4-Star and only source products that rank over "four stars."
Amazon has replaced paper tags with digital "real time" electronic shelf labels, which will display not only the price of the product, but also Amazon Prime savings, and the number of reviews a product has received.
This points to an understanding between Amazon and their customer base that new innovation is needed in retail, and that this type of in-store experience is the future of retail.

Online vs. In-Store Shopping: Customer Experience Edition:

The question remains, why would a customer patronize one of Amazon's brick and mortar stores, be it Amazon 4-star, Amazon Go, or Amazon Books when there's convenience in ordering online?
Or if you live in certain parts of the country there's Amazon Prime Now with extra convenient two-hour shipping.
Well, it's all about the experience that the customer is looking for, with Amazon in-store and online offering different modalities.
An online, Amazon prime experience seems to be all about convenience. And really, who would ever want to have to leave their house to shop?
Brian makes the case that this kind of retail experience is all about discovery, and finding the best of Amazon.
Phillip time-travels to the 1980's, to a store called Service Merchandise, a catalog store with an Amazon vibe. I.e,. real-world analog Amazon.

Will Amazon 4-Star be the Best of Amazon or All About Alexa?

Scott Galloway in speaking at L'2s Amazon Clinic says that Amazon will spend billions to kill brands. It's pretty terrifying when the conspiracy theories about companies come to life.
Alexa's in on all of this too, and it's all in the recommendations. Amazon is pushing their private label products through everyone's favorite voice assistant.
So with Amazon expanding further into retail with Amazon 4-Star, will Amazon be honest in their in-store retail offerings?
Phillip proposes the idea of an entire Alexa store.
Brian and Phillip actually have faith in Amazon's ability to promote the best of Amazon's online products, and not use this store as their own personal brand marketing tool.
Only time and sales receipts will tell.
Brian and Phillip are planning a field trip to the first Amazon 4-Star store.

Retail Tech is moving fast and Future Commerce is moving faster.

Have you had an Amazon 4-Star experience? Let us know all your thoughts at futurecommerce.fm

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"California Is Our Only Hope" Oct 09, 2018

Show notes

Main Takeaways:

California bans bots from pretending to be human.
Finally, brands are getting on board will real-size fashion.
Brian and Phillip banter over "chose your own ending" episodes.

California Passes Law to Stop Bots From Behaving Badly:

Bots have earned themselves quite a nasty reputation lately. Sneaker bots specifically have people (especially Phillip) aggravated with how they buy up sneakers, forcing sneakerheads to purchase sneakers after the fact at ridiculous prices.
Retailer KITH got themselves in a not great situation after they tricked sneaker bots into purchasing the wrong sneakers (they were looking for the Nike OFF-WHITE Air Prestos) and customers who spent a lot of money are all kind of angry.
California passes a law that bots must present themselves as such, sending brands a signal that they can't automate everything.
Phillip makes a point that this will add another complication to users.
The good news about this law is that it will prevent more reputable business from using bots poorly.
Possible bot opening line after new law: "This is not a real person...... yet.

Will Walmart's Latest Acquisitions Breathe New Life Into Their Brand?

Walmart has always been seen as this lower quality brand, not being able to compete against other low-cost retailers like Target. Target markets itself as an affordable retailer for people who are both fashion, and wallet-conscious.
However, it looks like Walmart is stepping up its style game.
Walmart has also been picking up a lot of popular brands lately, outdoor retailer Moosejaw, vintage woman's retailer ModCloth, menswear retailer Bonobos, and now plus size brand ELOQUII. Will these popular brands find their way into a Walmart near you?
Brian suggests that perhaps instead Walmart may merge some of these brands into a better "in-store" try on experience.
Also noteworthy: The acquisition of ELOQUII as well as Bonobos expanding into "big and tall sizes" (ModCloth also offers sizes up to 4x) is pointing to a changing market. People come in all shapes and sizes, and retailers are beginning to honor that. Everyone should have access to clothing that looks good, and fits well.
In fact a CoreSight report points to this.

Choose Your Own Adventure Episodes: Flashback to the 80's:

Phillip and Brian get into a heated Twitter debate about interactive content.
Brian is definitely not a fan of "choose your own adventure" books from the 80's.
Phillip contrasts them to video games, where you have to take the road less traveled repeatedly until you win.
Why this is relevant: Netflix announced recently that an upcoming episode of sci-fi series "Black Mirror" (Netflix purchased the rights to Black Mirror in 2015) will contain an interactive element that will allow users to choose their own ending.
According to Bloomberg, "Netflix is planning a slate of specials that will let viewers choose the next storyline in a TV episode or movie". And it totally makes sense that Netflix would be the first streaming service to venture into this kind of content because they have control over both the delivery and production.
Regardless of whether Netflix's foray into this kind of content is successful, this move undoubtedly displays innovation on Netflix's part.
If this is successful, who will be next to capitalize on this market? Possible contenders: Amazon, Disney, HBO.
Apparently, this has all already been done.

This World Does Not Belong To You: You May Not Even Own Your Face.

A viral tweet from iTunes user Anders G da Silva revealed that Apple is removing supposedly permanently purchased content from user libraries.
This may be the beginning of all of us needing to acknowledge that we don't really own anything, and permission for this is probably buried deep into Apple's terms of service agreement that no one ever reads.
Also, is permanence overrated? With companies like Rent the Runway and Turo making headway, maybe so.
According to Philip (who is being super foreboding this entire episode): With the future in digital, one day your HOA may be able to keep you from your garage if you haven't paid your fees.
JetBlue has decided to launch the first ever biometrics terminal in Atlanta. Is anyone concerned with what they do with the images afterward?
The FBI force a suspect's to open his phone with the Face ID feature, thereby allowing the agent to search through messages, and whatever else was on the phone.

Are private companies becoming more "Big Brother" than the U.S Government?

Letting Private Companies Make Our Financial Decisions: Yay or Nay?

Petal, a financial tech company, has introduced a no-credit-needed credit card, where they use your financial history to determine terms.
Cool features alert: this credit card has no fees(annual, overdraft or late fees), no deposit requirement, and a mid-range APR among other things.
According to Nerdwallet, The company uses your income and liabilities taken through access your bank statements and financial history to determine creditworthiness
This definitely opens up a conversation about financial accountability, and whether the private sector is a good place to help consumers make better choices about how they spend their money.
Brian breaks Phillip's brain: Imagine a world where people don't have to make any decisions about their daily lives. Where everything can be taken care of through a subscription service. Clothing will be refreshed every season, and on budget, interesting meals will be both healthy and affordable, and no one will ever have to worry about anything. (Does this sound like a dystopian novel to anyone else)?
Also sounds like something Amazon would love to deliver to customers.

Go over to futurecommerce.fm and give us your feedback! We love to hear from our listeners!

Retail tech is moving fast, and Future Commerce is moving faster.

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"Right on Target" Oct 01, 2018

Show notes

Main Takeaways:

Salesforce CEO Benioff goes on a multi-million dollar shopping spree.
Amazon is setting up a new headquarters; Will it be in DC?
Why doesn't anyone want to work for Target?
Apple is creating lifestyle products that you can't (or won't) live without.

Highlights from Shop.org 2018:

The innovation lab outpaced last year's conference by far.
Body related technology was a major focus. Amazon's acquisition of Body Labs earlier this year seems to have paved the way for a lot of new technology.
There was a lot of interesting shelf-technology. Specifically, some cashierless stores using tech to update in-store displays on the fly.
Tusk Ventures put together all the businesses for the conference. Brian congratulates them on a job well done.

2018 is a True "Content is King" Market:

Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce is putting money into content-conscious companies, personally investing in StockX,
Benioff also recently purchased Time Magazine for $190MM
StockX is utilizing content well: they have a Youtube channel and compelling written material on their site.
Shoes are all the rage right now thanks to content creator extraordinaire/artist Kanye West (Adidas) broad release of Yeezys
Media is creating hype through content properties like Highsnobiety and Hypebeast.
Companies seem unafraid of wading into formerly taboo politically charged spaces. Two examples of this: Patagonia's "The President Stole Your Land" and Nike's Colin Kaepernick "Just Do It" ad.
The risk these companies are taking seems to be paying off: Nike's stock has actually reached an all-time high, despite calls for a boycott.
Also, Phillip channels Donald Trump from The Apprentice, and it's pretty terrifying.

Head to Toe Tech Enabled Clothing: The Future of Fashion and Health?

Apple is totally invested in the entire body, and is creating products that can report total body data.
Phillip says it's time to take a drink to the future.
The new Apple Watch, Series 4 includes an FDA approved EKG feature that will allow for the first over the counter electrocardiogram that can be saved in the health app for a doctor to view later.
The new Apple Watch's fall detection feature can potentially save lives, when turned on it can check in after it detects a fall, and even call emergency services.
Another brand doing some crazy things with body data: ZoZo a company based in Japan, is using body data from a "polka dot suit" and selfies to give Stitch Fix measurements to customers so they can have near perfect fit clothing.
Phillip and Brian predict that full-on technology enabled clothing could be a reality in five years.

Partnerships Between Tech Companies and Fashion:

"Textile Tech" is now a thing, with companies working to make their customers lives easier.
With the Nike Epic React sneaker release, the company changed the construction of the sole to be optimal for all sizes.
Tech is being woven into everyday life, and it's changing the way consumers view both fashion and technology.
Brian says that this head to toe tech phenomenon is allowing for users to build their own mini Iron Man suits.

Apple: Is the Company Prepared for the Future?

Apple, the world's first trillion dollar company, is uniquely skilled at creating products absolutely essential to everyday life.
Apple needs to partner with the right brands.
Phillip can't live without Alexa and really wishes Siri would step it up as a virtual assistant.
Brian contemplates switching from Android to IPhone.
Apple did just announce an A12 bionic chip that could decrease energy usage by 50%. This is a total technological breakthrough.
While Apple may be able to create data centers in the palm of consumers hands within 3-5 years, there is still a question of what their competitors, namely Walmart, Amazon, and Google will come up within that time period. It really could be anyone's game.

Amazon's Second HQ: Is Politicking Ahead?

Business Insider speculates that Amazon will set up its second headquarters in Washington D.C.
Clinical Professor of Marketing at NYU, Scott Galloway has a lot to say about Amazon on "Recode Decode."
Phillip and Brian agree that all business get political eventually to protect their interests.
Up until now, the President and Amazon haven't quite been on the same page about, well pretty much anything. In fact, President Trump has taken some real swipes at the retail giant. Could this change in 2020? If the President was granted a second term, perhaps.
Amazon's probably been stealthily lobbying for years on regulations, will it's rumored location change bring their advocacy into the light?

Why Can't Retail Companies Hire For The Holidays?

Target had its best quarter ever, and yet like other retail companies is having trouble staffing up.
A lot of retailers are having severe problems staffing up for the holiday season, possibly due to record-low unemployment.
Retailers need 757,000 holiday employees this year, which is up 100,000 from the previous year, and they just cannot round out the numbers.
Possibly due to this gap in the market, retailers have had to lower standards, which Brian's wife learned when she tried to shop at Macy's and found the staff there lacking in professional courtesy(to put it mildly).
Since retailers are being forced to compete for workers, they are now beginning to offer unheard of incentives. Macy's is going to be offering "path to growth incentives", Kohl's will have discount days for associates, and JCPenney, whom none of us knew still existed, will be providing eligible part-time workers 401Ks, paid training and paid time off. This is a considerable departure from the way retail has operated for a long time.
Also, the retail apocalypse? Still not a thing.
This shortage will actually lead to more jobs in the retail tech economy, as retail continues to both innovate and automate.

Retail Tech is moving fast, and Future Commerce is moving faster.

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"New Ways of Engaging Old Models" (w/ Stefanie Botelho, CEO Fitzroy Toys) Sep 26, 2018

Show notes

Main Takeaways:

Fitzroy Toys manages to operate as B2B company with a B2C feel.
The retail apocalypse is really just the end of boring retail.
Big brands are having to get scrappy to keep up with start-ups.

From 4th Grade to Fitzroy:

CEO Stefanie Botelho's entrepreneurship journey actually began in toys: she started her first business venture in the 4th grade where she sold finger puppets to her classmates.
The first ever version of Fitzroy Toys was created as a project in a coding class when Stefanie was in Harvard Buisness School.
Fitzroy Toys (now rebranded as Fitzroy) actually began as a toy recommendation engine (a direct to consumer search engine) where consumers who were one step removed from a child could purchase toys based on recommendations.
Fitzroy has a clear mission: to support different by connecting independent retailers to independent brands.
Fitzroy is unique in that it operates as a B2B company and in a wholesale space. Unlike most wholesale companies, the UX and UI of the company experience allow consumers to feel like they are shopping on a B2C, retail-based space.
Fitzroy is a tech company first, wholesale company second.

How To Scale and Succeed in Business:

Keeping customers as a north star is critical, and in Stefanie's (and Fitzroy's) case, by going to the brands after graduation she learned that there was a demand for wholesale in the toy space.
Learn from others who have been in the space longer and have deference for their experience.
Allow for organic growth: Fitzroy Toys rebranded to Fitzroy as the company moved beyond toys into other home/family-based verticals.
Test before you fully implement any strategy: Before fully rebranding, Fitzroy held a soft-rebrand of the company and allowed for user feedback to guide the direction.

Turning Wholesale Purchasing Into an Experience:

By looking at all of the best B2C companies, and what they do right in regards to UX and UI, Fitzroy is able to create a B2C feel while remaining a B2B company.
Super cool feature alert: Fitzroy has a universal cart so retailers can see what they are purchasing from multiple brands.
The entirety of Fitzroy's site is custom built, and all features are in line with creating a seamless uncomplicated experience for users.
All brands on the site are vetted, and everything on the website is behind the login wall, with some items not available anywhere else.
Retailers are able to sub-search for specific categories that may be important to their values/branding. They can search for things like organic, eco-friendly or even woman-owned business. This can allow those users to curate products that will be in line with what their customers values as well as their brand's.
Also, because Fitzroy deals with both brands and retailers, they are able to provide their users with useful data regarding what their customers may want in terms of specialty purchasing. A lot of these retailers have customers who really care about the transparency behind what they are purchasing.

The Real Retail Apocalypse: The End of Boring Retail:

Retail is changing, and companies will have to begin operating on a more user-focused experience.
One way Fitzroy is participating in this by working with brands and retailers to stock and purchase ADA-compliant products that are usable for children with learning or physical disabilities.
Big brands are having to keep up with start-ups who are always innovating. Macy's (a quintessential "big brand") has acquired two companies Story and Bulletin both of whom are focused on creating unique in-store experiences for customers.
Handy, a home services company similar to Uber in its model of on-demand service, is expanding their customer base.
Startups like Glossier and Allbirds are dominating the market by focusing on things that consumers really value: comfort, individuality, naturally sourced materials and style.

Stefanie Botelho's Recommendations for Merchants:

Double-down on strengths: If you have a physical location, utilize the opportunity for in-store experience, and lean in to whatever your business is already really good at.
Play your own game: "Think about that last mile problem and partner with additional tech to offer convenience to users."
Think about what "experience" means to you: beyond pop-up shops or trunk shows. And cultivate that experience for your customers.
Don't be afraid to have your own unique voice: Interpret your entire brand strategy and focus through that lens.

Guest

Stefaine Botelho - Fitzroy Toys

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Everything's About The Innovation Lab: NRF Edition Part 2:

2019 is Going to be All About Clienteling: The Year of The Customer:

Will Walmart Become a Grown-Up Version of Itself?

Customer Service is Everything: Can Onfleet Deliver For Retailers?

Are Custom-Fit Clothes The Retail of Past and Future?

Survival of The Fittest: Only Non-Boring Retailers Will Survive:

Main Takeaways:

Walmart Is Making Moves: Can They Beat Out Amazon?

Commerce 2040: Looking Ahead to Retail's Future:

Practical AR Was Big at NRF: Next Step is Running in Virtual Shoes?

Show vs. Tell: User Generated Content is King in 2019:

Shareable Moments For The Win (Can You Even Instagram?) :

Amazon is Trying to Stay Relevant: RIP Sears:

Europeans May Understand Experiential Retail Better: Can U.S Consumers Adapt?

Collaboration is Cool: Ingredient Brands Built Finally Gain Customer Awareness:

Phillip and Brian Preview Prediction Episode 2019:

Guest

Show notes

Main Takeaways:

The Retail Renaissance: The Re-Emergence of Brick-and-Mortar:

Internet vs. In-Store: Collaboration Not Competition:

The Most Interesting Store In the World: A New Kind of Mall:

Community Driven Commerce: Making Shared Values Cool Again:

Can Suburban & Rural Commerce Keep up With Changes in Retail?

Main Takeaways:

How to Win Customers and Influence People to Purchase Mobily:

Proper Data Usage Can Prevent Resource-Allocation Death Spirals:

Mobile vs. Desktop: Battle of The Buying Power:

Guests:

Main Takeaways:

Wayfair: E-commerce Ahead of Its Time:

How Did Wayfair Manage to Escape House Brand Criticism?

Wayfair Really is The Jimmy Choo of Home-Furnishing-Commerce:

: Seek and You Shall Find Talent: How Wayfair Filled a Gap in The Market:

Is Wayfair Really Trying to Compete With Walmart and Co?

Wayfair's Brick and Mortar Experiment: Popping up This Holiday Season:

Main Takeaways:

Traditional Retail is Making Moves in Pretty Much Every Direction:

Should Everyone Just Feel Sorry For Billionaire Bezos?

Shopify LA: Just Another Apple Genius Bar?.

Will Shopify Ever Set Up a "Shopify 4-Star"?

Can Adobe Create a Seamless Ecosystem Through Its Acquisitions?

Main Takeaways:

Amazon Opens Yet Another Retail Space: Is Brick and Mortar Back?

What Can Other Retailers Learn From the Amazon In-store Model?

Online vs. In-Store Shopping: Customer Experience Edition:

Will Amazon 4-Star be the Best of Amazon or All About Alexa?

Main Takeaways:

California Passes Law to Stop Bots From Behaving Badly:

Will Walmart's Latest Acquisitions Breathe New Life Into Their Brand?

Choose Your Own Adventure Episodes: Flashback to the 80's:

This World Does Not Belong To You: You May Not Even Own Your Face.

Letting Private Companies Make Our Financial Decisions: Yay or Nay?

Main Takeaways:

Highlights from Shop.org 2018:

2018 is a True "Content is King" Market:

Head to Toe Tech Enabled Clothing: The Future of Fashion and Health?

Partnerships Between Tech Companies and Fashion:

Apple: Is the Company Prepared for the Future?

Amazon's Second HQ: Is Politicking Ahead?

Why Can't Retail Companies Hire For The Holidays?

Main Takeaways:

From 4th Grade to Fitzroy:

How To Scale and Succeed in Business:

Turning Wholesale Purchasing Into an Experience:

The Real Retail Apocalypse: The End of Boring Retail:

Stefanie Botelho's Recommendations for Merchants:

Guest

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