Retail Gets Real

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#197 How retailers are utilizing cloud technology to accelerate innovation and cut costs Dec 01, 2020

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Tom Litchford, Head of Worldwide Retail at Amazon Web Services, joins us to talk about why the cloud is a strategic investment that helps retailers innovate, recover revenue, and cut costs while protecting themselves from future unexpected events and disruptions.

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#196 How 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. is helping consumers connect & celebrate this holiday season Nov 24, 2020

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As the holiday season arrives, how will this year's unique circumstances impact business? To help us answer that question, we sat down with Steven Lightman, Group President, Gourmet Foods & Gift Baskets at 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, INC. He shares his insight on how consumer behaviors are shifting this year and how the retailer is expanding its digital and mobile footprint to ensure consumers have the goods they need in time for the holidays.

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#195 How Veggie Grill Became a Vegan Empire Nov 17, 2020

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We are months into the COVID-19 pandemic at this point, and people everywhere are forming new habits—some healthy, some not so much. Consumers continue to look for ways to improve their diet, seeking out alternatives to meat and dairy as a way to complement a healthy and balanced lifestyle. T.K. Pillan is a health and wellness enthusiast on a mission to encourage plant-based eating whenever possible. He founded Veggie Grill, a vegan restaurant chain that makes plant-based eating delicious and accessible while contributing to a healthier and kinder future for the planet. T.K. joins Retail Gets Real to discuss consumer demand for sustainable plant-based dining options and how he's building a healthy food empire.

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#194 Kroger’s Commitment to End Food Insecurity by 2025 Nov 10, 2020

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While 40% of the food produced in the United States is thrown away, one in eight Americans struggle with hunger. Kroger is hoping to close this gap with the Zero Hunger Zero Waste initiative, leveraging community engagement, customer education, and other operations. This initiative marks a commitment from Kroger to end hunger in our communities and eliminate waste across the company by 2025. Keith Dailey, Group Vice President of Corporate Affairs at The Kroger Co., joins us to discuss how Kroger is supporting individuals and families experiencing food insecurity and how it's restructuring the narrative around food waste.

Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

#193 Handling crisis effectively with the Crisis Prevention Institute Nov 03, 2020

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With conflicts around health and safety likely to escalate as we head into the holiday season, the NRF Foundation recently released training credentials in retail operations and customer conflict prevention to arm frontline employees with the skills they need to better manage health and safety, for both themselves and customers, and resolve customer conflicts. The Customer Conflict Prevention Training in partnership with the Crisis Prevention Institute will train customer-facing retail employees on how to identify signs of conflict, minimize risk, and effectively de-escalate if needed. Susan Driscoll is the president of the Crisis Prevention Institute, where she oversees design, instruction, and training, among many other operations at CPI. Today, she joins us on the Retail Gets Real podcast to discuss how the foundation's new training credentials will give retail workers the tools to promote safety and the confidence to operate efficiently during the pandemic.

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#192 How the global pandemic and economic downturn are changing retailer's approaches to M&A Oct 27, 2020

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The pandemic's effects on the economy have led retailers to reassess and reexamine opportunities for partnerships so that they will be better equipped to thrive through the uncertainties ahead in the market. Though some might be vulnerable, merging with sectors that have flourished in the past few months could lead to new opportunities that fortify customer relationships and expand cash flow. John Potter, a partner in the US Deals Sector at PwC, discusses mergers and acquisitions, how the effects of the pandemic have shifted business strategies, and opportunities for investments in retail.

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#191 The Top 100 & Hot 100 Retailers list with Kantar’s Rachel Dalton Oct 20, 2020

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The National Retail Federation's Top 100 Retailers list has been ranking the nation's biggest retail players by sales since 2010. Retailers like Walmart, Kroger, and Amazon have dominated the Top 100 list year over year, and they saw accelerated growth during the pandemic. In 2006, NRF began releasing the Hot 100 Retailers list, which ranks the nation's fastest-growing retail companies. Among those topping this year's list are supermarket Lidl and discount merchant Five Below. Today, we're going to take a deep dive and explore the retailers who made this year's list and what their investments can tell us about the future of retail with Rachel Dalton, the Director of e-Commerce and Omnichannel Insights at Kantar, the research firm that compiles NRF's top retailer lists.

Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

#190 Halloween 2020: Celebrating Safely and Responsibly Oct 13, 2020

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Coronavirus might have halted many aspects of our lives this year, but consumers are still looking forward to celebrating Halloween... although things will look a little different this year. Research from NRF shows more than 148 million US adults plan to participate in Halloween-related activities like trick or treating and wearing costumes. To learn more about how people are planning to celebrate responsibly, we sat down with Kevin Johnson, Chairman of the Halloween & Costume Association, and Christopher Gindlesperger, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications at the National Confectioners Association.

Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

#189 How Shopify is innovating in ecommerce and brick-and-mortar Oct 06, 2020

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Shopify is a global e-commerce platform that serves over a million merchants in over 175 countries by streamlining the process of running a store online. In the wake of this year's rise in online shopping, many merchants, particularly small businesses, turned to the platform to reach their customers and earn a profit. Today, Ian Black, Head of Retail at Shopify is here to share how the platform is helping retailers of all sizes meet their needs and weather the pandemic.

Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

#188 Emerging trends from the pandemic Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

COVID-19 has accelerated retail and shaped behavior for all consumers, from gen-Z to baby boomers. In just a few short months, we've seen soaring demand for essential products like toilet paper and we've stocked up on merchandise like toys and cooking supplies that brought us comfort and entertainment while in quarantine. We opted for contactless payments, increased shopping via mobile apps, and celebrated holidays like Easter and Mother's Day from a social distance.

We also saw retailers expand digital offerings to help us get the items we need right now through methods like curbside pickup and buy online, pick up in store. As retailers continue to create omnichannel experiences that transform the way we buy, how are consumers changing? And what trends are here to stay? Susan Reda, Vice President of Content Strategy, and Jill Dvorák, VP of Content and Retail Strategy at NRF, join us to examine the retailer and consumer journey since the onset of the coronavirus and what these noteworthy trends could mean for the future of retail.

Learn more at retailgetsreal.com.

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