Brick & Data

Generation Z seems to really love stores and we explore a bit why (especially compared to Millenials). High-end department stores are making some last ditch efforts to recover the steadily dropping number of in-store shoppers. TJX is continuing their success in the off-price world, launching a new set of 'home market' stores.

Dr. William D’Arienzo is the founder and CEO of WDA Brand Marketing. We get a few minutes with him to talk luxury and fashion brands, retail problems in 2017, consumer expectations, and his new book "Brand Management Strategies - Luxury and Mass Markets".

We were at NRF 2017 and have some thoughts. Good thoughts and bad thoughts. And our feet hurt. Holiday spending is up and higher than predicted. E-commerce seemed to do better than in-store. We explore why. It's only a few weeks into 2017 and major brand retailers are closing stores. The sky isn't falling and there's a silver lining to all of this.

Mid November to mid December was huge for retail - we talk about why and what that means going into next year. Amazon once again dominates the year, but it's not about online. It's the end of 2016! We cover the top retail tech trends of the year.

We recap Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) numbers and it was a close race. Maybe we weren't exactly right that Black Friday doesn't matter. GAP CEO talked in WSJ about the design driven early years and how the company is embracing analytics now. Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz relinquishes his title.

Black Friday really doesn't matter anymore and we explain our reason why. Millennials have shown they will pay extra for faster shipping and immediate gratification. Alibaba sets a doozy of a record on Singles Day. Yes, we just used the word "doozy".

This episode is an interview with Bridget Johns, Head of Marketing and Customer Experience at RetailNext. We spoke with Bridget about how IoT is being used in Smart Stores, some of the changes we have seen over the years across all types of retailers, and how in-store performance is being impacted by the adoption of IoT technologies. Don't forget to subscribe on iTunes, Google Play Music, or Stitcher! If you enjoy this podcast, please leave us a review on iTunes. Helps a ton!

Instagram is working with a handful of retailers to bring back a version of the "buy button". Staples is releasing a smarter version of the Easy Button with IBM Watson technology. Brands are jumping on the opportunity to build chatbots and various types of digital assistants on Facebook messenger and other apps.

Adidas and Under Armour play leapfrog in an effort to hold onto the #2 position behind Nike. Adidas has awoken from its slumber. Amazon's next conquest seems to be clothing (fashion) and grocery. Which will they succeed with? We have our thoughts. Let's play psychologist and dive into the mind of a consumer. What is it about stores that makes them want to buy?

Everyone has an opinion about upcoming holiday retail sales - will they go up or down? Does the Election impact anything? Department stores are having a rough time this year. We talk about why this might be happening. VR has seen all the hype lately in gaming, but is it the same in retail? It seems that AR (augmented reality) is the winner. José also talks about some of the takeaways from his time this week at the "NYU Expanding Horizons" retail conference.