Retail by MarketScale

There’s no question: When broadscale breaches like Facebook and Equifax happen, consumers become wary of all the personal data that’s available and ultimately vulnerable to the attacks of hackers. But that leaves digital marketers in a precarious position to find a happy medium between personalized marketing techniques and obvious use of personally-identifying information that’s unique to consumers.

On today’s episode of the Retail Podcast, CEO of New York-based Perch Interactive Trevor Sumner returns to the show to share his insight into the benefits and challenges of personalized digital marketing.

“It’s the value-creepy line,” Sumner said. “If you provide more value than it is creepy, then you’re doing okay.”

For more than four decades, JGA has been leveraging the talents of storytellers and craft-persons to create branded environments in Retail. How can retailers design not just their marketing campaigns, but their physical spaces, to tell the story of their product?

To better understand how this convergence comes together, we sat down with JGA Chairman, Ken Nisch to talk about how this industry has ebbed and flowed over time, becoming more experience-focused for the customer. For Nisch, an important aspect in keeping spaces authentic is not forcing technology, like AR experiences or digital signage, into the space just because it's new and flashy. "I call it digital litter because its become so easy and so inexpensive, particularly on the hardware side," Nisch said. "Content is really the most important, central factor and the hardest, most expensive to produce, but because the hardware has gotten so cheap, I think a lot of people in leadership positions are afraid to miss the boat because they feel like they'll be criticized if their environment isn't full of screens..."

Ken also opens up about how a snowstorm led to him serendipitously joining this industry, what emerging trends he finds most fascinating, and he goes into great detail about one of his most recent projects: the James Allen showroom in Georgetown, DC.

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It’s no secret that ride sharing app Uber needed an image makeover. The company itself conducted internal research and found that consumers didn't correlate the classic Uber "U" symbol with the ride-sharing app, forcing Uber drivers to flip around their decals so the word "Uber" was visible to users. Their new logo is simple; a black background and the word "Uber," with the U slightly over-sized and emphasized. But what does this re-brand mean for the larger gig economy and Uber’s future markets?

We dive in on this episode of the Retail Podcast; we spoke with Ryan MacInnis, director of marketing of Boston-based Notarize, for his take on the global brand's re-brand. "Rebranding as a topic can be a bit scary because people look at the impact of rebranding as potentially company shattering," MacInnis said. "But if you do it really well it has the power to fundamentally shift the trajectory of your company in a good way."

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Have you noticed more and more pop-up shops in your neighborhood? Have you wondered how they work or what kind of value they might provide a brand, especially with the ubiquity of e-commerce winning on convenience? We knew it was time to look beyond the shop and dig into the inner-workings; we sat down with Melissa Gonzalez, CEO of The Lionesque Group to break down the science behind seasonal retail offerings.

"There are so many opportunities to learn now with technology integration, so everything from door counters to heat mapping and digital touch screens that monitor, just like online, what you are clicking, but then also sales people and brand ambassadors are an opportunity for qualitative data collection and understanding," Gonzalez said. She also speaks on why pop-up shops are now more viable than ever, how they can provide crucial quantifiable data, and she shares the story of her most recent client who opened up a shop in the middle of New York City. "It’s a really great opportunity to then make those learnings and make smarter merchandising and marketing decisions going forward," Gonzalez said.

For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Retail Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

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The convergence of online and physical retail has shaken up the industry’s landscape, but no where has this been more apparent than in the evolution of the customer. As brands learn to thrive in a digital medium, customers take up a more active role as brand ambassadors; how will brands capitalize on more connected consumers? To help us make sense of this shake up, we spoke to 30-year industry veteran Tony D’Onofrio from TD insights. "The key to retail has always been the brand. It starts with the brand," D'Onofrio said.

He talked about how his “early retirement” lead him to TD insights, how the digital wave is permanently transforming the industry, and how consumer patterns have shifted overtime. Tony also goes into detail about how a focus on user experience and brand awareness can help keep a brand alive and competitive. "What does the retailer stand for and is that brand delivering the value [in a way] that the consumer really becomes what I call a brand ambassador? Where they actually buy the product and then tell other people about how great the product is. As you can see already, retailers that focus on building strong brands and increasingly take that brand and digitally enhance it, and making it more visible across multiple sales channels; those are the retailers that are doing well."

Confidence in one's self is a difficult thing to attain, but it's actually much easier to strengthen. Like your body, you simply need to work it out in increasing increments. On today's podcast, our host spoke with CEO & Head Coach of CONVEX Leadership, Jackie Werblo. For their third conversation, they discussed the simple ways to stretch and strengthen personal confidence. They also confirmed that a "helicopter parent" is not the same as a "mentor". "Increasing one's own self-efficacy is really hard work," Werblo said. "Losing belief in yourself doesn't come in one day; And really, you cannot regain confidence in yourself in a single coaching conversation or a single day, or a single interaction with someone giving you feedback. It's a process."

There’s no denying that with the staying power of an e-commerce presence bringing a plethora of accessible analytics on consumer and global trends, retail businesses must adapt and tap into this data to survive and thrive. We chatted with Brian Walker, founder and CEO of Retail Doctor, to unpack this idea of insight, and how businesses can harness the power to their advantage.

We touch on three different insight groups; consumer, global, and competitor, and discuss why each is important, and how they can be converted into usable data to help retailers thrive. We also discuss ways small retailers can stand out in this market, and how important a digital presence really is.

According to an article on ABCOMRENTS' blog, 80% of brands experienced a significant increase of up to 33% in additional sales after introducing digital signage solutions to a store. Pro AV's impact on the retail world is undeniable. We thought it'd a perfect time to sit down with Shannon McNealy, Marketing Manager at ABCOMRENTS, to talk about how this tech is changing the retail landscape. She also spoke on the nuances that come with trying to market in niche environments, some of the most dynamic use cases for digital signage, and finally what the adoption of these strategies might look like in the future.

When trying to predict the future, it can be helpful to acknowledge the past. It can also be a good idea to not try to predict the future. Carol Spieckerman, CEO of Spieckerman Retail, spends a lot of intellectual energy helping her clients focus on what they are doing (and how they are doing it) in order to determine what they should do next. "These days, as fast as Retail's moving, once something becomes a trend, it's often too late. If you're just trend-watching, you're kind of chasing after what everybody else is chasing, even if it doesn't make sense for your business," Spieckerman said. On today's podcast, our host had a conversation with Spieckerman on the 3 "Rs" of retail, the perils of focusing too much on trends, the true danger of negativity in the industry, and how retailers are no longer just places that sell "stuff."

It seems like data and analytics-based decisions usually flow top down, but when it comes to retail location scouting, smart retailers are listening to a new voice to make informed decisions: municipalities. "Decades ago, the mantra was location, location, location. You still hear that, but the real answer is customer customer customer," said Eric Brown, Director of Account Management for Buxton, a Fort Worth-based market research firm. On today’s episode of the Retail Podcast, we spoke about new ways consumer data is being disseminated at the ground level, where cities are getting smart about using their residents' consumer data to help drive economic growth.