Retail OCD

Retailers spend billions trying to prevent theft. But what if theft is only a fraction of the loss they’re actually experiencing? In this episode, Russ Hawkins, CEO of Agilence, explains why retailers need to rethink “shrink” as total retail loss, a much broader problem that can include employee behavior, bad processes, stockouts, over-ordering, discount abuse, returns, loyalty programs, and the disconnect between physical and digital commerce. Hawkins shares how Agilence uses data and AI to identify patterns that are nearly impossible for humans to see across thousands of transactions, while also addressing the growing tension between loss prevention, customer experience, privacy, and emerging technologies. With retailers increasingly trying to connect POS, e-commerce, HR, loyalty, and other data sources, this conversation offers a provocative look at where the next generation of retail losses sit, and how to to recover them.

This episode goes inside the off-price business with two powerhouse leaders who've led this space for over two decades. Seth Marks, one of the industry's top off-price merchants, brings 32 years of off-price, closeout, liquidation and turnaround experience, while Bruce Millard brings the marketing and customer-growth perspective, including their time working together at Big Lots. Together, they unpack why the treasure hunt still works, why price and culture are so fundamental, what happens when an off-price retailer loses its way, why affluent shoppers are increasingly embracing discount, and why the real challenge is finding enough great merchandise to keep the right kind of hunt alive. It’s a candid conversation about what separates a compelling off-price proposition from a retailer that simply sells cheap merch.

One Retailer, two cities. Barney and DeAnn explore Marshalls with their honest field report, live from New York and Atlanta.

Every price increase disrupts someone else's plan: the retailer's budget, the consumer's trust, the manufacturer's margin. Jason Christensen, a 25-year sales and revenue leader who's built pricing systems for brands like Braun and Milwaukee, and a top seller to Ace Hardware, breaks down what actually separates a pricing "system" from a pricing "reaction." He walks through the diagnose-design-deliver playbook manufacturers use before ever bringing a number to a buyer, why shrinkflation is really a component problem in disguise, how the Robinson-Patman Act still shapes B2B pricing nearly a century later, and why AI is a great research assistant but too dangerous to set prices unsupervised. If you sit anywhere near a pricing decision, this is the conversation that shows you the mechanics behind the number on the shelf, and what to know for sure to come out with the best results.

Companies have more data and technology than ever, so why do they get marketing so wrong so often? In this episode of Retail OCD, one of the top fractional CMO's in the country, Bruce Millard (Empire Today, Big Lots, Safelite) and top e-commerce recruiter Harry Joiner break down what actually separates winning marketers and leaders from the rest. Topics include: the hidden job opening most CEOs miss when hiring a CMO, why your FAQ page is lying to your customers, the 80/20 math behind customer loyalty, and Warren Buffett's litmus test for spotting A-players. Bruce also previews his new book, Cutting Through the Bullshit: A Marketing Leader's Guide to Surviving and Thriving in Chaos.

Expanding into new markets has never been more tempting—or more dangerous. In this episode of Retail OCD, international growth experts Renee Hartman and Marcus Wang reveal why most brands don't fail because of tariffs or competition—they fail because they underestimate culture, overestimate their own brand, and assume what worked at home will work everywhere. From Under Armour's explosive growth in China to the surprising reasons brands stumble abroad, this conversation is packed with practical lessons for any retailer considering global expansion—or wondering why the U.S. remains the world's most coveted retail market.

Self-checkout was meant to make shopping faster and easier. Instead, it became one of retail's most controversial technologies. Rising shrink, frustrated shoppers and new regulations have forced retailers to rethink everything they planned. But beneath the headlines, a transformation is underway. AI, computer vision, RFID, biometrics, and newer technologies are hinting at what checkout will look like over the next decade, and the future may have surprisingly little to do with the checkout machine itself. Our guest, John Goodwin, Product Manager with Fujitsu, one of the early patent holders for RFID self-checkout, joins us to share first hand the full arc of why self checkout has struggled, and where it's heading. Not where I expected!

Sports has become retail's greatest masterclass in building loyalty, urgency, and emotional connection. In this episode of Retail OCD, we explore what retailers can learn from the business of sports. From fan culture and storytelling to premium merchandising, athlete brands, creator leagues, and the rise of sports, this is one of retail's fastest-growing sectors. If retailers want customers who buy with passion instead of convenience, this conversation offers a blueprint worth studying. And Go Knicks !! (and Arsenal... and Leafs!)

Luxury is no longer defined by exclusivity alone. Today, consumers are redefining what luxury means as AI transforms product discovery, high-quality dupes challenge traditional status symbols, and experiences increasingly outweigh possessions. In this episode, we explore how the luxury retail industry is adapting, which brands are successfully creating lasting value beyond price and prestige, and what it will take for luxury to remain truly desirable in the years ahead.

With Special Guests: Marie Driscoll, President of the Retail Marketing Society and 2026 Voice of NRF, and Anna Karin Loureiro, Founder of Ore & Matter, Ex CMO of Alexander Wang and past VP Global Strategy Calvin Klein

AI-generated product photos. Chatbots posing as humans. Reviews no person actually wrote. Retailers are leaning harder into AI in every quarter, but regulators and consumers are starting to ask the same blunt question: when does a company have to say "this is AI"? Or do we have unreasonably higher standards for AI? In this episode, we talk with two AI security and transparency experts about what disclosure actually means, and why the retailers who get ahead of this fight now will have a real edge over the ones caught flat-footed later.

Special Guests: David Berkowitz of Intuit Mailchimp, and Henry Kaiser PhD, of Centricity.