Retail Remix

Yasmeen Tadia has planned corporate events for big brands from Facebook to Forbes and Laura Mercier. When the pandemic hit, she took her love of creating luxurious, memorable events and created Make Your Life Sweeter, a brand of high-end treats like cotton candy, popcorn and chocolate truffles.  
 
As her brand grew, she decided to officially venture into brick-and-mortar with a pop-up in the Galleria Dallas. The end result was an immersive café-candy store experience filled with Instagrammable moments. During this episode of Retail Remix, Yasmeen will share what she learned planning events for top brands and how these lessons influenced her moves as the founder of Make Your Life Sweeter. You’ll learn:  

• The essence of a stellar Instagrammable moment; 
• The future of in-store events and experiential retail; and 
• The role of partnerships and philanthropy in building a business.  

RELATED LINKS 

• Learn more about Make Your Life Sweeter 
• Shop corporate gifting 
• See delectable sweets on Instagram 

This episode is sponsored by Treasure Data.

As the founder of sport lifestyle brand Ball and Buck, Mark Bollman has learned a lot about growing and scaling a brand. He also learned quite a bit about what it takes to craft a differentiated in-store experience.  

After seeing the power of creating community hubs for passionate, likeminded individuals to gather, Mark started American Field (AF), a business that helps build brand partnerships and bring them to life through local discovery marketplaces. During this episode of Retail Remix, Mark shares his journey from brand founder to community builder, and how COVID has shaped his work. You’ll also learn:  

• The new keys for a community-driven customer experience; 
• How to find and nurture relevant brand partnerships; and 
• Ways to evolve in-person experiences for digital channels. 

RELATED LINKS 

• Learn more about AF 
• Check out AF Spaces, the latest initiative from AF 

A word from our sponsor, Treasure Data:

Do you have the right data and insights to keep your prospects and customers engaged? Talk to a customer data expert at treasuredata.com/retail. 

This episode is sponsored by Brother.

Ron Thurston started his career in retail at the Gap as a store associate. Over the years, he’s been able to work his way up the ranks and has served in executive roles at brands like Apple, Tory Burch and Saint Laurent. His experiences and conversations with peers inspired him to write Retail Pride: The Guide to Celebrating Your Accidental Career.  
 

During this episode of Retail Remix, Ron shares how his “accidental” path in the industry is quite common, as well as how retail employees, managers and multi-store leaders alike are looking for ways to accelerate their careers and build better relationships. You’ll learn how:  

• “Retail pride” can influence engagement, passion and loyalty at all levels of the retail organization;  
• Leadership can better identify high-value and high-potential employees for further learning and development; and  
•  Retail communities should evolve to navigate the uncertainties of COVID-19.  

RELATED LINKS 

• Learn more about Retail Pride: The Guide to Celebrating Your Accidental Career.  
• Connect with Ron Thurston on LinkedIn 

A word from our sponsor, Brother:
See breakthrough retail labeling & printing solutions from Brother or request a free demo printer, today.  

2020 was a tumultuous year for us all, both personally and professionally. Retail in particular saw its ups and downs, starting with positive holiday results and ending with uncertainty stemming from COVID-19. To reflect on all we went through, and all the opportunities for innovation and growth that are to come, we're digging into the Retail Remix vault and spotlighting some of our stand-out conversations from the past year. A special thanks to all our guests, including those spotlighted in this episode:

• Melissa Gonzalez, The Lionesque Group
• Jason Woosley, Adobe
• Christine Bell Currence, Badgley Mischka
• Steve Dennis, author, Remarkable Retail
• Barbara Kahn, The Wharton School
• Marc Gorlin, Roadie
• Gaylene Meyer, Impinj
• Joe Jackman, Jackman Reinvents
• David Sykes, Klarna
• Peter Sheldon, Adobe
• Elizabeth Elliott, Columbus Consulting
• Frans Johansson, The Medici Group

Nikki Baird has spent her career helping retailers bring their big ideas to life. Whether she's part of an executive team, trusted analyst firm or VP of Innovation at Aptos, she has established herself as a leading voice in all things omnichannel retail. During this episode of Retail Remix, she shares her honest take on what's happening in retail right now and where she thinks the industry is headed. She answers key questions including:

• Which product categories will be in demand?
• Which shopping behaviors will continue through the end of the holiday season?
• Which tech trends and services will remain relevant?
• How can retailers best determine where to place their bets in 2021?
• How can executives balance being agile and taking big risks, and being smart with their time and investments?

RELATED LINKS

• Learn more about Aptos

For Madeline Fraser, shopping for an engagement ring was overwhelming. She knew she wanted something unique and customized, but also sustainably sourced and easy to buy. This ended up being a tall order. She ended up having to custom design her ring at a small shop -- a process that took several weeks. 

Many shoppers have the same desires as Madeline but don't have the access or the funds for custom jewelry. That's why she founded Gemist, a direct-to-consumer DTC brand designed to disrupt online jewelry shopping, customization and try-on experiences. During this episode Retail Remix, we go inside the Gemist business, including:

• The typical challenges Gemist's business model tries to solve;
• How Gemist uses audience input and even one-to-one conversations to drive innovation; and
• How the business has evolved and scaled during the pandemic.

In today's digital-first world, content is key. But as the number of channels and apps expands, our content strategies must evolve. This creates a lot of complexity and, frankly, eats up a lot of time, resources and budget. During this episode of Retail Remix, Marcel Hollerbach, the CMO of Productsup, discusses the new content realities and best practices brands must note. While discussing the unique attributes of different channels and how they impact content creation, Marcel also alludes to new challenges and risks, especially around brand safety and pirating. With this episode, brand executives and marketing leaders will get:

• In-depth insights into the current content universe;
• Key considerations for content strategy and creation, including expanding into marketplaces;
• How new channels such as TikTok should be accounted for; and
• Ways to monitor content use and shares to maintain brand control.

RELATED LINKS

• Learn more about Productsup

Every year, Adobe analyzes one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million SKUs and 80 of the 100 largest retailers in the U.S. This year, these results are being gathered in a new context due to COVID-19. Which trends reaffirm our new reality? How will the Thanksgiving holiday influencer the remainder of the holiday season? How can retailers take these insights and leverage them to engage and support customers in new ways? Peter Sheldon, Senior Director of Commerce Strategy at Adobe, provides deeper context into the company's must-read research. He sits down with host Alicia Esposito to discuss:

• The "digital pendulum" sparked by COVID-19;
• The influence of the 2020 election on consumer sentiment and spending;
• How "couch commerce" has evolved with social distancing and travel restrictions; and
• Which consumer behaviors will stick in the long term and how retailers can adapt.

RELATED LINKS

• Learn more about Adobe
• Dig into the detailed holiday research

A quick peek at this week's holiday episode!

Many of us know the risks of creating obvious and uncomplicated passwords like "password123," "12345," or (gulp) our name and birthday. But has that really stopped us from changing our ways? Not really, according to Steve Ragan, Lead Security Researcher at Akamai.

Ragan has been covering the cybersecurity space for about 15 years and he believes that although the threats have become more sophisticated and widespread, retailers' and consumers' response plans haven't changed effectively. As a result, retail and hospitality businesses have become prime targets. According to Akamai's State of the Internet Report, 90% of all credential stuffing attacks during a two-year period targeted retail. During this episode of Retail Remix, Ragan digs into:

• What makes credential stuffing attacks so damaging;
• How COVID is accelerating cybercrime activity and maturity;
• How social media is accelerating fake brands and brand ripping; and
• What brands and consumers can do to better protect their data.

RELATED LINKS

• Download the 2020 State of the Internet report
• Learn more about Akamai's retail-specific offerings
• Get the latest data from the Akamai Consumer Retail Survey here