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Self-checkout has become one of retail's favourite villains.

It's blamed for rising theft.

Retailers are reducing it.

Politicians are questioning it.

And customers increasingly find themselves surrounded by cameras, barriers, receipt checks and interventions designed to stop loss at the checkout.

But what if we're looking in the wrong place?

In this episode of Retail Voices, I'm joined by Daniel Gabay, Co-Founder and CEO of Trigo, to challenge one of the biggest assumptions in modern retail loss prevention.

Trigo's analysis of highly stolen products suggests that around 80% are concealed before the shopper reaches the checkout.

Inside bags.

Under clothing.

Hidden beneath other products.

Or simply removed from the shelf and never presented for payment.

Which raises a rather important question:

If much of the theft has already happened before the customer reaches self-checkout, are retailers spending too much time trying to solve the problem at the till?

Daniel and I explore the entire customer journey — from shelf to checkout to exit — and discuss how computer vision and AI are changing what retailers can actually see inside their stores.

But this isn't simply a technology conversation.

It's also about the difficult balance between:

Loss prevention and customer experience.

How far should retailers go to prevent theft?

When does security create too much friction for honest customers?

Can technology allow retailers to intervene less often but more accurately?

And should the future of loss prevention be about watching the checkout — or understanding what happens across the entire store?

In this episode:

• Why self-checkout has become the focus of the retail theft debate
 • Where theft actually occurs during the customer journey
 • Why concealment can happen long before checkout
 • The blind spots in traditional loss-prevention systems
 • Self-checkout versus staffed checkouts
 • How computer vision can follow products from shelf to payment
 • AI and real-time loss detection
 • Customer experience versus security
 • Privacy and anonymous computer vision
 • Why locking products away isn't necessarily the answer
 • How retailers can reduce unnecessary interventions
 • The future of self-checkout
 • The future of retail loss prevention
 • Three simple things retailers should remember

If you work in store operations, loss prevention, retail technology, customer experience or retail leadership, this is a fascinating challenge to some of the assumptions currently shaping the industry.

Retail Voices is part of RETAIL101online — conversations with people from inside and outside retail, exploring the ideas, technologies and operating principles shaping the future of our industry.

#RetailVoices #RETAIL101online #SelfCheckout #LossPrevention #RetailTheft #RetailTechnology #AIinRetail #RetailOperations

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Most retail turnarounds start in the wrong place.

 A new promotion. A new planogram. A new customer service initiative with a snappy name and a laminated poster for every staffroom.

 Jim Collins spent five years studying companies that went from good to truly great — and found something uncomfortable: the strategy is almost never the problem. The people almost always are.

 In Episode 2 of our Good to Great: The Retail Edition mini-series, we tackle First Who, Then What — and what it really means to build a retail team that doesn't need managing into performance.

 In this episode:

✅ Why great retail companies sorted the bus before they sorted the strategy

✅ The three ways retail keeps getting this wrong — the loyalty trap, the performance excuse, and the wrong hire

✅ A real story about a fresh food department that transformed — not through training, but through honesty

✅ The difference between being tough and being rigorous — and why it matters

✅ The Bus Audit — 5 actions you can take this week

🔁 Part of our From Good to Great: The Retail Edition mini-series — translating Jim Collins' landmark research into practical retail leadership.

Episode 1: Why Your Best Store Is Probably Your Biggest Problem — available now.

Episode 3: The Number Your Store Is Afraid to Look At — coming next.

🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every two weeks | retail101online.com

#Retail101online #GoodToGreat #JimCollins #FirstWhoThenWhat #RetailLeadership #RetailTeam #StoreManagement #RetailPodcast #HelpIsOnTheWay #RetailMiniSeries #StoreManagerTips #RetailHiring #RetailPeople #ShopFloorLeadership #RetailTraining #RetailPerformance #LeadershipLessons #RetailCulture #TeamDevelopment #RetailStrategy 

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Why do some stores fall apart the moment their manager leaves — and others barely miss a beat?

 In Episode 1 of our 5-part mini-series From Good to Great: The Retail Edition, we tackle Jim Collins' most counterintuitive finding — Level 5 Leadership — and bring it directly onto the shop floor.

 Spoiler: the best store managers Collins found weren't the loudest, most charismatic, most heroic figures in the building. They were the ones quietly, consistently building something that didn't need them to survive.

 In this episode:

• What Collins actually found about great leaders — and why it surprised everyone

• The Hero Manager Problem in retail — and why your best store might be your most fragile one

• The Mirror and the Window — the habit that separates great leaders from good ones

• What Level 5 looks like in practice (and what it definitely doesn't)

• 5 questions every store manager should ask themselves this week

 Part of our From Good to Great: The Retail Edition mini-series — translating Jim Collins' landmark research into practical retail leadership.

 Episode 2: Stop Fixing the Strategy. Fix the Bus. — coming next.

 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every two weeks | retail101online.com

#Retail101online #GoodToGreat #JimCollins #Level5Leadership #RetailLeadership #StoreManagement #RetailPodcast #HelpIsOnTheWay #RetailMiniSeries #StoreManagerTips #RetailTeamDevelopment #RetailOperations #ShopFloorLeadership #RetailTraining #RetailPerformance #LeadershipLessons #RetailCulture #TeamDevelopment #RetailStrategy #RetailMotivation

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Why do we do things the way we do?

It's a deceptively simple question — and one that took this Retail Voices conversation somewhere rather different from where I originally expected it to go.

My guest is Daryl Urbanski, founder of BestBusinessCoach.ca and host of The Best Business Podcast.

We started with a conversation about systems, habits, sustainable growth and the structures that allow businesses to scale.

But we went much deeper.

Why do businesses follow processes simply because they've always followed them?

Why do leaders behave the way they do?

When does a useful system become something we blindly obey?

What actually motivates us to build, lead and grow?

And perhaps most importantly — how often do we stop doing things long enough to ask why we're doing them in the first place?

Daryl and I explore business systems, leadership behaviour, habits, purpose, automation, measurement and growth — but also the philosophy underneath them.

Because sometimes the most important question in business isn't:

“How do we do this better?”

It's:

“Why are we doing it this way at all?”

In this episode:

• Why hard work alone doesn't create sustainable growth
 • Systems, structure and business discipline
 • Why habits often matter more than goals
 • Leadership behaviour and organisational performance
 • Questioning the processes we've inherited
 • Automation, leverage and the role of people
 • Data, measurement and knowing what actually matters
 • The danger of becoming trapped by your own systems
 • Philosophy, purpose and the reasons behind our decisions
 • Building businesses that work without simply working harder

Whether you're running a retail business, leading a team, building a company or simply questioning why organisations behave the way they do, there's plenty to think about in this one.

Retail Voices is part of RETAIL101online — conversations with people from inside and outside retail, exploring ideas that can help us become better retailers, leaders and businesses.

#RetailVoices #RETAIL101online #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #BusinessSystems #Management #Entrepreneurship #BusinessPodcast

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Most loyalty programmes don’t change behaviour.

They simply reward what customers were already going to do.

In this episode of Retail Voices, I’m joined by Mark Mortimer Davies, CEO GCC at Choithrams and one of the most experienced leaders in retail loyalty, customer behaviour, and engagement systems.

With decades of experience spanning Air Miles, BOUNZ Rewards, Dubai Points, and large-scale customer engagement platforms, Mark shares what actually drives repeat visits, trust, and long-term value in retail.

This is not a theory discussion — it’s real-world insight from someone who has built and operated loyalty systems at scale across multiple markets.

In this conversation we cover:

• Why most loyalty programmes fail to change behaviour
 • What Air Miles got right — and what’s been lost
 • The gap between retail data and real customer behaviour
 • Why emotional engagement beats transactional rewards
 • The role of culture in loyalty and customer engagement
 • How gamification and lotteries can drive participation
 • The importance of trust in customer systems
 • Loyalty in grocery retail — frequency vs margin
 • Why discounting damages long-term value
 • The future of loyalty in the next 5 years

If you want to understand how to build real loyalty, not just repeat transactions, this episode is essential.

⏱️ CHAPTER MARKERS

00:00 Welcome to Retail Voices 

00:18 Introducing Mark Mortimer Davies 

01:53 How Did Your Early Years Shape Your Customer Ethos? 

08:00 Why Do Most Loyalty Schemes Just Subside Existing Spend? 

15:58 What Did Air Miles Get Right? 

19:17 Where's The Disconnect Between Data And Behavior? 

27:13 Why Is Emotional Engagement So Important? 

32:56 What Do Global Brands Misunderstand About The Region? 

41:52 What About Gamification and Lotteries As Engagement Tools? 

44:56 What About Trust And Transparency? 

49:41 How Do You Think About Loyalty And Prices? 

56:54 What Will Loyalty Need To Do To Remain Relevant? 

01:00:18 The Three Simple Things 

01:01:40 Closing Thoughts 

#CustomerLoyalty #RetailStrategy #RetailLeadership #CustomerExperience #RetailVoices #Retail101online #RetailVoices 

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Customer experience isn’t a “nice to have” — it’s a profit driver.

In this episode of Retail Voices, I’m joined by Vance Morris, former Disney leader, entrepreneur, and founder of Chesapeake Service Solutions, to explore how customer experience can become a true competitive advantage in retail.

Vance’s journey is anything but conventional — from Disney leadership to business failure, to rebuilding as a successful entrepreneur. Today, he helps businesses stop losing customers quietly and turn service into measurable growth.

Drawing on his experience at Disney and beyond, Vance shares how retailers can create signature moments, improve customer loyalty, and directly impact sales through better service design.

In this conversation we cover:

• What Disney really teaches about customer experience
 • Lessons from opening Chef Mickey’s at Walt Disney World
 • What makes the Disney service model so effective
 • How to apply Disney-level service in everyday retail
 • The power of “signature moments”
 • Common customer experience mistakes retailers make
 • Training teams to deliver consistent service
 

If you want to improve customer loyalty, increase repeat business, and drive real commercial results, this episode is packed with practical insight. 

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Retail transformation isn’t just about technology — it’s about understanding how people actually behave.

In this episode of Retail Voices, I’m joined by Andy Ellwood, Founder & CEO of Stretch, to explore the intersection of AI, human behaviour, and transparency in grocery retail.

Andy’s journey is anything but typical — from launching a business at 12, to working in aviation, to leading startups acquired by Facebook and Google, to co-founding Basket — one of the first platforms focused on grocery price transparency.

After navigating personal and professional reinvention, Andy has returned to his core mission: closing the gap between retailers and consumers using real data and real insight.

In this conversation we cover:

• Why grocery retail has been slow to embrace transparency
 • What Andy learned building Basket
 • How AI must be grounded in real human behaviour
 • The reality of how shoppers actually make decisions
 • Why “clean data” often doesn’t reflect real-world behaviour
 • The importance of trust in modern retail
 • How Stretch is helping reshape the grocery experience
 • Practical advice for retailers adopting AI

This is a powerful conversation about technology, trust, resilience, and the future of retail. 

#RetailInnovation #AIinRetail #GroceryRetail #CustomerExperience #RetailVoices #Retail101online

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Retail communication is entering a completely new era.

In this episode of Retail Voices, I’m joined by R. J. Taylor, CEO and founder of Backstroke, to explore how AI-powered messaging is transforming the way retailers communicate with customers.

Backstroke helps brands generate smarter, higher-performing customer communications using AI — improving engagement, conversion, and customer experience across email, digital messaging, and marketing automation.

We explore how AI is reshaping the fundamentals of retail marketing and what leaders need to understand before adopting these tools.

In this conversation we discuss:

• Why retail messaging is becoming a core business capability
 • How AI can dramatically improve customer communication performance
 • The balance between automation and authentic brand voice
 • Risks retailers must consider when deploying AI messaging
 • How traditional brick-and-mortar retailers can start adopting AI
 • Why great messaging sits at the heart of customer experience
 • The biggest mistakes retailers make when modernising their marketing stack
 • The future of AI-driven customer communication

If you're responsible for customer experience, marketing, digital strategy, or retail leadership, this episode will give you a clear perspective on how AI will shape the next generation of retail engagement.

#AIinRetail #RetailMarketing #CustomerExperience #RetailTechnology #RetailVoices #Retail101online

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Most brands think they’re telling great stories.

Customers think otherwise.

In this episode of Retail Voices, I’m joined by John Elbing, creator of the Storybuilding methodology and Chief Storybuilder Officer at Standpoint, to unpack why traditional storytelling fails — and what retail brands should do instead.

John has helped hundreds of companies clarify their message, align their teams, and build narratives that actually resonate with customers. His approach flips the usual script: instead of starting with the brand, it starts with the audience.

We cover:

• Why most brand storytelling gets ignored
• The difference between storytelling and Storybuilding
• How customer perspective changes positioning
• The biggest messaging mistakes retail brands make
• How narrative affects conversion, engagement, and loyalty
• Why internal alignment determines external success
• What customers expect from brands in the next 5 years
• A practical exercise leaders can implement immediately

If you want customers to care about your brand, not just see it, this conversation is essential.

#RetailStrategy #BrandStorytelling #CustomerEngagement #RetailMarketing #RetailVoices #Retail101online #JohnElbing #standpoint

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Negotiation is one of the most critical — and overlooked — skills in retail. From supplier contracts to promotional deals, the way you negotiate can make or break your margins, your relationships, and your reputation.

In this episode of RETAIL101online, we explore the art of negotiation:

• Why preparation is 90% of success (BATNA, ZOPA, and more)
• How communication styles — passive, aggressive, or assertive — shape outcomes
• The difference between win–lose and win–win strategies
• Common manipulative tactics to watch out for
• Practical steps for closing and following up on a deal

In our “Help Is On The Way” segment, I’ll share 5 actionable tips you can apply tomorrow to negotiate better in your store or buying office.

Negotiation isn’t about winning at all costs. It’s about creating value, building trust, and making smart deals that last.

🎧 Subscribe to Retail101online for more episodes on retail management, leadership, and practical skills to thrive in today’s market.

 #Retail101 #RetailManagement #Negotiation #Leadership #RetailPodcast #BuyerSkills #SupplierNegotiation #AssertiveCommunication #WinWin

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