The Retail Perch

The Retail Perch has its first guest: Mary Scimone. 

She is a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) Retail Technology & Insights expert. Mary works between technology companies, brands, and the retailer to translate needs from product management to business consulting. 

This week’s theme focuses on challenges, and she’ll be providing her take on modernizing and moving the industry forward. All three discuss the challenges that retailers might face - either big or small, with adapting certain technologies given their current state.

Today’s theme: a history lesson. 

Shekar and Gary dive into the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) retail marketing industry, its inception, and how retail has been built on mass marketing, along with how trade promotion has driven it. 

They show you how customer marketing, data, and personalization go hand in hand. Are you aware of how your weekly ad affects the industry? The shopper experience has transformed entirely, and it all starts with understanding how and why.

Welcome to The Retail Perch! 

In the first episode, we get to meet our two hosts, Shekar and Gary, as they dive into their backstories and experiences, including their perception of the current state of retail.

Shekar describes Birdzi's origin, and Gary lets us in on how he transitioned from growing up bagging groceries to launching one of the first loyalty programs in the supermarket sector. 

They also answer questions like "what challenges do retailers face in adopting and implementing the latest technologies?" and "what does the future hold for this industry?"