The Retail Podcast

Retailers are facing a new discovery challenge: what happens when AI search becomes the layer between brands and customers?

In this episode of World Retail, Alex is joined by Niamh and Ian from World Retail Congress to discuss what is top of mind across global retail. The conversation starts with one of the biggest concerns raised in a CEO survey: whether AI-driven search could reduce brand visibility by surfacing competitors, platforms or intermediaries instead of the retailers customers are actually looking for.

The team explores Shopee’s expanded partnership with ChatGPT, examples from Walmart, Google and Sephora, and why retailers may need to move from worrying about AI search to actively building around it.

They also discuss:

Why Barnes & Noble and Waterstones may show the continued power of physical bookstores

How James Daunt’s store autonomy model has helped reshape bookstore retail

Why Action’s lean operating model and rapid store growth make it a major value retail story

The allegations around Anthropic, Alibaba and Claude

Why Target and Brian Cornell are back under investor scrutiny

What these stories reveal about the future of physical retail, AI search and customer experience

Guest/context: This episode features Alex with co-hosts Niamh and Ian from World Retail Congress.

00:00 - Retailers fear AI search could hide their brands

00:38 - Welcome to World Retail with Neve and Ian

01:04 - Why Asia may show the future of retail

01:21 - AI search becomes retailers’ top concern

01:46 - Shopee expands its ChatGPT partnership

02:15 - Walmart, Google, Sephora and retail AI adoption

03:13 - Barnes & Noble and Waterstones IPO rumours

04:13 - What retailers can learn from local bookstore autonomy

04:40 - Action rebounds as 3i investors watch value retail

05:33 - Why Action’s operating model is so effective

06:22 - Action’s store density, SKU consistency and local flexibility

08:35 - Anthropic, Alibaba and alleged Claude distillation claims

09:54 - Target, Brian Cornell and investor pressure

11:12 - Heatwave wrap-up and closing thoughts

Subscribe for more weekly analysis on global retail, AI in commerce, store strategy, ecommerce, leadership and the future of retail.

This week on Five Things Friday UK Edition, Alex is joined by Simone Oloman, co-founder and CEO of For Tonight / Neft, a rapid delivery business for retailers, to unpack five retail stories from a quieter but still revealing week in UK fashion, lifestyle and consumer culture.

From Lacoste transforming Selfridges into a tennis clubhouse to Ralph Lauren’s Wimbledon activity on Sloane Square, this episode looks at how brands are turning sporting moments into immersive retail experiences.

Alex and Simone also discuss why big physical retail is far from dead, with JD Sports opening its largest store in Scotland and Dunelm launching a 34,000 sq ft Kingston superstore. Plus, they look at Disney’s push into collectibles with YuYus and why Nadine Merabi’s denim launch is a smart example of category expansion.

In this episode:

How Wimbledon is becoming a major retail activation moment

Why fashion and sport collaborations feel increasingly natural

The return of large-format flagship retail

Disney YuYus and the power of collectibles

Nadine Merabi’s move from occasionwear into everyday wardrobe categories

Why trust is key when brands expand into new product areas

Guest context:

Simone Oloman is the co-founder and CEO of Need It For Tonight / NIFT, a business offering rapid delivery for retailers, including app-based delivery and checkout integrations for 90-minute delivery.

Show notes / links mentioned:

Nadine Merabi: https://www.instagram.com/nadinemerabi/?hl=en

Lacoste at Selfridges: https://www.theindustry.fashion/lacoste-brings-its-tennis-clubhouse-to-selfridges/

Ralph Lauren Wimbledon post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZtsNTsDBf3/?img_index=7

JD Sports Livingston: https://www.lcpgroup.co.uk/news/jd-sports-opens-its-largest-store-in-scotland-at-the-centre-livingston-next-month

JD Sports: https://www.jdsports.co.uk/

Dunelm Kingston: https://furniturenews.net/news/dunelm-opens-kingston-superstore

Disney YuYus Soho pop-up: https://press.disney.co.uk/news/meet-disneys-cutest-new-collectable-companions-this-june-at-exclusive-pop-up-in-soho

Retail innovation continues to accelerate.

In this episode of Five Things Friday USA, Joe and Jill explore five major stories shaping the future of commerce:

• Meta's expanding partnership with Best Buy and the rise of AI-powered smart glasses

• Walmart's aggressive drone delivery rollout targeting millions of Americans

• Amazon Prime Day's expansion into a four-day retail event

• Quince's transition from digital-first success to physical retail

• The surprising growth of store openings across the U.S.

The conversation examines what these developments mean for retailers, brands, technology leaders, and consumers as the industry continues to evolve.

Topics covered:

Retail innovation

Ecommerce strategy

Drone delivery

AI wearables

Omnichannel retail

Prime Day

Store expansion

Consumer trends

Physical retail

Subscribe for weekly retail insights and analysis.

What happens when brands can no longer rely on social media to reach younger consumers?

In this week's Five Things Friday UK, retail expert Simone Oloman, Co-Founder and CEO of NIFT, joins us to discuss one of the biggest questions facing retail marketers today: how brands stay connected to youth culture as social media regulations evolve.

We explore:

✅ The potential impact of proposed social media restrictions for under-16s

✅ Why brands may need to return to real-world community building

✅ The rise of experiential retail and in-store activations

✅ What Coach's Selfridges pop-up teaches us about modern retail

✅ Deliveroo's latest retail partnership and the growth of instant delivery

✅ How physical stores are becoming fulfilment centres for modern commerce

✅ Why customer experience is becoming the biggest competitive advantage

Featuring real-world examples from Coach, Selfridges, H&M, Deliveroo and leading retail brands, this episode explores how retail is evolving beyond transactions into experiences, community and convenience.

https://uk.coach.com/

Featured Guest

Simone Oloman

Co-Founder & CEO, NIFT

Topics Covered

Gen Z marketing

Youth consumer behaviour

Social media regulation

Retail innovation

Experiential retail

Coach at Selfridges

Rapid delivery

Retail media

Store transformation

Customer engagement

Subscribe

Subscribe for weekly insights into retail innovation, commerce, customer experience and the future of shopping.

Chapter Timestamps

00:00 Introduction & Meet Simone Oloman

01:19 What NIFT Does: Instant Delivery Infrastructure

01:58 How Social Media Restrictions Could Change Youth Marketing

03:17 Why Physical Experiences May Matter More Than Algorithms

05:20 Deliveroo's Football Campaign & Instant Retail Delivery

06:55 Why Stores Are Becoming Fulfilment Centres

08:55 Coach's Selfridges Pop-Up Experience

10:06 Retail Roadshow: London, Coach & Selfridges

12:09 H&M and the Premiumisation of Retail

12:30 Can Physical Retail Compete with AI and E-Commerce?

13:06 Coach's Multi-Generation Retail Strategy

14:16 Retail Innovation Across Europe

This episode of Five Things Friday explores major retail developments across APAC and global markets. Ruth Kewell and Alex discuss Pomelo's mobile-first retail model in Southeast Asia, the worsening retail conditions in Australia, and the international expansion of Chinese retail brands including Miniso, Urban Revivo, Temu and Shein.

The conversation highlights how mobile commerce, changing consumer behaviour, Gen Z purchasing habits, and global competition are reshaping retail strategies worldwide.

00:00 Introduction & Five Things Friday

00:00:36 Pomelo: The Mobile-First Retail Pioneer

00:01:42 How Pomelo Built Stores Around Ecommerce

00:02:24 The "Tap, Try, Buy" Retail Model

00:03:48 Australian Retail Under Pressure

00:04:35 Shareholder Pressure and Retail Performance

00:05:23 Retail Debt, Restructuring and Survival

00:05:45 Temu and Shein Face Regulatory Challenges

00:06:33 Miniso's Global Expansion Strategy

00:07:20 Gen Z's Growing Influence on Retail

00:07:48 Urban Revivo Expands Into Western Markets

00:08:32 Closing Thoughts

Global retail is moving fast and this first international briefing looks beyond the US to track where the biggest growth stories are happening.

In this episode, we cover Frasers Group’s reported $2 billion takeover bid for Hugo Boss, JD.com’s UK expansion through Joybuy and its summer Black Friday positioning, Lulu Retail’s ambitious store growth across the GCC, Dubai’s two-month summer shopping push, and Jenni Kayne’s move into international markets through partners including Selfridges and TNT in Toronto.

Key themes include:

International retail expansion

Luxury and premium brand positioning

Middle East retail investment

Holiday shopping moving earlier

E-commerce growth and loyalty

Global department store and marketplace strategy

This briefing is designed to track retail stories outside the US and spotlight where consumer demand, investment, and brand expansion are shifting globally.

Subscribe for more international retail briefings.

Madrid isn’t just a tourist destination. It is becoming a retail destination.

In this episode, we explore how Sephora and Calvin Klein are using street-level activations in Madrid to create community, experience and engagement.

What does this reveal about the future of physical retail?

Retail doesn’t happen in the boardroom. It happens where customers

Madrid is famous for tourism, culture, tapas and beautiful architecture.

But walk through Gran Vía and another story starts to appear.

In this episode of The Retail Podcast, we explore how Madrid is evolving from a tourist hotspot into a serious retail destination. From Sephora’s flower-led Mother’s Day activation to Calvin Klein’s floral fragrance launch, the streets of Madrid reveal how physical retail is being reshaped by community, experience and customer engagement.

This episode looks at why the most important retail signals are not always found in boardrooms, strategy decks or technology showcases. Sometimes they are happening directly in front of customers, in the queue, on the street and at the point where culture meets commerce.

You’ll hear about:

Madrid’s shift from tourism destination to shopping destination

Sephora’s experiential retail activation

Calvin Klein’s Euphoria floral launch

Why physical retail still matters

The three speeds of retail: community and culture, experience, and intelligence

What European retail leaders should watch on the Road to Paris

This episode is part of The Road to Paris, exploring the cities, stores and ideas shaping the future of retail ahead of NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show Europe in Paris.

Recorded live at NRF APAC 2026, this episode features Toru Koyama, Executive Officer & Head of IT and Digital Promotion Group at H2O Retailing Corp., and Executive Officer & GM of Digital Innovation Division at Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores, Inc.

In this conversation, Toru shares H2O Retailing’s transformation journey — from backend IT and ERP foundations to CRM, unified commerce, retail media, customer data platforms and AI-powered customer communication.

The central idea is the “communication retailer”: a retailer that does not simply sell products in-store, but builds trusted, permission-based relationships with customers across stores, e-commerce, data, service and AI-enabled interactions.

Guest Bio

Toru Koyama is Executive Officer & Head of IT and Digital Promotion Group at H2O Retailing Corp. and Executive Officer & GM of Digital Innovation Division at Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores, Inc. His background includes roles at IBM Japan, Pfizer and PwC, and he previously served as President & Representative Director of Isetan Mitsukoshi System Solutions, where he led structural reforms. He assumed his current H2O Retailing roles in April 2021 and has been associated with the company’s group-wide digital transformation.

I was ranked number one on the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Retail 2026 list this week.

I am proud of it.

But this episode is not really about who is number one. It is about what the retail industry should be measuring in the first place.

No ranking system is perfect. No algorithm can fully measure judgement, generosity, lived experience, commercial impact, or trust. But visible work matters: content, speaking, publishing, interviews, and contribution that is out in the open.

For too long, recognition in retail has often depended on access, visibility, historic relationships, and who gets invited into the room. Those things have value, but they cannot be the only measure.

Thought leadership should not be a lifetime achievement award. It should be evidence of what someone is contributing now.

Are they listening to customers?
Are they sharing useful insight?
Are they helping people make better decisions?
Are they putting ideas into the market?
Are they giving more than they take?

This episode also recognises the people who rarely get enough credit: vendors, partners, event teams, technology builders, exhibitors, supporters, and the people helping move the retail ecosystem forward every day.

The Retail Podcast now reaches almost 2,000 listeners a week globally — with no paid audience, no bought followers, and no shortcut. Just people choosing to listen.

So the question is:

In 2026, what should the retail industry actually recognise as thought leadership?

Links:
Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Retail 2026 list: https://www.thinkers360.com/top-50-global-thought-leaders-and-influencers-on-retail-2026/

Connect on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/company/the-retail-podcast

WooCommerce is live at Shoptalk Europe in Barcelona, and the team is bringing open-source ecommerce conversations, enterprise growth strategy, and a local Barcelona touch to the show floor.

In this episode, we cover WooCommerce’s presence at Booth B30, where attendees can meet the Woo team, speak with developers and specialists, and explore how open-source ecommerce can support online store growth. The conversation also points to platform features, enterprise ecommerce capabilities, and practical discussions around scaling digital commerce businesses.

The episode also highlights WooCommerce’s exclusive local swag: premium candles from Santaló Candles, a Barcelona-based merchant. Plus, WooCommerce is co-hosting a Rooftop Reset & Happy Hour with Avalara, Mollie, and PayPal, giving attendees another way to connect during Shoptalk Europe.

Key themes in this episode:
Open-source ecommerce
WooCommerce for scaling online stores
Enterprise ecommerce capabilities
Shoptalk Europe Barcelona
WooCommerce Booth B30
Ecommerce platform features
Merchant growth strategies
Retail and ecommerce networking

Featured context:

Visit WooCommerce at Booth B30 during Shoptalk Europe to meet the team, ask about the platform, and learn more about their event activities.