WDCast

In a mere 8 weeks, we’ve seen a 5-year step change in American’s shopping behavior when it comes to everyday essentials. And it’s not stopping anytime soon. Consumers will continue to increase their reliance on online shopping in the coming months, and this week’s guest predicts that retailers will see over 50% of their growth and total sales coming from digital channels. Jordan Berke an ex-Walmart executive and Founder of Tomorrow Retail Consulting, joins Lee Peterson to discuss the trends he lived through while leading Walmart’s China eCommerce & Digital Operations and why brands must adapt their approach to digital transformation within the store environment and throughout the customer journey.

Healthcare in general is 15-20 years behind retail. The industry has had the luxury of doing things on their terms instead of their patients’ (or as this week’s guest calls them—customers) terms. While a shift toward customer-centric healthcare has been mounting, the recent pandemic crisis has catapulted the industry into major change. For example, telehealth has come to the forefront, with forced adoption for both patients and doctors as many states enacted stay-at-home orders. In fact, some people will have no desire to go back to in-person doctor visits after experiencing the convenience of telehealth. This week, Dan Stanek, EVP at WD Partners, joins Lee Peterson to discuss the shift for the health and wellness industry to focus around the customer need states and changing demands.

Grocery stores have been hard at work figuring out ways to get customers in and out, replenish shelves and keep associates safe. They’ve been able to muscle through it so far, but there are many operational considerations and logistics to finetune including labor, technology and equipment. The demand of curbside pick-up, delivery to home, and contactless payment is changing the industry not only today but in the future in ways that are yet to be seen. Retailers have changed their operations more in the last 6 weeks than they have in the last 10 years and things are just getting started. In this episode, Joanne Heyob, SVP Operations Strategy & Design, joins Lee Peterson to discuss how brands have to experiment with different ways of shopping (pick-up, delivery, showroom) to meet the needs of their customers and what operations considerations come into play along the way.

Circular, back & forth, roundabout and all the ways in between getting to what’s next after all of this won’t be a straight line for many brands. The idea of testing & learning has never been more necessary. As the landscape continues to change how are consumer expectations also changing as they embrace the idea of ‘contactless shopping’ and begin to reengage in a physical shopping experience. Jody sees the ‘wins’ as being the brands walking the talk. Those that are helping their communities, customers & associates in a purposeful way. In this episode, Lee Peterson & Jody Wasbro, SVP Strategy & Experience Design at WD Partners, discuss trends like delivery, order ahead, and BOPIS that have been accelerated due to the crisis, as well as the opportunity for brands to blur the lines of their offering (services, products, community involvement) to come out on top.

Whole Foods is known for quality, education and localization and as the Sr. Director of Store Design, Gabby Rosi has played a major role in the customer experience and aesthetic of the brand. For the past 26 years Gabby has been working for a brand that she loves and has been involved in the design and creation of nearly 100 stores. Her artistic roots go deep as both her mom and dad are artists and her grandmother was an opera singer who traveled the country in the 30s. Gabby, a fellow Chicago native, joins Lee Peterson this week to discuss her career, the growth of Whole Foods and the importance of stores.

If you weren’t implementing BOPIS before this pandemic, you definitely are now! Mostly because you weren’t given a choice;) But that’s okay, because there is no time like the present to learn, adapt and do it all again. The time is now for brands to invest in their BOPIS programs—what does this crucial service look like for a specialty store, a grocery store and a restaurant? This week Jeff Arps, Sr. Director Business Development at WD Partners joins Lee Peterson to discuss what the post-covid shopping experience looks like, what brands are already winning at it and why restaurants need more than a drive-thru to make it in this new and crazy time.

Imagine getting a call from your friend about an upcoming trip you have planned to Wuhan, China in which he tells you, ‘hey buddy you might want to wait a couple weeks and see how this whole virus thing shakes out.’ That’s exactly what happened to Zak Dychtwald, a self-proclaimed Coronavirus Refugee. But Zak’s relationship with China goes back way farther than last December, Zak is an expert on the post 90’s generation in China (what we call millennials in the states). In fact, he’s done Ted Talks on it (google it, it’s amazing), he’s written a book on it and he’s even started a company about it (The Young China Group). This week we’re honored to have Zak join Lee Peterson where they discuss many things including the cultural divide between Hong Kong and mainland China, the sea change in China in the past years and how we’re seeing both the best and the worst of the Chinese government in response to Covid-19, and the stress test taking placed between young people and the Chinese government.

The man, the myth, the legend. We may be biased, but our special guest this week is our own CEO Chris Doerschlag. Leader of over 400 people, architect by trade, father to 8 kids, son of 2 immigrants, music junkie, and a creative wizard in the kitchen…Chris has some stories to tell! This week Chris joins Lee Peterson where he shares his philosophy of working with and managing people, why understanding human nature helps him empower others, his vision for WD, and so much more.

Whole Foods is known for quality, education and localization and as the Sr. Director of Store Design, Gabby Rosi has played a major role in the customer experience and aesthetic of the brand. For the past 26 years Gabby has been working for a brand that she loves and has been involved in the design and creation of nearly 100 stores. Her artistic roots go deep as both her mom and dad are artists and her grandmother was an opera singer who traveled the country in the 30s. Gabby, a fellow Chicago native, joins Lee Peterson this week to discuss her career, the growth of Whole Foods and the importance of stores.

As one of the thought leaders behind the podcast Business Wars Daily, Elaine Appleton Grant has insight into the trends, technology, opportunities and threats impacting our world today. A longtime journalist and entrepreneur at heart, Elaine joins Lee Peterson to discuss a myriad of subjects from her prediction of the podcast phenomenon, to the importance of sustainability, and how AI is already a part of our daily lives.