Lisa Perlmutter

Retail's next big growth play is hiding in plain sight - right on store shelves. Coresight Research data shows that smart retailers are doubling down on in-store tech. As of Q2, about 50% have invested in solutions targeting: - Addressable out-of-stocks - Pricing and promo execution - Planogram compliance - Allocation and assortment optimization Over 80% of the remaining retailers plan to invest in these areas by Q2 2025. Nailing just ONE of these can boost sales up to 6% and operating margin by 5%. The future of retail is not just digital-first. It's data-first, store-centric, and powered by intelligent automation.

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Complex and major initiatives often require an increased focus on initial expectation setting and managing expectations during the change. Also, a potential reminder that Wholesale can be an important channel and that many times a Both/And solution can surpass an Either/Or. Meeting a wide variety of customers using the Reach of E-commerce and Wholesale partners AND including the touch/experience at Nike Stores as well as stores in areas that may not easily be served by existing Nike Stores ( ~300 in the USA and ~1,000 globally). Your thoughts? Excerpts: Dive Insight: Nike’s Consumer Direct Offense and Acceleration plans are coming under attack in a new class action lawsuit that alleges two of the brand’s top executives misled investors about how successful the strategy was. “Throughout the Class Period, Defendants repeatedly touted the purported strength of Nike’s business model, and in particular, the claimed success of its digital and direct-to-consumer strategies to produce sustainable growth, while downplaying the significant competitive pressures facing the Company,” the lawsuit reads. The lawsuit recounted Nike’s efforts to ditch wholesale partners in 2020, which continued into 2022 in a much-discussed shift away from Foot Locker, as well as the retailer’s subsequent return to many of those partners when its DTC strategy didn’t deliver as intended. Indeed, on the back of disappointing sales results, Nike late last year rolled out a cost-savings plan aimed at driving growth and profitability. The plan included layoffs, as well as a simplification of its product portfolio, with executives referencing its shift to a DTC model as a reason for the cuts. “Since fiscal ’19, our investments in accelerating Nike’s consumer direct vision have created new operating capabilities, added tens of millions of new members to our member base and delivered a return of more than $12 billion of incremental revenue,” Friend said on a call with analysts at the time. “However, we have also added complexity and inefficiency. In this competitive environment, we need to accelerate our pace of innovation, elevate our marketplace experiences, maximize the impact of our storytelling, and increase our speed and responsiveness.” Donahoe followed that up in March by acknowledging that the company needed to make some “important adjustments” to its Consumer Direct Acceleration strategy, as Nike was not “performing at our potential.” #Nike #DTC #Retail

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Kudos to Macy's for increasing customer engagement, and embracing a partner with technology to get the most out of the Macy's Media Network. Excerpts: Dive Brief: Macy’s Media Network, the department store’s in-house advertising platform, has expanded its partnership with Rokt, an e-commerce company that uses AI and machine learning to personalize shopping experiences, according to a Thursday press release sent to Retail Dive. The partnership allows Macy’s online shoppers to receive offers from nonendemic advertisers during the transaction stage. Macy’s Media Network has seen increased customer engagement since the partnership with Rokt launched last summer. Dive Insight: As a result of increased customer engagement, Macy’s is working to expand its partnership with Rokt across new advertising use cases, including its credit card enrollment efforts and loyalty rewards program. “Rokt’s unique AI-powered technology enables us to use our first-party data to provide our customers with high quality, premium offers from non-endemic advertisers post-purchase, communicating the right message at the right time,” Michael Krans, vice president of Macy’s Media Network, said in a statement. Krans joined the retailer in March. He came to the department store with previous experience at Walmart Connect, Hearst and Condé Nast. Macy’s Media Network creates customized media strategies utilizing the retailer’s analytics, and an effort to scale the network has been underway in recent years. The network launched in the summer of 2020 as a way to generate an additional revenue stream for the retailer. By February 2021, it had already generated $35 million. For its first full year, the platform brought in $105 million in net revenue. #macys #medianetwork #customerengagement

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"We thought, ‘We can do more with a lot less,’ and that didn’t work out for us.” On the back of #TerribleHorribleNoGoodVeryBad quarterly results, it's quite refreshing to hear Kohl's (outgoing) CEO speak so openly about the current state of the business and the decisions they / he made that did not work out. The full transcript (link in the comments) is worth a read. CEO Tom Kingsbury started with ... "Over the last several quarters, we have implemented a significant amount of change across our assortment, value strategies, and in-store experience. We believe these actions will make us more competitive over the long term. However, we undervalued the short-term impact this change could have on our sales performance." And then went into details on the three areas that drove performance: "a decline in traffic, especially early in the quarter, during the back-to-school season; a reduction in receipts in our private apparel brands, which impacted our ability to drive sales in our key value items; and categories where we have lost traction that represented opportunities for us going forward such as fine jewelry, petites and intimate apparel, and legacy home products." He didn't blame the macro environment or the weather, despite both playing a factor. Frankly, the only thing not addressed -- in the narrative nor in the Q&A -- was how to overcome the challenge of operating in the department store sector as a whole (for those not following closely, department stores have been in a 30-year decline). And yes, I imagine that knowing you're no longer in charge is part of why he was able to "own" the issues, effectively "cleaning the plate" for incoming CEO Ashley Buchanan. But still a welcome change from the "corporate speak" of most quarterly calls. https://lnkd.in/ez8PJ2t7

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"Really good retailers are re-thinking the purpose of the store." And it's about time! In 2018, I co-authored an IBM Institute for Business Value white paper on how #retailers needed to reTHINK their stores. It started with the idea that #stores still matter, but they need to play different roles than they had in the past. Six years (and one pandemic) later, we're seeing the difference between stores that "sell stuff" and stores that create a "treasure hunt," offer "experiences [customers] can't find online," fulfill online orders for pickup (BOPIS), shipping (BOSS), and local delivery (BOLD), and provide a place to see, touch, and feel products before making a purchase. The framework we developed (in the comments) is as relevant today as it was then.

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As this The Wall Street Journal article describes, retailers today have recognized the power of integrating their online and offline channels to create a unified customer-centric shopping experience. The same is true in the B2B space where buyers today expect to seamlessly shop from a brand both in-person and online through a digital wholesale platform. JOOR data shows that 84% of fashion buyers opted for a hybrid approach this spring market season - using a combination of physical appointments and virtual buying to place orders with brands.

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The psychology of shopping for fashionable swimwear is fraught with challenges. See my comments in this Huffington Post article for key retail insights. https://lnkd.in/emKjq5rh #fashion #swimwear #fashionbusiness #fashionretail #fashionconsumer

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Building on the success of the company’s VISPER solution, Birdzi, Inc. has launched VISPER Live with the aim of setting a new industry standard for shopper engagement and outreach. Capabilities of the AI-powered solution include: 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: VISPER Live allows grocers to tailor unique outreach to custom audiences. While previous VISPER campaigns are typically two weeks long and focus on one core audience, VISPER Live runs continuously to generate new campaigns and engage with multiple defined audiences on a weekly basis. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀: VISPER Live campaigns are more advanced and responsive to customer preferences. Leveraging a retailer’s entire catalog, historical purchasing patterns and proprietary KIC scores, an individualized shopper quality index developed by Birdzi, VISPER Live can generate the most valuable promotions for each shopper. Personalized offers seamlessly appear in both mobile and desktop coupon galleries, allowing shoppers to access their discounts in a convenient and efficient way. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹: Brands retain full control over how VISPER Live runs within their operations, ensuring that the solution can be thoughtfully molded to a retailer’s specific goals and needs. | Progressive Grocer https://lnkd.in/gecx5WbY #retail #supermarkets #AI #artificialintelligence #shoppers #grocery

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AI in Retail: Bridging the Gap Between Ambition & Readiness for Generative AI I recently spoke with Michelle Pacynski, Ulta Beauty & Mike Dupuis, SPARC Group LLC about this topic. Before diving in, I find it helpful to ground the conversation in recent data: 1. According to a recent Forbes estimate, the AI market size is expected to reach $407 billion by 2027. 2. A global Accenture study (July) highlights that: - Companies with strong digital capabilities (data, cloud, security, etc.) are reinventing 2x as many functions with AI & are expected to drive 2x the value creation. - 50% of executives believe they can scale generative AI across their enterprise within 6-12 months, but only 13% are confident they have the right data strategies & digital capabilities to fully leverage GenAI. Why the gap? These insights set the stage for a deeper conversation. Here are some key themes we explored: 1. AI integration frameworks they've adopted: - Assist, Augment, Automate – This framework has helped categorize the 15-20 AI pilots running at any given time. It has especially reduced the pressure to automate everything right away, allowing teams to focus on assistive & augmentative use cases first. 2. Real-world AI implementation examples that required process changes & KPI definition: - Leverage GenAI from your SMS partner to create new audiences & test custom messaging. Process changes included: new workflows for both internal & external teams. KPIs: # of new customers acquired & conversion rates. - Launch a GenAI conversational experience during peak sales to manage case loads, while ensuring real humans are available for more complex queries. Process changes included: customer query routing & escalation procedures, with KPIs focused on # of cases resolved to satisfaction, incremental revenue from case resolutions etc. 3. Keeping up with the evolving world of AI: a) Follow key professors like Ethan Mollick & Stefano Puntoni b) Stay close to the VC community to learn about emerging applications & how people are thinking about the future c) Access to product engineers & innovation through involvement on Boards (e.g., Cordial) d) Attend key tech events like CES and SXSW. 4. How AI can transform retail, from customer experience to back-end operations: - Use weather data to inform inventory buying & planning, ensuring customers get the products they want in the channel they prefer. - The retailer that best uses GenAI applications to develop personalized & on-brand communication with customer segments will create the most value. c) Empower consumers to virtually try on products & learn more about them, both online & in-store. Finally, some questions to consider: - I wish consumers knew AI… - I wish regulations did… - I hope someone develops… There’s no doubt that AI is omnipresent, but achieving meaningful impact requires strong digital strategies, partnerships, and a sharp focus on data governance. #AI #Innovation #Transformation #Leadership

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🔥Hot off the presses is Adobe's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report 2023! This report showcases the best of Adobe and our collective unwavering commitment to purpose and impact as a company. We’re proud to share how we’re making an impact in the areas where Adobe can uniquely drive change for the better: Adobe for All, Creativity for All, Technology to Transform, and Sustainability at Scale.   “Adobe continues to build on its strong foundation of transformative innovation, category and brand leadership, financial performance, and profitable growth. We’re accelerating our momentum, delivering Adobe Magic to an expanding set of global customers and making a meaningful impact across the technology industry and around the world.” — Shantanu Narayen, Adobe Chair & CEO To learn more about the ways Adobe is making positive change in our industry and our communities, check out the full report https://lnkd.in/e_fbQ6su

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"It’s about extending our ability to find incredible brands we believe our customers will love and introducing them to those brands at a bigger scale, without the cost of a #wholesale model.” A lot to applaud in Nordstrom's #marketplace launch (#TLDR their vision is to become "The Spotify of #Fashion") ... enabling broader, deeper assortments; building out extended sizes; making marketplace items accessible to in-store #stylists; offering tailoring and alterations; and perhaps most importantly, allowing in-store #returns for marketplace purchases. In addition, I think they should use this as an opportunity to extend beyond "#gifting, #home, and #outdoor" and build share of wallet across a broader range of products and services. For some retailers, a marketplace is a chance to try and become #TheEverythingStore. For most, however, it's an opportunity to curate a range of goods and services that are tailored to your target customer(s), without the requisite costs of setting up #fullstack teams., processes, and #OTB to support. https://lnkd.in/g9aR6sjE

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Another AVN season in the books (exhale). Not surprisingly, 72% of brands faced some level of challenges within their negotiations compared to 15% citing collaborative or efficient AVNs. 14% haven’t resolved their AVNs yet. According to our benchmarking, negotiating favorable terms is the #1 challenge brands face during AVNs. What challenges did you face within your AVN? And are you curious how your Amazon AVN experience, terms, and profitability compare your peers? Join me and Martin Heubel next Tuesday 6/25 where we’ll dig into the full results from our AVN Wrap-Up survey of 250+ brands. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eAD48b_g We’ll be covering: ✅ AVN intensity ✅ 2024 trade term %s ✅ AVN impact to brands’ margins ✅ Key profit levers for the year ahead ✅ and a chance to ask ALL your AVN questions! A must-attend for 1P vendors. See you there!

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Target is linking up with global commerce platform Shopify to bring customers even more choices when they shop Target.com. The retailer will offer a selection of Shopify’s popular merchants and products through Target Plus, its third-party digital marketplace. A thoughtfully chosen assortment of on-trend products and brands, like True Classic apparel and kids and baby clothier Caden Lane, will now be available through Target Plus. Additionally, U.S.-based Shopify merchants can apply to sell on Target Plus through Marketplace Connect, which is an app that enables merchants to sell and manage orders on leading marketplaces, including Target Plus. Furthering the partnership, Target will also become the first mass retailer to offer select Shopify merchants’ products in its physical stores in the coming months. | Progressive Grocer https://lnkd.in/gSSgNNwq #retail #supermarkets #grocery #Target #shoppers #brands #ecommerce

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Selection bias is at the root of so many bad decisions in retail. Here are three claims I’ve actually heard over the years from either tech vendors pushing their solutions or brand execs blowing their own horn: 1. “Our loyalty program members spend X% more than non-members, so our loyalty program drives higher LTV.” No, it doesn’t. Most likely, what’s happening is that your heavy buyers are enrolling in your loyalty program to get discounts on products they were previously buying at full price. 2. “AOV on our mobile app is X% higher than on our website, so our mobile app drives higher AOV.” No, it doesn’t. Again, what’s probably happening is that the only people motivated enough to download your mobile app are customers who were highly loyal to your brand in the first place. (Also, if you’re running any app-specific promos, see the point above.) 3. “Our post-purchase surveys show that customers come from <insert random channel>, so we’ll double down on our investment there.” I… don’t even know where to begin with this one. When you put it like this, the problem is obvious. Unfortunately, reality is much more complicated than a LinkedIn post, and while these conclusions may never be explicitly stated, they will still live rent-free in the minds of decision-makers if you leave them unchecked. There’s only one reliable, repeatable solution that I know of: Write. Things. Down. Having a system for going from hypothesis to conclusion to initiative is the only way to systematically minimize bias in decision-making. I would love to say “eliminate” instead of “minimize,” but that would be a bit too ambitious, not to mention unnecessary: as in most things, you don’t need to be perfect—you just need to be better than the other guy. #ecommerce #retail #strategy #decisionmaking #data

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An expanding Retail Ecosystem. Meeting customers where that are with offerings they appreciate. Clicks+Bricks - The Reach of E-commerce and the Touch at Physical Retail. Excerpts: Dive Brief: Fulfilling its promise to enhance its e-commerce business, Nordstrom is introducing a new digital marketplace on its website, the department store announced Monday. The retailer is showcasing a broader selection of products, sizes and brands through the marketplace. Among its marketplace partners are Mulberry, Adore Me, Cynthia Rowley and DXL, according to the announcement. Shoppers using the Nordstrom marketplace can still earn loyalty incentives and access perks such as styling and alterations. Dive Insight: Nordstrom’s marketplace launch comes after the retailer last month said it planned to lean into its e-commerce business. CEO Erik Nordstrom said during a Q4 earnings call that the retailer is enhancing its online personalization features. In recent years, other major retailers, including Macy’s, Walmart and Michaels, have created third-party marketplaces. However, instead of opening its site to a wide swath of sellers, the company carefully selected its marketplace brand partners “to ensure that our marketplace experience drives the relevance and inspiration that Nordstrom customers expect from us,” according to Miguel Almeida, Nordstrom’s president of digital and customer experience. “Nordstrom.com is our largest flagship store and gives us the opportunity to offer new and existing customers more choices for more occasions,” Almeida said in a statement. “Our goal isn’t to be the everything store, but to offer customers more breadth, depth and newness in the categories that they come to us for, from some of the most coveted brands in the market.” #nordstrom #retail #marketplace

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Ready for the holiday rush? StrataVision, in partnership with pass_by, is taking traditional holiday shopping forecasts to the next level. While our industry usually delivers a national top shopping dates list, we’re diving deeper with category-specific insights that cater to the unique needs of each retail segment. Beyond helping retailers prep for staffing and events, these insights can guide merchandising and last-minute marketing strategies. From Black Friday to the days leading up to Christmas, we’re here to help retailers fine-tune their approach for the busiest shopping season. Curious to learn more about how data-driven decisions can make an impact? Check out my latest blog or reach out to explore tailored strategies for your business. https://lnkd.in/ew9JRXgf #HolidayRetail #DataDriven #RetailAnalytics #StrataVision #AI #ShopperInsights

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As we look toward the retail holiday season and planning for the year ahead, MOHR Retail will be hosting a panel discussion that explores the landscape of retail store environments today, focusing on a range of topics, including the dynamic roles of store teams, the rise and fall of self-checkout systems, how stores are increasingly becoming fulfillment centers, and how successful retailers are addressing issues related to mental health, safety, and burnout amid preparations for the holiday season. Here’s a quick overview of some of these hot-button retail store trends and issues and what we’ll be focusing on during the webinar: ↪The Evolution of Store Roles With the surge of Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS) options and stores doubling as fulfillment centers, retail teams are adapting to new responsibilities. The traditional role of a store employee has shifted from managing in-store tasks to balancing online orders and managing stock all while building loyalty by ensuring a seamless customer experience, both online and offline. ↪The Rise and Fall of Self-Checkout Self-checkout was once hailed as a revolutionary step forward in retail efficiency, offering customers a quicker way to check out while reducing the need for staff. However, recent concerns over security, increased theft, and the impersonal nature of the experience have led some retailers to reconsider their reliance on self-checkout systems. ↪Doing More with Less As staffing challenges continue to rise, retailers are finding themselves needing to do more with fewer employees. Retailers need to rethink scheduling, training, and multi-role positions while looking for best practices that help streamline operations. If you’re interested in joining this panel discussion, reach out to me! We’re looking for your experiences, insights, ideas, and/or other lessons you might be able to share to add to a lively, thought-provoking discussion #LearnMOHR #RetailTrends #Retail

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CEO's rarely admit when they are wrong. However, Kohl's outgoing CEO, Tom Kingsbury , this week acknowledged mistakes that caused a steep drop in the retailer’s quarterly sales.   Kohl’s scaled back popular private-label brands, fine jewelry, and petite clothing sizes—moves that turned off shoppers and contributed to a 9.3% drop in quarterly sales.   Without the lift from SEPHORA, which has shops inside Kohl’s stores, sales would have dropped even more.   While #inflation and other macroeconomic events played a role, many problems were self-inflicted. “It’s up to us to fix it,” Kingsbury said.   Or rather, it will be up to Kingsbury’s successor. A day before Kohl’s reported its disappointing earnings, the company announced a leadership change: Ashley Buchanan, a former Walmart executive currently the chief executive of Michaels Stores, will take over in January. Kingsbury will remain in an advisory role and retain his board seat until he retires in May.    Kohl’s was in trouble before Kingsbury, a retail veteran, took the reins, first as interim CEO in late 2022 and then as permanent CEO a couple of months later.   Sales have declined for 11 consecutive quarters, and more than half a billion in sales have evaporated. Kohl’s shares are down 52% over the past two years.    It is a surprising outcome given Kingsbury’s pedigree and the fact that he was installed on Kohl’s board at the behest of activist investors, who had pushed for the company to run itself more efficiently. A former May Department Stores executive, Kingsbury worked briefly at Kohl’s before becoming CEO at Burlington Stores, Inc., where he led a turnaround from 2008 to 2019.   His priorities at Kohl’s included making its stores and website better places to shop, offering clearer value, improving inventory management, and strengthening the balance sheet. Many of the moves backfired.    Kohl’s scaled back its fine jewelry departments to make room for Sephora shops in its stores, which upset customers. In an effort to carry less inventory, it reduced its selection of clothing in petite sizes—a decision Kingsbury called “shortsighted.”    And in another attempt at reducing inventory, it cut back on private label brands like Sonoma and FLX, as it stocked more national brands such as Nike and Eddie Bauer. The retailer’s private-label inventory dropped on average by more than 20% and even more sharply for several key brands.   “We thought, ‘We can do more with a lot less,’ and that didn’t work out for us,” Kingsbury said.    Now, Kohl’s is reversing those moves. It has reintroduced jewelry to 200 stores. It is expanding its petite offerings and is stocking more private-label goods. Kingsbury said he expects those efforts to translate into better sales late this year and early next year. Many of Kingsbury’s initiatives are works in progress and are gaining momentum.  https://lnkd.in/e6sRiukq

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Will Amazon (and other retailers) lose constituents due to stricter return rules? The answer is not straightforward. As highlighted in a recent #RetailWire commentary, stricter return policies must be tailored to different product categories (e.g., hard goods vs. apparel) and customer segments (e.g., abusers vs. 'borrowers' vs. straight forward purchasers) to drive profitability effectively. Implementing reasonable return rules can not only enhance profitability but also potentially boost foot traffic in stores. By identifying and addressing chronic abusers through dynamic return rules based on their purchase/return history, retailers can maintain profitability without alienating loyal customers. Check out more insights on how Amazon's revised return policy and similar strategies could impact the retail landscape: https://lnkd.in/eSKddCUZ

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