Retail Prophet

We've spent the last 20 years technologizing retail, making it bigger, faster and more global.  But that's also meant an unprecedented and often deadly level of competition in every category.  In this episode Doug discusses the greatest challenge facing all retailers and brands today, and why technology alone won't save them. But something else just might. 

Geopolitical events have disrupted retail, but retail has also contributed to geopolitical disruption, argues host Doug Stephens.  And it's making us all unsafe. 

In this special episode, Doug sits down with Retail Dive columnist Daphne Howland for a wide-ranging interview on the future of retail. From emerging technology and demographic trends to the new strategic imperatives to succeed in retail, and much more. 

Amid the sea of turmoil in the retail sector and the weekly waves of disastrous news, at least one brand is not merely staying afloat but thriving. Nike has not only endured the crisis but also managed to accelerate through it. But far from being the result of a desperate pandemic-induced pivot or some happy accident, the seeds of Nike’s current resilience were planted deep into its strategy several years ago.  In this episode Doug looks at how that strategy unfolded and the lessons all brands can take from Nike's radical approach.

The global decline of religion and eroding faith in government is creating a societal vacuum where trust in conventional institutions once existed.   It's a vacuum that some brands are daring to fill. But can brands succeed in instigating lasting social and environmental good and, if so, at what cost?  In this, the premiere episode of 2020, Doug explores the human need for community, purpose and belonging and how astute consumer brands are turning corporate activism into an competitive advantage. 

In this episode Doug argues that the most important metric in retail is something that most retailers aren't even measuring. 

For centuries luxury brands appealed to our sense of status to sell their goods.  But for a new generation of western consumers, the notion of what defines status is changing.  The question is can luxury brands change with it.

In this episode, Doug explores the current battle cry in retail that "every company is a data company". 

Amidst what most agree is a virtual collapse of the department store model for retail, one entrepreneur in Texas is aiming to redefine the channel. In this episode I speak with Matt Alexander, founder of Neighborhood Goods, a new-concept department store in Plano Texas. 

In 2013 I wrote an article called The Store is Media where I projected a new era of retail where the primary purpose of physical stores would cease to be to sell products but rather to create and monetize customer experiences.  Today, a new class of pioneering retailers and industry players are bringing this concept to life. In this episode, I caught up with several of them to tap their thoughts on this seismic shift and what it means for the future of retail. 

Each year the retail industry invests billions of dollars in customer loyalty programs but do they actually make customers more loyal?  In this episode Doug explores the surprising truth about our loyalty to retailers and why a new breed of program is turning the industry on its head. 

In a world where radical business innovation is now a matter of survival, many companies are held back by the very thing they care most about. In this episode, Doug shares one simple way of instigating breakthrough creativity in any business. 

While the retail industry grapples to play checkers, Amazon has become a Grandmaster of chess, quietly drawing retailers into the ultimate technological checkmate.