#rtp editors

NRF2020 is less than a week away, and the Retail TouchPoints team is sending its full editorial team to cover the hottest sessions and gather insight on the top new trends and solutions for 2020. Leading retail and tech CEOs including Best Buy’s Corie Barry, Starbucks’ Kevin Johnson, Kohl’s Michelle Gass and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella lead a stellar group of executives speaking at the event, revealing their “2020 Vision” to thousands of attendees.

The Retail TouchPoints editors share what they are most looking forward to at the NRF2020 Big Show.

Adam Blair, Editor: One thing I always look forward to at the NRF Big Show is the Innovation Lab. It’s the place where I’ve met robots face to face, gotten the low-down on visual search and stepped into a bit of augmented reality. Beyond the fascinating tech showcased by the exhibitors there, the Innovation Lab also was the site of a session that first alerted me to the potential dangers of AI. I’m not talking about an Arnold Schwarzenegger-style Terminator roaring back from the future, but the present-day ethical difficulties of keeping deep-set human biases out of the algorithms that power artificial intelligence and machine learning. It’s the old Garbage In-Garbage Out from the early days of computer coding, but supercharged with the mystique of AI. Artificial intelligence is already an incredibly useful tool, but ultimately it needs to support human judgment — not supplant it.

Glenn Taylor, Senior Editor: There’s always something new to learn about at NRF, and a portion of what goes on at the event sets the tone for the rest of the year. One panel I will be attending shares prospects and perspectives on the U.S. economy in 2020, and their likely effects on retail. Considering I’ve moderated financial panels at the past two RIC events and anticipate moderating a similar panel this year, I need all the insight I can get on the financial/business outlook for the rest of the year. I’m definitely looking forward to hearing about some of the potential macro headwinds that could affect the economy (ongoing China trade issues and the recent geopolitical tensions in Iran come to mind here), as well as the smaller issues that exist within each retail sector. Either way, NRF2020 is shaping up to be an exciting event and I anticipate there will be additional surprises to keep an eye out for.  

Retail TouchPoints successfully wrapped up its fifth Retail Innovation Conference last week, and there was no shortage of insights shared throughout the three-day event. The agenda included top-notch content, such as how to combine iteration and innovation to build a disruptive retail experience; how next-gen CEOs are approaching physical retail strategies; and best practices for AI implementations. The 500+ attendees left the event with plenty of inspiration that they could bring back to their retail businesses.

The RTP editors share insights into their biggest takeaways from #RIC19, and why they matter in today’s retail environment.

Adam Blair, Editor: I had many positive takeaways from #RIC19, including the wide variety of speakers delivering on-target, relevant content; the exciting physical store experiences on display at Hudson Yards; and as always, the attendees’ hunger for relevant information (which we hopefully satisfied). But what’s staying with me right now was a statement by Amy Shecter, CEO of Glamsquad, who was a panelist at the Strategies For Strengthening Businesses By Empowering Women Leaders session. At the session’s start, Shecter noted that the audience composition for events with these types of titles are, almost without fail, 90% female. (I looked around and confirmed that males were definitely in the minority in the room). It’s great that women in retail can get practical advice on how to make their voices heard in order to leverage their unique strengths. However, the apparent lack of interest from men in what women have to offer was more than a little disheartening. Guys: we have to do better.

Glenn Taylor, Senior Editor: Since there’s always so much chatter regarding what Millennials are doing (or not doing), it was refreshing to hear insights on the demographic that subvert typical expectations. Kasey Lobaugh’s insistence that Millennials, like all other generations, “behave more like their income than their age” gets away from the typical generalizations about the demographic, and shows that there’s still plenty of nuance in how any generation is spending their money. It’s easy to narrow down the Millennial audience based on statements like “prefers experiences over things” or “have short attention spans,” but to tack onto what Lobaugh said, a shopper living in New York City and a shopper from Louisiana are likely not going to have the same shopping habits. During the same session, Doug Zarkin of Pearle Vision offered comments that provided additional refinements beyond income level, specifically toward marketers trying to reach Millennials. With more purchasing options and information than ever before, Millennials are forcing retailers to put greater effort into building trust — a differentiating point that consumers of all ages are likely to appreciate.