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Our fourth and final episode recorded at Shoptalk, Las Vegas, produced in partnership with Bread Financial, a tech-forward financial services company providing simple, personalized payment, lending and saving solutions.
Featuring:
1/Kevin Miller, the Chief Marketing Officer of The Fresh Market
2/Jennifer DiPasquale, President and Co-founder of Women in Retail
3/Sophie Marchessou, Chief Customer Officer at Mirakl
4/Emma McFerran, CEO of Lyst
5/, Chris Clark, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Grove Collaborative
6/Arvind Gupta, the President and CEO of Jesta I.S.
Kevin Miller, CMO, The Fresh Market
In the first interview of episode four recorded at Shoptalk, Kevin Miller, the Chief Marketing Officer of The Fresh Market, delves into the supermarket’s remarkable journey and its innovative marketing strategies, including the pivotal role of live streaming.
Kevin kicks off the conversation by highlighting The Fresh Market’s impressive transformation from being voted the worst company in America to the top-ranked supermarket three years in a row. With a focus on fresh food and special occasions, The Fresh Market has carved out a niche as a specialty grocer with 170 stores across 22 states.
Shifting the focus to Shoptalk, Kevin highlights the event’s significance as a hub for retail innovation, providing invaluable insights into industry trends and networking opportunities.
Kevin delves into The Fresh Market’s foray into live streaming, a strategic move to tap into younger demographics and enhance customer engagement. With over 130 million views and a staggering 1000 days of cumulative watch time, The Fresh Market’s live streams have emerged as a game-changer, driving both online and in-store sales.
Graham and Kevin delve into the broader digital marketing landscape, emphasising the importance of a unified approach across various platforms to deliver a seamless customer experience. Kevin highlights The Fresh Market’s commitment to crafting a signature shopping experience, whether in-store or online, with a focus on joy, trust, and discovery.
Jennifer DiPasquale, President & Co-Founder, Women in Retail
The next interview features Jennifer DiPasquale, President and Co-founder of Women in Retail, to explore the organisation’s mission, membership benefits, and its partnership with Shoptalk.
Jennifer provides an overview of Women in Retail, highlighting its focus on championing and amplifying executive-level women in the retail sector. With close to a thousand members from diverse business sizes, Women in Retail offers a suite of leadership development services and a network of executive-level women for connection and collaboration.
Delving deeper into membership benefits, Jennifer discusses the organisation’s signature events, including a national summit and various city-based gatherings. These events offer a blend of retail strategy and executive leadership development, fostering connections and knowledge-sharing among women in the industry.
The conversation turns to Women in Retail’s partnership with Shoptalk, where they host an exhibition area featuring discussions on leadership topics led by executive-level women from prominent brands like Build-A-Bear, Ralph Lauren, and Ulta. This collaboration enhances the conference experience, providing attendees with insights into leadership challenges and amplifying women’s voices in the industry.
Reflecting on key takeaways from the conference, Jennifer highlights discussions around AI, seamless customer integration, and navigating economic uncertainties, underscoring the dynamic landscape of the retail sector.
Sophie Marchessou, Chief Customer Officer, Mirakl
In the next insightful interview, Sophie Marchessou, Chief Customer Officer at Mirakl, discusses the company’s growth, current trends in consumer shopping habits, and the impact of AI on the retail sector.
Sophie provides an overview of Mirakl, highlighting its evolution from a marketplace solution to a comprehensive SaaS platform offering various solutions for retailers and B2B companies. With significant growth over the years, Mirakl now serves approximately 450 customers worldwide, processing billions of dollars in gross merchandise value (GMV) through its platform.
Delving into current trends, Sophie emphasises the continued growth of marketplaces, with a year-over-year increase exceeding 50%. Despite challenges in 2023, marketplace platforms offer retailers the flexibility to adapt their assortment to meet consumer demand and remain competitive in the market.
The conversation shifts to the impact of AI on Mirakl’s business operations, with Sophie citing its significance in enhancing both front-end customer experiences and back-end data processing. AI-powered personalisation and product data enrichment contribute to a more seamless and efficient retail experience for both retailers and consumers.
Reflecting on highlights from Shoptalk, Sophie notes the prevalence of AI and retail media discussions, coupled with a more optimistic outlook for investment and consumer spending in 2024.
Emma McFerran, CEO, Lyst
The next interview at Shoptalk is with Emma McFerran, CEO of Lyst, delving into the world of fashion e-commerce, AI technology, and the evolving landscape of customer shopping habits.
Emma provides an overview of Lyst as a premium fashion shopping app and website, catering to a vast audience of 200 million fashion shoppers annually. Lyst’s mission is to leverage data, technology, and AI to deliver a personalised shopping experience for customers while providing retailer partners with access to a highly engaged audience.
The conversation shifts to the role of AI and machine learning at Lyst, with Emma highlighting its pivotal role in accelerating personalisation and enhancing the quality of the shopping experience. By utilising AI-driven image-to-text recognition and computer vision technologies, Lyst can deliver tailored recommendations and streamline product discovery for customers.
Emma reflects on the long-term opportunities presented by AI in revolutionising the fashion shopping experience, envisioning creative use cases that align with Lyst’s mission of helping customers discover and fall in love with fashion items.
Addressing shifting customer habits, Emma discusses the growing trend of informed and research-driven luxury fashion shoppers, as well as the rapid emergence and disappearance of micro-trends influenced by social media. She emphasises Lyst’s ability to stay agile and adaptive in navigating the ever-changing landscape of technology and consumer behaviour.
Wrapping up the interview, Emma highlights the importance of company culture, ownership, and agility in staying ahead of the curve amidst evolving technological advancements and customer preferences.
Christopher Clark, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, Grove Collaborative
In this insightful interview, Chris Clark, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Grove Collaborative, discusses the company’s mission, approach to sustainability, and strategies for cultivating customer loyalty.
Chris provides an overview of Grove Collaborative as a CPG brand and retailer committed to offering sustainable, natural, and nontoxic home care, personal care, and wellness products. With a focus on removing single-use plastic and promoting human and environmental well-being, Grove Collaborative partners with brands aligned with its mission.
The discussion delves into the process of vetting brands, where sustainability and commitment to the mission are paramount considerations. Chris highlights Grove’s efforts to drive change in the industry by setting high standards for ingredient quality and labour practices.
Chris shares insights on Grove’s customer loyalty approach, emphasising the importance of prioritising core retail values over technology-driven solutions. He reflects on past experiences where technology initiatives missed the mark due to a lack of alignment with customer preferences and values.
Chris discusses enhancements to the customer experience at Grove, particularly in expanding the addressable market beyond subscription-based models to accommodate diverse customer preferences and buying behaviours.
As Gen AI and data analytics continue to shape the retail landscape, Chris provides a glimpse into Grove’s utilisation of AI for content scanning, copywriting, and data analysis. While acknowledging the potential for automation in the future, Grove remains committed to maintaining a human-centric approach to customer service.
Lastly, Chris touches on the significance of data in informing business decisions, highlighting Grove’s efforts to centralise and democratise access to data across the organisation to empower employees in their day-to-day operations.
Arvind Gupta, President & CEO Jesta I.S.
In the final interview of the episode, Arvind Gupta, the President and CEO of Jesta I.S., sheds light on the company’s role in enabling brands to optimise their supply chain, digital presence, and in-store experiences.
Arvind provides an overview of Jesta I.S.’s 54-year journey in delivering solutions for brands across various verticals, emphasising their focus on three main pillars. Firstly, Jesta I.S. aids brands in optimising their supply chain operations, facilitating planning, production, and global inventory management. Secondly, the company assists brands in establishing an optimal digital presence, ensuring seamless integration between online platforms and head office operations. Lastly, Jesta I.S. enables frictionless, unified commerce experiences for brands, bridging the gap between online and in-store shopping environments.
The discussion touches upon Jesta I.S.’s collaboration with renowned brands in the apparel, footwear, and sporting goods industries, including JD Sports, Genesco, DSW, Perry Ellis, and Puma.
Arvind elaborates on the concept of unified commerce, emphasising its significance in providing consumers with a persistent, consistent, and frictionless shopping experience across various channels. He highlights its impact on breaking down organisational silos within brands, ensuring that associates have a unified view of customer journeys.
Arvind discusses its increasing relevance of AI in the retail industry and its impact on enabling personalisation and optimising supply chain operations. Leveraging vast amounts of data, Jesta I.S. utilises AI to enhance the customer experience and ensure agile flow of goods within the supply chain.