Center for Retail Transformation Advisory Board

Pavan Pidugu

Kiel Stone — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 14:29:40 +0000

Pavan Pidugu Kiel Stone Thu, 06/30/2022 - 10:29

Chief Technology Officer, FMCSA

Biography

Pavan is a visionary and goal-oriented leader with over a decade of experience in carrying out technological innovations in the retail industry for global players. With extensive experience in such global retail brands as Target and Walmart, Pavan's responsibilities have always revolved around instituting strategies and solutions with his continued success being a testament to his ability. Pavan has built a strong reputation in innovation and leadership in retail technology and received many awards, has been known as an influencer in retail technology for his efforts to change the retail systems landscape for many retailers including the world's largest retailer.

Pavan recently transitioned from the Retail industry to the public sector to bring radical transformation to an underserved sector, serving as the Chief Technology Officer at FMCSA, an agency in the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Michael Zakkour

Kiel Stone — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 14:27:34 +0000

Michael Zakkour Kiel Stone Thu, 06/30/2022 - 10:27

Founder & CEO of 5 New Digital

Biography

Michael Zakkour is the Founder & CEO of 5 New Digital, a digital commerce, retail and consumer journey consultancy and ecosystem, and China BrightStar, a China/APAC digital, consumer and market strategy firm. Michael is one of the world’s leading retail futurists, whose insights, innovations and predictions on the future of eCommerce, The New Retail Model, and digital commerce have shaped the narrative and reality of commerce in the 21st century.

Michael has advised hundreds of global brands, retailers, CPGs and manufacturers on developing and capitalizing on new business opportunities through digital transformation and consumer centricity. Michael’s reputation as a business and futurist and his practical strategies for change have made him an in-demand consultant, C-suite coach, corporate strategist and keynote speaker.

George Shaw

Kiel Stone — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 14:23:18 +0000

George Shaw Kiel Stone Thu, 06/30/2022 - 10:23

Founder and CEO of Pathr.ai™

Biography

George Shaw is the Founder and CEO of Pathr.ai™. Prior to founding Pathr.ai, Shaw served as Senior Director of Technical R&D at AltSchool and held senior technical positions at Intel and Target, working respectively as a Principal Engineer and Principal Data Strategist in Consumer IoT. Shaw was a Technical Fellow & Scientific Advisor and Vice President of R&D at RetailNext, revolutionizing the way retailers generate and utilize data about how customers move through their stores. He also served as a consultant at Second Spectrum, implementing spatiotemporal pattern recognition and machine learning technology to provide real-time insights based on NBA player movements.

How Retail Innovators Are Bridging the Physical-Digital Divide

Marianne Klinker — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 15:46:31 +0000

How Retail Innovators Are Bridging the Physical-Digital Divide Marianne Klinker Thu, 02/24/2022 - 10:46

Too often, the future of retail is thought of as an either-or game, with ecommerce and brick-and-mortar stores either competing for consumer attention or catering to totally disparate consumer segments. But the rising trend of autonomous retail proves that digital and in-store experiences are only points on an evolving retail continuum that industry innovators are actively exploring.

The Center for Retail Transformation within the School of Business recently held a webinar on autonomous stores, moderated by Center director and associate professor of marketing Gautham Vadakkepatt. This was the first in a series of planned online events launched in collaboration with sponsor Microsoft.

The panelists were ShiSh Shridhar, global retail lead of Microsoft for Startups; Pawel Grabowski, head of unmanned stores for Zabra Polska, Poland’s biggest convenience store chain; Raz Golan, CEO and co-founder of smart shopping cart solution Shopic; and Daniel Lundh, the founder of Storekey, a platform that powers Lifvs, Europe’s largest unmanned grocery chain, among other retailers.

The speakers underscored that the frictionless shopping experience addresses consumer pain points such as increasingly low tolerance for long queues, aversion to social mixing amid the pandemic, and demands for flexible shopping experiences.

Each panelist took a different route to arrive at a frictionless result. Shopic’s solution adds a clip-on device to existing shopping carts allowing shoppers to scan, bag, and buy items without waiting in a queue. Zabka Polska offers a range of options depending on context and consumer preference, from enhanced self-checkout to fully autonomous stores, while Storekey’s scan & go mobile platform-based solution facilitates round-the-clock cashier-less stores in locations where conventional retail outlets could not survive.

Customer convenience is the most immediate and obvious benefit of these solutions. But the true win-win arises with the deluge of data that results when digital technology supplants potentially low-value human interaction (such as passing grocery items one-by-one to a check-out person). The ability to track and analyze individuals’ shopping habits opens up brand-new possibilities for personalization of the customer experience and optimization for the retailer (i.e., inventory management, assortment mix, etc.).

Privacy being a perennial concern, though, customers must be convinced to hand over their data voluntarily. The panelists were in general agreement that people will gladly do so if they receive value out of it. For example, Lundh described how Storekey and Lifvs got customers in a remote area of Sweden to upload photos of the contents of their fridge prior to opening a store. The company communicated honestly with consumers: It needed to know what brands local households were already buying in order to ensure viable inventory. Both parties, therefore, had something to gain: The company got valuable information, and the locals supported a store close to home that would normally be doomed to failure due to the area’s sparse population.

Interestingly, the panelists reported levels of “shrinkage” (i.e., shoplifting) comparable to those of conventional physical retail. They pointed out that the wall-to-wall digital surveillance of autonomous retail environments is a good stand-in for the often not-so-watchful eye of store employees.

But what happens to the humans who currently scan, bag, and stock items in retail stores? Would frictionless solutions put them out of work? Not necessarily. Instead, it may free employees to come out from behind the checkout counter and really engage with customers, figuring out what they want and introducing them to relevant products. Frictionless retail solutions point toward a future for physical retail that includes both the convenience of digital and tactile, experiential interactions with products. To put it another way, the future of retail will be about customizing data-driven approaches to fulfill customers’ changing wants and needs.

As Shridhar said, “It’s about the power of choice and the evolution of technology to enable those choices.”

Topics

Costello College of Business News

Center for Retail Transformation Advisory Board

Deborah Weinswig

Marianne Klinker — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 17:39:10 +0000

Deborah Weinswig  Marianne Klinker Fri, 01/14/2022 - 12:39

CEO and Founder, Coresight Research 

Biography

Deborah is CEO and Founder of Coresight Research, a research and advisory firm specializing in disruptive technologies reshaping today’s retail landscape. Coresight Research has a global presence spanning the US, Europe and Asia, including deep expertise in the fast-changing China market. Deborah serves on the board of directors for Goodwill Industries NY/NJ, GUESS?, Inc., Kiabi, Street Soccer USA, Xcel Brands, Inc. & Retailers United. She is on the advisory board of the World Retail Congress and Retail Analytics Council and a mentor for several accelerators. Deborah is a Certified Public Accountant and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago.

ShiSh Shridhar

Marianne Klinker — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 17:37:38 +0000

ShiSh Shridhar  Marianne Klinker Fri, 01/14/2022 - 12:37

WW Lead for Retail Startups, Microsoft 

Biography

ShiSh is the Worldwide Lead for Retail with Microsoft for Startups. ShiSh has over 15 years of experience working with the top retailers around the world to help solve business challenges using AI, Machine Learning and Emerging technologies. ShiSh has been with Microsoft Corp for the last 24 years focused on bridging business challenges with technology solutions across different industries and geographies. In his current role, he partners with some of the most innovative B2B retail startups to help them scale with access to powerful technology including Azure and GitHub Enterprise coupled with a streamlined path to selling alongside Microsoft and its global partner ecosystem.

Jeff Roster

Marianne Klinker — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 17:35:58 +0000

Jeff Roster Marianne Klinker Fri, 01/14/2022 - 12:35

Strategic Advisor, Third Eye Advisory

Biography

Jeff Roster is a Strategic Advisor at Third Eye Advisory and Producer and Cohost of the industry-leading This Week in the Innovation Podcast, covering the future trends in the retail sector IT landscape and accurately predicting their impact on IT spending patterns.

Courtney Robinson

Marianne Klinker — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 17:34:18 +0000

Courtney Robinson  Marianne Klinker Fri, 01/14/2022 - 12:34

Head of Financial Inclusion and Public Policy Development, Square, Inc.

Biography

Courtney is the Head of Financial Inclusion and Public Policy Development for Square, Inc., where she works on issues critical to underserved communities and financial services policy development, particularly related to equal access to banking services and the broader financial system. Prior to her work at Square, she served as senior counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services; as the Policy Counsel for the Center for Responsible Lending; and as a Legal Analyst for Freddie Mac. Her work and expertise have been featured in national media.

Saif Rivers

Marianne Klinker — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 17:32:54 +0000

Saif Rivers  Marianne Klinker Fri, 01/14/2022 - 12:32

Head of Big Box Retail, Google

Biography

Saif is Head of Big Box Retail at Google. Saif has a deep background in Retail operations having spent several years working for innovative UK retailers in merchant and operational roles. In his consulting tenure, he has worked with many leading retailers across the globe, on projects spanning Supply Chain, Customer Experience, Omni-Channel Operations and Store Performance

Nicole Leinbach Reyhle

Marianne Klinker — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 17:31:33 +0000

Nicole Leinbach Reyhle  Marianne Klinker Fri, 01/14/2022 - 12:31

Founder and publisher, RetailMinded.com 

Biography

Nicole is the founder and publisher of RetailMinded.com, a well-respected retail industry resource that has been recognized worldwide for its leading business insight since 2007. She is also the Co-founder of the Independent Retailer Conference. Focused on independent retailers, small businesses and technology, Nicole has been the Spokesperson for American Express’s Small Business Saturday since 2014 and is recognized within the top 10 out 100 worldwide retail thought leaders since 2015 – including having held the #1 spot – and a retail “futurist” for IBM