Love it or loathe it, Black Friday has become a permanent fixture on the UK retail calendar. In this episode, Natalie shares her predictions and general observations around Black Friday 2023. You'll learn: Why Natalie is expecting a strong turnout this year. Black Friday creep - why retailers like John Lewis are going earlier than ever before. Whether the growing skepticism around Black Friday will impact shoppers' willingness to participate. Why blanket discounts are out and targeted promotions...
Nov 14, 2023•15 min•Ep. 22
Collins Dictionary has announced that ‘AI’ is the Word of the Year for 2023. Miya Knights, Retail Consultant and Publisher of Retail Technology Magazine , joins Natalie to discuss the wide-ranging implications of artificial intelligence. They break down the learnings from last week’s first ever AI Safety Summit, held at Bletchley Park, exploring both short-term and longer-term risks posed by the technology. They then move into a conversation about AI's impact impact on the retail sector and how ...
Nov 07, 2023•36 min•Ep. 21
In this bumper episode of Retail Disrupted, retail consultant and high street champion Graham Soult joins Natalie to discuss Wilko’s return to the high street, Asos/Next results and the opportunities and challenges facing high streets in this digital era. 5m: Business rates 10m: Store closures 14m: Wilko’s demise and rebirth: what went wrong and how will the new Wilko stores be different? 21m: Back from the brink: how to revive defunct brands 28m: Mixed fashion fortunes: Is Asos still relevant a...
Nov 03, 2023•44 min•Ep. 20
In retail today, you need to have a laser-clear understanding of your brand and what it stands for. But what if what you stand for is no longer culturally relevant? Can you shed your skin and completely reinvent yourself? Can you BUY your way out of cultural insignificance? The lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret has tried to do exactly that and it hasn’t worked out so well . They're now ready to ditch their feminist makeover and re-embrace "sex appeal". On today’s podcast, we’re going to be explor...
Oct 20, 2023•15 min•Ep. 19
Ben Sillitoe , Founder and Editor of Green Retail World , joins Natalie in Cannes for a live recap of Manhattan Exchange. How might generative AI be used in warehouses? What are the benefits of giving customers greater control post-purchase? And as consumers deprioritize environmentally-friendly purchases, does Ben think this is just a blip? Or does affordability now trump sustainability? They also explore the implications of Manhattan's latest whitepaper Redefining Retail: What's Next for Shopp...
Oct 11, 2023•30 min•Ep. 18
George Nott, Technology Editor at The Grocer , joins Natalie to discuss the evolution of quick commerce. They examine the latest Uber Eats/Getir collaboration, how traditional supermarkets are responding to the quick commerce trend and whether the world is ready for AI-powered conversational shopping experiences. Fun Fact: Did you know 'getir' means 'bring' in Turkish? Connect with George: LinkedIn Twitter...
Oct 03, 2023•34 min•Ep. 17
Live from Paris Retail Week, Natalie speaks to FreedomPay and Worldpay about unified commerce and how payments are evolving to meet customer needs. Panellists include: Chris Kronenthal , President at FreedomPay Barry Stearn , VP Global Program Owner at FreedomPay Lee Reed , VP Partnership Management at Worldpay Tom Essenhigh , VP Retail at Worldpay The panel discussion can also be viewed on YouTube ....
Sep 28, 2023•35 min•Ep. 16
H&M is the latest fashion retailer to start charging shoppers for online returns. Jonathan De Mello, Founder & CEO at JDM Retail, joins Natalie to explore whether the days of free returns are really over. Why has bracketing (ie. buy 5 items, return 4) become normalised? Hint: retailers, you created a monster. And will charging for returns will be enough of a deterrent to reverse the buy-to-try shopping mentality? Links: JDM Retail Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn Follow Jonathan on Twit...
Sep 21, 2023•31 min•Ep. 15
"We hate Amazon. They'll bully us and do horrible things to us. They'll use us, we don't want anything to do with them." - Iceland Managing Director, 2018 Fast forward five years… This morning Amazon UK announced that frozen food specialist Iceland will begin selling groceries on its platform. In this episode, Natalie explores the rationale behind Iceland’s shift in strategy and why Amazon is expanding its relationship with third party supermarkets like Morrisons, Co-op and now Iceland. Amazon m...
Sep 13, 2023•17 min•Ep. 14
Richard Hammond, CEO of Uncrowd and fellow retail author, joins Natalie to explore the differences in US and UK grocery retailing. Why have British retailers failed to crack the American market? When is it ok to have friction? Automation - how can retailers balance customer satisfaction and operational efficiencies? And what is the risk of deprioritizing CX investment in the current climate? Listen to the end to hear Richard's own experience of being stuck in self-checkout jail. 🙂 Connect with ...
Jul 20, 2023•43 min•Ep. 13
It's Amazon Prime Day and the bargains are flying - but will shoppers bite? What's new this year and how has the competition responded? In this episode, Natalie also shares her views on Amazon's latest personalisation efforts. Amazon may be the Everything Store, but it's not exactly the Inspirational Store. How might personalised deals feeds, liveshopping and Prime Day experiences help Amazon to shift its utilitarian image?
Jul 12, 2023•20 min•Ep. 12
Are the UK supermarkets profiteering ? Food price inflation remains stubbornly high at 18.4% - its highest level since the 1970s - and now lawmakers want to understand if the supermarkets are lining their pockets at the expense of the shopper. In this episode, Natalie shares her views on why the grocers aren’t guilty of greedflation: they have no choice but to remain price competitive, while simultaneously doing everything in their power to protect their inherently low profit margins. Harvir Dhi...
Jun 29, 2023•18 min•Ep. 11
Brittain Ladd, former Amazon executive and one of the world’s leading experts in retail strategy, robotics, microfulfillment, logistics, and supply chain management, joins Natalie to break down what a potential Amazon-Ocado deal might look like. They discuss: Why Brittain believes that Amazon should buy Ocado. Why Amazon would want to double down on grocery e-commerce just when shoppers are returning to supermarkets. Whether acquiring Ocado would be a tech/fulfilment play or a chance to finally ...
Jun 23, 2023•44 min•Ep. 10
French retailing giant Carrefour has become the first grocery retailer to integrate ChatGPT into its e-commerce website. Its new AI-powered chatbot Hopla will help online shoppers make decisions based on their budgets or dietary constraints. In this episode, Natalie explores the potential for this technology to inject more inspiration into the online grocery experience. Food shopping is habitual and most shoppers are sleepwalking when ordering groceries online. Can AI solve that problem by provi...
Jun 16, 2023•15 min•Ep. 9
Supermarket loyalty schemes are having a revival but is customer loyalty dead? In this epsiode, Natalie explores how the need to offer customers immediate value and the opportunity for personalised promotions has seen grocers rewrite the rules of these schemes. Natalie also gives her views on the May retail figures from the BDO - why didn't a Coronation and sunshine stimulate spending? Footfall was up but it didn't translate into retail sales growth. Is this because consumers parted with their c...
Jun 09, 2023•16 min•Ep. 8
In this week’s episode, Natalie shares the highlights from her recent interview with Simon Arora, former CEO of B&M, and delves into Bill Gates’ prediction that AI will lead to the demise of Amazon. “You will never go to a search site again, you will never go to a productivity site, you’ll never go to Amazon again,” Gates said at an event in San Francisco earlier this week. How will the development of an AI personal assistant alter our habits in the future? How might it transform the way we ...
May 26, 2023•22 min•Ep. 7
Amazon’s pay-by-palm technology is being tested in select Panera locations in the US. JP Morgan will also begin piloting biometrics-based payments with US retailers this year. According to Google Intelligence, global biometric payments are expected to reach $5.8 trillion and three billion users by 2026. Are shoppers ready for this next level of convenience? How will Amazon benefit? And how can linking loyalty programmes create a more personalised (perhaps too personalised) experience? For more, ...
Mar 28, 2023•14 min•Ep. 6
Boris Planer, Head of Consumer and Market Insight at the trend forecasters WGSN, joins Natalie Berg to discuss the state of German retail and in particular why department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is closing nearly half of its stores. Natalie also breaks down Inditex’s annual results, exploring topics such as: Self-checkouts in non-food retail. Inditex's plans to eliminate hard tags on its clothes is expected to speed up the checkout process by up to 50%. Will it work? Who else is loo...
Mar 22, 2023•24 min•Ep. 5
Miya Knights, author, consultant and publisher of RetailTechnology.co.uk, joins Natalie Berg to break down the biggest news stories reshaping retail. They discuss: Recent changes to loyalty schemes at major UK retailers Boots and M&S. Are points-based schemes becoming a thing of the past as consumers demand real-time value and rewards? Or are these changes a sign that loyalty schemes are too costly to run at a time when retailers are facing an incredible amount of cost pressure themselves? W...
Mar 16, 2023•39 min•Ep. 4
We often think of Amazon as one of those invincible brands. A bulletproof business. A business that has transformed the retail sector thanks to a relentless dissatisfaction with the status quo. But like a lot of tech companies they thrived during the pandemic and now they’re finding life difficult. Why? 1) General volatility. Like all retailers, Amazon is grappling with unprecedented cost inflation at a time when consumer demand remains sluggish. That’s a dangerous combo for any business but in ...
Mar 07, 2023•18 min•Ep. 3
One of the most hotly anticipated store openings – or should we say REopenings – is happening this week. US-based beauty retailer Sephora re-entered the UK market last fall when it spent a whopping £132 million to acquire online beauty retailer feelunique. After an 18-year hiatus, Sephora is back in Blighty, and this week it opens its first store in Westfield in White City, West London. In this episode of Retail Disrupted, we explore the return of the beauty retailer – what it means for the incu...
Mar 07, 2023•9 min•Ep. 2
The retail sector is no stranger to disruption. Technology continues to disrupt all aspects of shopping - from on-demand groceries that turn up in 15 minutes to in-store experiences becoming more seamless, connected, and relevant. Today, shoppers are hyper-informed, digitally-enabled and hungry for shopping experiences that reflect their 21st century needs. Hosted by Retail Analyst and Author Natalie Berg, Retail Disrupted will help you stay on the of the latest industry developments, trends and...
Mar 07, 2023•6 min•Ep. 1
