1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,160
Have you ever like needed a last minute gift,

2
00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:06,280
ordered it online, thought you were in the clear,

3
00:00:06,280 --> 00:00:09,960
and then bam, delivery date is next year.

4
00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:11,240
Oh, tell me about it.

5
00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:13,040
So come on!

6
00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:16,280
Anyway, it feels like retail these days.

7
00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:20,440
This is crazy mix of like super convenient

8
00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:23,840
but also kind of a chaotic mess sometimes.

9
00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:25,720
So that's what we're diving into today.

10
00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:27,280
Yeah, we're going deep.

11
00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,880
We're gonna try to figure out how this whole retail

12
00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:31,440
world actually works.

13
00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:32,280
Behind the scenes.

14
00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:33,100
Behind the scenes.

15
00:00:33,100 --> 00:00:34,840
We've got some really interesting research here.

16
00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:35,680
Yeah, definitely.

17
00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:37,720
Stuff about warehouses and like,

18
00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:39,000
you know when you're online shopping

19
00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:39,840
and suddenly-

20
00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:40,680
Algorithms?

21
00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,120
In algorithms, it's like, how do they know I wanted that?

22
00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:43,960
Yeah, they get you.

23
00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:44,960
They get you every time.

24
00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:46,320
So we're gonna unpack all that

25
00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:48,680
but it's actually more than just buying stuff, right?

26
00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:50,160
Right, it's way bigger than that now.

27
00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:53,240
Our sources are saying retail has become this whole web

28
00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:58,040
of like operations, leadership, technology.

29
00:00:58,040 --> 00:00:59,960
Even like employee motivation plays a role.

30
00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:00,920
It's pretty fascinating.

31
00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:02,880
Okay, so let's start with the behind the scenes stuff.

32
00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:03,720
Yeah, let's do it.

33
00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:06,400
Our sources paint this picture of retail

34
00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,720
like this giant well-oiled machine.

35
00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:10,720
Hopefully well-oiled.

36
00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:11,920
Hopefully.

37
00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:14,160
Right, because you were saying even a tiny part

38
00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:15,560
can mess up the whole thing.

39
00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:18,400
Exactly, it's all about streamlining processes.

40
00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:19,240
Which-

41
00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:20,080
It makes total sense.

42
00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:21,880
It makes sense, but it's not always easy.

43
00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:23,600
Like remember that whole ever given ship,

44
00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:25,880
Skuck and the Suez Canal a while back?

45
00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:27,360
Oh yeah, that was wild.

46
00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,520
One ship, global trade at a standstill.

47
00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,280
It just shows how fragile these supply chains can be.

48
00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:34,960
That's like a domino effect.

49
00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:37,440
Exactly, and retailers are constantly dealing with that.

50
00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,160
On top of like keeping up with fast fashion

51
00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,000
or the shift to online shopping, it's a lot.

52
00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:44,520
And speaking of online shopping,

53
00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,160
something I found super interesting in all this research

54
00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,720
is how much emphasis there is on the human side of things.

55
00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:51,560
Oh, for sure.

56
00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:53,280
Like we think of online shopping as this,

57
00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:55,920
I don't know, kind of cold transactional thing.

58
00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,320
But it sounds like creating a positive experience

59
00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:01,960
for customers really comes down to people.

60
00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:03,040
100%.

61
00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,640
You can have the best website, the best app,

62
00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:07,080
all the bells and whistles.

63
00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,040
But if the people behind it aren't invested.

64
00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:11,040
Yeah, it shows.

65
00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:12,120
It totally shows.

66
00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:14,520
There's this great case study we have in our material

67
00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,400
about a clothing company that totally revamped

68
00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:19,160
how they train their employees.

69
00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,280
Yeah, they focused on empowering their people

70
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,520
to make decisions, really listen to what customers

71
00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,080
were saying they needed, and actually go above and beyond.

72
00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:29,280
Not just, you know.

73
00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:30,200
Phoning it in.

74
00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:30,880
Exactly.

75
00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:31,800
And guess what?

76
00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:36,160
Employee morale went way up, customers were happy campers,

77
00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:37,960
and of course, profits followed.

78
00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:38,760
Makes sense.

79
00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,040
It proves that investing in your people

80
00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:43,200
is the best thing you can do for your business.

81
00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:45,960
And I feel like that plays into this whole balancing

82
00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,000
digital innovation with in-store engagement thing

83
00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:50,240
our sources talk about, right?

84
00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:51,520
Oh yeah, absolutely.

85
00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:52,760
It's finding that sweet spot.

86
00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:54,680
Because I was at this bookstore recently,

87
00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:56,000
and they had this cool app.

88
00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,920
I could scan a book, read reviews instantly, super handy.

89
00:02:58,920 --> 00:02:59,760
So convenient.

90
00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:00,320
Right.

91
00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:02,840
But then, I also had this staff member

92
00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,600
who knew everything about books, giving me recommendations.

93
00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:07,320
And it was a nice balance.

94
00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:11,200
It was a perfect blend, you know, tech and the human touch.

95
00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:11,880
Exactly.

96
00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:13,400
That's exactly what they're going for.

97
00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,920
But OK, speaking of tech, we have to talk about the big one.

98
00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:16,960
The elephant in the room.

99
00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:17,640
AI.

100
00:03:17,640 --> 00:03:21,200
And I mean, forget robot stocking shelves.

101
00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:22,240
It's more than that now.

102
00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:23,320
It's way more than that now.

103
00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,160
This is like algorithms predicting what I want to buy

104
00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:27,320
before I even know it.

105
00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:29,560
Before you even thought about it, they're like, here you go.

106
00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:30,360
Right.

107
00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:31,400
It's a little creepy.

108
00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:33,120
But like, there is a whole report

109
00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:37,160
on how AI personalizes our online recommendations.

110
00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,000
Like, it's looking at my browsing history,

111
00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:40,160
what I've bought before.

112
00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:42,160
How long you hover over an image, even?

113
00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,280
Stop, really?

114
00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:44,760
It's true.

115
00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:45,840
They're tracking all of it.

116
00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:47,720
I knew my phone was listening to me.

117
00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:49,200
It's like it's reading our minds.

118
00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:51,000
But OK, jokes aside, it does make

119
00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,160
me think about the whole data side of retail.

120
00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:55,760
Because our sources say retailers

121
00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:57,760
are like obsessed with metrics.

122
00:03:57,760 --> 00:03:58,840
Oh, yeah.

123
00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:00,600
Numbers, numbers, numbers.

124
00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:02,280
Sales per square foot.

125
00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:03,120
That's a big one.

126
00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:04,680
It's like they're trying to decode

127
00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:06,680
our every shopping desire.

128
00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:09,720
Because they want to know what works.

129
00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:11,640
Sales per square foot tells them

130
00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:15,400
how well they're using their actual store space, which,

131
00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:17,880
when you think about rent, is a big deal.

132
00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:18,320
Right.

133
00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:18,920
Makes sense.

134
00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:20,760
But it's more than just the numbers themselves.

135
00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:23,200
It's about understanding what they actually mean.

136
00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:25,560
Are people hanging out in a certain section?

137
00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:27,680
Are they adding stuff to their online cart?

138
00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:28,160
And then?

139
00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:29,160
Roasting their cart?

140
00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:29,840
Yes.

141
00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:31,120
Abandoning their cart.

142
00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:32,360
They need to figure out why.

143
00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:34,160
It's like they're detectives, almost.

144
00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:34,760
In a way.

145
00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:35,200
Yeah.

146
00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,360
And then they use all these clues to make things better,

147
00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,280
like the store layout, what products they put where,

148
00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:42,320
even marketing campaigns.

149
00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:43,400
It's all connected.

150
00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:46,160
So it's not just about tracking the sale itself.

151
00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:50,360
It's about understanding why we buy what we buy.

152
00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:50,960
Exactly.

153
00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,880
Which I think is a really good place to wrap things up.

154
00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,600
After going through all this research,

155
00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,280
what do you think the future of retail looks like?

156
00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:01,200
Are we all going to be shopping in the metaverse?

157
00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:04,600
Or will real life stores always be a thing?

158
00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:06,280
I mean, that's the million dollar question.

159
00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:07,240
Great.

160
00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:08,520
I wish I had a crystal ball.

161
00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:11,760
But honestly, I think the only thing we know for sure

162
00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:13,320
is that retail is going to keep changing.

163
00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:14,480
Constantly evolving.

164
00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:15,320
Exactly.

165
00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:18,440
Who knows what crazy innovations are coming next

166
00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:19,680
or what challenges.

167
00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:21,720
It's going to be a wild ride, that's for sure.

168
00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:25,000
Well, on that note, I think that's a good place to leave it.

169
00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,080
Lots to think about for sure.

170
00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:29,400
Thanks to everyone for joining us for this deep dive

171
00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:30,640
into the world of retail.

172
00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:50,280
Thanks, everyone.