Welcome back to the deep dive. So if you're a
retail executive and you're getting ready for
NRF 2026, or maybe you're just, you know, trying
to get a real handle on the major shifts happening
right now on the store floor. Well, this deep
dive is definitely for you. Our mission today
is to unpack what's really going on, focusing
on where true innovation is happening. And what
the key difference is between abstract technology
and the tools that actually functionally work
on the front line. Exactly. Now, anyone who follows
us knows we often look at companies that are
driving real world change. And if you're a retail
leader, you're almost certainly familiar with
Multimedia Plus and their INCITE platform. We're
going to use their recent work as a bit of a
roadmap here to understand how the industry is
solving some of its biggest headaches. And we
should probably just cut straight to the chase.
The core conclusion from every single report
we looked at is this. For years, we heard this
narrative. The death of the store. The death
of the store, exactly. But that whole era of
gloomy predictions, it's over. Physical retail
isn't just surviving. It's at a huge inflection
point. It's reasserting itself as the absolute
center of the customer experience. OK, let's
unpack that because that is a massive pivot from
what we've been hearing for the last decade.
I mean, it wasn't long ago that futurists were
telling us malls would be ghost towns. Right.
And that everything meaningful would move online.
Yeah. Well, the data shows that shoppers frankly
just did not get that memo. Digital transformation
happened, of course, but the physical store has
evolved. It's reinvesting in itself and it's
proving its value. The sources are really clear
on the data here. In -person shopping drives
higher conversion rates. Consistently. OK, that's
the transactional piece. But what about the strategic
side? How is it becoming the heart of the experience
again? It really comes down to two things that
digital still can't quite replicate. OK. Emotional
connection and brand immersion. The store is
where a customer builds loyalty. It's where they
can touch the product, get real help. And where
the brand story is actually told in a physical
space. Exactly. But. And this is critical. This
success is totally contingent. The research confirms
that all those financial benefits, that higher
conversion, the loyalty, the lifetime value,
they only show up when the store is running optimally.
And that optimization, it all hinges on associates
who are confident and engaged. Hmm. So if the
human element is weak, then the store loses its
unique advantage completely. So the store never
lost its importance. It needed better tools,
better training. That's it. The problem wasn't
the store itself. It was the decades old, really
abstract ways we were trying to support the people
in it. Right. Now, let's widen the lens a bit.
This is all happening while the macroeconomic
climate is shifting. The sources say it's actually
a lighter landscape for retail execs. This is
such a crucial point. It lets you, the executive,
shift your focus. For so long, all the strategic
energy was just sucked up by external pressure.
Trade wars, supply chain chaos. All of it. Now
those headwinds are starting to feel more like
tailwinds. First, the big tariff uncertainty
that dominated planning is... Well, it's largely
behind us. And what does that clarity actually
do for a retailer? It hits the capital budget
directly. When you're not constantly reacting
to surprise costs, you can actually commit to
big internal improvement projects. It frees up
resources. OK. Second, interest rates are finally
trending lower. This helps consumer spending,
which is great, but it also eases the cost of
capital for the retailer. So those big tech investments
that might have been on hold for a few years.
Are suddenly much easier to greenlight. Exactly.
We're seeing a shift from just capital conservation
to strategic deployment for growth. And the third
thing is huge. Office attendance is climbing
again. We're finally seeing foot traffic patterns
in urban centers start to normalize. Which restores
a level of predictability. A huge level. It brings
energy back to those flagship locations. That's
a powerful mix. So you're removing all this external
economic friction, which lets executives focus
on the one thing they can actually control. Internal
execution. And that, of course, brings us to
the topic that is dominating every single conversation
at NRF. AI. AI. It's the single most talked about
thing. You walk the floor, it's AI for task management,
AI for content, AI for inventory. AI for everything.
It is genuinely table stakes now. But this is
where it gets really interesting, right? Because
AI is being used so broadly. Yeah. It's almost
becoming meaningless. It is. We all know the
goals automation efficiency. Yeah. But if every
single vendor has AI? What's the actual differentiator?
That is the critical question. The real issue
isn't who has AI. It's who is using it in a way
that actually works in the stores. OK, clarify
that. What does a generic, non -context -aware
AI look like, and why does it fail for the frontline
team? It fails because it treats retail like
a back office spreadsheet. It might be great
at analyzing sales data, but when it tries to
create training for the store floor, it just
falls flat. It uses generic stock photos, abstract
language. It just doesn't reflect the daily reality
of an associate. The chaotic reality. The chaotic
visual situational reality. Exactly. Retail is
human. If the solution doesn't understand the
context, the brand, the uniform, the store layout,
it won't get adopted. It just becomes more corporate
noise to ignore. That distinction context over
command is so important. And it brings us right
to these specific advancements on the INCITE
platform that really get this. Let's start with
the INCITE brand aware AI image generation.
That sounds like it tackles that visual disconnect
head on. It really does. I mean, think about
the challenge of creating visuals for training.
You're either using generic stock photos that
nobody relates to. Or you're spending a fortune
on photo shoots that are outdated the minute
they're done. Precisely. This new tech is AI
image generation. that's uniquely trained on
the brand's own specific assets, their guidelines,
their store designs. It means the images are
generated inside that brand's world. So if I
need a visual for merchandising a new display,
the image shows associates in our actual uniform
with our fixtures in a background that looks
like our store. Exactly, even down to the lighting
on the flooring. And the difference is profound.
When the content feels that relevant, engagement
just soars. Training stops being some abstract
theory and becomes practical knowledge you can
use right now. That's huge for relevance. But
what about speed and connection? The second big
thing is INCITE posts with video. Yeah, this
solves a pain point every retail executive knows.
That communication gap between corporate and
the store. The long email chain that gets lost
and misinterpreted a hundred different ways.
Exactly. It lacks tone. It lacks urgency. So
picture this instead. A VP of stores is on the
floor, sees something great or something that
needs fixing. Instead of long email, they pull
out their phone and record a quick, you know,
two minute video. Real store, real energy. That
video gets shared instantly through INCITE posts
to every single store. The associates hear the
message directly from leadership. They see what
good looks like. It feels like a direct connection,
not a top -down mandate. It's faster, it's clearer,
and it's just more human. And this idea of accelerating
visual content seems to scale up even further
with what the Designed by MMP creative team is
doing with AI video. Yes, this is for the more
high -quality, long -form stuff. Product knowledge
modules, compliance training, that kind of thing.
Which historically meant film crews, shutting
down stores, weeks of editing. A total nightmare.
And if something changes, you have to do it all
over again. Right, a costly reshoot. Exactly.
The innovation here is using AI tools in the
creative workflow to produce video that is, well,
it's virtually indistinguishable from a traditional
shoot. Realistic scenarios, lifelike talent,
great storytelling. Oh wait, is this just like
stitched together stock clips or stiff avatars?
Because for a luxury brand, quality is everything.
That's where the human creative direction is
key. No, these are not stiff avatars. The quality
check is paramount. The real advantage is speed
and flexibility. Brands can launch polished,
complex video content in days, sometimes just
48 hours instead of weeks. So you can be incredibly
responsive without the old production headaches.
Monumental speed with high brand integrity. But
as you said, innovation has to be grounded in
reality. Which brings us to the growth of the
MMP advisory bench. That seems like a big move
to keep the tech practical. It's critical. If
you're the executive making a big tech decision,
you need to know the tool wasn't just built in
a vacuum. Bringing in these seasoned retail leaders
ensures every feature is solving a real -world
problem. So who are some of these people? What
lens are they bringing? Well, you've got three
really crucial profiles. First... Vince DeLosa.
He was the president of Ralph Lauren Retail North
America. Four decades of experience. OK, so he
understands scale. He understands operating at
massive scale while protecting the integrity
of a premium brand, which is incredibly difficult.
His focus is ensuring the tech simplifies that
without compromise. And who else? Then there's
Missy Poole. Over 25 years. at places like Apple
and Ralph Lauren. Her focus is so important.
How does technology support culture? How does
it drive performance and customer connection?
She connects the tech to the human outcomes.
Right. It's not just about tasks. Not at all.
And finally, Maureen Smith. Her expertise is
deep in luxury retail training and brand storytelling.
She makes sure the content, AI -generated or
not, is emotionally resonant, that it helps associates
build real relationships. So you have this foundation
of expertise, scale, culture, and emotional connection.
That ensures the innovation is viable, not just
theoretical. Okay, so let's synthesize all this.
We have the store reemerging, a better macro
landscape, and this need for context -aware AI.
What's the ultimate takeaway for the listener?
The takeaway is this. We're at an inflection
point. Stores are no longer competing against
digital. They're complementing it. They're the
emotional anchor. The brands that win over the
next few years will be the ones who equip their
frontline teams with tools that are fast, visual,
relevant, and above all, human -centric. It's
not about replacing people. It's about making
people better at their jobs, moving from just
digital transformation to genuine human transformation
on the sales floor. Precisely. Technology should
be an accelerator for human capability. It shouldn't
ask people to adapt to clunky tools that were
never designed for their world. That's a powerful
way to frame it. The future isn't some theoretical
thing. It's happening right now on your floor.
And for you, the retail executive heading to
NRF 2026, here's a final thought. You know the
limits of traditional content creation, the cost,
the delays, all that friction. Now imagine how
much faster you could execute your strategy when
your creative direction is combined with the
acceleration of true context -aware AI. Imagine
removing those production limits entirely. This
NRF is a unique chance to meet the team building
these exact solutions. If you want to see brand
aware AI image generation, INCITE posts with
video, the speed of AI powered video, you really
need to meet them in person. You can kick the
tires, ask the tough questions and see how they
ground all this in practical execution. Just
visit booth5450 at NRF 2026. Thank you for taking
this deep dive with us.