Brick & Mortar Reborn

Retail Resilience in the COVID Era: Insights from Tony Donofrio on the Convergence of Trends and Future-Proofing Business Strategies

How is COVID-19 going to change retail? What trends that were already in place are beginning to accelerate because of the changes necessitated by the pandemic? How can essential retailers leverage the business they’re getting right now, and how can nonessential retailers ensure their survival and success once we’re in a post-COVID world? Those are some of the questions addressed by today’s guest Tony Donofrio, CEO of TD Insights. Listen to the interview to hear what Tony has to say about how nonessential retailers can hit the ground running post-COVID-19, what retailers get wrong about merging online and offline experiences, and what changes will be temporary or permanent after the pandemic.
 
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ How Tony got started in retail
✔ Biggest changes Tony has seen in customer behavior in the last few years
✔ Whether nonessential retailers will be able to get back to business post-COVID-19
✔ Whether the current changes are likely to be temporary or become the new normal
✔ Whether there are things retailers can do now to prepare so that they’re in a good place when things reopen
✔ What retailers get wrong when merging online and in-store services
✔ Best practices that retailers can start implementing today
✔ Areas that Tony thinks retailers should avoid right now
✔ Best in-store experience Tony has seen
✔Key takeaways for retailers during the pandemic
✔The biggest things that are going to shape retail in the next five years
Resources: Tony Donofrio
QUOTES:
“COVID-19 is leading to more services such as buy online, pick up in-store.” “Even my 90-year-old father in Italy has actually ordered groceries and had them delivered.” “Do things to basically get in front of your customer base, especially if you have a good contact list for that customer base.”

Inside the World Retail Congress with Ian McGarrigle: Navigating the Changing Retail Landscape and Building Stronger Customer Connections

Ian McGarrigle has worked in business to business journalism, publishing, and retail industry event organizing, and he’s the chairman of the World Retail Congress. What’s the World Retail Congress? You’ll find out more about it in today’s interview. Listen in to hear what Ian has to say about his work in the World Retail Congress, how the changes in retail in response to the pandemic will hold up in the long term, and how retailers should think about connecting with their customers.
 
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ What the World Retail Congress is
✔ Changes in consumer behavior over the last few years
✔ Whether the pandemic changes are temporary or represent a new normal
✔ Long and short-term changes that retailers need to prepare for
✔ Best practices for retailers for connecting with customers
✔ Things that retailers should avoid doing right now
✔ Ian’s favorite in-store experience
✔ Advice for retailers
✔ Technology lessons that have been adopted more quickly than Ian anticipated
Resources: Ian McGarrigle
QUOTES:
“We’ve all been changing dramatically because we’ve been adapting and using different digital technologies – mobile primarily in recent years – and that’s really been massively reshaping the industry.” “We’re going to emerge after this with fewer stores held by retailers.” “There’s also feedback that consumers are going to hold back because they’re going to feel nervous, anxious.”

The Evolution of Retail with CAO Shep Hyken: Bridging Offline and Online Worlds for Stellar Customer Experiences

Today’s guest, Shep Hyken, has an unusual title – he’s the CAO (Chief Amazement Officer) of Shepard Presentations. He’s also a speaker and a bestselling author, and he joins the podcast today to share some of his thoughts about how retailers are changing and adapting in the current era. Listen to today’s episode to hear about how Shep got started in this industry, the importance of planning ahead for crises, and why it’s so important to avoid negatively impacting the customer experience in the retail space.
 
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ How Shep’s company got started and what he focuses on
✔ Biggest changes in customer behavior over the years
✔ Changes to retail post-COVID
✔ Whether the COVID-related changes will last long term
✔ Planning ahead for crises
✔ What Shep suggests to companies that can bring the offline and online worlds together in one place
✔ Why businesses need to avoid negatively impacting the customer experience
✔ Technologies that are currently being adopted at a faster pace
✔ Being both optimistic and realistic
Resources: Shep Hyken
QUOTES:
“A customer wants to be treated with dignity and respect. If they are getting ready to buy something, they want help. If they have a question, they want it answered. If they have a complaint, they want it resolved.” “If we go back into a shutdown because people weren’t doing what they were supposed to be doing, it’s the end of even more businesses.” “There’s a lot of reasons to smile. We’ve seen new ways of doing business emerge that we are now more comfortable with, and maybe we were scared of before that don’t scare us as much anymore. I think that’s important.”

Navigating Retail’s New Reality: Insights from Melissa Gonzalez on Adapting in the Post-COVID Era

This is an interesting time for brick and mortar retailers as they face the unique challenges that come along with the COVID-19 pandemic while also trying to adapt to technological and consumer changes in the retail space.
Joining the podcast today to talk about these issues is Melissa Gonzalez, the CEO and Founder of the Lionesque Group, as well as a Principal in the MG2 Group, and the author of The Pop-Up Paradigm: Building Human Connections in a Digital Age. Listen in to hear what Melissa has to say about what inspired her to write a book, what the biggest changes she’s seen in consumer behavior are, and what retailers should be thinking about as the retail space emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ Melissa’s background
✔ What is meant by “popup paradigm”
✔ What inspired Melissa’s book
✔ Biggest changes that Melissa has seen in customer and consumer behavior
✔ What Melissa thinks will change once a vaccine is found
✔ How to bring digital technologies together with the in-store experience
✔ Areas that retailers should avoid right now
✔ Notable brands with great in-store experiences
✔ Top things for retailers to think of when coming out of the COVID situation
✔ Technologies that have adopted faster than Melissa expected
✔ Technologies that Melissa thinks retailers should adopt
Resources: Melissa Gonzalez
QUOTES:
“I didn’t think the industry needed a “how-to” book, but really kind of just understanding the place that pop-ups have within the industry.” “The impacts of change we’re seeing right now is definitely holistic across that whole ecosystem.” “Shopping in retail is emotional. It’s an emotional experience.”