Spieckerman Speaks Retail
Retail is exciting, fast-moving, and filled with opportunity, yet information overload is a constant challenge. Join retail strategist and top influencer Carol Spieckerman every other Tuesday as she navigates past the noise to get to the heart of what really matters in retail. In every episode, Carol harnesses her latest retail trajectories and interviews with industry experts to distill tools, tactics, and takeaways for wherever you play in retail. If you’re ready to cut to the chase, or just want to be inspired by where retail is going next, this show is for you. Visit spieckermanretail.com for more retail insights and event updates.
Episodes
64 episodes
NRF 2025: Decoding Signals Beyond the AI Echo Chamber
Sure, everyone was buzzing about AI at NRF 2025 – but what if that's not actually the biggest story from retail's marquee event? In this episode, Carol Spieckerman dives into the fascinating undercurrents that were easy to miss as the AI buzz g...
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19:20
The Full Funnel Effect: In-Store Media Gets a Glow-up
Retail media networks are still on fire, but most retailers are just scratching the surface when it comes to tapping in-store opportunities. In this episode, Cole Johnson, founder and CEO of The Looma Proj...
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23:33
Consumer Primacy and the Work Shop Shift: A Conversation with Joe Brady
In this episode of Spieckerman Speaks Retail, Carol Spieckerman sits down with Joe Brady, commercial real estate guru and author of "Work. Shop. The Consumer-Driven Transformation of Commercial Real Estate." Joe unpacks how the conc...
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36:42
Seamless, Shoppable, and Swift: Eitan Koter’s New Rules of Video Commerce
In this episode of Spieckerman Speaks Retail, Carol Spieckerman explores the convergence of commerce and media with Eitan Koter, Co-CEO of Vimmi. Eitan shares Vimmi’s journey from a media and entertainment techn...
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42:00
Full Path Analysis: Decoding Shopper Behavior Beyond Footfall
In this episode of Spieckerman Speaks Retail, host Carol Spieckerman sits down with Joe Shasteen, global manager of advanced analytics at RetailNext, to discuss the latest trends in retail analytics and i...
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31:27
Are you Ready for Unready? It’s Launch and Learn Time!
The old days of retailers quietly testing new tech offstage are a relic of the past. Welcome to the launch and learn era, where retailers are ditching the warm-up act and releasing tech straight into consumer environments before the kinks are w...
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13:37
Owning Your Data Assets and the Art of Noodling Around: New Technologies Mean New Priorities
Navigating the flood of new technology rushing into retail isn’t for the faint of heart. As promising as the possibilities are, deciding where to go first and how far will be a constant conundrum for retailers and brands.Carol’s guest, <...
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26:26
Unlocking the Power of Payments Media Networks in Retail: A Conversation with SnippMedia’s Tom Burgess
The retail media juggernaut is showing no signs of slowing down as retailers seize the opportunity to monetize first-party consumer data. Payments media networks (PMNs) are emerging as the next frontier, extending the reach of CPG advertising w...
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28:27
Calling Mrs. Maisel! Retail Clienteling is Cutting Edge (Again)
Clienteling has evolved from a cumbersome, manual hustle reserved for high-end brands into an accessible, scalable retail tactic. To take full advantage, retailers need to let go of old ways of thinking about store productivity and the crucial ...
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29:40
Brian Librach Plots the Route. The Retail Leader’s Roadmap
Retailers and brands are swinging attention back to brick-and-mortar and investing in employee training, development, and perks to stay competitive. Despite these efforts, many organizations still don’t have the bandwidth to fully optimize work...
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27:54
"People Before Things." Putting the Human Back in Human Resources
Retailers are diversifying into new channels, business models, and touchpoints and in-store experience is taking center stage once again. In this environment, human resources emerges as a new frontier. Previously siloed and unsung, HR professio...
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25:58
Authentic Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Amplifying the Differences that Make a Difference
Retailers and brands know that attracting a diverse workforce and consumer base is critical to their future. Yet, casting a wider net without phoning it in has never been more challenging. As chief consulting officer and executive p...
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29:09
Suiting up for Success: Sharp Strategies for Slaying D2C with Diana Ganz
Sales in discretionary categories are soft, the hype surrounding direct-to-consumer brands is dulling, and achieving E-commerce profitability remains elusive. Against this backdrop, SuitShop emerges as a triple threat.
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37:31
Comparing Walmart and Target No Longer Makes Sense (But I’m Doing It Anyway)
The one-two punch of Q2 earnings reports from Walmart and Target is always a harbinger of retail’s health as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the make-or-break holiday season loom. Yet the daylight between these power players keeps getting brighter...
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16:50
Digital Defrags Are Saving Retailers’ Assets
The digitization of stores, the rise of retail media, and retail theft prevention all share a common trait: rapid evolution from disjointed, scrappy efforts into unified opportunities that boost retailers' bottom lines. Now, a surge of innovati...
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12:41
Turning up the Volume: Criteo and Brandcrush on Amplifying Retail Media’s Next Act
Big money. Massive margins. Exponential reach. It’s no wonder retail media has emerged as retailers’ top platform monetization play. Opportunities will hit new heights as in-store digitization accelerates and new touchpoints are energized. Bran...
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31:23
When Will the Category-Killing Carnage End?
A new breed of retail chain emerged in the 80s that spelled a last hurrah for brick & mortar before the digital floodgates opened in the 90s. Bigger than a specialty store yet smaller than a supercenter, category killers offered every size,...
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10:56
April Retail Heat Map and Clickbait Clap-Back
Walmart’s Windy City wind-down and portfolio purges, Bed Bath & Beyond going bust, retail returns resets, “free” shipping surges…It’s been a newsy couple of weeks in retail to say the least! In this lightning-round episode, Carol clap...
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13:46
It’s Time for Malls to Engage in the E-commerce Economy
Malls are by no means dead, but they have been largely excluded from the e-commerce economy. Mall tenants have traditionally owned direct consumer connections that translate into digital relationships. All of that is set to change as mall owner...
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31:46
2023 Will be the Year of the Store
After years of investing in digital and E-commerce capabilities, retailers and brands are swinging attention back to their bricks. A wave of innovation and diversification is set to crest in 2023 and stores will be hubs for much of the action. ...
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14:45
Retail Holiday Heat Map: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Gift Shifts, Shrinkage Surprises, Small Biz Benefits
Tis the season when retail watchers around the globe read the tea leaves to divine how the 2022 retail home stretch will play out. In this lightning round episode, Carol connects the dots across a dizzying array of holiday hot topics, inspired ...
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10:17
Retail Globetrotting Rundown
Carol catches up with Nick Harbaugh, otherwise known as the Retail Nomad, as he wraps up his 2022 global retail tour. Combining his love of travel with an endless curiosity about retail, Nick will have visited five continents, 18 countries, and...
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19:30
Crushing the Retail Media Opportunity (It’s Just Getting Started)
Retailers have gone positively mad for ads, and it’s no wonder. Despite the wildly different takes on its potential, everyone agrees retail media is a multi-billion-dollar opportunity and a powerful hedge against inflation and other margin-kill...
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25:34
When More is More: Harnessing Retail’s Data Deluge
Inventory planning and pricing strategy have become moving targets for retailers, particularly as inflation lingers on a global scale. Retailers have access to more data from more sources than ever before yet making sense of it and making good ...
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23:08
Mix Shifts, Margins, and Misfires: A Between-the-Lines Take on Target and Walmart
Walmart and Target are harbingers of retail’s health, yet raw sales numbers don’t tell the full story. The one-two punch of earnings reports from these two power players underscored the impact that inflation, supply chain snags, and inventory p...
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16:48