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AI-assisted shopping brand clarity brand familiarity brand positioning CPG packaging decision fatigue digital shelf emerging brands Emily Wolf field research fulfillment associates gen z shoppers in-store shopper behavior invisible shopper omnichannel retail packaging design product positioning retail observation shopper behavior STONE Strategy & Design Target third-party shoppers Walmart
Brands That Venture Out Into the Field Gain an Invaluable View from the Shelf Emily Wolf

Brands That Venture Out Into the Field Gain an Invaluable View from the Shelf

I recently spent 16 hours inside Walmart watching people shop. I wasn’t there conducting formal research. I was…

Executive Viewpoints October 30
brand activations customer acquisition experiential retail in-store experience market testing pop-up retail product trial retail expansion retail marketing retail strategy
Catarina Tucker A Pop-Up Isn't Automatically a Market Test. So What Are We Actually Testing?

A Pop-Up Isn’t Automatically a Market Test. So What Are We Actually Testing?

I love a good pop-up. A beautifully designed space, an experience that gets people excited, a line out…

Executive Viewpoints October 29
audience targeting college enrollment cliff consumer behavior gen z holiday marketing holiday shopping influencer marketing life stage marketing retail media social media discovery
Holiday Marketing Has a Gen Z Problem Munif Jaafar

Holiday Marketing Has a Gen Z Problem

Holiday campaigns start earlier every year. Back-to-school displays now share shelf space with holiday promotions, streaming platforms release…

Executive Viewpoints October 28
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customer acquisition customer experience Customer loyalty customer retention ecommerce holiday retail holiday shopping lifecycle marketing personalization retail marketing
The Holiday Shopping Moment Is Seasonal. The Customer Relationship Isn’t. Jeanniey_Walden_Headshot1[64]

The Holiday Shopping Moment Is Seasonal. The Customer Relationship Isn’t.

Retailers spend much of the year preparing for a handful of moments that can make or break a…

Executive Viewpoints October 27
AI in retail artificial intelligence content orchestration customer experience digital signage in-store experience interactive retail Mónica Fernández Bové nSign operational data physical retail retail automation retail media Retail technology smart stores store operations
The Next Interactive Store Won’t Wait To Be Touched Monica Fernandez_nsign.tv

The Next Interactive Store Won’t Wait To Be Touched

Data, AI and retail media can turn physical stores from static environments into responsive ones— if retailers avoid…

Executive Viewpoints October 26
ai artificial intelligence consumer behavior customer experience Digital Commerce personalization product discovery purchase decisions retail innovation Retail technology

AI: The New Gatekeeper in the Purchase Decision

For much of the past two decades, retailers have focused on helping consumers find products online. Search engines…

Executive Viewpoints October 23
brand strategy Consumer engagement experiential marketing in-store marketing lead generation pop-up marketing retail activations
What the Best In-Store Brand Activations Get Right Ray Sheehan Old City Media

From Pop-Up to Payoff: What the Best In-Store Brand Activations Get Right

Retail activations can take many forms, but the best ones tend to share a few characteristics. They give…

Executive Viewpoints October 22
ai brand visibility conversational ai customer journey Digital Commerce omnichannel marketing personalization product discovery retail media social media
Christiana Marouchos How AI Assistants Are Changing Product Discovery

How AI Assistants Are Changing Product Discovery and Becoming the New Shopping Aisle

AI isn’t just rapidly transforming how people work. It’s also changing how people shop. In the not-so-distant past,…

Executive Viewpoints October 20
ClickPost customer lifetime value customer retention direct-to-consumer dtc ecommerce returns exchanges free returns holiday returns NRF post-purchase experience Q4 2026 return fees returns serial returners

Why ‘Free Returns’ Broke U.S.DTC and What to Do About It Before Q4

The story is repeating across U.S. retail. Sub-scale DTC brands closing. Established DTC names cutting staff. Category leaders…

Executive Viewpoints October 19
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