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BrainTrust LIVE: From NRF 2023

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This year’s NRF Big Show in New York was a huge event.

Once again, I joined my good friend Ricardo Belmar of Microsoft for a run-down on some of the show’s most important trends. Watch it all here: BrainTrust LIVE NRF 2023

Key NRF Insights

Along the way we tackle:

  • The problem of retail overstocks
  • The surge in Retail Media Networks
  • In-store sensing and electronic shelf labels
  • Omnichannel trends
  • The ubiquity of AI claims at booths and in sessions
  • The atmosphere and “tone” of the event

The NRF organizers said about 35,000 folks attended this year’s Big Show.

NRF Recap

You may find convenient access to the official NRF event recap here.

This was not my first rodeo. Ricardo and I have teamed up at a number of industry events to share our observations. Check out my on-the-floor solo webcast from 2019.

Why are Retailers so Overwhelmed by Overstocks?

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overstocks

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NO SURPRISE, the retail industry is swimming in excess inventory lately. Overstocks leapt forward by double digits in the latest quarter for a dozen of the nation’s largest chains, as they rebound from the supply shortages and out-of-stocks which have vexed them since early 2020.

Today on RetailWire.com, I weighed in on a lively discussion about this problem entitled: “Why are retailers struggling so hard to balance inventory?“ Certainly 20, 30 and 40 percent leaps in stock on hand are partly a sling-shot effect, since retailers over-ordered desperately during the 2020-21 supply disruptions. The situation has been rough on all retailers, but the apparel leaders are taking early and aggressive markdowns on overstocks that arrived too late for missed seasons.

Opinionated as I am about inventory accuracy in retail, I jumped on my high horse with a critique of the global manufacturing and shipping industries. I tossed in a not-too-subtle swipe at Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand” for good measure.

The implications span both micro- and macroeconomics. Long lead times are too often tolerated in the name of scale economies. Big plays in highly concentrated markets set the stage for massive disruption when things go wrong.

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Third Party Grocery Delivery? Omnichannel Grocers Wrestle With Choices

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grocery delivery

THIS MORNING on RetailWire.com I jumped on my high horse again with this little screed about grocery delivery strategies for supermarkets. As usual, I didn’t shade my opinion about 3rd party solutions, and I know some will take exception. That’s OK. The debate is important.

For perspective, when I founded the VStoreNews e-letter in 1998 I posited a world where grocery stores delivered everything – their own products plus those of other local retailers. Hasn’t happened yet.

The Grocery Delivery Debate

My comments today on RetailWire.com:

I’m squarely in the camp that advocates for own control of all customer-facing services by the retailer. High delivery costs remain a challenge, but this factor must be accounted for in a comprehensive manner. What do you really risk when you put digital moments of truth in the hands of an outside solution provider?

Third-party services intermediate the retailer’s service experience and divert essential data about shopper behavior. I could never agree to hand over control of my brand relationships to gig-workers directed by a company that is angling to become my competitor.

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NRF 2019: Three Vibrant Themes from Tenser’s Take on BrainTrust LIVE!

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NRF 2019

LIVE FROM NRF 2019: My BrainTrust LIVE! report from the Big Show in New York, Jan. 14 2019.

Tenser’s Tirades reports from the crossroads of the Big Show floor as hundreds of attendees flow past. This year’s event boasted 37,000 registered attendees, 900 members of the media and more than 120 keynote, breakout, and vendor-sponsored educational sessions.

BrainTrust LIVE! January 14, 2019 – With James Tenser

Topic: Our BrainTrust panelist, James Tenser, reports in from the floor of NRF’s Big Show and boils things down into three areas of innovation he’s seeing as most prevalent at the show. [13 minutes][Posted by RetailWire on Monday, January 14, 2019]

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