Unpacking the Digital Shelf

Walmart announced new store designs this week. Fast Company said "Walmart’s new store design proves browsing is dead. Get in and get out." Rob and Peter dig into a few of these new designs, and the takeaways for brands are different than you might think.

Sign up for the live webinar with Bob Land

For online grocery to be profitable and be a better experience, the costs and efficiency of pick and pack must come down. Turns out, the answer is...ROBOTS! John Lert, co-founder and CEO of Alert Innovation, joins Rob ad Peter to discuss the automation of grocery stores at scale.

Register for the D2C Playbook Series featuring Vivian Chang

Links Mentioned: McKinsey B2B ReportRegister for the webinar with Byron Kerr

Check out Annie's new book: Building for Everyone

James Seidl from McCormick webinar on Sept 2nd: https://www.salsify.com/content/webinar-mccormick-digital-commerce

Tim Madigan, with marketing and ecommerce leadership roles at P&G, SC Johnson, and Tyson Foods, has been at the leading edge of commerce innovation his entire career. Now he is putting those lessons to work in industries as diverse as frozen lobsters and cannabis. Rob and Peter connected with Tim to glean the lessons learned along the way.

Sign up for our D2C Strategy Playbook Series here: https://www.salsify.com/content/webinar-group-m

Links mentioned: https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox

Brands are now spending upwards of $15 billion a year to manage and activate their influencer marketing programs. It’s grown from a few celebrities posting a video to millions of micro-influencers driving impact throughout the sales funnel. Rob and Peter sat down with Lyle Stevens, co-founder, and CEO of Mavrck, an influencer marketing platform, to identify what shifts are required across teams and processes to manage and optimize the impact of influencer marketing on your business.

This episode, we launch a new occasional format for the 'pod. A report on books that we think are worthy of your attention, and why. Rob kicks it off with his POV on Leap, by Howard Yu.

Links mentioned in the podcast: Register to our D2C series: https://www.salsify.com/content/webinar-3p-online-marketplacesBen Evans article: https://www.ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2019/4/15/notes-on-ai-bias

As the importance of Amazon as both a sales channel and marketing channels continues to rise, it is critical that brand executives focus on how to achieve profitability on the world’s largest retailer. Mark Power, founder, and CEO of Podean Marketplace Marketing joins Peter and Rob to talk about the need to invest in the analysis, data, and actions to make Amazon a profitable channel.

Register for our upcoming webinar with Jordan Jewell from IDC talking about the tech stack for D2C. https://www.salsify.com/content/webinar-d2c-playbookOther sources we mentioned:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/business/coronavirus-malls-department-stores-bankruptcy.html?utm_source=Premium+list&utm_campaign=266472b352-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_07_16_05_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_52809a9e4b-266472b352-71156322https://www.ai-cio.com/in-focus/shop-talk/how-do-you-repurpose-a-mall/https://twitter.com/michael_mba/status/1283211274747121664?s=12https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-great-acceleration

Based on an article from business and tech analyst Ben Thompson, Rob and Peter explore how the arc of the newspaper industry holds lessons for how brands will need to adapt to masses of markets to win.

Listen in on a conversation with one of the smartest people in commerce and a podcasting legend, at least to us at the DSI. Jason Goldberg, Chief Commerce Strategy Officer at Publicis and co-host of the Jason and Scot show, joins Peter and Rob to talk what the heck is going on in commerce and posit brazen predictions of the future.

It was a week of bankruptcies, including a surprise bid at JC Penney by Simon Group. Peter and Rob deep dive on what innovation may result from these painful transformations.

Consumers hate friction in their shopping journey. The new capability on Instagram and Facebook to checkout directly on the social platforms offers brands a perfect testing ground to develop new end-to-end experiences in social commerce. Narain Jashanmal, Director of ECommerce Partnerships at Facebook, joined Peter to discuss how brands can make the most of this opportunity to connect directly with their consumers from discovery to purchase to advocacy.

It's definitely time to find the silver lining in the economic dark clouds. Rob and Peter put the week's news in perspective for the hopeful signs of the new digital age.

When Amazon files a patent to capture every product's supply chain, conspiracy theories about and regulatory regimes rear their heads. Rob and Peter discuss.

In the first ever LIVE episode, Brent Bellm, CEO of ecommerce platform BigCommerce, joins Peter Crosby and Rob Gonzalez to share the latest data and trends, long-term business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) strategies, and actionable D2C insights.

Face it, it's been a tough week. So Rob, Peter, and production assistant Matt rattle off their favorite purchase experiences of the quarantine.

During this time of quarantine, pets have become even more vital to many people's well being. Royal Canin, a petcare division of Mars, has designed products and product experiences that bring their purpose-driven mission to life. Loic Moutalt, President of Royal Canin, joins Molly Schonthal and Peter to discuss the path of their digital transformation and how they have brought these experiences to life in an agile way.

This week, Justin King returns with an analysis of the shifts in B2B at this time, and an urgent call to action for leaders to be ready as demand returns.

This week, Molly joins Peter to tackle the news and trends of the week, including Amazon's rumored purchase of JC Penney.

One of the biggest growth categories during COVID-19 is alcohol beverages, and consumers are using digital platforms to get it. Wayne Duan, VP of Ecommerce and Digital Commerce at Constellation Brands joins Peter Crosby and Rob Gonzalez to discuss how the alcohol beverage industry is managing this rise in digital consumers, and what of these new trends may stick and apply across other categories.

This week, Rob and Peter weigh in on the Pepsico DTC launches of Snacks.com and PantryShop.com. Genius or folly? Plus, how much did those URLs cost?!?

An outstanding Benedict Evans blog post inspires a conversation between Rob and Peter about whether retail will follow the print, camera, and RIM off a cliff. (https://www.ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2020/5/4/covid-and-cascading-collapses)

Peter Crosby and Justin King sit down with John Rossman, Managing Partner at Rossman Partners and former Amazon executive, to discuss what commerce leaders can learn from analyzing how Amazon builds its strategies and culture. We share takeaways from his book, Think Like Amazon: 50 ½ Ideas to Become a Digital Leader.

The Wall Street Journal released an article this week with claims against Amazon for using Marketplace data to inform on their private-label business. Is what they're doing wrong? Rob Gonzalez gives his "rantifesto" on these accusations against the Amazon private-label business.

Two of the most inflexible things in society are going rogue to respond to this moment. What will last? Rob and Peter talk supply chains and regulations, and it's way more interesting than you'd think.

During a downturn, there are factors that work in favor of an emerging brand driving sales and engagement with their consumers, and there are headwinds. Karen Howard, Managing Director of Circleup, an investment platform for early-stage consumer brands, shares data and insights on how emerging brands should think about surviving, and thriving, in the current environment.

Amazon cut affiliate marketing rates this week. So what? Turns out, it is a wakeup call for brands about Amazon's market power. Rob and Peter unpack it all.

Big shifts happening in ecommerce. But they'll only last if the consumer likes them. Rob and Peter run through the shifts behind the stats.

Molly Schonthal, who leads the DSI's Executive Forum, joins Peter to share the hot takes from her recent conversations with brand manufacturer leaders.

It's been a week of watching manufacturers get agile to respond to these times. What of these innovations will last? Peter and Rob share the inspirations and implications of these responses.

There are some dramatic shifts happening right now in commerce. Are they likely permanent, or will they snap back? Peter and Rob highlight the major shifts and how digital pros can respond.

Seems like every major retailer is building an ad platform. Where should you invest? Is it trade or media spend, or both? How do you organize your teams to test and optimize in each channel? Russ Dieringer, Executive Director of the Ecommerce Council at Cleveland Research, shares new research on how to evaluate and execute a strategy in the world of rapidly evolving retailer ad platforms.

There is a necessity and an opportunity to lean into digital experiences in these times. Peter and Molly talk it through.

Over the last few years, Mars reached a decision point. They knew they needed to build new capabilities to continue to grow. What followed changed the way Mars ran their business. Peter Crosby and Molly Schonthal spoke with Angela Mangiapane, President, Mars Global Services at Mars., about the principles that have guided their transformation to be both fast and big.

Walmart had a very busy week of news, what with changes in merchandising teams, Walmart adds a +, and fulfillment news. Peter and Rob have it all for you.

When Amazon shifts direction, manufacturers’ strategies can be upended or opportunities created. Eamon Kelly Senior Research Analyst in Consumer and Ecommerce for Edgewater Research shares with Rob and Peter his view of what is driving Amazon’s strategy in 2020 and what that means for you and your business.

It was a tough week for direct to consumer brands as grooming company Harry's had a major investment challenged by the FTC, and online consumer goods store Brandless shut down. Meanwhile, major retailer Kroger received a $550 million investment from Berkshire Hathaway. Peter and Rob break down what all of this means.

The holy grail of personalization always seems out of reach. Turns out, it might be closer than you think. Michelle Bacharach, co-founder and CEO of FINDMINE, shares with Peter Crosby and Rob Gonzalez how brands can achieve personalization at scale through the product expertise you already have.

This week, Peter and B2C maven Molly Schonthal talk about L'Oreal's CES announcement, discovery in grocery, and China digital consumer journeys.

Steve Max, Director of Global Digital Commerce Strategy at TE Connectivity, talks about how manufacturers must adapt to the new digital B2B buyer’s journey

This week, Peter and Justin King talk digital supply chains, new methods for managing payment terms, and...Legos?

This week, This week, Peter and Rob do a deep dive on Casper's IPO filing and what it means for DTC. Plus, mockery of US states via their 2019 top Walmart purchases.

Winning in digital means picking your battles, building a test and learn strategy, and then scaling. Peter Crosby and Molly Schonthal spoke with Mike Moumoutjis, General Manager at Goodbaby International, to get real about what it takes to get closer to the consumer and become their first choice.