Retail is ever-evolving and typically at the forefront of groundbreaking technological advances and implementations. Recently we broke bread with some of the most influential brands and brains behind retail to discuss technology innovations, trends, consumer expectations, combating the Amazon-machine and how retailers are wrapping all of these together to create amazing experiences for their customers.

During our Retail Leaders Dinner that took place in New York City at Michelin’s tripled-star eatery, Eleven Madison Park, our panelists leading the evening’s discussion were Dr. David Bell, Professor of Marketing at the Wharton College at the University of Pennsylvania; Elaine Rubin, Consultant at Digital Prophets Network; and Marcelle Parrish, President of Global Digital Operations for Ralph Lauren. Their conversation and insights touched on the unavoidable and thought provoking topics pervading the industry:

Breaking the Discounting Cycle
Our retail dinner kicked-off with the top priority on retailers’ minds: the current vicious discounting and promotion cycle retailers have revolved around. This double threat is greatly impacting retailers’ bottom line with an 85% increase of global orders over the last year using a promotion. Parrish made a point that retailers aren’t going to eliminate their 75% off sales as a means to move inventory, but they are taking steps to minimize the number of times they use discounts and are becoming more strategic when they do. Instead of jumping to discounts, Rubin suggested retailers take a look at their in-store experiences and see if there’s a way they can improve aspects of the shopping journey to really engage customers beyond the discount to develop true loyalty through the retailer’s product and messaging.

Implementing an Amazon-Compete Strategy
If you can’t beat them, create a partnership strategy. A recent Accenture report noted that 85% of shoppers will initiate their research and search on Amazon before they make a purchase. “Retailers must have an Amazon strategy,” says Rubin. All of our panelists agree that Amazon is becoming the go-to marketplace for retailers – understandably with their 33% share of North American eCommerce transactions. They also agree that retailers have to understand how they can best utilize Amazon to meet their business needs without cannibalizing the brand. Bell further says brands might see less of a benefit from using Amazon than a large general merchandiser where engagement is diluted across categories. That is not difficult to see, as companies lose control over their brand and overall value proposition when they sell via third-party marketplaces.

Pros and Cons of Personalization
Rubin believes that the concept of personalization is an idea that is currently ahead of what the industry and retailers can actually deliver. Bell agreed by stating that an excellent execution of personalization is quiet difficult and requires thorough understanding of micro-predictions for each customer. Additionally, all panelists agreed that legacy retailers are having more difficulty shifting to personalization, simply because they have never done business that way. Now, if companies aren’t able to deliver accurate personalization, the negative impact affects the consumer’s brand perception at a higher level than no personalization at all.