Podcast Episode Details

"Zero Mentions of Omnichannel" - LIVE at NRF 2018

Episode 58

We recap NRF 2018 in a way that only Future Commerce can - LIVE from the show floor at The Big Show! Plus: is retail real estate in trouble? Have we left Omni Channel behind?

We're live from NRF 2018

Probably (definitely) exactly 3.619 times bigger than IRCE

• This year feels livelier than last year. Definitely better than shop.org this year.

• Brian was here all week. Flew in all the way from Seattle.

• Shoutout to Branden Moskwa here from eCommerce Allstars with the IBM social influencer team.

• Shoutout to Jason Del Rey from recode. "he's quite a voice."

Tantric Commerce (you heard it here first):

• Social proof: you want to hear about other experiences before you make the purchase yourself. Example: thewirecutter.com

• Example from comedians in cars getting coffee. Jimmy Fallon jokes about how a commercial promises the product is going to change your life.

• You get excited about the product being a life changing experience.

• So you're happy when you buy it, you're happy when it arrives, and you're happy when you open it. The whole experience, you're happy.

• The product at the end of the day could be terrible, because you're satisfied all along the way.

• Platforms like Wish have capitalized on this where the actual thing you're buying is happiness in purchasing.

• That's what we call tantric commerce: the anticipation is so enjoyable that the product is almost unnecessary.

• Yes, you have to have a good product at the end of the day,

• But if 50% of the enjoyment of the product is engagement with the platform, then the product that you have is not just the thing you sell, you're in fact selling the whole experience.

• The things in the NRF innovation lab aren't going to save your company if your business doesn't know how to give it's voice to those things. They're assistive, not the holistic.

Brand Voice Segue:

• You have to be able to put a voice behind the brand.

• For example, when you're product ships, make sure your client knows about it.

• Allbirds is a great example of consistent and satisfying brand voice that adds credibility to the product.

Experience

• Experience was the center of the conversation at NRF 2018.

• The ones who are truly innovating are the ones making strides in experiential retail, not necessarily the ones presenting on stage.

Interesting Doug McMillon Interview Part 1:

• Matthew Shay, NRF president, interviewed of Doug McMillon of Walmart.

• McMillon talked a lot about how they care for their employees and their employment culture.

• They've increased benefits and increased pay.

• But of note, Shay did not ask McMillon about Sam's Club closings and the weird way it was executed. People showed up to work with doors chained.  That seems a poor way of treating your employees and customers.

• It communicates more to not ask about it than to have a canned answer.

• Walmart's huge and knows what it's doing. They obviously assume it will pay off for them, but it sure looks bad.

• And it's an inconsistent move considering how they talk about treati

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  Published on 7 years, 10 months ago