374. Get ahead of the future of retail

If you had a crystal ball to forecast retail’s future, what would you see? Coming to you from NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show, we’re joined by Cassandra Napoli, head of marketing and events at WGSN, to tackle that question. We talk about emerging trends that may surprise you, ways to future-proof your business and how to get into the minds of young consumers. Plus, we learn new terms like “Zalphas” and “ping minimalism” that every retailer should know.

(00:00:00) Introductions

(00:01:16) Napoli’s career as a trend forecaster

(00:04:55) How to forecast trends

(00:08:24) Emerging trends for retailers to watch

(00:13:11) Embracing strategic joy

(00:15:06) The biggest trend no one is talking about

(00:19:55) The future of retail is tweens

(00:21:37) Napoli’s best career advice

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Resources:

• wgsn.com/en

• Learn more about Retail’s Big Show in NYC

• Become an NRF member and join the world’s largest retail trade association

• Learn about our retail education platform, NRF Foundation, at nrffoundation.org

• Learn about retail advocacy at nrf.com/advocacy

• Find more episodes at retailgetsreal.com

Related:

• What’s now, what’s next?: Future tech beyond AI

• Retail trends to watch in 2025

• Future trends that will shape consumer behavior and retail operations