How Retailers are Returning to a New Normal with Mark Pilkington

Mark Pilkington is a brand expert, entrepreneur, motivationalist, and thought leader. Today we discuss Mark's recent book, Retail Recovery: How Creative Retailers Are Winning in their Post-Apocalyptic World. Mark's book is a survival guide for brands in the semi-post pandemic age, detailing new forces changing how we buy products, experience brands, and giving insights into how retailers can recover and thrive under new conditions. Tune in as we talk about trends in retail during the pandemic, and we dig into some case studies from leaders in the industry.

 

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [01:30] Mark discusses his most recent book, Retail Recovery: How Creative Retailers Are Winning in their Post-Apocalyptic World.
• [02:30] Why this global pandemic pushed retail over the edge and some emerging trends Mark sees in the industry.
• [3:30] The severity of the pandemic crisis forced a lot of retailers out of business and cleared the deck for new thinking and new creativity, which is why Retail Recovery is an optimistic book.
• [06:10] Notable retail trends include: shifting competitiveness, correct channel management, and retail property conversion.
• [8:22] Mark outlines the reasons why consumers are in control now in a retail setting.
• [11:59] – In the omniverse, the transaction is no longer the critical thing. It's about experience and how to use technology to improve the customer experience.
• [18:35] Mark dives into case studies from leaders in retail like Walmart and Target.
• [23:20] Mark discusses his favorite consumer technologies.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• The pandemic accelerated many trends that have already been present in the retail market.
• During the pandemic, retailers have been given the opportunity for new thinking and new creativity, which is why retail will still be able to recover in the end.
• Young consumers are big supporters of major verticals in the retail industry like fashion and beauty but have little wealth to spend.

 

LINKS MENTIONED:

Website
http://markpilkington.net/

 

BIO:

Mark Pilkington is a brand expert, entrepreneur, motivationalist and thought leader, with the vision to see what the future looks like and the drive to help brands get there. He has been successful in both worlds – the classical consumer brand/retailing world and the dot.com startup world. His 30 years of experience in brand building includes success across multiple categories and on a global basis. He has authored several books including Retail Recovery: How Creative Retailers Are Winning in their Post-Apocalyptic World.