The Retail Podcast

M&S launches a dedicated resale shop on eBay (with Reskinned), the ONS delays July retail sales to 5 Sept, TikTok Shop’s GMV Max becomes the only supported campaign type, Sainsbury’s begins a facial‑recognition trial, Lush closes UK stores for a day in solidarity with Gaza, and Charlotte Tilbury drives experiential shade‑matching at John Lewis and Café Airbrush in Covent Garden. Simone Oloman joins to decode what matters for op...

Five Things Friday — APAC edition. Guest Ryf Quail (NRF: Retail’s Big Show APAC) breaks down why retail media in APAC is set to lead globally, then we dive into Thailand’s mall renaissance, Uniqlo’s recycling roadmap, MUSINSA×ANTA’s China JV, and Urban Revivo’s global expansion.
Chapters below. Sources and links at the end.
Subscribe for weekly, no‑nonsense retail intel across APAC.

What we cover
• Why APAC retail media is ...

Five Things Friday UK Edition with Simone Oloman
UK retail news this week: Aldi boosts wages, Topshop returns to Liberty, Asda expands Express, JD Sports shares rise, and The Very launches an immersive fashion experience.

• Aldi: link

• Topshop: link

• Asda: link

• JD Sports: link

• The Very Group: link

👉 Subscribe for weekly UK retail insights.
00:00 Intro & Welcome
01:07 Aldi Pay Rise & Food Inflation Context
02:46...

US retail news: Walmart marketplace AI and next‑day delivery, Gap’s denim push, Best Buy’s refurb engine, Cracker Barrel’s logo U‑turn, plus A&F × NFL.

Subscribe for weekly retail strategy.

• American Eagle’s latest ambassador buzz & denim wars

• Gap’s creative burst and the renewed denim cycle

• Best Buy repairs/refurb: sustainability with margins

• Cracker Barrel brand mark reversal - what it signals

• Walmart Seller Summit: tools f...

APAC retail briefing: LABUBU/Pop Mart’s blind‑box momentum, China’s Gen Z wellness shift, Australia Post’s US‑parcel pause (de minimis), “dopamine village” malls in PH, and JD.com’s new Dubai warehouse. Subscribe + comment with your action.

• LABUBU/Pop Mart = modern playbook: scarcity, social currency, collaborations (host commentary).

• Gen Z wellness, China: beauty x health, functional nutrition, ingestibles, and unmet needs in me...

Kaave Pour (ex‑SPACE10/IKEA) breaks down the home as retail’s #1 touchpoint: from layered home systems to utilities as technology (heat pumps, batteries, air/water quality), the Matter standard, robots, renting vs. owning, and how energy economics reshapes behaviour.

You’ll learn: The home stack:structure → furnishings → utilities → interfaces/data → services Why utilities are the next big tech platform for healthier, cheaper l...

Glossier joins TikTok Shop, Adidas rewrites nostalgia, back‑to‑school spend pulls forward, Prime vs Walmart deals, UK ultrafast delivery, loyalty reboots, agentic AI pilots, France’s “Drive,” Mango’s stylist AI, Gulf luxury momentum, Reliance x Shein, live commerce scale.

Welcome to a four‑region special of Five Things Friday.

USA with Jill Dvorak (NRF): Glossier lands on TikTok Shop; Adidas’ Superstar reboot taps cross‑generatio...

From AI-powered supermarket lanes to shifting consumer habits, Alexandra Boisson & The Retail Podcast team unpack Europe’s retail trends.

In this Five Things Friday – EU Edition, Alexandra Boisson and Alex from The Retail Podcast dive into the latest shifts in the European retail market.
We cover:

• Colruyt’s Easy Checkout: AI-powered cameras speeding up lanes by 70% (via RTL.be).

• French Summer Sales Decline: Only 39% of shop...

From Currys’ Action AI rollout to Space NK’s Willy Wonka-style flagship, this week’s top UK retail stories.

In this summer edition of Five Things Friday, Alex from The Retail Podcast is joined by Simone Oloman (Co-Founder, NIFT) and Dave to unpack the hottest retail stories in the UK right now.

We cover:

• Store closures & uncertainty — Claire’s administration filing, River Island restructuring, Hobbycraft closures

• Store openings...

In this episode of The Retail Podcast, Alex speaks with Rupert Pick, Global MD of Hot Pickle, the award-winning brand experience agency behind iconic activations for Magnum, Guinness, Marmite, Pokémon, Waitrose, Tesco, and more.

From physical brand homes to cultural relevance, Rupert reveals how Hot Pickle blends creativity, product innovation, and immersive retail activations to keep global CPG brands connected to their audiences. ...

In this week’s Five Things Friday – US Edition, Alex Rezvan is joined by Jill Dvorak, SVP of Content at the National Retail Federation (NRF), to unpack five key stories shaping retail right now.

We cover:

1️⃣ Zalando’s European Growth — How the fashion giant is exceeding forecasts and expanding its portfolio ahead of NRF Big Show Europe in Paris (Sept 16–18). Read NRF’s speaker announcement

2️⃣ ShopMy and the Creator Economy — Why soc...

In this week’s Five Things Friday UK Edition, Alex and Simone break down the retail trends you can’t afford to ignore. From iconic brands fighting for survival to the innovative players winning Gen Z loyalty, we explore how cultural relevance is now the biggest currency in retail.

Topics include:

• River Island & Claire’s — lessons from legacy brand struggles

• Mango’s teen range expansion and the underserved youth market

• UK’s boom...

Delipop shutters its robot locker network; JD.com tries a €2.2 bn play for Ceconomy/MediaMarkt; US & Chinese tourists rein‑in luxury spend; Dutch grocer Picnic finishes its Île‑de‑France roll‑out; France moves to criminalise ultra‑fast‑fashion influence. Analysis, context, and what it means for European retail.

Five Things Friday – European Edition | 7 Aug 2025
Hosts: Alex (RetailNews.ai) & Alex Boisson (French Trade Commiss...

Ryf & Laura join Alex to unpack five APAC headlines: China’s Shushu·Tong shakes luxury, Korea’s “honjok” solo shoppers rewrite store design, K‑beauty label Anua wins U.S. fans, Vietnam’s retail GMV rockets 37 %, and Laura talks about in on Yotpo’s pivot plus Gen Z’s debit‑first mindset.

🎙️  Episode overview
00:00  Intro – Rafe Cloud, MD iPAC, joins Alex
01:59  #1  Chinese luxury disruptor Shushu·Tong
03:45  #2  Korea’s...

In this episode, we explore how Focal Systems is driving innovation in retail with cutting-edge AI and computer vision technology. Discover how Focal Systems partnered with UK grocery giant Morrisons to streamline stock control, boost on-shelf availability, and enhance customer satisfaction. We discuss the latest in retail technology, from automated stock checks to real-time shelf monitoring, and uncover why computer vision is quic...

Shopping online can feel like navigating endless aisles of irrelevant products, leaving customers frustrated and retailers losing sales. In this insightful episode of The Retail Podcast, host Alex speaks with Warren Cowan, CEO of Foundit, about how retailers can transform customer frustration into powerful intent-driven experiences.

Explore why traditional e-commerce fails to inspire, and discover practical strategies for surfac...

This week on Five Things Friday EU Edition, host Alex from The Retail Podcast is joined by co-host Alexandra Boisson, Retail Tech & eCommerce Specialist at Business France.

Together, they explore Europe’s retail landscape highlighting game-changing AI innovations, pivotal EU regulatory shifts, and controversial moves by major brands like Zara’s parent, Inditex.

🌍 In this episode, you’ll hear insights on:

1. AI Revolutio...

Episode at a glance

0:00 Intro – Alex & Simone set the scene

1:21 Magnum’s affordable luxury play

5:11 Smaller, faster, more targeted UK store formats

8:12 Cybersecurity breaches erode consumer trust

11:13 Omnichannel fulfilment: John Lewis × Uber Eats & B&Q marketplace C&C

12:41 Culture collabs: Buzz Social app and community‑first retail

14:23 Wrap‑up & next week’s teaser

Key takeaways

• Affordable luxury wins...

Ben Jackson of Klaviyo explains why email still outperforms, how regional channel preferences are shifting (Germany loves WhatsApp, Nordics swear by SMS), and where AI genuinely moves the needle for retail CMOs drowning in data. Host Alex digs into practical roadblocks—from siloed martech stacks to missing content workflows—and how Klaviyo’s new Customer Hub and AI agent aim to solve them.

Timestamp

Chapter title

00:00

Intro & ...