The Retail Podcast

Nostalgia meets innovation from swaps to smart service.

Resale is mainstream, loyalty looks like an airline, and Topshop is back.

In this Five Things Friday – UK Edition, Alex Rezvan and Simone Oloman break down five signals every retailer should track right now:

1. RIXO Pre‑Loved – How a premium label keeps inventory (and spend) inside its own ecosystem.

2. Community Clothes Swaps – Loanhood & Islington Council prove circular fashio...

From safe rooms to social commerce, we unpack what’s shaping the APAC retail landscape now.

Recorded live during Australia’s largest retail conference, this episode of Five Things Friday – APAC Edition dives into two polarizing forces in retail: rising crime rates and retail media growth. Co-host Laura, chair of the Online Retailer Conference, joins Alex to dissect what’s making headlines—and what’s shifting power—in the Asia-Pa...

Live from NRF APAC, The Retail Podcast brings you exclusive access to Twilio’s 2025 State of Customer Engagement Report. This isn’t theory—it’s what leading global brands are actually doing on the ground.

We unpack:

Why 82% of brands think they personalize well—but only 16% of customers agree

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• How AI is redefining CX across channels

• What customer data unification looks like in diverse APAC markets

• Why privacy and consent are the ...

Join Alex Rezvan and Alexandra Boisson for another engaging Five Things Friday EU edition. This week, we explore:

• Carrefour’s innovative "Store Me Up" startup accelerator, aiming to redefine in-store AI experiences.

• Pinterest’s AI-driven partnership with La Redoute, creating a seamless transition from inspiration to purchase.

• Insights from Germany highlighting rising retail theft, reduced reporting rates, and increased s...

On this week’s Five Things Friday UK, Alex Rezvan and Simone Oloman dissect the most impactful developments shaping retail: Topshop’s major comeback, Studio Seven’s London pop-up, the escalating rivalry between John Lewis and M&S, Eco by Sonia’s debut in the UK, and the burgeoning market for non-alcoholic beer highlighted by Baro Brewing at Wimbledon.

Highlights include:

• The challenge of reinventing nostalgia for toda...

Ryf Quail returns energized from New Zealand to join Alex Rezvan in dissecting fascinating retail shifts across APAC. They delve into consumer mobility, the impact of currency fluctuations on shopping behaviors, the evolution of rational brand loyalty programs, and emerging quick-commerce opportunities, including rapid jewellery delivery in India. Plus, a deep dive into how Korean brands Musinsa and Coupang are reshaping regional r...

Guest: Bobby Morrison — Chief Revenue Officer, Shopify

Host: Alex, Founder of The Retail Podcast & RetailNews.AI

What we cover

- 00:00 Complexity vs. simplicity: 10 trn data queries, 1.1 trn edge requests

- 02:17 The modern Shopify stack (e‑com, wholesale, retail POS)

- 07:05 AI‑driven search and why affiliates are back

- 10:31 Perplexity, edge commerce & the future of discovery

- 12:20 From entrepreneur DNA to 50 %+...

Join Alex as he interviews Kate Ridley, Chief Brand Officer at Stanley 1913, exploring the brand’s remarkable evolution from a traditional heritage company to an innovative hydration industry leader. Kate shares powerful insights on maintaining authenticity through strategic partnerships, harnessing cultural trends, and prioritizing sustainability. Essential listening for anyone interested in brand strategy, consumer trends, sustai...

Alex & Jill Dvorak unpack key US retail stories: Glossier on TikTok, Adidas’ Superstar comeback, NRF Back-to-School data & Prime Day showdown.

⏩ Jump straight into it:

00:00 Welcome & Intro to Jill Dvorak (NRF)

00:47 Glossier’s Big TikTok Move

03:17 Adidas Superstar Relaunch (Missy Elliott & Samuel L. Jackson)

05:15 Cannes Lions: Creators vs Agencies (Walmart Connect & more)

07:54 NRF’s Back-to-School Insights (Sh...

Why Europe’s grocers love ‘Le Drive’ and how Mango turned AI into a personal stylist.

⏩ Jump to a topic: 00:00 Intro | 01:05 Drive‑Thru Grocery (Leclerc, Carrefour) | 04:03 Auchan × Houra deal | 06:28 Spain’s BM premium format | 07:37 Mango AI Stylist | 12:05 ‘Messy Era’ culture shift | 15:05 Sign‑off

Welcome to the European edition of *Five Things Friday*.

🔹 **Drive‑thru grocery (‘Le Drive’)** now 10 % of French grocery ...

From 15‑minute grocery to Oasis‑fuelled nostalgia, the retail week decoded.

⏩ Skip to a segment: 00:00 Intro | 01:33 Need It For Tonight | 02:24 Festival Fashion Pop‑Ups | 06:25 TikTok’s ‘Messy Era’ | 10:37 15‑Minute Delivery | 14:01 Adidas vs Nike | 17:09 New Balance Flagship | 18:20 Wrap‑up

In this UK edition of *Five Things Friday*, host **Alex** (The Retail Podcast) and co‑host **Simone Oloman** decode culture, commerce and conve...

wo Australian marketplaces vanish, a $300 million fashion group liquidates, and community‑first retail in Shanghai proves experience still wins. Ryf’s skiing, so Alex and Laura trade this week’s five.

1. Marketplace closures – Catch and MyDeal shut after big‑box acquisitions; retailer‑run hybrids (The Iconic, Kogan, Woolworths) surge.

2. Mosaic Brands liquidation – 2,800 jobs lost and a looming investigation into private‑equity pra...

How a €1 B digital‑engineering firm uses generative AI and agent tech to reinvent retail supply chains and CX.

18 000 engineers, €1 B revenue, 50+ patents—Nagarro’s Global CTO Rahul Mahajan explains how generative AI, vector databases and knowledge graphs are reshaping demand planning and personalization at scale.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro: product‑to‑service mind‑set

00:22 Meet Rahul Mahajan & Nagarro overview

01:17 Mis...

ASOS launches a next‑gen loyalty ladder, LVMH test‑drives autonomous AI agents, luxury pop‑ups swamp central London, and JD Sports opens a 42 K ft² “department store for trainers.” In the debut Five Things Friday – UK Edition, Alex welcomes Simone Oloman (Co‑Founder & CEO, Need It For Tonight) to decode four trends and preview the quick‑commerce future.

This week’s five things

1. Loyalty 2.0 at ASOS – Tiered access, FOMO perks,...

Luxury malls in Dubai and Riyadh are booming while China cools; LVMH parks a “cruise‑liner” flagship in downtown Shanghai; Australian retail sales jump—but the growth comes from Shein, Temu and other bargain imports; Reliance Retail strikes a game‑changing partnership with Shein, blending Indian and Chinese fast‑fashion supply; and live‑commerce numbers in Southeast Asia prove the next big shopping format is travelling east‑to‑west...

Dynamic pricing, omnichannel fulfilment & sustainable retail in 2025.

AI rewired retail—and Abhijit Niyogi built the circuit. In this 28‑minute masterclass, TCS’s Retail VP breaks down:

• Why stores behave like software post‑pandemic

• How AI pricing drives margin without raising shelf prices

• Electronic shelf labels: ROI thresholds & rollout traps

• Retail media networks: monetising Gen Z attention

• Store‑as‑micro‑DC: omn...

Mobile wallets now power 73 % of APAC e-commerce checkouts, same-day shipping prices hit record lows, and Australia’s Country Road Group faces a 93 % profit plunge. In this Five Things Friday episode, Alex (The Retail Podcast) joins Ryf Quail (Managing Director, NRF APAC) and Laura Doonin (Retail & Digital-Tech Advisor) to unpack:

• Mobile Wallet vs. Credit Card Shift – QR pay, A2A rails, WeChat Pay, Alipay, UPI, DuitNow

• Same-D...

Customer-acquisition costs exploded online. Smart brands are responding with bricks, data—and a dash of theatre.

⚡️ What we tackle in 20 minutes

1. ​Physical retail as the new CAC – DTC brands discover rent can be cheaper than Meta ads when the store becomes a stage.
2. ​Aesop’s $2.5 billion masterclass – From Melbourne to 400 boutiques, every location is bespoke, scented, and digitally wired for replenishment.
3. ​Digital-first, st...

Braze’s Global Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, James Herridge-Leng, lays out a blueprint for retailers who refuse to be trapped by channel silos or third-party walled gardens. Expect hard numbers: a 200 % jump in ROAS, email open rates doubling when WhatsApp joins the mix, and loyalty lift when zero-party data fuels real-time journeys.

Key Topics

• Composable vs monolithic engagement stacks

• Zero- vs first- vs third-pa...