The Internet, mobile and social media have forever transformed the distribution of viral messaging. No longer the best kept secret, at the center of successful communication is the medium of video.
82% of Twitter users watch video content on Twitter. More than 500 million hours of videos are watched on YouTube each day. Ten million videos are watched on Snapchat per day. Over 500 million (half a BILLION) people are watching video on Facebook every day. The Top 10 YouTube stars of 2017 generated over $110 million in personal pre-tax income. Every second, a million minutes (17,000 hours) of video content will cross global IP networks by 2021.
Having a passion for powerful visual communications, weekly through my personal website I share one to three new videos. As we enter the fourth quarter, it is time to showcase my 2018 top five amazing innovation leadership videos.
Frictionless secure commerce coupled with immersive customer experiences have been on my mind for some time. Engaging with an in-store geolocation security company and new updated data on internet connectivity, growth of smartphones, and the Internet of Things (IoT) inspired this post.
Future consumer in-store interactions will include autonomous digital conversations with physical products. As discussed in a previous post, increased digital interactions will create brand ambassadors of both consumers and store associates.
For those individuals focused on securing commerce, that same digital exchange will lead to innovative applications such as geolocation solutions that will dramatically reduce retail crime. As an example, the geolocation security company mentioned above has so far in 2018 taken nearly 600 criminals off USA streets and led to the recovery of over $5 million of in-store physical assets.
Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of being the moderator and Master of Ceremonies for a Tyco Retail Performance Council in Silicon Valley, California. Seven loss prevention retail executives representing roughly $600 billion in industry revenue joined the Tyco Retail Senior Leadership Team in a two day innovation deep dive.
The Power Agenda
Day one consisted of hands-on immersion into innovation, technology trends, new ideas and solutions through the eyes of venture capitalists, futurists, start-up companies, academia, and industry experts. First stop of the innovation tour was the offices of Andreessen Horowitz (known as "a16z"). To date, a16z has raised $7.1B, across seven funds.
Opening the a16z session was futurist Benedict Evans who spoke to "the state of tech today and what's likely to happen in the next decade: mobile, Google / Apple / Facebook / Amazon (GAFA), innovation, machine learning, autonomous cars, mixed reality and crypto-currencies."
Check out this variation of Benedict's presentation "10 Year Futures (vs. What's Happening Now).
Welcome to Dubai or as CBRE calls it, the key stepping stone for international brands entering the Middle East. Over the next three years, more than 1.5 million square meters of new retail space could be delivered to the Dubai market, adding roughly 50% to existing inventory.
Being on the Board of Advisors for the upcoming Dubai Smart Stores Expo and having personally experienced the vibrancy of Middle East on multiple occasions, it is time to revisit this region and explore its global retail possibilities.
Retail is not dying. Today's consumers are being presented by an increasing number of shopping options. Online versus in-store engagement trends are converging and technology is increasingly the differentiating element.
A recent IHL research study titled "Out-of-Stock, Out of Luck - How Retailers Alienate Customers and Lose Billions Due to Poor Inventory Practices" prompted this relook at retail RFID. The top answers as to why consumers still prefer to shop in-stores include: want / need the product immediately, desire to touch and feel the item (try it on), don't want to pay expedited delivery charges, support local retailers, and convenience / easier than online.
Fast checkouts and products being in-stock are the two most relevant components of positive instore experiences.
Future of Retail with the Top 5 Apparel, Luxury, and Technology Brands
Being a firm believer that branding is a critical component to the future success of all companies, every year I look forward to the latest edition of the BrandZ Top 100 global brands report. Disruption, disintermediation, and differentiation are the three words that stood out in the nearly 300-page 2018 edition.
2018 Global Top 100 Brands Highlights
With an increase of 21% in 2018, the BrandZ global top 100 brands added a record $748 billion, to reach $4.4 trillion in total value, an increase of $2.9 trillion since 2006. 2018 set a record as the largest one-year value increase in the 12 years publishing the global report.
Every industry category had an increase with retail rising the most and for the second consecutive year in a row. The brand value of the retail sector rose 34% as e-commerce brands spiked in value and the category adjusted to disruption.
With the USA NRF Loss Prevention Trade Event taking place this week, it is time to revisit the new Sensormatic Global Retail Shrink Index published earlier this year. Covering 14 countries representing 73% of global GDP and 80% of global retail sales, it is the authoritative document on worldwide loss prevention trends.
In 2017-2018, the cost of retail shrinkage was $99.56 billion for the countries surveyed. This post focuses on my two favorite charts from the entire study.
Highest Shrink Rates Across Verticals and Countries 2017-2018
"There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion for life." - Federico Fellini
Officially I announced my early retirement from Sensormatic / Tyco / Johnson Controls on social media last week. Culminating an amazing 25+ year career, this life changing event was nearly a decade ahead of my long-term plans.
Continuous learning in building a personal brand has opened some interesting new possibilities. The foundation of this post are the comments that I shared with the Tyco retail team at my farewell celebration where I answered four simple questions.
This past week had the pleasure of visiting the new Zara Concept Store in Milan, Italy. Located near to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of the oldest retail malls in the world, this Inditex owned location is the perfect bridge to the future of retail.
What do you do when you decide that a major flagship location in the fashion capital of the world needs a physical upgrade? If you are Zara, you close the majority of the store and leverage the elegant entrance to test a new retail concept.
Walking through the entryway you can very quickly visualize the intersection of online and the physical retail store. Uncluttered physical clothing racks are overshadowed by a large digital screen displaying the latest fashions. Simplicity meets digital innovation.
"A sea change is clearly taking place in the retail market with major upheaval, but it is surely not the retail apocalypse. In our view, the retail industry is strong, but it is undergoing a major renaissance, a renewal akin to the renaissance that took place between the 15th and 17th centuries." - Deloitte, The Great Retail Bifurcation, 2018
New research and the continuous digital disruption of retail inspired this re-examination of the retail success formulas published in a post late last year. Discussed in the original blog, I remain an advocate of the McKinsey consumer personalization value equation.
"Customers see value as a function of how relevant and timely a message is in relation to how much it "costs", meaning how much personal information has to be shared and how much personal effort it takes to get it. Importantly, trust in the brand will boost overall value, though that can grow or recede over time, depending on the customer’s satisfaction with various interactions with the brand."
On the journey to learn something new, we travel to Montreux Switzerland. After the creation of a Jazz Festival by Claude Nobs in 1967, the founding of the world-class Mountain Studios inside the local casino in 1975, and favorable tax benefits, this quiet Swiss Lake Geneva (or Lac Léman) town became a destination to create music by legends such as Queen.
The earliest settlement in Montreux dates back to the late Bronze Age. The name Montreux comes from the Latin word monasteriolum, meaning "small monastery". Over hundreds of years, the local language changed this Latin word into Mustruel by 1215, and later into the modern name Montreux.
Deep Purple got the inspiration to the song “Smoke on the water” here. The rock group Queen with lead singer Freddy Mercury recorded 6 albums here. The studio was inside the casino that burned down in 1971 that inspired the Deep Purple memorable song.
For Freddy Mercury, Montreux became his second home; a place where he could escape the spotlight and focus on what he loved most: making music. Today, his legacy lives on through the iconic Freddie Mercury statue overlooking Lake Geneva in this picture.
Being a fan of classic rock, I truly enjoyed my visit to Montreux and blasted “Smoke on the Water” in my ear pods on arrival. This particular pose with Freddy was a personal reminder that life is short and never forget to let your guard down and have fun.
Psychologist Mike Rucker once wrote that "Happiness is a state of mind, but fun is something you can do. It doesn't require education, money or power. All it requires is intentionality. If happiness is a mirage, fun is your backyard oasis."
My oasis is celebrating life, always having a positive attitude, listen to all types of motivating music, and living each single moment as it was my last. At the top of my voice, I will continue to scream that we are all champions of possibilities that must keep on fighting towards our destined end. Rock on my friends.
Confidence in physical retail remains solid this year. More than 55% of survey respondents said they feel confident or very confident about brick-and-mortar performance in 2026, while only around 20% expressed concern. - From Place AI Read more
The Number 1 country continued lead reinforces a broader trend: countries with strong institutions, high trust, and robust social safety nets consistently rank highest in life satisfaction. - From Visual Capitalist
Frictionless secure commerce coupled with immersive customer experiences have been on my mind for some time. Engaging with an in-store geolocation security company and new updated data on internet connectivity, growth of smartphones, and the Internet of Things (IoT) inspired this post.
This past week had the pleasure of visiting the new Zara Concept Store in Milan, Italy. Located near to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of the 
