"The Future is Driven by Failure"

Shoptalk 2019 is mere weeks away, and so we take the opportunity to look through the brands, the speakers, and the agenda! ALSO: Is voice dead? Why don't we talk about failure? What were the key takeaways from the 2017 and 2018 editions of Shoptalk and what are we hoping to learn in 2019?

Show Notes:

Main Takeaways:

• Phillip and Brian preview Shoptalk 2019.

• Levi's takes a second shot at an IPO, and it's going to a pretty big deal.

• Brian is ridiculously excited to see Shaggy.

• Phillip wants a Canada Goose freezer-esque dressing room for his house.

• Why isn't anyone talking about voice anymore?

Pre-Shoptalk Shop Talk: So Many Speakers, So Little Time:

• Phillip is now officially #ShoptalkPhillip

• Brian and Phillip are pretty excited about Shoptalk's entire agenda.

• Everything that has been talked about on FC for the last two years was featured at Shoptalk2017.

• One panel Phillip really wants to see is the Swarovski panel on "The New Digital Innovation."

• Brian says that Shoptalk has so many panels and breakout sessions that Shoptalk FOMO is pretty much guaranteed.

• Gabrielle Chou from Allure Systems will be speaking at Shoptalk, Brian had the opportunity to talk with her at Shop.Org, where she had a lot of fascinating things to say about body data.

• Matthew Shay from NRF will also be speaking, which is interesting when you consider that NRF is a lobbying organization, and many of the retailers whose interests he would represent will be present at Shoptalk.

###Levi's Second Stab at IPO: Hopefully Better Than The Jacquard:

• Mark Rosen EVP and President of Direct-to-Consumer at Levis will be at Shoptalk speaking about what brands will look like in the future.

• And with Levi's on the verge of IPO, Brian is curious about what Levi's will do brand-wise post IPO.

• Phillip says he could do an entire show just about how much he knows about Levi's.

• One great thing about Levi's is how omnichannel they are, and how they are everywhere a consumer wants to be: Levis are being sold in Nordstrom, and in Costco (which is cool, kind of), and consumers can purchase straight from the source.

• Super cool project alert: Levi's is doing a lot of cool retail tech innovating, using laser beams for a custom fit.

• Levi's also has a fabulous sizing chart, that's consistent throughout purchasing locations.

Cold Weather Aspiration Retail: Puffy Jackets in Palm Beach?

• Canada Goose is Phillip's breakout brand for 2018, even though he'll never actually need a puffy jacket in South Florida's weather.

• Brian, however, has outgrown his Amazon bought coat because Seattle is freezing, and may actually need a Canada Goose jacket.

• Is Phillip close to installing a Canada Goose-esque freezer dressing room in his house in a new level of experiential retail?

• Is there a message in all this about how consumers buy things they don't need all the time because there are so many options?

Retail Conferences Need to Add a "Spectacular Failures" Track:

• With all the talk about what brands are doing right, why is there not a track at retail conferences for the failures that brands have had in the process?

• Phillip and Brian point out that failure is so valuable because it allows retailers to learn from each other's mistakes.

• Will FailureCon2019 hosted by Future Commerce be a thing?

• Holding discussions about failure is especially important this year, as so many well-known retailers are going out of business like Payless, ToysRus and eventually Sears.

• Pretty much everyone would attend such a conference, but who would sign up to speak?

What Will The Next Generation of Tech Look Like?

• Kroger has announced their own payments system, as brands move forward with bringing payments into their eco-systems.

• There are only two panels on voice at Shoptalk, is this because voice is not being utilized, or because it's so commonly used that it's just part of mobile strategy now?

• What is Brian most excited to see at Shoptalk? Apparently the performance by Shaggy.

• Phillip poses the question to Brian as to whether anything new will be unveiled at the conference?

• At Shoptalk 2018 Google laid out a step-by-step plan for how merchants could leverage Google to sell more.

• On Twitter Steve Dresser makes a point about retail conferences: Retailers are very focused on long-term tech like AI and VR, but less of a focus is placed on mid-term technology that is easier to implement like electronic shelf labels.

• Brian is also really excited to see what the next generation of tech will look like, as a lot of the companies from this show will be the future of retailers.

Will you be at Shoptalk2019? Feel free to say hi!

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