Yael Kochman
February 9, 2024
No matter what your role in the retail industry, listening to retail podcasts is a great way to stay informed, inspired, and connected in the rapidly changing retail industry.
Whether your goal is to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments, get inspired by other retailers, or connect with fellow industry leaders, listening to retail podcasts can help you to be more successful.
Over the years, I found a few podcasts that I particularly like, and I try to listen to at least 1 or 2 episodes per week. I even have a WhatsApp group with myself called “To listen” and whenever I see a new episode of one of my favorite retail podcasts being released, I send the link to the group – when I’m on the commute or have some free time, I go to the group and pick up one of these links.
Recently, I set out to refresh my list of favorite retail podcasts, so I did some research and found some new great ones, thought I might as well share them with you all.
Remarkable Retail is a podcast hosted by Michael LeBlanc, a former executive at two Fortune 500 companies, and Steve Dennis, a retail futurist and author of Remarkable Retail. The show features interviews with top retail leaders and experts, as well as discussions about the latest trends and challenges facing the industry.
I actually had the pleasure of meeting Steve Dennis at ShopTalk a few years ago, and we kept in touch since. I’m hoping to have Steve as a speaker at our upcoming Re:Tech Disrupt Conference, but in the meantime I get to hear his voice on the weekly podcast episode 🙂
Recent episodes of Remarkable Retail have featured interviews with Canadian Tire CEO Greg Hicks, Ophelia Ceradini, former VP Digital Technology & Innovation Group at Estée Lauder and VCs Ashley Hartman (Bluestein Ventures), Matt Nichols (Commerce Ventures), and Kevin Parakkattu (Plug and Play).
Remarkable Retail is a great podcast for anyone who wants to stay ahead of the curve in the retail industry. It is also a good resource for retail professionals who are looking for insights from top leaders and experts.
Omni Talk is one of the fastest-growing blogs in retail, featuring a podcast hosted by Omni Talk’s partners Christopher (Chris) Walton, CEO and Founder of Third Haus, the retail lab joint venture with Xenia Retail and Anne Mezzenga, a retail industry expert and journalist and the founder and CEO of Mezzenga Media, a retail industry consulting and media company.
I met Chris and Anna as well at some of the industry events and I look forward to the day they might invite me to speak at one of their podcasts! I especially like their “fast five” episodes where they quikly cover some of the most burning topics to be aware of in the retail news.
Recent episodes of Omni Talk have featured interviews with Dematic Market Development Director, Kim Baudry, A&M Consumer and Retail Group’s Chad Lusk and Amanda Saunders, the Senior Manager for Enterprise and Edge AI Product Marketing at NVIDIA.
Omni Talk is not only a good resource for retail professionals who are looking for insights from top leaders and experts, but I also find it highly entertaining due to its dynamic and fast-paced nature.
RETHINK Retail is an industry publication featuring articles, videos and podcasts hosted by various hosts, such as Industry leader Andrew Busby, founder of Retail Reflections, Simeon Siegel, Senior Retail Analyst, as well as RETHINK Retail editors and executives such as CCO Kirat Anand – who I recently met at the RETHINK Retail Gala at NRF.
As the hosts are varied, so are the topics, which mostly revolve around trends and innovations in retail with new episodes every Monday and Wednesday.
Recent episodes of ReThink Retail have featured interviews with Sabrina Callahan, VP of E-Commerce at Sam’s Club, Dani Tan, VP of Digital Merchandising & Product Marketing at Authentic Brands and Top Retail Influencers Andrea K. Leigh and Michael Zakkour.
Retail Unwrapped is a great retail blog by Robin Lewis, a best-selling author and CEO of The Robin Report, and other guest authors. Each week, Lewis and Shelley E. Kohan, Chief Strategy Officer, share insights and opinions on major topics in the retail and consumer product industries. The shows are a lively conversation on industry-wide issues, trends, and consumer behavior.
Recent episodes of The Robin Report discussed topics such as major brands Starbucks, Ulta, Gap, and Under Armour breaking the CEO mold as well as acquisitions, partnerships, collaborations, buy-outs, and buy-ins, some past and some future ones like Gap and Macy’s; Tapestry and Capri; Shein and SPARC. These don’t make sense. But there’s Target and Ulta; Nike and Footlocker; LVMH and Tiffany; Macy’s and ToysRUs.
The Retail Pilot is the “new kid on the block” when it comes to retail podcasts. It’s hosted by Ken Pilot, a seasoned Retail executive, consultant and investor with operating experience consisting of C-level roles at Gap Inc., J Crew, Ralph Lauren, American Eagle and ABC Carpet and Home.
I originally met Ken via an introduction by Noah Gellman, CEO of The Lead, and have since had the pleasure of meeting Ken at various industry events around the world, and even hosted him at one of our Re:Tech meetup events in Tel-Aviv.
Ken utilizes his deep connections in the retail space to interview high profile executives, such as legendary GAP CEO Mickey Drexler, Steve Madden, and Joey Zwillinger, the Co-founder & CEO of Allbirds.
One of my favorite episodes is the one Ken set with Andy Dunn, co-founder of Bonobos, where Andy delves into a deeply personal and significant aspect of his life: his journey with mental health and bipolar disorder.
Commerce Next is CommerceNext is a community, event series and conference for marketers at retail and direct-to-consumer brands. Their websites features articles, webinars and a podcast hosted by Jason DeBolt, the founder and CEO of Commerce Next.
The show features interviews with top retail leaders and experts, such as Tailored Brands’ CMO, Carolyn Pollock, Doug Jensen, SVP at Estee Lauder, Craig Brommers, American Eagle’s CMo and many others.
The Voice of Retail is a podcast hosted by Michael LeBlanc, the same host of Remarkable Retail. This podcast is more focused on the day-to-day challenges and opportunities facing retail professionals. LeBlanc interviews retailers of all sizes, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. He also interviews industry experts, such as analysts, consultants, and vendors.
The Voice of Retail is a great podcast for retail professionals who want to learn from the experiences of others and get insights from industry experts.
The Voice of Retail is a great podcast for retail professionals who want to learn from the experiences of others and get insights from industry experts.
The Retail Grind is a podcast hosted by Bill Yanek and Garrick Brown. Yanek is a retail consultant and Brown is a former retail executive. The show is all about the real-world challenges and opportunities facing retail professionals.
Recent episodes of The Retail Grind have featured interviews with retailers such as the owner of a small clothing boutique, the CEO of a regional home improvement chain, and the VP of omnichannel commerce at a Fortune 500 retailer. The show also features interviews with industry experts on topics such as supply chain management, data analytics, and customer experience.
The Retail Focus Podcast was a weekly podcast that covers the latest news and trends in the retail industry. While it seems like the podcast hasn’t released new episodes in the last couple of years, there are still some epic old episodes worth tuning into, such as the one that covers Target’s stellar holiday season sales and Nordstrom’s sales moving increasingly to digital as well as Petco’s IPO.
The Retail Influencer on 20/CENT website is a weekly podcast hosted by Vincent Panneels, a retail consultant and author. It is the European representative on this list, covering topics such as the state of e-commerce in Belgium and industry events in Germany.
The Modern Retail Podcast is hosted by Mike Alvarez, the founder and CEO of Modern Retail, a retail industry news and analysis website. The show features interviews with top retail leaders and experts, as well as discussions about the latest trends and challenges facing the industry, such as seasonal retail hiring commences, Instacart going public & H&M charging for returns.
Tell Me Something Good About Retail is a podcast hosted by Bob Phibbs, a retail consultant and author, known as “The Retail Doctor”. The show’s conversations with retailers and their suppliers shine a light on the most positive aspects of retail. Get tips about competing in brick-and-mortar retail, resources for retail sales training, retail-specific marketing advice, and ways to make your retail operations run more smoothly.
Retail Gets Real is NRF’s weekly podcast featuring unfiltered conversations with retail’s most interesting leaders. The show features unfiltered, insightful conversations with the industry’s most interesting people. Hear retail executives, industry experts, entrepreneurs and influencers discuss trends, their career stories and the future of retail, hosted by Bill Thorne, SVP Communications and Public Affairs at NRF.
The Jason & Scot Show is a weekly podcast hosted by Jason “Retailgeek” Goldberg, two of the leading retail experts in the industry. Scot Wingo is the Founder and Executive Chairman of ChannelAdvisor, and Jason Goldberg is the Chief Commerce Strategy Officer at Publicis Communications.
On The Jason & Scot Show, Goldenberg and Wingo discuss the latest trends and developments in the retail industry, as well as their unique perspectives on generational trends and how they are impacting the retail industry.
Total Retail Talks is a weekly podcast hosted by Joe Keenan, the Executive Editor of Total Retail, a leading retail industry publication. The show features interviews with top retail leaders and experts, such as Erin Malone, director of digital strategy at Free People and Deanna Hernandez, senior manager of digital offers and loyalty at McDonald’s.
This one is on Hebrew so don’t click unless you can handle that 🙂 Olmaya is a grocery retail community in Israel led by Aviv Sharfstein, who also produces the podcast. Aviv interviews local retail leaders in a fun way with the goal of providing a glimpse into the industry. Some of his featured speakers include Boaz Mishan, former Retalix executive, Yossi Rabinovich, serial retail entrepreneur, and even yours truly.
