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The Top 10 Retail Podcasts You Should Be Listening To Right Now
2022 has been a year of tremendous growth and change in retail. To stay on top of your game as a retail store owner, manager or operator, it’s vital to stay informed about customer expectations, loyalty programs, point-of-sale practices and how to keep customers coming back to your store.
When we’re in need of retail inspiration, we turn to our favorite retail podcasters.
Why Podcasts?
Podcasts are popular to listen to during commutes, while exercising, or while doing things like cooking or house chores. The convenience of being able to listen to them on smartphones and other smart audio devices has led to an increase in apps that stream podcasts. In the US alone, 41% of people (around 144 million) listen to a podcast each month and 28% listen each week.
Our Favorites
When we’re in need of retail expertise, we turn to a hand-selected set of amazing retail experts – from Ron Thurston, author of Retail Pride to Paula Thomas, host of Let’s Talk Loyalty. Let’s not forget the amazing Carol Spieckerman or the Omnitalk podcast, hosted by Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga. All of these people share their expertise for free through their podcasts and online shows – and you can gain the insights from their experience and guests by listening to this hand-picked Top Ten List of our favorite Retail Podcasts.
1. Retail in America, hosted by Ron Thurston
Recognized as one of the leading influencers in retail and retail technology, Ron Thurston’s book, Retail Pride, has become a career development guide for anyone who is passionate about working in retail.
Currently on a one-year tour around the country in an Airstream trailer, Ron visits with people working in the retail sector who have interesting stories to tell about the journey that brought them where they are. His Retail in America podcast shares these retail “hero” stories with listeners in a casual and intimate style.
> Listen to an interview with Ron Thurston
2. Let’s Talk Loyalty, hosted by Paula Thomas
Let’s Talk Loyalty is a podcast about the topic of customer loyalty and how loyalty marketing creates meaningful relationships between retailers and customers.
Guest speakers provide insight on subjects such as what loyalty programs look like around the world, the scientific aspects of a loyalty program, what businesses with successful loyalty programs are doing, as well as the biggest challenges retailers face when it comes to capturing customer loyalty. This podcast analyzes loyalty programs from every imaginable angle!
> Listen to an interview with Paula Thomas
3. Remarkable Retail, hosted by Steve Dennis
The Remarkable Retail podcast is all about what it takes to be remarkable in the retail sector. Guests discuss topics ranging from digital marketing technology to retail news and trends to business success stories and sales reports.
If you want to stay up to date on the modern retail landscape, then you’ll want to check out this podcast, hosted by Steve Dennis, who is also author of the bestselling book by the same title, Remarkable Retail.
> Listen to an interview with Steve Dennis
4. OmniTalk, hosted by Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga
Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga love retail and their podcast, OmniTalk, is proof. Something that’s quickly apparent is these hosts aren’t afraid to speak their minds and they admit their opinions might not always be right!
You’ll hear conversations on different issues retailers face and the solutions to help solve those issues, technology innovations that are transforming the customer shopping experience in some pretty big ways, as well as trends, strategies, and news events happening in retail. The friendly, chatty style of OmniTalk makes it an enjoyable podcast with a broad audience.
> Listen to an interview with Chris Walton
> Listen to an interview with Anne Mezzenga
5. Spieckerman Speaks Retail, hosted by Carol Spieckerman
Another top retail influencer, Carol Spieckerman is able to hone in on the important issues in retail with surgical precision. Her interviews with experts and leaders in the retail industry cover subjects such as media as a marketing tool, data analytics, emerging trends and business models, economics, supply chain issues, and the in-store customer experience.
Retail Trajectories are also a big part of the Spieckerman Speaks Retail podcast where listeners get to hear a forecast of what’s to come in the retail sector. Listeners are sure to be inspired by what they hear.
> Listen to an interview with Carol Spieckerman
6. Retail Remix, hosted by Alicia Esposito
Retail is a constantly evolving industry and the Retail Remix podcast has its finger on the pulse of the trends and technologies impacting retailers. Guests on the show discuss how they’re changing the retail experience for customers into something revolutionary.
Recent episode topics include reinventing the online checkout experience, making the best use of customer data, how authenticity on social media affects a brand’s relevance with consumers, this year’s big retail trends and what they mean for the upcoming year, and Google’s impact on the customer product search experience.
7. Modern Retail, hosted by Cale Guthrie Weissman
One of the must-listen-to retail podcasts, Modern Retail takes a deep dive into three main subject areas: DTC, the retail revolution, and e-commerce. Cale Guthrie Weissman conducts interviews with retail industry leaders who are candid about what has, and hasn’t, worked for their businesses.
Podcast episodes touch on topics like brand development, building customer loyalty, cultivating a great customer experience, marketing and economic strategies, and where retailers are headed in their business models – just to name a few.
8. The Jason & Scot Show, hosted by Jason Goldberg and Scot Wingo
The Jason & Scot Show is sponsored by RetailGeek.com and is hosted by two self-proclaimed geeks, Jason and Scot, who start many of their shows with short discussions in the sci-fi and fantasy realm before moving on to the issues pertaining to shopping – how we do it, when and what makes it great, and the cool stuff that makes shopping a great experience.
Episodes cover software used in retail, technology decisions by different retailers, retail industry events and tradeshows, along with in-depth analysis of industry reports numbers. As you’ll discover, the guests on the Jason & Scot show love to “geek out” over retail data just as much as the hosts!
> Listen to an interview with Jason Goldberg
9. Retail Corner, hosted by Carlos Diaz
Retail Corner is a look at what’s current in the retail world, with an eye toward where things are heading. Host Carlos Diaz interviews guests who share their expert insight on success in retail.
Podcast episodes discuss staff development, the retailers who are “rock stars” in creating brand loyalty, mistakes retailers make, understanding and influencing shopper behavior, and factors that determine a retailer’s success – location, events to drive traffic, pricing, and adapting to the changing landscape of retail.
10. Tell Me Something Good About Retail, hosted by Bob Phibbs
Bob Phibbs, aka “the Retail Doctor,” is the world’s leading expert when it comes to brick-and-mortar retailers. He’s led the effort to keep brick-and-mortar retailers in the game against online competitors and his work has made him one of the top influencers in retail.
His podcast is a spotlight on what’s positive in the retail world. Episodes include topics like scaling retail stores to better fit the communities they serve, including empathy as part of staff training, asking questions to get to the heart of what a customer really wants, doing what it takes to keep a retailer customer-centered – and so much more. Each episode ends with the guest telling Bob about something that’s good in retail.
> Listen to an interview with Bob Phibbs
And here’s one more that was just too good not to mention!
BONUS:
11. Spark Plug, hosted by Ned Hayes and Ashley Coates
The Spark Plug podcast features a new guest from across the world of technology and retail every week and covers both elephants and ants – they host industry leaders like Dana Telsey (frequent guest on CNBC) and Sravana Kumar Karnati (SVP/CTO of Walmart) as well as local small store retail specialists like Dean Jones of Encore Chocolates and Khrysta Hendricks, founder of Love Juice.
The diversity in guests and topics provides rich insights about loyalty technology, data analytics, customer engagement, and what it means to create an outstanding customer experience in retail.
