Reimagining Retail: The Most Interesting 2025 Retail Trends We Have Heard (and Expect to Hear) Outside of EMARKETER | Jan 22, 2025

Summary

Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail - Detailed Summary

Podcast Information

• Title: Behind the Numbers: an EMARKETER Podcast
• Host: Sarah Lebo
• Guests:
  • Susie David Canyon, VP of Content
  • Zia Daniel Wigder, Chief Content Officer
• Episode: Reimagining Retail: The Most Interesting 2025 Retail Trends We Have Heard (and Expect to Hear) Outside of EMARKETER
• Release Date: January 22, 2025

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Introduction

In the January 22, 2025 episode of Behind the Numbers, host Sarah Lebo delves into the most intriguing retail trends anticipated for 2025, drawing insights not only from EMARKETER's own research but also from external sources. Joined by Susie David Canyon and Zia Daniel Wigder, the discussion navigates through key takeaways from recent industry events, emerging technologies, and evolving consumer behaviors shaping the future of retail.

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Key Takeaways from NRF 2025

Susie David Canyon on Rapidly Changing Trends

• Timestamp: [01:01]
• Quote: “There isn't such a thing anymore as one trend that lasts for a longer period of time and that trends probably pop up every day, if not more often.”
• Discussion: Susie highlights a critical insight from NRF 2025: the accelerated pace at which trends emerge and fade, driven by pervasive social media and instant communication. This volatility presents challenges for brands in capitalizing on and committing to specific trends, necessitating greater flexibility and nimbleness in their strategies.

Retail Media Strategies from Costco

• Timestamp: [02:38]
• Quote: “Acquire, win back, rescue, and grow.”
• Discussion: Susie recounts Costco’s innovative approach to retail media, focusing on leveraging their membership as the core of their business strategy. Costco categorizes customers into four segments—acquire, win back, rescue, and grow—and tailors its media strategies to each group. This segmentation helps Costco address diverse customer behaviors, from attracting new members to re-engaging lapsed ones.

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Emerging Trends and Technologies

The Creator Economy's Influence on Brand Evolution

• Timestamp: [04:30]
• Quote: “It's interesting that that whole area just kind of has taken over when think about the digital evolution of their brand.”
• Discussion: Zia observes that brands like American Girl and Reebok are increasingly focusing on the creator economy, leveraging content creators to drive their digital presence. This shift underscores the importance of authentic content and influencer partnerships in modern brand strategies.

Facial Recognition in Retail Payments

• Timestamp: [05:34]
• Quote: “They do facial recognition for payments, dynamic pricing, and just a lot of things that aren't necessarily mainstream here.”
• Discussion: Zia shares insights from a Brazilian retailer’s CEO who discussed advanced technologies like facial recognition for payments. While such innovations enhance convenience—eliminating the need for physical payment methods—they also raise concerns about consumer privacy and acceptance. Additionally, Susie touches on the complexities retailers face with crypto payments, highlighting volatility and return policies as significant barriers.

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Disagreements and Critical Perspectives

Play in the Workplace Culture

• Timestamp: [08:01]
• Quote: “I think the way she articulated it was a little bit too silly, if that makes sense.”
• Discussion: Susie expresses skepticism about the trend of incorporating play into workplace culture, as presented at NRF. She finds the concept overly simplistic and not sufficiently constructive, questioning its effectiveness in fostering genuine company culture beyond superficial perks like foosball tables.

Challenges in Social Commerce Returns

• Timestamp: [13:05]
• Quote: “The returns... tend to be quite high because you've got so many impulse purchases.”
• Discussion: Zia brings up a concern from social commerce in China about high return rates driven by impulse buying. This trend poses operational challenges for retailers, necessitating tighter return policies or more efficient return processes. Susie further discusses how sizing inconsistencies exacerbate return issues, emphasizing the need for more reliable sizing solutions in e-commerce.

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Upcoming Retail Events and Focus Areas

Shop Talk 2025 Insights

• Timestamp: [10:50]
• Quote: “There will be a big focus on retail media... and the division that’s going to be focused on that.”
• Discussion: Zia anticipates a significant emphasis on retail media at Shop Talk 2025, with dedicated segments exploring this area. Concurrently, there's a debate on whether 2025 will be the "year of robotics," especially with advancements in Generative AI. The conversation reflects a mix of optimism and uncertainty about the integration of robotics in retail.

Etail Conference Highlights

• Timestamp: [12:36]
• Quote: “There’s going to be a lot of conversations around data and how do you measure both if it's successful, your campaign...”
• Discussion: Susie outlines that Etail will concentrate on direct-to-consumer strategies, omnichannel experiences, and the integration of diverse data sources to form a comprehensive view of the consumer. The event will feature brands showcasing innovative use cases and retail tech companies presenting the latest technological advancements.

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Consumer Behavior and Personalization

Personal Shoppers Enhancing Online Grocery

• Timestamp: [09:25]
• Quote: “They know your habits and then you feel better that they’re not looking for the wilted salad.”
• Discussion: The guests discuss how platforms like Shipt are personalizing the online grocery experience by allowing consumers to select personal shoppers who understand their preferences. This approach mitigates common issues like product quality inconsistencies, fostering trust and satisfaction among customers.

Technological Solutions for Sizing Issues

• Timestamp: [15:04]
• Quote: “Retailers need to find less obtrusive ways of doing sizing.”
• Discussion: Addressing the persistent problem of sizing inaccuracies in online retail, the conversation emphasizes the need for seamless technological solutions. Innovations like virtual sizing mirrors are emerging but are not yet widely accessible on common shopping platforms like Instagram, highlighting a gap between technology availability and consumer needs.

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Final Thoughts and Future Outlook

Excitement for Upcoming Events

• Timestamp: [16:19]
• Quote: “Still by far the best retail event out there.”
• Discussion: Both guests express enthusiasm for upcoming retail events, with Zia particularly praising Shop Talk for its comprehensive coverage and networking opportunities. The consensus is that these events are invaluable for staying abreast of the latest trends and technologies in the dynamic retail landscape.

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Conclusion

The January 22, 2025 episode of Behind the Numbers offers a comprehensive exploration of the evolving retail environment. From the rapid turnover of trends and the strategic segmentation of customers to the integration of advanced technologies and the challenges of social commerce, Susie and Zia provide nuanced perspectives that underscore the complexity and dynamism of the retail sector. As the industry continues to adapt to technological advancements and shifting consumer behaviors, events like NRF, Shop Talk, and Etail remain crucial for stakeholders aiming to navigate and thrive in the future of retail.

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Notable Quotes:

• Susie David Canyon: “There isn’t such a thing anymore as one trend that lasts for a longer period of time and that trends probably pop up every day, if not more often.” [01:07]
• Zia Daniel Wigder: “It’s interesting that that whole area just kind of has taken over when think about the digital evolution of their brand.” [04:34]
• Sarah Lebo: “I want to know my measurements in a reliable way and have sizes that are consistent, but that may be too much to ask for.” [15:54]

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This summary captures the essence of the episode, highlighting the main discussions, insights, and expert opinions shared by the hosts and guests. It is designed to provide a clear and comprehensive overview for listeners and those unable to tune in.

Transcript

[Sarah Lebo]

Hello, listeners. Today is Wednesday, January 22nd. Welcome to behind the Reimagining Retail an eMarketer podcast. This is the show where we talk about how retail collides with every part of our lives. I'm your host, Sarah Lebo. Today's episode topic is the most interesting 2025 trends we have heard outside of Emarketer. Let's meet today's guests. Joining me for today's episode, we have podcast regular VP of Content, Susie David Canyon. Hey, Susie.

[Susie David Canyon]

Hey, Sarah. Thanks for having me.

[Sarah Lebo]

Also with us is a special guest for today's podcast, it's our Chief Content officer, Zia Daniel Wigder.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

Thanks for having me, Sarah.

[Sarah Lebo]

Thank you for being here. And thank you both for coming to see me in person to record this one. Okay, let's start with nrf, which just happened last week. I. I want to hear from each of you what a takeaway that stuck with you from a session was. Suzy, why don't you go first?

[Susie David Canyon]

So I had a couple of them, but I think there are two that I. If it's okay for me to give you two, as in my usual style.

[Sarah Lebo]

You'Re breaking the rules already. Great.

[Susie David Canyon]

So the one was there was someone from a trends company who talked about something that seems so simplistic and yet I think it's worth saying out loud with social and with everybody having so much power with their phones and so communication just keeps moving at a faster clip. There isn't such a thing anymore as one trend that lasts for a longer period of time and that trends probably pop up every day, if not more often. And so it's really hard for brands to capitalize on trends. Now, I'm extrapolating a little bit more than what she had said, but from a retailer's perspective, I think it then becomes really challenging to figure out what is the trend do you want to stand behind? And is there such a thing as a trend?

[Sarah Lebo]

What is considered a trend in this context? Like a fuzzy bucket hat or like wide pants?

[Susie David Canyon]

All of it, right? It's like the colors, brands, the viral moments, whether it is a physical thing, whether it's an emotion, whether it's. I mean, she was even saying something that I thought was fascinating. And then I ever thought about that if you want to increase, which I am certainly not advocating for this, but there are. She is. She was saying that if you want to increase engagement on certain platforms which shall remain nameless, anger and tension and bad sentiments will help you get viral faster. So I think trends, you're right. It's a Good question. It's such a big overarching comment. But the idea that you can't stand behind one thing and it's ever changing, and so that means you have to be really flexible and nimble, I think is probably one that everybody should stick to.

[Sarah Lebo]

Sure. Part of me hates the like, let's incite anger, but I do get the, like, let's put an outfit out there that a lot of people will think is ugly so that we can get some comments and also some people defending it and saying what they like about it.

[Susie David Canyon]

Yeah, it's this weird tension. Right.

[Sarah Lebo]

What was your other rule breaker?

[Susie David Canyon]

One, I had the chance to go to the Saturday Retail Media day, and the person from Costco, the gentleman from Costco, was talking a little bit about how they use their Costco membership as the middle of their flywheel, which is not news. Right. But the way they were thinking about retail media is also a part of helping. It's an ancillary business, helping fuel their membership. And that that's the number one thing that they sell. Also kind of not new, but what I thought was interesting, they group their customers into four different areas that the retail media is supposed to help with. So there are the non shoppers, which are the ones that they're trying to acquire. So media aren't touching Costco yet. Or a category. So, like, it doesn't have to necessarily be Costco because if you're on a Costco property, you're most likely a Costco shopper, but not the category shopper depends on if they're on site or off site. But then there are the ones that they're trying to win back, which are the lapsed customers. Then they're the ones that they know have left, recently left, are in the process of leaving, and all the signs are pointing towards that. So they're trying to rescue those that I had never heard of that term. So I thought that was really interesting. And then of course, they're the current shoppers that they're trying to grow and how their retail media, everything that they're doing is trying to thinking about those four different types of customers.

[Sarah Lebo]

Was that three or four?

[Susie David Canyon]

Four.

[Sarah Lebo]

Okay.

[Susie David Canyon]

Acquire, win back, rescue and grow.

[Sarah Lebo]

I got win back and rescue sort of grouped into one. It's good to think about those as two different ones, though. I know in New York City, a big leaving Costco reason is that you don't have a car in the city anymore. I wonder what their like, specific approach is to keep those folks around. Okay, Zia, what was your one Takeaway.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

Well, since Suzie had two takeaways, I'm.

[Sarah Lebo]

Gonna go with two as well here.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

Of course, the first one wasn't as much what someone actually said on stage, but just the direction of the conversation. So they had someone from American Girl and someone from Reebok on stage, and they were talking about kind of the digital evolution of their brands. But a very large percentage of the conversation had to do with the creator economy and had to do with how they were leveraging content creators. So it's interesting that that whole area just kind of has taken over when think about the digital evolution of their brand.

[Sarah Lebo]

Yeah. That's fascinating for American Girl because, like, people have been making YouTube content of American Girl Dolls, like, since I was a kid. Like, since YouTube started existing, I guess. Like, that has been around for a long time, and it's smart of the brand to capitalize on that.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

Yeah. And it's not just the girls who are doing it, but the parents as well, which is interesting.

[Sarah Lebo]

Like unboxing. Here's what I got for.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

And people who grew up with them. Right. Who now have kids.

[Sarah Lebo]

Did you guys grow up with American Girl Dolls?

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

I did not, but my Denise's did. Yeah. Yeah.

[Sarah Lebo]

Okay.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

The other thing then, the other one was a more concrete takeaway, which was from a session when they had the CEO of a retailer in Brazil, and he was talking about the fact that they do facial recognition for payments, dynamic pricing, and just a lot of things that aren't necessarily mainstream here, which seems like they have kind of proliferated more there.

[Sarah Lebo]

Facial recognition for payments is one of those things where I'm like, I don't want that. No, it freaks me out. But as soon as they implement it in the subway, I'll be fine with it. I'll be like, sure, I'm adopting it. You're saying I don't have to even take my phone out of my pocket. It's fine.

[Susie David Canyon]

It's funny because I went to the JP Morgan booth to see. Because that was their big reveal last year was the facial recognition. So I went to ask him about crypto payments and about how it's going with facial recognition. And the person was very lovely and was saying how, you know, clear and airports across the world. Like, there are lots of places where you're doing facial recognition. And so it's making sure that retailers also start to feel comfortable with it. It's. It's like not even talking about the consumer yet. It's like getting the retailer to feel comfortable with it. He didn't Quite answer how it's going exactly. But he did, he was very informative.

[Sarah Lebo]

What do you say about crypto payments?

[Susie David Canyon]

I find this fascinating. We talk about this for a long time, but at the end of the day, when it comes to crypto and a retailer, because crypto is not new, you know, it ebbs and flows. It's a currency. And so there are two things that the retailer bears risk. So it becomes more complicated. One is at what price is the value of that currency when you're making the transaction, which can fluctuate. So that's problem for the retailer. But more importantly, they haven't figured out returns. And even though crypto is like a blockchain mechanism, so you could technically figure out what was the value of the cryptocurrency when you made the purchase of the good in dollars, it's still so hard. They're still so far away from a structural perspective. So it's very high risk for a retailer today. And they haven't figured out, in his opinion. They hadn't figured out. Which makes sense. Completely.

[Sarah Lebo]

Yeah, that makes sense. My big crypto evolution was this year someone gave me bitcoin gelt this Hanukkah, which was gelt normal chocolate coins, just with the bitcoin logo on it.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

So no actual bitcoin?

[Sarah Lebo]

Nope. Crypto has made it into the candy chocolate market.

[Susie David Canyon]

I love that.

[Sarah Lebo]

Did anyone say anything at NRF that you disagreed with?

[Susie David Canyon]

I mean, disagree is such a big word, but there was someone who. It was actually the same. There was a presentation on a bunch of different trends and one of the ones that they were leaning heavily into is to bring play into your workplace.

[Sarah Lebo]

And we're doing that right now.

[Susie David Canyon]

Yes, we are doing it, but I think the way she articulated it, we were at the session together. I think the way she articulated it was a little bit too silly, if that makes sense. And it was not. It didn't feel as constructive as it could be. And yes, we do spend a lot of time at the office and we do want to make sure that you are feeling like you can be creative and authentic and all these other things, but I just didn't. That sort of play equals culture is where we need to be. Was hard for me to understand.

[Sarah Lebo]

That feels like kind of a dated concept to me. I feel like a lot of the, like the slay initiatives, like the old tech offices, a lot of people kind of see through now. And even though it's good to have like lightheartedness in the office, I think that people see through having a Foosball table being a sign of company culture. Yeah.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

And I think one thing that I heard, which was not new this year, but just in the whole conversation about grocery, talking about how there will be cultural issues that will get in the way of digital grocery adoption. And I think it's pretty uniform in every country that there's going to be that sort of tactile component of grocery. People who want to go in and touch and feel. It's not that that's true in one country more than another, but rather, if you have relatively affordable, convenient options, you will shift to buying some of your groceries online. It's more the availability of the offerings than it is a certain cultural preference in one place versus another for actually purchasing in person.

[Sarah Lebo]

Gotcha.

[Susie David Canyon]

It's so interesting because we talked to Shipt and she sort of was telling us around how in their platform, you can pick the person you want to be your personal shopper. And if you do it regular enough, they know your habits and then you feel better that they're not looking for the wilted salad. They're. They're like checking to make sure that what you need and what you want is consistent over time. And maybe that's the way they're getting over that hurdle.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

Could well be. And the whole personalization. Right. So I care about having hard grapes. That's one of my things.

[Sarah Lebo]

But there having soft grapes. I was talking about this last weekend.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

Yeah. There are other things that I will give on, but the hard grapes just can't do it.

[Susie David Canyon]

Well, did you guys see the Instagram post with. With in Korea, they do packaged bananas where it's like a package. Like every day is for the. Right.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

That's right. Different levels of greenness. Yeah.

[Susie David Canyon]

Which I'd never seen that before. But now you have a personal shopper, depending, I guess, on the platform you're using that. If you use them regularly enough and you treat them with kindness and respect and all the everything else, and they start to feel like they know you and they want to make you happy.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

Right.

[Sarah Lebo]

Okay. That is all fascinating. Let's sort of think ahead. Now. I know you guys are both going to Shop Talk later this year. Just Zia.

[Susie David Canyon]

Nope.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

I will be there together with Sarah Marzano this year.

[Sarah Lebo]

Gotcha. Okay. Zia and our colleague Sarah will be at Shop Talk this year. A bunch of other retail events are also on the docket. I know Etel is one of them. What are you looking forward to seeing at these events this year?

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

So I'll let Susie talk to e tail and I'LL talk to Shop Talk for a little bit. So certainly one thing that we're going to see there this year is a big focus on retail media, which they've had before, but they've got a whole specific sort of division of the event that's going to be focused on that. So Sarah Marzano will be a part of that piece of Shop Talk. So that will continue to be an area of focus this year. One thing that was interesting that I heard in a conversation last night at dinner was a questioning of whether this is going to be the year of robotics. With Gen AI having taken off these past couple of years, is this when we're going to kind of see it vaulted into much greater adoption? And there's quite a lot of discussion. Some people felt that was the case, others didn't. Whereas I think the past few years maybe you've heard a little bit less about it at some of these events. Be interesting to see if that kind of comes back as a big topic of discussion.

[Sarah Lebo]

Interesting. A lot of these things we're talking about like personal shoppers, robotics, AI, they're such like if you implement them well, then they'll be good and if you don't, then they'll be so bad. So I think that's, I guess why it's important we're talking about them at these events so you can see how the first movers are implementing them.

[Susie David Canyon]

I think at etel, you know that conference starts a little bit more around the direct to consumer. So there I think it's a lot more about the connected experience, the true omnichannel or all channel, and how there's commerce everywhere and how to really seize the moment. I think there's going to be a lot of conversations around data and how do you measure both if it's successful, your campaign, but also how do you bring all that different data together to have a holistic picture of the consumer across different platforms.

[Sarah Lebo]

Yeah, that makes sense. So talking to a lot of retail tech companies then, I'm assuming.

[Susie David Canyon]

Yes. And also and on stage are a lot of brands who are trying to explain their different use cases of what they're trying to achieve.

[Sarah Lebo]

Yeah, I have not been to Shop Talk, I have been to Etail. They have a huge shop floor there. So. Yeah, so we've talked in the podcast already about our E marketer trends for this year. Suzie, you talked about gamification and loyalty. Are there any trends that you've heard from these events so far from folks outside of Emarketer that we should be Keeping an eye on an ear on.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

One thing that I was talking about with someone from a company based in China about was social commerce. And one of the inhibitors there that they're seeing now is that the returns when it comes to social commerce actually tend to be quite high because you've got so many impulse purchases. And so she was curious to hear whether we kind of expected to see the same thing as it started to take off here. And it was an interesting discussion just around whether that was likely to be something that would, you know, maybe slow it down a bit compared to what we might expect to see otherwise.

[Sarah Lebo]

Yeah, I mean, we talked on the podcast last week about some Shopify data. I think that showed that holiday returns were up like 28% over last year or something. I think that as social commerce explodes, more and more returns are only going to accelerate and you either need to really tighten those return policies or find the right partners to make that viable.

[Susie David Canyon]

It's so interesting, though, because. Well, two. For two reasons. One, we used to talk through, like live streaming, especially where you get to interact with others around you. And the incidence of returns are lower on livestream shopping because you get to see and ask to see the bag in a different way or whatever. You know, you're investing a little bit less impulse, maybe because you're investing time and space in there. But the other thing from a purely social commerce is if you're buying it on the app, then it's unclear who do you return to. And so there's so much friction happening. Like if you're on Instagram and you go to the Macy's website, you're obviously buying it from Macy's, you're going to return it at Macy's. But if you're checking in, checking out in the app, I don't. That's probably like in TikTok, for example.

[Sarah Lebo]

Which may or may not still item to. Yeah, yeah, that's a good point.

[Susie David Canyon]

I hadn't heard about that.

[Sarah Lebo]

Yeah, Something I brought up on the podcast last week, which is a whole other conversation, is just sizing has gotten worse. I don't have data to back that up, but sizing has gotten worse. I'm consistently buying things that aren't the size I expect them to be. It's like very unreliable. And that really adds to the returns.

[Susie David Canyon]

We were just talking about that sizing. And the thing is, what I didn't see as much on the exhibitor floor was all these different sizing type of. There was a time where it was like everywhere, like the holograms the different technologies, like, it was everywhere. I think now they're just. Retailers need to find less obtrusive ways of doing sizing.

[Sarah Lebo]

Well, because I saw a retail tech present at a conference I was at last year, and they were showing off in beta, like a mirror that can size you. That's really cool. But that's not available to me when I'm buying something on Instagram on my phone while I'm waiting for the subway. So even though there are all these cool techs available, they are the opposite of where and when you need them. I want to know my measurements in a reliable way and have sizes that are consistent, but that may be too much to ask for.

[Susie David Canyon]

Well, and I think we've talked about this before. Like, is this where Google shopping comes in, where they understand your sizing? Because you've given them everything ahead of time, and they're like the facilitator to say, like, oh, in this brand, you need this size, and in that brand, because they're winning. Right. They're creating extra positive sort of halo for the brands, and they're making your life as the consumer easier. But I think we're a little bit ahead. Head in that space.

[Sarah Lebo]

Okay. Any final thoughts on events for the coming year before we wrap up?

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

Very excited for Shop Talk. They now have two events every year, so went to the one in the fall, which is in Chicago for the first time. Now we've got the big one coming up in the spring. And, yeah, I'm biased, but still by far the best retail event out there.

[Sarah Lebo]

Yeah. Whenever I join you on a call from the Vegas one, I feel like you're always in the middle of walking, like, miles through the conference area.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

It's hard not to walk miles through Mandalay Bay.

[Sarah Lebo]

Yeah.

[Susie David Canyon]

It is a good show.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

Yeah.

[Sarah Lebo]

All right, well, that is all we have time for today. Thank you so much for being here, Suzy.

[Susie David Canyon]

Thanks so much. This was super fun.

[Sarah Lebo]

Yeah. And thanks for joining us, Zia.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

Thank you for having me.

[Susie David Canyon]

Yeah.

[Sarah Lebo]

We'll have to have you on more often.

[Zia Daniel Wigder]

Looking forward to it.

[Sarah Lebo]

Thank you to our listeners and to our podcast editing team. We'll be back next Wednesday with another episode of Reimagining Retail and Emarketer Podcast. And on Friday, join Marcus for another episode of behind the Numbers.