Live from the NRF 2020 expo floor, we’re joined by Supermarket Guru, Phil Lempert and co-CEO of Spoon Guru, Marcus Stripf! This episode, we discuss key trends at this year’s conference (robotics and personalization), as well as emerging trends in the US and European grocery market (click-and-collect, customer-centric experiences and delivery).

We kick off the podcast observing the trends at NRF, what we’re seeing and how that reflects the current market needs.

Phil notes the excitement around robotics, and where retailers should really be turning their attention to. “There’s too much attention being given to robotics…That’s not what a consumer wants. Yes, we’ve got higher labor costs than before. Yes, we want to be able to deliver in 30 minutes. But it’s not about robotics - that’s a tool. What we really need to do is focus on the consumer, and that’s what I’m looking for. To see what are those consumer aided products that can really change the life of a consumer versus the back room.”

Marcus adds that there is a slow adoption of personalization in retail, as compared to other markets. “It’s becoming a broad use case now. We’re seeing personalization, curation entering areas like CRM, loyalty programs, recommendation engines, where people expect a highly tailored experience. You know, we see this with the likes of YouTube and Spotify and Netflix. Why don’t we get that in retail?”

Phil, Marcus and Sylvain go on to talk about:

1. what’s been happening in grocery in Europe, 

2. are US retailers truly innovating or just developing new technologies as distractions,

3. and whether gig economy companies, like Instacart and Uber, are profitable or not

Listen to the full episode to catch all of the interesting insights from our incredible guests and join us at NRF booth #1418 to meet them in person, January 12-14!