Welcome to Retail Unwrapped, a podcast from The Robin Report.  Join Shelley E. Kohan as she shares insights and unpacks issues at the core of retail and consumer products. The conversations are lively and the opinions are honest.  New episodes every Friday.

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1510987/open_sms">We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us!</a>Guest: Lindsey Scheftic, CMO, Owner and Founder, The CMO Sidekick  Fractional CMOs with blue-chip experience are sources of enterprise-level talent accessible even to mid-market companies. Couple that resource with AI tools that are moving at the speed of light, these strategic co-pilots are separating marketing winners from losers. With the explosion of video channel fragmentation creating a measurement nightmare and threatening attribution accuracy, and retail media networks evolving from a "necessary evil" into precision targeting powerhouses – both demand a new level of marketing expertise. Join Shelley and Lindsey Scheftic, CMO, owner and founder of The CMO Sidekick as they explore how marketing expertise is being fundamentally redefined. The traditional career path is dead, yesterday's marketing education is obsolete, and 65 percent of future marketing roles don't even exist today. Listen in to this provocative conversation to get up to speed on the future of marketing.For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit <a href='https://www.therobinreport.com/'>TheRobinReport.com</a>, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/therobinreport/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://twitter.com/robinreport?lang=en'>Twitter</a>.

Retail Unwrapped - from The Robin Report

EP 230: Rethinking Retail Marketing Leadership: AI and the Fractional Revolution

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1510987/open_sms">We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us!</a>Special Guest: Warren Shoulberg, Retail Journalist and TRR WriterConsumer spending is increasingly reflecting personal values. In a disruptive, unpredictable marketplace, the rise of grassroots activism presents unprecedented strategic challenges for retail executives. These orchestrated economic blackouts can transform individual purchasing decisions into collective action, triggering a compromised retail brand reputation with financial implications.  While any immediate sales impact is difficult to quantify, brands are still vulnerable. Join Shelley and Warren Shoulberg, retail expert and TRR contributor, as they discuss whether these movements are successful and how the true power of these boycotts may lie in the symbolic expression of shifting the public discourse, particularly fueled by social media. The growing tension between consumer activists and retail brands sits at the heart of the strategic calculus of how the C-suite serves its customers and makes decisions. Now more than ever, retailers need to work harder to earn customer loyalty.For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit <a href='https://www.therobinreport.com/'>TheRobinReport.com</a>, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/therobinreport/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://twitter.com/robinreport?lang=en'>Twitter</a>.

EP 229: Consumer Boycotts: A Major C-Suite Headache

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1510987/open_sms">We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us!</a>Special Guest: Phil Lempert, consumer behavior analystThe bird flu outbreak has transcended egg producers in the farming industry to become a critical economic disruptor and potential public health threat. With consumers spending 53 percent more on eggs in January 2025 compared to the previous year, this potential pandemic illustrates the fragility of our food systems despite technological advances. Join Shelley and Phil Lempert, expert analyst on consumer behavior, marketing trends and the changing retail landscape, as they discuss how the bird flu crisis is creating complex challenges for retailers, restaurateurs, supply chain executives, and public health officials alike. For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit <a href='https://www.therobinreport.com/'>TheRobinReport.com</a>, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/therobinreport/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://twitter.com/robinreport?lang=en'>Twitter</a>.

EP 228: When Necessities Become Luxuries: The Bird Flu Economy

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1510987/open_sms">We'd love to have your feedback and ideas for future episodes of Retail Unwrapped. Just text us!</a>Special Guest: Jonathan Gold, Vice President of Supply Chain and Customs Policy, National Retail FederationIn a year of unprecedented economic uncertainty, the possible implementation of widespread tariffs has far-reaching implications for retail markets and consumer behavior. Beyond the immediate impact on pricing, these trade policies could fundamentally alter supply chain strategies, product availability, and market competition. Join Shelley and Jonathan Gold from NRF as they discuss all-things tariffs and how challenging it is for retailers to plan for sudden, unexpected policy changes. While some retailers advocate bringing manufacturing back to the U.S, the infrastructure, skilled labor, and economic conditions required for domestic production cannot be established quickly enough to counteract imminent, imposed tariffs. From a macro perspective, the current trade environment demands a strategic reassessment of supply chain diversity and risk management to thrive in an increasingly volatile global market.For more strategic insights and compelling content, visit <a href='https://www.therobinreport.com/'>TheRobinReport.com</a>, where you can read, watch, and listen to content from Robin Lewis and other retail industry experts, and be sure to follow us on <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/company/therobinreport/'>LinkedIn</a> and <a href='https://twitter.com/robinreport?lang=en'>Twitter</a>.

Shelley E. Kohan

Retail Unwrapped - from The Robin Report by Shelley E. Kohan

Episodes