Wendy L. 00:00

Hello, everyone. I'm Wendy Liebmann, CEO and chief shopper at WSL Strategic Retail, and this is Future Shop. Today we're breaking all the rules and regulations. We have more people on Future Shop than ever before, and they are three of my favorite people in the world, two of my colleagues, Elia Auchane, who runs our beauty vertical, our food and beverage vertical, and our retail vertical. It is the best job in the company, because food beverage, beauty and shopping now you're making me laugh. Elia, see, I'm already laughing everybody, even though it's because it's like friends and family. Our other favorite job in the whole company is run by Katie Hornsby, who runs our retail innovation practice and our sort of external cousin partner in crime is Anna mayo. Anna is the vice president of the beauty vertical at NielsenIQ, or NIQ, as we love to call it. So welcome to the three of you. Lovely to have you today.

Anna 01:09

Thank you, Wendy.

Wendy L. 01:10

Before we get going, I just wanted to remind you all, as always, please subscribe to this podcast. Let us know you're there. Click the link. Doesn't cost you anything. Wherever you get your podcasts, Spotify, Apple, our website wherever. Just let us know you're in the background. Thanks for that. Now on to the episode. So we're going to talk today about innovation, collaboration and the value of connecting. That really has become increasingly important in these days. One of the things that struck us all of late is that here we are in the fifth year, moving in and out of a pandemic, and many of us are still stuck at our desks, at our homes, all of the above, and we see a great deficit of innovation and collaboration so often because we're not all together So very recently, with this team leading the way. We worked with NielsenIQ at their great event in Florida, in Hollywood, Florida, C360, to bring together, in addition to all the content and IQ provided, we also built a Retail Safari®, one of our innovation immersions, with a group that was invited by Neilson and Anna and her beauty team to really bring together a group that could look at and think about the future of beauty through the lens of retail innovation. So that's a very, very long introduction. So I'm going to let Anna say hello first, because she's our guest for the day, and then Elia and Katie can jump in as well. But Anna, welcome to future shopping.

Anna 02:47

Thank you. Lovely to be with you all. You know you're one of my favorite teams to work with, so it's a pleasure to be I love the term cousins. I think I'll use that from now. And we're our beauty industry

Wendy L. 02:57

cousins, that's it. Well, and we've health you've come to our health symposium and sponsored that for us. So so we feel, over the last few years we've really been linked at the hip, which is which means we're extended family. So anyway, um, Elia, say hello. Tell us what you do, even though I told everybody. Katie, you say hello. Tell everybody what you do, even though I've told everybody hi,

Elia 03:18

it's great to be here. This is my second time on the podcast still stressful. I'm in perfect I know Third time's the charm, but I hope this one suffice. As you said, I lead all of our food and beverage beauty retail for WSL. My role is to discuss with client about what's keeping them at night, that's keeping them up at night, and figure out a way to always bring the shopper in the room, whatever decision they're making. I'm very happy that we get to speak about this great Retail Safari® that we did in Florida, because it was a lot of fun and very, very insightful. And

Wendy L. 03:59

Katie and Katie Hornsby, our event planner par excellence, we just had a fabulous birthday in our office, and she two birthdays. Elia was one, and Karen was another, and Katie had the job of creating the party, which was fabulous. Thank you, Katie. But she also does drum roll. Katie, tell us what you do.

Katie 04:19

Yes, as Wendy said, I am our global innovation Manager. This is my first time on the podcast. Not that we're keeping score, but I am in charge of keeping track of all of the global innovations that are happening in the world, and also in charge of our Retail Safari® Toolkit, which I'll chat a little bit more about later. We do retail immersions, Retail Safari®s like again, we'll chat about our one with NIQ. We do virtual Retail Safari®s, newsletters, anything you need, innovation, inspiration. That's what I'm

Wendy L. 04:55

here. And it was really exciting to be with you all. This is the second time that we. Been at C360. Just tell us a little bit about the event.

Anna 05:04

Yeah, absolutely. So C360 can stands for consumer. C3, Consumer360 so a full picture view of consumers, why, where they're shopping, why they're shopping, what types of categories, what's keeping them up at night? It's a it's a conference that we throw annually for all of our clients and partners, it's really just a time for us to kind of gather together, share insights, learn from each other and learn from expert speakers. So this year, we had standout speakers like Chef Jose Andres Professor Scott Galloway, Shark Tank judge, Daymond John and many, many more, including Wendy, was on our main stage as well. But, you know, we go there to get inspiration, to hear kind of what's standing out in the industry. We also take the opportunity to announce some of our most exciting initiatives for the year at NielsenIQ. So this year, we announced a partnership with Sephora, our measurement of Costco data, the expansion of our Omni shop, or consumer panel, to be the largest panel in the US. So very exciting for us to kind of share that big news with our clients that we've been working on all year. And then it's also, you know, a lot of fun, right where we kind of go there to blow off steam, to connect with each other, to network. There's great entertainment. There's dinners for our beauty clients in particular, we always host a lot of special events. So we have specific beauty sessions, a beauty lunch, which is always really fun. And this year, we had the opportunity to bring them on a Retail Safari® as well around Miami.

Wendy L. 06:33

And as we as we think about innovation and collaboration, one of the things that we've all learned at our end of the world is that it's not just about the data. We all love our data. We all love the insights from the data, but the ability to inspire and move on through that inspiration is really the secret sauce in so many ways. So it's why we all bring our data and our inspiration together in this one place which was which was great. So you know, just just before we dive into the Retail Safari®, earlier and Katie, you know what? What stood out for you this year at C360, what? Katie, of Elia, you've been before? Katie, you haven't, but Elia, what's what stood out for you this year in terms of content or speakers, or people? We

Elia 07:16

thought this year was particularly a lot of conversations revolved around putting the consumer, or for us, the shopper, at the center of everything that companies do. And I thought this time felt a little more intentional. It feels like everyone's understanding now that in a world where shoppers have so many options, of retailers, of brands, and pretty much every tool under the sun to shop and and to get what they want. It's really about understanding what they need, how they live, why they shop, that bigger picture. And I think Wendy, you mentioned that, but we collectively maybe lost track of the shopper as a human in a world of data and in a world of insights. And I thought this time was was, as I said, a little more intentional about putting the consumer at the center of everything you do as a brand, as a retailer, as a leader, as like all those those people that were there. I think Jose Andres said it best during his talk, if he said, we only plan for what we can think about. So when the unthinkable happens, we're not prepared and we freeze. And I think in his work with World central kitchen, he's always they're just getting things done by getting boots on the ground. They're the first to arrive on site. They're the first to assess the situation and see what's actually happening. And I think that resonates a lot with what we do when we do a Retail Safari®. And just by putting the consumer and the shopper at the center of everything you do, it's really seeing what's actually happening for them, and then making your decision based on that. Yeah,

Wendy L. 08:54

I think that's that's really insightful, because you're absolutely right. One of the things, and Katie, we talk about it in a minute. One of the things that's so powerful, I think, when Anna, you bring your beauty clients together with our Retail Safari®, is that they remind themselves, first of all, that they are shoppers, and we count shopping bags at the end. You'll all see pictures of this later. You know, we people who are executives, who both put on their shopper hat and their executive hat, they are the boots on the ground, and they really become engaged in what's out there in the in the retail landscape. And I think, you know, I can never say it too often as the shopper in the room, because if they're not, we've got nobody to spend all their money anyway. So Katie, tell us a little bit about how you went about putting together this Retail Safari® in mind customizing it to Nielsen and the audience that they had

Katie 09:50

absolutely when it comes to Retail Safari®s, whether it's live or virtual, any of the formats that it comes in customization really starts with on. Understanding what our client or what our partner and IQ, in this case, is trying to solve for or find inspiration for. And so that's one big piece of it, but the other big piece of it too is really keeping in mind and thinking through the key trends that we see in our how America shops research, and also, again, the trends I'm kind of picking up on, whether on social media or with store openings. And so having that total look global look on what is happening in the space, and we do a really nice job of keeping a pulse on what's happening in retail in every major city, global and national. And so we can either suggest a city or meet the client where they want to be. This case in Hollywood, Florida, outside of Miami. And we do, you know, a lot of research. We deep dive into the market. Who's there, who are the regional players, who are some of our favorites we know we want to see, and maybe who are some of the odd balls that the attendees wouldn't necessarily expect us to take them to, and so I do a pre scout. Head to the city, take a look at numerous stores before we narrow it down. Go

Wendy L. 11:13

to Formula One races.

Katie 11:15

Formula One races when there's time. Sorry, don't mind

Wendy L. 11:20

you. More more about Katie and Formula One later,

Katie 11:22

yes, and when I'm unable to attend, or, you know, if there's not a Formula One race going on that makes sense for me to attend, then we do have our global scouts that can investigate the stores for us, like they did for our future of Commerce event in London, and so we really have eyes and ears everywhere, which is great. And then after scouting, taking a look again, what's in the market, what makes sense, that's when we kind of narrow that list down and really think about the story we can tell and share and explore with the attendees, again, in line with the insights we're getting from how America shops, but also, again, what Nielsen, our partner, is looking for, and the inspiration that they want to share with their clients too. So

Wendy L. 12:11

and Anna with you and your beauty team. I mean, clearly, you're immersed in your you know, the Nielsen content data all the time, but you're also very engaged in the industry in lots of different ways. And then the people you invite to join us, that's, that's the other part, I think, of the secret sauce is always a very interesting group. So, you know, talk a little bit about, I don't know how much you want to reveal, but who joined us, and because I think it's amazing how that collaboration of different people, different types of companies, brings, again, some of the magic to the what the Retail Safari® we do with you. So tell us a bit about

Anna 12:52

that. We always get a really good mix of bigger clients, smaller clients, retailers, brands, but everyone really shows up with this willingness to kind of learn and explore. And it's always really fun for us to see these, you know, competitive companies talking to each other. And you know, because at the end of the day, every everyone who works in this industry really loves beauty and is really passionate about it. So it's cool to see people kind of put aside their, you know, workplace rivalries and kind of just explore together and share a lot and can share inspiration. So I think your team is, is a big, you know, a big credit to that too, and just making it a very comfortable, fun environment, everyone feels really well taken care of, and that they're on this kind of concierge journey that really lets them relax and kind of be in the moment and explore. So

Wendy L. 13:44

Katie, and from your perspective, first time ever at C360. What stood out to you? The

Katie 13:48

one that I keep thinking about when I think of the wonderful two days, three days, was the Gen Z panel. And kind of like Elia was saying, we might have, like, lost a little bit of the human in the conversation. And I feel like a lot of the time we're in the room discussing what Gen Z wants or what we think they want, and so to actually hear directly from them was really refreshing and hopefully very eye opening to everyone in the room on how different everyone in Gen Z very much is, I feel like you could really see that individuality shine through, and even just like all the way down to the way we talk, the verbiage, the expressions and the casualness of it, compared to Listening to non Gen Zs. The rest of the time it was this clear flip. And so again, getting the shopper in the room and hearing direct was great. And I think, you know, it was fun. Yeah,

Wendy L. 14:50

there's always a lot of fun this year. In collaboration, we're on the bus for part of this trip and for 2030, minutes or something beyond us telling everybody. Know, the latest insights, what we're going to see you created this Retail Safari® jeopardy that you and Elia created that was kind of fun. Yeah, I

Katie 15:09

thought it was, you know, great warm up for everyone to get to know each other and have a little bit of that competitiveness. But again, not with their retail corporate hats on. It was just the fun, friendly. You know what's trending on TikTok, and let's talk about beauty basics. So it was great,

Wendy L. 15:25

yeah, yeah, it was. It was very much to Elia and Katie's credit. They created this whole Jeopardy game. And of course, Nielsen provided the prizes candy, which, of course, we all love. And those of us who are really competitive, like me, did I win? Did I win? I think everybody won. I think, Anna, you're right. The 360 thing to me is also, I think about the sea as collaboration and connection, not just consumer. And that's always the feel. I always walk away with meeting new people, the discussion I was part of on our panel, the great discussion about price and how do we how do we innovate in a world where price sensitivity is everything or not? And so I feel like it's that connection as well, that emotional connection to the industry at large, you know, with the changing marketplace, and as Ilya said, so many places that people can shop, it seems to me like that dynamic is really more and more important for us to we see it in our work, be able to see the whole picture. And that feels like it's not just for beauty, but for virtually any vertical that that you deal with as a company, that how are you seeing that play out more and more in the work that you do every day now?

Anna 16:39

Yeah, well, we've certainly seen beauty become very much a destination category, and so lots of retailers who haven't traditionally been big players in beauty are trying to get into it. So places like TJ, Maxx and Marshall has kind of come to mind where they've really curated these beauty selections. Five Below is another great example, which we visited on our safari, which has really seen a lot of success with this very dupe heavy beauty selection that's really targeted towards Gen alpha and teens and tweens. I always like to joke like, you know, we'll know beauty is saturated when Home Depot starts carrying it. So we see that happen. But you know, it's very much an impulse category, right? It plays well to a variety of price points, so it makes a lot of sense for retailers to bring it in. I think, you know, as I think bigger picture about where we're going, the online in store shift is happening much faster in beauty than any of the other categories that NielsenIQ really thinks about, food, beverage, alcohol. These are still primarily very shopped in store beauty. Almost 50% of sales now are happening online. So this is a big shift, and I think it it allows, you know, there's threats, obviously, in a lot of ways, right, with retailers having to rethink their business, but I think it almost allows the in store experience to be more creative and more fun, right? And you can kind of lean into something special that makes that shopping experience really unique, which again, we saw with Miniso USA, and I think Kiko was a great example as well. But really forcing these retailers to think about what makes the in store experience different than online, because it is faster, it is easier, something can be cheaper to shop online. So why are people going to go through the effort of actually going into an in store retail? If you haven't

Wendy L. 18:24

been to Miniso, you should go to it. Everybody you've seen earlier and I fighting over a handbag. Well, I won, but anyway, she got she got the umbrella. I got the handbag. What struck me about Miniso, if you haven't looked at it, it is a Chinese dollar ish store that is in lots of places around the world, uses color in extraordinary ways. In fact, that was a big theme. I saw the use of color, particularly in these gray times or chaotic times, and the happiness of that. But what also struck me there was the national brands Elia that were in Miniso so there were some of those Burt's Bees, was, I think, now, but also what they've done with home fragrance, or fragrance, which was a really interesting, beautiful presentation in that so talk a bit more about, you know, that experience

Elia 19:10

mini so is definitely one of my favorites. Just the feel when you get into the store and the colors, everything is colorful, but it's not it's not overpowering, it's not overwhelming, it's just very calm. Speaking about fragrance, there was this wall, this fragrance wall, with home fragrance diffusers, a lot of different fragrances. It's really impressive how they they really stay on trend. They really stay flexible. They adapt to the trends as they come. There was a lot of nostalgic collaborations. There was a lot of Harry Potter stuff. I know Anna and I kind of fan girls around all of the merch that they had, like they had little like Bob hats. They had all you wanted Harry Potter. They had the Power Puff Girls. They had Lilo and Stitch. It's just very trendy, very happy. And I don't think you can get into the store and get out without a shopping bag. And I think that's probably one of the stores where everyone left with the shopping bag, like literally

Wendy L. 20:14

everyone, and then big red shopping bags, right? I think it's, I think it's a marketing ploy, but I have a wonderful picture that I took that's now part of this that we'll share with everybody, that is of Anna and Elia in front of those what do you call those puffy people? Those puffy dolly Thank you. What are they called? bush mellows? cushmellows? Oh, Squishmellows. Yes, a wonderful picture of the two of them. There's Elia and Anna right in front of the display, and they look fabulous, and as does the display, but it is that sort of place where you want to have a little squeeze of that push Melo thingy person. So Katie, from your perspective, what stood out? I know, obviously you curated this, and with in collaboration, obviously with Elia, but also with the Nielsen team, what stood out for you in terms of the experiences that our guests had and yeah, what did you hear from people?

Katie 21:07

Yeah, I again, the diversity in the room with the attendees was so great. To hear the collaborations back and forth. I think one thing that I remember I heard, you know, the group talking about it, mini show was how it was catered to the younger generation. The shelves were lower. And one thing that I really love about it too, is it's a great introduction to beauty and self care, or where they thought about everything. They've got the Burt's Bees lipgloss. They've got the hair clips, they've got the headbands. I think Anna you and I are like, how many headbands can one have? Because there's a character for every day of the year. And so they really looked at it in full. But they've also got the lunch boxes. And so I feel like they're also starting to kind of redefine, or maybe define self care and the treat yourself for that younger generation, but again, introducing them to products across categories in that lifestyle sense, where beauty is becoming more of that accessory and a part of the lifestyle, not just beauty

Wendy L. 22:19

and Anna, I thought the other part that was interesting. So not to name names of who attended, but so one of the companies that joined us is not in the pure beauty space, as in the health and wellness, sexual health and wellness space. And what was so interesting is that conversation that really in Kiko Milano. So for those of you don't know that that's an Italian specialty beauty retailer, more high end, but not high high end, wonderful presentation of beauty, color, skincare, but but two gentlemen, one former colleagues, who were literally looking at the way the displays were presented, looking at the way the pricing was done, really spending time being quite analytical about the experience, first as a shopper, but then to the things they could learn. So, and I don't know what you heard as sort of an aftermath of that, but it felt like that looked like it was. It was really brilliance, creative brilliance, coming together and shared learning. So anything you heard around that that front there's

Anna 23:19

just a lot of power in getting out of your day to day routine, right? As you said earlier, stop looking at the numbers, but actually experiencing it and living it. And I think again, like there's a lot of benefit in the way that you curate these Safaris. Because I don't know if I'm ever in nose, but you go and scout like 50 locations, and then you pick the seven or eight that we go to. So everything's kind of very well curated, so that you're seeing different different pieces, and you're not just kind of wandering, you know, I know we've all done our own store check visits, and sometimes you're kind of just wandering around from here to there, but I feel like on these safaris, you know, you spend a few hours and you feel like you got a really diverse view of high end, low end, Boomer, targeted, Gen alpha, targeted, you can kind of get it all together, which, again, I think really, it just opens people up for ideas and being inspired by the whole trip. There were two

Wendy L. 24:15

places beyond the ones we've spoken about already, awesome Body Works, which is in almost every corner, not literally, but you know, people know it, and they they thought they knew it. And yet, of the of the group, we had 15 or so people walked into Bath and Body Works and to a person, from the retailers to the manufacturers, across areas of expertise, was stunned by the evolution of that retailer, by the men's department, by the self care, as you're talking about, Katie, the way they're presenting themselves. So I thought that was really interesting, because even when we think we know something, you know, we don't always get to we just don't go to see it, because think, Oh, we know that, right? And the other one, where I have embarrassing pictures of people, is when we went to skims, yes. So Elia, you want to talk a little bit about the skims experience. Than you as a skims mannequin? Sure.

Elia 25:03

Yeah, the skims, the skims was on, I'm just gonna go back to what you said about Bath and Body Works, because I think that was that also talks a lot about the tours we curate, which is, you don't necessarily have to go for, like, the shiniest of innovation, the shiniest of stores, like the new thing on the block. Sometimes just revisiting something familiar with the right mindset just works. And I think we saw that during the the Retail Safari®. So I just wanted to highlight that. And then the schemes. I think it's a it's a one in a, I don't know how many they have, three, five stores. It really feels, I think what they did with the store and in terms of vibe and decor and colors, and all of the associates had the same outfit, which was very like, like sweatpants, very comfy. You have this feeling when you get into the store of comfort, of ease. It's just it makes you feel at ease. You can breathe in the store. I know some of the attendees noted that that it felt really relaxing to be in this store and you're in the right mood to shop and to browse. And what they also do really good with this brand, with scams, is that their online experience and their in store experience are really very homogenous. So whether you shop online or whether you're shopping store, you get that kind of same experience. It's the same brand. You feel part of the same world. And they really did a great, great job at that Katie alluded

Wendy L. 26:34

to when we did one of our future of commerce events in London in October, in The Selfridges store in London, the department store, they had a skims department. So for those of you who don't know skims Kim Kardashians Bodywear line, so you know, you have this perception of it, you know. But to your point earlier, you know this store, which is one of the few free standing stores in the Aventura mall, is there's a calmness, there's an inclusiveness to it. The one in Selfridges in London, it didn't quite have that vibe. So I think it's interesting to think of the value of flagships. Katie, you've written a lot about flagships or freestanding stores, as well as in store experience, you know, store within store or online experience. And I think the power of understanding that, you know, the value of either a flagship or a free standing versus a department within a department seeing that and how you merchandise, how you market, how you bring digital into it, is the other thing that's so powerful, especially as we all sit around now. And to your point, Anna, so wisely, what does, what does physical retail look like in a digital age, what was your leave behind in your in your own for the team and for yourself coming out of four days of c3, 60, I think there's a

Anna 27:51

lot of obviously change happening right now. I think it's definitely a point when there's a lot of people having a lot of anxiety. I think it is really the time to be rethinking your retail strategy. I mean, we are just seeing Amazon, TikTok shop, just taking all of the sales, or people are just shifting over to those channels more and more, and then we're looking at like, our drug retailers, right? Really kind of hemorrhaging sales, especially in beauty. So for me, this is like, this is very much a reinvention time, right? Like, what is in store retail going to stand for? How are we going to make this fun and reintroduce it to consumers? How are we going to get them to stop just turning to their Amazon app for every little thing that they need? So to me, that's kind of the biggest chain. Obviously, there's a lot of you know. How will AI help with this? How will all of these

Wendy L. 28:41

other pieces on the fringe. I think the thing for me was, not only how many bags we have in the bus and Katie and Elia will share with you all a link to some of the examples of what we saw, but for me, perfect example was walking down the Aventura mall having lost the crowd our team for a minute, doing a double take in a window, and thinking, Oh, that's interesting. Kept going, and then said, Hmm, okay. And going back, walking in, saying, I'd like that. And they said, No, we think that's too big for you. You need the smaller size. I was like, oh. They said, We don't have it. I'm like, oh. And they said, not to worry, try on this color, because the smaller size is perfect. We will order it for you. It'll be home. And there I was, you know, three or four days later with my new purchase from a double take of a well, merchandise window in a mall. Anna, back to your last thought of the time, a time of reinvention, you said, Anna,

Anna 29:31

yes, yeah, I think it's, I think this is the opportunity for for retailers to think about what, what their stores are going to look like in the future, because it's happening quickly, right? And it's happening, I think, faster than we had expected. I think we have TikTok shop really to thank for a lot of that. You know, the old adage was that you did impulse purchasing in store, and that's where you went to explore and discover. But like, TikTok shop has really turned that on its head, right? People are exploring their impulse purchasing there. So, yeah. It's time for retailers to readjust. I think it's also time to think about who's the discoverer of brands, right? Because, again, we used to have a lot of our specialty beauty retailers who were the first who are introducing brands to us. Now, again, that's happening online more and more so. So, you know, there's always opportunities, but the world is changing faster and faster, so we have to move with it.

Wendy L. 30:22

Yeah. And I do think, as a last thought, in all of that, the array of speakers that you had from, as I said, you know, the president of Paps, Blue Ribbon, to AJ from TikTok shop, and you listen to your own Gen Z, and you listen to that in a couple of days. And we've always found when you bring that diversity of insight into a room and the diversity of people into a room, it's incredibly powerful. And there's so much learning, which I think was also reflected in the in the Retail Safari®, that that Katie so ably curated for us all, and that Elia managed as we went through the process. So as always, Anna, it is such a pleasure to be your partners, cousins and cousins in beauty, partners in crime. It's where data and innovation and insight and experience all really build that out. So I think C360 now has many meanings, not just consumer 360 so add that. Add that to the list for next year.

Anna 31:21

And next year we'll be in Texas, so I think that would be a lot of fun to explore.

Wendy L. 31:26

Yes, yeah, yeah, there's a lot of good retail in Texas. So there you go. Add that to your list. Katie, there might be a Formula One race. You never know great retail and great retail in Texas, big and small. So thank you all very much. I appreciate it. I know that our collaborations continue to get better and better. Thank you, Anna, thank you Elia, Thank you Katie. We'll see you in the future. Thank you. You know, I think it's all evident at the at the end of this chat that you need to get people out and together, away from their desks, away from their screens, out of their aisles and into retail to see what's going on, whether it's in everyday retail that they think they know, like Bath and Body Works, or something totally new and rare in the market, like Kiko Milano, or anything in between. And so the value of creating a Retail Safari® and the work we do, whether it's curated for Nielsen and a category, whether it's an immersion with a single retailer, where we go into their market and into their stores with them, whether it's virtual, we create it for you, and you run it yourself. All of these things are so important now as we begin to look at innovating and rethinking the role of both physical and digital retail, especially with new generations of shoppers fast nibbling at our ankles and our knees. So don't forget, get out of your office. Get away from your computer, get into the places and the stores and collaborate and be creative and innovative and inspired. See you in the future. Cheers for now.