Building the retail AI stack

Posted by Mike Walsh

May 6, 2019 3:11:00 PM

Jason Hosking

 

I met Jason in Las Vegas while speaking at the National Automatic Merchandising Association show. The vending industry is uniquely placed to be a testing ground for the intersection of data, consumer behavior and autonomous retail solutions. Jason, who is the CEO of AI startup Hivery was originally selected as part of an innovation accelerator organized by the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta. Tasked to take Coke assets and create a new business model, they came up with an AI platform designed to transform retail decision making. Catching up backstage in Vegas, we spoke about the future of machine learning, and what it might take to build a complete retail AI technology stack.

 

CATEGORY: Retail, Technology

How to create a culture of data-driven decision making

Posted by Mike Walsh

Feb 3, 2019 8:01:00 PM

Kshira Saagar

 

For retailers, being data-driven in the 21st century is not a luxury but a matter of survival. Everything is measurable: from engagement to purchase patterns - and that demands leaders capable of being both creative and analytical when it comes to integrating data into their decision-making process. To explore this challenge, I spoke with Kshira Saagar, Head of Analytics and Data Sciences at The Iconic, one of Australia’s leading online retailers. Previously at Datalicious and Fairfax, Saagar was responsible for institutionalizing data-driven analytics across the company’s core competencies and building next-generation analytical products for his organization.

CATEGORY: Retail, Marketing

Small data, brands and why leaders should sleep with their customers

Posted by Mike Walsh

Jan 28, 2018 12:00:00 AM

Martin

 

Martin Lindstrom is one of the world’s foremost experts on building brands. Author of six best-selling books, and acclaimed by Time Magazine as one of the “World’s 100 Most Influential People”, Martin’s expertise is in the areas of consumer psychology, marketing, brands, and neuro-scientific research. I first met Martin many years ago, at the beginnings of the digital revolution in Australia - so it seemed appropriate that we re-connected once again at a cafe in Bondi Beach. We spoke about his new book, Small Data, and why it is better to gain insight through small observations of how people behave, rather than a blind devotion to big data. Make sure you listen through to the end of the podcast, when Martin outlines the 3 key actions that traditional brands need to take in order to re-invent themselves for the future.

 

CATEGORY: Retail, Marketing

Jack Ma, Alibaba and the e-commerce revolution in China

Posted by Mike Walsh

Jul 17, 2016 12:00:00 AM

Porter Erisman

 

Alibaba is one of the world’s most dynamic and powerful digital brands today, and yet it originates not from Silicon Valley but from China. As a former Vice President at the business, Porter Erisman had front-row seats to the development of Alibaba from Jack Ma’s apartment into what it is today. In his book, ‘Alibaba’s World’, Porter details the rise of the company against the backdrop of China’s digital revolution and the challenges faced by US web giants trying to crack the local market. In our conversation, we discussed how Jack Ma wrote the operating system for e-commerce to work in China, what brands can learn from the innovative ways that Chinese sell things online, and how everything from wealth management to insurance will soon be re-invented by these new digital platforms as they move from retail to financial services.

 

CATEGORY: Retail, Global

Reputation, digital leadership and why what happens in Vegas stays on YouTube

Posted by Mike Walsh

Nov 13, 2015 12:00:00 AM

Eric

 

Chance are, if you have attended a business event anytime in the last ten years, you will have watched someone play the ‘Did You Know?’ video full of astonishing facts about the digital world. The man behind that video, the most viewed social media clip of all time, and a number of bestselling books such as ‘Socialnomics’ and ‘What Happens in Vegas Stays on YouTube’ is Erik Qualman. And it was in Vegas, strangely enough, that Erik and I caught up to chat about managing reputation in a fully transparent world, the importance of investing in human relationships, the future of automated sharing, and mobile voting, whether a Yelp for human beings is a good idea, and the five habits of great digital leaders.

CATEGORY: Retail, Marketing