Under the Stack: Episode 2 - The Frankenstack - Retail's silent growth killer

Retailers keep chasing best of breed tools, but every new integration adds complexity, slows teams down, and chips away at value. The result is a brittle, tangled Frankenstack that nobody truly owns and everyone struggles to maintain.In this episode of Under the Stack, Leni Hakvoort, Head of Product at New Black, and Victor Padee, CRO at Aevi, unpack why retail tech becomes so fragmented, why change is so hard to drive internally, and what actually happens when retailers delay modernization for too long.Drawing on real retail scenarios and years of hands‑on product leadership, they break down the hidden cost of fragmentation, from siloed decision making and outdated loyalty systems to the operational drag of “just enough to keep it running.” They explore how disconnected systems erode customer trust, stall unified commerce, and make it nearly impossible to deliver the experiences shoppers now expect as standard.This episode breaks down:Why best of breed decisions often create the Frankenstack retailers fearHow feature‑based vendor selection leads to brittle, over‑integrated environmentsWhy organizational silos slow down modernization and block long term strategyWhy unified commerce is no longer a differentiator but a minimum expectationHow loyalty programs fail when they are generic, slow, and disconnectedWhat retailers really risk when they delay architectural changeIf you are navigating unified commerce, tech modernization, customer loyalty, or the complexity of retail transformation, this episode is a must‑listen.