Retail Untangled

In this episode of Retail Untangled, host Amie Larter sits down with Johann Suchon, SVP of Consumer Acquisition and Engagement, APAC at Mastercard, to explore how payment data is transforming the retail landscape from a transactional function into a powerful customer engagement engine. As brands navigate an increasingly complex, fragmented, and competitive ecosystem, Suchon explains why traditional first-party data is no longer enough to win consumer loyalty. Tune in as they discuss the shift from uniform rewards to hyper-personalised relevance, the unique dynamics of the APAC retail and cross-border tourism markets, and why cross-industry ecosystem partnerships are becoming the ultimate competitive advantage for modern retailers.

Every retailer is racing to adopt AI, but in this episode of Inside Retail’s Retail Untangled podcast, Richard Widdowson (VP of Global Retail Solutions at SAS Institute) joins host Amie Larter to deliver a brutal reality check: AI won't fix your bad data—it will only expose it faster. Widdowson unpacks the commercial liability of the "garbage in, garbage out" trap, illustrating how fragmented data leads to alienating customer experiences, broken fulfillment promises, and costly pricing mistakes. By looking at real-world successes like Ulta Beauty's hyper-personalised loyalty program, this episode explores how retailers can leverage hyperautomation, bridge internal data gaps, and dismantle departmental silos to turn trusted data into real-time action before the competition wins the race.

Is your retail business missing out on the true power of AI? While the retail world is hyper-focused on shiny, customer-facing AI—like chatbots and personalised recommendations—the biggest opportunity for massive growth is actually hiding behind the scenes.In this special episode—our very first broadcasting live from NRF Singapore—Amie Larter sits down with Michael Guantiero, VP and Head of Solution Consulting (APAC, Japan, and India) at Infor, for a deep dive into the operational backbone of retail.Michael breaks down why "pockets of AI" and fragmented data systems are holding retailers back, and why you don't need a costly "rip-and-replace" tech overhaul to see massive productivity gains. Instead, it’s all about connecting the highest-value data points to bridge the gap between customer demand and supply chain execution.

According to Sophia Pope, senior director and GM Apac with ShipStation, retailers who use real-time data and AI – the intelligence behind fulfilment – to turn delivery into a growth engine will gain a significant competitive advantage.

In this episode of Retail Untangled, Amie sits down with Katie Budd, sales manager APAC at Vanderlande to discuss how retailers who put off scaling up their fulfilment capabilities might not only be leaving sales on the table – they could be damaging their long-term business opportunities. 

In this episode of Retail Untangled, Amie sits down with Michael Dunlop, head of commerce Apac at Rokt, to discuss how personalisation remains a powerful driver for customer loyalty and how retailers can leverage first party data in a meaningful way. 

In this episode, Amie sits down with Isabelle Zdatny, head of thought leadership at Qualtrics XM Institute to discuss how AI has the power to unlock hundreds of billions of dollars by transforming how retailers understand and serve their customers. 

In our last episode from Shoptalk Las Vegas, Amie chats with Paul Archer, founder of brand advocacy platform Duel. They discuss how word of mouth is a fundamental driver of purchasing decisions for every consumer. 

From Shoptalk Las Vegas, Amie sits down with Jennifer DiPasquale, president and co-founder of Women in Retail Leadership Circle. They discuss the need for businesses to continue supporting leaders at all levels and how companies that lean into this strategy will have more loyalty and buy-in from their employees.

From Shoptalk Las Vegas, Amie chats with Jean-Christophe Pitié, CMO and chief partner officer at Contentsquare about their recently published report on the customer experience journey from initial acquisition to long-term retention.

Amie Larter chats with Andrew Thornton, retail industry lead at Tyro Payments about how in a rush to create a shopping environment that wows customers and entices them to spend, many retailers overlook the payment process's impact on the overall customer experience. 

In this episode of Retail Untangled, Amie is live from Shop Talk Spring, sitting down with Jake Cohen, VP and head of Shopify at Klaviyo about how artificial intelligence is ushering in an exciting new era for retail marketing and customer engagement

In this episode, Amie sits down with Mareile Osthus, CEO and co-founder of HumiiThey discuss where retailers are most commonly falling short in CX

In our final episode of the Shoptalk Fall series, Amie sits down with Sarah Engel, President of January Digital to discuss the changing customer expectations of brands across multiple channels, changing shopper demographics, and the essential role of customer loyalty and retention, among other challenges.

In this episode of Retail Untangled, recorded at Shoptalk Chicago, Amie talks to Kevin Laymoun, COO at Constructor.io about how to bridge the gap between customer expectation and experience. 

Amie talk to Cory Whitfield, Enterprise VP at Listrak about the importance of customer data, and why some retailers are struggling to turn it into actionable insights. Recorded at Shoptalk Fall Chicago.

Amie sits down with Nikhil Raj, chief business officer at Moloco about Retail media's emergence as a significant revenue source for major brands like Walmart and Amazon, and how smaller retailers might be missing out on the boom. Recorded at Shoptalk Fall Chicago.

Amie sits down with Daniel Hillyer, VP of Sales at Cymbio, to talk about the rise in popularity of marketplaces and third party sellers, and how brands that are slow to jump on board may be missing out. Recorded at Shoptalk Fall.

In this episode, recorded at Shoptalk Fall in Chicago, Amie spoke to Christine McAvoy, head of customer success at Brevo, about consumers’ evolving expectations of personalized communications and the opportunities for brands to step up their game in this space.

On the ground at Shop Talk Fall, Amie is joined by Diane Keng, CEO of Breinify, to discuss implementing artificial intelligence in the retail space – and the challenges companies face with planning, resources and legal considerations. 

As US consumer shopping patterns change – dramatically in some categories – retailers need to be more nimble to recognise the trends and react to them. R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai, warns if they don't, they risk losing sales to rivals. 

In this episode, Amie is on the ground at Shop Talk Fall and joined by Melissa Minkow, Director Retail of Strategy at CI&T. They discuss the tremendous opportunity mobile commerce presents for retailers to innovate, especially in the realm of apps.

Amie Larter chats to JD Klausner, Senior VP of Business Development at Loop returns about how retailers can recognise the potential for returns to become a significant competitive advantage. 

Amie Larter sits down with Taeressa Fawthrop, Chief Consumer Officer at Team Global Express to unpack what customers really want when it comes to their delivery experience. 

In this episode of Retail Untangled, Amie talks to Toby Cumpstay, senior merchant success manager at Shopify, to discuss the challenges of acquiring new customers-and keeping them- in the Australian retail environment. 

Amie sits down with Ben Cook, Regional VP of Growth at NewStore, to discuss the gap between online, mobile and in-store experiences customers are facing with retailers. What are the leaders doing right? And how can others enhance the customer experience?

Amie sits down with Alita Harvey-Rodriguez, founder of MI Academy and Hack Games, and Jack Howes, Head of Funding and Partnerships at Homie.They discuss the how collaboration can streamline operations, amplify impact, and maybe even change the game for your own retail journey.  

In this episode of Retail Untangled, Amie sits down with Lisa Sweeney, CEO of Business in Heels.In her most recent venture, Business in Heels, she supports organisations in achieving diversity and inclusion goals through outcomes-based mentoring. Lisa is here today to discuss gender equity, specifically within the retail industry.

In this episode, Amie speaks with Helen Marsh, co-founder of  gift flick, about gift giving in Australia, especially around the recent research gift flick has done into the financial challenges now faced by consumers.

In this episode of Retail Untangled,  Amie sits down with Karlie Taylor, marketing manager of unified commerce platform Shopline, to discuss the opportunities for retailers within the AI-driven landscape

Consumers are cutting back and they've changed their spending behaviours and they're seeking more value. They're being a lot more discerning with their discretionary dollars. In this episode, Amie is joined by David Martin,  National Manager for Retail and E-Commerce at Commonwealth Bank to discuss their latest consumer insights report.

In a crowded last-mile delivery market, dominated by a single major player, it might seem counterintuitive to launch a new entrant. In this episode, Amie speaks to Mark McGinley, CEO of Parca. Mark has over 20 years experience in last mile and e-commerce logistics, a large portion of which was spent at CouriersPlease, including six years as CEO. He's now on a very different journey as co-founder of new delivery company Parca dedicated to transporting big and bulky items.

We see many retailers focusing on omnichannel through the lens of the business or marketing -- buzzwords like seamless, personalised or unified -- but what is the perfect omnichannel experience for customers?Amie Larter spoke to Michael Tutek, Founder and CEO of retail experience platform Preezie, to find out. 

In recent years, consumers have tended to prioritise speed when it comes to delivery. However, as cost of living concerns rise, value is fast becoming a greater factor in consumers' decisions. How should retailers respond?Amie Larter spoke to Sophia Pope, the sales and customer success leader for Shipstation to find out. Read more

"We collect data online and in stores, we have transaction data, and oftentimes it's all kept in different places."