Retail Innovation

Kapil Dabi and Ann Ruckstuhl

Unified Commerce Benchmark: How Manhattan Associates and Google Transform Retail Excellence at Shop Talk

Welcome to this episode of Talk Commerce Live from Shop Talk, featuring an insightful conversation with Kapil Dabi, Americas Market Leader for Retail and CPG at Google, and Ann Ruckstuhl, Chief Marketing Officer at Manhattan Associates. The discussion centers on unified commerce and the groundbreaking partnership between these industry leaders.

Key Takeaways

  1. The Unified Commerce Benchmark (UCB) evaluates 300+ attributes across eight shopping trips
  2. Top-performing retailers see 3x faster revenue growth and 31% lower fulfillment costs
  3. Companies using generative AI witness 14% increase in average order value
  4. Customer lifetime value improves by 11% through AI implementation
  5. Store associate empowerment leads to 1.25x higher customer lifetime value

About the Guests

Ann Ruckstuhl

As Chief Marketing Officer at Manhattan Associates, Ann leads the company’s marketing initiatives for their supply chain and omnichannel commerce software solutions, including order management and point of sale systems. Manhattan Associates specializes in cloud-native solutions built on the Google Cloud platform.

Kapil Dabi

Serving as Americas Market Leader for Retail and CPG at Google, Kapil oversees Global Retail Strategy, Industry Solutions, and Partnerships. His expertise focuses on helping retailers leverage technology for digital transformation and enhanced customer experiences.

Detailed Episode Summary

The conversation begins with an introduction to the Unified Commerce Benchmark (UCB), a collaborative initiative launched two and a half years ago. The UCB evaluates 220 brands across North America, examining various aspects of retail performance:

Benchmark Categories

  • Leaders (top performers like Sephora and Apple)
  • Advanced
  • Developing
  • Basic

The discussion highlights how modern retail requires managing customer experiences across multiple channels:

  • Traditional stores
  • Online presence
  • Social commerce (TikTok shop, Instagram)
  • Mobile platforms

The speakers emphasize that customers typically interact with brands through ten touchpoints before making a purchase decision. This multi-channel approach necessitates seamless inventory visibility and consistent customer experience across all platforms.

Personal Commentary and Analysis

The partnership between Manhattan Associates and Google represents a significant advancement in retail technology integration. Their focus on measurable outcomes—such as the 30% reduction in customer service call volume through agent AI implementation—demonstrates the practical value of their solutions.

Memorable Quotes

“Most retailers have stores, have online presence and lately shop fill in the blank, TikTok shop, Instagram. It’s all becoming part of your go to market and your store presence.” – Ann Ruckstuhl

“The consumer is almost doing 10 steps or 10 touch points… they’re actually interacting with the brand almost 10 times before they’re actually purchasing it.” – Kapil Dabi

Engaging the Audience

Access the Unified Commerce Benchmark report at Manhattan Associates’ website to evaluate your retail organization’s performance against industry leaders. The comprehensive analysis provides valuable insights for digital transformation initiatives.

Final Thoughts

The future of retail success lies in unified commerce implementation supported by AI technology. As consumer behaviors continue evolving, retailers must embrace these innovations to maintain competitive advantage and deliver superior customer experiences.

Listen to more conversations about customer experience here

Wayne Liu

AI and AR Drive Beauty Tech Innovation at Perfect Corp With Wayne Liu at Shop Talk

In a compelling episode of Talk Commerce recorded live from Shop Talk, host Brent Peterson sits down with Wayne Liu, co-founder and chief growth officer of Perfect Corp. This milestone conversation coincides with Perfect Corp’s 10th anniversary, offering listeners an insider’s perspective on how artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) are transforming the beauty and fashion industries.

Key Takeaways

  • Perfect Corp has developed sophisticated AI and AR solutions used by over 700 major brands and retailers
  • The company’s skin analysis technology can evaluate 14 different skin concerns in just five seconds
  • Their technology solutions work across both e-commerce (70% of customers) and in-store retail environments
  • Perfect Corp maintains a vast color library of 800,000 different SKUs for precise virtual try-ons
  • The company’s AI approach combines both analytical and generative AI technologies
  • AR implementation works best for standardized products with multiple variations

About Wayne Liu

Wayne Liu co-founded Perfect Corp ten years ago and serves as the company’s Chief Growth Officer. With a deep understanding of both technology and beauty industries, Liu has been instrumental in developing Perfect Corp’s AI and AR solutions that bridge the gap between virtual and physical retail experiences. His expertise spans machine learning, computer vision, and enterprise software development, making him a leading voice in beauty tech innovation.

Detailed Episode Summary

Our conversation begins with Liu explaining Perfect Corp’s core technology offerings, focusing on their virtual try-on solutions for makeup, skincare, and fashion products. The company’s technology stack includes both AR capabilities for virtual product testing and AI-powered skin analysis tools that can provide detailed assessments within seconds.

Liu delves into the technical aspects of their AI development, explaining how they’ve built their systems using convolutional neural networks and machine learning. He emphasizes that while ChatGPT has brought AI into the spotlight, Perfect Corp has been developing and refining their AI capabilities for the past decade.

The discussion shifts to the practical applications of their technology, with Liu highlighting how their solutions help reduce product returns and improve conversion rates for retailers. He explains that their technology can be integrated via API or SDK, making it accessible for both online and in-store implementations.

Personal Commentary and Analysis

This episode reveals the significant strides made in beauty tech over the past decade. What’s particularly impressive is Perfect Corp’s focus on solving real business problems rather than just creating novelty experiences. Their approach to combining analytical AI with generative AI capabilities shows a sophisticated understanding of how to leverage different technologies for maximum impact.

Engaging the Audience

To experience Perfect Corp’s innovative solutions firsthand, listeners can visit www.perfectcorp.com and try their demo products. The company regularly releases new features and technologies, making it worth following their developments through their website and LinkedIn presence.

Final Thoughts

The intersection of AI, AR, and beauty tech represents a fascinating frontier in retail innovation. Perfect Corp’s decade-long journey demonstrates how persistent innovation and focus on practical applications can create transformative solutions for both retailers and consumers.

Listen to more episodes about the latest in retail innovation here

Jason Grunberg

AI Shopping Agents Transform The Future of Retail with Jason Grunberg at eTail West

As your host of Talk Commerce, I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Jason Grunberg, Chief Marketing Officer at Bluecore, during E-tail West in Palm Springs. Our conversation dove deep into one of the most transformative trends in e-commerce: the rise of agentic commerce.

The Evolution of AI in Consumer Experience

The way we interact with technology is rapidly changing. As Jason pointed out, consumers are already being conditioned to expect AI-powered experiences in their daily lives. From Google’s Gemini summaries to Amazon’s Rufus AI shopping assistant, these tools are becoming an integral part of our shopping journey. The frustration we feel when these AI features aren’t available speaks volumes about how quickly we’ve adapted to this new normal.

Different Flavors of AI Agents in Retail

During our discussion, Jason outlined several key types of AI agents that are reshaping retail:

  • AI Shopping Agents: These predictive tools answer customer questions and guide the path to purchase
  • Customer Support Agents: Automated systems that handle post-sale inquiries
  • Marketing Agents: AI-powered systems that handle audience segmentation and campaign creation
  • Sales Agents: Automated sales assistance tools

Personalization 2.0: The Human Element

One of my favorite insights from Jason was his personal perspective on automation versus human interaction. He shared a compelling example about shopping for his six-year-old daughter. While he’d welcome AI automation for routine purchases like seasonal basics, he values the human experience of shopping for special occasions, like vacation preparations. This highlights an important distinction: AI should enhance, not replace, meaningful shopping experiences.

The Future of Agent Interfaces

A fascinating point Jason raised is the potential future where consumers will have their own AI shopping agents that interface with retail brands’ AI systems. This raises important questions about:

  • Brand loyalty in an AI-mediated world
  • The role of traditional digital touchpoints (websites, apps, email)
  • Data privacy and consumer control
  • Universal API standards for AI agent communication

The Trust Factor

Perhaps one of the most crucial aspects we discussed was the issue of trust and data control. As Jason noted, consumers are increasingly aware of their data’s value and expect more control over how it’s used. This will likely lead to a future where consumers can grant or revoke AI access to their data based on how well retailers meet their expectations.

The rise of agentic commerce represents more than just a technological shift – it’s a fundamental change in how we think about shopping. As we wrapped up our conversation, Jason shared that Bluecore is already at the forefront of this transformation, working with major retailers like QVC and Evo to implement AI shopping assistants.

For those interested in exploring this technology, Bluecore is offering free trials and proof of concepts through June of this year. You can reach out to Jason directly at Jason.Grunberg@Bluecore.com or connect with him on LinkedIn.

The future of retail is being shaped by these AI innovations, and it’s clear that businesses need to start preparing for this agentic commerce revolution. The question isn’t if this transformation will happen, but how quickly retailers will adapt to meet evolving consumer expectations.

Find more conversations about innovations in retail here.

Sarah Engel and JB Brokaw

Where Human Touch Meets Digital Innovation with January Digital

In a recent Talk Commerce episode at E-Tail West, I had the pleasure of sitting down with two distinguished guests from January Digital: Sarah Engel, President, and JB Brokaw, Chief Operating Officer. Their insights into digital brand innovation in retail proved both timely and enlightening.

The Renaissance of Physical Retail

Sarah Engel shared an interesting observation about the current state of retail: “Stores are back.” After the lessons learned during COVID, there’s a renewed appreciation for physical touchpoints in the customer journey. For omnichannel retailers, brick-and-mortar locations continue to drive significant revenue, highlighting the importance of creating meaningful in-person experiences.

Navigating Brand Identity in a Crowded Market

“The barrier to entry to launch something is next to nothing at this point,” JB Brokaw pointed out during our discussion. This reality has created an interesting challenge for established brands: how to maintain relevance and foster loyalty in an increasingly crowded marketplace. The key, according to both guests, lies in standing for something meaningful rather than competing solely on price.

The AI Shopping Revolution

One of the most intriguing parts of our conversation centered around the concept of “agentic” AI and its potential impact on shopping behaviors. Sarah shared how AI shopping agents could transform routine purchases, particularly in low-risk categories like grocery shopping. However, she emphasized that this technology’s adoption would be gradual, starting with simple replenishment tasks before moving to more considered purchases.

The Creative Comeback

Perhaps the most surprising insight from our discussion was the industry’s return to creative focus. As Sarah explained, “Creative is the algorithm. Creative is what is actually driving things forward.” This shift represents an exciting evolution from the big data era – not abandoning data, but rather using it to fuel more authentic and compelling creative content.

Measuring What Matters

A significant challenge brands face today is balancing immediate sales metrics with long-term brand building. Sarah highlighted how January Digital helps organizations develop new KPIs and train C-level employees to look beyond just comparative sales numbers, creating a more holistic approach to measuring success.

Looking Ahead

The conversation with Sarah and JB revealed that we’re at an interesting crossroads in digital commerce. While AI and automation are becoming more prevalent, the human elements of brand building – creativity, authenticity, and physical connections – are more important than ever.

As I reflect on our discussion, it’s clear that success in today’s digital commerce landscape requires a delicate balance between embracing technological innovation and maintaining authentic human connections. Brands that can master this balance while staying true to their core values will be best positioned for future success.

Want to hear more insights from Sarah Engel and JB Brokaw? Listen to the full Talk Commerce episode for deeper discussions on digital transformation, brand building, and the future of retail.

For more Conversation with Sarah Engel listen here

Rochelle Thielen

Behind the Curtain of AI in eCommerce – Why Good Data is the Key to Staying Competitive

In a recent episode of Talk Commerce, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Rochelle Thielen, CEO of Traject Data, to explore the transformative impact of retail data automation on the industry. While conversations about AI dominate headlines, our discussion revealed that the true revolution lies in how automated data collection and analysis are powering these solutions.

The Scale of Retail Data Automation Today

During our conversation, Rochelle revealed some staggering numbers about data collection in modern retail. “When we’re talking about quantity, we’re looking at 100 million data points per day for some enterprise users,” she explained. This massive scale of data collection is what’s enabling the sophisticated AI solutions we’re seeing in retail today.

As someone who’s been in the e-commerce space for years, I was particularly impressed by how this data is being put to practical use. The sheer volume of information being processed is mind-boggling, but it’s the application that really matters.

Real-Time Decision Making in Retail

One of the most fascinating insights Rochelle shared was about the importance of real-time data. “If you’re more than 24 hours old on data, you’re pretty far behind,” she noted. This is particularly crucial for:

  • Dynamic pricing strategies
  • Inventory management
  • Customer experience personalization
  • Competitive analysis

The Human Element in AI Implementation

Something I strongly agree with, and Rochelle emphasized, is the continued importance of human oversight in AI systems. She stressed that “humans are still controlling what the AI is doing,” with teams regularly verifying data samples to ensure accuracy. This human-in-the-loop approach is crucial for maintaining quality and preventing potential pricing or decision-making errors.

Transparency in AI Customer Service

We had an interesting discussion about chatbots and AI-powered customer service. Rochelle made a compelling point about transparency: “You need to be transparent. People don’t negatively look at interfacing with a bot as long as the bot is equal to or better than the human.” This approach to honest AI implementation is something I’ve always advocated for in e-commerce.

Looking Ahead: 2025 and Beyond

Looking to the future, Rochelle shared some exciting predictions. The focus is shifting toward true omnichannel experiences, with particular emphasis on:

  • Integration of social media data (including TikTok)
  • Enhanced visual and video data processing
  • Democratized access to AI tools for smaller retailers
  • Sophisticated fraud prevention systems

Real-World Applications

One of the most impressive examples Rochelle shared was how their data helps prevent fraud and unauthorized reselling. For small businesses, their systems can detect when purchased items are immediately listed for resale on platforms like eBay, helping protect inventory and brand value.

Final Thoughts

As we wrapped up our conversation, it became clear that we’re at an exciting intersection of big data, AI, and retail. What impressed me most about Traject Data’s approach is their focus on scalability and accessibility – making these powerful tools available to businesses of all sizes.

If you’d like to hear more insights from Rochelle and learn about the future of retail technology, I encourage you to listen to the full podcast episode. The rapid evolution of retail technology means there’s always more to learn and discuss.

Remember, whether you’re a major enterprise or a small retailer, understanding and leveraging data is no longer optional – it’s essential for staying competitive in today’s retail landscape.

Find more episodes about what’s on the forefront in retail innovation here

etail Palm Springs

Constructor Revolutionizes E-commerce with Record-Breaking AI Innovation in FY24

Constructor’s AI-powered search and product discovery platform achieves unprecedented growth in FY24, processing over 250 billion shopper interactions and driving substantial revenue increases for e-commerce clients worldwide.

etail Palm Springs

eTail Palm Springs 2025: Revolutionizing Retail Through Personalized Connections

eTail Palm Springs 2025 revolutionizes the retail conference experience with personalized networking opportunities, specialized content tracks, and insights from over 250 industry experts. The event focuses on meaningful connections and professional development for eCommerce leaders.

O2 COmmerce Logo

O2 Commerce Pioneers Next-Gen Retail Solutions at NRF 2025

O2 Commerce showcases groundbreaking retail solutions at NRF 2025, emphasizing omnichannel innovation, hyper-personalization, and sustainable commerce practices through their enhanced capabilities following the ZaneRay merger.

eTail Boston 2024

eTail Boston 2024: Revolutionizing Retail with AI, Future Tech, and “Storyselling”

eTail Boston 2024, set for August 12-15, promises to revolutionize retail with a focus on AI, future tech, and “storyselling.” Featuring 100+ industry leaders and innovative pop-up experiences, this conference is a must-attend for eCommerce professionals.

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