By Doug Stephens A recent study at the University of Arkansas pitted 151 human test subjects against Chat GPT-4 in a series of tests for creativity. Their findings concluded that, on average, GPT-4 produced more creative and useful responses across 4 commonly accepted testing protocols, when compared to responses from human participants. I found this concerning because I had, in a number of articles and talks, been espousing the view that while AI may reign supreme when it comes to problem solving, or convergent thinking, human beings possess a unique capacity for divergent or creative thinki ..read more

By Doug Stephens Over the last 20 years, technology has transformed retail. Mobile phones have become essential conduits for communication, entertainment and commerce. Technologies like augmented reality, once a novelty, have become commonplace digital merchandising and selling tools. E-commerce, which in 2003 amounted to a rounding error on most retailers’ profit and loss statements, has become table stakes for any business wishing to survive. But the shift is bigger than consumer-facing innovations. Amazon, once a profitless aggravation for traditional retailers, has become one of the ..read more

  Image Credit: Unsplash By Doug Stephens Companies across the global retail sector are poised to become the beneficiaries of a historic windfall: an unprecedented boost to the bottom-line courtesy of artificial intelligence. It’s safe to say that few, if any, technological revolutions have reshaped retail workforces, business processes and P&Ls like the coming AI revolution will do. While today’s artificial intelligence platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT4 are hardly perfect, often delivering responses that are at best inconsistent, at worst downright wrong, we’ve seen this m ..read more

In the post-Covid era, the rethinking of risk offers profound competitive advantage, argues Retail Prophet founder Doug Stephens.    If a single image has come to define the failure of global supply chains amid the Covid-19 crisis it’s that of the Ever Given – one of the world’s largest container ships – seized in a diagonal death grip inside the Suez Canal, heavy with more than twenty thousand units of cargo aboard. Cargo destined for the shelves of Western retailers. For six long days the ship sat like an upended tortoise, before eventually being freed. But, as we would come to un ..read more

This article originally appeared on Business of Fashion. Follow the series to ensure you never miss an episode. BoF’s podcast series Retail Reborn returns for a second season, presented by Brookfield Properties, to investigate the consumer of tomorrow, and how their changing lifestyles and expectations will drive evolution in the retail industry. Podcast host and founder of the Retail Prophet Doug Stephens returns this season, and is joined by 14 global authorities, including industry thought-leaders, fashion and retail executives, and academic experts, sharing their insight and analy ..read more

By Doug Stephens The global pandemic provided the retail industry with a brutal lesson in trade imbalances. As Asia and South Asia reeled from the spread of Covid, retailers closer to home wrestled with a tangled knot of supply chain disruptions and empty warehouses.  In a matter of weeks, 40 years of continued offshoring of production by Western companies came screaming back to bite them and the consumers who depend on them.   How big an imbalance are we talking about? Former Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren told CNBC, “Something like 90% of all footwear under $100 at retail are coming ..read more

Retailers must create radical value, not just for consumers, but for brands. This article was originally published on Business of Fashion. Bad retailers will never run out of customers. History suggests that there is always a segment of the consumer population willing to trade down if they believe they can save a dollar or two. Some retailers, like long-beleaguered J.C. Penney, have spent decades proving this thesis. No, bad retailers will never run out of customers. But they will run out of brands. And the reason for that comes down to simple math. At its core, retail has always been a value ..read more

This article originally appeared on Business of Fashion American venture capitalist Chris Dixon once said, “The next big thing will start out looking like a toy,” an observation, he believes, sits at the heart of why we frequently discount innovations that, only in hindsight, prove to be instruments of momentous technical and societal change. Much of our initial dismissal is tied to the fact that, in their infancy, many innovative technologies far “undershoot,” as author and academic Clay Christensen put it, the needs and expectations of users. The first telephones were limited and unreliable ..read more

Nema Causey is the owner of Candy Me Up; a bulk candy specialty store located in San Diego, California. As you’ll hear, while many businesses found themselves paralyzed by the pandemic, Nema and her team used it as a turning point to build new media, gain new customers and create a new commercial channel for her family business. Doug spoke to her recently from her home in San Diego, because, as she was quick to point out, the store was just too busy to film in! The post Doug Stephens in Conversation with Nema Causey | #ResurrectingRetail Virtual Launch appeared first on Retail Prophet ..read more

A member of the Forbes 40 under 40 list, Ben Clymer is the Founder and Executive Chairman of HODINKEE, recipient of Fast Company’s award for Most Innovative Companies of the Year for 2019 and considered the leading voice in the watch industry – a reputation HODINKEE has earned one beautifully crafted piece of content time. Ben joined Doug recently from his place in upstate New York to talk about that journey and why all brands need to start thinking like editorial brands.   The post Doug Stephens in Conversation with Ben Clymer | #ResurrectingRetail Virtual Launch appeared first on Retai ..read more