The beginning of a new year brings fresh opportunity and a time to revisit the last year. I just love this time of year as it is full of optimism and pride over the last twelve months of effort. This year, I’m celebrating the successful close of year one for Tinsley Retail Insights. In 2018 I learned a lot, but also have some fun statistics to share! I launched the business on January 2nd and by the end of the year had 2,665 unique visitors to my website! Not surprising the USA was my top country of interested viewers, but India, Canada, UK and China rounded out my top five geographies. The top blog post was my recap of NRF18. I published seven blogs, four newsletters and added 621 people resulting in 19% YOY growth to my network via Linked In. I wanted to establish thought leadership – so I gave 20 speaking engagements and attended 17 industry events. I was featured in a book, Living Brave, written by Mary Beth Stern and Hilda Villaverde, is a collection of stories about women entrepreneurs. Such an amazing year with spontaneous amazing experiences. I can’t wait to see what the next year brings. As Tinsley Retail Insights grows I may be hiring in 2019!
That brings me to the new year – and what a better way to kick it off but to attend NRF’19 the largest event in the Retail Industry. Each year the leaders in the industry gather in New York City at Javitz Center (yes we must be brave to go in the middle of winter!) and see what the latest solutions are to grow the retailers business. This year I’m specifically looking for the latest, BEST solutions in three areas:
1) Supply chain innovations to compete in the new world of Retail. As BOPIS (Buy Online Pickup In Store) and BORIS (Buy Online Return In Store) become “table stakes” in an Omnichannel world what HW + SW solutions are available to enable Retailers to implement these in a quick, cost effective manner?
2) AI- it has become the hottest buzz word- but has the potential to impact the business across a variety of fronts. Which retailers are ahead on deploying AI based solutions and what value is that bringing to their business? Who are the emerging leaders in AI solutions for retailers? What sub segments of the business will be the first to deploy and drive value from AI?
3) Robotics- Is this the year labor starved retailers will start deploying robots in earnest to enable smooth operations? Where will the adoption start (my hunch is the warehouse/behind the scenes first), and again who are the leading providers for robot solutions in Retail?
As usual I am making the trip worth while by attending multiple networking events as well as doing some primary research of my own in Manhattan. I will be sure to do a post-show write up as there are always learnings I did not expect and new experiences that catch my eye. If you can’t make to the show this year- let me know what you are curious about- I may have time to do some “prospecting” for you. Feel free to leave your comments below…..