Agenda

The accomplishments of retailers over the past two years have led the way in transformation of both customer and employees experiences. What does the future of retail look like on this continued trajectory? This state of the industry round table brings together Ira Kalish, Chief Global Economist with Deloitte, Patricia Baker, Director, Retailing, Global Equity Research, Scotiabank, and The Food Professor, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Professor, Food Distribution and Policy, Dalhousie University. This round table discussion looks at the impact of war, inflation, and labour shortages on the retail industry in Canada and around the world.

As Canadian Tire celebrates its 100th birthday, the Corporation (CTC) is embarking on its next 100 years with an evolved brand purpose: to Make Life in Canada Better. This serves as their North Star for all decision-making, from product offerings and shopping options to their approach to community support. Hear CTC’s Chief Brand and Customer Officer, Susan O’Brien, speak about how the Company’s rich history, combined with its pandemic response, led to the evolution of its brand purpose. Aligned to a collective brand purpose, CTC’s tens of thousands of employees feel connected to something greater than themselves, which has instilled a sense of pride across the enterprise and is enabling the Company’s Better Connected strategy.

Retailers today are seeking new solutions to tackle three big challenges: attracting and retaining talent, maintaining customer loyalty, and ensuring business efficiency. For retailers, having real time data at your fingertips is a game changer. Steve Cunningham, Senior Director Retail Sales at Scandit, shares how Smart Data Capture from Scandit enables real-time decision making and workflow automation by capturing data from barcodes, text, IDs and objects. Steve will share how this is making a measurable impact for retailers with adaptable and flexible options to access actionable intelligence and make smarter decisions

Reflecting on both pre-pandemic and pandemic holiday shopping seasons, Google Canada will offer retailers predictions and tactics to help make the 2022 holiday season a success.  With category specific insights, recommendations around in-store vs ecomm, and suggested decision-making tactics, this session is one you won’t want to miss.

As those who have done business in Quebec will attest, the Quebec consumer thinks and behaves differently than other consumers. Most Quebecers come from a French culture, live in an English society and have an American lifestyle. Understanding their hybrid nature is your path to success in la belle province. Christian Bourque, Executive Vice-President, with Leger will reveal the insights from Leger’s new book, Cracking the Quebec Code. Christian reveals the seven character traits that make Quebecers unique and will set retailers up for success to crack the code and connect with customers in meaningful ways.

A recent Deloitte survey found that Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is top of mind for 80% of retail executives as well as consumers, employees and investors who demand more accountability from retailers. Please join us for a fireside chat with Joe Solly, Deloitte’s sustainability and climate change leader, along with Susan O’Brien from Canadian Tire, and Randy Huffman from Maple Leaf Foods, as they discuss their journey of embedding ESG into the DNA of their company strategy, culture, and day to day business operations.

Joanna Griffiths, CEO with Knix, discusses the keys to success in a digital-first, post-pandemic reality. With her recent expansion into brick-and-mortar in Canada and the U.S., Joanna will share her insights and expertise into the importance of having a customer-driven omnichannel strategy and having a marketing strategy that is progressive, inclusive and groundbreaking.

Employee wellbeing is a foundational layer of high-performing teams and a key factor to productivity, retention, and company culture. Dispelling the stigmas around mental health in the workplace creates opportunities for employees to receive support needed to have flourishing careers. Gillian Stein, CEO of Henry’s, shares her personal and professional journey with her own mental health and how Henry’s is working to create a culture of inclusion and psychological safety. Gillian chats about the importance of mental health literacy, benefits that reflect these values, and how the Henry’s Foundation creates opportunities for engagement.

Lunch & Learn

The lives of Canadians’ have been transformed from how they socialize to how they work; and spending is no exception. Moneris data reveals how and what consumers prioritized with their spending throughout lockdowns and how retail is trending in early 2022. Sean McCormick, Head of Growth Strategy with Spendscape, shares insights from consumer spending data in 2021, as well as some early indicators this year. Sean also shares what data options are in demand in this Omni channel world, including the impact of consumer location and digital marketing data on driving sales.

Once, small business owners could make a living selling gasoline and maps. Then “gas-only” stations became obsolete and in response, gas stations became convenience fuel-retail stores. Now, things are changing again as electric cars – going from niche to mainstream – flipping that model in a big way. It’s coming sooner than expected. If you thought the borders between retail and other industries continue to blur, you’re exactly right! Alan Czechowski reveals the key trends that demonstrate a turning point in the world of e-mobility and provides insight on the path forward for retailers.

Known for innovative products and a strong stance on animal testing and ethical campaigning, Lush is challenging modern assumptions about how retailers connect with community. After the bold move of deactivating global social media accounts Lush has innovated their approach to building and connecting with consumers. In this session, Carmen Ip, Communications and Operations Manager, with Lush chats with Zipline CEO Melissa Wong about their truly handmade and hands-on approach. Discover how Lush is changing the way customers can interact with the brand in-store and how individual shops are growing their community influence as proven by notable increases in business.

The modern shopping experience has changed drastically. eCommerce adoption has skyrocked and shifted customer expectations across the board. The brands that stand out in today’s crowded market are 100% zero-ed in on their customers. Creating personalized experiences, engaging in two-way dialogues, and focusing on responsiveness. In this panel, executives from Indigo and Well.ca share insights into how they’ve adapted in the face of changing customer expectations and what they think it will take to stay ahead.

Increasingly over the last few years, digital surfaces have become the epicenter of product discovery and have transformed the shopping journey, moving people from ‘Going Shopping’ to ‘Always Shopping’. With billions of product options against millions of Retailers globally – how do Retailers ensure that they are meeting the right people at the right time? From hyper-personalized content, to influencer led discovery, to the personalization and digitization of the print flyer – retailers have the tools at their disposal today to take advantage of Discovery Commerce. In this discussion, attendees will hear the latest in discovery commerce trends from Meta before diving into a panel discussion on how retailers are applying this thinking to marketing approaches and driving ROI.

Employees are expecting more from employers than ever before when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Organizations that seek to increase diversity not only recognize, but value the differences in backgrounds, skills, and life experience. This session will talk about actions retailers are taking to identify the barriers to full workforce participation and its importance across the organization’s entire value chain, creating opportunities for growth and meaningful change.

Becoming more sustainable is rapidly becoming a top business priority across industries and around the globe, and retail is no exception. In this panelist conversation, moderated by RBC, companies that have embraced sustainability throughout their operations will share their insights on the need to become more sustainable and the opportunity that exists. The session will cover what it takes to successfully embed sustainability within an organization, the sustainability journey, how businesses can start making sustainable choices, and understanding the trade-offs that your business will encounter.

Shifting consumer priorities wait for no one. In 2030, 50% of the population will be GenZ and GenAlpha and priorities and interests are shifting now. GDR’s Kate Ancketill dives into the trends retailers need to prepare for including physical stores as a support system for omni-fulfillment, how non-traditional channels are taking over, and how the metaverse will be an incredible marketing and sales opportunity.

As the retail industry reflects on the great acceleration over the course of the pandemic, the adoption of technology is at the forefront and Best Buy Canada is leading the way. From selling immersive experiences for home, to maximizing the customer journey through digital opportunities, ‘enriching lives through technology’ is the company’s guiding purpose. Ron Wilson, President Best Buy Canada and Mat Povse, SVP Retail, Geek Squad Services & Best Buy Business sit down with Michael LeBlanc, Senior Retail Advisor with Retail Council of Canada to discuss how they are evolving to exceed today’s customer expectations.

Fast Five Sponsor Highlight

5G technology is digitally transforming retailers and enabling new consumer experiences such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and proximity-based marketing. Timothy Schnare, Regional Sales Manager for Central Canada shares how LTE and 5G edge solutions can bridge online to brick-and-mortar to enable critical applications and services. Tim discusses how retail technology trends are predicting that 5G adoption amongst retailers is expected to rise to support new applications and advanced technology.

At the heart of any business are its customers. However, urgent and continued disruption to supply chains worldwide have required innovation to ensure that the needs and evolving expectations of customers are met. This panel of leaders from renowned Canadian organizations will look at how retailers are resolving present roadblocks, finding fruitful roles for technology, and empowering consumers to shop in new ways.

Access to the latest data and tends is a critical tool in business planning and forecasting. RCC’s Santo Ligotti, VP Member Services and Marketing, presents the RCC Retail Pulse Dashboard, a new interactive tool for members developed in partnership with KPMG. RCC members will now have access to real-time data on sales, jobs, the Canadian economy, spending and consumer insights and more. The exclusive dashboard will be easy to customize for in-depth analysis of the retail sector and will put critical information at the fingertips of retailers across the country.

China has surpassed the United States and has become the largest retail sector in the world and serves as a trend setter 2-3 years ahead of other major markets. KPMG’s National Leader for Consumer and Retail, Kostya Polyakov, explores the buying behavior of consumers in China and how these trends shape the retail industry. Kostya looks at the impact of integrated social commerce, leveraging technology in brick and motor, and the future of boundaryless retail where customer can buy whatever they want, wherever, and whenever the want it, in-store, online or whatever the future may hold.

Curious to understand the impact digital promotions have on in-store traffic? Environics Analytics (EA) recently partnered with Lowe’s Canada to take an in-depth look at the outcomes of a few of their most recent digital promotions. In this session, EA will examine the digital savviness of Lowe’s Canada’s customers to understand how responsive they are to online promotions and will measure the impact on Lowe’s Canada’s website and a specific store location, comparing pre-, during- and post-visit counts and segments. Discover how this analysis is providing Lowe’s Canada with a more complete understanding of which customers segments and promotions drove in-store traffic and whether or not their digital promotions were reaching their key client segments.

Re-platforming existing commerce solutions in the past two years has been critical for many retailers seeking to fortify and improve their customer experience while simplifying and unifying digital operations. For many, the path to success meant more than a new e-commerce site. Follow their path to digital growth with modern technology that unifies operations and enhances customer experiences, with the agility to rapidly adapt to the modern marketplace. During this session, guest speakers will share their unique story, implementation journey, challenges and final outcome. Panelists will discuss the real issues and challenges they faced along the way, best practices, key success factors, and lessons learned.

The convergence of powerful technologies, digitally mature customers, and expanding data sources has made delivering hyper-personalized, scalable engagements with customers a must. But if you’re struggling to bridge the gap between the kinds of experiences your customers want and what your business can actually deliver, you’re not alone. This session will explore the concept of customer adaptive retailing and how it can help you transform personalized omnichannel experiences into adaptive and predictive experiences – at every customer touch point.

When the pandemic hit, retailers had to adapt essentially overnight to heed the call to provide safe, accessible shopping. But things aren’t “settling” into a new normal quite yet. In fact, the changes we’ve seen are just the tip of the iceberg. Consumer habits and ways of living have shifted fundamentally, causing a digital revolution that is reshaping retail as we know it. Salesforce will give you a peek into the Future of Work, and how it revolves around humanized connections in a digital world.

The grocery store has been a pivotal destination throughout the pandemic. Tracking the largest number of Canadian grocery shoppers throughout the pandemic, Caddle uncovers what factors are motivating consumers to choose one grocery store over another, and how grocery retail innovation is meeting these new demands. In this session, Caddle shares store innovation insights on Canadian Grocery Shoppers, including touchless payments, digital in store signage, self checkout, digital price tags, and more.

In today’s hyper-competitive employment landscape, retailers have an opportunity to modernize their operations to attract talent, increase flexibility, and enhance the overall employee experience. Rocky Ozaki, Founder and CEO of the NoW of Work, is a Future of Work evangelist and culture transformation expert who will share how retailers can thrive in the future of work…now! Rocky will share leading people practices, the potential of emerging technologies, and his accumulation of insights that can accelerate the transformation of both your team member and customer experiences!

Individuals and organizations have known for decades that traditional business systems are rooted in biases. These biases, conscious and unconscious, impact relationships with colleagues and the experiences consumers have with your brand. Dr. Hadiya Roderique, Journalist, Lawyer, and Diversity and Inclusion Advocate, shares her experience of being Black on Bay Street and the emotional and personal impact of bias. Dr. Roderique will also discuss the resulting narrow pipeline, the impact of certain groups not being recognized, and the change needed for large scale shifts.

How and what Canadians are eating continues to rapidly evolve creating significant impact on grocery, food service, and the retail industry as a whole. Paco Underhill, founder of Envirosell Inc. and author of Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, joins us to share insights from his latest book How We Eat: The Brave New World of Food and Drink. Paco shares the impact of change on store formats, ecommerce, and the changing values that prioritize sustainable packaging and healthier choices.