At the recent DELIVER America conference, RetailWire hosted a series of enlightening conversations with retail industry trailblazers.

Starbucks is reducing noise inside its stores and enhancing accessibility for all customers. How do Starbucks’ recent design changes reflect broader shifts in consumer expectations toward inclusivity and sensory comfort in retail environments?

JCPenney announced plans to invest $1 billion to further improve the customer experience and operating efficiencies after making “significant progress” in turnaround efforts in 2022. How confident are you that JCPenney’s repositioning efforts are on the right path?

Retail giant Walmart is constantly investing in new technology to stay ahead of the competition.

Research from the University of Bath’s School of Management found in-store music can lift sales by more than 10 percent during the weekdays but questioned whether tunes might be neutral or even distracting for weekend shoppers.

Wednesday morning of the Retail Innovation Conference & Expo in Chicago kicked off with a compelling presentation by Nikkia Reveillac, director of consumer insights at Netflix. 

More than half of shoppers (54 percent) shop for meat, chicken, or fish primarily in physical stores, according to a PYMNTS survey. Does the need for speed make it difficult (nearly impossible) for stores to pick fresh meat and produce that will meet the quality standards of online grocery customers?

Grocery self-checkout has long had its detractors, and the technology could soon face legal hurdles that may affect how stores use it.  What do you think of the proposed limit on self-checkout registers and discounts for customers who use self-checkout being considered in Rhode Island?

Albertsons has introduced a digital health and wellness platform that enables customers to track their health and wellness goals and receive rewards, including grocery discounts, for surpassing them. How much consumer appeal do you see in Albertsons’ Sincerely Health platform linking loyalty rewards to fitness, nutrition and mental health goals?

Victoria’s Secret & Co. last week said it was launching “The VS & PINK Collective,” a pilot of its first loyalty program that gives Victoria’s Secret and Pink customers an opportunity to share rewards. Will the VS & Pink Collective rewards program be successful in driving incremental sales for the two Victoria’s Secret & Co. brands?

According to a new Gallup poll, U.S. consumers do not trust retailers as much as they used to — and they do not have much trust for anyone else, either. Do you agree with Gallup’s assessment of the state of trust for retail businesses and the steps retailers should take to earn customer trust?

Retail has already witnessed some major forms of automation implemented at scale, and a major player in the segment recently laid out a tight timeline along which people should expect more. Do you believe that 65 percent of all retail work can be automated within the next few years and, if so, what would that mean for people working in the industry?

People enjoy working from home so much that going back to the office five days a week is no longer an option. Being home more often, consumers prefer to shop local more and want bigger brands to come to them, according to this study. Do you see a significant opportunity for national retailers to open up smaller stores in local neighborhoods?

Tipping fatigue has been trending as a topic in the media and has sparked angry debates on social media for nearly a year. The arguments now appear to center on two different phenomena: “tipflation” and tip creeping. Do you see tipflation or tip creeping as the bigger driver of tipping fatigue?

Lowe’s is the official home improvement retailer of the National Football League. It will also be one place where some customers can go on Sunday to listen to the Super Bowl broadcast. What will Lowe’s in-store broadcast of the Super Bowl mean to customers and associates in the chain’s stores in Kansas City, Philadelphia and Phoenix?

Walmart is closing its two pickup- and deliver-only concept stores in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood and in Bentonville, AR.  What do Walmart’s store closings and new store openings from startups like Addie’s say about the viability of pickup-only grocery stores?

Ron Margulis thinks that if a technology company could capture the essence of a merchant in every sense of the word, they would have something truly unique to offer food retailers. A genie in a retail bottle. What technology innovations can best help supermarket operators engage their customers?

Ron Margulis with Randy Edeker, executive chairman, and CEO Jeremy Gosch of Hy-Vee, at the recent FMI Midwinter conference in Orlando. Rather than ask about operations, competition or financials, he focused on tech and the customer experience. What are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing Hy-Vee and other regional supermarket chains?

The business models of many retail businesses have been unsustainable for years and all it took was the pandemic to make that undeniably clear. Is there strategic value in retailers and restaurants reassessing their business models on an ongoing basis?

A 7-Eleven in Austin, TX, is blasting opera music nonstop outside the store as a deterrent against loiters and panhandlers. The owner said he has faced issues since a homeless encampment developed next to the location. What do you think of the use of loud, classical music to deter loitering outside stores?

Lowe’s may be giving new meaning to the term lifetime customer value. The home improvement retailer is looking to appeal to consumers as young as five-years-old with a new pilot offering in-store birthday parties for kids. Do you expect Lowe’s “Build a Birthday” party pilot to be a success and widely scaled across the chain’s stores?

In a keynote presentation at the 2023 NRF Big Show, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, Neiman Marcus Group’s CEO, was asked about the benefits and risks of the retailer’s high concentration levels. Is the concentration of its customer base and vendor base a concern for Neiman’s?

Hudson’s Bay Company has bid for a gaming license to install a high-end casino on the top three floors of the famed Saks Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan. What do you think of the prospects for adding a casino atop Saks Fifth Avenue’s Manhattan flagship?

Babies”R”Us is coming back. WHP Global, which owns the company, yesterday said that it plans to open its first Babies”R”Us flagship store in the U.S. this summer in the American Dream mall in New Jersey. What form do you think “a national rollout of Babies”R”Us” will take and what kind of success might it see?

Tempe Marketplace and Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix on Jan. 12 will become the first outdoor shopping centers in Arizona to allow shoppers to drink alcohol as they shop. Do you see more pros than cons for retailers in expanding open-container drinking at outdoor shopping centers and downtown districts?

Those Netflix subscribers with a New Year’s resolution to get in shape can now pursue their fitness goals using exclusive content from one of the biggest names in athletics. Nike has partnered with Netflix on an initiative called the Nike Training Club. What value will Nike derive from its content relationship with Netflix?

Bloomingdale’s is going small in Seattle, saying it will open a new Bloomie’s, its small off-mall store concept, this year in University Village in the Ravenna neighborhood, north of the city’s downtown. Do you see the Bloomie’s concept as a smart way for Bloomingdale’s to scale its operations to new markets around the U.S.?

Falling coronavirus case levels and fewer restrictions drove a strong recovery in spending on experiences in 2022 and they appear to be continuing to take significant discretionary dollars away from retail. How much of a factor has the spending shift toward experiences (i.e., travel, dining out, live events) been on retail in recent months?

McDonald’s last week opened its first partially automated restaurant, with machines handling everything from taking orders to delivering the food. The opening sparked both positive and negative responses on social media. Will the efficiencies gained from an automated restaurant such as McDonald’s pilot offset any aspects lost from removing human interaction?

Amazon recently installed Just Walk Out (JWO) at a grocery retailer it does not own for the first time. 2023 will see even more buzz around the technology. Do you see Amazon’s Just Walk Out and similar checkout-free shopping technologies making a significant breakthrough in 2023?

At least three Change.org petitions are seeking to ban a holiday hit. One implored the FCC to prohibit the song from playing in retail corridors and on the radio called it “the bane of shoppers, retail workers and pedestrians.” Is there anything retailers or store managers can do to alleviate irritation associates may experience with continuous holiday music?

Tipping at Starbucks is as voluntary as it is anywhere in the U.S., but a new digital payment solution is now making it tough and awkward to avoid doing so. Some customers, and even some baristas, are displeased with the development. Will Starbucks’ new point-of-sale solution be good or bad for the chain in the long run?

The year 2023 is going to be better at retail than expected, especially for those companies that appeal to the higher and lower ends of the market. Those catering to the middle will likely have a tough go of it. How do you think the national economy will affect consumer behavior and retail in 2023?

Best Buy has implemented and expanded its use of digital clienteling to serve more than a quarter million customers since announcing its virtual store pilot in 2021. Customer satisfaction has increased 20 percent as a result of the company taking its famous in-store service online.  What do you see as the biggest benefits of Best Buy’s virtual store?

H&M has opened a smaller boutique concept in the hip Williamsburg section of Brooklyn featuring a rotating mix of “most fashionable styles” and continually evolving activations with an emphasis on “paying homage to the iconic neighborhood.” What should define success for the H&M Williamsburg concept?

Amid a continued tight labor market, holiday help appears to be less in demand this year due to the souring economy. Is it prudent or hasty to significantly pull back on seasonal hires amid inflationary pressures and the uncertain economy?

Panera Bread has announced plans to roll out two smaller concepts to reach to-go customers in dense urban areas. Urban Core is about 40 percent smaller than Panera’s traditional bakery-cafes, and Panera To-Go doesn’t have any dine-in seating and features all-digital ordering. Are digital-only or digital-first restaurants the future of fast food and fast casual?

With its high-quality products, value proposition and knowledgeable and friendly staff, Trader Joe’s often finds itself at or near the top of various industry “best of” lists. However, the quirky chain may still face some challenges as it expands. What do you think Trader Joe’s needs to work on?

For online shoppers expecting online deliveries from Saks Off 5th, less will be up in the air  thanks to a new feature the retailer is implementing. Saks Off 5th is implementing a Guaranteed Delivery Date for thousands of items. Do you think a solution like Guaranteed Delivery Date at Saks Off 5th is a necessity for retailers doing e-commerce?

New research shows that Americans are shifting more of their Christmas shopping to stores this year rather than placing orders online.  Do you expect to see a significant shift back to shopping in stores over the balance of the Christmas shopping season?

Few, if any, of the transactions BrainTrust Panelist Bob Amster has witnessed on a wide array of systems have been frictionless. Each has an interruption of some form. Where does grocery self-checkout currently fall short?

Walgreens is eliminating task-based metrics for pharmacy staff as part of performance reviews in order to place an “even greater focus on patient care and outcomes.” Do you think task-based metrics do more to incentivize or stress out retail workers?

Abercrombie & Fitch customers can now place orders online and pick their purchases up at  Walgreens. (Walgreens?) Is a suite of fulfillment options like those offered by Abercrombie & Fitch important for retailers operating either standalone or mall-based stores?

Nothing beats having an item in stock. New research shows that brick and mortar retailers that need to backorder items to meet customer demand are losing out in the longer run. How can retailers avoid and/or mitigate the negative effects associated with backorders?

A new university study exploring BOPIS finds consumers are more likely to be satisfied with substitutions for out-of-stocks when the item is a staple, like ketchup or paper towels, rather than a “pleasure-loving” item like coffee or perfume. How can retailers improve substitution selections in the BOPIS process?

According to a recent survey, 67.7 percent of Americans feel pressured to tip when picking up takeout food or coffee if the POS system prompts them to, and 44.8 percent only tip because a POS tablet prompts them to do it. Do you think touchscreen payment tablets with tip suggestions for takeout orders are irritating and/or manipulative?

Demonstrating the potential of adding smell to virtual reality, researchers led by Stockholm University recently created a “wine tasting game” in which the user smells wine in a virtual wine cellar and gets points if their guess on aromas in each wine is correct. What would adding smell to virtual reality tech mean to retail?

HomeGoods last week introduced House of HomeGoods, offering customers a chance to book a weekend stay at a two-bedroom Hudson Valley, NY, home for $29.99 a night. What do you think of HomeGoods’ House of HomeGoods campaign?

A new university study finds being asked to donate at cash registers heightens anxiety for shoppers, despite good intentions. Do you see donation requests at checkout as more of a positive or negative to the in-store shopping experience?

The pop-up model has brought some retailers a lot of success in recent years, so much so that some retail experts see pop-ups as a standard component in the future of retail. Do you think pop-ups are poised to become more popular over time?