The Backroom: Ringing in the New Year with Doug Stephens
After vaccines alleviated the pandemic, consumers returned to physical stores, but in 2022 retail remains plagued by inflation and supply chain issues. Consumers are prioritizing experiences over goods in discretionary spending. In this year-end conversation on The Backroom podcast, Daphne Howland and Doug Stephens analyze experiential retail, metaverse misconceptions, and a new era for Amazon.
Welcome to The Backroom, a behind-the-scenes window into the stories and trends reshaping retail, reported by the Retail Dive team. You canhereview all of our past and current podcast episodes, and you can listen viaApple Podcasts、Stitcher、iHeartRadioandSpotifyto listen.
As vaccines eased the worst of the pandemic, people left their homes, refreshed their wardrobes, and enthusiastically flocked to physical stores to shop. However, retail still experienced a difficult year in 2022—household budgets were squeezed by rising prices for essentials, and the pandemic continued to disrupt supply chains.
But the industry's struggles were not solely due to inflation. Through their spending behavior this year—consumers did indeedkeep spending—they made it clear: when allocating discretionary funds, they often valued experiences over goods. In this episode, Daphne Howland talks with industry expert Doug Stephens (a conversation the two have maintained at year-end for years) about what this means for retailers, why experiential retail is far from the metaverse, a new era for Amazon, and more. Thanks for listening, and Happy New Year.
Resource Links
- How retailers are connecting the metaverse to the real world and revenue
- Has Amazon finished disrupting retail?
- 'Any brand can find a home': Why retail keeps moving to Los Angeles
Editor's note: This episode was produced and edited by Caroline Jansen. Former co-host of The Backroom, Ben Unglesbee, has left the Retail Dive team. But rest assured, you can still see Ben's reporting on our sister publicationSupply Chain DiveWhen The Backroom returns in 2023, Daphne will continue to work with multiple co-hosts and guests.