Ashley Gorrie, CEO of Nationwide Marketing Group vendor partner Gorrie, shares what retail trends she believes will have the longest impact in a post-COVID world.
Independent Thinking Podcast
55: Tom Hickman Tackles Nationwide Members’ Questions
We collected a wide swath of questions from you, our listeners, and boiled them down to some of the most-asked-about topics for President and Chief Member Advocate Tom Hickman to address.
54: Rotmans Plans and Preps for a Major Store Reformatting Project
Seeing a “store closing” sale pop up in the middle of a pandemic may elicit some sorry thoughts. But for Worcester, MA-based Rotmans, the promotion comes with a catch: They plan to reopen in a few weeks time with a completely reformatted store.
53: On Safe In-Store Shopping Trends with Guardsman
A lot has changed over the past year, and as customers start venturing back into physical stores, special attention must be paid to providing a clean, safe shopping experience. Guardsman, distributors of the COVID killing Monofoil disinfectant, chats about those trends and more.
52: Mike Derro’s Vision for Furniture and Bedding in 2021
Nationwide Marketing Group welcomed VP of Furniture & Bedding Mike Derro into the fold in mid-October — right before Virtual PrimeTime. We caught up with Derro recently to get to know him a little better and to understand where he sees the category heading in 2021.
51: On Tech, Retail and the All-Digital CES with Steve Koenig of the Consumer Technology Association
Even as the calendar flips to a new year, the ongoing effects of the global pandemic are still being felt. We sat down with Steve Koenig, VP of Research for the Consumer Technology Association, to talk about the role tech has played in enabling so many businesses and industries to continue operating during this time — and we dive into the first-ever all-digital CES that CTA will host in January.
50: Talking Custom Integration and CES 2021 with HTSN’s Hank Alexander
2020 was a whirlwind year for the custom integration space. Hank Alexander, director of HTSN, reflects on the tech trends that the pandemic helped accelerate, and he looks ahead to an all-digital CES 2021.
49: Sherman’s Literally Built a House to Help Train Their Delivery Team
The house that Sherman’s built is basically a delivery team’s worst nightmare. But it’s how Paul Sherman, CEO and owner, and Antwaun Banks, delivery manager, train the Sherman’s delivery team before they set foot in a customer’s home.
48: Jonathan Elster Breaks Down the Rebrand of Next Level Distribution
Previously known as Audio America — a distributor partner for Nationwide Marketing Group — CEO Jonathan Elster talks about the decision to rebrand as Next Level Distribution, what that means for Nationwide’s network of dealers, and how that’ll impact business moving forward.
47: Breaking Through the Misconceptions of Product Protection with Nationwide Marketing Group’s Chad Burris
Product protection programs, while more all-encompassing than warranties, still carry many of the same misconceptions with consumers. We sat down with Nationwide’s director of product protection to talk about how retailers can improve their attachment rates.
46: The Little Things Are a Big Deal to The Bed Store
How could something as simple as leaving a mint on customers’ newly-delivered mattresses play such a huge role at Knoxville, TN-based The Bed Store? Owner and CEO Roger Cunningham explains how doing “the little things” is at the heart of everything The Bed Store stands for.
45: Podium Makes the Case for Adding a Texting Strategy to Your Retail Business
Jama Featherson, director of retail at Podium, jumps on the podcast to talk about their recent State of Local Business report. The deep dive, which tracked changes in consumer shopping behaviors in a pre- and post-COVID world, shows just how prevalent texting has become in the path to purchase.
44: What Makes a Virtual Event Work? The Mind Behind Virtual PrimeTime Shares Her Secrets
There may be no one who knows what makes a PrimeTime show tick quite like Nationwide Marketing Group VP of Member Experience Melissa Stenson. After closing the books on the first-ever Virtual PrimeTime, she sat down with us talk about the keys to planning a successful virtual event.
43: For Pay-Less, Return on Website Investment Was Like Opening a New Store
Fred Pearson, owner of Pay-Less Furniture & Appliances, will be the first to admit he was very much against major investments into his online presence. But now, a little over a year since upgrading, his website has become one of the most successful “stores” in his company’s portfolio.
42: Defining Marketing Elasticity with Gardner’s Mattress and More
We don’t know how many independent retailers are also published authors, but Jeff Giagnocavo — co-owner of Gardner’s Mattress and More in Lancaster, PA — is one. And he spoke with us about one of his favorite topics, Marketing Elasticity, which he applies to his own retail outfit.
41: A Digital Deep Dive with Jennifer Danko
The past 8 months have been a grueling test of the digital retail platforms that have long been touted as must-haves. And from what the team at Site on Time has seen, those who’ve made the investment are realizing a ton of success during this tough time.
40: A Crossover Episode With the Sleep Retailer Podcast
Not long ago, we had Chris Schriever, publisher of Sleep Retailer, on the Independent Thinking Podcast to talk about the trends their following in the sleep space. Because they were SO impressed with us, they decided to have us on their podcast! Here’s the crossover episode of the Sleep Retailer Podcast, which you can find on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Go subscribe!
39: A Look Back on the History of PrimeTime
Ahead of a historic PrimeTime this October — the first to go all virtual — we take a look at the history of the show, which dates (officially) back to 1992.
38: Catching Up on the Latest CE Trends with Dealerscope and Connected Design
The consumer electronics industry is constantly finding ways to innovate itself — even when not forced to do so by the cloud of a global pandemic. We catch up with the editors at Dealerscope and Connected Design to talk about what they’re keeping an eye on in the CE space.
37: Google Chats About COVID’s Impact on Retail and Search Trends
Ahead of the final quarter of 2020, we sat down with Patrick Tam, strategic partner manager at Google, to talk about trends in e-commerce and search that he’s been following and how COVID-19 has impacted them. Nationwide Marketing Group President of Digital & Technology Dev Mukherjee also joins in on the conversation.