The Retail Podcast

Shoppers are asking AI assistants what to buy, and those answers cite YouTube videos. Ben Jeffries, co-founder of Influencer.com, explains creator-first AEO, the sports-brand test, and why content now has to work for shoppers and for AI. With Alex Rezvan, Host of The Retail Podcast.Your next customer may never type your name into your own search bar.Ben Jeffries, co-founder of Influencer.com, told me at YouTube Festival London that shoppers are taking their research to Gemini and ChatGPT. And when those tools answer, they lean on YouTube videos as a source.So the creators who review, compare and demo products in your category are now helping decide whether you show up in the answer, and whether you rank above a competitor.His team works with Profound to see which creators actually move a brand up those answers, then plans creator content around it. His example: a shopper asking for the best running shoe for a lap of Battersea Park.For a retailer, that changes what a creator brief is for. It is no longer only reach. It is evidence that AI will read.The test is simple and slightly uncomfortable: ask ChatGPT for the best product in your category this morning. Are you in the answer?#RetailMarketing #AISearch #CreatorEconomy```

Amazon grocery storefronts for individual retailers are closing on Amazon.com, while US inflation reaches 3.7% and Adobe finds 49% of AI shopping assistant users have abandoned a purchase over conflicting product information. For retail leaders, today's briefing is about control: of the channel, of your product data, and of assets like Bluewater, where Landsec now holds 74%.00:00 Intro00:06 Landsec takes Bluewater stake to 74%00:32 Adobe: 49% of AI shoppers abandon purchases01:00 AliExpress launches free Elite membership01:21 US inflation rises to 3.7%01:43 Amazon closes retailer grocery storefronts02:08 Albert Heijn recovers from cyberattackSources:- Landsec: Landsec Raises Bluewater Stake to 74% in £95m Deal https://www.landsec.com/en/media-insights/press-releases/landsec-acquires-a-further-10-stake-in-bluewater- Retail Times: Adobe: 49% of AI Shoppers Abandoned a Purchase Over Data Conflicts https://retailtimes.co.uk/nearly-half-of-ai-shoppers-say-they-abandoned-a-purchase-over-conflicting-product-details/- Retail Times: AliExpress Launches Elite, a Free Loyalty Programme for High-Spend Shoppers https://retailtimes.co.uk/aliexpress-takes-on-rivals-with-elite-the-no-fee-loyalty-scheme-promising-even-greater-value-and-boosted-shipping-times/- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: US September CPI Rises 0.6%; Annual Rate Reaches 3.7% https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_10142026.htm- Grocery Dive: Amazon to Close Retailer-Specific Grocery Storefronts on Its Platform https://www.grocerydive.com/news/amazon-grocery-partners-individual-storefronts-closing/832902/- RetailDetail EU: Albert Heijn Distribution Centres Back Online; Full IT Restoration to Take Up to a Week https://www.retaildetail.eu/news/food/albert-heijn-distribution-centers-back-in-operation-today/

Creators are the new beauty counter. That is how Charlotte Lock, Chief Customer Officer, Boots, describes where customers now discover products and find advice they trust.Recorded at YouTube Festival London 2026, just after Charlotte came off the main stage, this conversation with Alex Rezvan, Host of The Retail Podcast, asks what that shift means for a retailer founded in 1849. Charlotte says Boots is piloting YouTube's Shopping affiliate programme, so a viewer can buy the Boots products a creator is using without leaving the video for a link in bio.She also explains how Boots chooses the creators it works with (fit with the brand, not free product), why a brand with a long history has to pick the few things that make it different, and why Boots pairs long-term brand building with being easy to shop, on a phone or in store.Chapters0:00 Creators are the new beauty counter2:18 Shopping straight from creator videos3:06 How Boots chooses its creators3:42 Purpose, Macmillan, and what to say5:48 Brand building meets easy shoppingPart of our three-part series from YouTube Festival London 2026, with Sophie Neary, Managing Director, Retail & Consumer Goods, Google, and creator Jade Beason.Retail intelligence, every week: theretailpodcast.com/newsletter#RetailMarketing #CreatorMarketing #YouTubeShopping

YouTube is no longer just where shoppers see your brand. It is where they decide to buy it.On the red carpet at YouTube Festival London 2026, Alex Rezvan, Host of The Retail Podcast, talks to Sophie Neary, Managing Director, Retail & Consumer Goods, Google. Where a retailer should start on YouTube, why brand and creator content belong in one plan, how shoppable video now reaches the living room TV and the high street, and why your videos now feed AI search.Chapters0:00 Where shoppers now decide to buy0:58 Where to start: your channel plus creators2:05 Connected TV and the high street2:59 From inspiration to purchase3:25 AI search: models read your videosIn this episode- Three strands of a YouTube content strategy: your own brand channel, user-generated content and creator content- Your brand is the what, your creators are the how and the why. You need both.- Every surface on YouTube is now shoppable, including connected TV- YouTube reaches 49 million UK adults every month (YouTube press release, September 2026)- Large language models read your videos, transcripts and commentsPart of our three-part series from YouTube Festival London 2026, with creator Jade Beason and Charlotte Lock, Chief Customer Officer, Boots.Retail intelligence, e

The Ahold Delhaize outage has left websites and apps down since Sunday and Dutch stores showing last week's shelf prices, a reminder that pricing now depends on central IT. Kroger is cutting 3,000 corporate jobs, UK shoppers are holding back before the budget, and Shein, Temu and AliExpress are losing ground in Germany.00:00 Intro00:08 BRC: UK retail sales subdued in September00:36 CBRE: £400m on London luxury flagships01:01 Aldi puts £19.5m into Scotland in 202701:14 Kroger to cut 3,000 corporate jobs01:30 Ross Stores completes 115 new stores01:46 Ahold Delhaize IT outage since Sunday02:19 Shein, Temu, AliExpress German sales fall 35.5%02:42 Kaufland marketplace launches in SpainSources:- British Retail Consortium: BRC: September Retail Sales Subdued as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget https://brc.org.uk/news-and-events/news/sluggish-sales-as-shoppers-look-for-budget-boost/- Retail Times: CBRE: Luxury Brands Invest Estimated £400m in London Flagship Fit-outs Since 2025 https://retailtimes.co.uk/london-holds-unrivalled-global-position-for-flagship-retail-finds-cbre-report/- Retail Times: Aldi Allocates £19.5m to Scotland in 2027 as Part of £900m UK Investment Programme https://retailtimes.co.uk/scotland-set-to-benefit-from-aldis-900m-investment/- Grocery Dive: Kroger Plans 3,000 Corporate Job Cuts Over Three Years https://www.grocerydive.com/news/kroger-corporate-layoffs-3000-employees/832811/- Retail Dive: Ross Stores Completes 115-Store FY2026 Plan; Opens First Massachusetts Sites https://www.retaildive.com/news/ross-opens-51-new-stores/832721/- RetailDetail EU: Ahold Delhaize IT Outage Takes Websites and Apps Offline Since Sunday https://www.retaildetail.eu/news/food/major-cyber-incident-at-ahold-delhaize-albert-heijn-etos-and-gall-gall-brought-to-a-standstill/- bevh (German E-Commerce and Distance Selling Association): Shein, Temu and AliExpress German Sales Fall 35.5% in Q3; Share Drops to 3.1% https://bevh.org/detail/nach-abschaffung-der-zollfreigrenze-asiatische-plattformen-verlieren-deutlich-marktanteile- Kaufland: Kaufland Online Marketplace Launches in Spain; Nine European Countries Now Active https://unternehmen.kaufland.de/presse/newsroom/2026/oktober/ab-sofort-in-neun-laendern-kaufland-waechst-mit-launch-in-spanien-zum-groessten-marktplatz-netzwerk-aus-europa