The Buying Game: 10 Tales that Capture the Fierce and Frenzied

“The shopper is in good hands. There’s lots of frustration and concern about staying ahead in retail, yet year after year we do it, with astounding effectiveness.”

- Bryan Pearson, President and CEO of LoyaltyOne


It’s been a frenzied year in the keep-up-or-give-in race that is modern retail. Organic food is being eaten by technology. Europeans are coming for the American grocer dollar. And a Jeopardy winner is helping Macy’s and The North Face better understand their customers.

Success in this game takes as much hindsight as foresight, and it also means watching one’s back. The industry is increasingly comprised of players and channels that seemingly came from nowhere but behind us.

Among the key events of the past year:

-  Artificial intelligence (including IBM’s Watson technology) is answering specific shopper questions, online and in-store. 
-  Amazon has acquired Whole Foods, calling to task the grocery industry’s conservative pace into fresh-food delivery.
-  Subscription-based services, from razors to meal kits, are forcing the most venerated brands to change or get out of the way.

Download Bryan Pearson’s 2017 Forbes contributions that capture some of the most influential happenings in retail this past year.