Reengineering Retail explores the coming retail revolution, which will affect retailers of all sizes—and any business with a stake in the global retail industry. Stephens paints a bold vision of the future, where the very concept of what a store is, how consumers shop, and even what retail’s core revenue model is will all be profoundly reinvented. And he illustrates the vast opportunities available for courageous brands and business leaders with the foresight to begin adapting to the new realities now. Infused with real-world examples and insights from industry disruptors, Reengineering Retail offers retail executives an essential road map to the future.
Founder of the global advisory firm Retail Prophet, Doug Stephens is one of the world’s foremost retail industry futurists, thought leaders, and business influencers. His intellectual work and creativity have shaped the strategies of many of the world’s best-known retailers, agencies, and brands, including IKEA, Walmart, Estée Lauder, BMW, and Google.
With over twenty-five years in the retail industry, Stephens has unique perspectives on retailing, business, and consumer behavior, which have been featured in many of the world’s leading publications and media outlets including The New York Times, BBC, Wired, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Fast Company.
He is the author of The Retail Revival: Reimagining Business for the New Age of Consumerism (2013) and the international best seller Reengineering Retail: The Future of Selling in a Post-Digital World (2017).
Photographer: David Leyes
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“Doug Stephens sounds the alarm for brick-and-mortar retailers (and their landlords), and those who do not heed his advice do so at their own peril. Reengineering Retail is a survival guide for those of us navigating a sea change in physical retail.”
—Mark Toro, Founder and Managing Partner, North American Properties–Atlanta, Ltd.
“Disruption is facing every business. Retail is feeling the brunt of it. Technology changes everything. Software eats retail in a one-click and swipe-right world. Retailers talk about omnichannel and customer-centricity, but look at the landscape. It’s hard to be optimistic. Still, big thinkers like Doug Stephens and his latest book, Reengineering Retail, draw the map and demonstrate what retailers need to think and do in this landscape. If you sell stuff, this is a must-read.”
—Mitch Joel, President, Mirum. Author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete.
“Ten years ago, walking into a cool boutique to see a DJ spinning was novel. Today, it’s about the least a store can do to keep up with the times. Brands and retailers that are standing out are pulling out the stops to turn shopping into a rich and immersive experience that leverages technology. Doug’s book sets out a roadmap for how to best compete in this new retail world”
—Harley Finkelstein, COO, Shopify
“Doug Stephens paints a vivid picture of the massive disruption and reinvention that is occurring in the retail landscape. Reengineering Retail offers valuable insights into how the physical and the digital retailing worlds will augment each other and combine to create customer experiences that we can only imagine today. This book is a must-read and a wakeup call to any retailers that have been technological laggards.”
—Ramesh Venkat, Ph.D., Director, David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing, Saint Mary’s University
“Retail is no longer linear—it doesn’t live in a protected tower—and it’s arguably facing its greatest disruption ever! Doug Stephens’ latest book, Reengineering Retail, shines the spotlight on the new ecosystem, one that feeds off innovation, the redefinition and refinement of customer experience, authenticity, value, excitement and experimentation. Doug’s book challenges us to look at disruption more than by assuming that one form of retail will win over another—simply put, the book forces us to understand the power of personalization and customer engagement—the lifeblood of our new retail world.”
—Diane J. Brisebois, President & CEO, Retail Council of Canada