Simon E. Chafetz’s Post

Howdy from ShopTalk Fall, in Nashville! 🤠 I'm always so energized by meeting up with colleagues (old and new) at events like these. This morning, I had the distinct privilege of sharing the stage with LeRoy Nichols IV (Head of Digital Product at Taco Bell) and Austin Leonard (Vice President and General Manager of DG Media Network). While not immediately obvious, Taco Bell and Dollar General have more in common that you might think: They are both economically countercyclical, they both generate immense value from a curated set of low-cost inputs, and they are both world-class operators at massive scale. Together, we dug into the findings from my team's latest research (linked below), Bridging the Commerce Divide, and a few things stuck with me from the conversation: 𝟭. 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝗻. Everyone wants to talk about the shiny, next-gen capability. But none of it holds up if the foundation isn't solid. Get the basics beautiful first; everything else is built on top of them. 𝟮. 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Zero-party and first-party data unlock real targeting power, but knowing where and when to use it is what separates great personalization from a customer-service ticket. My new favorite mantra: "don't be creepy." 𝟯. 𝗔𝗜𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. The capability unlock from AI is enormous, but the next couple of quarters are about turning experiments into everyday reality, not adding another pilot to the pile. Thank you to LeRoy and Austin for being refreshingly honest about what has and hasn't worked. That kind of candor on stage is rare, and its exactly why I keep coming back to events like this. And thanks to everyone who grabbed a seat (and a pastry) at breakfast! If you want the full research behind this conversation, including why only 1 in 4 brands believe they're delivering excellent shopping experiences, and consumers agree even less, you can find it here: https://lnkd.in/gdknapuP Finally, thank you to my friends and colleagues for your leadership Paul do Forno, Megan Goldenberg, Allison Fox, and Joel Brown... And especially great to see my long-time friend Matthew Reardon!