Technology in Retail

Wade Erickson (00:13):

Welcome all to another episode of Tech Leaders Unplugged. Today we're getting unplugged with Shawna DelHierro former CIO of Sportsman Warehouse, and we're going to talk a little bit about technology in retail. Shawna has a lot of experience both within her previous role and as well as health and, and her vision company she's been involved with. And so, just wanted to kind of look at what's new and where things are going in the world of retail and technology. So thanks again for joining the call to or our show today. Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background before we jump in the topic.

Shawna DelHierro (00:53):

Yeah. Hi. Thanks, Wade. I appreciate it. Happy to be here with you today and, and talk about some of the emerging trends in, in retail technology. Excited to to also just share a bit around what I see up and coming and what we've, what we've accomplished together. So, yes, most recently, CIO with Sportsman's warehouse outdoor retailer. Really interesting industry to be able to support those who really love to get out enjoy the outdoors and an opportunity there to, to really kind of dig into some legacy back office systems and to look at how to modernize that experience for our customers both online and in store. And of course, in my career, I've done so both as you mentioned in healthcare in optical retail and really excited about the things that are up and coming and the way that we are continuing to meet our customer where they are with an automated experience and one that really reduces the friction. We have customers that every day are seeking to have a more technologically advanced experience. And so it's an exciting time to be in a leadership role as an organizational leader and an enterprise thought leader within some of these, these areas that have had some opportunities to grow organically, but now see that technology can really be that, that pivotal moment of, of growth for them and really jump out in front of maybe competition or jump out in front in the way of acquisition or growth in some, into some other areas or emerging markets. So some fun things that are ahead. So excited to talk with you more about that today. I've been in this, this industry for the better part of 20 years now. So I've really kind of grown up in and around technology, but didn't start my career there. So have seen a lot of things change and, and evolve within global supply chain and automotive. And so it's a fun time, but certainly doesn't go without its challenges in the way of security and, and that has to be front of mind for us as technology leaders and as operational leaders too. So we'll certainly dig into that a little bit as we talk more around AI and some of the, the technological advancements that we have that also bring with it some risk in addition to that reward.

Wade Erickson (03:10):

Great. Great. Yeah, so you know, a lot of folks think about, you know, the two different spaces online, very different experience in purchasing and, and the data that comes out of that. And then of course, the, you know, physical box stores. And you know, the point of sale systems obviously was a big introduction back, I don't know, 15, 20 years ago. And how that tied into inventory. And then now of course, with the internet, you know, the whole online which now we're very all used to is really only about 20 years old. So, you know, retail goes back hundreds of years, and you know, technology has really, I think changed that user experience. And so I appreciate your insights in that area and, and how, what a lot of us take for granted in our shopping experience is, is a lot of work in the background, a lot of data to support the systems we build. So, so please, let's jump into this and, and the technology in retail and, and, and some of the trends you're seeing.

Shawna DelHierro (04:18):

Yeah, I think, you know, again, talking about the way that every customer is really seeking to have a unique, a personal experience, what you look for in your grocery shopping experience may be very different than what I look for. And as a retailer, that's, that's a great challenge to have because we can use technology to make for that personalized experience, but at the same time, we've got to be incredibly agile in the way that we handle our technology on the backside which again, presents some challenges. So we want to be sensitive to your data, to your information as we're working through that personalized personalization. With that, again, we can make data-driven decisions as an organization, we can look at what our enterprise level goals are we seeking to drive, you know, a better omnichannel experience and seeking to drive e-commerce growth. Are we doing so with the intent to increase online sales, or are we doing so to increase online traffic with an intent as that being the door, the gate to drive foot traffic into our brick and mortar stores? So certain retailers have different ideas and, and true goals around what that omnichannel experience is really intended to be. And it can be a mixed bag of those. So being able to have the technology to support, and that's where, you know, the, the better together solutions around leveraging AI to be that front end, to answer your questions in an automated fashion, if that's your preferred model. But having that gate, that opening that says, if you are a customer who doesn't prefer an automated experience, and you want to have the feel and the touch of seeing and, and talking with someone about the item or the solution that you're purchasing, how do we show up for that customer to ensure retention? We don't have the luxury anymore of saying that just because that customer has been loyal and faithful to our brand that they'll continue to be. And that's where I think post covid, we saw a lot of brand loyalty really kind of fall by the wayside. It became a game of availability, and it became a game of the option of who was open and who could actually serve the need. No longer will I go to X because I've always gone to x, X may not be available, and therefore, you know, the, the pivot. And so we've got to understand and ensure that while our customer wait, may desire to be loyal out of necessity, they're going to go the path of lesser resistance. And so by the same token, they're going to go the path of lesser resistance in the way that they can obtain or make purchase. And so with, again, with being able to meet them where they are, blessing and a curse around having that automated experience where we get to see a reduction in operating cost and we get to see a faster turn of experience, but we, if we see fallout then we understand that, you know, the impact there is not where we're, we're finding the sweet spot. And so there's a lot of things that go into it, a lot of nuances and complexities. And then again, as I mentioned, you know, early on, I mean, security being front of mind, all of the data that we're collecting and assimilating in that automated experience becomes incredibly valuable to a bad actor. And we want to make sure that we're aggregating that data in a safe and secure manner so that you continue to come back and you have faith and confidence in that brand. And so, you know, a number of things that have to be built in the construct of the way that we, we have that gate for you to enter into that omnichannel experience is done with great care and feeding, because it's not set and, and walk away, we have to do. So we have to build it and then be able to sustain it and make it something that can scale. So the security aspect of it, that data that we want that's so critical to how we make decisions as an organization becomes incredibly valuable, not only to us internally, but becomes valuable to a bad actor, to a ransom actor. Hey, Wade, I'm not able to hear you. I'm sorry. I don't know if there's a.

Wade Erickson (08:55):

You know what, I was on mute. Sorry about that. So yeah, so what I was saying is that, you know, as I'm hearing both this omni-channel approach of re the store experience and the online experience, and maybe they're doing the research online and how that can transition to the in-store experience. Tell me a little bit about the, you know, the, how do you look at the features in, in building those online platforms that can transition into the, in, in-store experience, and you know, how crucial is that in how you think about the customer?

Shawna DelHierro (09:31):

Yeah, I think that the level of criticality there is very high. And I think it's one of our biggest challenges because for many companies, whether, you know, doesn't matter the size or the scale of organization, those are built on disparate platforms. You know, often we built a website we built a website with the intent for you to go online and to online shop, or we built a website for you to go and to do online research of product or of company or to see hours and operating information. We built a mobile app for you to look at information for you to do all of those same things. Perhaps one you shop and one you don't. And then we have the in-store experience, and maybe all three are on completely different operating systems. While they may talk to one another for commonality of inventory availability, you would hope they may talk to one another to have skew information, you would hope. But it doesn't mean that they're all in sync. So when you walk into the front door of a store and you've done your research online, maybe on your laptop or your tablet, and you carry your, your phone in, the ideal experience is that it tells you exactly, you know, Hey, I see that you're now in this location, thank you for visiting this store. You can actually find the product that you were just researching on aisle C 11, and you go to aisle C 11 and it says a wade, you know, on, you know, row two, you know, bin three is exactly where this product is for you. That's the ideal experience. And by the way, it's letting an associate in the store know that you're there and you might need help with this product. And it's giving them the history that you've researched already, and they know so much about you, and they know that Wade is a valuable customer and he's a loyalty customer and all of these things. That's great vision for a, a pie in the sky. Great best in class associate and customer experience. The associate is equipped to support, to provide great service, to provide an elevated experience. You've walked in, everything is exactly as it you expect it to be. You've used all of the tools and technologies at your fingertips, and you leave there with a smile on your face knowing that you have confidence in the brand, you have confidence in the product, and you've left with a great customer service experience. The challenge for us, and, and the technology on the other side of the curtain, if you will, is again, there are different phases that we've had as we've matured so that that different, that spectrum of maturation where we may have started with the brick and mortar in some cases, you have companies who started with online and then recognized they needed brick and mortar to be able to augment the experience. But nonetheless, very few. There are a couple of examples that launched and said, we're going to be a brick and mortar and online retailer, and we're going to have a mobile app and all are going to come together, and they're going to be just perfect. So there's a, a, a disjoint, if you will often in some of those, some of that experience. And that's where we find ourselves trying to remediate or patch together how we make that more seamless. And that's where AI has really been very critical and presented a great advantage. So five years ago, 10 years ago, the conversation would have been, okay, how do we rip out and replace and get all three of those on the exact same operating system? Or how do we get all three of those to have one common foundation, if you will? And now with the, with the utilization of AI, we can layer AI atop that and say, okay, if we have a, we have a customer, if we have a user, we know what they're seeking. We know what their, their appetite is for experience. We know what their appetite is for product, and what can we do amongst these three systems to be able to deliver that experience without having to completely rip and replace these systems that have been there for some time. And while not perfect it does give us the agility to, to take things that we've had, that we've invested in, and whether it's a stop gap or it's the longer term play, it helps us to deliver that better experience. And it helps us to deliver a better experience for our associates as we're making that path and bridging that gap as well. So that roadmap is still the three to five year roadmap of maybe how we get there in the way of getting to a common system, but we can do so with still delivering a better experience without having to just say, sorry, please hold on, that's coming soon. So, which was, you know, historically what you would've received from it.

Wade Erickson (14:34):

Great. Great. So the so as we talk a little bit about emerging tech, you know, how do you, how do you stay ahead of that? You know, obviously you're in a very competitive market, lots of places that you know, going back to the Sportsman's warehouse to buy outdoor equipment. How did you stay ahead of, of the competition from applying these in-store experiences or even staying online or maybe moving things to a mobile? You know, who knows, maybe we'll have wearable devices in the future, you know, so.

Shawna DelHierro (15:07):

Right. No, I think it's, I mean, I think it's a great question and I think it's a challenge for all of us as, as leaders. And that's, you know, it goes beyond just the technology leader, the operational leader. It goes, you know, to my, my CEO or my CFO, it's what are you seeing? What are you experiencing? What are you hearing? But I think, you know, it's one thing to, to consistently look at it from the advancements of technology, but it's also that totality of customer experience. And so trying to stay ahead is next to impossible. I mean, I, I spent the last couple of days at a wonderfully orchestrated CX focused event and with other leaders in the space and, you know, just talking through the same challenges and looking at some very cutting edge emerging technologies that are truly transformational and will really drive some amazing things over these next few months and years as far as customer experience that's critical. \I mean, being able just to stay with those trusted partners that are present great advisory is really important. So I've been very fortunate to have those over the course of my career. And then finding, you know, those technologies that are really pressing, you know, the limits of what has been done and what can be done and recognition that the experience has to continue to grow. It has to continue to improve. So seed seeding, seeing it, excuse me, seeing it from the pure technology play is very shortsighted. It has to be from the eyes, the lens of the customer, the consumer, and what is it that they're looking for. So sitting in that seat and looking ahead going, well, wait a minute, if I could or I want, and then kind of rolling it back, if you will. The same thing from the associate seat. I'm a huge believer and feel as though it's, it's really helped me to deliver success is that you can't have a, you can't have success if you don't focus on associate plus customer. I think we've all been there where we feel pretty good about the experience we've had in the store. I found, you know, the, I found the, the television that I wanted and okay, it's a price point that I want. It's got all the features that I want. Life is good, and I get to that point of sale and I'm ready to pay. And the associate is angry with the world because they have a terrible system. They're trying to, you know, enter my warranty or I say, I don't want warranty, or they're trying to scan the discount or whatever it is. And they're just frustrated. And now my experience has been incredibly deflated because of their frustration with the system. Not only has my experience been compromised because of that, I think differently about that retailer who's not thinking more of how to make this easy for me. Like, I've, I've done all of my part now, I just want to pay for it. I want to pay for it, and I want to be done. And so thinking through what that experience is, not just from how easy it is for me as the customer, but how should it be for the associate to help complete that transaction is really important. And I think for a long time we've missed that. You know, we had green screen point of sale and, you know, no back button or, you know, no ability to, to make it simple. And you know, I, I watched a, you know, a young lady at a, a checkout just this past weekend, and she was beyond frustrated almost to the point of tears. And it was broke my heart for her because I want to, you know, I want to fix it. And this is a very large, big box retailer. And she just, she couldn't, she was limited by the system that was in front of her. And so as we do that, we have to think about what does that mean for our brand? Because I will tell you that I left there with a very interesting perspective and opinion of that retailer's brand, for them not having any better tools or solution to make that associates experience better. Not to mention the four people that were in line behind me. So we have to, we have to get out of our seats and we have to get out of our comfort zone and start thinking more beyond just the customer. We have to think about the associate. We have to think about what that means in totality.

Wade Erickson (19:36):

Yeah. That, that, it is a great point. 'cause I think, you know, as, as the consumer, you know, we do, I think, you know, there's been such a transition, especially with Covid that, you know, where we all you know, were used to growing up with the retail experience and then online came and there was a slow transition to that because everybody wanted to touch, you know, the products and then the comfort to, they, they would research online, but then maybe go to a store to touch it. And then now I, I really see that this is the, a great opportunity for the retail, the physical locations to change that experience that you can't get online. 'cause The online experience now became the status quo. And so there's a way to, as long as you've got those locations to completely change it. And the associate is a big part of that because they're your local consultant, you know, to explain the products, you know, and the more complex, I think the product lines, which could be outdoors, maybe it's for, you know, perfumes or clothing or something like that, that associates knowledge and pre the preferences of that customer, if that could be in their hands, it can be just amazing how the sales experience works for that as combined information.

Shawna DelHierro (20:50):

Yeah. Agreed.

Wade Erickson (20:52):

So you know, we talk about artificial intelligence. We talked a little bit about that, about data. Where do you think you know, 'cause the experience when somebody comes into the store is very dynamic and, and relatively not predictable. How do you see AI and machine learning coming into some more of that both online and the in-store experience?

Shawna DelHierro (21:17):

Yeah, I think we'll just continue to see that be more invasive and pervasive. I, and I think it's becoming an expectation. If you have significant status with, you know, a said airline, I mean, I expect that whenever I call, they're going to know my name. They're going to know my, my priority number. There are certain pieces of information I don't expect that I'm ever going to tell them that's been happening for years with certain airlines, with, you know, certain retailers. Those are just basics of recognizing the phone number by which I'm calling from. Now we're starting to talk about intuitive technology, of cognitive intelligence, of using AI to infer and to look at patterns of behavior and to say, okay, well hey Wade, I realized that you've been researching this for three days online. Is this what you're calling about? And can I help you to complete that purchase without you ever having to push three buttons to get to that department? And so looking at, you know, not being into the breach of security or trust is one area that we have to be very cautious of. Because if people feel as though it's a big brother, then there's an aspect of pause and a point of contention. But there's also the area of convenience and of natural progression to complete said transaction that people want to have. And so finding that, that area, that lane to operate in with ai, because AI is as great as we can expose the information to and let it take off and mature. You know, being able to have the ability to understand voice inflection, you know, when you're calling and you're talking calmly versus when you, you are stressed hearing the difference in that and then routing your call because leaving you within an automated experience is only going to drive frustration for you. But hearing that early on will help retention of you as a customer. But if we have a flat experience that legacy IVR that we all have been, you know, banging on the 0, 0, 0, get me to agent that we've all done then we lose that customer. And so the, the beauty of AI is it gives us all of this great information consumption to be able to make the decisions that are as good or better than what a human could be a listener for. Because the benefit of AI is an ever maturing brain of hearing the inflection voice of hearing the words that are used of the patterns of behaviors, the patterns of research, the patterns of, of weather, of traffic, of different, all these consumable data elements and data points to be able to turn that into the way that they're responding to the caller, the the person coming into the store or the person who's seeking out a service or solution. So we'll continue to see that just grow and mature. And I don't believe there's a point where it will ever take the place of and totality of a human. We all seek a human experience, but we want it when we want it. Whenever I want to book an appointment, I want to do that without ever speaking to someone. Nine times out of 10 anyway I know when I want to book it, I know what I want to do, I want to schedule that and I want to move on. If I want to know the status of my order and I have my order number, I don't need to talk with someone, I just need to be able to look it up. I want to bot for that. I want a chat bot. I want to know, are my flowers going to be delivered by the end of the day that I ordered? And I haven't seen a confirmation. I don't want to call and wait on hold for someone. I want to be able to look those things up. Conversely, when my child is sick and I need to schedule an appointment and I need to know that someone understands that I need them in and I need them in, in the next couple of hours, and I want to see specific doctor, that's a different experience and I want to talk with someone. I want them to hear the need in my voice and the need of my, of my call. And so we have a need as people, as humans to be able to talk to someone and to be able to have that connection. But we have it when we want to have it. And so we've got to be able to show up and to meet our callers, our customers, our patients, our consumers in the way by which they, they seek to have that done.

Wade Erickson (26:05):

Great, great points there. So well I think we're getting closer to the end of the show, and this is where I like to pivot and talk a little bit about you know, you as a, a person in your career growth, you know, looking at your profile you know, you have worked a fair amount in retail and stuff, and you have accelerated fairly quickly to the c-suite. I thought maybe you could share a little bit about some of what, you know, what have been some of the catalysts for that growth? Was it opportunities, mentorship? Did you, you know, study certain things, focus your career? What was the catalyst for some of that you know, good growth into that c-suite?

Shawna DelHierro (26:45):

Thank you for that, that question. I I have been so incredibly fortunate and blessed. I have had great mentors over the course of, you know, especially the last 10 years, I've, I, I think early in my career, I recognized that very early in my career, I recognized that just being very aware and being a good listener being a sponge when people were talking, would get me really, really farther down the line than trying to interject to talk and to let others know what it was that I knew. And so by being an effective listener by being in pace with others that were around that I sought to learn from I really was very fortunate to learn from, from a number of people. In that I had mentors that really invested in me, that saw something that felt as though I had the potential to be in their succession plans, that I had the potential to, to grow and to lead larger teams. My passion is in seeing others grow, develop, and, and really unleash their potential. And so when I'm in that zone, I'm in that space and I can see others really start to, you know, find their own spark and really light that up. That's where I get really excited. And so I've been very fortunate that I've had people who have been able to do that, that same thing for me, and really open that space up. And, and having said that, you know, I've also had leaders who respected the element of diversity and recognize much like I do, that diversity is really what drives our ability to, to grow and to be creative. And that, you know, if you want what we've always had, then keep the voices that we've always had. But if you want to do something different, then break up some of that monotony and start to bring in voices that we've not always heard. And so bringing in people who have diverse backgrounds, who have diverse point of view, who have diverse voice or position or potential can get you into a place that you've not been. And if you're going to fail, you're going to fail fast and stand back up and hey, let's just keep going, but we're going to keep going together. And so having leaders in roles that, that recognize that certainly taught me a tremendous amount, but afforded me the bandwidth and the latitude to be able to go out and to and to grow very quickly and to build teams and to grow those teams as well. So appreciating the, the facets of, of diversity is something that's a key tenant to my, to my success and then to the success of the teams that I've built as well.

Wade Erickson (29:34):

Excellent, excellent points. So I think we're getting near the top of the hour here. Real quick, I wanted to introduce next week's show and then of course wrap and thank you for your time. So next week we have Claude Jones, VP of head of products of engineering for center a a Chris Hemsworth company. This one's a particular fun for me 'cause I've known Claude for over five years. So rarely do I get to have friends on the show. So you know, we're going to talk a little bit about some of his past history as well as what he's doing with product and engineering. Fantastic, fantastic speaker. So April 17th 9:30. So come back and see us live. So back to you Shauna. Thank you so much. This was such a great show. I think that you know, the technology in the retail space so much of has experienced that in our history of just growing up and living in America. But we really, you know, being able to look back at your perspectives on how technology is looked at, how it's applied, how things like the associate and the customer and their experience actually blends together with technology and can actually have, you know, a lot more areas for growth. And so we look forward to you know, the future with you know, bringing back people back to the stores. 'cause I, I, I know for a long time I, I didn't miss that, but I do now, I think especially with the covid hit, you know, when you couldn't go somewhere when they take that away. We really do miss it. And, and I think that that's and with maybe holograms and all kinds of stuff coming our way, I think it'll be a very fun and entertaining experience as well as just going in and getting what you want. So thank you so much. And again, see us next week.