PSFK's PurpleList

TOURISTS is currently one of the hottest hospitality names around—so it might come as a surprise that its acclaim and success far exceeded its creators’ expectations. In this show, PSFK founder Piers Fawkes interviews the brand to learn about the elevated motel’s organic evolution from ’60s motor lodge to modern country lifestyle experience, and what its popularity says about emerging traveler desires in the era of Airbnb. TOURISTS

Gen Z responds to brands that have meaningful, clear messages. Now Blume, a subscription-based self-care brand, is changing the conversation around menstruation by delivering both stress-free products and valuable information about periods to teens and young women, many of whom have questions about their bodies. PSFK spoke with Blume’s CEO and co-founder Taran Ghatrora about her brand’s commitment to its audience, de-stigmatizing menstruation and building trust among its subscribers.

Gen Z is the next influential consumer class, and the first truly digital native generation. Growing up in a climate of interconnectivity and on-demand capabilities, this generation has unique needs, values and expectations that are driving new forms of commerce from innovative brands and retailers. In this show, PSFK explores this generation further, validating our deep-dive research with a custom, original consumer survey, to provide brands and retailers with a strategic framework to transform their experience and engage with this new generation of consumers. Listen in for key insights into developing a brand ecosystem that meets Gen Z’s expectations and fosters a long-term relationship based on values like authenticity and a common purpose. 

Misfits Market’s premise is simple: to ship a box of “ugly” produce to subscribers at their preferred frequency, and for prices that are often much lower than a grocery store’s. Sourcing the cast-aside yet perfectly good produce at the farm, the online-only service helps curb waste as well as enable greater accessibility to a wide range of consumers with organic choices and low costs. In this show, PSFK sat down with Abhi Ramesh, the service’s founder, to find out how the company is growing into a brand that’s making a positive impact on the world, one ugly vegetable at a time.

Shopper expectations are changing when it comes to all aspects of the food service experience. In the market of fast-casual and fast food, speed and convenience are a major priority for consumers. The industry is struggling to make transactions that are meeting consumers through the various channels that they wish to engage through, from mobile apps to self-service kiosks and beyond. In this show, PSFK President of Research and Strategy Scott Lachut and Senior Strategist Penn Whaling highlight findings from our latest research on how to perfectly deliver on personal tastes. Listen as they explain why consumers are aiming for choice and flexibility when it comes to ordering food, and how that translates in the new technologies and operational processes at the forefront of fast-casual innovation, from on-demand mobile platforms to greater personalization.

One could say that shopping today is less social than ever—an activity that was once an inherently community-driven interaction. In the world of late-night Amazon clicks, the nature of retail has become increasingly flexible and isolating. Enter Dote, a social shopping platform that aims to use today’s advanced mobile technology to enable shopping that mimics the malls of yesteryear—but for a digital-first audience. In this show, PSFK speaks to Dote’s CEO and founder, Lauren Farleigh, to find out how the one-stop-shop mobile app effectively creates a digital content hub on members’ profiles where they can build lists, quizzes, polls and more to share and consider purchases with the Dote community, and engage in live shopping parties. Farleigh touches on her inspiration from the early gaming world as well as her upbringing as an early adopter of online shopping. Dote

In the current market defined by increased choice and product commoditization, traditional loyalty programs don’t hold the same appeal or value to consumers that they used to. Today’s customers are increasingly seeking personalized engagement, emotional connection and ultimately an exceptional experience from the brands and retailers they interact with, moving beyond the product or service and focusing on the holistic value proposition. In this show, PSFK President of Research and Strategy Scott Lachut and Senior Strategist Penn Whaling share insights from our latest report, the Loyalty Debrief, to explain why the ‘one size fits all’ idea of loyalty doesn’t work today and has been replaced by relevance, with retailers treating loyalty programs as an entry-point for consumers into the brand ecosystem. Listen to PSFK explain consumers’ changing expectations, the challenges facing brands and retailers and best practices for cultivating loyalty in today’s market. To download the full report, click here. Lead image: Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

In this show, PSFK speaks to sustainable & organic beauty brand Seed Phytonutrients to learn how the shift in natural beauty and personal care distribution channels has the potential to benefit everyone, from farmers and brands to consumers and the environment. Listen to the company’s founder Shane Wolf explain his commitment to environmental sustainability, organic farming and seed diversity, and how it’s led to customer loyalty and distribution relationships with retailers from Aerie and Whole Foods to Sephora and Neiman Marcus. Seed Phytonutrients

With new technologies and in-store analytics, retailers have greater opportunity than ever to use customer data to improve their experience and ultimately drive sales. In this show, PSFK researchers explain how leading retailers are leveraging in-store insights to create a two-way value exchange between brand and consumer. Drawn from PSFK’s in-depth Shopper Data Debrief report, listen to president of Research and Strategy Scott Lachut and Senior Strategist Penn Whaling explain how retailers are using analytics and connected technologies to offer shoppers a superior customer experience, illustrating their use of recognition, tailored recommendations and promotions, and merchandising and store design through case studies and best-in-class examples. For the full report, download the Shopper Data Debrief today. Lead image: stock photos from VGstockstudio/Shutterstock

Today’s consumers, retailers and investors alike are more concerned than ever with the sustainability of their products and services. From environmental concerns to human rights issues, retailers are increasingly finding ways to integrate sustainability into their production processes in ways that create positive feedback loops, uniting purpose with their brand in a seamless and self-reinforcing manner. In this show, PSFK speaks to Afdhel Aziz, founder of brand consultancy and incubator Conspiracy of Love, about how he helps Fortune 500 brands like Adidas, Facebook, Bacardi, Mars and Coty, as well as culture creators and non-profits, to generate business by doing good—and harnessing the power of cool. Conspiracy of Love

As weddings, the people they unite and what they stand for continue to evolve, digital planning platform Zola aims to consolidate the process with today’s betrothed in mind. In this show, Zola brand director, Jennifer Spector, speaks to PSFK about how the site simplifies the often complicated wedding planning process, building its functionalities around consumer feedback, needs and lifestyles. Offering everything from helping to-be-weds make easy events websites to organizing their guest lists and even automatically sending thank you notes, the company is now offering customers a brick-and-mortar space in New York City—which earned it the nickname the “Apple Store of weddings.” Zola Lead image: stock photos from Fotos593/Shutterstock

Consumer expectations have changed when it comes to how they discover and buy products and services, increasingly demanding personalized and curated purchase and ownership experiences. This applies to the automotive space as well, but is something car brands often fall short on delivering. In this show, PSFK Senior Strategist Penn Whaling and Strategist Conner Dial share highlights from PSFK’s Automotive Debrief, explaining how automotive retailers can better enable customers to discover and purchase online as well as enjoy digitally integrated ownership, catering to the immersive digital path to purchase that customers have come to expect and creating shopping experiences in line with today’s omnichannel retail landscape. Lead image: stock photos from Maksym Povozniuk/Shutterstock

As the CBD space continues to boom, some consumers still feel as though they lack reputable resources to turn to for quality and safe experiences. The Fleur Marché, a hyper-curated, online-only platform for wellness-focused luxury CBD products, hopes to change this, parlaying its founders’ experience from their work with Goop into a trustworthy resource for CBD-curious women who aren’t quite converts yet. In this show, PSFK speaks to the luxury CBD platform’s founders to get a glimpse at how the site differentiates itself in the quickly evolving cannabis retail space, combining consumer needs with CBD’s best applications for a curated and quality experience.

Shoppers have new expectations for the store experience today, inreasingly demanding options like high-touch design, one-to-one service and flexible fulfillment from their retail journey. This show, drawn from PSFK’s Store Experience Design Debrief report, explores  how leading brands are accordingly reimagining brick and mortar in the age of ecommerce, appealing to new consumer values. Listen as three core members of the PSFK team outline the major pillars for retailers to keep in mind as they rethink store experience design, and ensure that the physical channel remains a successful way to engage shoppers. Take a listen through six main insights into why customers still care about the store in the age of commerce. For the full report, download here today: Store Experience Design Debrief. Lead image: stock photos from Zapp2Photo/Shutterstock

In this show, made in partnership with the IPG Media Lab, a group of experts from leading brands explores social media as a key retail strategy for engaging and connecting with consumers, for startups and legacy brands alike. Hear from executives at Reddit, Floyd, Snapchat and Johnson & Johnson about how today’s consumers want to interact with brands, the importance of establishing a one-to-one connection, the future of visual search and much more.