S4:E4 Retail Transformers: Michael Zakkour In this episode of The Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden are joined by special guest Michael Zakkour, founder of 5 New Digital and author of two Amazon #1 bestselling books, to discuss the transformative power of unified and immersive commerce in the retail industry. Michael, a thought leader and practitioner in digital commerce with 25 years of experience as a CEO, CMO, and Founder, shares his extensive expertise on retail strategies, AI, the evolution of e-commerce, and the impact of video as a foundational tool for immersive commerce. Together they explore key topics such as the shift from omnichannel to unified commerce, the impact of social commerce and livestreaming from Asia on global markets, and future opportunities with AI in retail. Michael also provides practical advice for retailers to enhance both digital and physical store experiences that resonate with today's digitally savvy consumers, while aiming for higher conversions, better customer engagement, and sustainable profitability. 00:00 Show Intro 04:36 Retail Transformer - Michael Zakkour 06:42 The Evolution of Retail 12:36 Challenges in E-commerce 16:35 The Future of Immersive Commerce 26:07 Video Commerce: The Next Frontier 28:39 The Evolution of E-commerce 30:04 The Importance of Immersive Commerce 32:10 Case Study: Live Streaming Success 38:47 The Role of AI in Retail 48:04 Navigating the Future of Retail 50:57 Future Trends 58:05 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024, 2023, 2022 & 2021, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation, and director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft. Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert for 2024 and 2023, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Hestron Mimms, published by Imuno. Follow The Retail Razor Show on Social: LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazor Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazor Facebook: https://bit.ly/TRRSface Instagram: https://bit.ly/TRRSinsta Threads: https://bit.ly/TRRSthreads BlueSky: https://bit.ly/TRRSbsky Host → Ricardo Belmar Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twRBelmar Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar Co-host → Casey Golden Follow on Twitter - https://bit.ly/twCasey Connect on LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/LICasey