{"id":8209,"date":"2022-12-29T23:12:49","date_gmt":"2022-12-29T23:12:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/the-backroom-ushering-in-the-new-year-with-doug-stephens\/"},"modified":"2022-12-29T23:12:49","modified_gmt":"2022-12-29T23:12:49","slug":"the-backroom-ushering-in-the-new-year-with-doug-stephens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmsretail.com\/RetailNews\/the-backroom-ushering-in-the-new-year-with-doug-stephens\/","title":{"rendered":"The Backroom: Ushering in the new year with Doug Stephens"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Welcome to The Backroom, a window into what goes on behind the scenes as the Retail Dive team covers the stories and trends reshaping retail. You can check out all our podcast episodes (past and present) here\u00a0and listen on Apple Podcasts,\u00a0Stitcher,\u00a0iHeartRadio\u00a0and Spotify.\u00a0<\/em>\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As vaccines tempered the worst crisis of the pandemic, people got out of the house, refreshed their closets and enthusiastically shopped in brick-and-mortar stores. Retailers had a rough 2022 nevertheless, as household budgets were squeezed by rising prices on essentials, and as the pandemic continued to cause trouble throughout the supply chain.<\/p>\n

But the industry\u2019s predicament is not just about inflation. Through their spending behavior this year \u2014 and they did continue to spend\u00a0\u2014 consumers made clear that, when prioritizing their discretionary funds, they often value experiences over goods. In this episode, Daphne Howland sits down with industry expert Doug Stephens, as the two have done at year\u2019s end for a while now, to uncover how this matters to retailers, why experiential retail is definitely not about the metaverse, the new era at Amazon and more. Thanks for listening and happy new year.<\/p>\n