PROFILE
Patricia Vekich Waldron
Contributing Editor, RetailWire; Founder and CEO, Vision First
For over two decades, Patricia has lived at the crossroads of consumers, technology, and data. Her track record is filled with the stories of companies who have, with her help, differentiated themselves through innovative strategies, solutions, and marketing initiatives.
Patricia is CEO and Founder of Vision First an advisory firm that helps companies stand out in a crowded market where many are vying for visibility. She is known for identifying new market opportunities to drive growth, launching, repositioning offerings, and showing up differently in the marketplace.
Patricia speaks at global industry events, including World Retail Congress, Consumer Goods Forum, Retail Leaders Forum, and the National Retail Federation (NRF) and is well known by clients, partners, press, and analysts around the world.
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- Posted on: 01/26/2023
Mobile clinics could make Dollar General a medical destination point
Making healthcare more convenient and cost-effective, especially in severely underserved markets where DG has a presence, is a smart strategy. Whether customers will trust DG and a third party when there is aggressive expansion from other brands more well known in the space will be interesting to see. - Posted on: 01/25/2023
Will consumer anger drive down inflation?
Pricing (and profits) is always a flash point, especially during inflationary times. Consumers can understand (but dislike) price increases, and will buy less or trade down to compensate, but do not want to feel gouged by companies paying executives big bonuses. - Posted on: 01/24/2023
Amazon looks to undercut rivals with monthly Rx prescription plan
This is the biggest bet yet in Amazon’s long term strategy of dominating categories one-by-one. It will be very attractive to consumers, incite competitors to react and generally drive change and lower prices at a time when healthcare is top of mind for many. It remains to be seen if it will be profitable to Amazon in the short-and longer-term. - Posted on: 01/20/2023
Are CVS and Walgreens prepared to be at the center of the abortion debate?
CVS and Walgreens are absolutely right to fulfill legally prescribed medications for customers. They will also need to provide a professional and safe environment for customers when they pick up these medications, so processes for managing staff, other customers and critics will need to be developed and put into place. - Posted on: 01/19/2023
Retailers should be prepping now for economic recovery
It takes much more time and effort to ramp up than it does to pull back. Retailers should always be investing in people, especially given tight labor market. - Posted on: 01/17/2023
Is culture the key to Target’s success?
How one executes is just as important as the strategy itself. Target was able to see and act quickly during the pandemic, taking steps to ensure its teams and guests were both top-of-mind when setting policy and operations, and it has paid off! - Posted on: 01/12/2023
Study says retail jobs are just the worst
I’m wondering why "bad customer behavior" isn't in the list of reasons why store-level jobs can be unpleasant? Dealing with rudeness exacerbates all the other factors mentioned. - Posted on: 01/11/2023
Will job cuts spur growth for McDonald’s?
It is a sound strategy, where more restaurants will be needed to serve guests via the 3Ds (Digital, Delivery, Drive-Thru) initiative. - Posted on: 01/10/2023
Do drinking and shopping mix?
I expect more malls to integrate food and beverages into the shopping experience as restaurants, bars and coffeehouses become big draws to these venues. - Posted on: 12/29/2022
The winner of the 2022 RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge is…
Publix and Kroger are the best at showing how food connects us, especially at holiday time. - Posted on: 12/22/2022
SPAR Ireland is all about ‘finding Christmas’ and Walmart looks at ‘all the ways we holiday’
Both were well done, but Walmart gets my vote because it reflects their offerings and continues the diversity that was featured in their FIFA World Cup commercials. - Posted on: 12/16/2022
Will in-store pickup make livestream shopping more attractive to Americans?
The energy and excitement of livestreaming will absolutely drive in-store pickup sales! Before producing events retailers will need to put inventory and staffing plans into place to deliver on-demand. - Posted on: 12/07/2022
The sky won’t fall, and other retail predictions for 2023
The middle-ground has always been the least effective place for retailers. - Posted on: 12/06/2022
Aldi UK vs. Lidl (Germany) match up in the RetailWire Christmas Commercial Challenge
Not my favorite pair of challengers but I give my vote to Kevin the Carrot. - Posted on: 12/05/2022
Best Buy’s virtual store pilot earns high customer satisfaction scores
I totally agree that virtual pop-ups are a great way to showcase new products!
