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Trader Joe's and Barneys launch podcasts

May 7, 2018Written by Tom Ryan

Source: The Barneys Podcast/Apple Podcasts

Trader Joe's wants to explain while Barneys New York looks to inspire as each launch their first podcasts. As part of a five-part series, Trader Joe’s executives and store captains “open up about the way the retailer does business, what sets it apart from other grocers, where and how it discovers its products and what customers can expect in the future,” according to a release. Topics include the shortage of parking at many locations, whether or not online selling is planned, and what listeners need to do to recruit a Trader Joe's to their neighborhood. Said Trader Joe's spokesperson Kenya Friend-Daniel, "Inside Trader Joe's has allowed us the air — literally — to delve a little deeper into our story and to answer the questions our customers have asked of us, in our own fun and interesting way. It's a good start to a conversation we hope to continue." Barneys is taking a different approach with its eight-episode podcast. The series “celebrates fashion, style, culture — and most of all, personality” using interviews with related artists. In the first blog, Daniella Vitale, the first female CEO in Barneys’ 95-year history, speaks with artist and poet Cleo Wade about women's issues and leadership. Designer Rick Owens, celebrity hair stylist Sally Hershberger, and chief content officer of Teen Vogue Phillip Picardi are also interviewed. Said Ms. Vitale. "Being at the center of the creative and fashion worlds, Barneys New York has so many stories to tell." Once rarely used by retailers, podcasts are growing in popularity. According to Edison Research, 24 percent of the U.S. population listened to podcasts on a monthly basis in 2017, up from 12 percent in 2013. Millennials and Gen-X members are the most frequent listeners. An infographic from Concordia University finds the growth being driven by the ubiquity of smartphones, online music services and time spent in transit. Multitasking potential as well as the “brain stimulating and addictive effects” of audio listening were also found to drive podcast’s appeal. A study from the Cultural Orientation Resource Center found that the retention rate of auditory learning is two-times higher than reading and four-times higher than attending a lecture.

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