Shopify’s New Year commitment to cut down on the number of meetings it holds for more than two people is being touted as a successful productivity hack by the company. What do you see as the keys to raising productivity among corporate workers at retail?

The digital kitchenware site Our Place is one of the latest online-only brands to move into brick and mortar retailing. What can a brand like Our Place do to succeed and differentiate itself in a physical retail space?

This holiday season, customers might be more likely to head to an airport than a shopping mall. Thanks to an increased customer interest in traveling, some worry that retailers might find themselves with less foot traffic than they had hoped for. Do you expect retailers to take a hit this holiday season because of money being rerouted to travel?

After finding success over the last several years selling holiday-themed family pajama sets for Halloween, Christmas and Easter, The Children’s Place has launched PJ Place, a sleepwear lifestyle brand. Are pajamas a big enough opportunity for The Children’s Place to build a lifestyle brand around?

A global trend dubbed “quiet quitting” has replaced “The Great Resignation” as the latest development among disgruntled workers arising from the pandemic. Has the quiet quitting movement been caused by employees or employers?

Apple has ordered its employees back to the office, and many are not happy about it. Will companies with either full-time remote or hybrid work schedules have an advantage in recruiting and retaining white collar staff versus those with office-only policies?

“It’s slow progress, but retailers’ interest in urban corridors is returning and deal volume is inching up, while shoppers, workers, travelers and diners return to city life,” according to a new report from real estate services firm JLL. How confident are you that urban retail will soon return close to pre-pandemic levels?

Tempe, AZ, is putting the finishing touches on a planned car-free community built to let its 1,000 inhabitants live — and shop — without owning cars. Should retailers plan on revamping or tailoring concepts for walkable communities like Culdesac, and how?

To meet the shift toward remote working coming out of the pandemic, Staples launched the Work From Home Style Squad, a group of experts sharing design advice, product picks and tips to help customers reimagine their home workspaces. Which retail channel do you see gaining from the WHF trend?

A senior partner at McKinsey & Company started his presentation last week at the NRF Big Show with perhaps the biggest understatement of the year so far. He said that this is an unprecedented moment in time to be a grocer. What is your take on the themes that will have the strongest impact on the way grocery retailers operate their businesses in 2022?

Persistent disruptions in supply chains, new perspectives on worker welfare and safety, a renewed focus on food insecurity and climate change concerns will all play a role in driving food trends in 2022, according to the International Food Information Council (IFIC). Which food trends do you see emerging or accelerating in 2022?

Saks.com has launched an online shop focused on wellness as health consciousness rises amid the pandemic. Has the wellness opportunity for luxury department stores been amplified by the pandemic or was it always there?

A suburb of Salt Lake City recently revealed plans to build Utah’s first “15-minute city,” a residential planning model in which all daily necessities are accessible by foot or by bike within a quarter of an hour. How would you rate the development potential and overall appeal of 15-minute cities?

Americans need some sorting out. It would be difficult to get any other message this week with announcements from both Walmart and Target about new product line launches that their respective customers can use to organize their personal and professional lives. Do you see the home organizing products category heating up in 2022?

Open-air shopping centers — also known as strip malls and strip centers — are leading retail’s real estate recovery and building on momentum seen before the pandemic. What obvious and less obvious factors are driving the appeal of strip centers and grocery-anchored retail?

Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said earlier this year that no other retailer “has the customer data and the insights” that his company has, once again pointing to his company’s understanding of its customers. What do you see as the most important factors driving consumers’ grocery shopping behaviors at this time?

A Bank of England monetary committee member caused a stir in the U.K. media last week after saying that as more women work remotely and will likely continue to do so, there may be a “she-cession,” putting their career advancement at risk. Is the work-from-home trend a positive or negative for women’s career development and retailer’s overall gender equality goals?

A new survey found that one-third of employees would prefer an informal dress code to an extra $5,000 in salary. Do you see the pandemic becoming a milestone event accelerating the casualization of wardrobes?

The Bank of America (BofA) has identified five “megatrends” — some accelerated by the pandemic — representing tailwinds advancing sports apparel and footwear growth. Do you expect sportswear growth to outpace overall apparel and footwear categories in the years ahead?

Ron Johnson, the former CEO of J.C. Penney who also ran Apple’s retail business and was VP of merchandising at Target, thinks the retail industry is moving towards a major disruption. Do you see retail in the future combining the convenience of online shopping with high quality experiences in the homes of consumers instead of in stores?

A recent softening in the red-hot housing market and a reduction in homeowners tackling DIY projects has raised concerns about near-term growth rates for Home Depot and Lowe’s.  Do you see near-term sales pressures for home improvement chains as the U.S. economy opens up?

The casualization of office attire has morphed from “Casual Fridays” to “business casual” and now to “workleisure.” Is workleisure a new trend bound to reinvent the opportunity around business casual?

A survey of Australian adults taken in the early months of the pandemic found 84 percent believing COVID-19 will play a significant role in shaping the current generation of children. Is it practical for retailers or brands to start studying and preparing for how Generation Alpha may be impacted by the pandemic?

The wedding industry is headed for a record-breaking year due to pent-up demand for nuptials, but two trends that developed over the pandemic — micro and hybrid weddings — may put a hit on spending in the years ahead. How do you see the shift toward smaller and virtual weddings and other pandemic-related changes affecting the retail opportunity?

Tractor Supply never had to “go country” because it’s always been that way. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t welcome former denizens of the nation’s cities as customers when they move to the rural and exurban markets the retailer serves. Do you see demographic mobility trends continuing to favor Tractor Supply?

Niraj Shah, Wayfair’s CEO and co-founder, is confident that elevated demand for home goods and furniture will continue even as pandemic restrictions ease. Will strength in the home goods category continue post-pandemic and is Wayfair ideally positioned to take advantage of the momentum?

The shift to remote working due to the novel coronavirus pandemic is having a significant impact in New York City where some retailers, once dependent on working commuters, are wondering how to keep their doors open. Do you see particular retail districts in major cities significantly changing due to remote work trends?

A study says that more than four out of five of us have changed food habits during the pandemic. Food service companies are responding to these changes with new service levels, offerings and formats. Do you think restaurants and other foodservice providers have adapted well to changes brought about as a result of the pandemic?

Chewy reported its first quarterly profit yesterday and is looking for big things ahead as market trends and forecasts all appear to be going its way. Are Chewy’s 2020 results an outlier or a sign of things to come for the pet retailer?

Williams-Sonoma Inc., the parent of Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm, reported that same-store sales grew 25.7 percent in the fourth quarter and 17.0 percent in 2020 with the help of the home cooking craze. Do you see Williams-Sonoma’s banners tapping the right trends in 2021 and post-pandemic to continue to drive growth?

In normal times, sales data from the past year would identify new opportunities for innovation. What happens when almost every supermarket product saw record growth simply for being in stock?  In what ways did the pandemic muddle the traditional product development process?

After scrambling for months to meet unprecedented demand, grocers are facing new challenges as vaccines roll out and consumers return to normal spending patterns. Do you see a rocky path ahead for conventional supermarkets over the next year?

Nordstrom released news earlier this week that it has struck a deal with Tonal, the smart home gym and personal trainer device and service, to open 40 of the fitness brand’s shops in 20 states across the U.S. Do you think in-store Tonal shops will help Nordstrom position itself as a destination for athleisure products and fitness?

Simon Property Group CEO David Simon predicted a “major comeback” for suburban retail coming out of the pandemic on his company’s fourth-quarter conference call last week . Will the shift toward remote working, the reduced appeal of urban living or some other factor enhance the suburban retail opportunity, including malls?

U.S. retail sales of toys climbed 16 percent in 2020, according to NPD Group, as parents indulged their kids during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The same research organization, however, sees potential declines. Do you see many of the routines involving toys adopted during the pandemic providing enough staying power to elevate the category in the years ahead?

Nestle’s purchase of Freshly, the U.S. leader in fully-cooked meal delivery, taps into the stay-at-home dynamics of the pandemic. But will the $950-million purchase last October prove to be the vanguard of a number of other deals to come, or merely be an outlier? Has the pandemic opened up opportunities for CPG companies in fresh meal and meal kit deliveries?

During the pandemic, Lululemon Athletica’s success is clear. At the virtual NRF Big Show, an exec demonstrated that success isn’t simply a matter of happenstance. Do you think Lululemon is positioned for success even if consumers use less of their in-home time to exercise in the coming months and years?

Propelled by pandemic needs, consumer tech sales in the U.S. saw their strongest growth in 2020 in at least seven years, according to NPD Group’s “Future of Tech” forecast. How do you see the pandemic influencing consumer electronics trends this year and in the years ahead?

Dick’s Sporting Goods plans to test a new outdoors concept, called Public Lands, in 2021 as scores of Americans’ have embraced outdoor activities during the pandemic. Is now a ripe time for Dick’s to launch an outdoors-themed concept?

A sharp descent in sports event viewership ratings has led to concerns that live sports will land among the pandemic’s casualties.  What do you think are the factors driving the viewership ratings declines as sporting events returned?

Kohl’s announced plans to expand sales of activewear assortments and a new mission to become “the most trusted retailer of choice for the active and casual lifestyle.”  Does consumer interest in active and casual clothing represent a fundamental shift in behavior or a temporary response to current circumstances?

Staycations — basically, vacations nearby where you live — have become a global trend in 2020 due to social distancing concerns and travel bans in response to the coronavirus pandemic.  What tips do you have for retailers and brands looking to benefit from the staycation trend?

Fleeing residents, empty offices and tourists made scarce by the pandemic are causing wide ranging debates on how steep a recovery cities are facing. How serious a threat is COVID-19 to the viability of cities and the retailers doing business in them?

Food trucks, the darlings of urban-dwelling foodies and office workers looking for quick lunch options, have hit the road in search of customers, and some are finding them in nearby suburbs. Do you expect food trucks to continue to expand their routes into suburban areas after the pandemic has passed?

Sur La Table found a buyer at a bankruptcy court auction and so will get a chance to take advantage of the resurgence in home cooking amid the pandemic.  Is Sur La Table primed to take advantage of current market realities as-is or does it need to reposition itself?

Meal kits have undergone a quick resurgence during the pandemic as families under lockdown rediscover home cooking and seek to avoid supermarket runs. How should meal kit companies position their services to capture or recapture customers amid the pandemic?

Many members of Gen-Z, already struggling with adolescence, now have to add COVID-19 to the mix. How do you see COVID-19 affecting the Gen-Z consumer, particularly teenagers and young adults, in the near term?

During a global health and financial-solvency crisis like COVID-19, tone-deaf messages will sound like nails on a chalkboard to consumers, threatening to imperil a company’s brand equity long after the dark days have passed. What do you think is going on in the minds of consumers right now?

A new study finds only 42 percent of owners and managers of independent liquor stores see them as viable in the long term. Do independent wine and liquor stores need to reinvent themselves for Millennials and Gen-Z?

For all the talk about the changing consumer behavior, it turns out that Millennials aren’t all that much different than past generations. They just don’t have as much disposable income. What do you see as the most significant changes in consumer behavior over the past 10 to 20 years in the U.S.?