The cultural forces shaping tomorrow’s consumer

Episode transcript, edited for clarity

[00:00:01] Cassandra: Creating joyous experiences is going to be really huge. We call it “strategic joy.” You might have heard us say “glimmers” in the past, “micro moments of joy.” It’s so important as a conversion tool to get consumers to spend time, money, energy with you in a world where there’s endless choice because they want to feel something. Sensorially, they want to touch and feel and interact. 

[00:00:24] They want that human element, and they want to have an escape from the difficulties of daily life. And so the retail store becomes a social hub. The retail store becomes an escapist, nostalgic experience. The retail hub becomes perhaps a place to forge friendships and meet people and have a coffee. 

[00:00:43] Bill: Welcome to Retail Gets Real, where we hear from retail’s most fascinating leaders about the industry that impacts everyone, everywhere, every day. I’m Bill Thorne from the National Retail Federation, coming to you from NRF 2026: Retail’s really Big Show in New York City. 

[00:01:02] And on today’s episode, we’re talking once again to Cassandra Napoli, the head of marketing events and culture forecasting for WGSN. We’re going to talk to Cassandra about the key emerging trends for the coming year, and how retailers can future-proof their businesses. Cassandra, welcome back to Retail Gets Real. 

[00:01:22] Cassandra: Thank you. Thanks for having me. 

[00:01:24] Bill: So this is becoming an annual event, just like the Big Show, and I can’t think of any reason why we wouldn’t do it again and again and again because it’s very interesting. Your background, your knowledge, your expertise, and looking forward. And that’s what we always need to do, is looking forward. We can look at the now. We can look at the new, but we always got to look at what’s going to happen in the future. Is there anything shocking and/or surprising after we talked in 2025 that actually shook things up last year? 

[00:01:55] Cassandra: I think the obvious is tariffs. 

[00:01:57] Bill: Oh, tariffs. Yeah. That shook things indeed. 

[00:02:00] Cassandra: I almost felt like at the time, when the pandemic had hit in 2020, it shook everything up. And that’s not something you can necessarily plan for as a trend forecaster. You can take steps to future-proof in times of uncertainty, and that’s things like scenario planning and foresight and using all these tools as insights into future-proofing your business, but tariffs felt similar on a smaller scale, course. 

[00:02:27] Bill: I totally agree, Cassandra. I’ve been talking about that. It was like we went through the pandemic. It was shocking. We had to move and do things and pivot and plan in ways that we never have before. And it’s a repeat of that to some degree. All of a sudden, a core part of your business is being impacted in a very big way. And so there were a lot of learnings from the pandemic. Do you think they were applied this time around? 

[00:02:53] Cassandra: Yeah. I think people have learned to be more adaptable. We call it “resilient adaptation” at WGSN. It’s actually a key emotion we’ve forecasted for 2027. So it’s obviously hitting a bit earlier. But resilient adaptation is important because there are going to be lots of things that come up that you don’t account for. 

[00:03:14] We live in a really volatile market geopolitically, and every day it feels like there’s something new almost, and connecting in chaos and just the uncertainty and volatility of it all. And I think it wasn’t as large scale as the pandemic, obviously. The pandemic, it changed how we work, how we live, how we play, how we— 

[00:03:33] Bill: How we think. 

[00:03:33] Cassandra: Everything. Yeah. But tariffs from a consumer lens really did change how they invest their time, how they invest in brands, what they can and cannot afford at the grocery store. At every level of cost, it reoriented how they think, from a consumer lens. And then obviously on the business side, it changed everything, as you mentioned earlier. 

[00:03:54] And businesses had to be adaptable and figure out things along the way. But I think the consumer element was what was most interesting to me because it reoriented how they prioritize their costs and how they navigate life. Are they still willing to dine out? Going to work means maybe packing a lunch. What does that do to local restaurants? So all of these things had knock-on effects to how we live our lives, and that’s really what the curve trend forecasting, what I do, is. 

[00:04:22] Bill: It’s interesting because you think— so there was the pandemic, obviously, that changed the consumer psyche, obviously. To your point, it changed everything. But before that, it was the Great Recession. 

[00:04:32] So you had the Great Recession, and coming out of the Great Recession, it not only impacted the people that were paying the bills at the time, but the children watching the people paying the bills and how they talked and how they reacted and reacted. You got this sense of a consumer that is a lot more strategic and thoughtful about their spend, and that went to their children as well. 

[00:04:50] Cassandra: I think I was a child during the recession in 2008, was in high school. I noticed what was happening. My sister was like core millennial. So a core millennial graduated into that Great Recession. She inherited a terrible market, no jobs, that sort of thing. And so I think that wired my brain as just a normal consumer. My consumer brain, it wired it. 

[00:05:13] And it’s interesting because I’m a consumer forecaster, so I notice that young people, they’re watching their parents during this time, even people that I know that have young kids. And these kids are going to have different psyches to things like cost, to volatility. 

[00:05:30] They’re living in an uncertain time. That’s their normal, is uncertainty for young Alpha today. Think about that. What is that going to do to how their relationships with brands, their relationships with other consumers, how they forge friendships, how they move into education? 

[00:05:47] Will they go to college? Is it worth it? So it has all these knock-on effects long term, and I think that’s what’s going to be really exciting as a consumer forecaster to unpack, I guess, in the next 10 years or so, is like, what will this do to the Alpha psyche? 

[00:06:01] Bill: The Alphas. Are we already there? 

[00:06:03] Cassandra: Zero to 16. 

[00:06:04] Bill: I’m not ready for that. All right. Let me ask you this question. Is going to be Alpha, Beta? 

[00:06:09] Cassandra: Yeah. So Alphas are one to 16 right now, and Betas have just started being born in 2025. In the presentation I gave today, we have this idea of fragmented identities, though. So the idea is that there’s not going to be one monolith consumer group that is 15 years spans anymore because of tech acceleration. 

[00:06:30] The pace of culture and the pace of technology are just too great to make it make sense that somebody born in 2025 and somebody born in 2040, which would technically be the Betas, are going to have that much in common. At the same time, we call it a trend tension at WGSN. Two things can be true at the same time. 

[00:06:51] We’re looking at psychographics instead of demographics increasingly too. So people that share life stage and share commonalities and interests might span multiple generations. So a Boomer and an Alpha might have a lot in common actually, based on how they view the internet and what their algorithm looks like or something like that. 

[00:07:10] So that’s an interesting thing to unpack as well in elements. So demographic’s getting shorter, but also demographic’s moving into more important, the psychographic, the life stage. Because we call it “lifestyle dipping.” Young people dipping into lots of different things or older people too, dipping into lots of different things in terms of lifestyle, that might connect them to different generations that they aren’t actually a part of. 

[00:07:32] Bill: So interesting. So let’s set AI aside. We’ll get to it. We always get to it. But what are some emerging trends right now that retailers should be watching for? 

[00:07:43] Cassandra: I think drivers, more than trends, are probably what retailers should be paying attention to. And it’s things like culture, things like community. We’re living in a loneliness epidemic amongst young people. There’s a happiness crisis. Young people have never been more lonely, and that’s really sad to think about that. There’s all this data that points to the fact that digital has actually made them less likely to forge in-real-life relationships. They’re not dating. 

[00:08:07] Bill: What? 

[00:08:07] Cassandra: Yeah, there’s big, big data happening around that, where there’s a lot of studies emerging talking about how young people just don’t want to date. They don’t date because there’s this element of, they don’t know how, because they haven’t forged actual relationships in real life. 

[00:08:25] Bill: Cassandra, that is so sad. 

[00:08:27] Cassandra: So sad. Yeah. Mm-hmm. 

[00:08:28] Bill: And it’s proven. This is happening. 

[00:08:31] Cassandra: It’s happening. Trends are not monoliths. It’s not happening everywhere. It’s not— 

[00:08:37] Bill: To everyone. 

[00:08:37] Cassandra: It’s not every single person’s experience. There’s nuance. But generally, young people are dating less. They’re having less romantic relationships, and they’re generally more lonely. They think that Alphas will probably have more loneliness because of the reliance on technology. 

[00:08:52] Technology is two-fold. It can be great. It can connect people over shared interests. It can make the world seem really small. At the same time, it prevents in-real-life interaction at times. And so third spaces, fourth spaces increasingly becoming very, very important. So third spaces being spaces outside of work and home where we spend time to socialize, coffee shops. Hobby-based places to hang out have emerged in New York quite a bit. 

[00:09:18] There’s mahjong game spaces where you can go. I presented that today. I think it’s called the Green Tile [Social] Club downtown. And you can go and play mahjong with other people. There’s chess groups. There’s run clubs. There’s all these sorts of things that are allowing people to come together and have something called collective effervescence, which is that harmony of experiencing something in real life with others. 

[00:09:43] Bill: That doesn’t include bars, I’m assuming. 

[00:09:45] Cassandra: Bars too, but bars are actually— so again, zooming out, young people are drinking less. So the bars have had to evolve and adapt. And so a lot of mocktails bars. And in New York, we’re starting to see the rise of daytime partying thrive quite a bit because wellness is so important that people don’t want to stay up late because they want to do skincare routines. So the party starts at seven o’clock instead of 11 o’clock now. 

[00:10:12] Bill: That is fantastic. Yeah, there’s no party in my house after 11 o’clock. That’s for sure. It is interesting. And again, you’re looking to the future. You’re not looking at the now, but what can be and what you expect it to be. How can retailers future-proof themselves to address this new consumer or this new psyche that the consumer brings to their buying habits? 

[00:10:38] Cassandra: Yeah, I think co-creation is an element here that’s going to be increasingly important. We’ve seen that throughout the last five, 10 years where friends will have one-off experiences where they invite the customer in. They can design something or there’s contest to create the best product and then they go with that one who wins. 

[00:10:55] But really co-creation, really forging emotional relationships with consumers is going to be incredibly important in a world where there’s just so much choice and where attention is really the ultimate commodity. I think also, aligning with some of the key emotions that WGSN has forecasted. 

[00:11:13] So creating joyous experiences is going to be really huge. We call it “strategic joy.” You might have heard us say “glimmers” in the past, “micro moments of joy.” It’s so important as a conversion tool to get consumers to spend time, money, energy with you in a world where there’s endless choice because they want to feel something. Sensorially, they want to touch and feel and interact. 

[00:11:37] They want that human element, and they want to have an escape from the difficulties of daily life. And so the retail store becomes a social hub. The retail store becomes an escapist, nostalgic experience. The retail hub becomes perhaps a place to forge friendships and meet people and have a coffee. 

[00:11:55] Bill: Right. 

[00:11:56] Cassandra: All of these things are driven by that appetite to feel joy and to feel maybe a bit of rest and rejuvenation as well. 

[00:12:06] Bill: We’ve talked in the past. There are retailers that have established a retail approach to address certain people that have some commonalities that others may not have. So shaping a community, is it being that niche, or do you have to think more broad? 

[00:12:25] Cassandra: No, we’re actually saying niche is the new normal. So niche interests are going to continue to thrive, and I think it’s driven by our algorithmic society that we live in. Our algorithms all look different. 

[00:12:36] Bill: I knew we’d get there. 

[00:12:37] Cassandra: Yeah. But what I find cool might not be what another person of the same demographic as me finds cool. 

[00:12:45] Bill: Yeah, yeah. 

[00:12:46] Cassandra: You look at the youth culture today, what is determined as cool is so fragmented, and there’s so many different versions of cool. Your brand has to figure out what makes sense for your core customer and then go after that niche. Could be trainspotting. I always give that example. 

[00:13:01] I talked about it multiple times today, where there was a guy on TikTok during the pandemic. He was a trainspotter. Everyone loved him. If I told my mom and dad about that, they’d be like, “What? What trainspotter? Who is that?” But because I’m immersed in that world, I know him. I value his opinion, that sort of thing. That’s the psyche of young people in terms of their parasocial relationships with these niche communities online. 

[00:13:24] And so if you can organically and naturally tap into that in a way that makes sense for your brand, it’s not about tapping into multiple niches or being everywhere all at once. It’s being a bit selective and going after and adding value to the community because it’s not just about noise anymore. We don’t need more noise. We want “ping minimalism.” We want less noise. So it’s about adding true value where you can show up in spaces that makes sense. 

[00:13:49] Bill: So playing off of that, how about influencers? We talk a lot about influencers, and I’m just curious as to whether or not that continues to grow in importance or if it’s like, “Eh, they’ve found their peak and now they’ve got to look somewhere else.” 

[00:14:06] Cassandra: My bet would be that. I’ve covered the creator economy for the last 10 years, and I think it’s growing and ever more important than ever. I think in recent years we’ve seen creators become the ultimate tastemakers. They’re brands in their own right. Honestly challenging some of the big brands probably here today at this conference. 

[00:14:25] Retail of the future probably hinges on brands that are attached to communities, identity, people like Alix Earle. She’s one of the biggest creators right now online. She’s got very, very loyal fans. If she had a brand that could translate those fans into passive customers and active — not even passive customers, active customers — that would translate to a lot of sales. 

[00:14:51] And so that’s one element. I think we’ve seen it, like, politically. If you zoom out and look at the political landscape this year or the 2025, we saw creators becoming full-fledged broadcasters in the political sphere. They were invited into the White House to be a part of a conference dedicated to the creator economy during the last administration. 

[00:15:11] I’m pretty sure they enlisted a young man to be the voice of the youth, from a content creator perspective, at the conventions that happened and the lead up to the election. It’s being taken very, very seriously from a macro lens in that regard. 

[00:15:27] And then I think also we’re in a world where AI — I know we said we would get here, but AI is coming and AI personalities are here. And I think that there’s a big aversion to it amongst many young people where they— 

[00:15:40] Bill: Aversion. 

[00:15:41] Cassandra: Yeah. Where they don’t want to talk to somebody that doesn’t exist. They don’t want to follow people that— some do, but I think that there’s this emerging backlash towards it, and the human becomes the new luxury at that point. So human elements, human connection, human community, I think that’s why someone like Alix tends to resonate because she is quite human. 

[00:16:01] She shows when she has a breakout, and she’s very down to earth about things, and young people like that. And so if that can become a brand, that translates to sales, and that takes some market share away from established brands that are here probably today. So I think the future of retail is really, a part of that is the creator economy and translating some of those personalities into massive brands in their own right. 

[00:16:27] Bill: All right, let’s talk about artificial intelligence since we keep winding our way back to artificial intelligence. Futuristic or in looking at the future and in retail, how is AI going to change how we do business? 

[00:16:44] Cassandra: Oh, in many ways it’s already starting. I think what’s interesting is that AI is as unintelligent as it ever will be. It will get more intelligent. 

[00:16:52] Bill: Yes, for sure. 

[00:16:53] Cassandra: I gave the example earlier today when I was talking, where it’s like, you ever call a call center and you have an AI bot on there and they’re talking to you and you are just like, “Representative, representative?” 

[00:17:06] Bill: Yeah, 0, 0, 0, 0. 

[00:17:08] Cassandra: Yeah. And then it’s like, “You are being recorded.” And it’s like, please, let me speak to somebody. And it’s probably a bit more colorful than that because you’re just so angry at that moment. That is just such a hiccup in the experience journey. If I order something and it doesn’t show up or it’s wrong and I want to talk to a human and I can’t, and the AI is not understanding me, that is such a hiccup to my experience. 

[00:17:31] I don’t want to be a part of that experience. I don’t want to shop there anymore. And so we’re in this era where there are a lot of hiccups still. It is not perfect, I think. In a world where AI comes into play and it aids our experience and it aids convenience and it becomes embedded for efficiency, I think that’s where it adds value. 

[00:17:52] I think we’re in this sort of era where we’re experimenting, a lot of retailers and brands, whether that’s marketing or at retail. And I think what’s interesting at WGSN, we talk about the harmony of convergence, meaning human intelligence and artificial intelligence have to be in the same experience. Otherwise it doesn’t work. 

[00:18:13] And it’s about using AI to aid efficiency and to make things easier on your teams for the consumer, whatever it is. But it’s about still doubling down on the things that humans are really great at, which is emotional resonance, which is empathy, which is creativity. And I don’t think that you will ever replicate any of that with a machine. I think going forward, that harmony is going to be crucial for scale and survival. 

[00:18:38] Bill: All right. So AI, it’s the disruptor. It’s going to be around. There are other things. So if you look at 2026, what is the most fascinating thing or the disruption that you think is going to be at our doorstep? 

[00:18:52] Cassandra: Actually, it’s no tech at all. 

[00:18:54] Bill: What? 

[00:18:54] Cassandra: Yeah, I think a lot of young people have pioneered a movement offline. The great offline is what we called it. They are adopting dumbphones. They are purposely opting out of the internet. Again, not everyone. This is not all of Gen Z feels this way, but it was a fringe movement a couple years ago, and it’s growing in prominence. 

[00:19:15] A lot of Alphas recognize the threats that the internet is doing to them. A lot of parents have influenced — millennials are now aware of what growing up online means, so they’re trying to help their kids not have that same experience. So I think as Betas are born too, so in the next couple of years, they’ll have perhaps screen-free childhoods perhaps, because it is seen as a wellness tool to help people— 

[00:19:41] Bill: Mental wellness tool. 

[00:19:42] Cassandra: Again, combating that loneliness, circling back to the beginning. At the same time, we’re seeing more technology roll out where we’re talking about screen-fluid futures at WGSN, where streaming becomes social media and social media creators become broadcasters that arc into streaming sites. 

[00:20:00] So we are moving into a world where two things exist at the same time, but my interest really is in the offline movement because it does feel really fresh. It feels exciting to me as a trend forecaster because it does feel like perhaps this is a larger shift where things might move in a different direction in the coming years. Not for everyone. Not every day perhaps. Maybe this is like detoxing once in a while. We’re starting to see it emerge in travel where there’s resorts that don’t allow cell phones. 

[00:20:28] Bill: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

[00:20:28] Cassandra: Take, perhaps inspired by “White Lotus.” I don’t know if you saw that, but they take your phone there. That is a real thing that’s happening. There’s phone-free islands. I think it’s off of Finland. There’s an island that doesn’t allow your phone to exist. 

[00:20:43] Bill: I need to live there. 

[00:20:44] Cassandra: Yeah. So this is really interesting. It will have lifestyle impacts across lots of different industries. 

[00:20:49] Bill: That is exciting. The problem is that I’m a boomer. I admit it. I’m a boomer. But I get so frustrated when you’re in a meeting and everybody’s got a phone. I get very frustrated when I get sucked into that rabbit hole of watching reels or whatever and then trying to determine is that real or is it not real? It’s like alcohol-free January. We should just have no-electronics February. That would be absolutely glorious. 

[00:21:22] Cassandra: I think about going offline all the time, but my job is so intrinsically linked. Culture is everything online. And so that’s a big challenge. Actually, we call that “minorstones.” Like no drinking— what is it? Dry January? 

[00:21:37] Bill: Dry January. 

[00:21:38] Cassandra: That is a micro-holiday almost that’s emerged because people aren’t hitting those typical life markers. Millennials, in particular, they’re not getting married. They’re not having kids at the same rates as their predecessors, so they need other things to celebrate. That’s where Dry January comes in. That’s where running a half marathon comes in. 

[00:21:56] That’s where a divorce party comes into play. All these sorts of small, little micro-celebrations that are perhaps different from the mainstream. And I think celebrating a month offline would be a perfect opportunity to challenge people. 

[00:22:13] Bill: As a boomer, you would know that I primarily used Facebook, I guess. But I did. I give myself a little pat on the back that I decided there was so much acrimony, there was so much going on during a period of time last fall, and I was like, “I can’t take this anymore. I can’t.” 

[00:22:30] So anyway, I went off for 35 days. 35, no Facebook. Took it off the phone, took it off the iPad. And I told everybody. I said, “I’m so sorry. I’ve just got to step away for a while.” And having done that, I really don’t check Facebook that much anymore. It’s like I’ve moved to a more elevated experience. 

[00:22:52] Cassandra: You’re better than the rest of us now. But from a macro-trend, it aligns with this appetite for wellness, self-care, slowing down, rejuvenation — wellness being the ultimate driver. Every single brand seems to be hopping into the longevity and wellness space, helping consumers cope with disaster at all angles. 

[00:23:14] And so wellness becomes the new driver of what retailers need to latch onto. And I think going offline is a part of that. I think it aligns with the respite and escapism into a physical space. It goes back to the hobbies. I talked about there’s hobby centers all over New York popping up, and across the country too. 

[00:23:34] Mahjong clubs and third spaces and things of that nature. It all is intrinsically linked. And that’s the point of trend forecasting. Everything we’ve talked about really does intertwine with each other, and it’s all connected. 

[00:23:46] Bill: Biggest trend that nobody’s talking about? I’m going to say the biggest trend that nobody’s talking about, because I’ve never heard of it before, but I’m incredibly excited about it, is the getting offline. That’s fantastic. 

[00:23:58] Cassandra: Yeah, I think that’s what’s probably the biggest trend. But I will say some stuff that I think is exciting for this year maybe, since we’ve already answered that, is I think the cultural calendar is being paid attention to more than ever before because of those lifestyle-dipping niche interests that are thriving. So paying attention to the big moments. I think sports is going to have an absolute massive year. The FIFA World Cup— 

[00:24:25] Bill: Yeah. Oh, for sure. 

[00:24:26] Cassandra: All of these things. Even looking ahead to the Olympics in 2028, which are going to be held in the U.S., it’s going to be an opportunity for a lot of heritage brands to really thrive. A lot of patriotic messaging to thrive. Looking at this year alone, the Semiquincentennial, which is my favorite word to say. 

[00:24:46] Bill: I was going to say, you did that so incredible. It just rolled right up. 

[00:24:50] Cassandra: I say that word every single day at work, I think. The Semiquincentennial. 

[00:24:55] Bill:  Semiquincentennial. Wow. Well done, Cassandra. 

[00:24:58] Cassandra: 250th birthday of America. I wasn’t around for the 200th birthday in ‘76. From all of my research, I hear it was a big time of celebration. A lot of patriotism, a lot of heritage brands are probably going to be rolling out a lot of nostalgic references to their past. A lot of archive mining will be taking place most likely. 

[00:25:16] That’s interesting to watch unfold, set against a really delicate and volatile geopolitical landscape, both happening at the same time. I think looking at some of the shows and the franchises that are arising is really interesting. So GTA 6, Grant Theft Auto is coming— 

[00:25:34] Bill: I knew what that was. 

[00:25:36] Cassandra: Finally in November. It was pushed back from June or May to November. That’s going to have a huge impact at retail and marketing culture, music, all of these things. Fashion, in particular. And looking at some of the shows, Netflix shows have really loyal followings attached to them. 

[00:25:53] Look at the “Emily in Paris” saga. It’s continuing on into a sixth season, I hear, now. So it’s just never ending, and brands are still finding so much value in integrating into the show and extending the storyline outside of the show’s parameters through their own brand messaging. 

[00:26:08] I think my favorite example is “Emily in Paris” with Fendi, the luxury brand. The plot of the show took place in Rome, and then Fendi created a whole collection because the show featured one of their baguette bags, extending it into a space where perhaps they wouldn’t have shown up before, with an “Emily in Paris” collection. It makes sense, it was in the show. The premise is in Rome. They’re a Roman brand. So just storytelling beyond the confines of when the show ends, I think, is really exciting to me. 

[00:26:39] Bill: Yeah, the streaming— do you watch a lot of TV? 

[00:26:42] Cassandra: I do. 

[00:26:42] Bill: Do you? And is it mostly streaming or is it— 

[00:26:45] Cassandra: Streaming. I don’t have cable. I don’t have access to cable. 

[00:26:49] Bill: Very good. Yeah, I don’t either. So see. 

[00:26:52] Cassandra: Yeah. It’s two generations. 

[00:26:54] Bill: Yeah, two generations coming together and cut the cable. Yeah. It’s interesting to me because it used— and maybe it still is. So you’re the futurist. You’re watching this. They used to basically dictate a lot of times what was happening culturally. What was interesting in store. How people dressed, how they acted. Still so? 

[00:27:18] Cassandra: No, I think social media really has rivaled that quite a bit. I love giving this example. It’s new. She’s found success very recently. I think her name is Courtney Cook. She is a teacher somewhere in America, I think in the south. She eats on the internet, and she’ll show her weird concoctions that she puts together. 

[00:27:39] She has absolutely gone viral. She has made sweet potatoes. Sell out at grocery stores because she puts a piece of cheese in them and it becomes this really important meal for her. And everyone has commented like, “This is my show. This is what I tune in for daily.” And these comments are touching on something that at a macro level is actually true, where social media has encouraged ritualistic behavior. We tune in every day to watch what our favorite creators are doing. 

[00:28:06] Bill: Right. 

[00:28:08] Cassandra: Social media is my news. Social media is my entertainment. Social media is increasingly creating micro, little format shows. There’s micro dramas happening in Asia and now popular in the U.S. as well, happening within the confines of your phone. You can watch entire shows that are on streaming networks in TikTok in little, three-minute clips. 

[00:28:27] So to me, I think the future of entertainment and the future of leisure time that you spend normally on a couch in front of your big TV is actually probably on the couch in front of your big TV, but also on your small little screen too, also scrolling simultaneously. Perhaps that’s where shopping comes into play. 

[00:28:45] There’s so much commerce opportunity, QR codes that can pop up, TikTok shop, things of that nature. And I think the next couple years we’re going to see a lot of commerce integration in between our screen-fluid features, whether that’s on the big screen or on our small screens. 

[00:29:00] Bill: All right. I’m going to ask you a few rapid-fire questions. So this is where you just tell me the first thing that comes to mind. All right? 

[00:29:06] Cassandra: Mm-hmm. 

[00:29:06] Bill: You ready? 

[00:29:07] Cassandra: Sure. 

[00:29:07] Bill: You’re sure? 

[00:29:08] Cassandra: Yeah. 

[00:29:09] Bill: All right. Best book you’ve read recently. 

[00:29:11] Cassandra: I have a hard time reading books fully. 

[00:29:13] Bill: Really? 

[00:29:14] Cassandra: I think it’s the trend forecasting nature in me because— Lisa White is one of our top forecasters at WGSN. She said the same— I’ve never shared that openly with anyone. Then I told her recently, she’s like, “I completely agree. I can’t sit through like a whole book.” So I’ll dabble and then I get bored and then I never finish it. 

[00:29:32] Bill: It’s really interesting that you say that. I love to read, absolutely love to read. And I told my parents growing up that the greatest gift that they’ve given to their children is a love of reading. Now that being said, I just don’t read that much anymore. I did read a book, and it was called “Theo of Golden,” which was a phenomenal book. But in the old days, I’d pick it up and within two days I’d be done. Now this book, I was like, “It took me a month.” 

[00:30:03] Cassandra: There’s a lot of research on how our brains are being trained for quick fire— we’re watching something on TikTok and we’re bored and we move on to the next. That rapid-fire scrolling has actually trained our brains to not be able to pay attention for long periods of time. 

[00:30:19] And I think just also the nature of my job, I can’t pay attention to things for a long time, and my brain is always on. I tend to read non-fiction when I read though. I prefer non-fiction to fiction. 

[00:30:31] Bill: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I agree that. 

[00:30:32] Cassandra: So biographies, things of that nature. Yeah, yeah. 

[00:30:35] Bill: All right. Rabbit hole. Favorite outdoor activity. 

[00:30:39] Cassandra: Probably hiking. I have a Rottweiler, so going hiking. Yeah. 

[00:30:42] Bill: Nobody’s going to bug you. Here comes the Rottweiler. The favorite AI tool that you use. 

[00:30:51] Cassandra: I don’t know if I should admit this. ChatGPT is everything to me, and it helps you diagnose whatever you’re feeling. I have a headache. What’s going on? I’m probably too reliant on it for that. And also I think I share way too much with ChatGPT, so I would say that. 

[00:31:08] Bill: Yeah. It’s a little bit scary sometimes. 

[00:31:10] Cassandra: It’s scary how much ChatGPT or the tools out there know about the people using them just based on prompts. 

[00:31:16] Bill: Other than “Retail Gets Real” and your podcast, what’s your favorite podcast? 

[00:31:22] Cassandra: I like a lot of the business podcasts out there. I think a lot of them do well. “Create Tomorrow” and “Lives of Tomorrow” are the ones that we really subscribe to at WGSN obviously, because they’re our own. Yeah, I would say genre-wise, it’s business podcast just because I think that’s what’s most interesting to me. 

[00:31:39] Bill: Excellent. Cassandra, I have enjoyed this immensely. It makes me look forward greatly to next year and the Big Show and our opportunity to talk about this year and next year and some of the trends that we’re seeing and some of the things we can expect. Thank you so much for being a part of Retail Gets Real. 

[00:31:57] And thank you all for listening to another episode of Retail Gets Real. You can find more information about this episode at retail gets real dot com. From Retail’s Big Show in New York City, I’m Bill Thorne. This is Retail Gets Real. Thanks again for listening. Until next time.