The National Retail Federation’s newly elected board chair John Furner, Walmart U.S. president and CEO, told participants in NRF’s annual Big Show that retail needs to understand today’s consumers as looking at the range of shopping options available and choosing what suits them best rather than committing to any one store’s selling proposition.
“Loyalty in retail is the absence of something better. When they find it, they’re gone,” Furner said, according to an NRF blog post.
He added that a range of social and economic concerns are making consumers reconsider their shopping habits. Inflation is a major concern right now as is health and safety. Diversity and inclusion remain important as well. As it continues to press its inclusion efforts, Furner stated that about 56% of the company’s new hires have been people of color, 44% of people promoted to management in the past year were women, and of those, 39% were people of color and 18% were Latina.
Furner replaced former Qurate Retail president and CEO Mike George as NRF board chairman, the organization noted, adding that Bloomingdale’s chairman and CEO Tony Spring had joined the NRF board for a two-year term. Springs also will begin a three-year term as NRF Foundation Board chair, replacing the outgoing Macy’s chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette.
