Last Updated on July 6, 2026 by Craig Allen Keefner
In my old days Peppers & Rogers were my retail gurus. As a branded consulting “thing” in retail tech still exists conceptually, but as an independent force it has largely been absorbed into TTEC and now shows up mainly in legacy references, CX/IP, and occasional thought‑leadership mentions rather than as a front‑line retail tech brand.
These days DeAnn Campbell’s work (and StoreWyze/Rethink-style thinking) is much more “now” for retail tech than the old Peppers & Rogers 1:1 marketing canon, especially if you care about in‑store friction, AI readiness, and practical store ops.youtubelinkedin+1
We are now working DeAnn and RetailOCD.
Why she’s so relevant now
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She focuses on “store blindness” – the subtle operational and CX issues (wayfinding, aisle flow, bad fixtures, poor tech placement) that quietly drain profit but don’t show up on dashboards, which is exactly where most in‑store tech projects live or die.linkedinyoutube
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Her current work explicitly bridges physical retail, AI, and omnichannel – talking about inventory accuracy, BOPIS zones, geofenced nudges, shoppable windows, and how AI agents only work if stores and foundational data are solid.linkedin+1youtube
- She is relevant for KioskIndustry and The Industry Group because Retail is a such a huge segment for self-service.
Current roles and platforms
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She’s positioned as a retail strategist helping retailers “turn physical stores into AI‑ready engines of growth,” and is active via RETHINK Retail and related advisory work.podcasts.apple+1
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She co‑hosts or fronts content like “Shop Shock: Retail After AI” and other podcasts/panels that explicitly tackle how AI, in‑store tech, and human associates fit together, giving her a very current platform compared with legacy CX consultancies.linkedin+2
How her POV hits in‑store tech
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She is publicly critical of in‑store tech that serves the P&L more than the shopper, using examples like Amazon One’s low adoption versus Sam’s Club’s Scan & Go to show that customer‑controlled, phone‑based tools that solve a real problem actually win.linkedin
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She emphasizes design rules that map cleanly to kiosks, SCO, and digital signage: must solve a perceived problem, give shoppers control, use familiar devices, match the demographic, and be durable and ergonomic for daily retail abuse.youtubelinkedin
Why she’s a better touchstone than Peppers & Rogers for 2026
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Peppers & Rogers gave us the language and theory of 1:1/customer‑centric marketing, but that IP is now baked into products and general CX practice rather than driving today’s in‑store tech decisions directly.investors.ttec+2
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Campbell is working in the live fire of current deployments: cancel‑at‑scale biometrics, failed Scan & Go variants, winning formats like Sam’s, and the practical intersection of AI, store ops, and associate tools – which is exactly where your kiosk/digital retail world is evolving
