Available to book

Retail futurist & AI commerce expert

Doug Stephens

Consumer Trends

Future Trends

Disruption

Transform retail strategy with Doug Stephens, renowned retail futurist and AI commerce expert. Doug equips Fortune 500 brands to navigate consumer behavior shifts and leverage emerging technologies, delivering actionable frameworks for market dominance. Bestselling author advising Walmart, Google, LVMH, and BMW globally.

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Trusted by Walmart, Google, LVMH, BMW

Doug Stephens

Vancouver, Canada

Starting from

$11k–25k

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Vancouver, Canada

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+44 203 835 2929

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At a glance

Retail industry futurist influencing global brands
Founder and CEO of Retail Prophet consultancy
Author of international retail business bestsellers

Doug Stephens is a retail industry futurist whose insights shape how global brands navigate the future of commerce. His intellectual work influences Fortune 500 companies including Walmart, Google, LVMH, and BMW as they adapt to rapidly evolving consumer landscapes. As founder and CEO of Retail Prophet, Doug brings over 20 years of senior retail industry experience to his consultancy work. He has authored three international bestsellers, including Resurrecting Retail, and serves as a nationally syndicated retail columnist for CBC Radio while advising multiple corporate and academic boards. Doug helps organizations decode seismic shifts in consumer behavior, technology integration, and competitive strategy. His research identifies how AI is transforming retail operations, how physical stores must evolve beyond traditional functions, and how brands can establish uncontested market dominance amid unprecedented global competition. His framework enables retailers to cut through market chaos, prioritize investments, and forge radical consumer value. Audiences gain practical insights on leveraging emerging technologies like AI and virtual reality, creating distinctive sensory experiences that drive profitability, and building sustainable competitive advantages in an era where traditional retail cornerstones no longer guarantee success. Book Doug to transform how your organization views retail's future and position your brand to thrive in commerce's next revolution.

Doug's showreel and videos

Topics, sessions and talks

The Retail Archetypes Of The Future

Doug Stephens unpacks a retail landscape reshaped by permanent shifts in consumer behavior, global competition, and relentless technological change. Traditional advantages such as price, convenience, and exclusivity are no longer reliable foundations for success. Drawing on research from his book Resurrecting Retail, he introduces a clear strategic framework that helps brands prioritize investment, cut through market noise, and build uncontested category leadership amid accelerating disruption.

The Future Of Physical Stores

Doug Stephens reframes the role of the physical store in a world where commerce now lives everywhere from mobile devices to digital touchpoints. As boundaries between online and offline dissolve, he reveals why brick-and-mortar has entered its most transformative era yet. Using up-to-the-minute research and global examples, he shows how planning, design, and performance measurement are being reinvented to unlock entirely new forms of retail value.

The Future Of Competitive Advantage

Doug Stephens explores how competitive advantage is being radically redefined as innovation and disruption collide at unprecedented speed. Long-standing sources of market leadership are giving way to new pillars shaped by technology, data, and changing consumer expectations. Through vivid case studies of global trailblazers, he reveals how leading organizations are no longer reacting to the future but actively constructing it as a source of long-term dominance.

The Future Of Consumerism

Doug Stephens examines how economics, demographics, technology, and media are reshaping not only how people buy, but who today’s consumer fundamentally is. From artificial intelligence and social commerce to virtual reality and big data, powerful forces are converging to rewrite the rules of engagement between brands and customers. He reveals how the most adaptive businesses are reimagining their models to thrive amid these historic, permanent shifts in behavior.

The Art Of Retail

Doug Stephens explores why, even in a hyper-technological world, the emotional drivers of novelty, connection, and wonder remain central to why people buy. Showcasing the world’s most imaginative brands, he reveals how sensory design, storytelling, and experience differentiation are redefining profitable retail. This session reconnects commerce with creativity, demonstrating how the artistry of retail is once again a decisive strategic advantage.

Why we recommend booking Doug

Doug Stephens, renowned retail futurist and bestselling author, delivers transformative insights that help global brands like Walmart, Google, and BMW navigate the complex future of commerce with practical strategies for leveraging AI, creating distinctive customer experiences, and building sustainable competitive advantages. Book Doug today to position your organization at the forefront of retail's next revolution and unlock uncontested market dominance in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Check Doug's availability

Trusted by Walmart, Google, LVMH, BMW

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What topics does Doug Stephens specialise in?

Doug Stephens specialises in discussing retail transformation, consumer behavior, technology integration and more.

What is Doug Stephens's speaking style like?

Doug delivers dynamic, thought-provoking presentations that energise audiences and spark insightful discussion. His forward-thinking style inspires innovation, challenges conventional thinking, and provides actionable strategies for navigating the future of retail.

How can I book Doug Stephens for my next event?

Email doug.stephens@getapeptalk.com or call us on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm availability and fees. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and a bit about your audience. As speaker agents, PepTalk can secure Doug Stephens for commercial and corporate events, conference keynotes, leadership talks, celebrity brand endorsements & partnerships, personal appearances, and motivational speaking engagements. We can assist with enquiries about Doug Stephens's speaking fees, availability, and booking process for private business functions, industry conferences, and team events. Please note, for media interviews, autographs, charity appearances, or personal matters, we recommend contacting Doug Stephens directly.

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