Retail Guru Tony D’Onofrio on Retail Tech, Empowered Consumers

MarketScale recently attended NRF 2020, the retail industry’s biggest annual show, to get a feel for where the industry is headed and sit down with some of retail’s biggest names.

Retail influencer and consultant Tony D’Onofrio joined MarketScale’s Geoff Short for a discussion on some overarching themes in the retail industry as a new decade dawns.

D’Onofrio identified artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics and retailer immersion in technology as key items he hoped were high points at NRF, providing a look into the mind of one of the industry’s biggest names.

Regarding technology, D’Onofrio said consumer smartphone adoption has drastically altered the retail landscape, adding that consumers are often as educated or more educated regarding a retailer’s offerings than employees, themselves.

This “empowered consumer,” D’Onofrio said, expects retailers to respond to digital conversations and needs at a satisfactory level.

Short and D’Onofrio also discussed the difference between concepts, ideas and actionable and implementable tech, what makes tech worth it for retailers, consumer-centric technology, challenges facing retail entering the next decade, and more.

To keep up with everything going on in the retail industry, stay tuned to MarketScale’s retail publication here.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

cities
Craftsmanship and the Soul of Cities with Top Real Estate Developer Mike Ablon
February 2, 2026

More than half the world already lives in cities—and the UN projects that share will rise to 68% by 2050, adding roughly 2.5 billion more people to urban areas. At the same time, the “experience economy” has reshaped what people value in places: not just what a city has, but how it feels to…

Read More
client engagement
When Client Engagement Becomes True Partnership
February 1, 2026

CG Infinity’s Salesforce Practice is built on deep, day-to-day engagement with the organizations it serves. Rather than operating as an external vendor, the team embeds itself with clients—working closely, consistently, and collaboratively—so decisions are informed by real context, trust, and shared accountability. This approach ensures Salesforce solutions are shaped not just by requirements, but by…

Read More
CG Infinity
How CG Infinity Brings Cross-Functional Teams Together to Deliver High-Impact Outcomes
February 1, 2026

CG Infinity’s Salesforce Practice is built around helping organizations move forward together, especially when initiatives span multiple teams with different priorities. The focus is on alignment—bringing the right stakeholders into the conversation early and ensuring decisions are made collaboratively so solutions serve the whole organization, not just one function. That capability is reflected in a…

Read More
Salesforce
When Building Beats Buying: A Smarter Approach to Salesforce Decisions at CG Infinity
February 1, 2026

Salesforce offers a broad ecosystem of tools and integrations, giving organizations flexibility but also introducing constant decisions about when to buy, build, or customize. The strongest strategies apply discipline to those choices, ensuring specific requirements are met without adding unnecessary cost or complexity. That balance is a hallmark of how Mike Reeves, Vice President…

Read More