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Tony D'Onofrio

CEO at TD Insights

Greenville SC, United States

Tony D’Onofrio is CEO of TD Insights, a consultancy focused on working with private equity companies, board of directors, public speaking, industry groups, and advanced technology companies. Tony is a recognized global top 100 retail industry influencer. His futurist views of technologies and retail have been shared in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe. This is the age to disrupt or be disrupted.

Tony currently serves on the Board of Directors for 3SI Systems, Board of Advisors Deep Science AI, Board of Advisors Smart Store Expo Dubai, and is a Mentor for the Alchemist Accelerator in Silicon Valley, California.

Tony’s previous position was Chief Customer Officer (CCO) of Tyco Retail Solutions (now Sensormatic), a $1 billion division of Johnson Controls (JCI). In the CCO position, Tony was responsible for revenue growth of global customers, global accounts management programs, recurring source tagging models for EAS / RFID, creating and managing multiple “as a service” models, and global marketing.

Linked-In Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/tonycdonofrio

Sample global personal accolades
> Top 100 Global Retail Influencer List by Vend
> Top 25 Retail Industry Website by Vend
> Top 25 Must Read-Retail IT Blogs by BizTech
> Retail Excellence Award from Asia Retail Congress
> Social media leadership with 160,000+ followers on Linked-In
> Publisher on multiple digital transformation platforms in both North America and Europe
> Global speaker at tech / industry events / Retailers & Board of Directors on “Disruptive Future of Retail”
> Globally recognized personal branding in leadership, technology and retail.

Available For: Authoring, Consulting, Influencing, Speaking
Travels From: USA
Speaking Topics: Future of Retail, Disruptive Innovation, Retail Security

Tony D'Onofrio Points
Academic 0
Author 92
Influencer 34
Speaker 13
Entrepreneur 0
Total 139

Points based upon Thinkers360 patent-pending algorithm.

Thought Leader Profile

Portfolio Mix

Company Information

Company Type: Individual
Business Unit: Retail Innovation Technology Leadership
Theatre: Global
Minimum Project Size: Undisclosed
Average Hourly Rate: Undisclosed
Number of Employees: Undisclosed
Company Founded Date: Undisclosed
Media Experience: 10+ years
Last Media Interview: 05/07/2019

Areas of Expertise

AI 30.30
Analytics
AR/VR
Big Data 30.24
Change Management 30.19
Customer Experience 30.19
Digital Disruption 30.14
Digital Transformation 30.21
Emerging Technology 30.10
Innovation 32.74
IoT 31.02
Leadership 30.68
Marketing 30.13
Retail 44.13
Social 30.60
Startups 30.09
Sales 31.44
Sustainability 30.51
Business Continuity 30.99
Risk Management 30.36
COVID19 36.50
Cybersecurity
Security 30.52

Industry Experience

High Tech & Electronics
Retail

Publications

74 Article/Blogs
Buzzing Past the Hype of Digital Transformation
Linkedin
July 15, 2023
The two hottest buzz words in all industries these days seems to be ‘digital transformation’. Linking these words was actually an evolutionary process that started in the 1970s when computer-aided designs and manufacturing were first used in business. In the 1980s enterprise resource planning was added, followed by customer relationship management in the 1990s.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Innovation, Retail

The AI Disruptive Future of Retail
Linkedin
June 25, 2023
The past two weeks have been truly inspirational in activities of continuous learning and sharing knowledge that helps us all have a brighter retail future. The first week was the keynote delivery of my latest edition on ‘The Disruptive Future of Retail’ presentation. The venue was the beautiful PGA National Resort in Florita were 200+ IT professionals attended the Retail Technology Solutions Summit. Impressed by both the format and the engagement of the audience during, after my presentation, and throughout the conference.

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

We Can and Do Need to Solve the Problem of Retail Shrink
Linkedin
May 22, 2023
“The unfortunate fact is that violent incidents are increasing at our stores and across the entire industry. And when products are stolen, simply put, they are not longer available for guests who depend on them. Beyond safety concerns, worsening shrink rates are putting significant pressure on our financial results.” – Brian Cornell, Target CEO, Wall Street Journal May 21, 2023

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

Why the Physical Store is the Next Profitable Digital Advertising Frontier
Linkedin
March 27, 2023
In a previous CEO role, I was on a mission to transition physical security infrastructures into smart highly visual advertising delivery platforms. The rationale is similar to what happening with CCTV video technologies. In 2021, we crossed over 1 billion video cameras installed around the world.

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Tags: Innovation, Retail, Security

Two Big Hits and Two Misses from NRF 2023
Linkedin
January 24, 2023
The National Retail Federation Big Show this past week in New York did not disappoint. As I summarized in my post NRF 2023 social media post..

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

The 2023 Top 5 Strategies and Top 3 Technologies for Retail Success
Linkedin
January 02, 2023
A cornerstone of my social media growing personal brand has been the continuously updated “Disruptive Future of Retail” presentation that I have delivered on global stages in the past seven years. Crystalizing in the 2022 editions are the five strategies and the three primary technologies that will deliver a more profitable future of retail into the new year.

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

The Global Economic and Retail Headwinds in Seven Formidable Charts
LinkedIn
September 13, 2022
The world faces multiple challenges for the balance of 2022, into 2023, and it may even extend into 2024. Multiple negative forces are combining to slow the dramatic growth of the pre-pandemic decade.

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

Part 2: Is Retail Crime Out of Control?
LinkedIn
August 09, 2022
n Part 1 of this series, we presented the latest crime statistics including the pandemic impact and the recent trends on increased violence.
In this final Part 2, we profile the criminals and their preferences. We explore retail crime scenarios with inflation and a potential recession. Finally, we summarize my thoughts (and yours) on whether retail crime is out of control and what we can do about it. The introductory picture is a big hint on the key answers.

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

Is retail crime out of control?
LinkedIn
July 26, 2022
It’s not too early during this summer to think about the upcoming holiday season. This is part one of a two-part series on retail crime trends. What has been the impact of pandemic on retail statistics? How are violence patterns evolving? What are the profiles of the crime wave? How will inflation and a potential recession impact retail crime? If retail crime is out of control, what do we do about it?

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail, Security

Keep on Rockin'​ in the Retail World (*)
LinkedIn
July 05, 2022
Global Retail Sales, E-Commerce, Physical Stores Trends, Challenges and Headwinds
As this rockin' picture reminded me, the retail industry, even with its current negative challenging forces, remains very vibrant. 2021 confirmed that we are all resilient consumers who will continue to shop our favorite brands. In May 2021, E-marketer forecasted that retail sales globally would rise 6% to just over $25 trillion, which was a significant comeback from 2020. By the end of year, 2021 global retail sales actually grew 9.7% reaching total spending of just over $26 trillion.

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

The World's 2022 Top 5 Most Valuable Retail Brands
LinkedIn
June 12, 2022
With a Peek at the Top Global Technology Brands of 2022
For quite some time, I have been predicting that the future of retail will be driven by stronger branding and increased digitally influenced immersive customer experiences. COVID-19 became a major accelerator of digital transformation trends with technology often becoming the differentiator to changes in consumer loyalty.

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

Then and Now: GPS, Wi-Fi, and Social Media
LinkedIn
May 24, 2022
Our physical retail and digital innovation exploration journey so far:

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Social

Then and Now: RFID, Self-Checkout, and the Internet with All Those Things
LinkedIn
April 21, 2022
The Surprising Start and Success of your Favorite Technologies
In Part 1 of this series, we explored the humble beginnings of department stores, supermarkets, and the first use of a bar code in a physical store. In Part 2, we expanded our innovation journey to ecommerce, smartphones, and robots. In Part 3, we shifted to loss prevention technologies some of which have become powerful workhorses in store operations: cash registers, CCTV cameras, and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS).

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Tags: AI, IoT

Then and Now: Cash Registers, CCTV Cameras, and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS)
LinkedIn
April 10, 2022
In Part 1 of this series, we explored the humble beginnings of department stores, supermarkets, and the first use of a bar code in a physical store. In Part 2, we expanded our innovation journey to discover the evolution and success of ecommerce, smartphones, and robots.

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Tags: AI, Innovation, Retail

Then and Now: The Surprising Start and Success of Your Favorite Technologies
LinkedIn
March 22, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically accelerated the adoption of technology in business, enabling companies to optimize their operations and meet changing consumer expectations. In Part 1 of this article series, we discussed the origin and success of department stores, supermarkets, and the retail bar code.

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

Then and Now: The Surprising Start of Your Favorite Retail Formats and Technologies
LinkedIn
March 02, 2022
Can you imagine shopping in a retail store without bar codes or a cash register? In this first of a series of articles, we explore the evolution of retail -- from store formats to the continuous innovation and deployment of new technologies.

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

Top 5 Innovation Takeaways from NRF 2022
LinkedIn
January 26, 2022
Attending NRF 2022 in New York last week on multiple levels was surreal. Three live offsite events that I attend every year were either cancelled, postponed to virtual or had last minute changes in locations due to COVID restrictions. Flights and hotels were changed three times to accommodate weather challenges in the South and the evolving customer meetings scheduled for the Big Show.

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

Key Lessons from the Pandemic Accelerated Amazon Effect
LinkedIn
December 29, 2021
Jeff Bezos had a few amazing tricks up his sleeve as he originally wanted to name the company 'Cadabra'. Amazon's first lawyer talked him out of it as the name sounded too similar to 'cadaver', especially over the telephone. When the company was founded on July 5, 1994, Bezos settled on the name Amazon because it started with the letter A and its association with the largest South America River.

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

If I Have Seen Further, it is by Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (*)
LinkedIn
November 24, 2021
One year ago, I published a video titled “Leadership Skills for the Post COVID-19 ‘New Normal’.” Citing the accomplishments of Isaac Newton, in that video I summarized three leadership skills to ensure post-pandemic success.

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership

Seven Reflective Innovation Leadership Videos of Lucky Year 2021
LinkedIn
November 08, 2021
As I wrote at the start of 2021, the impact of COVID-19 has delayed the arrival of the new roaring '20s projected pre-pandemic. As the Economist asked in sharing their thoughts on 2021, "do you feel lucky? The number 21 is connected with luck, risk, taking chances and rolling the dice. It’s the number of spots on a standard die, and the number of shillings in a guinea, the currency of wagers and horse-racing."

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Tags: AI, Innovation, Leadership

Will Santa Claus or the Grinch Show Up This Holiday Season?
Tony D'Onofrio
October 18, 2021
Good news this month as reported in the Wall Street Journal that USA retail sales in September increased 0.7% from the previous month and are running 13.9% ahead of same time last year. Bad news that one of the contributing factors to this growth is inflation which increased 5.4% in the same period.

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

Global Forecasts and Retail Trends to Watch in the 2nd Half of 2021
LinkedIn
August 09, 2021
While dealing with the Delta variant and continuing to recover from the COVID-19 health crisis, the hot days of August is a good time to ponder the economic and retail predictions for the balance of 2021.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Innovation, Retail

What’s Driving the 93% Retail RFID Adoption Rate in North America?
Tony D'Onofrio
June 28, 2021
RFID has been around for years in the retail space — in fact, I’ve been writing about RFID in retail since as early as 2012 — with more recent articles focusing on the adoption trends at Nike and Walmart. As I discussed in January this year, the pandemic has become an accelerator of RFID adoption in retail with stores taking a central role with online orders fulfillment.

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Tags: Innovation, IoT, Leadership, Retail

Visualizing a More Profitable Computer Vision Future of Retail
Tony D'Onofrio
June 05, 2021
This past week I had the opportunity to spend quality time with a leading computer vision company headquartered in Ireland. As an advisor to this company, I have been lucky enough to see their transformation from a single application to a portfolio of retail visual innovative disruptive solutions that will enter the marketplace in the balance of this year.

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Tags: AI, Innovation, Retail

Top 5 Physical Security Trends in Retail to Watch in 2021 and Beyond
LinkedIn
May 21, 2021
On many fronts, 2020 was a challenging year for the retail industry. During the early days of strict lockdowns to slow the spread of the coronavirus, governments around the world categorized some retailers as “essential” and others as “nonessential,” leading to a $285 billion transfer of wealth from nonessential retailers to essential retailers and a $250 billion transfer of wealth from small retailers to larger companies. This created a massive shock to the worldwide economy with GDP levels initially dropping 30% or more.

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Tags: Innovation, Retail, Security

6 Influencer Awards
Top Retail Influencers 2022 - RETHINK Retail
Rethink Retail
January 15, 2022
RETHINK Retail's Top Retail Influencers 2022 list is an annual award featuring the world's most instrumental influencers in retail.


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Tags: Retail

RETHINK Retail Top100
Rethink
March 10, 2021
The RETHINK Retail Top 100 Retail Influencers is an annual list featuring the world’s most instrumental influencers in retail.

This list is comprised of retail experts, consultants, analysts, academics, journalists, and thought leaders who are making an impact in retail in 2021.

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Tags: Innovation, Retail

Top 40 European Blogs by Market Inspector
Market Inspector
January 01, 2019
Top 40 European Blogs by Market Inspector

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Tags: Retail

Vend’s Top 100 Retail Influencers for 2018
Vend
January 01, 2018
Welcome to the 2018 edition of Vend’s list of top retail influencers! This year, we’ve expanded the list to 100 influencers (instead of 50) to add more individuals outside of North America and to ensure that we include the most well-deserving folks in the retail industry.

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Tags: Social, Retail

Top 25 Must Read-Retail IT Blogs 2017 by BizTech
BizTech
November 27, 2017
These blogs will give retailers insights into the technologies they should be using to stay ahead of competitors, help customers and improve their bottom lines.

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Tags: Retail

Retail Excellence Award from Asia Retail Congress
Vend
January 01, 2017
Welcome to the second edition of Vend’s top 25 retail websites! From design inspiration and cutting-edge technology to marketing tips and sales advice, these 25 blogs and publications are retail-knowledge goldmines.
Any forward-thinking retailer should have Tony D’Onofrio’s blog’s bookmarked. His website gives readers a wealth of insights into the state of the retail industry and where it’s going. ..

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Tags: Retail

1 Keynote
"The Disruptive Future of Retail 2019" - Excerpt
linkedin
October 06, 2019
A peek into the future of the industry from a retail executive presentation in October at the Retall Loss Prevention Council at the University of Florida. Full version to be delivered later this year at another executive conference.

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Tags: Retail, Sales

5 Podcasts
CRIMESCIENCE – COVID-19 SERIES: EPISODE 3 FEATURING GUS DOWNING (DOWNING & DOWNING)
LPRC
April 23, 2020
On this LPRC CrimeScience COVID-19 Series episode, we are joined by featured guest Gus Downing of Downing & Downing. Tune in to hear our discussion on current crime data, how COVID-19 is changing retail in the short & long term, risks & vulnerabilities, LPRC initiatives, and much more.

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Tags: Retail, COVID19

PODCAST: LPRC Crime Science - COVID-19 Episode 1
linkedin
April 08, 2020
First of a COVID-19 series covering what's top of mind from a retailers LP point of view, latest stats on industry impact / stimulus impact to retail / latest crime trends, and online communication risks...

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Tags: Digital Disruption, Risk Management, Retail, COVID19

Brandless shutters, Coronavirus has retailers on edge, 7-Eleven tests unmanned store concept.
RETHINK RETAIL
February 24, 2020
New podcast includes analysis on the failure of the Brandless online retailer, the deployment of a 7-Eleven autonomous store, and my thoughts on the coronavirus

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Tags: Innovation, Retail, Business Continuity, COVID19

Retail Rundown - Jan 20, 2020 - Retail's Big Show Special
RETHINK RETAIL
January 20, 2020
January 20, 2020 – NRF 2020: Retail’s Big Show Special: We hear from Tony D’Onofrio, Ricardo Belmar, Paul Lewis and Doug Stephens about their key takeaways from this year’s Big Show.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Marketing, Retail

Retail Rundown Podcast: Apple New Flagship, Sustainability and Retail Holiday Season Trends
RETHINK RETAIL
September 30, 2019
Our guests today include Tony D’Onofrio and John Boline. Tony is a RETHINK Retail Advisor and CEO of TD Insights. Tony is also a respected industry futurist and recognized as a global top 100 retail influencer. John is the Vice President of Store Design at Starbucks, where he has first-handedly ushered in more than a decade’s worth of experiential changes within Starbucks’ stores, including the development of its premium Reserve brand cafés.

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Tags: Customer Experience, Sustainability, Retail

1 Video
NEW PERSONAL VIDEO: The "New Normal" Post COVID-19
YouTube
April 06, 2020
This health crisis is much more than a potentially deep recession. Multiple industries including retail are headed to a "New Normal". It's also a once in a lifetime moment for personal and professional transformation.

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Tags: Digital Transformation, Retail, COVID19

1 Webinar
Retail Predictions 2022: The End of Business as Usual
Prosegur Security
January 26, 2022
Lots of great data on retail trends as we exited 2021, NRF takeaways from two of us, and technology predictions for 2022. Guests were Greg Buzek from the IHL retail research group and Jeff Roster, formerly an analyst for retail at Gartner.

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Tags: Innovation, Leadership, Retail

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