Center for Retail Transformation

Fairfax City mayor and George Mason University alumna Catherine S. Read (BA ’84) and George Mason University School of Business Dean Ajay Vinzé will sign a partnership agreement on October 2 aimed at promoting economic growth in the city while giving students access to experiential learning opportunities that will benefit local businesses and students. 

This report from George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation builds a profile of the U.S. retail consumer; projecting spending behavior, and identifying the reasons consumers select in-store or online shopping experiences.

On Thursday, April 20, the Center for Retail Transformation at George Mason University School of Business will hold a half-day virtual summit titled “Driving Value in Constrained Times.”

Gautham Vadakkepatt, associate professor of marketing and director of the Center for Retail Transformation was named a Top Retail Influencer for 2023 by RetinkRetail. The list is comprised of retail experts, consultants, analysts, academics, journalists, and thought leaders who are making an impact in retail in 2023.

The Center for Retail Transformation at George Mason University School of Business recently hosted a webinar for students and community members on how to build and grow your personal brand on social media, featuring social media expert and Forbes contributor Natalie Zfat.

“Macroeconomic factors like waning consumer demand and absorbed spending pullback is probably going to have an impact on all of retail, and amongst the retail sectors, I think apparel is going to be one of the sectors that is going to get hit the hardest,” said Gautham Vadakkepatt, director of the Center for Retail Transformation and associate professor of marketing, in an interview with Bisnow.

How Kroger and Albertson's will mesh their approaches to automation is just one of many technology-related questions the grocery chains will need to resolve as they look to merge, according to Gautham Vadakkepatt, director of the Center for Retail Transformation, in an interview with Grocery Dive.

A number of retail mergers and acquisitions went awry in 2022. So what’s in store for 2023? "If this holiday season doesn’t go well, then you’re probably going to see more talks of mergers and acquisitions,” said Gautham Vadakkepatt, director of the Center for Retail Transformation, in an interview with Retail Dive.

From old-fashioned self-scan machines to stores with no physical checkout at all, the options are growing for improving the experience. There are a few reasons these technologies are gaining steam. “First, of course, is the labor shortage that we’re dealing with,” said Gautham Vadakkepatt, marketing professor and director of the Center for Retail Transformation in an interview with C-Store Dive.

Gautham Vadakkepatt, director of the Center for Retail Transformation, told BisNow he has seen mall valuations fall “astronomically” in recent years.