#49 Joel Bar-El on Shopper-Centric Tech, Retail Media & Robotic Stores

Links: Google - Pocket Cast - Anchor - Spotify - Apple 

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What makes retail tech actually work?
And why do so many innovations miss the mark?

In this episode of The Retail Reality Show, we talk to someone who’s built two of the most influential retail tech companies of the last decade – and still believes most of the industry is getting it wrong.

🎙️ Our guest:
Joel Bar-El – Chairman at Trax and now CEO of Xpand – joins us to share what he’s learned from 30 years in retail tech and building two unicorns along the way.

He shares why so many innovations still overpromise and underdeliver, what he learned building Trax from scratch, and why his new venture Xpand is rethinking convenience retail with a fully autonomous, robot-operated store format.

You’ll hear why Joel believes:

– Automation only works when it improves the shopper experience

– Tech must match retail operations, not the other way around

– Retail media holds massive potential – if done right

– AI is infrastructure, not a trend

From grocery logistics and VR store visions to shelf analytics and shopper-first thinking:
This episode is a candid, practical reality check for anyone building in or for retail.

🎧 Available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.