New: Global Retail Executive Council

I managed to find this blog about the growth in interactivity, engagement and mobility in the retail experience when I got an email in my inbox this morning.

So I called up their executive director to find out more about it. Jim Crawford, Executive Director,Global Retail Executive Council, spoke to me while he was on his way to a meeting. The organization started up in February, right as the great dregs from the economic tsunami were washing up on the beaches of commerce and retail.

"It proved a great time to start up this association," says Crawford.

The organization serves two missions:

1. Nurturing and building on the broad and inclusive concept of what it means to be a sustainable retailer, improving the economic model for retailers, building on being able to have a sustainable relationship with consumers, and helping them grow through life cycle of interaction with the consumer through the interaction and nexus of mobile devices and technology and the shopping experience

2. Collaborating with retailers on next generation customer experiences in retail, building on changes and the evolution in the store experience using mobile

"It’s a radical game changer in the way retailers look at technology at stores," says Crawford. I agree.

We talked about how the carriers are vital to this growth but that at the same time, we are seeing huge customer-driven changes brought on by data-loving retail shoppers and end users of mobile.

More on this later, as it develops.