Speaker 1experiential technology engagement gamification people having fun when they go to a store and get surprised and delighted with an experience they might not have expected or getting product recommendations with a very intuitive easy to use ai interface the e-paper technology which again brings true sustainability to market and where we can enable retailers and brands to bring true sustainability forward in a very tangible measurable way these are all things that get us excited welcome to retail
Speaker 2gets real where we hear from retail's most fascinating leaders about the industry that impacts everyone everywhere every day i'm bill thorne from the national retail federation coming to you from nrf 2026 retail's very very big show in new york city and on today's episode we're talking to jake namen co-founder and ceo big digital we're going to talk to jake about his journey as an entrepreneur and how he's pushing innovation in retail jake welcome to retail gets real thank you good morning it's great to have you thanks and i know you are a presence and i know your company is a presence because right outside the staff office is one of your digital displays yes and i've used it extensively for some reason years past i've always had like a calendar of my what i need to do where i needed to be what was going on this year i didn't do it and i don't know why i didn't do it but i didn't do it i'm not so sure i'm going to never need to do it again because of your technology and so thank you for that well we have
Speaker 1a special partnership and relationship with nrf really proud of it where we're able to innovate the attendee experience with our touchscreen interactive kiosks they're portable so they can be moved around wherever nrf needs them we do this a lot of trade shows but of course across retail as well and they provide real-time information about the show diverse information there's wayfinding and a complete interactive map of the entire show floor as you know it's a very big footprint yes so navigating the trade show itself is challenging so providing wayfinding and real-time information about the show today's schedule did you know facts really immersive detailed information is available through those kiosks as you outlined so we integrate with nrf's apis so as your app gets updated as your website gets updated our interactive kiosks get updated as well and then we have our outdoor grade portable digital kiosks which are freestanding plug and play we install them in minutes and they're providing all the shuttle information so nrf provides a great shuttle service to all the participating hotel partners and our kiosks are providing all the information and route information as well as monetization for nrf through fulfillment of sponsorship and partnerships
Speaker 2now i'm sure that somebody that's from toronto knows about cold and so your outdoor monitors now we've been incredibly fortunate through the years we've never had a major snow event and i've just jinxed that so i'm knocking on wood at nrf yes it is nice and mild it is nice and mild and it's a great way to get people to come in and see what's going on it's amazing this year yeah your outdoor monitors i mean are they i look at the indoor are they susceptible to weather like you know they
Speaker 1are completely weatherproof are they we design them we patented them they are purpose-built for very diverse outdoor use cases we've had them i mean toronto is southern canada we've had them northern canada we've had them like deep north of british columbia saskatchewan they're purpose-built for minus 30 to plus 50 we've had these in the deserts of dubai for golf tournaments uh dp world tour uses them on the golf course for real-time attendee engagement and fan information and fan engagement on the golf courses and we've had them in las vegas during you know record temperatures they're really purpose-built for true outdoor use cases and they're portable freestanding but they're wind certified for 95 mile an hour winds that's amazing so we've had them hit by category four hurricanes and they're ultra ultra reliable all right so i know the
Speaker 2product but let's talk about the company what's the background of big digital
Speaker 1we incubated the company during covid and we did our first seed round in about 2021 and we launched in march of 2021 of course physical world engagement audience engagement touch screens immersive interactive experiences was not really viable during covid but we built the technology we were we're a turnkey business so we not only conceptualize and design smart retail merchandising solutions but we also have in-house software and engineering so we create touchscreen software data analytics insights dashboards so we provide a true turnkey solution with the physical tech the immersive software experiences that really drive sales and engage customers and then the data and analytics that validate roi and really the results of these programs that we're bringing to retailers that's
Speaker 2pretty that's amazing i mean yeah as you cited all of the things that the technology does and you say it in the same sentence as covid and pandemic wow that was a must have been a very nerve-wracking time well
Speaker 1our background my partner michael gurgis and i we've been business partners now for 25 years and before we launched big digital we had a lot of success in digital signage and digital out of home we pioneered really display screens going into transit systems malls airports the tvs you see in elevators retail we built a pretty large digital company right that was actually acquired by a very large digital billboard company in in 2012 and we stayed there in transition so we really built up a lot of expertise and know-how right in this field so we created big digital really leveraging all of our knowledge and and really understanding the opportunities in the market to really bring innovative solutions that no one's really thought of or created before so that's really the origination of why we create a big digital because there's a lot of untapped opportunity to create interactivity immersive experiences ai driven engagement in retail but physical physical interactive not on the mobile device but in the physical store how
Speaker 2does this work it's and so we're retail we're going to talk about retail so how does this work in a store i mean what what is the what is the efficacy of having this in a store for
Speaker 1your sure there's different use cases for different technologies so we have portable digital kiosks that run on batteries that uh retailers and malls could put in their like roll out into the entranceway with incentives or even the augmented reality engagement piece to get people's attention and drive them into the store so that's one use case where it could be play a quick game but redeem your prize in the store and running on batteries really getting that stopping power to engage customers and drive them in the store that's one use case in in the store we have um very diverse lineup of smart retail merchandising solutions so touch screens and digital screens with sensors so let's say you we have one product called the lift and sell you interact with products as you pick up a product it'll trigger information about that product in real time on the screen so more product information in the screens are touch screens so you can interact and learn more about that product that's another use case we have augmented reality mirrors so virtual dressing rooms and the ability to try clothing on without going to the change room that's emerging still and there's a lot of interest in that we'll see what the adoption is of that in reality but the technology is there so really a wide range of solutions based on understanding clients needs and adapting the technology for those needs so
Speaker 2much of retail i'm it is the particularly the in-store experience but people go in store for that human interaction how do we how do we merge what's happening digitally and yet keeping that feeling like i'm here but i'm still getting that interaction with a human or an employee or a manager that i i want to have when i'm in a store
Speaker 1sure well it's never gonna display sales reps correct product experts sales staff but some people might want to go down a product journey or interact with a screen to learn more some people want to talk to sales sales staff some people want to go down that journey for themselves so we provide options and when there aren't sales staff or employees on the floor we can engage with them and really drive products sales staff or employees on the floor we can engage with them and really drive products sales and product knowledge sales staff or employees on the floor we can engage with them and really drive products through diverse interactive through diverse interactive solutions and experiential engagement in store i think it's probably a
Speaker 2a deal for some, me as a shopper, I would say in order to not have to find somebody to answer a question, if I had a digital experience or if there was something there that I could just ask that or push the button and find out where more is or what works better or this is better for people that have broader shoulders, whatever it is, that would be fantastic.
Speaker 1Well, that's where the market's going clearly. And if you walk through the big show here, there's a lot of AI, a lot of AI. Most of the time, you can't make sense of it. What is this company actually doing or saying that they do as it relates to AI and the use of AI in retail? In our case, it's exactly what you said. Interacting with kiosks or digital displays, where you could communicate to them and it can give you the information you're looking for. Exactly. I'm a jogger. I have wide feet. I need arch support. Interacting with a kiosk that can take in those inputs specific to you and then make product recommendations in real time. Those are the types of use cases that we're focused on at Big Digital because they're simple to understand, practical, and in your case, provide exactly what you're looking for.
Speaker 2That's fantastic. It makes all the sense in the world to me. Why wouldn't you have that? But what do you think holds retailers back when it comes to adopting a new technology like this or pushing this kind of an innovation?
Speaker 1Yeah, that's always our biggest challenge as a physical technology company. The answer is the capital cost, the cost of the equipment. When you think about a retail footprint where there could be a hundred stores, a thousand stores, three thousand, the capital cost of deploying physical technology is expensive. And most organizations don't want to pay a big dollar amount up front to purchase equipment. So we are building programs where it's no money up front, device as a service or hardware as a service, essentially amortizing costs or providing like a rent to own program, like a car lease for this type of technology. And then a monthly software. And then a monthly software license. But what's most important with these types of programs is showing the ROI. So if there's no money up front and this technology is able to increase sales by 15 percent, 25 percent, whatever those ROI metrics are, and we can prove that and showcase that, then we make the adoption much easier.
Speaker 2Yeah, it just seems the opportunities in this space are limitless. One of the things we've been talking a lot about, again, AI. You talk to retailers and they say, you know, I just feel like I'm behind. I don't know that you'll ever catch up with AI at this rate. I mean, it's just changing so quickly. In the digital space, you know, what's the next thing? So you have these displays, they're doing all of these things. What's next for big digital?
Speaker 1I think it's continuing down our innovations roadmap, bringing our solutions, to market at scale. We are taking e-paper technology very seriously. And we have a great partnership with the innovator of e-paper called E-Ink. And they have a lot of presence here. Their technology is groundbreaking because it will definitely eliminate the cost of print. So when you think about printing something like we just talked about, you got to print it, you got to pay for labor to install it, deliver it, and then you can't change it. So e-paper technology is a game changer because it eliminates all of those print costs. So there's a very tangible return on investment just there. And then the ability to drive sales with timely messaging, a dynamic QR code, play and win, like the use cases are endless with digital paper, essentially. And the most important thing about it is it's extremely, extremely low power. We could put a, small solar panel on it, even indoors, and it's enough energy to charge up the unit so it never needs to be plugged in to recharge. So it eliminates, it's a true sustainability solution. And there's going to be a tremendous growth there. And we're going to play a big role in bringing that to market at scale.
Speaker 2I actually just want to ask you about battery, plug-in, so you've got solar. So you don't have to worry about any of that stuff. You don't have to worry about putting it in a place. You can move it anywhere. You can move it anywhere in a store.
Speaker 1It depends on the display technology. So we specialize with LCD displays, touchscreen displays, and e-paper displays. So LCD, of course, consumes electricity. But we can, in use cases where there's no plug, or we want to roll something out at the entranceway of a store and there's no plug there, we can easily run those on batteries. And we have tremendous expertise doing that across professional sports, golf courses, NFL placing our outdoor units in tailgating areas so they can unlock messaging and monetize those types of environments. Live Nation places our outdoor and indoor units at music festivals, again, all running on battery, where you charge it and it can last 20, 30 hours between charges. That's on the LCD side, or the touchscreen, which is also LCD. On the e-paper front, it's very low power consumption. It's very low power consumption. It's a game changer, actually, for the elimination of print and the ability to bring true sustainability solutions to market that retailers and organizations and even publicly traded companies could be very proud of and showcase. Because we could calculate the carbon offset associated with the elimination of print and the trucking to deliver it all and set it all up. So those solutions are, again, so low power that a smaller type battery that's in the base of a smart merchandiser can literally last for a few years. And it trickle charges with a little bit of a solar array, like ambient charging, indoor grade solar is enough to keep it up and running indefinitely without using any external electricity. That's amazing.
Speaker 2And sustainable. I mean, that's what it's, everybody's focused on that. And if you've got a solution to that, I think you're ahead of the game.
Speaker 1So that's where we're taking it, as well as, of course, our conversation about AI. So AI, AI, AI, everyone's talking about AI, but what are the practical use cases, the simple to understand, easy to adopt use cases? And I think, again, what we talked about, your example, you're looking for a shirt, this is your size, you have your needs that you can communicate and then get a real time, immediate recommendation on products. And here's where you find them. And here's a QR code, if you just want to buy it, right? So it's physical, it's digital, it's mobile, all in one. It's a omni-channel integration. That's where it's going.
Speaker 2So you're always thinking ahead. You've got to, you're an entrepreneur. That's what they do. They're always thinking ahead. What's the next thing? What excites you most about the future of retail?
Speaker 1I think it's immersive experiences. As we know, there's retail, but then there's online retail, like Amazon, just buying your stuff on your mobile device or on your laptop and getting it delivered. We need to ensure that physical retail is engaging and provides a real reason for people to still go to physical stores where we really specialize in. So experiential technology, engagement, gamification, people having fun when they go to a store and get surprised and delighted with an experience they might not have expected. Or if you're in a store and you're like, again, getting product recommendations with a very intuitive, easy-to-use AI interface. The e-paper technology, which again, brings true sustainability to market and where we can enable retailers and brands to bring true sustainability forward in a very tangible, measurable way. These are all things that get us excited. That's incredibly exciting.
Speaker 2And I agree with you. I mean, you think about the future of retail. The experience really rises to the top because it's something that brings the consumers in and ultimately, you hope, brings them back. So again, we'll just go back to entrepreneur. What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs?
Speaker 1A few things. One is it's always going to be more difficult than you think it's going to be. So you just got to stick with it. You got to persevere. Get good advice from the right people. And to the experts. And you got to go with a no-ego approach. You can't think that you know everything. And you're going to learn a lot during the way. And having the right team and the right expertise around you, empowering those people and learning from those people to make the right decisions is very important. But in the end, it always comes down to perseverance. Overcoming those challenges. You're going to run into more challenges than you want. Difficulties along the way. staffing issues, personality issues. It's tough to be an entrepreneur. It's very competitive. And not only is it very competitive, but you're competing with a lot of businesses that have endless money to spend. Even when we come in here at NRF, I see companies like Google or Microsoft with multi-million dollar booths. And that's our competition. To a certain extent. So we have to persevere. We have to be more innovative and nimble. And those combinations usually prevail in the end.
Speaker 2I think if I were to. I'm not entrepreneurial per se. I don't think that I have it in me to go out and start a company. But to the extent that I know entrepreneurs, patience is a big part of that as well. You've just got to be patient.
Speaker 1It always takes longer. It takes longer than you want.
Speaker 2Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1We read articles or you see a social post that this guy launched a company and grew to $500 million in revenue in a year or three years. Those are anomalies. That's not the real world. It's exactly what you said. It's patience, perseverance. It takes longer than you want it to take. But you've got to be tough. You've got to be tough. I'm not that tough.
Speaker 2Jake Newman, it has been such a pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much for being a part of Retail Gets Real. My pleasure. Thanks so much. And thank you all for listening to another episode of Retail Gets Real. You can find more information about this episode at retailgetsreal.com. From NRF 2026 Retail's big show in the heart of New York City, I'm Bill Thorne. This is Retail Gets Real. Thanks for listening. Until next time. Retail Gets Real.
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