Jim Shea

Jim Shea

Jim Shea is chief commercial officer for First Insight, the leading customer-centric merchandising platform used by retailers and brands worldwide. Jim’s role spans all market- and customer-facing functions, including strategy, marketing, product management and business development.

Jim has held CMO and general management roles in multiple industries, including medical devices, research laboratory products, telecommunications and enterprise software. Jim has also been a driving force behind the IPOs of two venture/private equity-backed companies. At First Insight, Jim is excited about the opportunity to transform the retail industry through enabling better product decision making through data and analytics.

Jim holds a MBA from Stanford University and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.
The Recommerce Revolution

Although once mostly limited to tiny local consignment and secondhand shops, fashion and apparel recommerce today includes a range of digitally native companies offering resale, rental, upcycling and/or subscription models. Each of these business models can extend the useful life of apparel and increase the average number of times an item is worn, helping cut…

How Will Retailers Deal With the New Tariffs Heading Into Holiday 2019?

The retail industry is feeling the effects of 15 percent tariffs imposed on Sept. 1 on a wide range of consumer imports, and is bracing for the impact of their expansion to additional goods on Dec. 15. These tariffs cover a total of about $300 billion worth of imports from China. Increases on tariffs imposed…

Making Insights Actionable: Combining the Consumer’s Voice With Artificial Intelligence

The retail industry, like many others, is being disrupted and permanently changed by the ever-increasing capabilities and applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). As I wrote in my last post, we're just beginning to see the benefits of AI and ML implementations in the retail sector, but they've already helped forward-thinking companies…

AI in Retail: Sizzle or Steak?

With all the buzz about artificial intelligence (AI) these days, retailers are naturally asking, “Is AI for real, or is it just a passing fad?” Nearly every retail technology company is now slapping the “AI” moniker on their marketing materials, but which AI applications are really moving the needle for retailers? A Gartner report released…

Tariffs: How Smart Retailers and Brands Are Handling the Trade War

The trade war with China has been cited as a primary cause of much of the recent economic volatility, from the stock market dive last fall to fluctuations in oil prices. While it's clear that tariffs are creating some level of instability as companies and investors try to guess what will happen next, many retailers…

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