Full Bio
Greg Buzek is the Founder, President and Principal Analyst of IHL Group and one of the Founders of the Retail Orphan Initiative (www.retailROI.org), a charitable foundation that seeks to help the 400 million orphaned and vulnerable children around the world. In 16 years, RetailROI has been involved in over 300 projects in 29 countries helping an estimated 325,000 children through clean water, education, computers, language training and care.
Noted by RIS News as one of the Top 10 Influentials in Retail and the National Retail Federation as one of “The List of People Shaping Retail’s Future“, he has a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from The Ohio State University, and 30 years of experience in retail market analysis, business planning, product development, and consulting with Fortune 500 companies. He is also a member of the Top 100 Retail Influencers from ReTHINK Retail.
Greg is frequently quoted in BusinessWeek, CIO Information Network, Information Week, Supermarket News, Chain Store Age, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and the Washington Post and has been used as a retail technology analyst on NBC Nightly News, CBS News, and CNBC. In addition, Greg has been a guest lecturer for the Wharton School of Business and Belmont University.
In 2011 The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute honored Greg with the first ever Paul Singer Award that recognizes business and governmental leaders for going above and beyond their defined roles to advocate for better adoption and foster care policies worldwide. Before founding IHL, Greg worked with NCR Corporation and Sensormatic Electronics as a marketing and development executive on hardware, software, and electronic security products for the Retail Industry.
Products & Services
Analyst Corner Articles
- Lululemon, Home Depot, Chipotle, Walmart and Amazon Among Retail AI Leaders
IHL AI Readiness Index ranks public retailers and restaurants on AI readiness and potential financial Impact Artificial Intelligence is radically transforming retail as we know it today, according to new… Read more: Lululemon, Home Depot, Chipotle, Walmart and Amazon Among Retail AI Leaders - OnDemand – Fixing Inventory Distortion – Are We There Yet
IHL has been tracking retail inventory distortion and the true cost of retail out-of-stocks and overstocks for 18 years. Inventory distortion worldwide is a critical issue that continues to plague… Read more: OnDemand – Fixing Inventory Distortion – Are We There Yet - AI for the CMO
I had the pleasure of speaking with RETHINK Retail and Microsoft on the impact and opportunities of AI for the CMO. This leverages our AI Impact Forecast specifically for marketers.… Read more: AI for the CMO - Cloud Pricing No Longer Works in an AI World
Back in my younger years there was a hilarious Saturday Night Live skit about a bank that only made change (You can see it here). It ends with the customers… Read more: Cloud Pricing No Longer Works in an AI World
In THe NEWS
IHL Group launches solution to aid AI implementation projects
A global provider of retail and hospitality research is introducing a new tool designed to improve the success rate of artificial intelligence projects.
Retailers Making the Most of AI
Walmart, Lululemon and Home Depot are among the retailers making the most use of artificial intelligence, a new study from analyst firm IHL Group concludes. Overall, the top 207 North American public retailers and restaurants could see nearly $1.6 trillion financial impact through the end of the decade according to IHL’s 2024 AI Readiness Index.
Walmart Is Most AI-Ready FMCG Retailer — By Far: IHL
Walmart is leading fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) retailers in a big way when it comes to artificial intelligence readiness, according to a new report from IHL Research. While its competitors are no slouches, the retailer’s dominance is undeniable, per IHL president Greg Buzek.
Running the AI Race: What Retailers Should Know
To unlock the full potential of artificial intelligence, retailers need a strategy in place to guide their efforts.
Top 10 Contactless Trends to Watch in 2022
As it did with many other aspects of retail, COVID-19 gave a major boost to touchless technology applications — and enthusiasm for these solutions will continue even after the pandemic has waned, according to Greg Buzek, Founder and President of IHL Group. “The desire is still there to do touchless, but for different reasons than COVID safety,” he said during a presentation at the 2021 retailX conference in Chicago. “Retailers had wanted to do this before as a way to save on labor costs.”