In episode 345 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Aaron Dunford, senior director of digital and marketing at Nordstrom, the heritage luxury department store chain. Dunford discusses why Nordstrom recently launched its retail media network, how it enables brand partners to better connect with Nordstrom customers, and how the retailer is providing valuable data to participating partners. He details how the media network enhances Nordstrom shoppers' customer experience, and how it acts as both a customer retention and acquisition tool.

Furthermore, Dunford discusses what Nordstrom is doing to balance providing valuable data to its brand partners while also protecting its end customers' data privacy, as well as the feedback the brand has received from its early adopters of the media network. He shares how teams across the organization work to continually optimize the program for both brands and customers, the business benefits that Nordstrom hopes to realize from its media network, and how the company is measuring performance.

Aaron Dunford is senior director, digital merchandising and marketing at Nordstrom. Dunford first joined Nordstrom in 2013 and has held a variety of roles within the marketing organization. Over the last few years he led the creation of the merchant and vendor insights team responsible for developing actionable analytics for Nordstrom merchants and vendor partners to impact their marketing performance. In addition to his other responsibilities, Aaron championed the development of the Nordstrom Media Network and led Nordstrom’s product-focused marketing team that drives merchandising strategies and all vendor marketing investment programs in addition to leading content, digital category management and site merchandising.