Using research from GlobalData’s Influencer platform, Retail Insight Network has named ten of the most influential people in retail tech on Twitter during Q4 2020.

Biggest influencers in retail tech: The top ten in Q4 2020

1. Neil Saunders (@NeilRetail)

Neil Saunders is the managing director and retail analyst at Globaldata Retail, a retail research agency and consulting firm. He specialises in areas such as consumer behaviour, brand preferences, competitive strategies, channel dynamics, stores and locations, and market forecasts.

Saunders is also an advisory board member at the faculty of business and law in the University of Southampton in the UK.

Twitter followers: 22,386

GlobalData influencer score: 100

 

2. Glen Gilmore (@GlenGilmore)

Glen Gilmore is a social media and digital marketing consultant and principal at the Gilmore Business Network, a digital marketing and transformation company. He specialises in areas such as strategies, trends, digital marketing best practices, online reputation, compliance, influencer relations, and governance.

Gilmore is also the founding faculty of digital marketing executive programmes at the Rutgers University School of Business. He has collaborated with top brands such as Amazon, AT&T, Lenovo, Intel, Verizon, IBM, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), among others.

Twitter followers: 293,229

GlobalData influencer score: 79

 

3. Vladimer Botsvadze (@VladoBotsvadze)

Vladimer Botsvadze is a marketing thought leader currently serving as global marketing and digital transformation keynote speaker at A-Speakers, an event services company. He specialises in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), retail, sales, digital transformation, and innovation.

Botsvadze also serves as a global internet of things (IoT) and cloud influencer at rise.global, a computer software company. He has been recommended by top brands such as Accenture, Dell, PepsiCo, and MasterCard, among others.

Twitter followers: 56,291

GlobalData influencer score: 68

 

4. Michael Schiemer (@MikeSchiemer)

Michael Schiemer is the owner of Bootstrap Business, a marketing and advertisement agency. He has about 12 years of experience in areas such as digital marketing, social selling, search engine optimisation (SEO), and content creation. His specialties include link building and blogger outreach for content optimisation.

Schiemer is also the owner of online media company Best Blogger Outreach, which helps digital marketing agencies, businesses, and website owners get guest posts and backlinks published on top US blogs.

Twitter followers: 216,461

GlobalData influencer score: 67

 

5. Graham Soult (@soult)

Graham Soult is the owner and retail consultant at CannyInsights.com, a retail consultancy. He specialises in areas such as market research, social media training, and customer experience.

Soult is also the vice chairman of the Durham Business Group, an information services company. He is also the owner and retail and digital marketing consultant of CannySites.com, an internet company that enables retailers find new customers and customers find the products of their choice.

Twitter followers: 14,433

GlobalData influencer score: 65

 

6. Cyril Coste (@CyrilCoste)

Cyril Coste is a chief experience officer and digital transformation advisor who specialises in customer-oriented tech. He has vast cross-sector experience in digital transformation, product development, digitalisation strategy development, business analysis, digital innovation, customer experience, and e-commerce.

Coste is also a part of Huawei’s Key Opinion Leader programme and Siemens Influencer Community. He has been associated with top companies such as Ted Baker, Barclays, GSK, Rolls-Royce, Nivea, and others.

Twitter followers: 119,943

GlobalData influencer score: 64

 

7. Michael Lagazo (@Michael_MBA)

Michael Lagazo is a commercial real estate agent, specialising in complex transactions with institutional and private clients. Lagazo served dual roles of being a commercial agent with SVN in San Diego, and as the in-house real estate representative with specialty grocer, Aldi, for their roll-out in Southern California.

He later joined SRS Real Estate Partners, a real estate services provider specialising exclusively in retail for brands such as Burger King, United Oil, Raising Cane’s, and Walgreens. He is also a member of the San Diego and Phoenix Realtors Associations.

Twitter followers: 21,165

GlobalData influencer score: 62

 

8. Bob Phibbs (@TheRetailDoctor)

Bob Phibbs is the CEO of The Retail Doctor, a retail consultant providing services and proven systems to leading brands such as Brother, Yamaha, LEGO, Husqvarna-Viking, Omega, Vera Bradley, and others. He specialises in areas such as retail sales, business makeover, and marketing.

Phibbs also founded SalesRX, an e-learning company that trains managers on soft skills necessary to drive conversion and to mentor and encourage associates.

Twitter followers: 16,901

GlobalData influencer score: 56

 

9. Trevor Sumner (@trevorsumner)

Trevor Sumner is the CEO of Perch, a retail marketing technology company. He specialises in areas such as marketing strategy, business analytics, product marketing, marketing consulting, leadership development, software as a service (SaaS) development, and management consulting.

Sumner is also the CEO of Summoner, an advisory and investment firm focused on ventures around SaaS, voice, marketing technology, ecommerce, and machine learning

Twitter followers: 29,256

GlobalData influencer score: 55

 

10. Jeff Sheehan (@jeffsheehan)

Jeff Sheehan is a marketing influencer and thought leader currently serving as the co-host for Happy Neighbourhood Project, a weekly virtual meeting that connects people and businesses. He jointly handles the marketing, and organisation of the project.

He is also a member of the board of advisors at The Salvation Army Metro Atlanta Command and a guest lecturer at the Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business, where he teaches subjects such as social media, marketing, and thought leadership.

Twitter followers: 329,129

GlobalData influencer score: 54

 

Methodology

GlobalData’s influencer identification framework identifies influencers based on relevance; size of network, connections and followers; engagement levels with their content and analysis and input from sector experts. Influencers are then evaluated on a series of specific topic-related keywords used over the period and weighted by engagement metrics.