Morris Misel · retail futurist · keynote speaker
“It doesn’t matter what, where and how you buy, as long as you buy.”
Keynotes for retail conferences, shopping centre owners, suppliers and the associations that bring them together. Built on your brief, in person anywhere or online.
Not ready to book? Come to my free session online on Thursday 19 November, or get the Tuesday email.
Thirty years of foresight. Thousands of clients, 2,800+ keynotes and workshops, 160 industries, 25 countries, and heard by more than a million people a year, on stage and in the media.
Some of the organisations I've worked with
Heard and seen on
“I learnt more in 90 minutes about my future, myself, my business and what I really need to do to move forward than I have in the past five years.”
Hamish Macqueen, Director, Cleancorp (NSW)
For retailers, shopping centres, suppliers and retail associations
I've been writing and talking about how we shop since 2007, on radio, in the trade press and on stage with retailers, shopping centre owners and the people who supply them.
A keynote with me starts with your brief and your shoppers, then looks at what's coming for retail before it's trending, what it's likely to set off for your stores, your staff and your suppliers, and the first steps your people can take straight away.
AI is as ordinary as electricity in retail now, so we spend the time on what it sets off: who does the choosing, what a store is for, and which jobs belong with people, machines or AI.
What's forming in retail right now · each one sourced and dated
In an EY survey of 1,000 Australians, 72% were comfortable letting software gather grocery prices for them, only 2% wanted it to do the whole shop, and 63% want a person keeping watch.
Bunnings, Woolworths and Kmart all run shopping assistants now, and analysts think shopping led by software agents is still at least three years from normal.
548 retailers became insolvent in the first half of 2025–26, 34% more than a year earlier, led by furniture, clothing and electronics.
Since 1 January 2026 most fuel and grocery retailers must accept cash for in-person purchases up to $500, between 7am and 9pm.
The ABS stopped its Retail Trade series after June 2025 and now tracks spending through a monthly indicator built from bank data, so the number retailers watched for decades has changed.
Household spending was flat in August 2026, with clothing and footwear down 1.0% in the month while cafes and restaurants rose.
Keynotes for retail · tap any one to open it
For retailers, brands and their suppliers
When I break retail down, it's a series of tasks: stocking, pricing, recommending, serving, transacting. As software does more of the gathering and comparing, more shoppers will authorise a purchase instead of choosing it, and that changes what a brand, a range and a loyalty program are for.
We sort which of those tasks belong with your people, which with machines and which with AI, and what that sets off for your customers, your margins and your staff.
For shopping centres, main streets and retail property
People still go where the crowds are. The spectacle is the excuse, and the gathering is the point, so the question for a centre or a main street is what people come together for, and what you give them when they get there.
We look at what's coming for the space between the shops, the tenancy mix and the visit itself, and the ripples that follow for owners, tenants and councils.
For retail conferences and member events
It's never about the technology or the property, it's always about the people. It's been on my retail keynote slides since 2011, and it matters more now that the tools are everywhere and cost very little.
We look at what your shoppers will expect next, what they'll pay a person for, and what that asks of the people on your floor.
For a conference or kick-off between September and February
What will next year look like for us, and what can we start doing now to make the most of it? We look at what's coming for retail, what it's likely to set off, and the first steps, each with a name and a date, with the half-day workshop straight after if the program allows.
All my keynotes, formats and the way I work are on the keynotes page.
Said early, and dated
From the people who booked me
You would have to be the number one on future trends.
Warren Beaumont, Deputy Editor, Retail World and Convenience World
Morris recently spoke at our Better Business Event, providing local businesses with valuable insight into Frankston's positive future. His knowledge of the area and research into our city's economic growth were insightful, engaging and exciting. His presentation was calm, measured and reassuring.
Lisa Schefman, Business Engagement Officer, Frankston City Council, 2026
Some of the retail organisations I've worked with
IGA, Woolworths, Stockland, JLL Australia and Canada, Carpet Court, Snooze, Paint Place, PZ Cussons, Horticulture Australia, Caltex and ASOFIA's five-city tour.
30 years of foresight · 2,800+ keynotes and workshops · 160 industries · 25 countries · 13 international awards for foresight and innovation
Short clips from the stage
From the people who booked me
Tiffany English, owner of Access Offshoring, on what she took away from my session (captioned)
“A thought provoking and practical session that gave our industry a useful framework for considering not only what is changing, but what those changes may trigger next.”
Leanne Weier, Manager Client Services, Civil Contractors Federation Queensland, 2026 State Conference
“Morris spent a morning with our peer group. His approach was interactive and conversational which best suits this set of busy business owners.”
David Simpson FAICD, Chairman, Edge Group, October 2026
“Morris is brilliant. But if you're reading this, chances are you already know that.”
Anton Barnett-Harris, CEO, Australian Physiotherapy Council
“Morris is the futurist's futurist.”
Sheryl Connelly, Head of Global Trends and Futuring, Ford
No. AI and the tools sit in the background. The keynote is about your shoppers, your stores and your people, and what the tools set off for them.
Yes, every keynote is built from your brief. Supermarkets, fashion, hardware, shopping centres, main streets, franchise networks and the suppliers behind them each get their own.
I've said for more than ten years that physical retail wouldn't disappear, and the numbers since have borne that out. I'll show you what's coming before it's trending, and what it sets off for your stores.
I'd start with who does the choosing, because in an EY survey of 1,000 Australians 72% were comfortable letting software gather grocery prices for them, only 2% wanted it to do the whole shop, and 63% want a person keeping watch. I'd also look at which numbers you can still steer by, because the ABS stopped its Retail Trade series after June 2025, household spending was flat in August 2026 with clothing and footwear down 1.0%, and 548 retailers became insolvent in the first half of 2025–26. Then I'd go through the tasks of a store one by one, from stocking to serving, and ask who should do each.
Bunnings, Woolworths and Kmart all run shopping assistants now, and analysts think shopping led by software agents is still at least three years from normal. So there's time to ask what a brand or a loyalty program is for once shoppers authorise what software has gathered for them.
It depends on the format, the date and the travel. Tell me who's in the room, when and where, and you'll get one figure back.
I'm based in Australia, and I've presented in 25 countries. I travel to you, or present live online on your platform.
Yes. A keynote can be followed by a workshop the same day, so your people turn what they heard into first steps for their own business.
Six ways in, from free to the full day
Start free and see if it suits you, then go as far as it's useful.
Free
One thing that's changing and what it could mean for you, every Tuesday, in a few minutes' reading.
Free
I run one about once a month: 45 minutes on what's coming and what it could mean for your work. The next one's on Thursday 19 November at 11 am AEDT.
First chat free
Bring a decision you're sitting on and think it through with Mo, the AI companion I've built from my own way of looking ahead. Twenty founding seats at A$60 a month close on Friday 27 November.
A$39
My year-end guide, thirteen worksheets in all. The hour version uses five of them, and next year fits on one page. It's an instant download, and in paperback on Amazon too.
Ask for a date
Half a day to two days with me, working out what next year looks like for you and what to start now.
Ask for a date
Opening or closing your conference, built on your brief, in person anywhere or live online.
Tell me the event, the date, who's in the room and whether it's in person or online.
I'll come back to you with how I'd shape the keynote for your shoppers and your people, and one figure.
Email morris@morrisfuturist.com or ring 0427 445 550.
Watch, listen, read
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Morris Misel
Foresight Strategist · Business Futurist · Keynote Speaker
Chair & Industry Fellow, Griffith University Inclusive Futures · Member, G100 Einstein Global Future Think Tank · Top Global and APAC Voices 2026