Jessica Veronica Couch

Founder, writer, speaker and researcher

Jessica Veronica Couch

Jessica Couch stands as a luminary in the Retail and Retail Tech industries, renowned for her exceptional leadership and expertise. With over a decade of experience as a Marketing and Innovation Strategy Consultant, she is celebrated for her pioneering approach in User Experience and Human-centered design for commerce. Jessica's extensive experience encompasses a broad spectrum of areas, including technology integration, agile development, product management, design thinking, and consumer insights across fashion, beauty, CPG, health, wellness, and tech sectors. Her impressive client portfolio includes industry giants like Nordstrom and Amazon.

Recognized as a trusted authority in retail tech, Jessica has provided invaluable advice to a multitude of companies, brands, and retailers. She is the mastermind behind Women of Color Worldwide, an influential community organization dedicated to women of color at the nexus of creative and technological fields, known for its signature annual brunch. Additionally, Jessica is the creator of Canna Conversations, a groundbreaking series spotlighting women in the cannabis industry.

As the founder of Looks, a pioneering personalized peer-to-peer shopping platform, Jessica continues to push the boundaries of retail innovation. Her academic and professional contributions are as remarkable as her business achievements. She has served as a former Dean’s Young Alumni Council Member at NC State Wilson College of Textiles and as an advisor for the MIT Kinetic Program. Her mentorship extends to students for whom she has developed cutting-edge curriculums in Fashion Tech. A guest writer for WWD and a Board Member of the Carnell Couch Foundation, Jessica's insights and expertise are widely sought after.

Her academic prowess is evidenced by her:

  • Master's degree from Cornell University

  • Certificate in Digital Product Management from the University of Virginia.

  • B.S. NC State Wilson College of Textiles

    As a distinguished speaker and writer, Jessica Couch continues to inspire and lead in the ever-evolving realms of retail and technology.

Portfolio

  • Led market research and roadmap development, pinpointing opportunities and guiding cross-functional teams to align with strategic goals, speeding up product launches.
    Championed agile methodologies, improving team collaboration and efficiency, resulting in reduced time-to-market for key product features.
    Utilized data analytics for informed decision-making, driving product strategies and performance evaluations against key metrics.
    Oversaw the full product lifecycle, from inception to launch and iteration, adapting to feedback and market changes to enhance user engagement and profitability.

  • Led the development of a two-year engagement with Nordstrom Beauty’s inclusive beauty initiative to identify opportunities for product development and vendor procurement, utilizing a community panel of over 75,000 people interested in beauty and fashion to gain insights for strategic marketing, and conducting a qualitative and quantitative study, in-store focus group, and geospatial analysis for brand executives to understand market opportunities.

    View Results

  • Over a span of two years, our team dove deep into an extensive data pool, analyzing more than 2,800 videos and over 300,000 minutes of user-generated content. This wasn't just about crunching numbers; it was about unlocking the secrets hidden within the beauty industry's customer base for a leading beauty retailer.

    From this ocean of data, we surfaced with over 3,000 keywords that paint a vivid picture of what today's beauty consumers really want, think, and feel. This is the kind of insight that can transform a business. It's direct feedback from the market, distilled into actionable intelligence that the retailer can use to refine their product lineup, customize their marketing efforts, and create the kind of customer experiences that build loyalty and drive sales.

    This analysis is a game-changer. It gives the retailer a crystal-clear understanding of consumer preferences and emerging trends. With this knowledge, they can stay a step ahead, making informed decisions that resonate with their audience. It's about delivering what consumers are asking for, sometimes before they even ask for it.

  • Transitioned (3) black owned and operated brands, Auda B, London Grant and AJ Crimson, into e-Commerce relationships with Nordstrom beauty, through targeted sourcing, leveraging unit targets across marketing and sales to drive SEO, ads, conversion, and retail/wholesale conversations unlocking a sales increase of +12% YOY.

  • Develop recruiting and retention strategies for Equinix, by assessing their current retention and recruitment strategies and improving them, leading to 35% hiring rate for identified candidates of dive

    se backgrounds.

  • Developed influencer campaigns reaching +268k customers with 4.5% engagement, and curated in-store complexion matching activation in 5 doors, resulting in an uptick in product sales of 9% overall. Identified tech

    stack and partnered with Ai tool for consumer

    experience campaign.