The Voice of Retail

In this episode of The Voice of Retail, I sit down with Cheryl Ong Seng, Vice President of Retail at Circana, to explore the latest trends shaping the Canadian retail landscape. From consumer confidence and value-seeking behaviours to the challenges of personalization and pricing strategies, they cover the key insights retailers need to know.

Cheryl shares her journey from Mauritius and Australia to leading Circana’s retail insights based in Canmore, Alberta, providing a unique perspective on the data and analytics that drive decision-making in the industry. She explains how Circana collects and interprets consumer trends across multiple sectors, helping retailers and brands stay ahead in an evolving market.

One of the key themes of the conversation is how consumer behaviour continues to shift in response to economic pressures. Cheryl and Michael discuss how Canadian shoppers seek more value through private-label products, reward programs, or trading down to budget-friendly options. They explore the “little treat culture paradox,” where consumers splurge on premium items like coffee or gourmet groceries rather than traditional dining experiences.

The episode also examines the role of AI and technology in retail, particularly in enabling better personalization and targeted marketing. Despite years of discussion around personalization, many retailers still struggle to deliver relevant promotions to their customers. Cheryl shares insights on how AI-driven data analytics can unlock new opportunities for more effective engagement.

Pricing strategy is another hot topic, as retailers weigh the benefits of everyday low pricing (EDLP) versus high-low promotional models. Cheryl highlights the importance of understanding consumer psychology—while EDLP offers stability, shoppers often respond more enthusiastically to promotions and perceived discounts.

Finally, the discussion touches on key industry trends, including the rise of buy-now-pay-later options, the growing consumer preference for Canadian-made products, and the balance between sustainability and affordability in purchasing decisions.

Whether you’re a retailer, brand leader, or industry analyst, this episode offers valuable insights into the future of retail in Canada. Tune in for expert perspectives on the data-driven decisions shaping the industry today.

About Cheryl

As Vice President of Retail Canada, Cheryl Ong Seng is responsible for leading retail commercial teams in Canada. This includes retail client engagement, thought leadership and delivery of innovative solutions that enable accelerated decision making along with enhanced retailer-

manufacturer joint business collaboration. Cheryl came to Canada from Sydney, Australia and was the first person to serve as Client Service Account Director for Aztec Canada, a startup business in 2010. She joined IRI as part of the IRI- Aztec merger in 2013 and has since held multiple roles as IRI merged with the NPD Group and rebranded to Circana, including Vice President of Client Service, Managing Director and more recently Vice President of Retail Canada. Leveraging her expertise in analytics, shopper marketing solutions and bespoke client services management, Cheryl has led the expansion of the company’s leading-edge capabilities in Canada.

Originally from Mauritius Island, Cheryl grew up in Australia where she graduated from the University of Sydney, where she earned a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics, majoring in Marketing and Economics. Beyond the world of Circana, she has a passion for the outdoors and resides in Canmore allowing her to take full advantage of the Canadian Rockies. In addition to this, she sites her proudest achievement as conquering Mt. Elbrus, Russia, one of the seven summits of the world and aspires to climb a second summit.

Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur.  He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. 

Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google.  He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.

Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer.  If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.

Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.