January 9, 2023

We are excited to share our conversation with Professor Rayn Wang, who teaches two courses for the MS in Marketing & Retail Science (MSMRS) program this year: Retail Technology and Channel Management, and the Capstone project. Professor Wang brings a breadth of knowledge and experience based on her decades of industry research in China. Her expertise and insight proved to be particularly meaningful for students.

1. Tell us a bit about your fall semester course.

The course is called Retail Technology and Channel Management, and it covers channel and retail functions, as well as general management. Students learn how to improve channel and retail efficiency, such as understanding how to grow new businesses while leveraging technology to acquire more customers. They are equipped with the necessary tools to analyze gaps, identify issues, develop proposals for improvement, and assess solutions based on realistic business simulations. My ultimate goal is to help students continuously maximize their marketing skills and acumen.

Professor Rayn Wang lecturing in her MS in Marketing & Retail Science (MSMRS) course

2. How do you integrate Western and Eastern perspectives given the joint nature of the program between NYU Stern and NYU Shanghai?

Leveraging NYU Stern and NYU Shanghai resources, such as our program’s dedicated library search page at Retail & New Retail Guide, the course integrates fundamental business-management concepts, the latest trends in global technology, and practical “growth hacks” to vividly illustrate retail and channel development in China. Both globalization and localization play key roles in China's “New Retail” development. Instead of presenting students with the “right” answers, I guide them through various methods of analysis, evaluation, and decision-making to teach them to generate “best-fit” solutions for a variety of scenarios. I want them to feel as though they are immersed in the industry, developing insights alongside China's retail and eCommerce growth. Instead of merely memorizing facts about China’s distribution and channel development, students will understand the “hows” and “whys” of the country’s growth in new retail areas. In addition, we explore a few cases where well-known western companies have failed in China despite powerful brand names or market share. Case studies are designed to help students learn that understanding differences in culture, customer lifestyle, habits, and preferences are all crucial in business development.

3. How is the curriculum tailored to pre-experience (students straight out of undergrad without work experience) Master’s students?

I tailor the course to pre-experience students by using real-world case studies and simulations, while instilling an approach to help them develop a holistic business view. Real-world cases are introduced to cultivate students’ curiosity and increase their engagement. I want our students to stand on the shoulders of giants—and learn from both failures and successes to pursue their own breakthroughs and development opportunities. Playing roles within simulations allow students to consider multiple perspectives in a challenging business environment. An example would be a boardroom debate involving a CMO and CFO who disagree on an important proposal. While the course dives deep into new media, channels, and technologies, I always emphasize the value creation chain from a bird's-eye perspective and explain to students how each part of the business connects.

4. What are your impressions of the MSMRS students so far?

I am impressed by their ability to learn and their bias toward action. After I show them how to assess a situation, they continue to explore areas for improvement and take immediate actions. I find they have entrepreneurial spirits. On top of that, grades are not their end goal. They are here to learn. They keep brainstorming ways of optimizing their chosen solution even after they’ve completed the assignment. Although their work experience might be limited, they are actively involved in learning and instinctively relate the material to their previous experiences, family backgrounds, and exposure to different cultures—and in doing so, they bring their global perspectives and different observations to bear in the classroom. All of these add color to this course. In this sense, they partner with me to co-design and own their learning journey.

5. How do you help students achieve the learning objectives of the course?

A potential marketer will be a fast learner, and the quickest and most natural way for an adult to learn is through imitation. Students first listen and observe, then create something on their own. Benchmarking is a crucial tool. But instead of passively absorbing existing case studies, students will be asked to act as an adjudicator, actively questioning the “best practices” and continually seeking better ways to improve.

In addition, I try to train these fast learners on how to think by introducing a set of activities based on the “Habit Loop”, a process that helps students develop a habit. I start each class by fielding students' questions based on pre-reading to cue students to start engaging in the class. I then introduce practical tools to deepen their learning by incorporating real case analyses, assignments, and discussions. I build in class rewards helping students reflect on their learning and connect interesting content with their own experiences. I hope to empower students to own their learning and establish a learning habit.

Formula for creating a habit: “The Habit Loop”

1. Cue: “Question Parking Lot”
2. Routine: “In-Class Lecturing and Discussion”
3. Reward: “Post-class Takeaways”.

6. Are there other highlights of the course you want to share (i.e. group projects, case discussion, guest speakers, company visits)?

Rather than relying solely on lectures or simulated scenarios about new trends and technologies to teach students retail and channel concepts, I incorporate experiential opportunities into the course, because it’s important for students to gain first-hand experience. These opportunities have been limited due to the pandemic, but we’ve still managed to visit the Microsoft Innovation Lab in Shanghai, where students were able to see, touch and feel the power of technology to enable business excellence and enhance the customer experience in the real world.

In addition, we welcomed a guest speaker from the Dingdong Grocery app, who was responsible for bringing backend AI and logistic optimization to the front-facing user experience. He illustrated this complicated algorithm in front of our students. This was an impressive feat, especially for those who experienced firsthand the Shanghai lockdown in early 2022.

Students visiting the Microsoft Innovation Lab. Jennifer Kang, MSMRS CO’23, enjoyed the visit, remarking: “It was fascinating to actually see the application of what we learned in class applied to real-world settings, especially at a prominent company like Microsoft. We spent about two hours there, but got to experiment and witness a lot of technology/tools such as ESL (electronic shelf labeling), AR/VR applications etc. It really brings to light how offline retail has evolved over the past decade, and the monumental role that technology developments have played to propel this growth and acceleration.”

7. How is this course impacted by your own research or background?

Since publishing my first book, The Connected Marketing, I have begun researching the digital domain—especially private assets—for my second book. The content will focus on how the digital-channel mix works for small businesses, and, eventually, for individuals. Consumers will essentially become their own organic products and channel managers. With blockchain development, everyone will be able to manage, own and develop their digital assets. So students will learn a new, personal way of approaching channel management, moving beyond the perspective of companies and brands. My industry experience is quite diverse, and I enjoy bringing these connections into—and outside of—class. Students are keen on discussing the metaverse, so I make it a point of inviting industry leaders in that space to discuss future metaverse opportunities and explore potential impacts on retail and customer lifestyles.

8. In addition to the Retail Technology course, you are also teaching the Capstone course. What are you most looking forward to about teaching this course?

Problem-solving is a critical skill for marketers. I have students (4-5 people/group) participate in a project where they work with real organizations. They will collaborate intensively with sponsors and companies to collect and analyze data, develop insights, find root causes, and propose plans. Students are expected to leverage all the resources at their disposal from NYU Stern and NYU Shanghai, keep their minds open, be creative, and develop fresh, out-of-box proposals. Companies will review and provide feedback on the final group proposals. It’s an exciting experiential learning opportunity for the students that brings together all of the in-classroom learning from the whole year.

Thank you to Professor Wang! It was great to hear more about her background and courses, and it’s clear that the students are also gaining a wide range of skills and knowledge. The students have also expressed excitement about the next steps of the capstone project as an opportunity to put the classroom learning into play. As Luxuan Sheng (MSMRS CO’23) shared, “Working with great global firms on the capstone project is a really exciting thing, because they offer us great resources and the real cases that they are actually working on. It will be a great opportunity for us to jump out of the classroom and practice the knowledge we learned to come up with business solutions that will be considered seriously by the companies or their clients at the end.”