How B&H Photo Builds Loyalty Through Radical Service | CommerceNext 2025 with Jeff Gerstel
In this exclusive interview from the CommerceNext Growth Show, Omni Talk sits down with Jeff Gerstel, CMO of B&H Photo and Video, to explore how one of New York’s most iconic retailers continues to set the bar for loyalty, service, and operational excellence—even with just one physical store.
🎯 Topics discussed:
– Why service, not gimmicks, drives B&H’s customer loyalty
– How livestream video and global ecommerce fuel their success
– What every retailer should do to improve the customer experience
– The practical approach B&H takes to AI and emerging retail tech
– The secret to 99.8% on-time fulfillment (and what they do for the 0.2%)
👏 Huge thanks to GreyOrange for supporting our coverage and enabling smarter, real-time inventory at H&M and beyond.
📍 If you're in NYC, don't miss the B&H store at 34th & 9th or visit the H&M Soho Store on Broadway to see tech in action.
#commercenext #retailnews #retailtech #retailinnovation
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Transcript
Hello everyone.
Speaker A:Welcome back.
Speaker A:We are live again from the Commerce Next Growth show here in New York.
Speaker A:This is omnitalk Retail.
Speaker A:I'm Anne Mazinga.
Speaker B:And I'm Chris Walton.
Speaker A:And we are joined by a fantastic guest today who we'll introduce in just a moment.
Speaker A:But before we do, we want to give a big thank you to the team at Gray Orange for making all of our coverage from the Commerce Next Growth show possible.
Speaker A:For you all at home watching the G Store platform from Gray Orange helps retailers like H and M achieve real time inventory visibility.
Speaker A:Providing H and M with the same inventory data in store as they have online.
Speaker A:If you are here in the city, you're at Commerce Next, go swing by their Soho store where you the H&M Soho store where you can see the G Store platform live.
Speaker A:And if you are at home watching, you could go see a tour of that store on our OmniTok retail YouTube channel.
Speaker A:Joining us now though is Jeffrey Gerstel, the CMO of B and H Photo and video.
Speaker A:I threw the video in there.
Speaker C:That's okay.
Speaker A:Yeah, like video is still very important.
Speaker A:Part of the huge part.
Speaker A:Yes, yes.
Speaker A:So it has to be included.
Speaker C:Well, look at this on video.
Speaker B:I know, right?
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker B:So we're really excited to have you.
Speaker B:I was going online checking out the store because I've never, I've never actually been in it, but I was looking at it.
Speaker B:It's massive.
Speaker B:It's really big, really big operation.
Speaker B:But for those of us that are like us from Minnesota that maybe have never been in the store.
Speaker B:Tell us about it.
Speaker B:What is it?
Speaker B:What, what is it all about?
Speaker B:Tell us about the brand.
Speaker C:So B and H started 52 years ago and since then our whole business has been taking care of professional, professional photographers, videographers, audio people, basically anyone in the creative field.
Speaker C:And what makes us different is kind of an old school, hands on, high touch approach.
Speaker C:So we sell a lot of very complicated gear and our approach is to be a place that people can come to get advice, solutions, troubleshoot, and basically get a service that doesn't exist anymore or doesn't exist anywhere else anymore, I should say.
Speaker B:Right, right.
Speaker C:No, it still exists with us for sure.
Speaker B:So tell us about your role too.
Speaker B:So what all do you oversee?
Speaker B:What are you in charge of?
Speaker B:How do you, what's your day to day look like?
Speaker C:Well, we're kind of like a really big mom and pop company.
Speaker C:So a little of this, a little that.
Speaker C:But.
Speaker C:So I'll oversee the advertising, marketing, sales, car, customer service and customer insights.
Speaker C:That's most of it social media and then whatever else comes up on any given day.
Speaker A:And where are your customers?
Speaker A:I mean, what are those channels that are really at the forefront of where your consumers are?
Speaker C:Yeah, I think last year we sold to customers in 196 countries.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker C:So it's all over the world.
Speaker C:Obviously, the United States is the biggest market and pretty much all across the country.
Speaker A:And what about the marketing tactics that you're seeing?
Speaker A:Like, where are the marketing channels?
Speaker A:Like, where are your customers coming to you from?
Speaker A:You have a big, like, the store and the service element is a really big deal.
Speaker C:Yeah, I mean, we have one store, so there's this one store.
Speaker C:Most of the businesses online, whether B2B or B2C, is it right?
Speaker C:And, you know, it's a huge amount of repeat customers.
Speaker C:So a lot of it is happy customers.
Speaker C:And we're all about making sure every transaction goes well.
Speaker C:So it's literally a customer by customer approach.
Speaker C:And our marketing magic is if you treat people right, they'll probably come back and go ahead.
Speaker A:Chris.
Speaker B:Oh, I was gonna say.
Speaker B:And it's not even just like e commerce traditionally.
Speaker B:Like, I was looking online yesterday.
Speaker B:I saw some YouTube videos.
Speaker B:You have, like, live help commerce too, via your Internet portal, right?
Speaker C:Yeah, our YouTube channel's been pretty good.
Speaker C:We're at 991,000 subscribers, so maybe you can help subscribe.
Speaker C:We have that big thing we're hoping to hit, but there's a lot of opportunities.
Speaker C:People can engage with video chat.
Speaker C:So you can literally go in your computer, computer from anywhere in the world, connect with one of our experts to go through your questions, your issues.
Speaker C:And there's never a purchase required, so it's all free.
Speaker C:And our feeling is if we give you better service than you can find anywhere else, there's a good chance you'll come back.
Speaker C:And so far, it's worked.
Speaker B:It convinced me.
Speaker B:Watching it, I was like, okay, yeah, maybe they could help us out with some of our tech needs.
Speaker C:Give it a try.
Speaker C:It could be round two.
Speaker C:How did we do?
Speaker A:Well, I'm curious, Jeff, what you're going to be talking about on stage in a little bit today and how much of what you just talked about, really focusing on that experience part and service part of the business that you'll share today?
Speaker C:Yeah, I think it's a panel later on about loyalty and building loyalty.
Speaker C:And for us, it's all about, I'd say, keeping promises.
Speaker C:I think you build trust by fulfilling your promises.
Speaker C:So if you place an order, we say we're going to ship it tomorrow.
Speaker C:We're going to ship it tomorrow.
Speaker C:And if we don't, we're going to tell you we didn't, so you're not surprised.
Speaker C:And literally what we find is, if we do what this is a revolutionary concept.
Speaker C:If we do what we say we'll do, people kind of appreciate that.
Speaker C:They don't expect that anymore.
Speaker C:So that's what we've done.
Speaker C:Literally, the whole organization is focused on, where can we do better?
Speaker C:Identifying a customer at a time, where did we miss and how do we fix it?
Speaker C:Like, last month, we shipped 99.8% of our orders on time or early.
Speaker B:Oh, wow.
Speaker C:Which, you know, you say, oh, wow, but I hear 0.2 didn't.
Speaker C:So I don't know.
Speaker C:You know, forget about the exact number.
Speaker C:But that's around a thousand people who didn't get their order on time.
Speaker C:So those people don't think that's great.
Speaker C:And our approach is, how do we make that better?
Speaker C:How do we get to 100%?
Speaker C:And literally, we drive ourselves in that direction.
Speaker C:And our feeling is, if we do that, that creates loyalty.
Speaker C:It's not about points and gimmicks and the idea of the day.
Speaker C:It's about fulfilling your promises consistently, day to day, week to week, year to year, and building that trust across your customer base every day.
Speaker B:How do you think about those thousand customers?
Speaker B:Do you do anything special for them on the back end?
Speaker B:Or, like, how do you think about that?
Speaker C:I think think is the wrong word.
Speaker C:Like, obsess might be better.
Speaker B:Obsess.
Speaker B:Okay, I like that.
Speaker C:We're constantly trying to figure out why, what happened, why did we miss?
Speaker C:And, you know, sometimes it's as simple as something wasn't where it belonged in our warehouse.
Speaker C:Okay, how do we fix that?
Speaker C:You know, sometimes our delivery partners don't get it on time.
Speaker C:How do we fix it?
Speaker C:And unfortunately, you know, it's never going to be perfect, But a lot of it is communicating.
Speaker C:So people know, like, I placed an order on Sunday with some other brand.
Speaker C:I won't mention them.
Speaker C:You know, I got an order confirmation Sunday.
Speaker C:It said I would get the package Friday.
Speaker C:This is Thursday, right now.
Speaker C:Monday, Crickets, nothing.
Speaker C:Tuesday, they actually ship the order.
Speaker C:So I thought, why didn't you ship it on Monday?
Speaker C:Yesterday, Wednesday, I got some email about your purchase, has new friends.
Speaker C:So they're trying to tell me about all these things I should add on in a cutesy way.
Speaker C:And I'm like, how about shipping my package on time?
Speaker C:And they never told me that while they promised it would come Friday, now it's supposed to come Monday.
Speaker C:And so that's like everything.
Speaker B:It's a big delay too when you miss that weekend.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker C:It's not the end of the world.
Speaker C:But if they told me and whatever then, then the best was I went to FedEx and looked there, says I'll get it Saturday.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:So they don't.
Speaker A:So you have no idea.
Speaker C:Just tell me the truth.
Speaker B:It's a roll of the dice.
Speaker B:It's a roll of the dice.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So it's kind of simple like that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Right, right.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So technology is becoming a key piece of the job, I'm sure for you.
Speaker B:We talked a little bit about livestream service that you're running through your e commerce website.
Speaker B:What other technologies are you interested in, particularly at this show or that you're looking at to improve the company and your job too?
Speaker C:Well, you know, we're always looking for ways to improve the shopping experience for customers.
Speaker C:So it's one thing when people come in the store and you can talk to them, it's another thing when they're on the website.
Speaker C:So technologies that let us basically shine a light and amplify what we already do well are interesting.
Speaker C:Technologies that help equip our agents with more information and access it quicker, are helpful.
Speaker C:And we do a lot with post purchase satisfaction.
Speaker C:So you know, 10 years ago that meant a survey.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:Today, you know, these young people don't like to fill out surveys anymore.
Speaker B:I don't know, old people don't either.
Speaker C:Well, nobody likes to, so.
Speaker C:So we're, you know, working a lot on analytics to evaluate the transactions.
Speaker C:We're doing the interactions to see how again, how can we do them better, easier and remove obstacles for the customer.
Speaker A:That's fantastic.
Speaker C:And not tell them about add on items before they get their order right.
Speaker A:Just keeping transactions transparency.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:Is AI a big thing for you, Jeff?
Speaker B:Are you looking at that at all like in your role for the company?
Speaker B:I'm curious, like how does a one store operation look at AI and the dawn of AI?
Speaker C:Well, I mean, I think, let me just clarify.
Speaker C:The one store for us, the store is like the brand flagship, but primarily the business is online e commerce.
Speaker C:So we're looking at AI in terms of where it can help what we're doing more effectively.
Speaker C:There's, you know, you walk through any conference like this with a lot of technology vendors.
Speaker C:There's a, there's a nice assortment of shiny objects.
Speaker B:Yeah, quite a few.
Speaker C:Hope I don't get in trouble for saying that.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker C:So the Question is, we would agree with you what's practical, what's proven, and, and what's the use case, and does it further what you're doing, yes or no?
Speaker C:If it does, we're interested.
Speaker C:If, if not, let someone else figure it out.
Speaker C:And once they figure it out, we'll be a fast follower.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker C:Well, you know, we don't need to be the tech innovator, but we want to just make good decisions and use our resources effectively.
Speaker B:That makes sense.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's a great approach.
Speaker A:Jeff, I think I may know the answer to this, but what do you think it is that B and H does better than most retailers?
Speaker A:And what advice would you have for those retailers and brands in the audience listening?
Speaker C:You know what I'm going to say.
Speaker A:To be, to be up to the B and H standard?
Speaker C:Well, look, at some level, we try to do something that nobody else out there is doing with a level of service expertise and an offer to people to help them make solutions on complicated decisions.
Speaker C:The technology we sell tends to be very complicated.
Speaker C:People need help, and that's what we're trying to do.
Speaker C:But I would say I would, I would kind of my advice be, look at what you're doing.
Speaker C:Go actually to your website or your mobile site, you all have a phone, and try and buy something from yourself and see how did it go?
Speaker C:You know, did it go well?
Speaker C:Where were the issues?
Speaker C:Where were the problems?
Speaker C:And fix them.
Speaker C:And that's what I would say more than anything else.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:The other stuff, though, is secondary to me.
Speaker C:If we're, if we're doing a good job executing, fulfilling those promises we make to customers, we believe at least the rest will fall into place.
Speaker C:And it's worked for us.
Speaker C:And I think it's an approach I'd love to see.
Speaker C:Like this morning, I took an Uber here and now.
Speaker C:When's the last time when you put in a thing for an Uber and it said it'll be there in two minutes?
Speaker C:Never happens.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So today it actually got there in a minute for me.
Speaker B:Yesterday too.
Speaker B:I was like, what's going on?
Speaker C:So they shocked me by doing what they said they would do.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said Uber.
Speaker C:Hopefully you'll edit that out.
Speaker B:Oh, it's fine.
Speaker C:No, but again, the point is, I think we've become so accustomed to underwhelming brands not delivering and that when they do, we're surprised.
Speaker C:So just deliver.
Speaker C:Be one of those brands that does what it says it'll do.
Speaker C:I think it'll do magic for you.
Speaker B:You gotta eat what you cook.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's one way to put it.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:I'm not.
Speaker C:I gotta think about that.
Speaker B:Yeah, right.
Speaker C:Maybe I'll use that later in the panel.
Speaker B:Probably will.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Great advice.
Speaker B:It's a good, good saying.
Speaker A:Thank you so much.
Speaker A:Jeff Gerstel, CMO of B and H Photo and Video.
Speaker A:Thanks again to Gray Orange for making all of our coverage here at Commerce Next possible.
Speaker A:Again, you can check out their store down the H and M store with G store enabled down at the SoHo location on 591 Broadway.
Speaker A:And that.
Speaker C:Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Speaker C:And also go to the B H store at 420 Ninth Ave at 34th Street.
Speaker A:Don't forget that.
Speaker A:Yes, there's.
Speaker A:It's a great shop.
Speaker A:You have to check it out if you're here in New York.
Speaker A:And thank you all for following along as we covered here at Commerce.
Speaker A:Next, all these interviews with all these fantastic brands.
Speaker A:And until the next conference, Chris, be careful out there.
