Scott Steinberg · Consultant, Analyst and Business Strategist
Retail disputes are usually arguments about whether one party behaved the way the trade behaves: how vendor terms are applied, how chargebacks are assessed, how assortment decisions are made, and what a supplier could reasonably expect. A consultant to 3000+ brands, Scott Steinberg covers this and more.
Expert reports, declarations, deposition and trial testimony on AI, IT, online marketplaces, app stores, pricing, retailer and vendor terms, chargeback and deduction practice, assortment and shelf decisions, omnichannel operations, fulfilment and returns, etc.
Our analysts, consultants and SMEs cover myriad areas from brick and more retail stores to eCommerce platforms and online marketplaces.
Trading relationships run on terms documents, vendor guides and a great deal of unwritten convention covering payment timing, allowances, co-op contribution, markdown support and new item costs.
Testimony establishes what terms of that type customarily provided and what a supplier in that position would reasonably have expected.
Deduction disputes examine compliance chargebacks, whether the underlying violation occurred, whether the assessment matched the published schedule, and how disputes were adjudicated.
Testimony addresses convention in deduction practice and identifies patterns where assessment departed from the stated basis.
Delisting and space disputes examine how assortment decisions are ordinarily made, what performance thresholds apply, how planogram space is allocated and what notice a supplier customarily receives.
Testimony describes category management practice and whether the decision at issue followed it.
Conflict arises when a supplier sells direct, when marketplace listings undercut retail, or when pricing diverges between a brand's own channel and its wholesale partners.
Testimony addresses how these relationships are customarily managed and what obligations each side ordinarily assumes.
Operational disputes involve fill rate obligations, on-time delivery performance, allocation during shortage, inventory accuracy and the consequences of missing a delivery window.
Testimony addresses performance convention in that channel and what a failure realistically cost given the category's timing.
Returns disputes examine policy administration, restocking and disposition decisions, who bears the cost of consumer returns, and how return rates were represented in a trading relationship.
Testimony addresses reverse logistics convention and whether the handling here matched what the trade expects.
Own-brand disputes involve development using supplier-shared information, similarity of packaging and formulation to national brands, sourcing transitions and exclusivity commitments.
Testimony addresses private label development convention and where the conduct at issue departed from it.
Programme disputes involve points valuation and devaluation, expiry practice, terms changes applied to accrued balances, and how customer data gathered through loyalty is used and shared.
Testimony addresses convention in programme administration and what participants would reasonably have expected.
Deduction records, purchase order history and assortment decisions generate very large data sets, so early scoping of what actually needs analysis controls the cost. Work is accepted for either side.
Written opinions on AI, pricing, online marketplaces, vendor terms application, deduction validity, assortment reasoning, eCommerce, etc.
Testimony on areas like how retail trading relationships actually work, including the parts that are never written down.
Responsive analysis of lost sales models, deduction justifications and assumptions about shelf performance.
Non-testifying review of trading terms, deduction records and assortment history, plus discovery scoping.
Scott Steinberg is an analyst, consultant and business trends expert with over 25 years of experience providing management and strategic consulting services to more than 3,000 businesses and brands ranging from startups to government agencies and Fortune 500 firms.
He has testified in sample areas including intellectual property — copyrights, trademarks and patents — patent infringement, marketing, branding, video games, mobile applications, consumer product development, and the growth and monetization of online distribution platforms.
He is the author of over 30 books and has published more than five thousand articles addressing areas including but not limited to marketing, technology, leadership, innovation, advertising, digital transformation, data privacy and social networks. He appears regularly on ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC, and has led seminars and training programs for organizations including Wells Fargo, the PGA Tour, Century 21, Ford, Dell and Procter & Gamble.
His consulting work has been broadly recognized. He has served as a thought leader for the American Bar Association and Corporate Counsel magazine, and has received honors from the International Association for Scholastic Excellence, Fortune, and the 21st Century Icon Awards, among others.
A retail expert witness covers areas like eCommerce, app stores, online marketplaces, etc. and establishes what the trade actually does: how vendor terms are applied, how deductions and chargebacks are assessed, how assortment and shelf decisions are made, what fulfilment performance is expected, and how channel conflict is customarily managed. Instructions are taken from claimant and defendant alike.
Because a great deal of the relationship never appears in the contract. Payment timing, allowance expectations, markdown support, notice before delisting and dispute handling are governed by convention that is remarkably consistent across the trade and almost entirely undocumented. Establishing it is often what decides the matter.
Whether the underlying compliance violation actually occurred, whether the amount assessed matched the published schedule, whether deductions were applied consistently across suppliers, and whether the dispute process was administered as described. Pattern analysis across the deduction record usually does the heavy lifting.
Typically against category management convention: what performance thresholds ordinarily apply, how planogram space is allocated within a category, what review cycle governs assortment decisions, and what notice a supplier customarily receives. The question is whether the decision followed normal process or departed from it.
Yes. Omnichannel conflict, marketplace pricing against wholesale terms, direct-to-consumer transitions and fulfilment across channels are central to most current retail disputes, and the practice covers the trading relationship wherever the goods actually move.
Initial conversations about scope, timing and conflicts are without charge. Helpful detail includes the trading relationship and period at issue, the practice alleged and any expert disclosure deadline already set.
A conflicts check is run before any substantive discussion. An initial note listing the party names and a one-line description of the dispute is enough to start; please hold privileged or confidential material until the check clears.