Now that the holiday season is said and done — much to the delight of some companies and the relief of others — retailers are looking ahead at a brand new year. While the ghosts of 2017 (store closures, bankruptcies and unstable executive leadership) won't simply vanish, there's a lot to look forward to if you ask Doug Stephens, founder and CEO of Retail Prophet.

On the show this time, editor and host of the podcast Corinne Ruff called Stephens to get his take on predictions for the new year across a range of retail categories — from who might make a big acquisition to which retailer might fade from the retail landscape altogether. You'll hear all 10 of these and more in our conversation. 

And stay tuned for more episodes. We'll be recording at the National Retail Federation's Big Show. If you'll be there too, feel free to swing by the podcast booth on Jan. 14 to to listen to an executive interview and on Jan. 16 to hear conference takeaways from the Retail Dive team.

Alright, back to predictions. Sit back, relax and listen. You can stream the episode below or subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.