Future Commerce

August Bonus Episode - NRF Interview with Sheetz, Rituals

"Making a Lasting Impression in a Single Moment of Time" (w/ Charlie Cole, CDO @ Tumi and Joseph Ansanelli, CEO @ Gladly)

How do modern brands create joyful customer experiences that last a lifetime? Charlie Cole, Chief Digital Officer of luxury travel brand Tumi, Joseph Ansanelli, CEO of customer support platform Gladly join us to talk about how to know your customer, how to anticipate their needs, and how to stand out in a sea of startup DTC players. Listen now! Main Takeaways: Charlie Cole (Chief Digital Officer, TUMI ) and Joseph Ansanelli (CEO and Co-Founder, Gladly ) join Brian and Phillip as their special gu...

Trustwashing

We ask the question - is social activism by brands virtue-signaling or tone-deaf marketing? Listen now! Main Takeaways: Woke-washing has become more and more prevalent in today's economy, where social awareness is a major selling point. Are there ways to be socially conscious without completely being dedicated to a cause or movement? Woke gatekeepers are the first to point out how brands are deviating from their message, even if those brands are putting in the extra work to remain socially consc...

"Late-Stage Capitalism"

Phillip and Brian get into the implications of multi-generational branding, the ever-changing face of retail interactions, and discuss how empowering employees is key to boosting customer retention. Listen now! Main Takeaways: Retail experiences that go above and beyond the normal call of duty can lead to brand loyalty that spans several generations. Retail used to be based upon in-person interactions with shopkeepers and store owners, but how do we bring these interactions into the digital age?...

Overcoming Choice Paralysis (feat. Claudine Bianchi, CMO at Zoovu)

Our 2019 theme of clienteling for digital commerce continues with an interview with Claudine Bianchi, CMO at Zoovu, a Guided Commerce service which connects customer needs to products and services from retail brands. Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Future Commerce has declared 2019 the year of "clienteling" and personalized experiences for consumers. Zoovu is helping (mostly) B2C companies create curated product search selections for their customers. Amazon brands that work with Zoovu ar...

Re-Commerce®

Our Monday Update is back: "Re-commerce" players like StockX and TheRealReal have huge news this week in our continued coverage of Secondhand Commerce. Listen now!

Store Closings in Reverse (w/ Ingrid Milman, e.l.f. Cosmetics)

Ingrid Milman is back, and she has some really exciting news to share with our audience! Some retailers are opening more stores, and somehow, Brian has never been to a Burlington. Plus- So many legacy brands are overusing terms like "data-driven," and both Glossier and Lively have figured out (in different ways) how to create communities around both their products and their customers! Listen Now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Ingrid Milman is guest hosting this week, and she's got some pretty big ...

Cheap Fakes

Phillip and Brian are back to talking about deep fakes (and cheap fakes), Instagram may be having a massive influence on purchasing decisions, and is the term direct-to-consumer no longer relevant? Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: There's deep fakes, cheap fakes, and shallow fakes, and it's all getting a little ridiculous. Should Anna Delvin (aka Anna Sorokin) become the next CMO of Victoria Secret? Everyone should probably start sending Brian hate mail. The Instagram aesthetic is no long...

"Chipotle is Woke Subway"

Brian wants to go "woke" hunting, Phillip identifies socially conscious brands, Digiday launches Modern Retail. PLUS: MailChimp creates a content division because, quote, "why not?" Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Brian wants to tell all of us about "woke commerce," and he's taken to Twitter to talk about it Will outdoor brands start to cater to hunters and fishers in the counterculture? June is Pride Month (Happy Pride!!), and brands are using their platforms to amplify allyship with th...

"Real Estate as a Luxury Impulse Purchase"

Instagram is powering impulse luxury purchases, Snapchat launches commerce (for influencers), IKEA rolls out robot furniture, PLUS: Stitch Fix earnings are in, and the outcome might surprise you. Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Snapchat seems to either be making a comeback, or they're just really good at getting people to buy things. Is social commerce the future of shopping? Could social shopping be a new form of clientelling? Don't Call it a Comeback: Snapchat Snaps Back: In the first ...

"Challenging the Design Normative"

Bonobos is the newest to try-before-you-buy brands, Walmart is killing it, Phillip loves on ULTA (again) but not for the reason you think - PLUS a new approach to designing e-commerce experiences for Gen Z. Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: A pilot program that would have had facial recognition technology being used in a public school is put on hold, for all of the reasons. Are stripped down, discovery heavy e-commerce sites the future of user experience? Phillip's pretty much obsessed wit...

Is Conversational Commerce a $112B Opportunity?

What does Star Trek teach us about ambient computing? How is voice evolving? Is voice dead? And if not is it a potential $112B market opportunity? Special bonus episode COMIN ATCHA. Listen now!

"Mood Ring Garter Belts by Subscription"

One of these things is not like the other: Arby's x Birchbox, $88 rental products from Urban Outfitters and a prediction of Kohl's having a potential suitor. Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Urban Outfitters has a new rental-subscription service, but will GenZ even care? 23andMe teams up with Airbnb to help consumers with their travel plans: is this super creepy, or genius? Amazon wants to create wearables that can sense emotions, just in case they don't have enough consumer data. Dress B...

Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2019

As Brian heads to NRF Tech Phillip pontificates on a foreseeable future where permits and certificates of occupancy are required to build shopping experiences on the web. Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Brian is on his way to MC NRF Tech because retail tech may be moving fast, but Future Commerce is moving faster. Accessibility is near and dear to Phillip's heart, and so are brands that have good faith practices. The entire Future Commerce team are pretty big fans of our sponsors: Vertex...

"Cameras Literally Freaking Everywhere": Privacy in Exchange for Convenience

"Help, an AI fired me!" Phillip and Brian dig into the exchange of privacy as a currency for convenience. PLUS: full-body AI model generation, Walmart's store innovation concept, and more. Listen now!

"Are We Being Fairly Compensated For Our Data?" (w/ Danny Sepulveda, VP for Global Government Relations @ Media Math)

Former Ambassador and Deputy Assistant Secretary Daniel Sepulveda joins us to talk about Privacy, CCPA, GDPR, and the fundamental right to control our own data. Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: With all the talk about digital privacy, how that data being used is a question many are asking, and former Ambassador and Assistant Secretary Danny Sepulveda is here to talk data and everything that comes along with it. In 2018 California passage passed a data privacy law, will other states follow...

"Deliciously Sinful" - Brand Sustainability in the Age of Impulse Luxury (w/ Ingrid Milman)

Ingrid Milman (Ann Taylor, LOFT) sits in this week in our Earth Week deep-dive to discuss sustainability, transparency in supply chain, and "deliciously sinful" luxury impulse buys. Who has the true influence on the eco-conscious purchase decision - the brand or the consumer? How can fashion lead the conversation in transparent supply chain and manufacturing processes? Featured brands this week: Outdoor Voices, Rent the Runway, Reformation, H&M, Allbirds and more. Listen now! Show Notes: Mai...

Bonus - Earth Day 2019

What do Amazon, Everlane, Allbirds and New York City have in common? They have all announced Carbon Offset initiatives. Brian's out so this is our first mini-episode covering some of the stories that landed on Earth Day, April 22, 2019. Listen now!

"Data-Driven Storytelling" - feat. Rachel Swanson, Method + Mode Research

In the age of brands having veritable lakes of data, how do you action and champion the story behind the data - how do you use it to bring real insight into who your customer is and what she wants? In this episode we sit down with Rachel Swanson, founder of Method + Mode, a market research firm, to take some of Future Commerce's own medicine - to listen to our audience and learn from the data that was generated from our first-ever audience survey. Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Future Commerce cond...

"The Modern Consumer Has Trust Issues" feat. Scott Emmons, CTO at Current Global

Are digital experiences the gateway to a more accessible luxury experience for millennial consumers? Scott Emmons opens up to us about his successes at Neiman Marcus, the future of technology adoption at retail brands, and how he's bringing that culture of innovation and technology leadership to other brands in his new role at Current Global.

"Shallow Fakes", Models and Robots - an Interview with SuperPersonal founder Yannis Konstantinidis

Our analysis of "deep fakes" continues as we sit down with SuperPersonal, the technology which maps a customer's face into the stores that they shop online. Founder Yannis Konstantinidis talks about the evolution and eventuality of the use of the technology, customer expectation, the blurred lines of privacy and personalization, and much more. Show Notes: Main Takeaways: In one of Future Commerce's most anticipated interviews: SuperPersonal Founder Yannis Konstantinidis is here to talk tech. Wit...

"I'm Lovin' It": Upselling french fries in the age of personalization

In this episode, we unpack Instagram and Pinterest: is social commerce the new "dot-com"? Can a fast food chain be a good steward of an AI-based startup? Plus: Glossier and Rent the Runway go Unicorn, Apple Credit, and Jeremy King leaves Walmart. Show Notes: Main Takeaways: It's our 100th episode, cue the confetti and champagne! McDonald's acquires personalization company Dynamic Yield, and it's an interesting choice to say the least. Levi's going public? Crapple? How much more can we talk about...

"Transforming Showrooms into Collaboration Spaces"

Live from Shoptalk 2019, there's a lot to say about brands, Levi's keynote, and puppies which seem to be everywhere! Future Commerce Director of Content Lianne Hikind joins the show, and clienteling is a major theme at Shoptalk sessions. Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Phillip and Brian podcast live for the third time from #Shoptalk2019! FC's Director of Content Lianne Hikind joins the show Why does anybody think giving free haircuts at a conference is a good idea? Shoptalk launches Retail Club to h...

Capture a Customer, Capture a Household - Interview with Michelle Cordeiro Grant, CEO of Lively (Live at Shoptalk 2019)

Lively CEO and Founder Michelle Cordeiro Grant sits down with us at Shoptalk 2019 to talk about how they're using community to drive commerce in an authentic way - and in so doing creating entire households of customers by partnering and empowering women who are "Wild at Heart, with Boss Brains". Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Brian and Phillip are interviewing Michelle Cordeiro Grant, CEO, and Founder of Lively live at #Shoptalk2019! Lively is more than just a lingerie brand, it's a community of w...

Deep Fakes for Commerce: A New Era of Personalization for Retail

CVS launches "Beauty Mark," its truth-in-advertising campaign; while AI is generating plausibly "real faces." Meanwhile, companies like SuperPersonal are putting customers into model try-on videos. Have "deep fakes" - AI algorithms that map faces and micro-expressions onto stock footage - come to retail? How can they help? How can they hurt? Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Brian and Phillip are podcasting live from #Shoptalk2019! Deep fakes are getting a little too real to be comfortable. Personal b...

"The Intersection of Preferences and Intent" (with Chris Homer, CTO @ thredUP)

Recorded live at eTail West 2019 - Brian sits down with Chris Homer of thredUP to talk about how data is assisting the "treasure hunt" in the secondhand retail market space. thredUP uses data, events, and preferences to help their customers find wardrobe pieces they'll love, and they use technology to assist them in having joyful experiences over and over. Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Brian interviews Chris Homer, CTO of thredUp, live from eTailWest! The second-hand market is growing exponentiall...

"Bottle Up Kindness" (w/ Ingrid Milman, Ann Taylor)

Brian sits down at eTail West 2019 with Ingrid Milman, eCommerce Strategist for Ann Inc (Ann Taylor | LOFT | Lou & Grey). Ingrid talks about customer expectations in the digital age, clienteling as a culture, and how to lace kindness into a brand culture from top to bottom - from employee interaction to customer experience. Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Brian interviews Ingrid Milman the Director of E-Commerce and Digital Marketing at Ann Inc. at eTail West 2019 . Ann Inc really does have a br...

"The Future is Driven by Failure"

Shoptalk 2019 is mere weeks away, and so we take the opportunity to look through the brands, the speakers, and the agenda! ALSO: Is voice dead? Why don't we talk about failure? What were the key takeaways from the 2017 and 2018 editions of Shoptalk and what are we hoping to learn in 2019? Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Phillip and Brian preview Shoptalk 2019. Levi's takes a second shot at an IPO, and it's going to a pretty big deal. Brian is ridiculously excited to see Shaggy. Phillip wants a Canad...

"Controlling My Data Should Be a Fundamental Human Right"

"Controlling my data will be a fundamental human right in the 2050's" Phillip and Brian recap Future Stores Miami and get deep into futurism on what the future of humanity and commerce looks like as we evolve from Homo Erectus, to Homo Sapien and finally to Homo Deus. Main Takeaways: Future Commerce was at Future Stores Miami last week, and the content was crazy good. Stance is allowing customers all the benefits of shopping in-store, with all the convenience of checking out online. The new wave...

Annual Predictions Episode - 2019 Commerce Trends and Technology

Phillip and Brian deliver on their 2019 predictions - AR is here, where is it heading? Retail wages - are they rising? Brands can finally compete with Amazon - and what about Charitable Commerce? All that and more - PLUS what the "retail apocalypse" was REALLY all about. Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: It's the prediction episode, so hold on to your hats, and suspend your disbelief. 2019 is going to be one big change my mind meme . It's the "year of the customer," and retailers are start...