Future Commerce
Future Commerce is the culture magazine for Commerce. Hosts Phillip Jackson and Brian Lange help brand and digital marketing leaders see around the next corner by exploring the intersection of Culture and Commerce. Trusted by the world's most recognizable brands to deliver the most insightful, entertaining, and informative weekly podcasts, Future Commerce is the leading new media brand for eCommerce merchants and retail operators. Each week, we explore the cultural implications of what it means to sell or buy products and how commerce and media impact the culture and the world around us, through unique insights and engaging interviews with...
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The 2025 Holiday Reality Check
<p>Lupine Skelly, Retail Research Leader at Deloitte, joins Phillip and Alicia to dissect the stark reality behind this year's holiday shopping forecast. Consumer spending is projected to drop by 10%, and economic pessimism has reached its highest level since the Great Recession. As a result, retailers are facing a season where communicating value is key. This conversation explores the enduring vitality of Black Friday, the quiet revolution of private label brands, and how cultural rituals, AI integration, and brand loyalty are being fundamentally rewired. </p><h2>The Data Doesn’t Lie</h2><h3>Key Takeaways:</h3>Shoppers expect to spend $1,595 thi...
How Constraints Create Cathedrals
<p>Oleksii (Alex) Lunkov joins Alicia Esposito to unpack how meaningful constraints fuel creativity in an age of algorithmic abundance. From Saint Sophia's 9 million glass cubes to the digitization of Berry Bros. & Rudd's 300-year heritage, this conversation navigates the tension between AI efficiency and human authenticity. Discover why 95% of AI pilots fail, how brands become cultural ambassadors, and what fractional leadership means for tomorrow's commerce teams.</p><h3>When Centuries of Heritage Meet the eCom Product Page</h3><h3>Key takeaways:</h3>Meaningful constraints drive better creative outcomes. Removing all friction from digital experiences leaves us wondering why we don't...
War of the Mediums: May the Best Story Win
<p>Following the release of his work, The War of the Worlds Did Not Take Place, Nick Susi joins the pod to unravel the real War of the Worlds myth: not alien panic, but a battle between newspapers and radio that manufactured mass hysteria. Phillip, Brian, and Nick explore how narrative form shapes collective memory, why brands weaponize conflict for attention, and what happens when everything becomes participatory fan fiction.</p><h3>Behind the Curtain of Inherited Myth</h3><h3>Key takeaways:</h3>Structured narratives outlast formless truth in collective memory.Brands now weaponize conflict and controversy for attention economics...
Katherine Dee on Digital Hauntings, Friend AI, and the E-Girl Timeline
<p>Katherine Dee, internet culture writer and mastermind behind her popular AM-style call-in show, joins us to explore the archaeology of online life. From dissecting the Friend AI pendant's failed attempt at god replacement to chronicling e-girl evolution in her Meta Label publication, Katherine offers an unvarnished look at how we're moving beyond relentless content production. The conversation navigates haunted objects, the fragmentation of social platforms, and why the future might be more mystical than algorithmic. As AI reshapes proof itself, Katherine argues we're witnessing a cultural shift toward physical witnessing and enchanted meaning-making.</p><h3>Katherine’s God Isn’t A...
The 13th Month of Revenue
<p>Halloween Horror Nights wasn't always a $575M-per-park juggernaut. When Universal launched Fright Nights in 1991 with just three experimental nights and $12 tickets, they stumbled onto something bigger than a haunted house…they uncovered retail's thirteenth month of revenue. In this Spooky Commerce special, we trace how October became the secret weapon for combating theme park slumps, why Spirit Halloween's pop-up model prints money in dead malls, and what happens when horror becomes the ultimate immersive commerce experience.</p><h3>October: When Pop-Ups Pop Off</h3><h3>Key takeaways:</h3>Halloween is retail's second-largest holiday and is expected to generate more th...
After Dark: Spooky Commerce, Matt Rife, and Annabelle Haunting on a Klarna Plan
<p>Producers JT and Sarah join the show to unpack some fresh Spooky Commerce news, including Matt Rife and Elton Castee's venture into property and museum ownership. As Annabelle's (yes, that Annabelle) new legal guardians, Matt and Elton are selling overnight ghost hunting stays at the Warren home and Occult Museum for a cool $2,000/night. Plus: We explore the suspicious death of a lead paranormal investigator close to Annabelle, our generational haunting by microplastics, and the Pooniverse. </p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data f...
Inside Pinterest’s Trend Prediction Machine
<p>Nearly 40% of Gen Z now chooses Pinterest over traditional search engines, and a growing number of this demographic is shifting to the platform to escape the chaos found in other social apps. The company’s VP of Ads Product Marketing, Julie Towns, reveals why this cohort’s innate desire for creative expression and curation is also driving this shift. Another growing audience for Pinterest? Men who now represent over a third of the platform's users, seeking everything from Pilates routines to parenting advice.</p><p>Plus, we dig into how the platform's "taste graph" of 500 billion human-curated pins predicts tren...
Primark’s Global Expansion Playbook: The Customer is Hero
<p>Rene Federico, US Head of Marketing at Primark, joins Future Commerce to discuss the international retailer's first major marketing push in America after a decade of organic growth and physical retail expansion. Drawing on over 20 years at heritage brands like Nike and Converse, she shares insights on building brand relevance in a performance-obsessed era, translating the "joy of shopping" to different US markets, and why the customer should always be the hero of the story.</p><h3>Stat Chasers Never Win</h3><h3>Key takeaways:</h3>Brand relevance makes you less interchangeable with competitors in the marketThe marketing funnel...
How to Win Loyalty When Everyone’s On Sale
<p>In a climate where most consumers are concerned about tariffs (84%) and inflation (80%), the holiday season is poised to be a battlefield for retention and revenue. Optimove’s Moshe Demri, SVP of Global Revenue, joins Future Commerce to walk through the 2025 Consumer Holiday Shopping Report and explain why the “charm customer” (those responsive to modest 10%-15% discounts) may be the key to sustainable growth.</p><h3>The Cherry-Picker’s Dilemma</h3><h3>Key takeaways:</h3>Meet the three customer archetypes: Full-price buyers who purchase regardless of promotions, cherry pickers who chase deep discounts and rarely return, and "charm customers" who respond...
*TEASER* Diella Runs Procurement, Who Runs Diella?
<p>Get ad-free episodes and bonus content, including the full recording of this podcast, by joining Future Commerce+ at futurecommerce.com/plus</p>🆕 Access to our newest analysis feature for members, Field Notes, our retail space analysis briefing. Featuring brands like Swatch, Printemps, and Skims. Access to our new Word of Mouth Index with Fairing, a brand new member benefitSave 15% on Future Commerce print journals and merchExclusive invites to physical events, dinners, and priority invites to industry events (SXSW, Art Basel, VISIONS)Ad-free episodes and bonus content!<br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for info...
