Future Commerce

Head of Content James Mulvey joins the show to discuss Motion’s latest creative trends report, which analyzed over $100M+ in ad spend across platforms to extract top creative insights. Listen now to catch the highlights and learn how breakthrough ads are getting faster, funnier, and uglier. Read Motion’s 2025 Creative Trends Report at Motionapp.com/creative-trends . Going Where Millions of Markete...

Get ad-free episodes and bonus content, including the full recording of this podcast, by joining Future Commerce+ at futurecommerce.com/plus Save 20% on Future Commerce print journals and merch Private GPT access with Alani™ from BundleIQ Exclusive invites to physical events, dinners, and priority invites to industry events (SXSW, Art Basel, VISIONS) Ad-free episodes and bonus content! Hosted by S...

This week, we’re live-reacting to battles across culture. It’s DeepSeek vs. OpenAI, Millennials vs. Gen X, and Starbucks vs. Sharpies (Sharpies won). PLUS: The Flappy Bird effect drives an aftermarket of devices with TikTok access, yuppie culture booms, and Waymo strikes again.  The Other Side of Headless Commerce Key takeaways: DeepSeek’s Disruption – A powerful, cheap, open-source AI from China...

“There is nothing but micro trends these days. Sometimes, things bubble up, and they capture the imagination of pop culture…but then they last for a really short time. In that environment, how do you really set yourself up to influence culture?”  In this week’s episode, Ana Andjelic graces our show with breakthrough advice from her latest book, Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture . Discover th...

This FREE PREVIEW of the After Dark is brought to you by Future Commerce Plus! Join today and receive access to ad-free and bonus content from Future Commerce. futurecommerce.com/plus We're covering the first 100 Days of the New Commerce Department: what trade and tariff policies are up Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's sleeve? PLUS: We dig into TikTok's dizzying fake-out, Doji's mystifying deep...

In this landmark discussion from NRF 2025, we lay out our theory of commerce's next evolutionary leap: the necessary fusion of human and artificial intelligence in digital spaces. As today's retailers hastily construct separate domains for silicon and carbon-based shoppers, we explore why this well-intentioned bifurcation may be precisely the wrong approach. From Salesforce's stumbling first steps...

This week, we’re unpacking Adobe’s holiday shopping report, the AI bot takeover, and the dead internet theory. As 2025 kicks off with powerful demand for both in-person experiences and AI-driven, frictionless online shopping, we’re peering into the future of the tension. PLUS: Phillip the Time Capsule Guy takes us back in time, and 5,000 years into the future. Is AI Just Making Spam More Scalable?...

In our biggest episode of the year, we explore seismic shifts coming in 2025: from the return of Gen X leadership to a new wave of American counterculture. We revisit our eerily accurate 2024 predictions while laying out bold forecasts for retail consolidation, AI evolution, and the changing media landscape. Plus, we dive deep into why Google might be poised for a massive comeback and how Walmart...

This year was a great one for the Future Commerce podcast. We vision-casted with fellow futurists at exclusive events across the nation, launched podcast specials like Spooky Commerce and FC Radio Theater, and were joined on the podcast by many of our industry muses, including Kickstarter’s Yancey Strickler and Walmart’s Justin Breton.  We’ve rounded up our 2024 highlight reel in one year-end fina...

Introducing a Future Commerce Radio Theater production: A Day in the Life of Nana Alexa, an original story by Erin DaCruz. Performed for radio by Joseph Discher and Leonor Woodworth. Voice production by Whole Story Studio. A Day in the Life of Nana Alexa can be found in the Muses journal, available for purchase at shop.futurecommerce.com .  Timecodes: [00:02:28] Time of day – 5:45 [00:04:01] Time...

Introducing a Future Commerce Radio Theater production: The Wrong Part, an original story by Brian Lange. Performed for radio by Joseph Discher. Voice production by Whole Story Studio. The Wrong Part can be found in the Muses journal, available for purchase at shop.futurecommerce.com .  Stay tuned for our upcoming radio theater readings: A Day in the Life of Nana Alexa by Erin DaCruz. Timecodes: [...

Introducing a Future Commerce Radio Theater production: Dissociating at Costco, an original story by Brian Lange. Performed for radio by Joseph Discher. Voice production by Whole Story Studio. Dissociating at Costco can be found in the Archetypes journal, available for purchase at shop.futurecommerce.com .  Stay tuned for our upcoming radio theater readings: A Day in the Life of Nana Alexa by Erin...

Yancey Strickler on Metalabel, Digital Scarcity, and the Coming Creative Revolution Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler unveils his vision of a radical economic future where artists become society's power brokers. Through Metalabel, he's building the infrastructure for collective commerce and creative ownership that could transform how we value and exchange culture. “In 50 years, artists won't...

Join us at the final events of the year! All of our events can be found at futurecommerce.com/events December 9: Future Commerce LIVE at The Moore RSVP: Apply to attend here December 11: Commerce Conversations At Sea 2.0 RSVP: Apply to attend here Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Retail and customer experience expert Kate Fannin brings brands down to earth for a living, driven by her consulting mantra, “People buy things ; they pay for experiences .” Drawing from her career journey across iconic brands like Gap, Nordstrom, and Estée Lauder, Kate offers insightful strategies for curating meaningful customer connections that make even online shopping feel like window shoppin...

We are joined by the brilliant Jacob Matson, Developer Advocate at Mother Duck, to discuss the new frontier of data application, the evolution of computing, and Brian’s taste in wine. Get nerdy with us and learn about the unlimited potential for customized consumer experiences powered by advanced databases and more tech forecasts – brought to you by a frontline data expert.  Augmenting Aesthetics,...

Jack Kavanagh of Shopanova joins us to share his unique perspective on cutting through the noise of marketing fads and focusing on strategies that truly drive growth. From balancing trends with long term strategies to harnessing the power of tools like Triple Whale’s Sonar for precise ad targeting, we dive deep into the realities of scaling eCommerce businesses in 2024. Discover how agility, bette...

We sit down with Brandon Kuipers, Co-founder and CMO of Zox, to discuss how a family arts-and-crafts project evolved into a globally recognized e-commerce brand. Hear how Zox grew from a family project to an international success by leveraging data-driven marketing, and how emerging tools like Triple Whale's Sonar have unlocked global markets.  From Kitchen Table to Global Brand Key takeaways: Lev...

You want an optimized performance marketing stack, we have the expert insight. In season 14 of Step-By-Step, we’ve partnered with Triple Whale and Meta to help you maximize RoAS with higher-quality data. In this episode, you’ll learn why first-party data is critical in a privacy-conscious eCommerce ecosystem, how domain-specific AI can revolutionize eCommerce analytics, and what the shift from sel...

“Email’s stability in a changing digital world makes it one of the few reliable channels left for brands, even after ten years.” Seasoned eCommerce and email marketing expert Greg Zakowicz joins Brian and Phillip to unpack the holiday inbox squeeze.  The Tried and True, Yet Hackable, Email Campaign Key takeaways: [00:01:41] “Email’s stability in a changing digital world makes it one of the few rel...

Phoebe Yu loves jumping down rabbit holes with the audience of her curiosity-driven channel on YouTube that focuses on research, human psychology, and culture, specifically within the tech sector. But if something interesting finds its way into the comment section, she’ll deep dive into that too. Listen now to Phoebe Yu’s conversation with Phillip and Brian! Looking Back to Look Forward Key Takeaw...

Get ad-free episodes and bonus content, including the full recording of this podcast, by joining Future Commerce+ at futurecommerce.com/plus Save 20% on Future Commerce print journals and merch Private GPT access with Alani™ from BundleIQ Exclusive invites to physical events, dinners, and priority invites to industry events (SXSW, Art Basel, VISIONS) Ad-free episodes and bonus content! Hosted by S...

Spooky Commerce finishes with an epic finale as we explore the mysterious history of Seattle's iconic Pike Place Market. Phillip, Brian, and Sarah share tales of ghost sightings, haunted (coffee) grounds, and the rich lore behind one of the oldest continuously operating markets in the U.S. PLUS: Phillip and Brian debrief a tragedy involving AI-to-human relationships and discuss the challenges pare...

This week we unpack multisensory commerce, the economical ebb and flow of re-commerce, and reflect on Phillip’s keynote at the Motion Creative Strategy Summit. PLUS: Spooky Commerce is back. Phillip, Brian, and Sarah journey to a haunted 1980’s Bay Area Toys R Us. The Duality of Recommerce Key takeaways: Tactile interactions produce profound experiences – something digital media cannot replicate....

From dead-and-undead-again crypto cycles to eBay’s paranormal side, we explore the range of the paranormal in this week’s installment of Spooky Commerce. Listen now! Crypt-O-Currency, Panic Buying and Paranormal Ducks Key takeaways: eCommerce giants like Pinduoduo (Temu’s parent company) are contributing to deflation in China by flooding the market with cheap goods. Disaster alerts compete with th...