Future Commerce

By Phillip Jackson, Brian Lange

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... more

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How many episodes does Future Commerce have?

The podcast currently has 682 episodes available.

Future Commerce episodes:

September 11, 2026Cartographies of Meaning
Nikita Walia and Elliot Vredenburg of U.N.N.A.M.E.D. Studios took to the VISIONS stage at MoMA last year to enlighten a room of retail executives and brand marketers about the realities of worldbuilding. Their theory: a brand’s final form is decided by the public—and the strategist's job is to navigate that story, not control it. And they use Mercator, Buckminster Fuller, Guy Debord, free public Wi-Fi, and an acne sticker to back up their claims.
Mapping Meaning Isn’t About Being RightKey takeaways:
Branding isn't worldbuilding because worldbuilding just imposes another set of rules
A three-hundred-page brand book is obsolete the day it ships, and rebrands every five to ten years are theater for stakeholders
The public decides a brand's final form, not the guidelines deck
Regenerative brands are always rebranding
[00:00:25] "Counter to what you've heard today, branding is not, in fact, worldbuilding." — Nikita Walia
[00:04:34] "This is sameness being sold to us as a form of consistency." — Nikita Walia
[00:15:45] "It's not about being right. It's about being useful, and useful in motion." — Elliot Vredenburg
[00:17:09] "A regenerative brand doesn't need to rebrand every five to ten years because it's always rebranding." — Elliot Vredenburg
In-Show Mentions:
The Mercator projection (1569) and Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion Map
Superstudio, The Continuous Monument
Guy Debord and psychogeography
LinkNYC
Burberry, Daniel Lee, Demna's Balenciaga, Pierpaolo Piccioli
Starface
Associated Links:
Read Alicia Esposito's companion essay, The New Meaning of Brand Building: Cartographies of Meaning
Watch the original session at VISIONS Summit: Cartographies of Meaning
Hear Dami Lee's VISIONS session, The Stories Behind Our Spaces
Listen to Building Culturally Intelligent Brands with Dr. Anastasia Kārkliņa Gabriel
Revisit The Anti-Blands, Existential Brands, and the New Dadaism
Read Surface Culture: When Brands Mistake Wallpaper for Authenticity
Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print
Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce
Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
23min
September 10, 2026 *TEASER* The Oreogate Lady Is NOT Real!
Can anyone tell the staged from the real anymore? On today’s After Dark: We’re growing increasingly certain that everything is fake now. Amazon drones delivering your package to the deep end of your backyard pool? Curiosity bait. A bunch of Kindergarten moms actually keeping up in a group thread? A Suno commercial. That behind-the-scenes footage? AI-generated – but you watched it, didn’t you? PLUS: The minds of Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim have converged to craft what’s anticipated to be one of the most compelling documentaries we’ve ever seen.
This episode is exclusive to Future Commerce Plus members. Subscribe to listen at www.futurecommerce.com/plus.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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2min
September 02, 2026Retail Media In Your Ears: Inside Dollar General's 21,000-Store Audio Network
The next big advertising opportunity is here. The audio systems in Dollar General’s 21,000 stores connect shoppers with advertisers and drive loyalty. Austin Leonard, VP and GM of Dollar General Media Network (DGMN), sits down with Phillip and Alicia to explain why the retailer has doubled down on audio and the role that non-endemic advertisers play in his long-term vision.
“The Cocktail Party Effect”
Key takeaways:
In-store audio is getting programmatic optimization so DG’s sponsors can serve ads at the best time of day and in the best-suited markets.

Non-endemic only works in-store if it clears the near-endemic bar: shopper relevance.

Dollar General’s 21,000 stores across suburban, urban, and rural markets are often the only stores in town, making its ad inventory a community utility.

The Yellow Glasses Project pairs brand partners with the DG Literacy Foundation via iHeartRadio.

[00:18:10] Phillip: "This is the power that I think audio has that nothing else has; it can catch your attention even when you're focused on something else."

[00:32:40] Austin Leonard: "I call that the last mile of eCommerce for the last mile of America."

[00:36:15] Austin Leonard: "The next era of retail media is really about accountability and also telling our story for our unique audiences."
In-Show Mentions:
Find Austin Leonard on LinkedIn

More about DG Media Network

Yellow Glasses Project

iHeartMedia, DG Literacy Foundation partnership featuring Bobby Bones

Listen to Future Commerce’s episode with Collin Colburn of IAB
Associated Links:
More retail media coverage on Future Commerce retail media hub

Read: Insiders 237: “Vertical Dramas” and the New Era of Commerce Media

Listen: LIVE from Shoptalk Spring: Retail Media Confessions, Hype Cycles, and the Creator Reckoning

Read: Ad Infinitum: Retail Media is The Final Boss

VISIONS Summit at MoMA, New York City: Join us on November 3

Watch: Future Commerce on YouTube

Join Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print

Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world

Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce
Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
40min
August 26, 20262026 Signals We’re Tracking: Commerce Evolves (Again), the Monoculture is Back, and Celebrity Prevails?
Phillip sits solo to unpack conflicting economic signals: Shopify's monster quarter against a Census report showing eCommerce eating share while retail overall slows. What does this mean for brick-and-mortar? Although stores still make up most retail sales, their mission and value have shifted. The good has become secondary to the experience of acquiring it. Plus, he breaks down why the monoculture returned in a summer of shared events, and what's on the FC docket through November 3rd.
The Monoculture Isn’t Dead, It’s On Substack
Key takeaways:
Commerce is growing (online sales grew at nearly twice retail’s pace in 2025), but it’s growing by disappearing into everything else.

The product itself is secondary to the experience of purchasing it.

The monoculture isn't dead; it’s been revived by sport, tours, and global events.

"There is a monoculture now of people writing about the summer of the monoculture on their Substack."

"You're not just communicating your vision anymore to the human capital within your business; you now have to communicate vision to machines and put it into machine language. Because increasingly, we are automating more and more of our vision, and it's going on autopilot."
In-Show Mentions:
See our Celebrity Brands Hub before the Signal Report launches

Spotify Summer Trends Report

Get your early bird ticket for VISIONS Summit: NYC
Associated Links:
Check out Future Commerce on YouTube

Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print

Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world

Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce
Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
28min
August 19, 2026Shopify Earnings Go Wild, and American Retail is OVER.
Phillip and Alicia open the back-to-school season with a modern dichotomy: NRF data shows shoppers playing chicken, while Shopify posts a quarter where agentic traffic tripled. PLUS: After a summer abroad in London, Phillip reflects on behaviors unique to U.S. shoppers.
Get ‘Em While They’re Young
Key takeaways:
Retailers are manufacturing visible human effort as a hedge against frictionless AI commerce.

Play is a form of consumption. Browsing kids are already converting.

Back-to-school splits into two camps: early movers and deal holdouts.

Shopify's agentic traffic tripled as answer engines are becoming a back-to-school search surface.

U.S. share of wallet favors experience, forcing a fusion of retail and hospitality.

[00:17:11] Alicia: "When you create these spaces that are conducive to young people, you're kind of creating this magnet moment that ultimately motivates them to shop."

[00:28:18] Phillip: "What’s really wild about the mini brands thing is…we all complain about shrinkflation, then also buy the mini of something, which is a premiumization of a per-unit cost…We are irrational by nature, and brands would do well to play at both ends of the spectrum."

[00:40:17] Alicia: "[Søstrene Grene] almost feels like it's more high-touch because it's kind of imperfect."
Associated Links:
Check out Future Commerce on YouTube

Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print

Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world

Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce
Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
52min
August 12, 2026Enter Through the Gift Shop: Inside MoMA's Retail Journey
MoMA welcomes three million people to its Midtown campus in a good year. But the beloved cultural institution now has the power to reach multiples of that through a hoodie, a Lego set, and a chicken-shaped cutting board. Chief Retail Officer, Jesse Goldstine, joins the show to explain how MoMA inverted the museum retail model, how every product in the store thoughtfully ties back to MoMA’s art, and where the design institution draws the line between rolling out AI partnerships while protecting human craft.
Until the AI Overlords Say Otherwise
Key takeaways:
Museums historically have defaulted to funneling visitors through the gift shop last. MoMA inverted the formula, shifting the museum’s point-of-entry to retail channels.

Cutting SKUs in SoHo raised productivity per SKU and clarified brand identity.

Licensing starts and ends with one question: why MoMA?

Discovery and gifting resist automation in ways basic replenishment does not.

[00:24:04] Jesse: "The DNA of our business is rooted in decisions made by humans in our curatorial department…I will continue to defer to them and put my faith in them until our AI overlords tell me that I need to behave differently."

[00:26:43] Jesse: "There's something really special about our brand that... will sort of inoculate it against some sort of automated sock repurchase every six months."
In-Show Mentions:
Join us at VISIONS: NYC at MoMa on November 3!

MoMA Design Stores

MoMA licensing partners: LEGO, Mattel Creations, Uniqlo, Champion
Associated Links:
More on the intersection of art, culture, and commerce: Insiders #186

Check out Future Commerce on YouTube

Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print

Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world

Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce
Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
29min
August 05, 2026Commerce Media's Day Two: The Agentic Shelf and the Measurement Reckoning
Retail media is now a $100 billion industry. Collin Colburn, VP of Commerce and Retail Media at the IAB, says we’ve entered commerce media's "day two" – the era where operational integration, interoperable measurement, and the arrival of the agentic shelf matter more than launching another network.
We unpack why brands started calling retail media a tax, why Collin says we should blow attribution up, and whether an ad-supported agent can stay trustworthy.
Welcome to Day Two
Key takeaways:
Optimization and integration replace growth-at-all-costs expansion.

Brands call retail media a “tax,” sensing the industry's referee is now incrementality.

Agent-referred shoppers convert higher and return less.

In-store media's ceiling is customer experience, not inventory: frequency caps beat non-endemic dollars.

[14:05] "Agentic commerce isn't changing what consumers buy or want to buy today. It's changing their pathway to purchase." — Collin Colburn

[19:35] “The coming reckoning is in the measurement space.” –– Collin Colburn

[20:45] "Attribution was built for: an ad is served, it's clicked on or seen, the customer goes to the website, and they purchase. That model does not work well in this new era." — Collin Colburn

[25:15] "AI feels objective to me for the most part… it's like your omnipotent friend that you never had. And when ads get introduced, it begs the question of, am I still gonna trust that agent?" — Collin Colburn
In-Show Mentions:
Commerce Media Has Hit “Day Two.” Now What?

EMarketer: IAB’s Collin Colburn on the Future of Commerce Media

More about IAB
Associated Links:
VISIONS Summit, Nov 3 at MoMA

Check out Future Commerce on YouTube

Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print

Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world

Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce
Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
44min
July 30, 2026 *TEASER* The Dire State of Consumer Trust In 2026
It's a birthday After Dark! On this episode, Phillip and Brian work through the current state of consumer trust (it's not looking good). PLUS: Everyone's a critic! The reviews of The Odyssey are in, and Brian thinks Tarantino would have done it better. Air Bud's also making a triumphant(?) return, rocking some Air Jordans, appropriately.
This episode is exclusive to Future Commerce Plus members. Subscribe to listen at www.futurecommerce.com/plus

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
2min
July 29, 2026Bedfellows: How Boll & Branch Keeps Humans and AI in the Same Sheets
Boll & Branch spent 12 years doing the unfashionable thing: perfecting the product first and figuring out distribution second. Chief Commercial Officer Katia Unlu joins Phillip and Brian on today’s episode to discuss Boll & Branch’s store expansion strategy, an AI-generated damage claim that went viral, and the case for stimulation over substitution.
That’s Not How the Waffle Blanket Tears
Key takeaways:
Brands of the DTC era that failed were distracted by over-indexing on one hero product and not focusing on customer experiences that drive retention and brand love.

Boll & Branch opens stores where their customers and ICP already live.

A human CX team caught an AI-generated image in a fraudulent damage claim thanks to the team’s sharp knowledge of the brand’s fabric and tear patterns. This is human expertise and technological advancement meeting in the middle.

Boll & Branch’s AI tools aim to stimulate the customer relationship rather than flatten it.

The 2027 playbook is boring, but it works. Focusing on the fundamentals is key.

[00:23:12] "People might buy something they enjoy, but they will actually defend what they love." – Brian Lange

[00:29:45] "There's no shortcut for what real-life consumer insights can give you when you just go and talk to people in stores." – Katia Unlu

[00:43:50] "We very much don’t want to substitute. We don't have an AI bot on our website that you can even ask questions to." – Katia Unlu
Associated Links:
Boll & Branch

Scott Tannen's LinkedIn post on AI-generated return fraud at Boll & Branch

Read our in-store retail space analyses: Field Notes on Future Commerce

More on human vs. agent: Episode 447: The Agent Has Left the Building

Explore our Word of Mouth Index

Check out Future Commerce on YouTube

Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print

Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world

Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce
Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
44min
July 22, 2026VC Partner Predicts the Next Billion-Dollar Brand
Maveron partner Natalie Dillon joins Brian and Alicia to challenge the consumer-collapse narrative: sentiment sits at post-9/11 lows while spending breaks records. Natalie sheds light on truths of today’s consumer, who is skeptical but continually shopping amid a cultural undertow where AI adoption stays surprisingly shallow, Gen Z turns skeptical, and analog living re-emerges as status. PLUS: Are cults the new future of commerce?
Your Gen Z Consumer Is Busy Touching Grass
Key takeaways:
Shoppers reallocated rather than retreated. Stats show fewer purchases that are higher value and more intentional.

AI adoption stays shallow, but health and wellness is the emerging opportunity, especially among consumers aged 35+.

Gen Z, the presumed AI natives, skew most negative, fueling an analog revival.

Costco remains the disciplined benchmark for marketing, merchandise, and customer experience.

[26:30] "Gen Z spikes the most negative on AI across age groups, which was shocking." — Natalie Dillon

[43:09] "I do think some companies still look to Costco…but I think no one has disciplined themselves to the extent that Costco has." — Natalie Dillon
Associated Links:
Learn more about Maveron

Maveron consumer research report

"Your Body is a Data Land" (Future Commerce, 2017)

Check out Future Commerce on YouTube

Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print

Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world

Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce
Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
...more
51min

FAQs about Future Commerce:

How many episodes does Future Commerce have?

The podcast currently has 682 episodes available.

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