Future Commerce

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• Access to our new Word of Mouth Index with Fairing, a brand new member benefit
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• Exclusive invites to physical events, dinners, and priority invites to industry events (SXSW, Art Basel, VISIONS)
• Ad-free episodes and bonus content!

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Elizabeth Schmidt sits down with Kelly Cook, the new CEO of David’s Bridal, for a deep-dive into one of the most ambitious retail transformations happening today. Kelly is leading the iconic bridal company through its pivot from “aisle to algorithm,” turning tradition on its head while honoring the trust of over 100 million women they've dressed. Kelly shares how David’s is embracing inclusivity, rethinking what a wedding “should” look like, and creating magical moments for every kind of bride. Plus, we get personal stories, heartfelt leadership lessons, and a big-picture look at what the future of weddings might hold (hint: AR headsets and donut walls).

• From Dresses to Data: “Aisle to Algorithm” Is Here: David’s Bridal is now a full-stack media-tech-commerce company. With AI-driven personalization and financial tools like Pearl Pay, they’re reimagining how weddings are planned—and how brides are supported.
• Wildfang Collab Signals the Future of Weddingwear: Suits, sneakers, ballgowns, cowboy boots—brides today are expressing themselves in radically new ways. The Wildfang partnership reflects David’s commitment to inclusivity and non-traditional celebration.
• Intimacy, Trust, and a Whole Lot of Emotio: Kelly shares moving stories about the deeply personal nature of helping brides find their look. From stylists trained in body confidence to bell-ringing ceremonies, it’s not just commerce—it’s connection.
• Data is Power—But You Don’t Need All of It: Under Kelly’s leadership, David’s is cutting through data overwhelm. The new mantra? 65% of the data is enough to make a decision. Insight and action matter more than analysis paralysis.
• The Future of Weddings Might Be Augmented: Kelly envisions a not-so-distant future where AR and AI are part of the wedding experience—think immersive headsets, projection-mapped dresses, and hyper-personalized storytelling.
• “We’ve dressed 100 million women. That’s not just a legacy—it’s a privilege that allows us to pivot powerfully into the future.” — Kelly Cook
• “It’s women choosing to wear cowboy boots instead of a cushion Louboutin—and we love all of it.” — Kelly Cook
• “We serve anyone who’s in love, no matter who their partner is. If we don’t have what you need, we’ll go get it.” — Kelly Cook
• “You don’t need 90% of the data to make a decision. You need 65—and a little courage.” — Kelly Cook

• Read on The Senses: "The Auratic Economy"

• Order LORE by Future Commerce
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce+ 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!

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Live from the Lore Bookshop at Shoptalk Spring, Phillip and Brian sit down with friends of the podcast and creative heavyweights Nick Susi and Mai Nguyen of dotdotdash to unpack their latest work with Nike—the groundbreaking AIR Imagination project. Nick and Mai pull back the curtain on what it takes to build immersive, AI-powered brand experiences that actually feel like the brand—and why surprise and delight matter more than ever in a world obsessed with optimization. Plus, hear how they’re redefining user experience through experiments like Chromaverse and their take on AI as a “serendipity engine.”

• Nike’s AIR Imagination is a Brand Milestone: AIR Imagination isn’t just a product—it’s a community design platform that invites fans to imagine big with Nike DNA. 
• AI-Driven Remixing Is Reshaping Brand Strategy: It’s engaging consumer-to-consumer remixing, with Nike acting as the shared language. 
• dotdotdash Built AI That Feels Like Nike: Behind the scenes, dotdotdash developed prompt-enhancing tech to ensure every user-generated design still looks and feels like a Nike product—proof that AI doesn’t have to compromise brand authenticity.
• AI as a “Serendipity Engine” Is the Future of Commerce: Instead of treating AI like a tool for hyper-optimization, dotdotdash sees its true power in enabling surprise, delight, and discovery. That ethos runs through everything from Nike to their own experimental tools like Chromaverse.
• Brands Need to Design with Culture, Not Just for It: As Nick’s essay “Culture as a Client” explores, successful brands don’t just extract from culture—they build multidirectional ecosystems that create mutual value. Nike’s project is a masterclass in getting that balance right.
• “AIR Imagination is Nike saying, ‘Here’s the vault. Remix what we’ve done—and what each other has done.’” – Nick Susi
• “Even with all that detail, it still came out a Nike shoe. That’s the connection—that’s the relationship.” – Mai Nguyen
• “What AI is really good at is chance, randomness, serendipity... That’s what creates emotional experience.” – Nick Susi
• “We’re not invalids. Don’t spoon-feed us everything. Help me—but don’t take it all away.” – Mai Nguyen

• Order LORE by Future Commerce
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce+ 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!

Feat. Daisy Alioto & Francis Zierer

Daisy Alioto and Francis Zierer of Tasteland join us to talk about what happens when two distinct media brands—Dirt and Creator Spotlight—collide. We explore how podcasting has become a creative extension of newsletters, how parasocial dynamics shape audience building, and what it means to build brand and community in a fractured media landscape.

• The “Anti-Scene” Scene: Today’s creative connections often form organically—through mutual respect and shared ideas, not cliquish gatekeeping—giving rise to an “asynchronous salon” of cultural thinkers.
• Design and Taste as Cultural Signals: Design choices and curation practices influence perception and build cultural credibility.
• Building Media That Builds Taste: Tasteland isn’t about telling people what to like—it’s about helping listeners cultivate their own sense of taste, with media that challenges, informs, and inspires.
• "You can notice the difference in the approach… and I do wonder if the pendulum will swing back to more structured storytelling, like Serial or S-Town. – Daisy
• "The biggest problem with culture plus business is it's easy for dishonesty to creep in. And that sucks. Who wants to listen to someone with no point of view?" – Daisy
• "It's like this asynchronous salon of independent figures… where the connections become more connections across them." – Francis
• "If your media diet becomes a closed loop… you’ve basically traded one algorithm for another. Our job is to help people develop their own taste." – Daisy
• "I read SIC Weekly like a poem… and just click on two links. It forces you to choose—and that’s what develops taste." – Francis

• Subscribe to Dirt
• Subscribe to Creator Spotlight
• Subscribe to Tasteland

• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce+ 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!

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Feat. Josh Friedman

Live from Shoptalk Spring in Las Vegas, Phillip and Brian sit down with Josh Friedman, VP of Digital & eCommerce at Ulta Beauty, for an insider look at how one of America’s leading beauty retailers is evolving its digital experience. From launching a curated, invitation-only marketplace to expanding into wellness and enhancing in-app experiences, Josh shares how Ulta is blending personalization, innovation, and culture to deepen customer relationships. If you're in ecommerce or retail, this episode is packed with insights on community, category expansion, and retail media.

• Curation Over Clutter: Ulta’s invitation-only marketplace prioritizes strategic brand extension over endless assortment, reinforcing its role as a tastemaker rather than a commodity platform.
• Wellness as a Growth Frontier: Ulta is capitalizing on consumer perception and search behavior to deepen its presence in wellness, positioning beauty and wellbeing as an integrated lifestyle category.
• Omnichannel Experience, Reinvented: The Ulta app serves as a central digital companion—bridging AR try-ons, real-time inventory, and event discovery to create a seamless, pre- and post-store journey.
• Community-Led Commerce: Ulta’s growing in-app community fosters peer-to-peer engagement and brand interaction, transforming customer relationships into participatory ecosystems.
• Tech-Enabled Personalization at Scale: Leveraging Adobe, Miracle, and Databricks, Ulta is advancing real-time personalization, AI-powered merchandising, and a retail media network that integrates seamlessly into its broader ecommerce infrastructure.
• “We're not going after an endless aisle. We're really just going after an extender.” – Josh Friedman
• “We want the app to be the destination to have beauty and wellness.” – Josh Friedman
• “We owe it to our customers to requite them with a personalized experience that’s relevant to them.” – Josh Friedman
• “Marketplace should be a gateway into experimenting, growing a bit of a business, and becoming a candidate for our physical shelves.” – Josh Friedman
• “We all have to understand AI-driven commerce as a totally new mode of shopping—it’s not just a new channel.” – Phillip Jackson

• Order LORE by Future Commerce
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce+ 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.

Live from the buzzing floor of ShopTalk Spring, Phillip, Brian, and marketing expert Elizabeth Schmidt unpack everything from nostalgic branding and Gen Z marketing to luxury retail and AI in education. We digest key themes we heard during ShopTalk in real-time and share a compelling look at how relationships and storytelling are driving the next chapter in retail.

• [02:30] CEO Richard Dixon emphasized Gap’s legacy as a canvas for American culture and its pivot toward digital-first experiences while embracing nostalgia.
• [08:30] Kevin O'Leary argues that if you're spending $50K/month and not investing in TV (linear and streaming), you're missing out. His brands spend 40% of ad dollars there.
• [18:00] Accenture outlined 7 dimensions of luxury today—adding experience, innovation, and social value to the classic trio of heritage, exclusivity, and craftsmanship.
• [30:30] Zadig & Voltaire targets Gen Z—but it's Gen X parents doing the buying. Smart multi-generational strategy in play.
• [15:20] Thoughtful, non-promotional SMS messages (like a GIF with no CTA) outperformed sales-driven texts in some cases—surprising and powerful.
• [24:30] The LORE Activation – Future Commerce’s “Book of Lore” pop-up at ShopTalk captured personal brand confessions and created physical artifacts of digital culture.
• "Gap is a canvas... a portfolio of American brands that shape culture." – Elizabeth quoting Richard Dixon
• "Any brand spending $50K/month on ads not doing TV is doing it wrong." – Elizabeth quoting Kevin O'Leary
• “Brighten your customers’ day—don’t just sell. Some of our best SMS responses came from a simple, feel-good GIF.” – Elizabeth
• "40% of their customer base is Gen Z, but they're actually winning Gen X because the parents are the ones that are buying... To have a brand that can appeal to two completely separate demographics is incredible." – Elizabeth
• “You have an always-on advertising channel that's just playing ambiently all the time… and that is extraordinarily powerful.” – Phillip
• "Myths are made when relationships are formed... and this year, ShopTalk feels like a place where those stories begin." – Brian

• @Art_lust on TikTok

• Order LORE by Future Commerce
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce+ 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.

The brilliant Orchid Bertelsen is back with a huge announcement… PLUS: From Aritzia x Sperry's viral fashion to the surprising new role of Amazon in eCommerce, we explore how brands are winning (and losing) in today’s retail landscape.

• [00:04:30] The Sperry x Aritzia collaboration is a calculated and strategic flexing of the Aritzia brand to drive traffic by leveraging the resurgence of the boat shoe trend.
• [00:19:30] The new metric of business health and the future of retail and private equity. 
• [00:44:00] Has SkinnyTok gone too far? 
• [01:02:00] Our heroes of the week: White Lotus and their brand collaborations—authorized and unauthorized—and whoever designed this shirt.
• [01:05:00] Our villains of the week: Pepsi, for buying Poppi (for $1.7 billion), and the new economic policies and tariff policies that drove Forever 21 and Dollar General out of business. 
• “The average shelf life of a digital skill is roughly 18 months…but I would say it’s 3-6 months.” – Orchid 
• “We know the algorithm is shaping how we think. The crazy part? We’re okay with it.” – Phillip
• “My TLDR for the next three years? It goes back to business fundamentals. You have to be so diligent about every dollar in and every dollar out and run your business to maximize EBITDA.” – Orchid
• “Large companies are not in the business of turnaround.” – Orchid 
• “So, Temporarily 21?” – Orchid
• “Luxury brands think they can raise prices forever. The secondhand market is proving them wrong.” – Phillip

• @orchidbert on TikTok
• Sperry x Aritzia collaboration
• Miu Miu boat shoe
• I got Severed at Claire’s

• Preorder your copy of the LORE Journal by Future Commerce
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce+ 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.

Get ad-free episodes and bonus content, including the full recording of this podcast, by joining Future Commerce+ at futurecommerce.com/plus

• Access to our new Word of Mouth Index with Fairing, a brand new member benefit
• Save 20% on Future Commerce print journals and merch
• Exclusive invites to physical events, dinners, and priority invites to industry events (SXSW, Art Basel, VISIONS)
• Ad-free episodes and bonus content!

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

This week, we are talking Home Depot’s b-hole reminiscent chatbot and vibecoding JD Vance’s face. Plus—the biggest mystery in American shopping: why does TJ Maxx make people need to poop? Also on tap: Apple’s iPad launch cringefest and a surprising rise in Android smartphone adoption among creatives AND finance bros alike.

• Home Depot's "Magic Apron" and Lowe's "Milo" chatbots launched within hours of each other—proving that every brand now needs an AI assistant, even if they all look the same.
• AI is speeding towards eliminating websites as we know them—future shopping experiences will be conversations, not catalogs.
• Apple's recent marketing attempts are wildly out of touch—trends about trends are dead, but nobody told Tim Cook.
• Are we Pavlov-ing ourselves into using the bathroom at TJMaxx? All signs point to yes
• Vibe coding is taking over—non-coders can now generate functional apps, proving that AI isn’t just summarizing things anymore—it’s building them from scratch.
• [00:01:19] “Eenie meenie miney Milo. Home Depot's chatbot looks like a b-hole.” - Phillip
• [00:55:05] “AI is fundamentally changing the way we interact with software. Convenience is the ultimate aim of technology, and we're just at the beginning of this shift.” - Brian

• In-show mention: Purchase The Lore Journal
• In-show mention: Home Depot Chatbot and Press Release
• In-show mention: TJMaxx Reddit Thread
• In-show mention: Register for Shoptalk Afterparty
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce+ 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!

This episode of Future Commerce is brought to you by Future Commerce Plus and our sponsors Omnisend and MotionApp and Keen Decision Systems.

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

Scripted, mass-produced influencer marketing has sent the internet spiraling toward a dystopian era of “loser-generated content.” Plus, we share key insights from eTail West, a sneak peek into Future Commerce’s Word of Mouth Index with Fairing, and dissect some disturbing internet finds of the week.The End of the World As We Know It

• [04:00] Lemon Balm Tea’s influencer campaign: Meanwhile, on TikTok, a scripted ad for Lemon Balm Tea sparks hundreds of fake testimonials. How many “highest-paid nutritionists” can there really be?
• [14:00] Old men yell at the Cloud: Is the internet dead? TikTok, Twitter, and even LinkedIn algorithms are riddled with bots and unchecked scripted influencer marketing.
• [32:00] The Word of Mouth Index: FC+ and Fairing collaborate on a one-of-a-kind index – available to all FC+ members now.
• [33:00] eTail recap: Future Commerce’s seven sessions included a keynote from Phillip on time capsules and what they represent for commerce and culture. Brian closed out eTail with three sessions in a row on ___
• [35:00] Overheard at eTail: A lot of concern around tariffs, anticipation for Target’s earnings (not looking good), and other fears around national commerce. 
• [45:00] Obvi’s viral organic ad: An Arcads.ai employee brags about the efficacy of a recent Obvi TikTok marketing a weight loss supplement. The 14.1-million view video likely drove over five figures of revenue, but critics claim a lack of legality and raise an important question about AI marketing regulation.
• “It’s the grossest way to market.” – Brian
• “Social is bought and paid for and sold.” – Brian
• “The greatest reach I’ve had on Twitter happened when I left a benign comment on Kieran Culkin’s Oscar speech and thirty people made fun of me.” – Phillip
• “Cultural production is downstream of commerce and commerce-driven social discourse happening on the internet.” – Phillip
• “There are two ways people pay attention to things: If they’re funny or if they’re hot.” – Brian

• Insiders: Alex Greifeld’s The End of Outside
• Order your copy of LORE
• Steph Liu on X
• Word of Mouth Index - designed in partnership with Fairing
• Barry Hott on X

• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce+ 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.