Future Commerce

A quarter of Gen Z and Millennial consumers now trust AI recommendations more than human ones, marking the arrival of retail's first post-human interface. Sharon Gee, SVP of Product at Commerce, joins us to explore the paradox of digital intimacy: why consumers will bare their souls to ChatGPT about shopping needs yet abandon carts when brands ask them to create accounts, how LLMs are becoming intimate commerce companions, and what this means for the collapse of traditional commerce funnels and brand discovery in an AI-mediated world.

Coach's SVP of Global Visual Experience Giovanni Zaccariello reveals how the brand transformed from heritage accessory house to Gen Z cultural force by treating retail as community infrastructure. From hospitality-infused Coach Play stores to strategically sustainable holiday displays, the conversation explores how physical experience became Coach's competitive advantage in an increasingly digital marketplace.

Black Friday naysayers have been predicting its demise for years, but Adyen's Holly Worst has data proving the shopping holiday is far from dead—it's gone global. From Denmark's 6.1X surge to America's mobile wallet awakening, this year's numbers tell a story of transformation, not decline. The real shift? How we pay, when we shop, and why contactless finally caught on in the US.

Phillip Jackson and Lindsay Trinkle sit down with Melissa Minkow, Global Director of Retail Strategy and Insights at CI&T, to unpack findings from her Retail Tech Reality Check research. Together, they dissect how different platforms serve distinct purposes in the buyer's journey, why "omnichannel" is more relevant than ever, and what happens when everything becomes shoppable but commerce itself becomes invisible.

In this episode, we explore how the expanded digital ecosystem is fundamentally reprogramming how consumers engage with content, community, and commerce. With 74% of US consumers now using AI tools in their path to purchase, brands can no longer control the narrative—instead, they must embed themselves intentionally into customer-led conversations across multiple contexts.

It’s a Black Friday special! Phillip and Brian explore how capitalism commercializes everything it touches, as exemplified beautifully by community-driven Buy Nothing groups facing trademark enforcement and Walmart's WhoKnewVille campaign, which misses the point of Dr. Seuss entirely. They examine Mariah Carey's evolution from background music to Sephora partner, the disturbing rise of skincare for toddlers, and why new media's infinitesimally short news cycles are reshaping how we consume culture itself.

Nearly half of all consumers now live in a state of perpetual purchase consideration, maintaining mental shopping lists that are never truly empty. With access to new sources of information and inspiration, they're constantly thinking about what they're going to buy next.

But what happens when commerce isn't just something you do; it's something that you are?

We kick off season 5 of Decoded with behavioral scientist and customer experience expert Ken Hughes, who joins us in exploring how shopping has evolved from an activity into an identity, particularly among Gen Z and Millennials. We unpack Ken’s “Blue Dot Consumer” theory and introduce the "Shopping Consciousness Spectrum," and examine how it influences not just how we live as individuals, but how we operate as brands.

Most marketing teams believe AI will revolutionize their work, yet few experience true transformation. Shai Frank from Optimove discusses new research revealing why organizational readiness—not technology—creates the widest gap between expectation and reality. The conversation explores how change management, experimentation mindsets, and vendor partnerships can help marketers move from incremental improvements to transformative results.

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.

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.

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.