Podcast: Future Commerce

We’re live and poolside at the close of eTail Palm Springs. This year’s conference brought less theory and more proof, from agentic platforms doing actual operational work to the quiet rise of go-to-market tooling among merchants. One thing is clear: AI stopped talking and started shipping. Brian and Phillip break down the sessions, hallway conversations, and briefings that mattered most, and dive into their marathon week of discussions with companies including CommerceIQ, Attentive, Resolve AI, Decile, Modem, and more.

Future Commerce

Future Commerce | Episode 445: Consolidation Is Power: Insights from eTail Palm Springs

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00:00 / 00:51:28

Jonathan Cohen, CMO of Onyx Global Group (Pure Daily Care & Aquasonic), joins Phillip and Alicia to trace the arc from Amazon-first launches to TikTok Shop dominance. This week, we unpack the unmeasurable and explore what it actually means to cede your marketing playbook to a creator economy that doesn’t need your permission.

Future Commerce

Future Commerce | Episode 444: Cracking the Viral Code: Creators As CMOs

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00:00 / 00:49:20

In just one year, Daily Harvest was acquired by Chobani, dropped its subscription requirement, and launched a campaign calling out the wellness hype machine. CEO Ricky Silver joins us to talk about the facts in an industry dominated by fiction.

Future Commerce

Future Commerce | Episode 443: Daily Harvest is Fighting the Wellness Hype Machine

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00:00 / 00:26:26

Most Super Bowl ads failed before they aired. Dr. Marcus Collins explains why. We break down the Super Bowl as a cultural spectacle: the ads, the Bad Bunny halftime show, and the Levi’s strategy that no one is talking about.

Future Commerce

Future Commerce | Episode Every Brand Spent $20M on 30 Seconds. Levi's Bought the Whole Super Bowl.

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00:00 / 00:52:50

LIVE from Manifest 2026: Shipium CEO Jason Murray reveals why AI transformation isn’t about making old processes faster but fundamentally rethinking workflows. From turning three-day analytics tasks into minutes with Orca to exploring adjacent areas such as auditing and consulting, Phillip, Brian, and Jason unpack how domain-specific AI creates competitive moats in an era when traditional advantages are dissolving.

Future Commerce

Future Commerce | Episode 442: Supply Chain's AI Evolution: Infinite Simulations

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00:00 / 00:44:15

Join us at SoCom 2026, the Social Commerce Conference. February 26 in Venice Beach and save 20% with code FCSC2026

Damon Berger, Head of Consumer Digital Engagement at Gap Inc., joins the show to share the strategy behind the brand’s comeback. He unpacks the playbook for rebuilding an iconic brand, why it worked for Barbie, and why creator capital is the new north star. Plus, he reveals how Gap moved from “chasing relevance” to driving it, and why brand distinction is the new survival strategy against the sea of AI slop.

Future Commerce

Future Commerce | Episode 442: Why Gap is Back: The Mattel Playbook for Brand Reinvigoration

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00:00 / 00:35:27

Andrew McLuhan (The McLuhan Institute) and Paulo Ferreira (co-founder, Baroes Brand Publishing) join us to dissect the seismic shift from persuasion to publication. As institutions crumble and audiences demand transparency, brands are discovering they don’t need platforms—they need publishing strategies. From Brazil’s brand publishing revolution to venture capital as the ultimate gamble, this conversation explores how commerce and culture collapse into a single, trust-driven narrative where every brand becomes its own campfire.

Future Commerce

Future Commerce | Episode 440: How Brands Become Publishers In the Age of Distrust

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00:00 / 00:57:32

Theory meets tarmac. Sushmitha “Sushi” Radhakrishnan runs finance and operations at Birddogs, the men’s apparel brand born from a Shark Tank moment that’s now selling through Dick’s Sporting Goods. She breaks down what cash flow actually looks like when summer—not holidays—is your Super Bowl, tariffs hit mid-growth, and every trend cycle could make or break a season.

Future Commerce

Future Commerce | Episode [STEP BY STEP] The Spend Behind the Scale

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00:00 / 00:30:18

The old retail calendar is dead. Between TikTok virality, celebrity sightings, and ChatGPT-powered discovery, brands face a new reality: commerce runs on culture’s clock. Nicole Thomas (Brex) and Anand Mehta (Melio) break down how this shift from predictable peaks to perpetual possibility demands radical financial agility.

Future Commerce

Future Commerce | Episode [STEP BY STEP] Seizing the Seasonal Opportunity

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00:00 / 00:40:49

Cash flow isn’t just spreadsheets—it’s survival. In an era of tariffs, currency swings, and supply chain whiplash, small businesses face a paradox: grow fast while everything shifts beneath you. Corinne Boonstra (Brex) and Aharon Naveen (Melio) unpack how payment independence becomes the ultimate competitive advantage.

Future Commerce

Future Commerce | Episode [STEP BY STEP] Optimizing the Product Promise

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00:00 / 00:27:38