From channels to surfaces and agents

The brands that will thrive in the next era of commerce understand that context drives everything, from platform choice to storytelling and trust formation. As a result, success hinges on a brand’s ability to serve customers across multiple contexts rather than controlling single experiences.

For the season finale, Commerce CEO Travis Hess joins Phillip and Lindsay to explore what it means when "the customer is the channel." The conversation tackles designing for AI agents alongside humans, reaching customers across surfaces independent of purchase location, and balancing data-driven marketing with authentic storytelling. Travis shares why brands must embrace agentic commerce now, and the mindset shifts required for 2026, synthesizing the season's insights into actionable guidance.

The Customer is the Channel

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Omnimodal commerce shifts focus from channels to surfaces where customers engage across contexts.
• Design for agents, not just humans. Agentic intermediaries will shape future commerce experiences.
• "The customer is the channel" requires reaching consumers wherever they want to engage.
• Balance data-driven performance marketing with authentic human storytelling to preserve brand equity.
• [00:37:35] "Brands need to go where their customers want to engage them across different surfaces—whether they're buying through that channel or it's influencing purchase through a different channel you may or may not own."
• [00:39:15] "Brands need to design for agents, not just humans and agent intermediaries. They're the ones who are going to show up and ultimately win. It's not like the old days, where we just assumed humans were coming to our channels."
• ibution and surface and signal more than probably the traditional commerce side."
• [00:33:55] "There's nothing more important than the brand, than the narrative, than the story, than the equity that is there. That is the power. I very much see that being controlled still by humans and maybe informed by AI."

Associated Links:

• New Modes Research: How AI is Shaping New Commerce Contexts and Expectations
• 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

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