Retail Media Networks: Evolution and Impact

In this episode, Scot Wingo is joined by Forrester retail analyst Sucharita Kodali to dive into the emerging world of agentic shopping and the growing influence of generative AI in commerce. They cover:

- The explosion of retail media networks
- Why marketplaces are making a comeback
- OpenAI’s retail ambitions (and that Instacart CEO hire)
- GenAI adoption across retail use cases
- The rising threat to Google from TikTok and AI search
- What’s actually agentic vs. “faugentic”

⏱ Notable Timestamps:

00:06 – What is Retailgenic and what’s at stake in AI shopping
03:00 – Why retail media networks exploded post-COVID
07:30 – Instacart’s ad business & the OpenAI CEO move
10:00 – How big retailers are actually using GenAI today
14:00 – Is Google search under threat from ChatGPT, TikTok & Perplexity?
20:00 – Agentic shopping: hype vs. reality
26:00 – Could AI replace ticket brokers and influence high-demand shopping?
31:00 – The power of TikTok shopping and influencer-led discovery
33:00 – Closing thoughts on what’s truly “agentic” vs. faugentic

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