Future Commerce

This season on VISIONS will explore the content of VISIONS: Volume IV by Future Commerce. VISIONS is an audio-visual Annual Trends report that examines the changes in culture and commerce and their impacts on the technology industry that serves them. VISIONS: Volume IV took place over three months, from April to June 2023, bookended by two events.Today we go live to the first of those events at the Celeste Bartos Theater at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, where we'll speak with a panel of modern culture reporters, foresight analysts, and media creators and ask them the question, “Where is the counterculture?”Trends are Change{00:04:11} “What we have right now is a lot of interesting niche subcommunities with their own cultures and then countercultures to those. And I think the result of that is it's very hard to know what's trending because trends really exist within these sort of niche subcultures and microspheres. And then by the time they exit, they're no longer a trend, they're more like a trend discourse.” - Daisy Alioto{00:06:47} “You can't really talk about counterculture without talking about the capitalization of it all. You can capitalize on these weird trends, whether it's something like Dimes Square, and then you see a year later, the entire Marc Jacobs campaign for a massive fashion brand is these characters. So is that really counterculture if that's cool now?” - Emily Sundberg{00:09:00} “Sometimes I do get bummed about the lack of existence of new things, and that's why we're going so hard on fashion history because everything feels really referential. But also there's something fun about new combinations and seeing a couch where there's a guy from the White Lotus on it, but there's also a girl that you saw at a party last week.” - Alexi Alario{00:11:26} “Is there counterculture or subculture or monoculture? It's completely dependent upon the sample size in which we're looking at. And for the most part, I think it behooves us to really broaden our aperture of really understanding what's most important to the most amount of people, because if we have to select too small of a sample size, we're just speaking to ourselves and really ignoring the masses.” - Matt Klein{00:16:14} “When we're talking about nostalgia and memory as some of the strongest mechanisms for marketing and the relationship that nostalgia and memory have to certain mediums, like the type of film or camera you were using when you first encountered something or the type of car you were driving when you first encountered something, it's very hard to package that in an authentic way, but if you can, that becomes the brand moat. And that's the thing that allows you to excel past all of your competitors.” - Daisy Alioto{00:24:02} “The thing about de-influencing is, yes, there's a little bit of stoicism of screw it, don't buy this thing, but it's still a form of influencing.” - Matt Klein{00:28:42} “Daisy Alioto: it's also important to remember that, for every counterculture movement, the response to it will be part of the cycle of the next culture, even if it's happening in this very fragmented way now.” - Daisy Alioto{00:35:34} “Nothing gets better without criticism. So I feel like it's okay that everyone is a critic as long as I think it creates a heightened awareness. And especially with algorithms. If you're not a critic, you're just going to let them like run over you.” - Alexi AlarioGuestsDaisy Alioto, CEO and Co-Founder of DirtEmily Sundberg, Writer, Creative Strategist, and Publisher at Feed Me SubstackAlexi Alario, Co-Host of the Nymphet Alumni PodcastMatt Klein, Cultural Theorist and Publisher of ZineHave 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!

The podcast discusses the prevalence of AI-generated content and its impact on consumer behavior. They explore the potential ramifications for Google and the challenges of distinguishing real from fake content. The hosts also touch on the use of visual effects in advertising and the rapid adoption of AI in commerce, including OpenAI's powered chat GPT. They discuss the potential impact of AI and augmented reality on various industries and emphasize the importance of designing devices for open AI.

The Lover is brave enough to go against convention, driven by the need to connect with another. They are positive and courageous, bringing out the best in others and seeing love as a universal force. The Lover creates meaning, passion, and connection. Frownies has been building this way for over 130 years, and the Fifth-Generation Female Owner and Face of Frownies, Helen Morrison, gifted us with some incredible insight into what it looks like to be a Lover in the world of commerce.Real Connection{00:03:43} “Jumping on board and getting involved with Frownies, what I wanted to do most of all was just connect with people. I love this version of business so much because it is so connected. It's all about just creating those relationships and reaching out to people and caring for people and supporting people on this skincare journey.” - Helen{00:10:23} “When you build that human connection and you create a culture of we connect with each other, we take care of each other, we support each other, then yes, the customers are doing that in the comments together for each other.” - Helen{00:13:16} “I think you see that or you see people, you see before and after photos or ads for people with skincare. And it's like, oh, come on, you did not achieve that with moisturizer, and I get that. And because I feel that way, I have leaned so far in the opposite direction when it comes to our content and what comes to the honesty surrounding Frownies. Now, I'll tell you, you can't take this approach if you don't have a good product. Frownies is a great product. It's been around for over 130 years.” - Helen{00:15:23} “We just want to say, "Here is this product and this is what it can do. And before you buy it, I'm going to set the expectation of all the weird things about it, of all the reasons you might not like it, so that when you start using it, your expectation is realistic and then you see the results and you're blown out of the water and it's like, "Wow, this is worth it.'" - Helen{00:18:28} “The way you handle that delicately is part of why people feel so connected to you. This through line of connection, connection, connection is really what is such an imperative part of The Lover archetype and why we need The Lover archetype in the landscape of commerce and in our lives.” - KristenAssociated Links: Learn more about Helen Morrison and FrowniesCheck out other Future Commerce podcastsSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world! 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 season on "Decoded," presented by BigCommerce, we'll delve into the intricate processes behind successful brands. Discover how they conceptualize and debut new products, set their objectives, make pivotal decisions, and foster seamless collaboration across their teams to breathe life into a new product.Ever wondered how customer service evolved from merely addressing post-purchase issues to shaping the broader, more influential customer experience? How has this shift transformed our interactions and relationships with customers? And how is customer experience becoming more proactive rather than just reactive? Dive in to uncover these insights and more. Tune in now!“You can’t spell retail without AI.”{00:08:42} - “Ultimately we want those shops who we heavily rely on to sell our bikes to have that same passion, that same understanding about our bikes. And also to know, this is why the price point is where it's at too. They need to understand that.” - Matt{00:16:03} - “All these different manufacturers were rushing to get this e-bike out on the market because they wanted to capture that right off the bat. We took five years to develop that e-bike. Five years, 25 custom molds. And then we also created six different prototypes or mules, what we call them, in order to ride them, test them, try to blow them up, and see what we can do with them. And then ultimately we started racing them to see how they work and perform on the racetrack.” - Matt{00:22:06} - “How do we get people to buy something in the midst of replacing a product? That's what the AI-driven solution is for SaaS in your customer experience team. But it's not going to make your support team fanatical about the product.” - Phillip{00:26:01} - “The website is the gateway, whether it be chats, whether it be calls, whether it be emails. As recently as when I started 8 to 10 years ago at Industry West, we were still taking faxes, and so it is multichannel, but it all starts and ends with the website.” - Ian{00:32:28} - “Marketing is not any longer where you're just figuring out who your target demographic is and how you're going to communicate to them and then which media you're going to use. Marketing now is every single touchpoint that the consumer has. All of that needs to live under the marketing function.” - Ingrid{00:42:00} - “Customer experience directly is probably not involved until we are in the prototyping stage. But I say that because everything we prototype is built with the customer service team in mind.” - Kabeer{00:49:42} - “Maybe the age of AI does help you create this media with the team you already have and the insights you already have into your relationship with your customer.” - PhillipAssociated Links:Learn more about Matt Hicks and Yeti CyclesLearn more about Ian Leslie and Industry WestLearn more about Ingrid Milman Cordy and Nestle Health ScienceLearn more about Kabeer Chopra and BurrowGrab your copy of The Multiplayer Brand hereHave you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave 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!

What happens when your personal fulfillment is overshadowed by tech advancements and rapid business growth? Thomas McCutchen shares his journey of finding purpose in the realm of commerce as an elder millennial while pushing strategy and vision forward for clients in DTC and eCom. From the early days of bootstrapping his passion project to the organic yet intentional growth that led to an Inc 5000 designation, Thomas's story is a testament to the power of authenticity, resilience, and the human touch in a digital age. Listen now!“It Left Me Wanting More”{00:06:08} - “Software on these thick apps where the people using the app are employees that are paid, the user experience leaves a lot to be desired. That bothered me. I wanted to make intuitive systems. I wanted to make systems that were easy to use, that were delightful, that actually the user experience itself was the very thing everyone was talking about.” - Thomas{00:13:57} - “What's baked into subscribers is they are your most loyal customers. They already are by leaps and bounds, so there should be rewards for those. So the ecosystem grew dramatically. And with that, so did agencies, and the tech space got pretty crowded, too. It's still an absolutely great business model and there are still better ways to implement it than others.” - Thomas{00:17:05} - “I didn't found an agency focused on Inc 5000. Really, I became passionate about commerce and eComm. I had an experience building the in-store apps and it left me wanting more. This didn't feel like the promise of technology that I signed up for. I wanted something better.” - Thomas{00:21:09} - “You have to be resilient and that means you have to be dedicated to the problem space. I think that's where a lot of agency owners struggle is they let the happenstance of the customers that walk through the door dictate the directionality of the business as opposed to them being obsessed with a particular problem and trying to solve it.” - Phillip{00:34:16} - “Will AI replace us all? I don't know. But for the time being, it can very much help us do our jobs. So it's important that we embrace these things and figure out ways to leverage them for value and then look at the overall market trends as well.” - Thomas{00:42:23} - “We're continuing to see value in tying content and commerce. Not only do we want to be subject matter experts, but we want our clients to be subject matter experts. So no longer just offering a product, but kind of owning the domain of knowledge around that product.” - ThomasAssociated Links:Learn more about Thomas McCutchen and Bear GroupGrab your copy of The Multiplayer Brand hereHave you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave 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!

Phillip and Brian look at loyalty programs including Delta’s, which may turn Brian into a United or an Alaska guy, recap some compelling highlights from the All-In Summit that Phillip went to, and remind us why commerce really matters and can bring about powerful change as we work to shape it. “A Giant Pain Fest”{00:09:02} - “Loyalty is a form of arbitrage. Customers have always figured out how to game rewards programs, but loyalty programs in particular are a short-term play.” - Phillip{00:14:03} - “The world does revolve around this value extraction and trying to maximize the benefit that you get through spending through a charge card. So in reality, the loyalty-free agency era is going to be defined by those who do status matching across programs and invite those people who are running away from Delta in with open arms.” - Phillip{00:26:05} - “If you can touch commerce, you can touch the world. If you can make an effect in the people who make decisions in commerce every day, you can affect the outcome of the way that people engage in human interaction because we all have to engage in commerce.” - Phillip{00:36:42} - “The technology question is a big question. It could go in a lot of different directions. And I think that that's how a lot of this is going to change what people actually accept and take hold of and think about how to apply creatively. The implications of the Internet are still vast. Vast. We are still not applying current technology in ways that are truly transformative.” - Brian{00:43:10} - “With fusion power and quantum processing maybe we'll be able to do it all. Until that day, I think we're going to be butting up against the limits.” - Brian{00:45:32} - “Commerce has followed a lot of parallels that replace the role that spirituality and community have had in people's lives. And what if we realize that those things just don't fulfill and we need to find within us something that gives us hope? Buying more things, shopping like a billionaire on Temu does not give us hope. But finding community and people of like mindedness and trying to tap into something greater than yourself can give you hope that defies the inevitability of certain demise.” - PhillipAssociated Links:The Senses article mentioned (June 9 on Loyalty)The GDP/Delta article mentionedQuantum Yeet Insiders piece mentionedGrab your copy of The Multiplayer Brand hereHave you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave 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!

The Creator naturally tears down and rebuilds, moving toward positive change. A tenacious visionary and a dreamer who pursues their goals with unwavering dedication, confidence, and willingness to take risks. The Creator has a strong sense of vision, sometimes restructuring traditional forms. When it comes to brands that exhibit this archetype, Só Dança is an easy choice. Helena Hines, Chief Operating Officer at Só Dança, shares what it's like to be a Creator in a space that's needed some restructuring for a very long time.A Vision That Delivers{00:04:32} “There was one sentence here in the definition, which is "a strong sense of vision and an ability to take ideas from nothing into reality." And I love to do that. Whenever an idea is dead, whenever a concept is dead or people consider it gone, I like to bring it back and say, "But is it? Can we challenge that? How can we bring it back?’" - Helena{00:06:58} “Really understanding the tools you have to work with and who's in the room is something that maybe comes naturally to a Creator, to see what I have to work with here to make something.” - Kristen{00:09:15} “From the beginning, we were innovators and we were creating things that made sense for the brand and made sense for the dance world, even if the dance world didn't even know it yet.” - Helena{00:12:10} “{During the pandemic} I thought, "Is this the right move for us to continue to bet on ourselves?" because we don't know how long this will take. We don't know how long this will be. The whole time everybody in leadership said, "We move forward. We don't stop. We don't halt because we believe in our people and we believe in this company. And we know we need to be reliable. We need to invest in ourselves because when the consumer needs it, we need to be able to deliver.’" - Helena{00:14:46} “It's about following through with who you say you are. Staying true to the message that you're sending out there for your internal team and external as well. Are you going to deliver what you said you're going to deliver through the good times, but most importantly through the hard times? And that takes vision.” - HelenaAssociated Links: Learn more about Helena Hines and Só DançaCheck out other Future Commerce podcastsSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world!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 season on Decoded, brought to you by BigCommerce, we're going to break down the ways that winning brands build and launch new products, how decisions are made, how goals are set, and how an entire organization collaborates effectively to bring a new product to life.We've all heard the idioms before. "You are what you eat." "You get what you pay for." Or "You reap what you sow." But when it comes to eCommerce, the idiom of choice might just be "You get what you measure." As eCommerce has grown, the world of analytics has become much more fragmented. Aside from measurement, the analysis of customer behavior has fallen into multiple camps of solutions, from attribution to segmentation and even intuition. In this episode, hear from industry experts Ingrid Milman Cordy, Sean Larkin, and Ian Leslie as they share their insights on this and more.Context, Confidence, & Conviction{00:01:56} - “Context is important when a brand is launching a new product or a new subbrand because it can be dangerous to not have a context and a goal when you're doing something new with your business.” - Aaron{00:03:42} - “You need to be very careful about what you choose to measure because that changes the reality of your perception of your business and may change your product strategy depending on what you're measuring.” - Aaron{00:08:28} - “There are always the big goals and then the smaller goals, those tend to be really clear and people understand them. It's the goals in the middle, the departmental goals that I think don't get as much air time as as needed.” - Ingrid{00:15:17} - “The problem is merchants aren't collecting the data and they don't actually know how to operationalize it, and so as soon as I can pivot the conversation there with merchants, that's when things get exciting.” - Sean{00:24:14} - “We're typically launching product for both sides of the company and then the few times that we are maybe a little bit more granular in where we think we're going with the product, it ends up being maybe even more popular on the other side anyway.” - Ian{00:25:37} - “Having confidence in your plan requires a lot of conviction. And especially in the modern analytics and attribution software ecosystem, that's really all you have is confidence in attribution.” - Phillip{00:29:06} - “If you are going to launch a product, assuming that there's going to be failure, budgeting it out to begin with so that you can test and experiment logically.” - SeanAssociated Links:Learn more about Ingrid Milman Cordy and Nestlé Health ScienceLearn more about Sean Larkin and FueledLearn more about Ian Leslie and Industry WestGrab your copy of The Multiplayer Brand hereHave you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave 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!

The nature of the digital consumer and reaching them in their region and in their context where they are is not just taking something for granted as if all you have to do is put it out into the world and then people adopt it. You have to adapt it to market.How can pizza shops and restaurants maximize the data collected by Slice to stay ahead of trends and competitors and build community where they are? We’re glad you asked. Matthew Kobach, CMO at Slice, gives us a glimpse into the ways Slice is using data to turn up the heat in the pizza industry and beyond.Slice has Verticalized the Tech Stack for Pizza Commerce{00:09:12} - “What you want to do is build a team that is optimized for the industry that you're in… One of the things that I'm currently doing right now is filling that cupboard with people who understand the space, either from the consumer side or the pizza shop side because they understand the pain points.” - Matthew{00:10:07} - “I'm so big on messaging. It's one of those things that like ten Xs an ad. Once you can succinctly explain what you do or what your value prop is and it immediately sticks in someone's head, that's how you make an ad more impactful and how you make all your marketing more impactful.” - Matthew{00:12:27} - “It's really interesting to think about how context impacts what your message is, even if you're selling the same product.” - Matthew{00:15:35} - “I got your attention, and I understand I have only got it for half of a moment. What is the key information you need to remember there? You've got to figure out that way to stand out and deliver your message quickly.” - Matthew{00:23:40} - “You can just manipulate data so easily to tell the story that you want. The people who are really, really good at looking at data are the ones who tell you there's no right or wrong way to look at data because they understand that anyone who says there's a right way, they have an agenda.” - Matthew{00:31:52} - “There are foundational things you need to do in order to be successful, and then 50% of it, you've got to use your instinct or your gut or realize that your past experience, even if it's not 1 to 1, on how you're going to market this either specific product or to this specific cohort.” - Matthew{00:42:08} “It's more about owning the data. It's this idea that you have all this data and you are throwing it away. And so to me, the future of commerce is shops that have not yet harnessed the power of data to do something really special with it and to figure out how to maximize the value of their customers.” - MatthewAssociated Links:Learn more about Matthew Kobach and SliceGrab your copy of The Multiplayer Brand hereHave you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave 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!

How do you listen to the customer and make decisions about the customer without making decisions for the customer? How do we talk to customers better? And how, in the midst of storytelling as a brand, do we remember that our customers are human?Daniel Hoffman, Creative Director at Five Below, shares that sees his customer as a muse and how following the muse helps Five Below create new and better things in different channels. Of course, digital creation and digital creative direction today really depend a lot on creator partnerships. Given his background and time at other prestigious brands, Daniel has incredible insights to share. Listen now!The Brand Conversation{00:10:25} - “When you have a healthy conversation about what's not being done and look elsewhere to what could be done then that's when companies can really innovate and hopefully stick out in the crowd and maybe solve problems for your customers, too.” - Daniel{00:15:06} - “When I was a young designer, my directors would say, "Here are your guardrails. Play within that space." And I try to do that for my team. That way I know what they're doing is on brand and also they get to express their voice. They get to try things out and learn and grow and make mistakes and learn from them and do new things.” - Daniel{00:21:51} - “The benefit of having a growing team is that there's always a new voice with a new perspective and life experience, and that's one of the benefits of having a diverse team as well. If you don't have a diversity of life experience, then you're going to miss something on the marketing side because your customers are likely a diverse group.” - Daniel{00:25:38} - “We started in the early 2000s. At that point, the audience was one thing, but now a lot of those customers, if we did our job right, are still with us, and that audience looks different today.” - Daniel{00:26:36} - “The way that brand becomes apparent is through a long-term relationship and established repeated opportunities to develop trust. That just takes time.” - Phillip{00:27:25} - “There's a popular term of "brand storytelling," and I really prefer "brand conversation" because that then implies that on the brand side, we're listening to the customer, we're in dialog with them.” - Daniel{00:32:45} “Does {AI} impact our customer? And if it's a positive impact, it's worth exploration. As a manager, I have to think about job satisfaction with my team. Is {implenting AI} a satisfying day-to-day for them? So I need to consider that.” - DanielAssociated Links:Learn more about Daniel Hoffman and Five BelowGrab your copy of The Multiplayer Brand hereHave you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave 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!