Future Commerce

Live from Los Angeles, Phillip and Brian explore bizarre and brilliant intersections of commerce and culture of late, from commerce themes in Sinners to pope merch to DIY luxury. In an episode that’s part futurist insight, part sacred absurdity, they connect the dots between retail psychology, meme theology, and trade policy. PLUS: Phillip and Brian head to The Whalies with Triple Whale. Coming up on the show, catch their live interview from The Whalies with Bryan Cano of True Classic!High Church, Low InventoryKey takeaways:The Commerce of Catholicism – Pope transitions now drive digital engagement, pilgrimage surges, and resale markets. Welcome to the Vatican's Shopify moment.Tariffs as Theater – The recent 90-day tariff reprieve reveals how uncertainty fuels deal-making and could permanently reshape global economic alliances.Contentification of the Sacred – From Conclave to meme lore, the papacy is now part of the entertainment-industrial complex, raising questions about the role of narrative and brand in modern faith.DIY is the New Luxury – Phillip’s journey from $300 Instagram pants to $6 Goodwill masterpieces signals a cultural shift: recession-core meets personal branding.Slop is Dead (Maybe) – Brian drops a bold claim: participatory lo-fi media has peaked. What’s next? Meaningful myth, meta-modern storytelling, and high-context digital ritual.[00:06:27] “Once you hit the limit with your product, you start to look at category expansion. You have to ask the ‘why’ questions.” – Brian[00:52:45] “The way we relate to culture is through the commerce experience of it—when an American lens is applied.” – PhillipIn-Show Mentions:The Senses: I Vatican’t Believe These PricesInsiders: Language GamesAssociated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe 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!

Get ad-free episodes and bonus content, including the full recording of this podcast, by joining Future Commerce+ at futurecommerce.com/plusAccess to our new Word of Mouth Index with Fairing, a brand new member benefitSave 15% on Future Commerce print journals and merchExclusive invites to physical events, dinners, and priority invites to industry events (SXSW, Art Basel, VISIONS)Ad-free episodes and bonus content!

Phillip and Brian bring hot takes on eBay’s Met Gala presence, the latest tariff turmoil, and the future of autonomous driving. PLUS: Dissecting Warren Buffet’s retirement and new research on Gen Z vs. Millennial communication trends. The Y2K Bug Zapped Us Into PostmodernismKey takeaways:Trends that feel like youth trends are actually just internet trends.  Their effects are now felt across generations, not siloed age groups.There has been a shift from modernism to postmodernism, and in turn, sincerity to ironic insincerity.Boy Meets World: 25 years after its series finale airs, we reflect on its sitcom era as a marker of TV’s transition from modernism and sincerity to postmodernism and ironic insincerity. Kendra Scott taps into Gen Alpha.eBay returns to Brian’s radar and then sponsors the 2025 Met Gala. Coincidence?“Understanding the society in which you live, and the cultural moment taking place, is taken for granted a lot.” – Phillip“The Y2K bug was actually just the end of sincerity.” – Brian“We’ve leaned so far into cheap goods for so long, there might be a memetic cycle happening now where we lean back into goods that are durable.” – Brian“Autonomous driving is extraordinarily disruptive—just like AI is for information, AVs are for how we live, plan cities, and think about ownership.” – PhillipIn-Show Mentions:The Guardian: Gen Z Is Turning to Voice NotesDirt.fyi: The State of A24Titan Caskets: Grave ConversationsWaymo Partners with ToyotaAssociated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeJoin Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe 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!

Brian dials in from B2B Chicago, Phillip gets existential, and Alicia Esposito returns to the show and makes her debut as the newest member of the Future Commerce team. This week, we unpack music festivals’ escalating cost of participation, Coachella as a retail laboratory, and how looming global trade challenges overconsumption. PLUS: The auto industry experiences a rare analog awakening.It Was Big Hibiscus All AlongKey takeaways:70% of B2B purchasers are Gen Z or Millennials.Tariffs are a real threat – Brands are bracing for supply chain disruption, with some using tariff warnings as marketing FOMO triggers.Future Commerce analyzes the overpriced festival craze on Insiders #190 and Insiders #191.The draw to Coachella? It’s not music, or $30 Dave’s Hot Chicken sandwiches. It’s vibes.The Slate Truck represents a broader cultural trend toward digital detox and reverse skeuomorphism, bringing real-world, tactile experiences back into the digital age.[00:04:07] “Digitalization came for B2C and we didn’t say anything. And now it’s here for B2B.” – Brian Lange[00:15:17] “The reckoning has been coming for a long time. Overconsumption isn’t just a consumer issue—it’s a systemic one. If the climate crisis didn’t spark change, what will?” – Phillip Jackson[00:16:57] “At what point will the cost of participation outweigh the value of participation to the point where it's like, well, what am I even doing this for?” – Alicia EspositoIn-Show Mentions:Insiders #191: City of Coachella: Population: In Debt Insiders #190: Is Coachella Buzz Brands’  Supply Chain Friend or Foe? Politico: How Gen Z Became the Most Gullible GenerationAssociated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe 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 dig into the cultural implications of AI’s new role—not just as a tool, but as a confidant, a co-pilot, and even a therapist. They also get into the Kraft Heinz x A1 viral moment, trade war disinformation on TikTok, and how AI-fueled consumer aesthetics are transforming luxury. Plus: A new HBR report shows “therapy and companionship” is now the top use case for GenAI. What does this mean for society and us as individuals?The Secret’s in the SauceKey takeaways:Kraft Heinz's real-time A1 ad proves responsive marketing now competes on cultural speed.“Therapy and companionship” is the top AI use case of 2025—raising serious questions about trust and emotional outsourcing.TikTok disinformation and fake Birkin bags signal a new era of aesthetic manipulation and consumer mimicry.Agentic AI use cases like coding and life management are accelerating due to new protocols like MCP.The interplay of commerce, identity, and AI isn’t theoretical—it’s already reshaping real-world buying behavior.In-Show Mentions:Order LORE by Future CommerceHarvard Business Review’s 2025 GenAI Use Case StudyKraft Heinz x Mischief “For Educational Purposes Only” adAll-In Podcast tariff debate featuring David Sacks and Ezra KleinTikTok’s disinformation around luxury goodsAssociated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe 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!

Andrew McLuhan—author, speaker, and steward of The McLuhan Institute—shares rich, mind-bending perspectives on the current state of culture, media, connection, and commerce. Drawing from a generations-deep intellectual legacy forged by media theorist and philosopher Marshall McLuhan, Andrew explores what it means to live in a world electrified by complete digital immersion.A New Medium Is A New CultureKey takeaways:“I quickly discovered that it’s easy to overwhelm people with too much information. It’s almost the worst thing you can do, because you lose them, and it can be hard to get them back.” – Andrew McLuhan“It’s much easier to teach people one thing at a time than it is to teach them ten things at once.” – Andrew McLuhan“‘A poem can’t mean something that it doesn’t mean to you.’ Which is kind of deep, but it’s not the cop out that you think it is.” – Andrew McLuhan, quoting T.S. Eliot“Marshall McLuhan saw that through human history we’ve been influenced and steered by the structure and nature of our innovations more than by what we’ve done with them. A new medium is a new culture.” – Andrew McLuhan“We don’t like finding out how we’re being used.” – Andrew McLuhan“Commerce is a form of media. It is manipulating people in some way and people are being shaped by it.” – PhillipIn-Show Mentions:How People Are Really Using Gen AI in 2025 – Harvard Business ReviewOther Harvard Business Review pieces:Personalization Done RightThe Consumer Psychology of Adopting AIEric McLuhan’s Taking Up McLuhan’s Cause – re-releasedThe McLuhan InstituteAssociated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and to save on merch and printSubscribe 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!

Pini Yakuel, CEO of Optimove, champions positionless marketing, advocating for fluid roles within organizations to harness talent effectively. Nikolas Badminton, Chief Futurist at Futurist.com, explores how AI should enhance creativity, not replace human insight. They discuss the importance of trusting younger leaders, breaking down silos, and embracing chaos in innovative work environments. The conversation also highlights the need for organizations to evolve, balancing technology and creativity for future success in marketing.

Lewis Pugh, an endurance swimmer and environmental activist, shares inspiring stories of pushing boundaries, like swimming at the North Pole, and what brands can learn about purpose from such feats. Ria Chin-You, VP of CRM at DAZN, discusses the challenges of personalizing marketing for 200+ global markets with a small team, while exploring the integration of AI in marketing workflows. Both guests emphasize the importance of emotional drive, agility in marketing, and the cultural nuances that influence effective global communication.

Get ad-free episodes and bonus content, including the full recording of this podcast, by joining Future Commerce+ at futurecommerce.com/plusAccess to our new Word of Mouth Index with Fairing, a brand new member benefitSave 15% on Future Commerce print journals and merchExclusive invites to physical events, dinners, and priority invites to industry events (SXSW, Art Basel, VISIONS)Ad-free episodes and bonus content!

In a captivating conversation, Kelly Cook, the first female CEO of David's Bridal, discusses the brand's exciting transformation. She sheds light on the 'aisle to algorithm' strategy, showcasing how technology is reshaping wedding planning. Kelly emphasizes inclusivity, highlighting the Wildfang partnership that promotes diverse wedding attire. She shares heartwarming stories about helping brides find their unique looks and the deep emotional connections involved. The future of weddings is painted with innovation, featuring AR headsets and non-traditional celebrations.