Future Commerce

As we sit in the middle of conference and expo season, we chat with Alicia Esposito about what she is excited about in retail right now and why, while also discussing the need for humans and community even with the advancement of AI technology. Plus, a special announcement about RICE X Future Commerce June 2023! Listen now for all of this and more!We Still Need Humans{00:05:50} There are two key areas that Alicia is most excited about in retail right now: retail media and also the store become a place of community building and connection{00:08:54} We’ve been talking about AI for years at Future Commerce, but now there are more practical applications that are enhancing customer experiences, and that is exciting{00:13:08} “The use of these tools as an ideation platform and as an enabler of creativity versus a killer of it is the path that I'm more inclined to take.” - Alicia (We’ll still always need humans).{00:19:55} “It'd be really interesting to see what would happen if you took something like Midjourney and you wanted to create something really broad market, down market, and made it really experiential…” Like Dollar Tree as experiential retail. - Brian{00:23:42} Both Lyft and Uber have commercialzed the ability to jump to the front of the line, which a point of inspiration for everybody, and we will see this more and more{00:26:08} How do we maximize on collaborations that bring the artistic community and the commerce community together better because there’s a huge opportunity there{00:28:17} RICE (Retail Innovation Conference & Expo) is coming in June, and there are so many incredible speakers and content creators, including Future Commerce, lined up to be a part of it{00:41:27} ChatGPT, the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect, and other AI vehicles are all reminders that we need to exercise caution and we still have a lot to learn from each other{00:46:58} Artists and people that do have deep transactional expertise and leadership in retail brands will share one stage together at the Visions Summit at RICE and talk about this thing that we all do, which is really try to affect some sort of lasting impact with a relationship with a customerAssociated Links:Find out more about The Visions Summit at RICE 2023 and make plans to meet us there!Don't miss out on getting your ticket to RICE 2023 before prices go up!Learn more about Alicia Esposito and Retail TouchPointsHave you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Get your copy of Archetypes, our newly published 240-page journal. Check it out at ArchetypesJournal.comSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more of what we are witnessing in the commerce world!Listen 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 can we both challenge the idea of best practices while also not throwing the idea completely away? Why do we need guardrails and how do those serve the customer best? What are some shifts in culture that can lead to better outcomes in the supply chain and in the commerce ecosystem as a whole around fast and cheap manufacturing and distribution? Listen now to hear this and more!“Best Practices” can’t be a function of stasis{00:05:24} Jesse offers a challenge to our take on best practices saying he doesn’t think there is a way to provide the distinction, ease of use, and seamless customer experience without best practices being in place, but agrees they should be challenged (i.e. don’t buy into the “cult of best practices”{00:20:58} Kravet is experimenting with generative AI and looking at ways to incorporate new ideas and technologies or not, and AI is really a tool to add to your tool belt to augment your skillset as a company{00:24:48} “If you don't empower your team to use tools, they're going to use them anyway. They're just not going to tell you about it.” - Phillip{00:30:13} You have to have a healthy sense of cynicism when it comes to technology and what you’re being told because of how much technology is an open experiment now before it matures and can actually potentially do what is promised{00:43:29} What is Jesse’s Archetype according to our quiz and how does he feel about it?{00:51:20} The push-back now is completely informed by the eCommerce expectations of the pandemic. So there's this really exciting opportunity to really bring the online experience in an exceptional way into the store and really, truly merge those two functions together.”Associated Links:Learn more about Jesse Lazarus and KravetHave you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Get your copy of Archetypes, our newly published 240-page journal. Check it out at ArchetypesJournal.comSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more of what we are witnessing in the commerce world!Listen 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!

With so many tech options, understanding how brands can use technology in a way that humanizes the customer experience while not being afraid of “getting behind the curve” can be a delicate balance. How do you use it to grow and develop and be more knowledgeable in your space and serve your customers well both in-store and online? Road Runner Sports is a brand that is serious about navigating this balance. Listen now to hear Sean Peterson share how their in-store experience is paving the way for a better online experience for their customers as well.In the Customers’ Shoes{00:04:20} Road Runner has a very high-touch, tech-forward in-store experience, and they customize shoe insoles, for example, helping the customer get exactly what they need in a shoe{00:05:22} Road Runner is taking a brick-and-mortar first approach to technology, which is actually going to dictate how they will do things online{00:20:13} We can buy more and more and more technology today than ever before that can solve all these problems, but it comes down to a lot of intuition and understanding of the customer journey and the people that make sense of that.{00:09:21} Computer learning is shaping the future of search{00:12:57} It’s important to both provide customers with what you’ve learned they want and like but also help them explore new potential options in a way that makes them feel known as a customer{00:24:41} How will brands take advantage of this future out how to inform the algorithm what their differentiators are because people are already using ChatGPT to discover their next pair of shoes or their next purchase?Thanks to WB Research and eTail Palm Springs for making this interview possible. eTail is one of our favorite retail and eCommerce industry events. Plans are already underway for their Boston show, happening in August. Get more information and register right over here.Associated Links:Learn more about Sean Peterson and Road Runner Sports.Have you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Get your copy of Archetypes, our newly published 240-page journal! Check it out at ArchetypesJournal.comSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more of what we are witnessing in the commerce world!Listen 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!

From COVID trends to worldwide annual forecasting across various industries, Ci En Lee and team have been compiling and curating helpful content and sharing with the world. Listen now and be reminded of how one brilliant idea can lead to others and build community across cultures. Who Reports on the Trends Reports Reports?{00:03:23} What started with a desire to collect and share COVID trends for companies led to what is now an annual trends report{00:5:43} The sharing culture is very important in the future of this repository of trends, and there are contributors and ambassadors from around the world participating{00:11:52} “There are people who do really put in the effort in that regard to really ensure that these trends are real trends and not something that is trendy.” - Ci En Lee{00:15:23} The publishing and the collection of trend reports and the reporting of the report has become a trend in itself{00:18:21} Some reports are more of a PR opportunity, which the team doesn’t necessarily discount, but they do focus on highlighting the reports that are more informative and measuring meaningful shifts in culture and society{00:20:23} The demand for understanding what’s coming is driving the demand for trends reports{00:21:03} There have been analysts and other trends reporters who have used the repository as a way to build and share other trends and forecasting, so it is interesting to see how people are using the content and continuing to share with othersAssociated Links:Learn more about Ci En Lee on LinkedInSee the trends reports at bit.ly/2023trendingHave you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Get your copy of Archetypes, our newly published 240-page journal! Check it out at ArchetypesJournal.comSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more of what we are witnessing in the commerce world!Listen 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 about NRF and Manifest conferences prompted Kris Gösser to assert that a lot of the hardships in retail are behind us? What positive changes is he seeing in operations and logistics that will be a force for more of the right kinds of changes? And what can we learn from generational business models to futureproof in a technology-heavy, technology-centric industry? Listen now and join the discussion!People Are Back{00:09:43} It’s interesting to note the differences between NRF and other smaller conferences in the industry and how basically the basement booths at NRF are the ones that are present at all of the others{00:14:51} How quickly will the industry absorb the inevitable change with so much capital going into new tech, and why is there a difference in the ways change happens on the operations side versus the marketing side?{00:20:13} After what happened on the operations side during the pandemic, the focus is really on risk mitigation and solving for potential crisis better in the future{00:23:28} One of the biggest changes in the operations sector is that what used to always be a team of “No” is becoming more of a team of “Yes” because of more possibilities and innovation{00:26:24} Operations is less encumbered by tech constraints and now has the ability to use tech to change their processes{00:30:41} On-premise tech is so much slower and more complicated than cloud-centric tech, but the changes take time to implement more widely{00:37:36}  We're seeing more focus on projects that are malleable, that effectively fit within existing systems or existing platforms that can have outsized impact on specific outcomes that matter to the business{00:39:01} Conferences are like fashion trends, and we need both the normal, classic ones and the cutting-edge, innovative ones to really be well-rounded and comprehensiveAssociated Links:Learn more about Kris Gösser and Shipium.Have you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Get your copy of Archetypes, our newly published 240-page journal! Check it out at ArchetypesJournal.comSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more of what we are witnessing in the commerce world!Listen 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!

Revisit with us this incredibly deep discussion from December 2016 with Brian Roemmele about how voice interaction (and other tech) will revolutionize most everything and how at the end of the day, we have to fight to keep the humanity into the equation. Learn, develop, grow, change, and also strive to understand the people around you and behind all of this technology. Listen now to hear more!Time For More{00:08:27} The guys discuss with Roemmele how many buttons in the world, crosswalks, elevator open/close, and more, aren’t even connected. We just need that action to feel like we are controlling something.{00:11:54} There are seasons of change as new technology is adopted. And that’s a good thing.{00:18:17} Why the voices and names of these voice assistant tech devices are women’s voices and names and what the research has found about that{00:33:36} “We are always trying to look for something in a voice that reassures us” - Roemmele{00:38:58} “In ten years, fifty percent of your interaction with any computers is going to be via voice, of course voice assistant AI.” - Roemmele{01:08:29} “Voice is a patina that is going to que up this new revolution.” - Roemmele{01:12:34} We are at the precipice of what this all comes down to, which is privacy and also persona{01:24:07} How Brian Roemmele taught Alexa and Siri to talk to each other as he experimented and researched on his own{01:41:45} Some common concerns about AI tech such as self-driving cars and how to get to the point where our humanity is still always a part of decision makingAssociated Links:Learn more about Brian Roemmele at ReadMultiplex.com or @BrianRoemmele on TwitterHave you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Get your copy of Archetypes, our newly published 240-page journal! Check it out at ArchetypesJournal.comSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more of what we are witnessing in the commerce world!Listen 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!

Lots of thoughts and feelings and experiences after NRF this year. Alicia Esposito sat down and interviewed our very own Phillip Jackson, along with Adam Blair, to debrief The Big Show and discuss what’s coming and what needs to be happening next in the world of commerce and why it’s a good time to be excited about it. Listen in now to hear it all, including intriguing metaphors and talk of noodles!Close The Loop0:04:15 - Lots of positive excitement was abuzz at NRF, even with the pain of Q4 in the past, there is enthusiasm ahead, and also lots of talk about ChatGPT0:05:25 - Shopify came out into the enterprise space, and this was a huge shift and changes a lot of upcoming trends we will see moving forward0:12:00 - Noodles, let’s talk about noodles and how they touch all the things, and how when it comes to technology, it’s really like a bunch of spaghetti touching all of the other noodles, so we need to layer tech on top of tech, understanding that all of it effects the rest0:21:15 - The mass adoption of ChatGPT, and the swiftness with which it has been adopted are unprecedented, which will be interesting to see how this change of thinking will be the hallmark of a new era0:27:40 - Actual diversity is being achieved within more companies and brands are not only talking about it, and also returns management is something that is being better handled now, leading to more positive change0:31:05 - Is there a recentering happening in retail that is core to the industry, and what are ways that this recentering will make business more productive?0:34:00 - With all of the industry talk and vernacular, how do we actually recognize the change in culture and workforce and address the buzzwords and change the language to enact the change?0:40:00 - Events outside of NRF, like our Archetypes Pop Up, were very fun ways to create organic moments for people to connect more authentically and meaningfully within the industry communityAssociated Links:Check out Retail Remix podcast with Alicia EspositoHave you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Get your copy of Archetypes, our newly published 240-page journal! Check it out at ArchetypesJournal.comSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more of what we are witnessing in the commerce world!Listen 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!

Ian Leslie returns to Industry West as the new Chief Marketing Officer after an eighteen-month sabbatical. During this time, he gained experience in the SaaS world, working with Bolt and #Paid. Previously, Ian had raised concerns about Shopify in favor of Magento, but in his absence, Industry West has made the switch…Do his concerns still stand? Can Shopify really do it all, or is its “one-stop shop” reputation embellished? Are we seeing a return to print due to inbox anxiety? Should the 5 day work week still be the norm? If you’re curious to know more including one of Ian’s biggest regrets, press play now!Bite-Sized Moments of Brilliance“We're in a post-platform world, and there are a number of platforms out there that will provide you with the underpinning you need. And it's kind of up to you to captain that ship now. It's up to you to make good decisions and leverage that platform the way that you best can leverage it.” -Brian“Your email inbox is a place of anxiety and a place where you don't want to live and everybody has to do it for work. You don't want to do it for yourself personally, and open rates are going down.” -PhillipFuture Commerce has leaned into building print and giving the people physical, tangible objects to hold. If you’re intrigued, get your hands on your copy of the Archetypes Journal and see what all the hype is about“Shopify is simply the platform and you still have to do the marketing. And I think Shopify sold a great bill of goods in that regard.” -Ian“Do your work and I don't care when you're here. Be responsible.” -Ian“Ultimately I want to create content that people want to digest regardless if they're looking for a kitchen counter stool or not.” -IanAssociated Links:Check out Industry WestHave you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Get your copy of Archetypes, our newly published 240-page journal! Check it out at ArchetypesJournal.comSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more of what we are witnessing in the commerce world!Listen 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!

We’re in Season 11 of Step by Step and this season, we’re focusing on architecting your business for a dream exit. We’ve partnered with OpenStore to bring you stories from real founders who have successfully built and sold their businesses and will equip you with the tools you need to confidently sell your own business.We talk with Miguel Facusse, the founder of Jack Archer. Miguel touches on how to build a business with your exit plan in mind and the importance of storytelling in finding product market fit. He explains that he created his business with the intention of connecting with a specific audience and making an emotional resonance with them. Miguel also gives sage advice on letting your business be something you build and sell, rather than something you have a hard time letting go of. Miguel’s journey is a masterclass in serial entrepreneurship and using your skills to take brands to the next level.In this episode:00:05:08 - Building a Brand for an Exit00:09:01 - Solving the Problem of Consistency in Travel-Friendly Apparel00:12:00 - Product Quality, Returns, and Brand Resonance00:15:21 - The Power of Data-Driven Storytelling: How to Leverage Words to Increase Your Bottom Line00:29:27 - Creative Testing and Business Growth00:35:11 - Product Development and Launch Timeline for Jack ArcherAssociated LinksWant to learn more? Read more about how to architect a dreamy eCommerce exit on our Insiders blog here!Learn more about OpenStore Here.Listen to more Step by Step episodes.Have you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Get your copy of Archetypes, our newly published 240-page journal! Check it out at ArchetypesJournal.comSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more of what we are witnessing in the commerce world!Listen 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!

We’re in Season 11 of Step by Step and this season, we’re focusing on architecting your business for a dream exit. We’ve partnered with OpenStore to bring you stories from real founders who have successfully built and sold their businesses and will equip you with the tools you need to confidently sell your own business.In this episode of Step by Step, Phillip and Brian talk to Manny Estrada, the founder of Wearva, about the role of solid fundamentals in scaling a business. Manny emphasizes the importance of having a strong team and giving them the opportunity to grow, as well as understanding the customer needs and building a strong tech stack that can scale. He also encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to take the steps necessary to build their own businesses, highlighting that it IS possible.In this episode:00:05:38 - The Story Behind Wearva00:13:11 - Maximizing Revenue Through Influencer Marketing and Tech Enablement00:15:07 - Exploring the Benefits of Using Virtual Assistants for Business Growth00:20:19 - Finding Partners to Help Along the Way00:23:49 - Setting Targets and Knowing When to Sell00:29:00 - Handing Off and Onboarding Through OpenStore00:32:45 - Building Longterm Relationships with Influencers to Grow a BusinessAssociated LinksWant to learn more? Read more about how to architect a dreamy eCommerce exit on our Insiders blog here!Learn more about OpenStore Here.Listen to more Step by Step episodes.Have you checked out our YouTube channel yet?Get your copy of Archetypes, our newly published 240-page journal! Check it out at ArchetypesJournal.comSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more of what we are witnessing in the commerce world!Listen 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!