Future Commerce

We ask the question - is social activism by brands virtue-signaling or tone-deaf marketing? Listen now! Main Takeaways: Woke-washing has become more and more prevalent in today's economy, where social awareness is a major selling point. Are there ways to be socially conscious without completely being dedicated to a cause or movement? Woke gatekeepers are the first to point out how brands are deviating from their message, even if those brands are putting in the extra work to remain socially conscious. Is it possible for a discount store to also be ethically sourced? The Woke Debaucle: Setting the Record Straight: To set the record straight, Phillip and Brian clarify that they indeed know what "woke" means (do they though?) despite coming off as a Baby Boomer and Gen Xer, respectively. Just a short while after the episode on woke commerce dropped, there was an article posted on woke-washing. Phillip thinks that there is something about this particular time of year that leads to brands using patriotism and socially conscious messaging as part of their marketing. There was another article recently that said that woke-washing is beginning to infect the advertising industry due to brands running purpose-driven campaigns, but failing to take real action. Real-World Examples: How Do You Do "Woke" Right? "If you are highlighting something that you do to your customers for a specific cause or issue and highlight that yourself as part of your marketing, that is not very woke." Brian and Phillip refer back to Patagonia, whose customers and typical customer persona does not always match up to Patagonia's political views. Patagonia is an excellent example of a company that would rather lose some business in pursuing something right and just as opposed to just focusing on financial gain. Phillip bets that there are very few businesses that can claim that they genuinely favor social or environmental benefits as opposed to money. Levels of Wokeness: Is It All or Nothing?: Brian questions if a brand needs to be dedicated entirely to a social cause to be authentic. Phillip refers to the opening line of the woke-washing article that brings up "razor company talking about #MeToo and a burger chain tackling depression". Do you think Burger King was commenting on mental health with their Real Meal Campaign and did this make them woke? Brian proposes changing the terminology to "social awareness commerce." (And there were cringes to be had by all from this statement.) Phillip brings up Emily Singer's newsletter called Chips + Dips that talks about really cool things in the direct-to-consumer world, but more specifically DIP:011 that talks about Everlane being a great example of a socially conscious brand. Brian brings up Krochet Kids as an example of a great, ethically sourced brand. Combatting the Critiques: How To Deal With Woke Gatekeepers: It needs to be clear that you care about the communities that you are involved in. Phillip asks the listeners: "If you set out to be socially conscious as a strategy, is that inherently undoing the good you are trying to accomplish?" (That's a great question.) Phillip brings up a recent article in the New York Times by Allbirds that is content that is truly about birds in partnership with the National Audobon Society. Brian uncomfortably combines Gary Vaynerchuk and woke in the same sentence and cements his place as a Gen Xer (which wasn't a secret). The Halo Effect: Discount Stores in a Strong Economy: Brian questions what a "woke dollar store" would look like. (Oh boy. There will be a link included at the end so you can send in your hate mail.) Is there a way for a discount store that sources its goods from areas of the world that have unfair labor practices to also be sustainable created and produced? While they may not sell fresh fruit at dollar stores, the next best thing would probably be Aldi. Phillip brings up Dress Barn as an example of a discount store that is struggling in an economy in which people can afford better goods. Brian mentions Brandless as a brand that fulfills both the discount requirements as well as being ethically sourced. Phillip also finds and briefly goes over the Dollar Tree Sustainability Report. Brands Mentioned in this Episode: Patagonia Gillette Burger King Everlane Krochet Kids Allbirds Aldi Dress Barn Brandless As always: We want to hear what our listeners think! Can a brand make small contributions to social change, or do they have to be fully invested in a cause to be authentic? Let us know in the content section on Futurecommerce.fm, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Linkedin. Have any questions or comments about the show? You can reach out to us at info@futurecommerce.fm or any of our social channels; we love hearing from our listeners! Have hatemail after all that "woke" discussion? Send it to or . Retail Tech is moving fast, but Future Commerce is moving faster.

Phillip and Brian get into the implications of multi-generational branding, the ever-changing face of retail interactions, and discuss how empowering employees is key to boosting customer retention. Listen now! Main Takeaways: Retail experiences that go above and beyond the normal call of duty can lead to brand loyalty that spans several generations.  Retail used to be based upon in-person interactions with shopkeepers and store owners, but how do we bring these interactions into the digital age? Multi-Generational loyalty can be achieved by empowering employees to create memorable interactions with customers.  How do you make employee benefits as flexible and beneficial as possible for the complicated lives of your employees? Beyond the Sales Floor: The Multi-Generational Nature of Retail Relationships: Brian recounts two Costco associates that spent a lot of time talking with Brian's father and how their relationship transcends a typical retail relationship in which the front end retail associate considers his customer his friend.  This relationship is an example of peak clienteling in which the relationships that Brian's father built with the Costco employees led to Brian having a strong affiliation witch Costco: a textbook example of multigenerational retail.  Phillip mentions up a conversation he had on a Merchant to Merchant episode with Birdwell Beach Britches (say that five times fast), a company that has been around for so long that they have become a generational outpost for Venice Beach. Brian brings up a past episode with Michelle Cordeiro Grant in which she spoke about catering towards multi-generational shopping trips. Brands are having to be more community-oriented and it makes sense that if you have a great experience with a brand, you will want to share that brand with your family. Retail of the Past: The Malls Before Starcourt: In the past, there were shops in towns with owners that lived in those towns and were part of the community. (Did you catch the Stranger Things reference in the section title?) The relationships forged in these small-town shops lasted for generations and if you were able to recreate the brand loyalty of these old school relationships, then you would be monstrously successful.  Brian brings up a recent New York Times Article in which the author enjoyed working in retail, but was ashamed to admit that they worked in retail at all. "Investing in your own employees as much as you invest in your customers is a huge topic that we should be spending a lot more time talking about." Building Connections: Old Fashioned Relationships in a Digital World: If we focus on multi-generational retail experiences that create real connections akin to those that existed in the past, then we might be able to foster relationships that strengthen brand loyalty. Ultimately, the challenge is to bring the interactions of a pre-digital retail world into the modern era and create relationships.  If you are a luxury retailer, the challenges are only compounded because everyone has a different definition of luxury and the personal retail interactions have to be even more personalized.  It's a conversational challenge to empower retail associates to have meaningful interactions, but companies like Half Price Books are empowering their employees by allowing them to curate their own assortments.  Hiring good people and then giving them the freedom to address their customers directly in a place that they feel empowered is a key factor in creating lasting relationships. Empowering Employees: The Key to Positive Retail Experiences: Phillip brings up an article about Target boosting employee benefits and points out that if you want people to stay at a job for a long period of time, then you have to cater to their lives and treat them as part of your community, This sort of positive and flexible company culture trickles all the way down to customer interactions and leads to better retail experiences.  On the other end of the spectrum, Phillip brings up Late Stage Capitalism that pretty much boils down to as the horrible things that capitalism forces people to do in order to survive. (Delightful.) The longer that retail brands exist, the more they have to provide to shareholders and the more they have to increase their earnings, and eventually, this leads to underpaid employees. Phillip thinks that maybe the brands that continue to thrive by prioritizing employee values are the ones that remain privately held. As always: We want to hear what our listeners think! How can you create an environment that fosters memorable retail interactions? How do you build a strategy that uses technology that plays into actual community building? Let us know in the content section on Futurecommerce.fm, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Linkedin. Have any questions or comments about the show? You can reach out to us at info@futurecommerce.fm or any of our social channels, we love hearing from our listeners! Retail Tech is moving fast, but Future Commerce is moving faster.

Our 2019 theme of clienteling for digital commerce continues with an interview with Claudine Bianchi, CMO at Zoovu, a Guided Commerce service which connects customer needs to products and services from retail brands. Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Future Commerce has declared 2019 the year of "clienteling" and personalized experiences for consumers. Zoovu is helping (mostly) B2C companies create curated product search selections for their customers. Amazon brands that work with Zoovu are seeing incredible returns at 3X pre-Zoovu sales. The future of retail and commerce is a world in which the ability to hyper-personalize experiences for customers is accessible to business worldwide. Zoovu is Bringing The Sales Associate Experience Online: Claudine Bianchi, CMO at zoovu, is on the podcast today, explaining how zoovu helps connect customer needs to actual products. Zoovu is an AI-conversational marketing platform that can replicate the in-store sales associate experience for online shopping experiences. So what is Zoovu's mission, and how can it help retailers and brands connect with their customers? Well, according to Claudine, Zoovu is working to solve "choice paralysis" for the customers of B2C brands and retailers. For example, one brand that Zoovu works with is Clairol, a haircare brand, and through using Zoovu, Clairol is to able to help customers choose the hair care product that is best for their individual hair type. Data-Driven Personas: Separating The Experts & Beginners: "What Zoovu does is through a series of questions it narrows down choices and actually connects you with the products that are most likely to satisfy your requirements." One of the coolest parts of Zoovu is that the platform uses anonymous data to craft personas and then curates products for customers based on answers to questions asked. Claudine says that cameras are a great example of this, because even though there may be aspiring photographers and expert level photographers shopping for cameras, they all have the same goal, to take great photographs. So as opposed to every-camera-ever Zoovu will make targeted suggestions that will fit the specifications the user is looking for. Phillip says that five years ago, a lot of marketers were turning to more sophisticated platforms because they were tired of overly broad email campaigns. "It's like going into the store, without having to go into the store." Do You Even Zoovu: ROI Metrics for Brands: Phillip asks Claudine what she thinks the next step of the shopping experience is, and what are the metrics that brands that are listed on Amazon that work with Zoovu use to determine ROI? Claudine says that Zoovu works with over 80 brands on Amazon and that those brands are seeing 3x the sales pre-Zoovu, which is incredible. Some of those brands, according to Claudine, are seeing conversion rates of 107%, because what brands can accomplish when they have the correct data is incredible. "Some of the key metrics are conversion rates, increasing sales, decreasing return rates, increase in average order value up upwards of 70-80%. Everyone's Welcome to Zoovu With Zoovu: So Zoovu integrates with a multitude of platforms including Magento, Shopify, SalesForce, Adobe, and many others. Claudine also explains the actual AI (machine learning) powering Zoovu: "We've been looking at e-commerce and sales patterns for the past ten years, and we've been able to develop the types of algorithms that will help determine the questions we ask next." So where can retailers and brands looking to Zoovu go to find out more? Claudine says that the Zoovu website is a great place to find out more, as there are live samples to demonstrate the power of the platform, a pretty robust blog, and plenty of ways to contact the Zoovu team. Claudine's predictions for the next five years of retail and commerce: "We're going to see a lot more adoption of technology into the retail and buying experience everything from AR to promote our products and to support service those products. The online experience is going to get a lot more personalized and targeted. So that consumers will see products they want to want to see, and for how much they want to pay. We're going to see this vast customization on the global level where it's not just the major players. Anyone with a website will be able to reach people who they never were able to reach before. And consumers will have unprecedented access to products that they didn't know existed". As always: we want to hear from our listeners! Do you currently use Zoovu? How are you engaging with your customers? Are you asking the right questions and using that data to power your customer experience? Let us know in the comment section on Futurecommerce.fm, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Linkedin! We love hearing from our listeners!

Our Monday Update is back: "Re-commerce" players like StockX and TheRealReal have huge news this week in our continued coverage of Secondhand Commerce. Listen now!

Ingrid Milman is back, and she has some really exciting news to share with our audience! Some retailers are opening more stores, and somehow, Brian has never been to a Burlington. Plus- So many legacy brands are overusing terms like "data-driven," and both Glossier and Lively have figured out (in different ways) how to create communities around both their products and their customers! Listen Now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Ingrid Milman is guest hosting this week, and she's got some pretty big news to share: she's joining e.l.f cosmetics as their new Vice President of E-commerce and Customer Experience! Isn't everyone pretty much exhausted of the buzzword bingo from legacy brands? Glossier and Lively are both really fantastic at building a community around their customers. In-store + online traffic can help retailers figure out where to put their stores, how to design their stores, and what to sell in their stores. Back to Buzzword Bingo For Brands: Utilize Data With Care: First thing's first: The entire team at Future Commerce would like to congratulate Ingrid on her new role as the Vice President of E-commerce and Customer Experience at e.l.f Cosmetics! Ingrid says that the best part of e.l.f is that it's the perfect mix of value and prestige, and they are expanding their digital presence, especially as they move further into e-commerce. Ingrid points out that 2-3 years ago legacy brands were consistently hyper-focused on the term data-driven, focused too much on gathering the information, and not enough time connecting the data points into actionable insights that would be framed around how to introduce the customer to the brand properly. Brian points out two Future Commerce episodes that are reflective of this point: episode 96 with Chris Homer CTO of thredUP, and episode 103 with Rachel Swanson from Method + Mode, both of which are centered around the best uses for data. thredUP is doing precisely what Ingrid is talking about by building cross-functional teams that take ownership of the data being collected and utilized. And of course, Rachel Swanson (from Method + Mode) collected invaluable data for Future Commerce, giving our team real insight into what our listeners wanted from our show. Community Building Around Customers: Lively and Glossier Win Gold: One of the most critical challenges for brands (legacy or D2C) is developing relations with their customers that goes beyond just products, that allows these brands to reach their customers in a positive organic way. D2C brands seem to have a leg up on legacy brands when it comes to social media, especially, and they've changed the marketing game. Two brands that have done a fantastic job of developing communities around both their products and their customers: Lively and Glossier. Lively, who's CEO and Founder Michelle Cordeiro Grant (MCG) Future Commerce had the opportunity to interview at Shoptalk, has built an incredible community around their products and customers by hosting community events like "Founder Friday's" in which Female entrepreneurs can come to Michelle's office and ask her all the questions that founders have at the beginning. As Michelle told us during her interview, seven companies have been formed because of the community events that Lively puts on. And Ingrid points to Glossier as an example of a D2C company that has formed a community around its customers: Glossier even has a Slack channel for their top 100 superfans. Glossier uses this channel to announce new product launches, engage with these super-users (and let them engage with each other), and create a community around their products. Some Retailers Are Openings Stores: You'll Never Guess Who: There's been plenty of store closings going on, with many experts pointing to the Retail Apocalypse as the source, but some retailers are opening more stores. Two pretty shocking things: 1) Burlington is opening 50 new stores, and 2) Brian has never been inside of a Burlington. Brian says that Burlington hasn't over-retailed and that's why they have been able to expand. Brian says that he has a new theory about companies that have gone out of business: many of these companies on this CBI Insights list aren't relevant anymore. Ingrid points out that a lot of these companies just got "fat and happy" and in-so didn't bother to innovate. Simplicity Is a Great Way to Display Your Value Proposition to Customers: Ingrid makes a great point that many newer D2C brands have figured out that simplicity is a great way to display their value proposition to their customers. Harry's is an excellent example of this: "we have a razor, it's good, you should buy it," it's uncomplicated and makes the customer feel at ease with the brand's simplicity. Mattress firm is awful at retailing, Walmart is much better at it. Ingrid's recommendations for retailers: Make sure you're not over-retailing (competing with yourself) and make sure you're offering simplicity and solving an actual problem for a customer, and that you're able to inspire your customers. Brian says you have to have a clear value proposition for the customer that makes them feel connected back to the brand. In-Store Data Can Tell Retailers What Their Customers Want: As we've spoken about on the show before, Walmart is killing the retail game, and they're using actionable in-store data to do it. It was announced recently that Walmart is closing some stores, but they're opening 46 new stores. Brian says that as retailers get better as using data, they can get a much better picture of where stores should exist, how they should look, and what the experience in-store should be. Outdoor Voices is an excellent example of this, they are updating their stores based on their in-store and online data, which is precisely the right thing to do: combining in-store and online data is essential for retailers. Ingrid says that Google is a great example of a company doing this right: They've created maps based on footsteps for qualified customers: because they have all of that data. As always: We want to hear what our listeners think! Do you think legacy brands are doing a poor job keeping up with D2C brands on social media? What brands do you think are doing the actual work in connecting with their customers and keeping them engaged? Let us know in the content section on Futurecommerce.fm, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Linkedin. Have any questions or comments about the show? You can reach out to us at or any of our social channels, and we love hearing from our listeners! Want to reach out to Ingrid? Reach out on Instagram → Retail tech is moving fast, but Future Commerce is moving faster.

Phillip and Brian are back to talking about deep fakes (and cheap fakes), Instagram may be having a massive influence on purchasing decisions, and is the term direct-to-consumer no longer relevant? Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: There's deep fakes, cheap fakes, and shallow fakes, and it's all getting a little ridiculous. Should Anna Delvin (aka Anna Sorokin) become the next CMO of Victoria Secret? Everyone should probably start sending Brian hate mail. The Instagram aesthetic is no longer a thing; brands should get on board. Are we going back to advertising on billboards? Cheap Fakes And Deep Fakes And Shallow Fakes Oh My: There's been a lot of talk about deep fakes: the grand phenomenon that brought us all Steve Buscemi's face on Jennifer's Lawrence's body, and it's getting worse. Future Commerce has been talking about deep fakes for a while (and shallow fakes), but now cheap fakes are a thing, and it's less than impressive. For example, here's a "cheap fake" of the Speak of The House Nancy Pelosi, in which she appears to be drunk, it's low quality, and ridiculous and yet it went viral, Having fun yet? Here's what Phillip's calling the worst deep fake/voiceover of Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, telling us all how happy he is to own all of our data. Brian says everything is a swirl of confusion right now. On the commerce side, this kind of AI is getting easier to implement this into media, and really what deep-fakes are a tool for convincing viewers that the content being played is real. Is the future of deep fakes having all our brains being scanned into robots? We Don't Need Deep-Fakes: We're Being Deep Faked All The Time: But if the point of deep-fakes is to convince a viewer, then do we need them at all? Especially because as Phillip points out: , we're being convinced all day, every day on social media platforms. Phillip blames Instagram (again) for turning him into a sneakerhead. Brian says that there is going to be a place for deep fakes in advertising that is going to allow brands to leverage different personalities and people at a much larger scale than they do now. We're seeing similar uses being used in body data, where services Allure Systems can use models body data at mass to create diverse catalogs. Spoiler Commerce, Clever Marketing, and Bigger Better Brands: So here's an actual question: Is the fact that brands are using Instagram to promote a false (or misleading, don't sue us) narrative about their business ruining social media? Phillip thinks that fake socialite Anna Sorokin should be made Chief Marketing Officer of Victoria Secret when she gets out of prison. Considering how terrible Victoria Secret is, she couldn't do a worse job, and we know she understands modern marketing. Going back to Instagram, it seems that according to Taylor Lorenz of the Atlantic, that GenZ is over the Instagram aesthetic, the very thing that made Instagramble brands famous. The irony is that GenZ is over it, modern advertising seems to be over it, but many brands are doubling down on it. Digitally Native or Direct-To-Consumer: Is Anything Real Anymore? Direct-to-consumer or D2C has long been a term used to describe brands that are sold directly to the customer, usually with an e-commerce slant. The question is: Does the title still fit the entire marketplace? According to Hillary Milnes writing for Modern Retail, D2C is a misnomer and should be replaced by the term digitally native, and for a good reason. The D2C landscape has changed, and there's plenty of evidence of that, Bonobos is owned by Walmart, Unilever acquired dollar Shave Club, and Casper is being sold in [Target} everyone's favorite more expensive Walmart. Hilary's response to all the changes in the D2C landscape is that we start referring to the brands as digitally native instead. Phillip makes a prediction: "Over the next two years, we're going to see content marketing platforms evolve to more psychographic-based customer segmentation to do direct selling. We love hearing from our listeners. So, do you think we're at the pinnacle of a new way of advertising? Is the Instagram aesthetic over, and should brands get on board with that? Let us know in the content section on Futurecommerce.fm, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Linkedin. Any questions, comments or inquiries, can be emailed to , and if you want to send Brian hatemail, you can do so at .

Brian wants to go "woke" hunting, Phillip identifies socially conscious brands, Digiday launches Modern Retail. PLUS: MailChimp creates a content division because, quote, "why not?" Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Brian wants to tell all of us about "woke commerce," and he's taken to Twitter to talk about it Will outdoor brands start to cater to hunters and fishers in the counterculture? June is Pride Month (Happy Pride!!), and brands are using their platforms to amplify allyship with the LGBTQAI+ community. Is Target the more socially conscious version of Walmart? Phillip really wants Brian to get hate mail. Brian (And Only Brian) Wants to Talk About "Woke Commerce.": Brian wants to talk about woke commerce, which is effectively brands that are aware of and make it clear that they are aware of (and support) modern takes on many issues, for example, Patagonia's multiple campaigns to protect the environment and promote fair labor practices. Also, Patagonia's campaign to rebuke the Trump administration for reducing the size of two national monuments: Bear's Eve and Grand Staircase-Escalante. Phillip says that the term "woke" started well and has since been co-opted to mean things outside its original intent. Brian lives in Seattle: he knows several people who aren't all in on the current hunting culture (they may well support hunting regulations and increased gun control, but they do like to hunt and find themselves unable to purchase from places in-line with their values. The only brands that may be socially conscious, are generally more outdoors brand and not for hunting and fishing: except perhaps Filson's. Hunting aside: some brands are very obviously more socially conscious and value driven: like Third Love (Phillip takes a moment to hate on VS) and Everlane. Creating Content Around Community: The New/Old Way of Commerce: For as long as commerce has existed, there has been a sense of community around it. Open air markets where farmers and fisherman etc. came to sell their wares, to church, to sports and all sorts of events. Now brands are dually creating products and communities at the same time, like Lively's founder Michelle Cordeiro Grant (or as Lianne refers to her, MCG), who in building Lively has built up a community that has actually resulted in the forming of several female-founded companies, Michelle explains the magic that happens when community meets commerce in her interview with Future Commerce, which is fantastic and inspiring. And now Mailchimp is getting in on the action of community-driven commerce, and they've decided to create original content, including a podcast. Phillip says Mailchimp has always been more than an email marketing platform, and he could see them acquiring a media company at some point. Also: It seems like every media is creating a retail vertical: special shoutout to Hilary Milnes (and Anna Hensel) from Digiday for establishing Modern Retail, which is killing the content game. Amazon Creates a Credit Card For The Underbanked: When we talk about commerce, we tend to forget that there are populations that may be underserved by a lot of the innovations in commerce, and those store closings (like dress barn) may affect significantly, people in rural areas, and those with considerably less disposable income. Amazon has created a credit card for those with subpar credit, which is in direct contrast to Apple's card partnership with Goldman's Sachs. According to Lauren Thomas of CNBC: "The e-commerce giant partnered with publicly traded bank Synchrony Financial to launch "Amazon Credit Builder" --- a program that lends to shoppers with no credit history or bad credit, who would otherwise be exempt from Amazon's loyalty cards." Phillip and Brian seem to disagree on if this is a good idea. Brian thinks e-commerce is the answer to store closings. The exciting thing about this is that unlike other secured cards Amazon's card comes with some perks, like 5% cashback. Amazon also has special programs who are on EBT or Medicaid, and also have student discounts for Prime. Phillip wonders if this kind of program for vulnerable populations may be a slippery slope to unethical control of people's entire lives. We love to hear from our listeners: Do you think brands are doing a good enough job of being socially conscious? Do you think Amazon's new program is a good idea? And what's the best example of a brand creating an inclusive community for their customers? Let us know in the content section on Futurecommerce.fm, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Linkedin. Any questions, comments or inquiries, can be emailed to , and if you really want to send Brian hatemail, you can do so at .

Instagram is powering impulse luxury purchases, Snapchat launches commerce (for influencers), IKEA rolls out robot furniture, PLUS: Stitch Fix earnings are in, and the outcome might surprise you. Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: Snapchat seems to either be making a comeback, or they're just really good at getting people to buy things. Is social commerce the future of shopping? Could social shopping be a new form of clientelling? Don't Call it a Comeback: Snapchat Snaps Back: In the first story of the week, Snapchat seems to be making some real power moves, including opening a pilot of in-app shopping of influencer brands, which is super exciting, and kind of on-trend for commerce right now. Brian questions whether Snapchat is making a comeback or if they're just really good at getting people to buy things. Phillip lays out some Snapchat facts: Snapchat has increased its global user base by 4 million in Q4, upping their daily user base to 190M. According to Business Insider: "The Android app produced a 6% increase in the number of users sending Snaps within the first week of upgrading, per Snap's earnings report". Could it be that Snapchat is growing in overseas use? Social Commerce is Cool: A New Avenue to Reach Customers: So it's not just Snapchat that is doing in-app commerce: both Instagram and Pinterest have introduced similar programs. Pinterest introduced social-shopping in their application in March, making it easier for brands to showcase their products on Pinterest boards. And Instagram got significant headlines when they introduced a pilot program for in-app shopping, for select brands. And here's the thing about Pinterest, they just brought on Jeremy King former CTO of Walmart, which means they're probably going to be stepping up their game big time. Phillip's prediction for 2020: Amazon and its big-tech cohorts are going to have to form partnerships to take part in social commerce. The reasoning behind this is that many of these companies are browse-and-buy first, audience second. Could Social Media Status Determine Credit Worthiness in The Future? So, with social commerce being the huge trend there is, Phillip points out that Facebook marketplace is a massive example of this. And the Facebook marketplace is essential, social shopping, and with local retailers putting up inventory on the platform, it can bring local-commerce global. Brian says that the Facebook marketplace can make clientelling easier because it's easier to service your clients one-on-one. So in another story for this week: Cheddar has a video out in which Allison Chiaramonte, an agent at Warburg Realty explains how real-estate agents are turning into influencers and using Instagram to get their listings in front of more people. Could this kind of trend turn real estate into a luxury impulse purchase? Phillip references back to episode 105 ("Deliciously Sinful" - Brand Sustainability in the Age of Impulse Luxury), where Ingrid Millman talked about how luxury impulse purchases have become much more comfortable in the age of online. Phillip and Brian forecast a horrifying black mirror-esque future in which creditworthiness is determined by social media status. Space-Constrained-Commerce: How to Make The Best of a Small Living Situation: Ikea is rolling out a new line of robot furniture, which will make it easier for people living in small apartments to use their space effectively. This would probably appeal to many people who are living in limited space in big cities with rising costs in both rents and purchasing price. Brian says that this kind of product release brings to mind the tiny home kits being sold on Amazon. Speaking of real-estate: Blackstone seems to have gone on a pretty expensive shopping spree, they picked up $18 billion in warehouse space, betting big on e-commerce. Could the Ikea robot furniture be helpful in constrained retail spaces as well, transforming space, making it easier for temporary retail spaces to exist? Brian's Takeaways from Future Stores Seattle: Brian was at Future Stores Seattle last week: and there was plenty of exciting content to be experienced. The most significant trend at the show focused on the retail associate; there was even an entire track dedicated to the topic. Several of the main stage talks were also dedicated to discussing the role of the retail associate, which is positive. Almost half of the booths in the innovation lab were focused on training, enablement, clientelling, and efficiency for store associates. Brian says that the future of retail is empowering retail store associates to be able to do more, have better relationships with customers, and be true ambassadors or the brands they work for. Quoting Brian's opening remarks from NRF Tech: "Technology should be all about the client relationship, that's what it's for, and when you're doing technology for technology sake, you're not doing what retailers should be doing." So, do you utilize in-app shopping features on Instagram or Snapchat for your brand, or as a consumer? Let us know in the content section on Futurecommerce.fm, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Linkedin. Retail Tech is moving fast, and Future Commerce is moving faster.

Bonobos is the newest to try-before-you-buy brands, Walmart is killing it, Phillip loves on ULTA (again) but not for the reason you think - PLUS a new approach to designing e-commerce experiences for Gen Z. Listen now! Show Notes: Main Takeaways: A pilot program that would have had facial recognition technology being used in a public school is put on hold, for all of the reasons. Are stripped down, discovery heavy e-commerce sites the future of user experience? Phillip's pretty much obsessed with Ulta, and for some pretty good reasons. Walmart is basically just a tech company that happens to sell products. The try-before-you-buy model is changing the way consumers shop online, and in-store. Facial Recognition Being Used in Schools: Yay or Nay? Facial recognition has become a hot topic lately, especially as the discussion around privacy continues to evolve. A public school in New York's Lockport City School District was supposed to be the first school to adopt a pilot program that would've used facial recognition software on students, which sounds totally ethical. The program which raised some serious privacy concerns has since been put on hold temporarily by the New York State Department of Education. This prospective surveillance state story comes a week after JetBlue customers complained about cameras taking pictures of them as they were boarding their flights. And no one should, or could forget about how easy it was for the experiment that spurred The Privacy Project allowed for cheap facial recognition to identify where (and who) professionals were as they traveled near Bryant Park. Will The Entire World Get on Board With Entireworld? What does the future of e-commerce look like, could it be that it looks like the category-less kind of zany The Entireworld brand?   Phillip definitely seems to think so, and apparently so does Nike. "The future of e-commerce is a model that goes beyond the traditional checkout model" Nike has set up a website that is very much in line with the layout of Entireworld and acts as a brand-bible that is basically a guide to materials and ethos and brand position for Nike. This Show is All About Ulta: They're Killing The Merchandising Game: Ulta: The Sephora alternative with pretty much everything, and seemingly immune from the broader "retail apocalypse". So what is different about Ulta, why is Yahoo Finance calling them a "Diamond in the Rough?" Here are some important data points: Ulta has grown exponentially: The stock has grown 3,845% over the last ten years, and now has over 25,000 products across 500 brands. And according to Phillip where Ulta really excels is in their merchandising, and the experience of the store itself. Brian says that Ulta's surge probably has to do with how many hair products Phillip purchases there. Ulta has its products laid out by brand and offers in-house salon services where customers can actually experience those products. Walmart Hires a New CTO With Some Extra Responsibilities: Future Commerce is a big fan of former Walmart CTO (and current SVP of Technology at Pinterest) Jeremy King, and we were really interested to see who would replace him at Walmart. And Jeremy King's replacement (who also will have the title of CDO) Suresh Kumar, has an incredibly impressive resume at top tech companies, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM. Three years ago Future Commerce was talking about Walmart as an acquisition apparel company, and now they're basically a tech company that happens to sell things Brian says that Walmart has become more than just a thorn in Amazon's side. Try-Before-You-Buy: Giving Customers The Option to Return Nets Bonobos Gains: Bonobos try-before-you-buy model, similar to the ones utilized by companies like Stitch Fix, seems to be working really well for them. Here's the way Bonobos brick-and-mortar presence works: the brand uses a showroom model, called guide stores, in which customers can try on clothes before they are shipped to their homes. And it seems to be working: according to Retail Dive 35% percent of the service users of Bonobos using this service are new customers, which means that brick-and-mortar is certainly helping this formerly online-only brand. And as Brian says, the best thing about Bonobos is how much they've grown under Walmart's wing, they're up 74% from August 2017, and up 34% from the year prior. Phillip says this is all great, but none of these brands is using out of the box software, and e-commerce platforms are incredibly behind current expectations of customers. So we love to hear from our listeners: What does the e-commerce experience look like for your brand? Let us know in the content section on Futurecommerce.fm, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Linkedin. Any questions, comments or inquiries, can be emailed to .

What does Star Trek teach us about ambient computing? How is voice evolving? Is voice dead? And if not is it a potential $112B market opportunity? Special bonus episode COMIN ATCHA. Listen now!