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FORESIGHT AND TRENDS

2026 Predictions

The Age of Autonomy & Sovereignty: the collapse of consumer trust meets the retailer on AI autopilot.

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Prepare for the Age of Autonomy

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Channels & Media

Retail & Commerce MediaRetail media turns commerce into content. Every retailer now operates as a measurable media property.Marketplaces & ChannelsMarketplaces demand deliberate channel diversification. Every retailer now manages a portfolio of commerce channels.Social CommerceSocial commerce is cultural infrastructure, where discovery, identity, and purchase converge at the speed of culture.AI & Agentic CommerceAI is the new front door to commerce. Brands must serve humans and agents, or risk the Agentic Ghetto.

Brand & Loyalty

Creator EconomyCreators are now structural to commerce. They supply the audience, the channel, the CMO, and often the brand.Retention & LoyaltyCustomer loyalty is arbitrage, not affection. As performance marketing decays, retention becomes the whole game.

Culture & Experience

Physical Retail & ExperiencePhysical retail is a sensory medium, measured by Return on Experience rather than sales per square foot.Luxury CommerceLuxury commerce is not a price tier. It manufactures desire, status, scarcity, and meaning.Commerce Policy & GeopoliticsCommerce policy is technology policy. Tariffs, antitrust, and data rights shape the infrastructure of global trade.

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Numbered essays on brands, cultural meaning, and the business systems behind them.

Field Notes MEMBERS

Retail store teardowns scored against the Senses Matrix and reported from the field.

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Latest Research

1,000 Consumers Told Us How They Use AI to Shop

Holiday shopping data with Cimulate: how consumers actually shop with AI. Includes the companion film, Your Store is a Chatbot Now.

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Our shows

Separating Real Signals from the Noise

Future Commerce

Flagship

Commerce and culture, weekly, with Phillip Jackson and Brian Lange.

Step by StepOperator playbooks. One problem at a time for people who ship.

DecodedThematic explainers that decode one big shift in commerce per season.

Infinite ShelfHuman-centric brand building, and retail culture with Ingrid Milman Cordy.

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FORESIGHT AND TRENDS2026 Predictions: The Age of Autonomy & SovereigntyListen to Ep. 435 →

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Retail & Commerce Media Marketplaces & Channels Social Commerce AI & Agentic Commerce

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Future Commerce Step by Step Decoded Infinite Shelf

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Step by Step is the eCommerce podcast miniseries for operators.

In 5 short episodes we break down complex topics into bite-sized chunks that help you learn what you need to know to have the leading edge in your business. Get a leg up and learn the ins-and-outs of the DTC and retail landscapes, Step by Step.

SEASON 17

How can brands leverage cash flow to turn volatility into competitive advantage?

17.1

January 27, 2026

[STEP BY STEP] Optimizing the Product Promise

Feat. Corinne Boonstra, Brex, and Aharon Naveen, Melio

Cash flow isn't just spreadsheets—it's survival. In an era of tariffs, currency swings, and supply chain whiplash, small businesses face a paradox: grow fast while everything shifts beneath you. Corinne Boonstra (Brex) and Aharon Naveen (Melio) unpack how payment independence becomes the ultimate competitive advantage.

Read Show Notes

[STEP BY STEP] Optimizing the Product Promise

17.2

January 28, 2026

[STEP BY STEP] Seizing the Seasonal Opportunity

feat. Nicole Thomas, Brex, and Anand Mehta, Melio

17.3

January 29, 2026

[STEP BY STEP] The Spend Behind the Scale

feat. Sushmitha Radhakrishnan

SBS S5 E1

April 5, 2021

[Step by Step] How Can Brands Compete with Amazon?

Feat. Adam Gardner, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Route

SBS S5 E2

April 6, 2021

[Step by Step] Can Product Returns Build My Brand?

feat. David Sobie, CEO and Co- Founder of Happy Returns and Zach Goldstein, CEO and Founder of Public Rec

SBS S5 E3

April 7, 2021

[Step by Step] How Can I Get Product to Every Customer in Two Days or Less?

feat. George Wojciechowski, VP of Partnerships at Shipbob and Babs King, Founder and CEO at Fleo

SBS S5 E4

April 8, 2021

[Step by Step] How Can I Turn Customer Segments into Personal Connections?

feat Ben Parr, President and Co-Founder of Octane AI and Jason Wong, Doe Lashes & Wonghaus Ventures

SBS S5 E5

April 9, 2021

[Step by Step] Why Don’t Customers Trust a Five Star Review?

feat. Eric Smith, VP of Business Development and Partnerships at Shopper Approved and Ryan Garrow, Director of Partnerships Logical Position/Owner at Joyful Dirt

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Step by Step is the eCommerce podcast miniseries for operators.

How can brands leverage cash flow to turn volatility into competitive advantage?

[STEP BY STEP] Optimizing the Product Promise

[STEP BY STEP] Seizing the Seasonal Opportunity

[STEP BY STEP] The Spend Behind the Scale

Before we build it, we have to envision it.

What are the new secrets to eCommerce growth?

[STEP BY STEP] Building an Empire Through Cultural Connection: From Inspiration to Reach with Temu

[STEP BY STEP] Unlocking A Niche Category: Achieving 10x Growth In One Year with Temu Through Market Innovation

[STEP BY STEP] Carving New Frontiers: Selling Premium Cuts On Temu’s Fast-Growing Marketplace

How do leading brands elevate the store experience for a connected world?

[STEP BY STEP] The New Community Store: Inside Brick-and-Mortar's Evolution

[STEP BY STEP] Meet the Connectors: The New Role of Store Associates in a Digital World

[STEP BY STEP] Beyond the Store Floor: Designing Omnichannel Loyalty from the Inside Out

How can brands leverage meta ads to go bigger?

[STEP BY STEP] The Secret to Smarter Meta Ad Spend: Guess Less With A Winning Mega Data Platform

[STEP BY STEP] Going Global With Data-Backed Confidence

[STEP BY STEP] Stop Chasing Vanity Metrics: Leverage Clean Data to Understand Your Customers Better

How can brands leverage meta ads to go bigger?

[STEP BY STEP] Maintaining the Cool Factor: Scaling Your DTC Brand in Traditional Channels

[STEP BY STEP] Exploring Channel Diversification for DTC Brands: How to Expand and Not Explode

[STEP BY STEP] Data-Centric Decisions for Culturally-Relevant Brands

What is a DXP? (Digital Experience Platform)

[STEP BY STEP] What Does “Seamless” Mean in my eCommerce Operations?

[STEP BY STEP] Mastering Omnichannel Integration for Seamless Shopping

[STEP BY STEP] What Does “Fully-Integrated” Mean in the DXP Era?

[STEP BY STEP] What is the Importance of Consolidating my Technology?

[STEP BY STEP] What Frameworks Should I use to Qualify Good Software for my Business?

How to sell your eCommerce business

[STEP BY STEP] How Do I Architect my Business for a Dream Exit?

[STEP BY STEP] How Do I Vet for My Next Owner?

[STEP BY STEP] How Do I Keep My Business Lean?

[STEP BY STEP] What is the Role of Solid Fundamentals in Scaling My Business?

[STEP BY STEP] What is the Importance of Storytelling?

The Untapped Potential for B2B Payments

[STEP BY STEP] B2B Payments: The Final Frontier

[STEP BY STEP] The Consumerization of B2B

[STEP BY STEP] Make B2B Sexy Again

Making the Case for Open Source Software in the Enterprise

[Step by Step] The Open Source Business

[Step by Step] It Takes a Community

[Step by Step] The B-Word

[Step by Step] Managing Complexity

[Step by Step] Platforms Don’t Solve Problems, People Do

How Can I Make the Business Case for My Brand to Invest in Experience?

[Step by Step] How Can I Make the Business Case for My Brand to Invest in Experience?

[Step by Step] How Do I Choose the Right Technology Partners?

[Step by Step] What Is the Role of Data in Improving eCommerce Experiences?

[Step by Step] How Do I Move From a Project Mindset to a Program Mindset?

[Step by Step] What Exactly Is the Value in Headless Commerce?

How can I take my brand cross-border?

[Step by Step] How Does Cross-Border eCommerce Work?

[Step by Step] How do I Begin Selling Internationally?

[Step by Step] What Changes Will My Business Face in Selling Overseas?

[Step by Step] How Does Cross-Border Commerce Impact Supply Chain?

[Step by Step] What are the Common Mistakes to Avoid in Cross-Border Commerce?

How Do You Transform Shipping From A Cost Center Into A Growth Center?

[Step by Step] How Does Cross-Border eCommerce Work?

[Step by Step] How do I Begin Selling Internationally?

[Step by Step] What Changes Will My Business Face in Selling Overseas?

[Step by Step] How Does Cross-Border Commerce Impact Supply Chain?

[Step by Step] What are the Common Mistakes to Avoid in Cross-Border Commerce?

How can my brand live up to Amazon expectations?

[Step by Step] How Can Brands Compete with Amazon?

[Step by Step] Can Product Returns Build My Brand?

[Step by Step] How Can I Get Product to Every Customer in Two Days or Less?

[Step by Step] How Can I Turn Customer Segments into Personal Connections?

[Step by Step] Why Don’t Customers Trust a Five Star Review?

How can my DTC brand compete with established brands?

[Step by Step] How Can My DTC Brand Compete with Established Brands?

[Step by Step] How Can I Use Marketing Automation to Get More Done with Less?

[Step by Step] What Tools Can Help Me to Tell My Brand Story?

[Step by Step] What Tools Can a Small Brand Use to Automate Customer Engagement?

What's the difference between customer support and customer experience?

[Step by Step] How Do We Evolve from Customer Support to Customer Experience?

[Step by Step] How to Go from a Contact Center to a Revenue Center?

[Step by Step] How Does CX Drive Lifetime Value?

[Step by Step] How Does CX Address Modern Customer Expectations?

[Step by Step] How to Build Sustainable CX and Avoid Burnout?

How do I build a tech stack for eCommerce?