No.
VISIONS Archive: Charting the Course of Commerce
5.9.2024
Number 00
VISIONS Archive: Charting the Course of Commerce
September 5, 2024
The London Brief is a series from Future Commerce covering commerce and culture
of the United Kingdom’s capitol city.

The Role of Commerce in Society

At Future Commerce, we've always been fascinated by the symbiotic relationship between the products we consume and the cultural fabric that shapes us. Our VISIONS brand provides a space for us to push beyond the typical trends report and dig deeper into the philosophical ideas driving the evolution of commerce.

This year's retrospective allowed us to reflect on just how much the landscape has shifted—from the blurring of digital and physical experiences to the ways products have become vessels for self-expression. Retail is a complex, ever-changing industry which provides a unique perspective into our cultural expressions.

Join us on a journey through VISIONS past to see just how much retail—and our culture—has developed in the last 5 years.

After all, commerce is culture.

Contents:

  • VISIONS 2024: The Multiplayer Brand
  • VISIONS 2023: New Ways of Seeing
  • VISIONS 2022: The Centrality of Commerce
  • VISIONS 2021: The Convergence of Physical and Digital
  • VISIONS 2020: The Beginning

The Role of Commerce in Society

At Future Commerce, we've always been fascinated by the symbiotic relationship between the products we consume and the cultural fabric that shapes us. Our VISIONS brand provides a space for us to push beyond the typical trends report and dig deeper into the philosophical ideas driving the evolution of commerce.

This year's retrospective allowed us to reflect on just how much the landscape has shifted—from the blurring of digital and physical experiences to the ways products have become vessels for self-expression. Retail is a complex, ever-changing industry which provides a unique perspective into our cultural expressions.

Join us on a journey through VISIONS past to see just how much retail—and our culture—has developed in the last 5 years.

After all, commerce is culture.

Contents:

  • VISIONS 2024: The Multiplayer Brand
  • VISIONS 2023: New Ways of Seeing
  • VISIONS 2022: The Centrality of Commerce
  • VISIONS 2021: The Convergence of Physical and Digital
  • VISIONS 2020: The Beginning

The Role of Commerce in Society

At Future Commerce, we've always been fascinated by the symbiotic relationship between the products we consume and the cultural fabric that shapes us. Our VISIONS brand provides a space for us to push beyond the typical trends report and dig deeper into the philosophical ideas driving the evolution of commerce.

This year's retrospective allowed us to reflect on just how much the landscape has shifted—from the blurring of digital and physical experiences to the ways products have become vessels for self-expression. Retail is a complex, ever-changing industry which provides a unique perspective into our cultural expressions.

Join us on a journey through VISIONS past to see just how much retail—and our culture—has developed in the last 5 years.

After all, commerce is culture.

Contents:

  • VISIONS 2024: The Multiplayer Brand
  • VISIONS 2023: New Ways of Seeing
  • VISIONS 2022: The Centrality of Commerce
  • VISIONS 2021: The Convergence of Physical and Digital
  • VISIONS 2020: The Beginning

The Role of Commerce in Society

At Future Commerce, we've always been fascinated by the symbiotic relationship between the products we consume and the cultural fabric that shapes us. Our VISIONS brand provides a space for us to push beyond the typical trends report and dig deeper into the philosophical ideas driving the evolution of commerce.

This year's retrospective allowed us to reflect on just how much the landscape has shifted—from the blurring of digital and physical experiences to the ways products have become vessels for self-expression. Retail is a complex, ever-changing industry which provides a unique perspective into our cultural expressions.

Join us on a journey through VISIONS past to see just how much retail—and our culture—has developed in the last 5 years.

After all, commerce is culture.

Contents:

  • VISIONS 2024: The Multiplayer Brand
  • VISIONS 2023: New Ways of Seeing
  • VISIONS 2022: The Centrality of Commerce
  • VISIONS 2021: The Convergence of Physical and Digital
  • VISIONS 2020: The Beginning

Continue Reading...

THIS ARTICLE IS FOR MEMBERS ONLY

Insights and futurism for executives in eCom and Retail

Exclusive Content

Those things we shouldn’t say out loud? We say them on the private feed. Bi-weekly “after dark” podcasts and a members-only newsletter, just for subscribers.

Industry Trends Reports

Our research reports combine visionary thinking with data-backed findings from our own advisory panel, made up of leaders at brands you know and trust.

AI-powered Search with Alani™

Query and prompt our vast archive of research, podcasts, and newsletters with a ChatGPT-like interface. Get exclusive access to Alani™, the AI-powered engine for Future Commerce, powered by BundleIQ.

VISIONS 2024

The current iteration of VISIONS takes the Future Commerce team on the road, visiting multiple cities and hearing from experts across the retail, arts, design, and writing fields.

VISIONS SUMMIT NYC - 2024

Hosted at the MoMA in NYC on June 11, 2024, this half-day event featured a mix of keynote presentations, fireside chats, and moderated panel discussions with culture innovators across disciplines: media, creative arts, brand building, and technology.

VISIONS Summit: NYC focused on established and next-gen voices in equal measure, and explored the idea of “Monoculture in the Modern Age” and the shifting dynamics defining this  moment. Curated for the curious, the talks from VISIONS Summit: NYC is guaranteed to change the way you think about how we consume.

VISIONS Summit: NYC Keynote Addresses

From First Look to First Bloom

Alison Roman, NYT Bestselling Author, Cook, and Content Creator

Alison shares her experience as a digital creator in our modern world and dishes out both the beauty and the difficulties of public life.

Watch here

How Algorithms Flattened Culture

Kyle Chayka, Author & Staff writer for the New Yorker

Kyle Chayka shares insights from his latest book, Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture, with Q&A to follow.

Watch here

VISIONS Summit: NYC Panels

The False Dichotomy of Physical vs. Digital

with Reggie James, Ruby Thelot, and Paul Canetti

The boundaries between physical and digital realms are dissolving. How will this convergence reshape our daily experiences?

Watch Here

How Fragmented Media Co-Creates Moments that Matter

with Hitha Herzog, Retail Analyst and Kate Lindsay, Author of Embedded Substack

In a world of personalized content, does monoculture still exist? Hitha Herzog and Kate Lindsay explore shared cultural moments in fragmented media.

Watch Here

Content Creators and Authenticity

with Emily Hopkins, haripst and YouTube creator

What are some of the challenges of maintaining authenticity while growing an audience? How can brands foster genuine connections in the creator economy?

Watch Here

Technological Progress & Multiplayer Behavior

with Sanjeev Gill, Stripe & Michaela Weber, BigCommerce

Technology is enabling global commerce at unprecedented speeds. Are you prepared for the next wave of commerce innovation?

Watch Now

Creating Connection in the Age of AI

with Sebastian Reetz, Bloomreach and Alicia Esposito, Retail Touchpoints

AI is revolutionizing personalization, but how do we maintain human connection? Can AI truly understand and cater to individual consumer needs?

Watch Now

VISIONS Summit Austin - 2024

Imagine a world where brands transcend the vision of their creators, becoming a collective masterpiece shaped by every interaction. This is not the future; this is now.

VISIONS SUMMIT: Austin invites you to dive deep into The Multiplayer Brand, where digital commerce evolves at the speed of culture, and every consumer holds the power to shape the story, and the aesthetics, of a brand.

Comprised of 4 unique panels, featuring a stellar lineup of experts in consumer psychology, trend analysis, and brand and digital marketing, we cover the seismic shifts in how brands are build and experienced in a digital-first world.

The Changing Role of the CMO in the Multiplayer Brand

with Alexa Lombardo, Marketing Strategist and Fractional CMO

Watch Now

Reactive Marketing, The Super Bowl, and the Multiplayer Brand

with Matt Klein, Head of Foresight at Reddit. Author of ZINE.

Watch Now

BK Beauty Becomes Multiplayer: The Trend-Centric Nature of Tiktok Shop

with Lisa and Paul Jauregui, Co-Founders of BK Beauty

Watch Now

Our Nondeterministic Future: The Future of Web Commerce

with Rabah Rahil CMO and Rishabh Jain, CEO of FERMÀT

Watch Now

VISIONS 2023: New Ways of Seeing

VISIONS Vol IV was a result of 20+ collaborators working tirelessly to entertain and inform retailers of the future of this thing we do in commerce. These modern prophets — artists, writers, poets, operators, founders, doctorates — foresee the world that will be.

VISIONS Summit NYC - 2023

Of Marketplaces and Machines

with Doak Sergent, IPSY, Slaire Spackman, Consumerhaus, Jared Watson NYU Stern, and Rachel Yaeger, Human NYC

Watch Now

Where is the Counter-Culture? On the Rise of the Critic Class

with Alexi Alario, Nymphet Alumni, Daisy Alioto, Dirt, Matt Klein, Zine, and Emily Sundberg, FeedMe

Watch Now

Counterfactuals, The Changing Relationship Between Art, Authenticity, and Value  - VISIONS Summit

with Jessica Backus, Artsy, Laura C. Espinosa, Zip, Marc Drapeau, RXN Group, and Ruby Thelot, 13101401 Inc.

Watch Now

VISIONS Summit: Chicago - 2023

The VISIONS Summit in Chicago was designed specifically for leaders and executives in retail, eCommerce, and DTC brands. our Chicago summit presents ideas such as:

  • the rich history of visual arts and media, and how Commerce serves as a patron of those art forms.
  • the ideas of innovative thinkers like Marshall McLuhan, John Berger, and Norbert Weiner and how their ideas further illuminate our not-so-distant future ahead.
  • the rise of a new class of creators focused on improving the world of commerce and the ways that creators and brands can work together to improve customer experiences.
  • the collapse of genre and convergence of every past trend and piece of media and how trends form and influence purchasing behaviors
  • an executive interview with José Cabaço about his time as the head of adidas’ Creator Farm in Brooklyn, the creator economy, and how brands can prepare for a resurgence of anti-sellout culture.

Watch Now

VISIONS 2022: The Centrality of Commerce

Our 2022 report presents a provocative exploration of the evolving landscape where consumer behavior, cultural shifts, and modernity intersect. We investigate topics such as the homogenization of experiences, the sacraments of commerce, and our "sh*tty robot future." We provide a unique lens on how brands are becoming our new religion and trolls are winning the culture war.

This cultural deep dive provides fresh perspectives on the underlying psychological factors driving commercial trends, inviting readers to reconsider the complex relationship between commerce and culture in our rapidly changing world.

Read the Report

Accompanying the report, we also released a 10-part podcast series, with recordings from our first-ever VISIONS Summit in Palm Beach, FL.

Listen to the Podcast

VISIONS 2021: The Convergence of Physical and Digital

From the cosy rise of homesteading maximalism to the proliferation of capitalism in the digital commons, this report offers fresh perspectives on the complex relationship between commerce and identity in a post-COVID world. Our 2021 report challenges readers to reconsider how the products we consume reflect and influence our collective cultural fabric. Let us guide you through this thought-provoking journey into the heart of our evolving commercial landscape.

Read the Report

VISION 2020: The Beginning

The report that started it all. Read our original VISION report. Published in January 2020, this report covers topics like the power of no-code in commerce, the role of our limited attentions, and the need for sustainability practices.

Read Now