The Monoculture That Is eCommerce

“Are we delivering real, valuable insights?” I wondered aloud recently. It was around the time we launched our 300th episode, and I was in my feels, futurists.

When we launched our podcast in June of 2016, we were one of three ongoing, perpetual, eCommerce-centric podcasts. Way back then, my metric for a valuable show was “insights per minute” — if I could tally 10-12 solid “aha” moments in a show, I was happy.

Seven years hence, the ecosystem is now very mature; as evidenced by the explosion of niche content in the space.

There’s a podcast for Jewish founders. There’s a podcast celebrating failures. There’s a podcast for 9-figure operators. Even SaaS companies have podcast networks.

You think it’s never been easier to launch a brand? Honey, it’s never been easier to launch a podcast. Why so many [narcissists] shows?

This nicheification is only possible when you have subcultures that go unrepresented by the larger monoculture. Monoculture is something we often equate to old media: appointment TV viewing, sporting events, late-night talk shows. But as eCommerce becomes more prolific, and captures more of retail spend, the industry at large becomes its own monoculture, unrepresentative of the niches that make up the larger whole.

The creator economy is a subculture of eCommerce. CPG and DTC are also subcultures. Optimization, Amazon, performance marketing, subscription, celebrity brands, wellness; anything that has an industry-specific event will eventually have its own media brands that serve it, each with their own in-groups and out-groups.

So coming back to our original question — how do we deliver real, tangible insights, when the world of eCom is so thoroughly faceted? I think that the answer is, simply, you don’t. The subcultures determine what is valuable, and they already perpetuate their own knowledge within their tightly-knit communities.

As we’ve grown here at Future Commerce we’ve shifted to thinking about bigger ideas — about how people behave, where they spend time, and what makes them buy the things that they do. These larger, strategic, and visionary modes of thinking are the kinds of ideas people typically spend big dollars to gain. While not tactical, the kind of cultural insights that we deliver are truly one-of-a-kind in the eCommerce and retail industry.

We have an ethos and a pathos: we believe commerce unites us, and that what we buy is a facet of who we are.

So, “insights per minute” is out as a metric. “You really made me think” is the highest compliment you can pay to us here at Future Commerce. 

Thinking is cool. We should do more of it.

— Phillip

P.S. I let JFK Jr.’s parasocial avatar choose my outfit for the Poolsuite x Ralph Lauren party. Listen to the story now, on Apple, Spotify, or wherever podcasts are found.