Recording LIVE from the show floor of Shoptalk Spring 2026, the Future Commerce team brings our hottest takes and deepest insights from this year’s event. PLUS: We celebrated the launch of our newest zine, STRATA Vol. 001, with over 150 of our favorite people (including Snoop Dogg?). Get your copy at futurecommerce.com/strata.

• AI was the headline theme, but the humanity angle landed harder with attendees.
• In-booth content creation has become the industry standard; Future Commerce pioneered it in 2017.
• FedEx's Jason Brenner reframed logistics as a brand trust moment, not just a last mile.
• Victoria's Secret CEO Hillary Super showed what vision-led turnarounds actually look like.
• Curious people will always find leverage. AI just multiplies what they were already doing.
• “Maybe by this time next year, we will see OpenClaw-specific agencies on the show floor.” – Phillip
• "If you're inherently curious and someone who likes to problem solve...AI is gonna help you, totally, without a doubt." – Alicia

• Get STRATA
• FedEx: Same-Day Local
• Subscribe to catch our full recap on Insiders

• See more post-show coverage in The Senses
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print
• Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
• Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

Have 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!

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Armand Wilson, Chief Revenue Officer at Whatnot, joins Phillip and Brian to unpack why live shopping finally took hold in the West. Drawing from Whatnot’s recent 2026 State of Live Selling Report, we trace the platform's origin from a niche Funko Pop marketplace to an $8B GMV juggernaut after landing $225 million in Series F funding.

• The barrier to entry for live selling is far lower than traditional eCommerce.
• 80% of Whatnot buyers return the following month, compared with approximately 30% in traditional eCommerce.
• Live selling lets brands tell their story in ways a static product page never can.
• Whatnot raised $225M in Series F; the platform did $8B in GMV last year.
• Live commerce is quietly revitalizing small businesses and local brick-and-mortar.

[00:09:00] "It's clienteling in almost a digital way, blurring the line between parasocial relationship and actual relationship between seller and buyer." — Brian Lange

[00:12:00] "It could cost you a hundred thousand dollars to open up a comic bookshop. It costs you $0 to open up a comic bookshop on Whatnot." — Armand Wilson

[00:31:45] "It's really hard to tell your story in an authentic way when you're just telling it on a couple of lines of text on a product page." — Armand Wilson

[00:41:30] "80% of our customers come back the next month, whereas traditional eCommerce is, on average, maybe 30%." — Armand Wilson

• Whatnot’s State of Live Selling Report

• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print
• Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
• Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

Have 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!

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Zia Daniell Wigder, Global President of Shoptalk and Groceryshop, joins Brian and Alicia to mark Shoptalk's 10th anniversary and unpack the themes defining the spring show in Las Vegas. (Hint: AI isn't the headline, it's the backdrop.) A week before one of retail’s biggest, most beloved shows, Zia maps the tensions, the conversations, and the hot topics shaping the next era of retail events.

• AI is the backdrop to retail in 2026, but it’s not the whole story
• As AI scales, in-person human connection becomes more valuable, not less
• Shoptalk curates its agenda top-down, then finds the speakers to match; it’s about bringing buzz brands, heritage retailers, and influential platforms together
• In the US, social commerce is still in its early days, which means it’s still incredibly underestimated; brand leaders will share their lessons and best practices on stage during tactical workshops for the first time
• Creator-brand relationships work better when brands let go of the brief

[00:05:00] "In-person human connections are even more important today than they have been in the past,  because we have all of this operational efficiency, all of this streamlining and optimization happening in the background in some cases, taking away some of the interactions we might've had before." — Zia Daniell Wigder

[00:11:52] "You've got the huge champions that say yes, [AI] is going to change everything about the world of product discovery as we know it. And then you've got the other side saying, this is way over-hyped." — Zia Daniell Wigder

[00:23:01] "Brands aren't necessarily asking about [social commerce] per se, but it almost feels like they should be." — Zia Daniell Wigder

[00:24:04] "Brands are still having briefs shoved at [creators] and telling them what they should be doing, as opposed to working with them in a more collaborative way." — Zia Daniell Wigder

• Shoptalk Spring 2026 – March, Las Vegas
• POSSIBLE – April, Miami
• Groceryshop – September, Las Vegas
• Manifest – February 2027, Las Vegas

• Visit Future Commerce’s Shoptalk hub to see what’s happening during the show
• Apply to attend our After Dark celebration of STRATA Vol. 001, our newest zine
• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print
• Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
• Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

Have 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!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.