What's the no. 1 mistake retailers make? Marketing expert and brand builder Elton X. Graham shares his insights in my latest newsletter. Check it out here: linkedin.com/pulse/qa-elton…

Has anyone heard of the "No-Buy Movement"? Inflation is getting the best of shoppers as we see a growing desire for minimalism and mindfulness in spending. This is refreshing — say goodbye to unnecessary consumption. fastcompany.com/91136829/a-new…

From content creation to customer service AI is taking commerce by storm. As AI becomes more accessible, we’re going to see a democratization of ecommerce tools, which will force businesses to compete in new ways. Great read by Alex Vuocolo: retailbrew.com/stories/2024/0…

Let’s face it, ecommerce has become much more difficult. My pro tip to succeed: forget about ads. There are smarter ways to draw in customers. Ecommerce has changed big time — since 2019, the number of online stores has tripled to over 27 million, making it more difficult

Amazon just blew away a previous delivery milestone — and it was driven by independent retailers. In the first half of 2024, the ecommerce giant delivered more than 5 billion items on the same or next day, up 30% from the same timeframe last year. Of these, 60% came from

Looking for retail space? Get in line. According to a CBRE study, US retail availability recently hit a record low of 4.7% since tracking began in 2005. As retailers enter new cities and brands lean hard into brick-and-mortar, it has become incredibly difficult to find

Imagine a new kind of loyalty program that rewards you for what you already love doing. Rip Curl nailed it. With their Search GPS smartwatch, surfers earn points every time they catch a wave — aligning loyalty with passion, not purchases. It’s loyalty that feels natural, not

The golden days of setting up an ecommerce business are long gone. With over 27 million online stores competing for customer’s attention, what's a brand to do? Think smaller. linkedin.com/pulse/forget-a…

I don’t think any of us miss when Black Friday was a contact sport. While brick and mortar sales are up 4.5% from 2022, #BlackFriday shoppers today would rather hunt for deals online and THEN visit their favorite stores in person. That’s why omnichannel is so key — 64% of Black

Such a cool partnership — Shopify teamed up for a first-of-its-kind live data visualization on the world-famous Exosphere in Vegas. Within seconds of an order being placed, an arc travels from the merchant to the buyer on the globe. It even shoots fireworks to celebrate

Shoppers don’t just want products — they want feelings. Enter "emotioneering,” where brands craft experiences that *move* people, be it to joy, surprise, or inspiration. And it works. A VML study found 79% of people believe brands must now improve well-being, foster

Underconsumption core has restored (some of) my faith in social media. It promotes buying less but better — long overdue. Think of it as an anti-fast fashion movement against brands like Shein and Temu flooding the market with cheap, disposable junk. There’s a tension between

Payments fraud is a massive problem. Outdated methods like paper checks and ACH transfers aren’t just outdated, they’re risky. In a recent PYMNTS interview, founder of Finexio Ernest Rolfson says check fraud has surged 300% in recent years. Automating payment is no

We’re bringing Conversations in Commerce back to NRF for a second year. This time around we’re looking at how to win with creative commerce: the tools, systems and technology that power customer centric experiences. Supported by Shopify and Braze, the panel will feature some

We finally have an answer to the burning question we've all been dying to know: what's in the soda emoji cup? 🥤 Turns out it was Coca-Cola after all… at least according to a recent VML campaign in #SaudiArabia. Partnering with Coca-Cola and WPP, users can gamify the

What happens when you put some of retail’s most brilliant minds (and me) in the same room? You get the Conversations in Commerce event. The panel discussion was enlightening — I got to ask Tommy John's VP of Technology, Serge Moreau, how retailers can evolve to fully harness the

Remember when hanging out at the mall made you feel young and cool? Don’t feel old yet, since apparently, that’s how Gen Z are discovering their favorite brands today. A new American Express study found that 90% of younger shoppers found new businesses by walking by them —

Is AI going to make retail *more* human? It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and allure of AI, as automation can help businesses run faster, smarter, and cheaper. But as people become sick of AI’s impersonality, the real premium going forward will be human