Explore every episode of the podcast Retail Media Vibes

Wes participated in this conversation in a personal capacity. All views are his own.

The retail media industry is moving at a breakneck pace, but while the technology scales, the talent pipeline is hitting a massive bottleneck. We are operating in an environment where expectations for perfection are higher than ever, yet there is no "Retail Media School" to prepare the next generation of leaders. If we don’t figure out how to bridge the gap between entry-level tasks and high-level strategy, we risk a total collapse of upward mobility in the modern workforce.

In this episode, we sit down with Wes, a Director of Media at a retail media agency, to discuss the "softer side" of the industry. We get into his unique "side door" entry into the field from a 15-year career in professional photography and how systematic mindsets translate across disciplines. We explore the rise of "Walmazon" as Walmart and Amazon begin to mirror one another’s strategies, the tactical necessity of clear summarization over AI-generated "novels," and the high-stakes reality of managed service vs. self-serve social tools. Wes shares his unique philosophy on why managers must find their own replacements to move up and the "aha" moment that led him to prioritize humility over individual wins.

The unglamorous truth is that AI might be able to handle menial tasks, but it cannot replace the "boots-on-the-ground" experience of walking a store floor or understanding a shopper's psychology. There is a real danger in over-relying on automation; if you turn in work without validating it, you aren't saving time, you’re devaluing your own expertise. You will walk away from this conversation with a fresh perspective on how to take initiative in your own career development and a warning about why "the way we've always done it" is already out of date.

AI is raising the bar for everyone entering the workforce, and it’s also creating a lot of noise about what matters most. We recorded this conversation live from Heroes Coffee in Rogers, Arkansas to get grounded in the real question students are asking: how do I land my first role and thrive when the tools, titles, and expectations keep changing?

I'm joined by Dr. Anne Velliquette from the University of Arkansas (Walton College of Business), Karson Feuerbacher (graduating senior and Hershey intern), Sarah White (omnichannel marketing at Nestlé), and Victoria Van Dusen (SVP at Mars United Commerce). Together, we unpack “AI readiness” without the hype. You’ll hear what hiring managers actually look for in entry-level talent, what great first 90 days behavior looks like, and why agency roles often start with foundational work before you earn client-facing responsibilities. We also talk about using AI responsibly, avoiding copy-paste mistakes, and keeping the human touch through curiosity, emotional intelligence, and relationship building.

We get practical on how to stand out beyond GPA: internships, career fairs, side projects, personal brand, and transferable skills that prove you can execute in the retail media and retail commerce world. We even tackle the uncomfortable parts like managing up, professional polish, and how COVID still shows up in communication habits.

Subscribe to Retail Media Vibes, share this with a student or new grad, and leave a review if it helps. What skill do you think will matter most when AI becomes the default tool at work?

Ads on a smart fridge sound like a punchline until you realize it’s already happening. We sit down live in Rogers, Arkansas, flip the script, and let Lindsey Hamm interview BV about where retail media, marketing, and AI are headed and what we might be breaking along the way.

We unpack why AI can be an incredible career amplifier while still being dangerously overused. BV explains how he uses AI for ideation, planning, writing, and staying organized, and why “black box” automation in media buying can weaken strategy if it removes the friction that helps people learn. We get practical about what retail media teams need right now: curiosity, fundamentals across in-store and digital, strong data storytelling, and relationships built shoulder to shoulder with brands, agencies, retailers, and partners.

Then we hit two timely stories shaping the commerce conversation. First, Samsung’s smart fridge ad pilot and the backlash that followed, plus the bigger question of whether advertising is being pushed into spaces that should stay private. Second, the reported shift in how Walmart and OpenAI approach agentic shopping, and why discovery and comparison may be a better near-term fit than instant checkout. We close with rapid-fire “Bold Vibes” on the future of retail media, agency team size, AI theater, risk-taking, and why connection matters more than output.

Subscribe for more honest retail media and AI conversations, share this with a coworker, and leave a review. Where do you think the line is between helpful personalization and pure intrusion?

The “easy” part of e-commerce ended years ago. Now brands are expected to deliver perfect product content, navigate an increasingly crowded digital shelf, and prove performance across retail media while the rules keep changing underneath them. I’m joined by retail commerce expert Blake Taylor to break down what’s actually working right now and what’s quietly becoming non-negotiable for the next wave of digital commerce.

We talk through why content is still the foundation of e-commerce success, not just to answer shopper questions on the product detail page, but to feed the systems that increasingly shape visibility. That leads into scraping, data availability, and why retailers’ first-party data and clean room capabilities are changing how brands plan and measure. We also dig into Walmart-specific shifts like Scintilla insights moving closer to the store level and what that could mean for availability, assortment, and conversion when online demand meets in-store reality.

From there, we get honest about the state of the digital shelf: more sponsored placements, more competition for premium real estate, and a growing “retail media tax” that forces brands to pay to be seen. Blake shares practical guidance on building a real Walmart Connect strategy instead of dumping budget and hoping for magic, plus why chasing first-time buyers can beat obsessing over ROAS alone. We close by exploring AI’s role in commerce, from personalization and data orchestration to AEO and GEO, and even a bold prediction about whether search grids survive the agentic shopping era.

If this conversation helps you rethink your e-commerce strategy or retail media approach, subscribe, share it with someone on your team, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Retail media is moving so fast that it’s easy to lose the plot, so I stitched together the strongest moments from recent conversations with Emma Curry, Aaron Campbell, Lindsay Hamm, Sarah Gillmer, and Toby Willse. The throughline is simple: new tools like AI and new channels like connected TV are powerful, but they only work when shoppers trust the message and teams inside the business stop working at cross purposes.

We dig into AI influencers and why they’re tempting for brands that want speed, brand safety, and consistent talking points. Then we get practical about influencer marketing in the retail media ecosystem: how to create evergreen creator content, build the right mix of video and still assets, and extend social creative into retailer placements. One of my favorite examples crosses into the physical store, proving omnichannel is real when creators show up beyond the feed.

From there, we zoom out to shopper psychology in the attention economy: multitasking, media overload, and the fight for meaning. That’s where nostalgia marketing, the analog comeback, and even “traditional media” re-enter the chat, not as throwbacks but as intentional ways to earn focus. We also hit the big retail media themes of 2025: full-funnel planning, measurement progress, and where CTV fits when conversion isn’t the only job to be done.

We close with the operational truth: retail media networks and platforms don’t fix silos on their own. Align brand teams, commerce teams, and sales teams, automate the repetitive work with AI, and let humans do the strategy and storytelling. Subscribe for more Retail Media Vibes, share this recap with a teammate, and leave a review with the one idea you’re going to try next.

What if smarter shopping isn’t about zero friction, but the right friction? We sit down with Amanda Danish-Wineland, SVP of Strategic Planning at Mars United, to unpack how AI and shopper psychology can actually make commerce feel more human. From Super Bowl ads that nailed the brief to the hidden driver of decision-making; risk. We trace the path from choice overload to real confidence, and why co-creating with agents beats handing over the keys.

We start with the timeless why behind purchases; discovery, security, identity, and reveal how the changing how across channels rewires expectations. Amanda breaks down the power of micro frictions: small, intentional checkpoints that signal care, reduce regret, and keep control with the shopper. We explore where automation helps (repeat decisions, clear constraints) and where it hurts (assumptions, opaque pushes), then dive into trust: transparent trade-offs, clear sources, and a conversational advisor tone that explains the “why” behind each recommendation.

For brands and retailers, this is a call to move beyond rank-chasing. Performance still matters, but trust compounds. We map a shopper-first approach: define who you truly serve, articulate the job your product does, and engineer backward so agents can recommend for the person, not the push. We also draw a sharp line between strategy and planning, evidence framing versus creative leverage, and show how AI is a force multiplier: cleaning data, accelerating synthesis, and even arguing with our assumptions so humans can push into sharper insights and braver ideas.

If you care about agentic commerce, retail media, or just making buying easier without losing agency, this conversation is a field guide. Hit play, then tell us: where do you want advice, and where do you want full control? Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review to help more curious listeners find the show.

Leadership isn’t a title; it’s a set of choices you make when the ground won’t stop moving. That’s the through line of our conversation with Jessica Hendrix, former CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi X and a leader who’s navigated retail, agencies, and a CMO seat while keeping culture and clarity front and center.

We trace Jessica’s path from selling phones at a mall cart to guiding a global agency inside Publicis. She breaks down how she set vision in shifting markets using a simple framework, business, work, people, and why choosing fewer goals with more intention can actually accelerate results. We dig into the evolution from “shopper marketing” to commerce, the rise of retail media, and how Gen Z now steers family purchases from a phone. Her take is practical: the channels changed, the job didn’t: meet people in the moments that move them to buy, reduce friction, and measure what matters.

Culture comes alive in the details. Jessica talks transparency with limits, vulnerability that builds trust, and the power of authenticity to unlock talent. We go deep on the Enneagram, her Two, wing Three wiring, and how leaders can pair high performance with high humanity without burning out. She shares real boundaries that worked, two-night travel caps, morning school walks, quarterly solo resets, and the grace-and-accountability balance that keeps teams healthy and productive.

There’s a raw, important chapter here, too: a year of breast cancer, skin cancer, and spinal surgery that ended with a clean bill of health. Jessica’s lessons are urgent and universal, keep the checkups, design for recovery, accept help, and they reinforce her central message: take care of your people by taking care of yourself. Today she’s consulting and coaching, helping leaders set cleaner goals, build resilient cultures, and navigate AI-era change without losing their center.

If this conversation sparked something for you, follow the show, share it with a colleague who leads teams, and leave a review with one takeaway you’ll act on this week. Your note helps others find the podcast and keeps these stories flowing.

The most expensive mistake in retail media isn’t bad targeting, it’s planning in silos. We sit down with media leader Toby Willse to map how the field evolved from banner buys to agentic commerce, why teams still talk past each other, and what it takes to turn retailer-specific wins into brand-level growth. From his design roots to ad tech tours through AOL and Millennial Media, Toby explains how creative strategy, data access, and relationship management shape outcomes more than any single tactic.

We unpack the headliners from CES and NRF, including Google’s momentum in AI shopping, retailer partnerships, and the coming wave of sponsored prompts. Expect smart provocation on the “collapsed funnel” narrative: CTV with QR codes lowers friction, but it doesn’t magically become a conversion channel. Instead, think of new side doors to the bottom of the funnel and measure accordingly. We lay out a realistic framework for attribution that pairs platform signals with retail POS and modeled incrementality, while admitting there’s no silver bullet and AMC is a powerful slice, not the whole pie.

This conversation also goes human. Retail media teams juggle overlapping retailers, expanding JBPs, and constant change. We share practical ways to fight burnout, from using AI agents for repetitive work to establishing daily learning habits and grounding decisions with store and site walks. And if we could fix one systemic issue? Tear down the walled gardens to enable privacy-safe, interoperable measurement and smarter creative orchestration across channels.

If you care about better KPIs, cleaner alignment between brand and sales, and making AI work for your team instead of against it, you’ll find plenty to steal here. Follow the show, share it with a teammate who’s buried in dashboards, and leave a quick review to tell us your number-one retail media headache.

The year retail media stopped living on the product page and started shaping the whole journey came with growing pains, and big wins. We dig into what really changed in 2025: retail media going full-funnel with connected TV, social integrations, and creator programs, while brand and commerce teams finally learned to plan together. CTV’s role gets a sober look, yes, it’s premium and powerful, but it sits higher in the funnel for retailers and needs smarter targeting and frequency. The conversation then shifts to agentic shopping, where AI agents help with discovery and routine reorders but haven’t fully earned the right to “press buy” for most shoppers. We unpack the signals these systems read, from product data to price and availability, and how to prepare content and assortments for a world beyond classic SEO.

Commerce media also takes center stage as industries like travel and fintech monetize their first-party data. That expansion creates more options and more complexity, so we share a practical approach: anchor to the shopper, choose fewer but better-fitting networks, and orchestrate messages across touch points. In-store media returns as a meaningful lever when paired with aligned digital creative and measured with lift, traffic, and market tests rather than one-to-one attribution. And because no strategy survives bad metrics, we tackle measurement head-on: ROAS as a useful indicator, incrementality as the proof brands want, and the need for clearer standards on item sets and attribution windows.

We wrap with our retail media word of the year, agentic, and a round of bold 2026 predictions on creative vs targeting, AI’s share of ad production, and where standardization might finally land. 

If you enjoyed this deep dive into the trends shaping retail and commerce media, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review to help more people find the show.

Nostalgia doesn’t just sell; it sticks. We sat down with Sarah Gillmer to explore how memory, family ritual, and pop culture can turn everyday products into emotional anchors, and why that approach still beats a thousand loud impressions. From Barbie’s cross-generational comeback to Nike’s retro magic and McDonald’s adult Happy Meal, we map when heritage fuels love and when brands risk costume-playing a past they never owned.

We also tackle the elephant in the media room: is traditional media dead? Not quite. Print catalogs with QR stickers are back on kitchen counters, local radio still drives action, and the right billboard can outwork a dozen forgettable banner ads. The smartest plans now pair tactile, trusted channels with digital precision. We talk about how to choose moments where analog wins; regional launches, community trust, and high-frequency routes, and how to keep the art in marketing without ignoring the numbers.

In quick hits, we react to Instacart’s variable pricing controversy and the transparency gap it exposes. Then we look ahead as Google signals ads inside Gemini AI chat, debating what “useful” looks like in an answer-first interface. Finally, we swap campaigns we love: Chevy’s memory-rich family spot that sells without shouting, and Dunkin’s munchkin tale that turns a donut hole into a holiday hero. If you care about brand building, media mix strategy, and the next wave of ad experiences, this one’s for you.

Enjoyed the conversation? Follow and share the show, and leave a review so more curious marketers can find us.

Live shopping is booming, just not equally everywhere. We tackle why China’s live commerce machine towers over the U.S. and what has to change for 2025: cultural expectations, seamless payments, and the invisible tech that makes “watch, want, buy” feel effortless. From the early QVC playbook to TikTok Shops, Amazon Live, and Whatnot, we break down where the channel wins, where it stumbles, and how to design streams that people actually want to watch, and buy from.

We dig into the power of story over category, showing why beauty, fashion, cooking, home improvement, and collector communities respond when the format teaches and entertains rather than hard‑sells. You’ll hear why hybrid models, creator‑led on camera, retailer‑led on operations- consistently outperform, and how the best hosts turn chat into real conversion. We share a creator‑driven haircare stream that outpaced expectations, then list the practical fixes that move the needle: one‑tap wallets, persistent carts, clean variant selection, bundles that simplify choices, and rehearsal that stress‑tests every link.

To keep things fun, we also spotlight Crocs x T‑Pain’s “boots with the fur” moment, a playful, meme‑friendly collab that shows how cultural resonance drives attention and action. If you’re building a live commerce strategy for the year ahead, consider this your checklist: lead with narrative, pair the right host with the right platform, and make checkout disappear. Subscribe, share this with your team, and drop a review telling us which category you think is primed to break out next.

Attention is scarce, noise is cheap, and shoppers are rewriting the rules. We sit down with brand and growth strategist Erin Campbell to map the new terrain: how to reach people who spend 13 hours a day with media yet crave less clutter and more connection. The core idea that anchors our exchange is simple and hard: tactics are table stakes, meaning is the moat. Erin breaks down how to identify the heart of your audience, connect it to the soul of your brand, and build a brand world that travels across touchpoints with texture instead of repetition.

From there, we dive into the boom in secondhand shopping, and why it’s more than thrift. Resale blends value, sustainability, and identity, empowering buyers to access rare goods and express taste with provenance. We compare platforms like eBay and GOAT, talk authentication and trust, and explore why brands shouldn’t rush to “own” the resale moment so much as craft products and stories worthy of second lives. You’ll hear practical angles on scarcity with purpose, community lore, and making goods that age into artifacts.

We also explore the analog comeback: vinyl, paper books, film cameras, even corded phones for kids. After years of chasing frictionless everything, intentional friction feels like relief. Analog rituals offer presence, delayed gratification, and shared memory, things digital rarely sustains. We spotlight LEGO’s mindful build experiences and why designing for calm can be a competitive edge. Along the way we weigh quick hits, from Toys "R" Us 2.0 and experiential retail to Apple’s pricey phone sock and Doug McMillon’s Walmart legacy, and extract lessons any operator can use.

If this conversation sparked ideas, follow the show, share it with a teammate, and leave a review.

What happens when brand safety and speed meet the messy magic of real human influence? We bring on influencer marketer Emma Curry to explore where AI-driven creators can help, where they can harm, and how transparency keeps audiences on your side. From synthetic personas that never miss a talking point to the irreplaceable trust earned by human voices, we map the tradeoffs and share a practical framework: keep humans in the loop, use AI to pressure-test briefs, and pick categories wisely so you don’t sell perfection where people need honesty.

Then we get tactical. Retail media keeps accelerating, demanding more assets, more often. We break down how to structure creator shoots for evergreen use, capture both short video and lifestyle stills, and design modular CTAs that swap by retailer without losing the story. Emma shares a favorite move, bring social into the store. An original song cut for in‑store radio during the holidays became prime exposure and a masterclass in stretching one asset across channels where buying actually happens.

We also wade into the contracts that decide your ROI: usage windows that match retail turnover, the extra costs of in‑store and CTV, and when SAG-AFTRA rules apply. The headline: don’t commission content without a plan. Decide where it will live, how it will refresh, and what success looks like before you press record. Plus, we have fun with quick hits on ads in public restrooms and smart fridges, BNPL holiday habits, and “Campaigns We Love,” featuring Huggies’ cheeky “Do It for the Team” and Walmart’s nostalgia-rich WhoKnewville.

If this gave you ideas for your next creator brief or retail media pitch, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so more marketers can find Retail Media Vibes.

Missed the first five episodes? We stitched the best insights into one high-energy tour through what’s actually moving shoppers and budgets right now. From Halloween arriving in July to AI that can buy for you, we dig into the hits, the misses, and the money-makers.

We kick off with Summerween, where retailers extend the season and capture early spend without feeling forced. Then we shift to agentic shopping—the idea that AI agents handle the repetitive, low-risk purchases and increasingly the shortlist for bigger ones. Trust, transparency, and clear opt-ins will drive adoption this holiday season, and we share the guardrails that make it work. The brand-versus-shopper debate gets a fresh look through the lens of first-party data at scale: why building brands inside retail ecosystems can accelerate conversion and loyalty when done right.

Connected TV steals the spotlight with surging retail media investment and the promise of closing the loop. We talk about when shoppable overlays beat the scroll and how to design incentives that overcome second-screen distraction. On measurement, we tackle the ROAS trap and lay out a practical stack: incrementality, retailer attribution, MMM, and KPI alignment by tactic. The gaming segment explores safe, authentic ways to show up—native integrations, limited digital items, and digital-physical twins that create real value without breaking immersion.

We round it out with store tech that actually helps—think app-first wayfinding and contextual offers over expensive cart hardware—and a reality check on “work slop,” or AI output that creates rework when nobody owns accuracy. For dessert, we break down hype marketing that lasts: smart collabs, limited drops, and timing that feeds long-term loyalty. Ready to retool your retail media playbook before the holidays? Listen, share with a teammate, and tell us your boldest prediction. If you’re enjoying the show, subscribe, leave a quick review, and pass this episode to someone who loves both strategy and sell-through.

A grocery disruptor is surging, hype is reshaping demand, and AI might quietly become your favorite holiday shopper. We sit down with Claire Reed to unpack Aldi’s value-first playbook, from lean operations and private labels to a smart Instacart partnership that skips building a retail media network from scratch. The takeaway: when quality meets price discipline, traffic follows, and Aldi’s store growth and rising visits prove it.

From there, we dive into hype marketing that actually works. Think collabs and limited editions that earn the buzz because the product hits. Supreme Oreos, fast-food celebrity meals, vinyl variants, great examples when timing, audience fit, and the goods align. We also call out the misses: weak products wrapped in loud campaigns. The principle holds across categories; brand heat can spark trial, but only product performance keeps the repeat.

Then we turn to holiday predictions with two big swings. First, agentic shopping gets real as more people use AI to shortlist gifts, compare options, and buy faster than any livestream can pace. Second, TikTok Shop becomes the season’s impulse engine, blending entertainment and checkout with deals that tip you from scroll to sold. We also track a quieter shift: subscriptions and experiences are becoming the “new gift card,” and meaningful DIY or secondhand gifts are rising as clutter-conscious choices.

Quick hits keep it spicy: Meta’s plan to use AI chats for ad targeting, the hidden cost of “work slop” when AI outputs go unchecked, and Amazon’s add to delivery as a simple but powerful nudge for basket growth. Along the way, we share practical guardrails, why human review still matters, how to build trust with private labels, and where to place your holiday bets across channels.

Enjoyed the conversation? Subscribe, share with a friend who loves retail trends, and leave a review to help others find the show. 

Attention has moved where play lives, and that’s exactly where we go today. We sit down with Joel Ponce, CEO and co-founder of Hashku, to break down how gaming, retail media, and commerce now overlap in ways that actually move product. From Roblox and Fortnite worlds to mobile rewarded ads, we map the paths that turn fan energy into measurable outcomes like add-to-cart, store visits, and loyalty that lasts beyond the campaign.

Joel shares how major IP shifted from TV to shelf to immersive spaces, and why “scan to play” on-pack can outperform static signage by creating value at home. We explore digital twins and limited drops that connect physical goods with avatar identity, why Gen Z rates virtual closets so highly, and how cozy gaming and mobile habits expand the audience far beyond stereotypes. If you’ve wondered where to start, we outline a practical crawl–walk–run approach, how to keep brand safety and authenticity intact, and what measurement looks like when multiple publishers speak one language.

Then we tackle AI-driven personalized pricing with clear eyes. Dynamic fares may work for flights, but grocery aisles are built on trust. We weigh the difference between volatility and value, arguing for personalized offers, access, bundles, early drops, over opaque price swings. Finally, we test Instacart’s Caper Cart as a lens on in-store innovation: wayfinding, real-time deals, and checkout speed are wins, but the economics push toward an app-first model that delivers 80 percent of the benefit with better scale and consent.

If you’re building a retail plan for 2025, this conversation will help you choose the right channels, craft native creative for gamers, and measure what matters across platforms. Subscribe, share with your team, and tell us: which bet are you making first, gaming integrations, conversational checkout, or app-powered smart cart experiences?

Ever wish retail media dashboards told the real story? We pull back the curtain on how to measure what actually matters, not just what’s easy to count. Brandon welcomes Cassie Murray to unpack the messy truth about ROAS, why incrementality is a worthy but difficult North Star, and how inventory, placement, and profitability can quietly decide your campaign’s fate long before a single impression is served.

We get practical about omnichannel reality: when a shelf holds four facings and the truck comes once a week, “always-on” search might be the wrong answer. Cassie shares how to set objectives first, defend base, recruit new-to-brand, or drive profitable volume, then choose metrics that ladder up without chasing vanity numbers. We also explore modeling, cross-retailer context, and the pressure cooker of reporting, where a dip in CTR sparks panic, even when the plan is working.

From there, we head into marketplaces, the proving ground for challenger brands and a minefield when compliance slips. Learn why Walmart’s tighter standards help shoppers and brand equity, how small brands can use marketplace momentum to earn shelf space, and how big brands can extend assortments without losing control. We also break down Walmart’s road tour as smart retailtainment that builds community, and we test the potential of Amazon Lens as visual search moves from novelty to utility.

Finally, we talk about Target. The curated magic that once fueled three-hour trips has dulled as discretionary budgets shrink and Walmart’s style game improves. What would it take for Target to be unapologetically itself again, with cleaner stores, tighter curation, reliable availability, and trend-right private label that earns the trip? If you care about measurement, marketplaces, and the evolving store experience, this one brings clarity you can act on today.

If this sparked new ideas or challenged your playbook, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review. What metric do you trust most right now?

Ever wondered how retail giants are reshaping the commerce landscape while battling for your attention? In this engaging episode of Retail Media Vibes, we welcome Brad Godwin, the embodiment of positive energy and human connection in the tech-driven world of retail media.

Brad brings his refreshing perspective as a seasoned professional with Breaktime Media, highlighting why human relationships remain central even as retail media spending skyrockets to a projected $61.2 billion by 2025. The conversation explores the critical talent gap facing the industry, with Brad emphasizing that successful teams need diversity of thought: "What if you have some folks that are deep retail experts, you marry those with deep media experts, you come into some brand storytelling, and then you have folks that understand the mechanics of sales?"

The discussion takes a fascinating turn examining Connected TV's explosive growth in retail media – expanding 45.5% this year and projected to capture one in five CTV US ad dollars by 2027. Brad offers valuable insights on finding the balance between awareness and conversion, questioning whether tactics like QR codes actually drive meaningful action: "The incentive has to overcome the friction," he notes, suggesting that strong promotions or sweepstakes might be necessary to motivate viewers.

Perhaps most compelling is the analysis of how Walmart and Amazon are increasingly encroaching on each other's territories – Amazon expanding same-day grocery delivery while Walmart grows its marketplace and ad business. This competitive dynamic creates benefits through innovation, with Brad observing: "There's a bigger thing at play called the love economy... for retailers, there is your favorite. I'm in a pinch, what am I going to go to? They're trying to earn the shopper's trust through brand love."

Whether you're a retail professional, brand marketer, or simply curious about how commerce is evolving, this episode delivers valuable insights wrapped in an authentic, vibrant conversation. Subscribe to Retail Media Vibes for more thought-provoking discussions on the future of retail and commerce!

Welcome to the debut episode of Retail Media Vibes, where we're stepping back from the daily grind to swap ideas and pick up insights that you won't hear in boardroom discussions. This podcast was born from the recognition that retail media professionals are living in a constant state of pressure, with demands for growth and performance that never stop.

We welcome Tom Brydon from Accenture as the inaugural guest, diving straight into the fascinating world where retailers and brands intersect. Tom shares his unique perspective from working with major retailers to develop their media capabilities while simultaneously helping brands leverage these same platforms for growth.

The conversation explores several trending topics reshaping retail, starting with "Summerween" – the increasingly popular practice of selling Halloween merchandise as early as June. With Halloween sales reaching $11.6 billion annually and nearly half of shoppers starting their purchases before October, this extension of the season represents significant revenue opportunities for retailers and brands alike.

We tackle the emerging technology of agentic shopping, where AI assistants find and purchase products with minimal human input. While giants like Google, Walmart, and Amazon are all developing these capabilities, the technology and consumer behavior aren't quite aligned yet. BV predicts adoption will begin with routine purchases before consumers trust AI with higher-stakes decisions.

Perhaps most thought-provoking is their discussion about the tension between brand marketing and retail-focused media. If brands ultimately exist to sell products, and most products are sold through retail channels, shouldn't more brands build their identity through retail ecosystems? This segment offers valuable perspective for anyone struggling to bridge the gap between broad brand messaging and retail execution.

The episode wraps with an exploration of the booming "kidult" economy – adults purchasing toys for themselves – exemplified by the Labubu collectible craze. With adults accounting for 43% of toy self-purchases ($1.8 billion in a single quarter), this represents a massive opportunity for brands willing to tap into nostalgic experiences.

Whether you're a strategist, analyst, creative, media planner, or brand manager, this podcast delivers fresh insights into the evolving retail media landscape. Subscribe now and join the conversation about what's really happening in retail media today.