The Watson Weekly: eCommerce Strategy & News – Details, episodes & analysis

Tom Schmitt is CEO of Radial, North America's largest third-party fulfillment provider — and a company about to become something bigger. As part of the Bpostgroup's rebranding to Paxon, Radial is merging with its sister companies into a single global logistics brand built on decades of e-commerce infrastructure.

The Watson Weekly is sponsored by Avalara. For more information on Avalara, visit - https://avalara.watsonweekly.com/

Tom sat down with Rick Watson to talk about what he's actually seeing on the ground as AI enters supply chain — and the answer is more nuanced than most headlines suggest.

Three things worth your time from this episode:

1. The trust gap is real and measurable. Radial surveyed 1,000 US consumers: nearly two-thirds are uncomfortable sharing payment information with AI agents. That's not a technology problem — it's a brand problem operators need to solve first.
2. Most AI projects are failing their ROI test right now — and that's expected. Tom's crawl, walk, run framework isn't a hedge; it's a diagnosis. Demand forecasting and pick-path optimization have measurable returns today. Fully autonomous warehouse orchestration does not — yet.
3. Agentic commerce has a data standards problem nobody is talking about. Radial is a founding member of ONX — the Order Network Exchange — an open industry standard for how order, inventory, and fulfillment data moves between systems. Agentic commerce only works if agents read the same language. That work is already underway.

Plus: the history of GSI Commerce, how Michael Rubin invented the direct-to-consumer industry, and why Fred Smith's old line about FedEx still tells you everything about where supply chain AI is headed.

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Stripe just released an Agentic Technology Suite and positioned it as the infrastructure layer for the next era of commerce.]So who is Stripe actually building this for?

The Watson Weekly Interview is sponsored by Avalara. For more information on Avalara, visit - https://avalara.watsonweekly.com/

Salesforce Marketing Cloud posted -1% growth in Q4 FY2026 — the end of four years of deceleration and the start of something worse. Rebranding to Agentforce doesn't fix a product growth problem, and acquisitions are a slower fix than they look.

The Watson Weekly is also sponsored by Mirakl. You don't need another tool; you need a growth partner. The Mirakl platform is powering the next era of retail for brands and retailers who are ready to move, powered by AI and built for what's next.

Costco reported $2B in revenue, up 13.8%, driven by a limited SKU model and a merchandising strategy that creates genuine discovery. Digital is working too — personalized carousels drove $470M in e-commerce sales. The CEO is watching tariffs closely for the next 150 days.

And the big structural story: retail's share of total consumer spending dropped from 34.3% in 2022 to 30.8% in Q4 2025. Amazon is absorbing the majority of what remains. The market is consolidating around Walmart and Costco for necessities and Amazon for everything discretionary — leaving mid-market and specialty retail in a structurally difficult position.

Investor minute covers 5 stories from the world of IPOs, funding, private equity and more.

#watsonweekly #stripe #costco #salesforcemarketingcloud #walmart #amazon

Today on our show:

1. Stripe’s $140 Billion Question
2. Why Temu is the New Cross-Border Standard
3. The UPS $150k Exit: Strategic Rightsizing or a Teamster Trap?
4. Is Agentic Commerce a Nothingburger? The Agentic Debate Series, presented by Logicbroker.

- and finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.

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https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Today on our show:

• BigCommerce looks like it’s not selling
• Shopify hires a new Chief Technology Officer
• Why technology is not a business differentiator for brands
• Are layoffs the order of the day in eCommerce?

And finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly 

Sorry, Watsonians, we're on a brief hiatus this week. But fear not, we'll be back next week so be sure to tune in!

Today on our show:

• Salesforce acquires POS platform PredictSpring
• Amazon announces new peak season fulfillment policies
• Ace Hardware plots a new stores strategy
• Temu founder shopping like a billionaire

And finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly 

Today on our show:

• Amazon reports Q2 earnings
• Allbirds reports financial results
• Amazon signs deal with Pinterest and TikTok
• Shopify crushes its earnings

And finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Today on our show:

• Companies are trading down talent
• Top items from Paypal’s Q2 2024 earnings call
• Designer brand Prada posts revenue gains
• Temu announcements signal a company shift

And finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Today on our show:

• UPS reports Q2 earnings
• Google not ending cookies after all
• Amazon Prime Day roundup
• New marketplace whitepaper released

And finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Today on our show:

• Amazon Prime Day expected to hit records in 2024
• Commercetools announces CEO transition
• The importance of reputation in eCommerce
• eCommerce sales will hit $1T this year

And finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly