Ecommerce Strategy 2026: Consumer Spending, Tariffs, AI and the Barbell Economy

Ecommerce Strategy 2026: Consumer Spending, Tariffs, AI and the Barbell Economy

Ecommerce strategy in 2026 looks very different depending on who your customer is — and Signifyd Chief Customer Officer Bennett has the data and the conversations to prove it. In this episode of The Digital Edge, Bennett joins host Ellie Ronning to break down the state of the consumer, what enterprise retailers are actually doing about tariffs and supply chain disruption, and why agentic commerce is the biggest brand discovery opportunity since the rise of Google SEO. Topics covered: * The barbell economy: why the middle market is hollowing out and what it means for retail strategy * Consumer spending trends: credit card debt, falling purchase frequency, and the limits of trading down * Tariffs and supply chain: how enterprise ecommerce brands are absorbing costs and building resilience * Personalization as margin defense: how to serve price-sensitive and affluent consumers differently — and why it matters for profitability * Agentic commerce and AI: how AI-driven product discovery is reshaping ecommerce and what brands need to do now to show up * Pricing segmentation: why it's the most important fundamental for ecommerce leaders in the current economic environment Bennett is the Chief Customer Officer at Signifyd, where he works directly with enterprise ecommerce and retail leaders across every major vertical. He brings together firsthand conversations with executives and access to some of the most comprehensive transactional data in commerce. The Digital Edge is Signifyd's monthly podcast for ecommerce leaders and retail executives. Signifyd is the Commerce Protection Platform helping the world's leading ecommerce brands approve more orders, improve the customer experience and protect against fraud and abuse. Learn more at signifyd.com.

How AI Is Reshaping Ecommerce Discovery and the Future of Agent Commerce

The hype around agent commerce is loud. But what's actually happening for ecommerce operators right now? In this episode, host Ellie Ronning sits down with Javier Marimon, VP of Ecommerce at Felina — a 40-year-old intimate apparel brand navigating the very real challenges of AI adoption without a large tech team behind them. Javier brings a rare blend of product management depth and hands-on ecommerce operations experience, having led digital at Hudson's Bay, Hot Topic, and Aloe before landing at Felina. Together, they unpack the gap between the media narrative around agent commerce and the on-the-ground reality for merchants — and where the real opportunities are hiding. In this episode: - Why product data quality is now your most important AI readiness factor — and how Javier is reverse-engineering customer search intent to close the gap at Felina - How Shopify's integration with ChatGPT, Copilot, and Claude is changing what small and mid-sized brands need to think about today - The three stages of agent-assisted commerce — from AI-informed discovery to fully automated transactions — and why most merchants are still in stage one - Why first-party data and customer opt-ins become a real concern as AI agents sit between shoppers and your storefront - The returns data opportunity that most merchants are sitting on but haven't yet figured out how to make actionable - How brand loyalty and emotional purchase categories like apparel and lingerie will likely resist full agent automation — and what that means for your channel strategy - Where Javier is already using AI inside Felina's operations, including building an inventory planning tool himself in less than a day If you're an ecommerce leader trying to cut through the noise and figure out where to actually focus your energy over the next 18 to 24 months, this is a conversation worth your time. Javier's parting advice: be curious, get your hands dirty, and before you buy another vendor solution, ask yourself if AI can just do it. --- The Digital Edge is brought to you by Signifyd, the Commerce Protection Platform trusted by some of the world's leading ecommerce brands. Learn more at signifyd.com.

Agentic Commerce Is Reshaping Ecommerce Discovery — Here's What Merchants Need to Know

Agentic commerce isn't coming — it's already here. And for ecommerce executives, the window to get ahead of it is now. In this episode, host Ellie Ronning sits down with Kelli Lin, VP Commerce at Glance, for one of the most grounded, no-hype conversations on AI agents and ecommerce you'll find anywhere. Kelli brings 20+ years of perspective from owning a retail store in NYC, to launching in-store tech at Macy's and Bloomingdale's, to eight years at Google Shopping and she knows exactly where the reality ends and the buzzword begins. Here's what's on the table: 50% of consumers say they're likely to try a new or different brand if an AI agent recommends it. That's not a small number. That's a brand loyalty earthquake and most merchants aren't ready for it. In this conversation, Ellie and Kelli get into the evolution of agent search and discovery, why today's agent interfaces are only about 20% of the way to where shopping experiences need to go, what merchants should actually be doing right now to prepare, and why agentic commerce is less a new channel and more a collision of search and social with AI at the center. If you're an ecommerce or retail executive trying to cut through the noise on AI—this one's for you.

The Whale Economy: Why Retailers Can No Longer Rely on Volume

The retail landscape has officially fractured into a K-shaped recovery. Welcome to the "Whale Economy." With fewer customers spending more money, the old retail playbook is dead. Merchants can no longer make up lost margins through sheer volume. In this episode of The Digital Edge, host Ellie Ronning breaks down the brutal truths of the 2026 State of Commerce Report. Ellie is joined by Grace Olson-Davidson (Partner Marketing Manager), Mike Cassidy (Head of PR & Storytelling), and Vito Petruzzelli (Ecommerce Risk Consultant). They explore the widening gap between high and low spenders, why luxury surged 19% while beauty tanked, and why decision accuracy matters more now than ever before. 👇 WHAT WE COVER: 🔹 The K-Shaped Shift: Unpacking the massive divide in consumer spending. 🔹 Decision Accuracy: Why you can't survive the "Whale Economy" without flawless risk models. 🔹 AI & Agentic Consumers: How technology adoption is separating the retail winners from the laggards. ⏳ EPISODE CHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro: Welcome to The Digital Edge01:30 - Meet the Panel: Mike, Vito, and Grace04:15 - Breaking Down the "Whale Economy"09:20 - The K-Shaped Retail Recovery (Luxury vs. Beauty)15:45 - Why Merchants Can't Make it Up in Volume Anymore22:10 - Decision Accuracy and the Margin Crisis28:30 - How Agentic Commerce Separates Winners from Laggards34:35 - Outro: The Future of Ecommerce Partnerships 🔗 Connect with Ellie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellieronning/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellieronning/] 🔗 Connect with Grace on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graceodavidson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/graceodavidson/] 🔗 Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikecassidy/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikecassidy/] 🔗 Connect with Vito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitoatsignifyd/ [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitoatsignifyd/]

The Attribution Crisis: How AI Agents Are Blinding Retail Data

The Attribution Crisis: How AI Agents Are Blinding Retail Data Search has changed forever, and it is quietly stripping retailers of their most valuable asset: customer data. When shoppers bypass Google to search directly through AI agents like ChatGPT or Claude, merchants are left completely blind to the referral source. In this episode of The Digital Edge, host Ellie Ronning is joined by Grace Olson-Davidson, Mike Cassidy and Vito Petruzzelli to break down the urgent data ownership problem created by the rise of Agentic Commerce. The panel unpacks how losing referral visibility renders traditional marketing attribution models useless, forces brands to cannibalize each other in shared inventory pools, and drives up customer acquisition costs. If you cannot track where your customers are coming from, you cannot optimize your spend. Key Takeaways: * The Agentic Commerce Blind Spot: Why you have zero visibility into orders referred by AI chatbots. * How syndicating inventory forces brands into direct competition for the same searches. * The Journalist’s Imperative: How to reclaim your data by mastering exactly who your customers are and how they arrive. 🔗 Connect with host Ellie Ronning on LinkedIn to access the resources and join the conversation: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellieronning/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellieronning/]