What Agentic Commerce & Agentic AI Mean for Retailers Right Now

AI Agents Gone Rogue: The Cybersecurity Risks Retailers Are Ignoring in Agentic Commerce

S6E5 WHAT RETAILERS MUST KNOW ABOUT PROMPT INJECTION, ROGUE BOTS & AI AGENT SECURITY BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE Your AI shopping agent just drained your bank account. It's not a glitch — that's the objective it was given. Welcome to the new reality of agentic commerce, where autonomous AI agents shop, transact, and negotiate on behalf of consumers and brands — and where cybercriminals are already waiting to exploit every crack in the system. In this must-listen episode of The Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden sit down with Dr. Aaron Estes, VP of Product & Engineering at Binary Defense, to unpack the retail cybersecurity crisis that most retailers haven't even started preparing for. With half of all internet traffic already coming from bots and 1 in 8 AI-related breaches now involving a rogue agent, the agentic commerce era is creating attack surfaces we've never seen before. Dr. Estes brings 20+ years of hands-on cybersecurity expertise, including penetration testing at Lockheed Martin and advisory work with leading retailers. He breaks down exactly how AI agents differ from traditional e-commerce threats, why prompt injection attacks are the new frontier of retail cybersecurity, and what practical guardrails every retailer needs to put in place right now. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE: * Why AI agents are fundamentally different from human users — and why they'll "very confidently spend all your money" to hit their objective * How prompt injection attacks trick AI agents into leaking sensitive data * Why every AI agent needs its own identity, login, and role-based access controls — just like an employee * The "bots watching bots" architecture that's becoming the new standard in agentic commerce security * How AI shopping bots are already exploiting loyalty programs, gift cards, and rewards systems * Why retailers must rethink retail cybersecurity assumptions as autonomous shoppers replace human ones * How to identify rogue chatbots and fraudulent AI agents impersonating legitimate brands * What "human-in-the-loop" oversight really means — and where it's non-negotiable in agentic commerce THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY RETAILCLUB [https://www.retailclub.com/]. Join 2,000 retail leaders at RetailClub AI Festival, September 22–24 in Huntington Beach. Dive deep into how AI is reshaping retail while soaking up the sun at a fully outdoor, beachside venue. Decision-makers from retailers and brands can attend with free tickets and up to $1,250 in travel reimbursement. Head to retailclub.com [https://retailclub.com/retail-razor-podcast] to learn more. https://retailclub.com/retail-razor-podcast [https://retailclub.com/retail-razor-podcast] SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a 5‑star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Goodpods. Subscribe on YouTube so you never miss an episode and check out the other shows in the Retail Razor Podcast Network: Retail Transformers, Blade to Greatness, and Data Blades. Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ [https://retailrazor.com/] Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com [https://retailrazor.substack.com/] Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://go.retailrazor.com/utube [https://go.retailrazor.com/utube] ABOUT OUR GUEST Dr. Aaron Estes. https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronestes777/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronestes777/] email: aaron.estes@binarydefense.com [aaron.estes@binarydefense.com] Binary Defense. https://binarydefense.com/ [https://binarydefense.com/] Dr. Aaron Estes is the VP of Product & Engineering at Binary Defense, a 24/7 cybersecurity watchtower specializing in cyber threat intelligence, dark web monitoring, digital channel fraud, and breach response. He holds a doctorate in software engineering with a concentration in cybersecurity, teaches at UC Berkeley and Southern Methodist University, and previously spent ~15 years in penetration testing at Lockheed Martin across defense, energy, retail, and entertainment sectors. CHAPTERS 00:00 Teaser  00:49 Show Intro  07:26 Welcome Dr Aaron Estes!  09:31 Why Security Matters  14:00 New Attack Surface  17:57 AI Identity and Access  22:09 Adoption Speed and Oversight  26:51 Bots Watching Bots  31:34 Orchestrators and Rival Bots  34:06 Bots Gaming Rewards  37:13 AI Shoppers Rise  38:29 Ads Inside Agents  44:08 Rogue Bots And Trust  48:09 Risk Versus Reward  50:48 Kill Switch Reality  52:55 Ecommerce Lessons Repeat  54:26 Closing Thanks And Contact  56:21 Show Close MEET YOUR HOSTS Helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar [https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar] is an NRF Top Retail Voice for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert [https://rethink.industries/top-retail-experts-2026/] from 2021 – 2026. Thinkers 360 [https://www.thinkers360.com/tl/profiles/view/3427] has named him a Top 10 Thought Leader in Retail, a Top 25 Thought Leader in AGI and Careers, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Agentic AIand Management, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Digital Transformation and Transformation. Thinkers 360 also named him a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation [https://business.gmu.edu/retail/]and the Retail Cloud Alliance [https://www.retailcloudalliance.com/our-community]. He was most recently the partner marketing leader for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden [https://bit.ly/twCasey], is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T, and CEO of Luxlock [https://www.luxlock.com/]. She is a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert [https://rethink.industries/top-retail-experts-2026/] from 2023 - 2026, and Retail Cloud Alliance [https://www.retailcloudalliance.com/our-community] advisory council member. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, Casey is obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer and is slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!  MUSIC Includes music provided by imunobeats.com [http://imunobeats.com/], featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.

Off-site Retail Media & CTV - Andrew Lipsman on Retail Media’s Next Frontier

S6E4 EXPLORING THE RISE OF PERFORMANCE TV, OFF-SITE RETAIL MEDIA, AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR RETAILERS AND BRANDS. Retail media is evolving fast, and if you're still stuck in 2022, you're already behind. In this episode of The Retail Razor Show, hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden sit down with retail media expert Andrew Lipsman [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-lipsman-10b2162/] to explore how Retail Media Networks(RMNs) are expanding into Connected TV (CTV) and off-site retail media to drive growth in 2026 and beyond. From Amazon and Walmart’s bold moves into performance TV to the rise of off-site retail media as a full-funnel strategy, this episode is packed with insights for retailers and brands navigating the next wave of retail media strategy. Andrew breaks down the challenges of measurement, the myth of ROAS, and why CMOs and agencies need to rethink their approach to retail media. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE: * Why connected TV is the next frontier for retail media networks * How off-site retail media is growing 3x faster than on-site * The real story behind ROAS and why it’s often misleading * How Amazon and Walmart are dominating performance TV * What smaller RMNs can do to compete through partnerships * Why CMOs and agencies must evolve their retail media strategy * How to build a full-funnel retail media approach that works Whether you're building a retail media network or buying ad space for your next brand campaign, this episode is packed with the sharp insights you need to stay ahead. SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a 5‑star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Goodpods. Subscribe on YouTube so you never miss an episode and check out the other shows in the Retail Razor Podcast Network: Retail Transformers, Blade to Greatness, and Data Blades. Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ [https://retailrazor.com/] Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com [https://retailrazor.substack.com/] Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://go.retailrazor.com/utube [https://go.retailrazor.com/utube] ABOUT OUR GUEST Andrew Lipsman [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-lipsman-10b2162/]. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-lipsman-10b2162/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-lipsman-10b2162/] Analyst, Consultant, and Founder - Media, Ads + Commerce. Andrew Lipsman is an independent analyst and principal consultant at Media, Ads + Commerce. His industry coverage specializes in retail media—which he is known for anointing as “digital advertising’s third big wave”—and other areas of the digital media, advertising, and commerce ecosystem. He has published more than a half dozen articles in the Journal of Advertising Research and is frequently quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Financial Times, and Advertising Age. Media, Ads + Commerce [https://mediaadsandcommerce.substack.com/]. https://mediaadsandcommerce.substack.com [https://mediaadsandcommerce.substack.com/] Media, Ads + Commerce is a consultancy providing strategy and insights for companies in retail media and the broader media, advertising, and commerce ecosystem. CHAPTERS 00:00 Teaser Open 00:51 Show Intro  04:19 Welcome Back Andrew Lipsman!  06:12 How Retail Media Evolved  07:56 Closed Loop And ROAS Limits  10:57 Retail Media Connective Tissue  15:24 CTV Goes Performance  21:19 Partnership Paths To CTV  24:53 Trade Desk And Agency Gap  27:32 Offsite Media Growth Drivers  29:27 Onsite Relevance First  30:40 Connected TV Landscape  31:46 Inventory Quality and Fraud  33:02 Target and Nordstrom Playbook  35:34 Full Funnel Measurement  36:33 CMO Perception Gap  38:09 Brands and Merchant Alignment  41:49 CTV Attribution Reality  44:06 Rethinking ROAS Metrics  46:17 Last Touch Misleads  47:59 Inefficiency as Opportunity  50:15 Talent and Org Alignment  53:21 2026 Priorities and Mindset  57:13 Where to Follow Andrew  58:00 Show Close MEET YOUR HOSTS Helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar [https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar] is an NRF Top Retail Voice for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert [https://rethink.industries/top-retail-experts-2026/] from 2021 – 2026. Thinkers 360 [https://www.thinkers360.com/tl/profiles/view/3427] has named him a Top 10 Thought Leader in Retail, a Top 25 Thought Leader in AGI and Careers, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Agentic AIand Management, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Digital Transformation and Transformation. Thinkers 360 also named him a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation [https://business.gmu.edu/retail/]and the Retail Cloud Alliance [https://www.retailcloudalliance.com/our-community]. He was most recently the partner marketing leader for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden [https://bit.ly/twCasey], is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T, and CEO of Luxlock [https://www.luxlock.com/]. She is a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert [https://rethink.industries/top-retail-experts-2026/] from 2023 - 2026, and Retail Cloud Alliance [https://www.retailcloudalliance.com/our-community] advisory council member. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, Casey is obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer and is slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!  MUSIC Includes music provided by imunobeats.com [http://imunobeats.com/], featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.

What Agentic Commerce & Agentic AI Mean for Retailers Right Now

S6E3 PAYPAL’S MIKE EDMONDS BREAKS DOWN AGENTIC COMMERCE AND HOW IT REDEFINES TRUST, LOYALTY, AND THE MERCHANT‑OF‑RECORD FUTURE Agentic commerce is no longer theoretical. It’s already reshaping how shoppers discover, evaluate, and buy products. In this episode, we sit down with Mike Edmonds [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeledmonds/], VP of Agentic Commerce & Commercial Growth at PayPal [https://www.paypal.com/us/business/ai], to break down what agentic commerce really means for retailers right now and how agentic AI is transforming the entire shopping lifecycle. We explore the three major use cases of agentic commerce, how AI shopping agents are changing product discovery, why payments and trust are now central to the agentic commerce experience, and how retailers can maintain control of customer relationships through merchant‑of‑record models. If you’ve been trying to understand how agentic commerce works, how agentic AI fits into the retail ecosystem, or what retailers must do in the next six months to stay competitive, this episode delivers the clarity and direction you need. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN * What agentic commerce actually is; and why it matters now * How agentic AI is reshaping product discovery, checkout, and loyalty * The three core use cases: CUA, agentic checkout, and autonomous agent‑to‑agent shopping * Why payments, identity, and trust are the foundation of agentic commerce * How merchant‑of‑record models protect data and customer relationships * The role of loyalty programs in an agent‑driven world * Catalog readiness and the challenge of integrating with multiple LLMs * How close we are to the universal cart * What retailers must do today to prepare for the agentic shift WHY THIS EPISODE MATTERS Agentic commerce is moving faster than most retailers realize. As agentic AI becomes embedded in browsers, apps, and everyday workflows, retailers must rethink how they manage trust, identity, payments, and customer experience. This episode gives you the frameworks and real‑world examples to understand how agentic commerce will reshape retail in the months ahead. SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a 5‑star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Goodpods. Subscribe on YouTube so you never miss an episode and check out the other shows in the Retail Razor Podcast Network: Retail Transformers, Blade to Greatness, and Data Blades. Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ [https://retailrazor.com/] Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com [https://retailrazor.substack.com/] Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://go.retailrazor.com/utube [https://go.retailrazor.com/utube] ABOUT OUR GUEST Mike Edmonds [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeledmonds/]. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeledmonds/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeledmonds/] VP Agentic Commerce, Commercial Growth at PayPal [https://www.paypal.com/us/business]. https://www.paypal.com/us/business/ai [https://www.paypal.com/us/business/ai] Mike Edmonds is VP of Agentic Commerce, Commercial Growth for PayPal, responsible for global commercialization, go-to-market, and operational execution across PayPal’s portfolio of AI-powered and agentic commerce products. Mike brings deep expertise having joined PayPal from Microsoft where he led AI and ecommerce strategy for Microsoft’s worldwide retail and consumer goods industry team. Prior to Microsoft, Mike was an agency operator, entrepreneur, and product leader driving digital transformation across B2B, DTC, and marketplace business models spanning a range of verticals including retail, CPG, high tech, industrial manufacturing, automotive, and foodservice across the US, Europe, and China. Mike is also an adjunct professor at Northwestern University teaching Kellogg MBA, MS in Design Innovation, and MS in Product Design and Development students through the Segal Design Institute at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. CHAPTERS 00:00 Teaser  01:00 Show Intro  04:04 Welcome Mike Edmonds  05:22 Mike’s PayPal Role  07:14 Defining Agentic Commerce  14:40 Real World Agentic Checkout  19:33 Trust Merchant Data Loyalty  26:16 Loyalty As Differentiator  27:21 Travel Points And Agentic Commerce  28:32 Trust KYA And Liability  34:46 Skills For Future Commerce Careers  41:54 2030 Multimodal Future And Wrap  48:40 Show Close MEET YOUR HOSTS Helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar [https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar] is an NRF Top Retail Voice for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert [https://rethink.industries/top-retail-experts-2026/] from 2021 – 2026. Thinkers 360 [https://www.thinkers360.com/tl/profiles/view/3427] has named him a Top 10 Thought Leader in Retail, a Top 25 Thought Leader in AGI and Careers, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Agentic AIand Management, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Digital Transformation and Transformation. Thinkers 360 also named him a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation [https://business.gmu.edu/retail/]and the Retail Cloud Alliance [https://www.retailcloudalliance.com/our-community]. He was most recently the partner marketing leader for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden [https://bit.ly/twCasey], is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T, and CEO of Luxlock [https://www.luxlock.com/]. She is a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert [https://rethink.industries/top-retail-experts-2026/] from 2023 - 2026, and Retail Cloud Alliance [https://www.retailcloudalliance.com/our-community] advisory council member. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, Casey is obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer and is slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!  MUSIC Includes music provided by imunobeats.com [http://imunobeats.com/], featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.

Retail Growth Strategy in a K-Shaped Economy — Dr. Rebecca Homkes Breaks It Down

S6E2 THE RETAIL GROWTH STRATEGY RETAILERS NEED FOR 2026 WITH TODAY’S ECONOMIC REALITIES, TARIFFS, FED MOVES, AND CONSUMER SHIFTS In this powerful episode of The Retail Razor Show, Dr. Rebecca Homkes [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-homkes/], London Business School lecturer, Duke faculty member, high‑growth strategy advisor, and author of Survive, Reset, Thrive: Leading Breakthrough Growth Strategy in Volatile Times [https://a.co/d/0aXECIB2], joins Ricardo and Casey to break down what retailers must understand about the economic outlook in 2026, shifting consumer behavior, and the strategic moves that separate winners from laggards. Rebecca explains why uncertainty is not a threat but a catalyst for growth, and how her Survive, Reset, Thrive (SRT) framework helps leaders stabilize quickly, reset strategy intelligently, and execute a retail growth strategy that works even in volatile conditions. She also unpacks the realities behind sticky inflation, tariffs, the no‑hire/no‑fire labor market, and the rise of the K‑shaped consumer economy. If you want to build a retail growth strategy that thrives in the face of market shocks, this episode gives you the playbook. WHAT WE COVER * Why the economic outlook in 2026 is full of contradictions, and what that means for retail * How the SRT loop helps leaders stabilize, reset, and thrive * Real‑world examples of companies using SRT to turn crises into growth * Why averages hide the truth about consumer sentiment * The rise of the K‑shaped economy and the death of the “everyman” consumer * Value vs. price: why consumers will still pay more for what they truly value * How retailers should think about store formats, assortment, and experimentation * The must‑win battles for 2026 * Where AI actually moves the needle in a retail growth strategy KEY TAKEAWAYS * Uncertainty is the best time to grow: because customers, partners, and employees are more honest about what they value. * Value ≠ price. Consumers want their dollar to go further, not necessarily cheaper products. * The middle of the market is the danger zone. Retailers must choose: differentiated premium or true value leadership. * Retail growth strategy in 2026 requires testing, iteration, and abandoning legacy assumptions. * Economic outlook in 2026 signals a decoupling between GDP strength and consumer reality: leaders must plan accordingly. SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ [https://retailrazor.com/] Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com [https://retailrazor.substack.com/] Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://go.retailrazor.com/utube [https://go.retailrazor.com/utube] ABOUT OUR GUEST Rebecca Homkes [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-homkes/], https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-homkes/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-homkes/] https://www.rebeccahomkes.com [https://www.rebeccahomkes.com/] Author, Survive, Reset, Thrive: Leading Breakthrough Growth Strategy in Volatile Times [https://a.co/d/0aXECIB2]. https://a.co/d/0aXECIB2 [https://a.co/d/0aXECIB2] Rebecca Homkes [https://www.rebeccahomkes.com/], is a high-growth strategy specialist, CEO and executive advisor. After more than a decade of advising her clients on developing, executing and innovating on strategy, Rebecca is sharing her proven and practical playbook in Survive, Reset, Thrive: Leading Breakthrough Growth Strategy in Volatile Times [https://a.co/d/0aXECIB2]. She is a Lecturer at the London Business School, Faculty at Duke Corporate Executive Education, Advisor and Faculty at the Boston Consulting Group focused on AI and Climate and Sustainability, and a former fellow at the London School of Economics Centre for Economic Performance. A global keynote speaker and recognized thought leader, she is also the global Faculty Director of the Active Learning Program with the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), leads several fintech accelerators, and serves on the boards of many high-growth companies. She earned her doctorate at the London School of Economics as a Marshall Scholar and is now based in Miami, San Francisco, and London. CHAPTERS 00:00 Teaser 01:10 Show Intro 04:40 Welcome Dr Rebecca Homkes 05:46 The Survive Reset Thrive Framework 08:04 Real World SRT Success Stories 12:55 Macro Economic Outlook for 2026 17:38 Understanding the K Shaped Economy 19:39 Value vs Price Strategy 24:06 Differentiation and Competitive Advantage 26:41 Store Strategy and Expansion 30:37 Consumer Experience and AI 32:34 B2B Software Experience Gap 34:04 Financing and Inventory Strategy 36:28 Supply Chain Robustness 38:10 No Regret Moves 40:40 Defining Right to Win 43:45 Hard Reset Strategy 45:51 Strategic Center of Gravity 48:24 Must Win Battles 49:34 Closing and Contact Info 51:36 Show Close MEET YOUR HOSTS Helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar [https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar] is an NRF Top Retail Voice for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert [https://rethink.industries/top-retail-experts-2026/] from 2021 – 2026. Thinkers 360 [https://www.thinkers360.com/tl/profiles/view/3427] has named him a Top 10 Thought Leader in Retail, a Top 25 Thought Leader in AGI and Careers, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Agentic AI and Management, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Digital Transformation and Transformation. Thinkers 360 also named him a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation [https://business.gmu.edu/retail/]and the Retail Cloud Alliance [https://www.retailcloudalliance.com/our-community]. He was most recently the partner marketing leader for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden [https://bit.ly/twCasey], is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T, and CEO of Luxlock [https://www.luxlock.com/]. She is a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert [https://rethink.industries/top-retail-experts-2026/] from 2023 - 2026, and Retail Cloud Alliance [https://www.retailcloudalliance.com/our-community] advisory council member. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, Casey is obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer and is slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!  MUSIC Includes music provided by imunobeats.com [http://imunobeats.com/], featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.

Retail Media 2026 - DSP Shifts, Agentic Commerce & Brand Strategy

S6E1 Retail Media’s New Reality: DSP Shifts, Agentic Commerce & Brand Strategy for 2026 Season 6 of The Retail Razor Show kicks off with a deep dive into one of the most important topics in commerce today: retail media. Ricardo and Casey sit down with Jeff Cohen [https://skai.io/reports-and-whitepapers/2026-state-of-retail-media-report/], Chief Business Development Officer at Skai [https://skai.io/], to unpack the newly released 2026 State of Retail Media Report [https://skai.io/reports-and-whitepapers/2026-state-of-retail-media-report/], created in partnership with Stratably. This episode explores how brands, versus retailers, are navigating the rapid evolution of retail media. From DSP shifts and CTV growth to AI adoption and agentic commerce, measurement challenges, and the widening gap between leaders and laggards, this conversation delivers the insights every brand marketer needs heading into 2026. What We Cover * Why retail media now commands nearly 30% of US digital ad spend * The rise of retail media maturity and what separates leaders from laggards * Why organizational structure is now a top predictor of retail media success * The growing importance of Amazon DSP and Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) * How brands should evaluate incrementality, attribution, and ROI * Why CTV and sponsored brand video are accelerating * The role of AI and agentic commerce in shaping future shopping journeys * What brands must do in 2026 to stay competitive Download the 2026 State of Retail Media Report (free): https://skai.io/reports-and-whitepapers/2026-state-of-retail-media-report/ [https://skai.io/reports-and-whitepapers/2026-state-of-retail-media-report/] Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/ [https://retailrazor.com/] Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.com [https://retailrazor.substack.com/] Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube [https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTube] About our Guests Jeff Cohen [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreycohen/], Chief Business Development Officer, Skai [https://skai.io/] https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreycohen/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreycohen/] Jeff Cohen leads global business development at Skai, overseeing partnerships and innovation across the commerce media ecosystem. A recognized thought leader, he is focused on uniting brands, agencies, retailers, and publishers around the next era of growth. Previously, Jeff was Principal Evangelist at Amazon Ads. Chapters: 00:00 Preview Teaser  00:53 Show Intro  03:45 Welcome Jeff Cohen  06:24 Retail Media Maturity and Brand Strategies  08:30 Leaders vs. Laggards in Retail Media  12:12 Organizational Structure and Retail Media Success  17:35 Amazon Ads and DSP Insights  24:36 Evaluating Performance Across Platforms  27:45 The Shift to Full Funnel Advertising  29:46 Challenges in Measurement and Attribution  30:50 The Role of AMC in Retail Media  33:01 Incrementality and Budget Constraints  35:45 AI's Impact on Retail Media  37:10 Strategies for Brands in an AI World  42:54 Key Takeaways and Final Thoughts  48:21 Show Close Meet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech: Ricardo Belmar [https://bit.ly/LIRBelmar] is an NRF Top Retail Voice for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert [https://rethink.industries/top-retail-experts-2026/] from 2021 – 2026. Thinkers 360 [https://www.thinkers360.com/tl/profiles/view/3427] has named him a Top 10 Thought Leader in Retail and AGI, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Management, Careers, and Transformation, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Agentic AI and Digital Transformation. Thinkers 360 also named him a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Center for Retail Transformation [https://business.gmu.edu/retail/] and the Retail Cloud Alliance [https://www.retailcloudalliance.com/our-community]. He was most recently the partner marketing leader for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft. Casey Golden [https://bit.ly/twCasey] is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T, and CEO of Luxlock [https://www.luxlock.com/]. She is a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert [https://rethink.industries/top-retail-experts-2026/] from 2023 - 2026, and Retail Cloud Alliance [https://www.retailcloudalliance.com/our-community] advisory council member. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, Casey is obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer and is slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech!  Includes music provided by imunobeats.com [http://imunobeats.com/], featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.