OpenAI’s Chief Economist Ronnie Chatterji joins Scot Wingo on the Retailgentic Podcast to unpack OpenAI's recent National Bureau of Economic Research working paper "How People Use ChatGPT".
From asking vs. doing to AI-powered shopping behavior, this deep dive reveals how generative AI is transforming the economy and how soon “agentic” commerce will redefine online retail.
This episode is more than a window into OpenAI, it’s a look at the data shaping how humans and agents will interact, shop, and make decisions in the years ahead. If you care about where AI is really headed, this one’s not just worth your time, it’s required listening.
Timestamps:
02:00 – Meet Ronnie Chatterji, OpenAI’s Chief Economist
06:00 – How the ChatGPT usage study began
10:30 – What surprised the team most
15:00 – Asking vs. Doing: the evolution of agentic behavior
19:00 – The viral “colored columns” chart and what it shows
22:00 – AI and the future of writing, learning, and work
26:00 – How Ronnie bought jeans with ChatGPT
28:00 – The 2.1% insight: early AI commerce signals
33:00 – Voice + vision = the next leap for agentic shopping
38:00 – The global view of AI adoption
42:00 – What’s next in OpenAI’s research
45:00 – Closing thoughts & how to follow Ronnie
👉 Connect with Ronnie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caila-schwartz/
👉 Learn more about the paper we discuss: https://openai.com/index/how-people-are-using-chatgpt/
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In this episode of Retailgentic, Salesforce’s Director of Strategy and Consumer Insights Caila Schwartz joins Scot Wingo to break down Salesforce’s 2024 Holiday Forecast, and how AI agents like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini are transforming the path to purchase.
They cover:
Timestamps:
00:00 – Welcome + Caila intro
01:00 – What Salesforce’s Consumer Insights team does
04:30 – Agentforce and AI momentum post-Dreamforce
07:00 – Holiday forecast: “Discovery” as the 2024 theme
08:00 – How Agentic tools are changing product search
09:45 – $263B in AI-influenced sales
12:00 – Gen Z, Baby Boomers, and agentic adoption
15:00 – Q3 data: growth, traffic, and product detail engagement
19:30 – LLM referrals vs social media conversions
22:00 – ChatGPT Checkout and embedded commerce
25:00 – AI in physical stores — 57% of shoppers use agents in-store
28:00 – Holiday sales forecast and discount trends
33:00 – The rise of “Discount Chicken”
38:00 – Loyalty consolidation and the price-sensitive consumer
42:00 – Gen Z’s love of in-store experiences
47:00 – The future of unified data and physical + digital retail
50:00 – Closing thoughts
👉 Connect with Manil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caila-schwartz/
👉 Learn more about Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/
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In this episode of Retailgentic, Scot Wingo talks with Manil Uppal, Founder & CEO of CartAI, about building the “execution layer” of agentic commerce, where AI agents don’t just recommend products, they buy them. From his early startups acquired by H-E-B and UPS to his vision for CartAI, Manil shares how his team is solving the hardest problem in agentic shopping: completing checkout seamlessly across any retailer.
Key Timestamps
Agentic commerce is evolving fast and CartAI is building the rails to make it work.
👉 Connect with Manil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maniluppal/
👉 Learn more about CartAI: https://www.cartai.ai
👉 Explore their substack: https://substack.com/@cartai
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In this special Retailgentic episode, guest host Kiri Masters turns the tables on our regular host, Scot Wingo (CEO, ReFiBuy). They unpack the next big retail revolution, Agentic Commerce, and what it means for shoppers, retailers, and brands as AI shopping agents like ChatGPT and Perplexity redefine discovery, loyalty, and checkout.
Scot shares the lessons behind ChannelAdvisor, Spiffy, and now ReFiBuy, plus why messy product catalogs, ad overload, and loyalty programs will determine who wins in the AI marketplace era.
⏱️ Key Timestamps
00:00 – Intro: Kiri turns the tables
02:15 – Scot’s early career & first startup
07:50 – Building ChannelAdvisor
14:30 – Lessons from going public
20:05 – Spiffy and the services economy
26:40 – Discovering AI → the spark for ReFiBuy
33:00 – What is Agentic Commerce?
38:20 – ChatGPT & Perplexity in the marketplace race
45:00 – The product catalog problem explained
51:00 – How ReFiBuy solves it with AI
55:20 – Retailers’ edge: loyalty, data, customer experience
59:00 – The next phase: marketplaces 2.0
1:02:00 – Close: The future of AI shopping
👉 Connect with Scot: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thescotwingo/
👉 Learn more about ReFiBuy: refibuy.ai
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In this episode of the Retailgentic Podcast, Scot Wingo sits down with Jason Nyus, General Manager of North America at Shopware, a leading open-source e-commerce platform. Jason brings over 25 years of experience (20+ at Digital River) to unpack where e-commerce is heading, why Shopware is betting big on agentic commerce, and how the Agentic Commerce Alliance could shape the industry’s future.
Timestamps:
02:00 – Jason’s 25-year journey in e-commerce, from Digital River to Shopware
06:00 – The early days of app stores: Nokia, Blackberry, Microsoft
09:45 – Why Digital River pivoted and what commoditization taught him
13:00 – Why Shopware sees opportunity in mid-market and complex use cases
20:30 – Shopware’s scale: $23B processing volume, top 6 global commerce platform
26:00 – Introducing the Agentic Commerce Alliance: vision, openness, and independence
36:00 – Use cases for agentic commerce: competitive pricing, loyalty, and customer service
42:00 – Risks and opportunities for Shopify, Google, and Amazon in the agentic era
46:00 – Jason’s predictions: a billion-dollar brand without a website, 25% of e-commerce becoming agentic by 2030
Jason makes it clear: the future of commerce won’t be decided by one platform. Shopware’s vision of an open, agent-friendly ecosystem is a bold alternative to a closed, platform-controlled future. The Agentic Commerce Alliance could become one of the most important initiatives shaping AI-driven retail.
👉 Connect with Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonnyhus/
👉 Learn more about Shopware’s vision: shopware.com
👉 Explore the Agentic Commerce Alliance: agentic-commerce.org
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On this special Retailgentic episode, we sit down with Jordi Montes, CEO & co-founder of SimpleCheckout.ai, who officially launched today. Jordi shares his journey from Bitcoin’s Lightning Network to building a unified checkout and payment framework for AI agents. We dive into why agentic payments matter, what SimpleCheckout solves, and how it could reshape the future of online retail.
Timestamps:
SimpleCheckout’s launch marks a turning point in how AI agents will transact. As agentic commerce takes hold, Jordi’s vision of a universal, flexible checkout protocol could define the rails of the next decade.
Checkout their substack announcement: https://simplecheckout.substack.com/p/agentic-commerce-made-simple
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In this episode of the Retailgentic Podcast, Scot Wingo sits down with Melissa Minkow, Global Director of Retail Strategies & Insights at CI&T. Melissa shares her perspective on consumer behavior, why ingrained shopping habits stick, and how agentic commerce will shape the future of retail.
We cover:
- Why consumer habits are so hard to change, even in grocery shopping
- Exclusive sneak peek: fresh survey data showing 75% of consumers now use AI in their path to purchase
- How agentic commerce could transform loyalty, pricing, and even group buying
- Lessons from Target Canada and why back-office AI matters more than flashy consumer tools
- Why TikTok might be the blueprint for agentic retail experiences
Retail is changing fast and the agentic future is already here. Subscribe for more conversations, insights, and data shaping the next chapter of commerce.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Consumers are routinized: why habits stick
01:08 – Introducing the Retailgenic Podcast
02:15 – Guest intro: Melissa Minco of CI&T
04:06 – Melissa’s background: from Anthropologie to Target to CI&T
08:52 – Target Canada lessons & retail systems breakdown
12:00 – Apps vs. consumers: adoption, trust, and pushback
15:00 – Agentic commerce: inside vs. outside view
19:00 – Will consumers build their own shopping agents?
23:00 – Exclusive data: 75% of consumers now use AI in their path to purchase
28:00 – Sponsored GEO and consumer trust
33:00 – Agent strategies: retailer, consumer, and third-party
36:00 – Best practices: getting your “back office” right first
40:00 – Checkouts, marketplaces, and the future of digital retail
46:00 – Loyalty in the agentic era: Gen Z, UK vs. US, and discounts
50:00 – Group buying, negotiation, and dynamic pricing
56:00 – Reading the tea leaves: websites, zero-click, and consumer control
01:00:00 – Melissa’s “personal agents” vision of the future
01:05:00 – TikTok as a model for agentic commerce
01:08:00 – Wrap-up & closing thoughts
Report drops at CI&T website soon: https://ciandt.com/us/en-us
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Dr. Amine Allouah completed his PhD at Columbia Business School, specializing in algorithmic game theory and optimization in multi-agent systems. After leading applied science work at Meta across ads, notifications, and marketplace teams, he co-founded My Custom AI to help enterprises deploy tailored AI solutions. His work bridges deep theory with practical applications, shaping how businesses think about LLMs, agents, and the economics of AI.
This week on Retailgentic, we’re joined by Dr. Amine, co-founder of My Custom AI and one of the sharpest minds at the intersection of AI, economics, and retail. In this conversation, we dig deep into:
If you’ve ever wondered how agents will reshape retail and what brands need to do right now to prepare, this episode will give you a front-row seat to the future of agentic commerce.
Highlights/Timestamps ⏱️
0:00 – How agents drive omnichannel growth beyond e-commerce
5:00 – Meet guest Amine Allouah: from École Polytechnique to Columbia PhD
9:30 – Game theory, algorithm design, and AI: lessons from his PhD
13:45 – From Meta AI researcher to startup founder: the origin of My Custom AI
18:10 – What My Custom AI does: feasibility studies, custom model training & workshops
23:25 – Why retailers sometimes need their own LLMs: accuracy, privacy & cost savings
29:20 – Beyond LLaMA: multimodal models, recommendation systems, and custom architectures
34:05 – The ACES Framework: building a sandbox to study agent shopping
39:16 – Optimizations around pricing, loyalty & group buying
39:24 – Why group buying startups have struggled
39:35 – Aligning buyer and seller agents for better outcomes
44:15 – Agent behavior insights: Claude and the “ergonomic” keyword example
48:50 – The case for seller-side agents and real-time PDP updates
51:31 – Amazon is the first company to adopt the ACES framework
55:00 – Retail media networks in an agent world: real-time “agentic ads”
58:00 – Will websites die? The future of browsing, checkouts & merchant centers
1:01:00 – Closing thoughts + where to find Amine & the ACES paper
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In this episode of Retailgentic, Deloitte’s Chief Futurist Kasey Lobaugh joins us to explore the future of agentic commerce. Kasey has spent nearly three decades advising global retailers, brands, and manufacturers. He launched Deloitte Digital, now a multibillion-dollar business, and today leads Deloitte’s Future of the Consumer Industry platform. Known for coining the “great bifurcation” of consumers, Kasey helps executives anticipate disruptive forces and chart strategy amid seismic change.
Scot and Kasey unpack the forces reshaping commerce and the role of AI:
Highlights
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What happens when the marketing funnel collapses and AI takes over discovery? Scot Wingo talks with Andrea Leigh, Amazon veteran and CEO of Allume Group, about the latest Allume Insider Report (AIR).
We cover:
• How ~60% of shoppers now use AI for product research
• “Value” as price and purpose (Gen Z, resale, circular)
• Social commerce’s rise and the blur between entertainment & shopping
• Why D2C sites are crucial for AI readability
• The shaky future of retail media networks and SEO
Andrea pulls back the curtain on how AI, value, and entertainment are rewriting the rules of commerce. This conversation is a roadmap for brands preparing for the collapse of search and the rise of agentic shopping.
⏱️ Time Stamps
01:41 – Guest intro: Andrea Leigh, Amazon alum & CEO of Allume Group.
03:18 – Andrea’s Amazon career and path to founding Allume Group.
06:14 – Amazon negotiations today: bots, automation, and leverage.
06:59 – Tariffs: who pays and why consumers often shoulder it.
08:01 – The origins of the Allume Insider Report (AIR).
11:10 – Three trends shaping commerce: AI help, value, and fun.
12:02 – 60% of shoppers already use AI for product discovery.
15:16 – Gen Z starts searches on TikTok, not Amazon.
19:29 – ChatGPT Checkout: affiliate or true marketplace?
26:11 – Value redefined: bargain-hunting, private label, and resale on the rise.
31:12 – Social commerce explodes: TikTok Shops headed for $17B.
32:47 – “Amazon solved buying but killed shopping.”
40:05 – D2C sites as AI-readable “source of truth.”
46:22 – Retail media and SEO industries under pressure from AI.
53:20 – Amazon’s Rufus and the fight to compete with LLMs.
52:55 – Closing thoughts + download the free AIR report.
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What happens when more than half of online shopping traffic comes from AI agents, not humans?
In this episode of the Retailgentic Podcast, Scot Wingo sits down with Alex Rampell, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, to unpack the seismic shift happening at the intersection of AI, commerce, and payments.
We cover:
If you’re in e-commerce, retail, fintech, or just want to know how AI will change the way we buy and sell, this is a must-listen.
⏱️ Time Stamps
04:45 – Alex’s early days: shareware & credit card processing
06:26 – TrialPay, affiliates & the Netflix-for-shareware idea
08:45 – Founding Affirm & moving into venture at a16z
09:55 – The “apps practice” and where value accrues (infra vs. apps)
10:57 – “Is Google Screwed?” background & themes
13:02 – Commerce attribution & affiliate marketing evolution
15:04 – Impulse vs. highly considered purchases in AI era
18:27 – Optimization: why AI wins on time vs. money tradeoff
21:00 – Reviews, shill content, and trust problems
23:50 – Hosted checkout: could ChatGPT become a marketplace?
26:14 – Will Apple jump into AI commerce?
28:35 – Coupon codes, group buying, and negotiation by agents
30:04 – How commerce could be “rewired” by AI platforms
31:25 – Closing thoughts & what’s next
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What happens when consumers start trusting AI agents more than friends for shopping advice? On this episode of Retailgentic, we welcome Professor Luca Cian from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
Luca brings a unique perspective as a psychologist turned marketing scholar whose research spans visual persuasion, AI adoption, and consumer trust. We dive deep into how shoppers perceive AI in utilitarian vs. hedonic purchases, why trust in AI depends on “augmented decision-making,” and how brands should prepare for an AI-first retail future.
From the paradox of choice to the emerging world of “GenAI Engine Optimization (GEO),” this conversation is packed with insights on how AI is rewriting the rules of marketing, loyalty, and consumer psychology.
Tune in for:
🕒 Timestamps:
00:02:05 — Guest intro: Luca Cion, UVA Darden professor, studies consumer psychology and AI in marketing.
00:09:36 — Early AI research with GPT-3 preview; skepticism then rapid shift in perception.
00:17:12 — Survey: 60% trust AI purchase suggestions more than friends → ties to “paradox of choice.”
00:21:01 — Word-of-Machine Effect: AI trusted for utilitarian products, humans preferred for hedonic ones.
00:28:53 — Trust grows when AI is augmented by humans and shows transparency (black box effect reduced).
00:36:11 — AI Mistake Generalization: consumers forgive humans but not AI; one AI error erodes trust broadly.
00:46:06 — Loyalty as a decision shortcut; in the AI age, human touch and anthropomorphism become vital.
00:50:40 — People blame AI less than humans for unfair treatment (e.g., firing decisions).
00:53:32 — Executive MBA discussions: AI displacing middle management but creating future opportunities.
00:58:00 — Managers should lead with human strategic vision, then use AI/data to validate decisions.
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Kiri Masters, founder of Bobsled Marketing and Retail Media Breakfast Club, joins the Retail Gentech Podcast to unpack the future of retail media. We cover the economic drivers of onsite and offsite ads, why loyalty programs could be a hidden moat in the age of AI, and how agentic shopping may challenge even the biggest players.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro & Welcome
01:30 – Kiri’s path from banking to launching Bobsled Marketing
06:40 – Selling the agency and life after acquisition
11:05 – The launch of Retail Media Breakfast Club
14:20 – Economic foundations of retail media (onsite, offsite, trade)
20:55 – The threat of agentic shopping to retail media networks
28:15 – Walmart vs. Amazon: Two strategies for AI agents
34:00 – Loyalty programs as a competitive advantage
38:45 – The future of retail media in an AI-driven world
43:20 – Where to find Kiri Masters & Retail Media Breakfast Club
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In this episode of the Retailgentic podcast, we sit down with Karl Haller, Partner at IBM Consulting and leader of their Consumer Industry Center of Competency. Karl brings deep insight into the retail, CPG, and fashion sectors, sharing how AI is reshaping enterprise operations, from store-level automation to the rise of agentic shopping and AI-native brands.
We explore:
📍 Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro & Karl’s background
01:10 – IBM's early AI work and internal cost savings
05:00 – AI’s shift from hype to workflow transformation
07:15 – Retail use cases: contact centers, operations, and automation
10:55 – The agentic shopping shift: consumers vs. retailers
16:00 – Why gift-giving may tip agentic shopping into the mainstream
18:30 – ChatGPT’s hosted checkout and new marketplace dynamics
22:00 – The rise of AI-native brands and single-person unicorns
30:00 – Store-level orchestration and event-triggered workflows
36:00 – Personalization in stores—like having Anna Wintour’s whisperer
39:00 – Dynamic pricing and loyalty-based personalization
44:00 – Final thoughts: the slow shift until the tipping point hits
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Amazon is quietly building the future of grocery and retail logistics and former Amazon exec Brittain Ladd is here to break it all down.
In this exclusive conversation, Brittain reveals never-before-shared insights into Amazon's local vending machines (LVMs), robot-powered Rivian vans, and the AI-driven strategy to dethrone Walmart in grocery. He also discusses Amazon's ambitions in third-party logistics and why they might one day buy the USPS.
Whether you're into e-commerce, logistics, or the future of automation, this is an episode you don't want to miss.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro & Brittain Ladd background
2:00 – Instacart talent exodus and Walmart's poaching
3:00 – Amazon’s $4B rural delivery investment
4:45 – Amazon’s grocery strategy gap vs. Walmart
6:30 – Micro-fulfillment & why Amazon is still behind
8:00 – Whole Foods as a broken link in Amazon’s chain
10:00 – Local Vending Machines (LVMs): Amazon's secret weapon
13:00 – Robotized Rivian delivery vans explained
16:30 – Printer cartridge model for replenishing vans
18:30 – AI-powered inventory prediction by ZIP code
21:00 – Amazon’s long-term vision to beat Walmart
23:00 – Humanoid robots & autonomous delivery
26:00 – Amazon as the next FedEx/UPS
29:00 – Will Amazon buy the USPS?
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Missed the Retailgenic livestream? We’ve got you covered. In this special replay, Scott Wingo walks you through the rise of agentic browsers, gives a full demo of Perplexity’s new browser Comet, and explores how tools like Comet are transforming shopping as we know it. From multi-tab research to automatic cart additions and product comparisons, this is your front-row seat to the next generation of AI-driven commerce.
Highlights include:
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Kyle Montgomery, founder of Generous, joins Retailgenic to talk about building an AI-powered gifting agent that actually feels human. From his background in e-commerce to the "20 nieces and nephews" moment that sparked his startup journey, Kyle unpacks what it takes to build an agentic marketplace and why gifting is the perfect place to start.
Sign up for the waitlist: https://meetgenerous.com
Follow Kyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleamontgomery/
⏱️ Key Timestamps:
Timestamps:
00:00 – Hands on the wheel: what autonomy in gifting looks like
02:05 – Meet Kyle Montgomery, founder of Generous
04:00 – Kyle’s background: From Demandware to Estound Digital
06:00 – What sparked the idea for Generous? (Hint: 20 nieces + no app)
11:00 – Generous: What it is and who it's for
13:00 – Contact syncing, user onboarding, and AI-powered suggestions
18:00 – No search bar?! The power of chat-first shopping
22:00 – Agentic checkout and payment flow
27:00 – The humanity of gifting—why agents shouldn’t replace people
30:00 – What happens when brands no longer need websites?
34:00 – Are agencies ready for the agentic future?
38:00 – Kyle’s thoughts on Scott’s 5 Levels of Agentic Commerce
41:00 – Where to sign up + what’s next for Generous
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Can your AI assistant really shop for you? What happens when the “Buy Now” button isn’t clicked by a person? In this episode, Nekuda CEO Ayal Karmi explains how his company is rethinking payments for a world where autonomous agents act on our behalf.
We talk about:
• The lightbulb moment from a failed pizza-ordering agent
• Why authorization (not just authentication) is the future
• Real-world agent examples: fashion stylists, car modders
• Competing (and not competing) with Stripe & PayPal
• Raising a seed round led by Madrona, with Visa & Amex on board
🔗 Visit Nekuda: https://nekuda.ai
🧠 Read their Substack: https://nekuda.substack.com
⏱️ Key Timestamps:
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In this episode of Retailgenic, Scot Wingo welcomes Ananda Chakravarty, VP of Research at IDC’s Retail Insights Group. Ananda shares his decades of retail and technology experience spanning Monster, Staples, Oracle, Diebold Nixdorf, and Forrester to help break down:
This is a must-listen for anyone thinking about the future of retail, commerce, and AI.
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Highlights:
00:02:15 Ananda explains his IDC report on agentic AI & product discovery
00:05:00 His career journey: engineering to business to retail tech
00:10:45 Early e-commerce work at Monster, Staples, Talbots
00:26:00 Deep dive into agentic AI orchestration & multi-agent workflows
00:36:00 What retailers should do today to prep for AI agents
00:41:00 How pricing, loyalty, and personalization will change
00:44:00 Agents negotiating with agents (agent-to-agent commerce)
00:48:00 The rapid acceleration of agentic traffic vs human traffic
00:49:00 Where to follow Ananda's work
In this episode of Retailgenic, host Scot Wingo sits down with Roy Rubin, co-founder of Magento and General Partner at R-Squared Ventures, to explore the future of e-commerce in an AI-driven world.
Roy shares why he believes the next billion-dollar DTC brand won’t even need a website, what agentic shopping means for the future of retail, and how platforms like Shopify and Amazon may get disrupted next.
We also dive into:
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Notable Timestamps: