Unpacking the Digital Shelf

The apparel industry is super competitive, complex, and constantly in flux. No more than in how dramatically AI is transforming the industry and the way people work. Jason O’Toole, Head of Connected Commerce & Media at Gildan, has a saying that has served him throughout his experiences at brands like Spanx, Zegna, and his current role: when the game changes, you had better change with the game, and as soon as possible. He focused this sense of urgency and opportunity on what it means to the humans at the center of Gildan’s mission - the shopper. His team supercharges their digital experiences by empowering them to use AI to drive impactful outcomes. Jason explained it all to us.

There are lots of consumer polling out there about why and how shoppers are using AI in the buying journeys, but you can’t trust what people say, you have to know what they do. Bring in the IAB. They, along with TalkShoppe, put together research that took direct signals from hundreds of shopping journeys to understand what is really happening out there between shoppers and their agents. And what is not. Caroline Giegerich, VP, AI and Marketing and Collin Colburn, VP, Commerce and Retail Media at IAB, came armed with the facts to help you shape your AI and agentic strategies.

What happens when your brand doesn’t own the transaction, but still needs to influence the path to purchase and build a direct customer relationship? Ryobi is sold exclusively through Bunnings, which means the retailer owns the checkout. Vera Skocic, Head of Customer and Strategy (Consumer & Commercial) at Techtronic Industries, shares how Ryobi has built the right to play across the full customer lifecycle, from pre-purchase consideration to post-purchase onboarding and maintenance. We unpack how extended warranty became a powerful value exchange to grow first-party data, how lifecycle journeys and maintenance nudges extend the experience beyond the PDP, and how intent signals like wishlists, product comparison tools and add-to-cart integration help qualify demand and drive higher-converting traffic into Bunnings. Vera also walks through the foundational stack underpinning this work and explains why she’s taking a cautious approach to CDPs in an increasingly composable, AI-shaped landscape. If you’re a brand operating in a retailer-led ecosystem and looking to use data to strengthen customer experience and drive commercial outcomes, this episode is packed with practical insights.

Once a person takes a tour of Bunnahabhain, one of CVH Spirit’s renowned distilleries in Scotland, established in 1881, it is likely that their average order value will double. The experience is the key. The trick is then to turn that experience into a long-term relationship with the brand across every touchpoint. That challenge lies in the creative and capable hands of Dave Stamp, Digital Transformation & Consumer Experience Director at CVH Spirits. Dave joined the podcast to share the omnichannel customer experience journey they are investing in to create deep relationships through distinctive storytelling and rich data.

Lauren Schiavone spent 17 years at P&G as a brand manager and a builder of ecommerce from the ground up. She has now taken that wealth of process, tech, and organizational experience and combined it with a deep understanding of AI to create Wonder Consulting LLC. She works with teams to guide them from AI novice to AI expert, moving AI value from “write this email” to “optimize my PDP content across this retailer for the upcoming season”. Lauren joins our Lauren Livak Gilbert and Peter Crosby to drop some wondrous AI knowledge for our listeners.

Over the past year Chris Perry, Chief Learning Officer at firstmovr, has had literally, and I mean that literally, hundreds of conversations with ecommerce leaders and doers about the ways in which AI can be wielded to simplify work and improve outcomes. As they often do at firstmovr, they generously created a new series of free content called PROMPTED that clearly lays out some of those AI cheat codes that can supercharge your work and help you see around corners. We interrogated him about a few of those to get you started.

With 4500 customers across every industry creating digital assets inside their platform, Bynder has a bird’s eye view of the rapid transformation of the process to make imagery and drive it to market. And how AI is transforming that cycle. Our guest Cliff Crosbie is VP, AI Consultancy at Bynder, and he brings both stories and data that illuminate the strategies and best practices that are working to drive massively greater efficiency and better results on the digital shelf and the agentic shelf.

When an iconic Australian brand with 125 years of history realised it needed to evolve digitally, Bega’s leadership knew transformation couldn’t wait. Darryn Wallace, Executive GM of Retail Sales, and Carla Salsone, Head of Retail Marketing and eCommerce, join the podcast to share their journey so far and the lessons along the way. From adapting their approach to retailer engagement, to embedding digital shelf fundamentals and building cross-functional ways of working, they walk us through practical steps for driving meaningful change in a large, heritage brand.