Retail in 2025 was fast, chaotic, emotional, and transformative — and in this Season 5 finale, we break it all down.
Guest host *Alicia Esposito (Future Commerce)* joins *Ricardo Belmar* and *Casey Golden* to unpack the biggest retail trends of the year across AI, consumer behavior, marketplaces, retail media, and the evolving definition of value.
🔥 This episode covers:
- How AI reshaped retail leadership and decision‑making
- Why Gen Z is embracing analog tech, DIY culture, and emotional shopping
- The rise of marketplaces like Temu and AliExpress
- The future of retail media and commerce media
- The loyalty shakeout and why brand equity matters more than ever
- The explosive growth of resale and secondhand shopping
- Holiday shopping trends and the psychology behind “perpetual shopping lists”
- The keywords that will define 2026: velocity and joy
Whether you’re a retail leader, brand strategist, or AI‑curious innovator, this conversation will help you understand what happened in 2025 — and what’s coming next.
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*Retail Razor Show S5:E14*
*Released on December 31, 2025*
*Guest info:*
Alicia Esposito, Director, Content + Media Strategy - Future Commerce
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciaesposito/
https://www.futurecommerce.com/
Alicia is the head of content and insights for Future Commerce. At Future Commerce we are big on dissecting the intersection of culture and commerce and not just covering what's happening today, but also what are the ripple effects for tomorrow, and for the future. Future Commerce delivers consumer insights for e-commerce and retail brands. Newsletters, essays, podcasts, and research. For the risk-takers in Commerce! Future Commerce helps brands manifest vision and create goals which lead to future-altering impacts for their customers, and for the world around them.
*Chapters:*
00:00 Preview
01:06 Introduction and Host Introduction
03:02 Balancing Automation and Human Intuition
06:57 Consumer Behavior and AI
10:18 The Evolution of Retail Experiences
18:21 The Importance of Brand Value
24:14 Challenges in Fast Fashion and Marketplaces
28:23 The Future of Commerce
31:36 Retail Media Evolution
36:50 Consumer Behavior and Shopping Trends
41:09 The Impact of Resale and Sustainability
50:12 Personalization and AI in Retail
53:16 The Keyword That Will Represent 2026
55:45 Show Close
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