The Shopper is REALLY in Control Now, with Caroline Giegerich, VP, AI and Marketing and Collin Colburn, VP, Commerce and Retail Media at IAB

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.

With a career spanning brand management at P&G and Danone, to 9 years at Amazon building out retail media globally, and now leading retail media at Tesco, Florian Clemens is a human representation of all sides of omnichannel marketing and consumer experience. He brings this deep perspective and insightful data to a rollicking conversation about how brands and retailers have ever better opportunities to drive incrementality. It’s as simple, and as hard, as putting each shopper in control and being their support system for what they are trying to get done.

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.

Some of the most inspiring stories in our industry are when a company who has been a leader in their category for more than 100 years can find the grit, determination, and change management energy to transform to meet today and tomorrow’s shopper however and wherever they want. Like, say, Whirlpool. Marilia Moreira, Whirlpool’s Digital Marketing Director, has spent 18 years at Whirlpool, and is now focused on bringing their digital and agentic product experiences to life for consumers on every touchpoint. She shared the people, processes, and metrics they have devised to continually elevate their ability to help their consumer choose Whirlpool.

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.

We really are trying desperately hard to be the no-hype machine on all this AI and Agentic stuff. We have an incredible partner in that effort, who brings outstanding research and analysis to the fight. Yes, listener, Russ Dieringer, Founder and CEO of Stratably, is back on the podcast following earnings season, CAGNY meetings, and his own research on behalf of his clients to present the reality of the agentic opportunity vs. the hype. It’s a great “deep breath” moment for all of us working amidst the hucksters and the shiny object crowd.

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.

How do kids, parents and shoppers really discover brands today, and what does that mean for marketers trying to keep up? In this episode, Teresa sits down with Belinda Gruebner, former CMO of Moose Toys, to explore how the toy industry has evolved from catalogue-driven retail to creator-led discovery and always-on storytelling. Belinda shares lessons from scaling a global brand portfolio, building digital and marketing capability across markets, and rethinking packaging, content and owned assets as part of the omni-channel experience. The conversation also tackles the impact of Australia’s new social media restrictions for under-16s, the growing importance of community and real-world connection, and the ethical questions brands need to confront as AI, data and digital acceleration continue to reshape the digital shelf.

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.

Reckitt. Red Bull. Congo Brands. Working across an ecommerce powerhouse, to one of the most vibrant brands in the industry, and now at a feisty startup, Wendell Venerable, VP eCommerce at Congo Brands has amassed a ton of hard lessons and hard-fought victories. Wendell joins the pod to share generously from his past experience, and his view on the future of commerce in the next era.