Retail Brew // Morning Brew // Update

January 19, 2026

It’s Monday, and if you don’t mind us saying, you look like you’re ready for your close up, so what you surely need is a Continental Studios Director’s Chair. Named for the fictional studio in Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s Apple TV+ show, The Studio, and produced by the pair’s cannabis-friendly Houseplant brand, they’re selling a limited edition of 150 chairs for $349. Action!

In today’s edition:

—Erin Cabrey, Jeena Sharma, Jennimai Nguyen

E-COMMERCE

On the merits

Shopify

Retail is entering its agentic era.

At least that’s what Shopify President Harley Finkelstein told Retail Brew at NRF. He’s certainly not alone in that thinking: Agentic commerce was by far the show’s buzziest term, especially if you attended sessions featuring Google, Walmart, Ulta Beauty, Wayfair, The Home Depot, Urban Outfitters…the list goes on.

At the show on Sunday, Google unveiled the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a new open standard to scale agentic commerce, co-developed with companies like Shopify, Walmart, and Target, and supported by 20+ others across retail. UCP connects AI agents to merchants, and enables these agents to work across shoppers’ purchasing journeys—giving shoppers options like using discount codes, inputting loyalty account information, or buying subscriptions within AI platforms. Shopify merchants will also be able to sell through Google’s AI Mode within search and its Gemini app.

The UCP addresses pain points and apprehension many brands have surrounding agentic commerce, Finkelstein said. He shared how the news is setting the stage for a major industry shift.

Keep reading here.—EC

Presented By SheerID

They came, they acquired, they conquered

Winning at marketing isn’t about being the loudest (who knew?). It’s about who knows their audience best—and who can turn verified, permissioned data into customer loyalty gold.

The brands that brought and took home the gold in 2025? You’re lookin’ at names like Uber, Ulta Beauty, and Intuit, according to the 2025 SheerID Customer Awards.

Thanks to SheerID’s Audience Network, these brands:

precisely engaged the right audience with stellar campaigns
were able to stream data to 400+ marketing tools
leveraged that data to nurture great loyalty

Turns out, the secret to winning is pretty simple. It all comes down to precision, trust, and knowing your audience.

Create deeper customer relationships.

OPERATIONS

Top shelf online

Blue Planet Studio/Getty Images

We already know rising costs and tighter budgets didn’t stop Americans from shopping—but they did change how and where they spent.

According to Omnisend, e-commerce orders in the US jumped 147% year over year in 2025. But that growth wasn’t evenly distributed. The top 5% of US e-commerce brands accounted for 54% of total order growth, underscoring just how competitive (and unequal) the online retail landscape has become.

The report, which analyzed e-commerce performance across 150,000 brands, also found that shoppers engaged less frequently with marketing overall. But when they did engage, they were far more likely to convert and to spend more.

Consumers clicking on promotions weren’t just browsing. Purchase likelihood rose 51% compared to last year, while average order value climbed 22%.

So what separated the winners from everyone else? It wasn’t more emails, but better-timed ones.

Keep reading here.—JS

MARKETING

Ice cream take

A side-by-side graphic of people wearing Regency-era dresses and gloves holding an ice cream cone and pint container.

Design: Morning Brew Design, Photos: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

Dearest gentle reader, prepare your finest silverware, for your dessert spoons are soon to be graced with ice cream fit for Lady Whistledown herself.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams recently collaborated with Netflix and Shondaland to produce two Bridgerton-themed flavors that Ryan Morgan, Jeni’s head of brand, is hoping fans will “eat up,” both literally and figuratively. The flavors, named Queen Charlotte Sponge Cake and Earl Grey Crème Brûlée, will be hitting Jeni’s shops and website in a staggered, two-step drop in January and February that mirrors the show’s upcoming Season 4 release schedule.

As a brand that considers its partnership opportunities with the type of discernment the queen reserves for judging her diamonds of the season, the Jeni’s team is betting on Bridgerton to help it emotionally connect with fans all over the ’Ton.

Keep reading here on Marketing Brew.—JN

Level up your career with these resources from our sponsors!

Transactions and tracking in the AI era

Do mobile interactions help or hinder the path to purchase?

SWAPPING SKUS

Today’s top retail reads.

Saks and figures: Why Saks is struggling while luxury retail companies like LVMH are growing. (NBC News)

Dos were the days: Dos Equis revived its “The Most Interesting Man” campaign after it ended a decade ago following an 8% YoY sales drop in 2025. (CNN)

Carbonated leverages: Costco recently completed its switch from Pepsi to Coke in its in-store concessions, switching back after having done the reverse in 2013. (The Street)

Calling all marketers: We want to hear what you think about affiliate + creator marketing. Take this quick survey and enter to win a $500 gift card.*

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Written by Erin Cabrey, Jeena Sharma, and Jennimai Nguyen

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