Pixar didn’t send a press release, mind you. All they did was put up a cryptic billboard and let the Swifties and Pixar fans take it from there. Within days, the internet had generated fan theories, headlines, and endless speculation, all before a single official confirmation. That’s not a media strategy you can purchase. It’s the dividend of decades spent earning trust, attention, and fandom.

Swift has 14 Grammys, a tour that reshaped the economics of live music, and a fanbase that treats album drop day like a national holiday. Toy Story is on its fifth film and still making adults cry in theaters. When two institutions with that kind of trust decide to collaborate, the audience doesn’t wait to be told how to feel about it, they already know. For brands, it’s now clearer than ever that loyalty built over time is the only marketing that compounds. Read More ➜

TARIFF

It’s Giving… Pending

Its Giving... Pending

In case you missed it, roughly $20.6 billion in tariff refunds have already been sent to the Treasury for disbursement. At the same time, the administration announced last week it plans to appeal the court order that made all importers eligible in the first place. The deadline to file that appeal is June 7, which is this Sunday. So while that billions in refunds may be headed back to importers, it’s still a little early to start mentally spending it.

Earlier, the Supreme Court ruled in February that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs were unconstitutional. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stood up the CAPE portal to process claims against an estimated $166 billion owed. As of May 22, $20.6 billion had actually moved. The administration’s position now is that refunds should only go to companies that sued, not the 330,000 importers who just quietly overpaid and assumed the system would sort it out.

The refund process was already slow and manual before any of this, with entry-by-entry filing, 60 to 90 days to process, bank details that have to be set up separately or the money never arrives. An appeal could slow it further, pause it entirely, or narrow who qualifies. Walmart, potentially eligible for more than $2.4 billion, has already told investors it wants to put that money into lower prices. Whether it gets there is now a legal question as much as a logistics one.

For now, the smartest place to allocate that refund is still the forecast, not the budget. Read More ➜

CONSUMER BEHAVOR

Fewer, Better, Cheaper

Fewer, Better, Cheaper

Somewhere between the third price hike and the fourth tariff headline, American shoppers stopped shopping and started cross-examining. Every purchase now has to answer a series of increasingly difficult questions: Do I need this? Is it worth the price? Is there a cheaper version one tab over? More often than brands would like, the answer is no.

A recent spring survey found that 43% of consumers have simplified their routines, cutting products and habits that once felt automatic. An earlier survey showed that in beauty, specifically, 65% are switching brands or retailers in search of lower prices, while brand reputation has fallen behind price, fit, and product benefits as a purchase driver.

What’s notable is that this isn’t only happening among budget-conscious shoppers. Another report found that value now dominates purchasing decisions across all income levels, including higher-income households pulling back in ways that would have surprised analysts a year ago. Consumers aren’t necessarily out of money. They’re demanding more proof before parting with it.

With most consumers cutting back, trading down, or fiercely protecting a short list of brands they’ve already decided are worth trusting, loyalty programs and frictionless experiences are outperforming blanket discounts as retention tools. The strongest brands aren’t winning because they’re cheaper. They’re winning because they’ve already earned the benefit of the doubt. Read More ➜

Seen and Sold

62%

That’s the share of shoppers who have made a purchase directly because of an in-store ad in 2026. Shopper receptivity has also increased across every major store zone since 2023, making physical retail media harder to ignore and more likely to drive action. Read More ➜

TOTB_full-1

For decades, commerce operations ran on rules. Inventory drops below a threshold, reorder it. Package misses a scan, flag it. Trailer arrives late, adjust the schedule. Simple enough, until the real world gets involved, which in logistics is approximately every five minutes.

That’s the gap Chris Lobo, Stord’s VP of Network Innovation, and the Stord team are building toward closing. Inside Stord Labs, the team is building systems that don’t just process data, they understand how products actually move through warehouses, trailers, and fulfillment networks. The goal isn’t another dashboard explaining what went wrong yesterday. It’s catching problems while there’s still time to do something about them.

What makes this special is that most AI has spent its life on the internet, where everything is neat, searchable, and conveniently digital. However, commerce doesn’t just operate on online platforms or software. It also runs on cardboard, forklifts, dock doors, and a remarkable number of things that often refuse to happen on schedule.

Every improvement tested in Stord Labs rolls out across nearly 100 facilities. When something works, the entire network gets smarter. When it doesn’t, the lesson stays in the lab instead of becoming a customer’s delayed order.

Most software was built to understand information. Chris and the team are teaching it to understand operations.

TOP READS

Lights, Camera, Upload: This weekend’s top two films were directed by YouTubers. The creator economy has officially entered its blockbuster era.

Special Delivery: DHL and USPS just expanded their last-mile partnership with this new $10 billion deal.

Ticker, Please: AI token futures are coming, because, apparently, “investing in AI companies” wasn't enough exposure for some people.

UPCOMING E-COMMERCE EVENTS

Hemp Beverage Expo, June 17-18 in Austin, Texas. The only executive-level trade event focused exclusively on the hemp beverage industry, bringing together retailers, brands, and buyers to explore the nation's fastest-growing beverage category.

CommerceNext Growth Show, June 23–24 in New York City.

One of retail’s leading conferences for e-commerce and DTC marketers, focused this year on AI search, agentic marketing, and the growth strategies driving breakout consumer brands.

Cosmoprof North America, July 13-15 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The leading B2B beauty trade show in the Americas, connecting beauty brands, retailers, distributors, and suppliers across finished products and supply chain innovation.

Online Retailer Conference & Expo, July 22–23 in Sydney, Australia.

Australia’s largest e-commerce event, bringing together retailers, brands, and technology leaders to explore the trends, tools, and strategies shaping the future of online retail across the Asia-Pacific region.

Affiliate Summit East, July 27–28 in New York City.

One of performance marketing’s biggest events, connecting affiliates, e-commerce brands, publishers, creators, agencies, and technology partners to drive growth through partnerships and customer acquisition.

NBJ Summit, July 27–30 in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

The nutrition industry’s premier executive gathering, bringing together senior leaders, investors, retailers, and innovators for candid conversations on consumer health, emerging trends, and the future of wellness commerce.

See you next week for more commerce news and updates.

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