Shelf Life | Vol. 36 – First Mover Advantage: With Agentic Commerce, Checkmate Happens Faster Than You Think

Shelf Life has moved to substack! Same sharp takes on retail, consumer goods, and what’s actually changing. A little more room to think out loud, go deeper, and be more real.

If you’ve been reading here, I’d love for you to follow along there too. New issues dropping soon. Opinions included.

Curious to hear what you want more of in 2026.

🗓️ January 2026 | ✍️ Shelf Life

♟️ The Opening Move: Everyone Thinks They Have More Time

Every retail transformation has a phase where leaders politely nod, say “interesting,” and assume they have at least another planning cycle. That phase is already over.

🤖 AI agents are actively learning how to shop 🧠 They are forming opinions about brands without asking permission ⚙️ They are deciding what is easy, reliable, and worth repeating

That learning is happening now. Whether brands are participating or not. The board is being set. The bots are paying attention.

Top Shelf Insights

♟️ Early brands influence how AI agents decide 🤖 Clean, boring competence beats clever storytelling 🚦 Waiting feels safe until it quietly is not 🛒 Default selection drives more value than differentiation 📉 Late movers may not get a rematch

EEEK - WANT MORE? What is Shelf Life, anyway?

Quick reset now that the newsletter has officially moved to Substack 👇

Shelf Life is where I unpack what’s actually reshaping retail and consumer brands, beyond the buzzwords. It’s written for leaders who don’t need the basics, but do want a clear point of view on what matters next.

What you’ll find in this issue: 🛒 How shopping is changing in real time, across stores, digital, and now AI-driven agents 🤖 What agentic commerce really means for brands, pricing, control, and customer relationships 📊 Why operating models, data foundations, and decision rights matter more than the tech itself ⚠️ The risks no one wants to talk about until they show up on the P&L

Volume 36 just dropped, and it's about my new favorite topic - agentic commerce. The consequences. Who owns the customer when an AI is doing the shopping. Where retailers lose leverage. Where they can still win.

Same Shelf Life. New home on Substack. A little sharper. A little more wit. A lot more me.

If you’ve been reading here, it would mean a lot to me for you to join me there. 👉 Subscribe here

And tell me. Are you excited about agentic commerce, or already nervous about it?