Tariffs Hit Canada as AI Reshapes Product Discovery

Welcome to another edition of Retail Roundup. This is your weekly brief helping retail leaders decode the biggest shifts in retail, AI, and commerce.

In this week's episode, Jeremy Goldman sits down with Kimberly Morgan (CEO & Founder, The Fashion Tech Exec) and Ricardo Belmar (Founder, Retail Razor) to unpack the trade pressures, AI shifts, and brand loyalty questions reshaping retail this week.

INSIDE THE EPISODE:

CANADA's TARIFFS ARE FORCING A DIVERSIFICATION RECKONING

Canada's new tariffs are pushing brands to ask how much revenue they can safely risk on a single retail account like Ulta, Sephora, or Walmart. The panel argues that the same risk is already playing out with shoppers. Once someone trades down to a cheaper brand, they rarely trade back.

AI IS MOVING UPSTREAM IN SHOPPING, AND NO ONE OWNS IT YET

Shoppers are increasingly starting their search in ChatGPT or Claude instead of a retailer's own site, and Anthropic's new agent blueprints are accelerating that shift. The panel agrees there is no one platform anymore, and argues retailers need to focus on being discoverable everywhere, rather than trying to control where the search starts.

ANTHROPOLOGIE's NIKE BET IS A MASTERCLASS IN CATEGORY EXPANSION

A 30% jump in customers searching Anthropologie for sneakers led the retailer to add Nike, its largest footwear brand yet. The panel argues curated expansion like this builds loyalty, while growth without focus confuses shoppers.

Listen above for the full conversation on the trends making us rethink retail this week.