When Brands Make (Alleged) Murderers Relatable

‍AI Sous Chef for Your Soul. Williams-Sonoma executives shared during their Q2 2025 earnings call that AI will be a central tool for enriching its highly sensorial omnichannel experience. Following the launch of an AI-powered customer service assistant for Pottery Barn Kids, the retailer plans to launch a “culinary companion” that will offer shoppers more contextual advice and support tied to products. Think less direct product recommendations and more tips for hosting the perfect Thanksgiving.

Branded chatbot usage is on the rise, especially from multibrand retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s. Home Depot credited Magic Apron, its generative AI CX tool, with assisting its online sales growth. Q1 online sales growth was 9.4% YoY, and Q2 (ending August 2025) was a whopping 12%.

‍Can Erewhon Out-Erewhon Itself? Erewhon, the notoriously expensive West Coast grocer beloved by celebrities, may be setting up shop on the island of Manhattan, nestled inside Ronnie Fieg’s ambitious Kith Ivy/Padel 609 project in Greenwich Village.

While not a full-scale store, the planned Erewhon “juice bar” fits into a private club ecosystem of padel courts and wellness amenities, illustrating the continued convergence of luxury, wellness, and community clubs. Fieg shared an Instagram post showing a blueprint. Access to the shop will be limited to members, who will be charged an initiation fee of $36,000 and annual dues of $7,000.

Our Take: Erewhon has made a name for itself with its random and humorous mark-ups ($19 strawberries and $30 ice cubes, anyone?) and celebrity smoothie drops, but it has also kick-started a much larger trend: retailers attempting to luxe-up products and services to drum up demand. Is this the next wave of experiential retail we can’t afford to ignore, or is it just a high-gloss mirage of status meant to extract a premium from everyday necessities?

We have covered new trends in hospitality-based retail concepts and experiential marketing for years, and we have found that while some concepts have mastered the mix of visual storytelling, high-quality service, and top-notch products, some adaptations feel cold, empty, and frankly, uppity. Brands need to think strategically about what this mix looks like for them and their customers, and how sensory elements can support their execution.

‍If you want to learn more about how we assess in-store experience and how you can apply best practices from your peers, check out our new Field Notes, available exclusively to Future Commerce Plus members.

‍Cold Foam Gainz. Starbucks is the latest food and beverage company planning to capitalize on the protein craze to attract gym bros and GLP-1 users. Later this month, the company will launch protein cold foam (in banana, vanilla, and matcha flavors, among others) and protein lattes, giving customers between 19 and 36 grams of extra protein in their coffee concoctions. 

Under the watchful eye of CEO Brian “Burrito Boy” Niccol this past week, Starbucks reported its “best-ever sales week” for US company-operated locations, thanks to the return of its autumn menu. But does protein have the required punch to maintain this momentum, or is it simply the brand attempting to capitalize on a fad just like its now-defunct Oleato menu?

‍The Ketchup Split Heard 'Round the World. Kraft Heinz is the latest mega-company attempting to unwind its portfolio of brands. According to sources, the decade-old mega-merger never really paid off. That’s why in 2026, the companies will split into two: one for sauces and spreads (Heinz ketchup, Philadelphia cream cheese, Kraft Mac & Cheese) and another for groceries (Oscar Mayer, Lunchables).

The breakup follows a familiar pattern: conglomerates once obsessed with scale and the depth of their portfolios are now chasing focus and specialization. Even Warren Buffett, who helped engineer the original deal, called this one a dud.

🔮It’s the latest undoing in packaged goods, echoing Keurig Dr Pepper’s plans to split, which were announced last week, and the fulfillment of our 2025 predictions.

‍Finally, Roblox for Grown-Ups. Wait What? After a wave of online petitions and parental criticism, Roblox has revisited its rules of engagement. Effective immediately, only users aged 18 and above will be able to access restricted-tagged experiences. This means that younger users will not be served certain games in search results and recommendations. The same rules will apply to creators. Although they’ll be able to access and manage their existing properties that may be deemed “restricted,” they won’t be able to upload any new games that contain restricted content. 

‍Our Take: Gen Z and Alpha consumers have used Roblox (and other gaming platforms) as destinations for creative exploration, self-expression, and authentic community building. Brands across categories, from e.l.f. Beauty to Alo and PUMA have embraced these new behaviors, designing worlds and digital products that inspire testing, learning, and playing. With this engagement comes sales, and with sales comes loyalty. But the reality is, we as an industry stray from asking the big, hard questions surrounding these new platforms, like: are these destinations truly designed to serve and protect these underage audiences?

‍Roblox has been at the center of several controversies centered around its efforts (or lack thereof) to protect underage users from predators. Shortly after the CEO announced he wanted to make Roblox a dating platform, the company barred YouTuber “Schlep” for “violating its policies” to catch predators within the platform. “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen soon entered the chat, announcing he was investigating the platform and developing a documentary about its child safety practices. Roblox’s policy updates are new, so we’ll be keeping a watchful eye on whether this is just a small, surface-level change to protect optics or if there will be a broader strategic focus on safety in the future.