your monthly insights are here 🦊
Welcome back to April’s edition of Arktic Bytes!
There has been a lot happening behind the scenes at Arktic Fox this month. We are starting to receive responses to our annual industry survey with Six Degrees Executive, and it is already starting to surface some really interesting insights particularly in areas of loyalty, AI and retail media.
We have also launched Arktic Fox on Substack, creating one place where our thought leadership and observations all live in the one place including newsletter, articles, commentary and podcast episodes.
In this month’s edition, we explore how AI is continuing to shape the discovery journey, the growing convergence between retail media and social platforms, and who is winning on the digital shelf. We also share a new episode of Unpacking the Digital Shelf APAC with Vera Skocic from Ryobi ANZ, unpacking how brands can influence the path to purchase even when they do not own the checkout.
So what's been happening in the digital, data & eComm space?
🛒 Costco attributes $470M in revenue to product recommendations. In its latest earnings update, Costco highlighted the growing impact of personalisation, with recommendation driven sales contributing significantly to performance. The model is underpinned by its membership structure, where every transaction is linked to a customer, giving Costco a consistent and comprehensive view of behaviour across channels. This allows the retailer to move beyond surface level personalisation and shape more relevant, data driven experiences across its ecosystem.
🤖 John Lewis bets on AI powered shopping and TikTok Shop. John Lewis has announced an £800 million investment into technology, with AI powered shopping tools and social commerce forming a central part of the strategy. As part of the plan, the retailer is also trialling TikTok Shop for 90 days around key seasonal moments, allowing customers to discover and purchase products directly within the platform.
🤖 OpenAI dumps instant check out and Walmart integrates Sparky into AI assistants. After OpenAI announced it will scale back instant check out, Walmart has announced Sparky its AI assistant is being embedded into ChatGPT and Gemini with discussions also occurring with Claude. The OpenAI and Walmart partnership which allowed consumers to instantly check out via ChatGPT hit major road-bumps with accuracy and delivered much lower than expected conversion rates. 🤖 Woolworths’ AI assistant goes rogue, starts talking about its mother. Woolworths’ AI powered shopping assistant Olive has reportedly produced a number of unusual interactions with customers, including references to a “mother”, memories and other personal details that the system does not actually possess. Designed to help shoppers with tasks such as building grocery lists or resolving delivery queries, the assistant instead delivered responses that appeared far more human than intended. This reinforces that whilst we are making huge strides in AI, there is still a lot brands need to contend with to deliver flawless and valuable experiences.
📦 Australia Post eCommerce Report 2026 shows online spend reaching $82.6bn, with growth becoming more distributed across smaller, more frequent purchases and declining basket sizes. At the same time, shoppers are spreading spend across more brands and channels, raising expectations at every stage from discovery through to delivery and returns.
We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter! 🦊
✍️ our latest insights
Retail and social media networks are converging - and competing
Retail media networks are integrating more social media formats and buying capabilities. Social platforms are embedding commerce as a core part of their strategy. Both are increasingly competing for the same media dollars.
Digitally native vs legacy brands - who is really winning the digital shelf and why
The digital shelf has become one of the most competitive environments in retail. Yet the brands dominating it are often not the ones with the longest heritage, the biggest budgets or the deepest retail relationships. In many cases, they are the new kids on the block, built for a very different operating model.
People shop for outcomes, not items. Retailers should help them get the job done with AI
Retail has been organised around products for decades. Categories, departments and individual SKUs shape how retailers build their stores and web experiences, and how customers are expected to navigate them.
🔎 inside digital & ecommerce survey 2026
If you have followed me for a while, you will know that each year we run a report with Six Degrees Executive on what is happening on the ground across digital, marketing and eCommerce teams in Australia.
For 2026, we are taking a more deliberate focus on Retail and Consumer brands, going deeper on the capabilities, challenges and opportunities shaping eCommerce, marTech and data, retail media, AI and more as complexity continues to rise.
If you are a leader in CPG, FMCG, brand manufacturing or retail, I would value your input.
• 12 to 15 minutes to complete• All responses are anonymous• Contributors receive early access to the final report
Submissions are closing soon, so this is one of the last opportunities to have your say.
🦊 join us on Substack
You may have received an email from us a couple of weeks ago announcing that we’re now on Substack.
It’s where all Arktic Fox content will live, from articles and Arktic Bytes to podcast conversations and industry observations. Bringing everything together in one place allows us to go a bit deeper on the topics shaping digital, retail and eCommerce, while creating a more connected space to share ideas, insights and feedback.
We’ll continue publishing regularly, with articles a few times each month, a constant feed of thoughts and observations, the Unpacking the Digital Shelf APAC podcast episodes, and Arktic Bytes as our monthly roundup.
If you haven’t received an invite yet, you can visit our Substack page to subscribe and follow along. Hope to see you there.
🎙️ unpacking the digital shelf: apac edition
This month, I sat down with Vera Skocic, Head of Customer and Strategy at Ryobi ANZ.
Ryobi sells exclusively through Bunnings. They don’t own the checkout or transaction data, yet they’ve built a connected digital experience that helps shoppers navigate their range of over 200 tools and arrive in store ready to buy.
In this episode, we cover:
How a clear business problem shaped every technology decision
Building the data foundations to power AI and personalisation
Delivering a more seamless experience between brand and retailer through tools like comparison, wishlists and cart integration
Driving more qualified demand into store while reducing returns
A practical look at what it takes to build a connected customer experience within a retailer led model.
📈 chart of the month
New research from Semrush shows how AI is starting to shape the buyer journey, without fully replacing traditional discovery channels. While many shoppers are using AI to narrow down options, they’re still turning to search, reviews and retailer sites to validate decisions and complete purchases.
The pattern suggests AI is becoming an important entry point to discovery, but not the final destination. For brands, visibility in AI matters, but it needs to be supported by strong product content, credible reviews and a consistent presence across the wider ecosystem where purchase decisions are ultimately confirmed.
🔗 what we’re reading
✍🏼 Evolution or alarm? What Starbucks’ revamped loyalty program says about keeping customers engaged | EMARKETER
🤝 we’re here to help
Change is the new normal, and we know it can feel like a lot to navigate. That’s why we work alongside leaders and their teams to tackle challenges across digital, data, and eCommerce, helping you make sense of complexity and move forward with confidence.
Whether it’s defining or clarifying strategy, upskilling through training, or inspiring new ideas through thought leadership, we meet you where you are and support you in making things happen.
Get in touch - we’d love to hear from you.
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