The Modern Retail Podcast

Few areas of digital marketing have exploded in recent years as much as affiliate marketing. What's more, it's actually proving effective: eMarketer in September said that affiliate marketing would drive more than $210 billion in US e-commerce sales that year. By 2028, that figure is expected to hit over $287 billion.But with that growth comes a myriad of questions about implementation and how brands can actually get results.This week on the Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels answer listener questions around affiliate best practices and how it's changing amid changes in shopper behavior and media consumption.The conversation gets into:

How to ensure authenticity in partners

How AI is reshaping affiliate marketing

The role of Substack and new media channels

Balancing workload across channels

Amazon Prime Day isn't as essential as it once was. But for some brands, it can still provide a meaningful sales boost.On this week's episode of the Modern Retail Podcast, special projects editor Melissa Daniels spoke with Katherine McKee, the fractional head of growth at Morphology Consulting, to break down the pros and cons of participating in the four-day sales event that is scheduled for June 23 through June 26.The two discuss:

How Prime Day is resonating in 2026.

The margin math of Prime Day.

How brands can calculate their specific cost of participation and what gains they may be able to reap.

On this week's Modern Retail Podcast, senior reporter Gabriela Barkho is joined by executive editor Anna Hensel to talk all things World Cup marketing. This week, Modern Retail ran an editorial series on how retailers and brands of all sizes are taking advantage of the biggest-ever FIFA World Cup this summer. Malls are turning into hubs for fans, while retail media networks are looking at this as a critical moment to win over more advertiser dollars. As Hensel explains, this highly anticipated World Cup comes at a precarious moment for the industry, as retailers continue to worry that rising gas prices will lead consumers to cut back spending. The World Cup, then, will be a critical test for how resilient consumers actually are.

Later on in the episode, Alyssa Grigg, senior director of marketing and communications for Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington, joins the show to discuss how its Seattle store plans to capitalize on matches happening on its home turf. Seattle is hosting six World Cup matches, and the stadium happens to be minutes from the largest Goodwill in the world. So the thrifting nonprofit is hosting several activations and events throughout the tournament to drive tourist and fan traffic.

In this interview, Grigg speaks to: 

How thrifting has become a major tourism activity.

Creating buzz through live, local-artist screen printing and vintage soccer merchandise.

Turning the 70,000-square-foot Goodwill store into a "treasure hunt" destination, with help from local influencers and social media campaigns.

Pride Month is underway, marking a season of celebration that's become a mainstay for some brands. But earning the trust of LGBTQ+ audiences goes far beyond rainbow merch or a few social media posts.

This week on the Modern Retail Podcast, special projects editor Melissa Daniels interviewed LGBTQ+ marketing specialists Matt Tumminello and Matt Wagner of Target10. Their conversation centers on earning trust with LGBTQ customers long before it's time for a Pride collection, starting with the ways companies used to show up and how that's changed over the years.

The conversation gets into:

How "Pride marketing" is in its third act as cultural winds change

How earning trust with LGBTQ+ consumers takes more than a one-time campaign

Winning strategies that start with authentic moments and messages

Young consumers have always been a sought-after demographic for retailers — but what they value is always changing.

Over the past several decades, Pacsun has sought to maintain a strong pulse on the evolving tastes of teenagers. 

From viral jeans to strategic partnerships with creators, the mall-based retailer is once again winning over young people. For the first time in 18 years, the company is opening more new stores than it is closing.

Pacsun's digital strategy is heavily weighted toward customers’ personal interests and influences. The brand says it remains relevant through four key pillars: fashion, music, sport and art. And so in 2025, the company began releasing an annual Youth Report and announced its Youth Advisory Council. The two programs are an example of Pacsun leaning into customer participation and what it calls “consumers as co-creators.” 

On this week’s Modern Retail Podcast, senior reporter Gabriela Barkho is joined by Pacsun CEO Brie Olson, who recently released a new book called “Co-Created: The Cultural Strategy That Redefined Pacsun.” 

In this interview, Olson discusses:

The brand’s early bet on TikTok Shop.

Pacsun’s new Youth Advisory Council and Youth Report.

The brand's latest investment in a new mobile app as a hub for product drops and rewards.