Cannes Lions Ep 2: Future of Commerce

AI may dominate the headlines, but the real opportunity lies beneath the surface—building the infrastructure, intelligence and consumer experiences that will power the next generation of commerce.

Recorded live from the Vudoo Podcast Van at Cannes Lions 2026, Nick Morgan and Paul Blackburn are joined by Regina Ye, CEO and Co-Founder of Topsort, and Kunal Nagpal, Chief Business Officer at InMobi.

Together, they explore how AI is reshaping commerce from the ground up—moving beyond retail media towards connected commerce experiences, intelligent infrastructure and more personalised customer journeys. The conversation spans agentic commerce, retail media maturity, global innovation and why brands need to start thinking beyond campaigns towards continuous consumer relationships.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

Why AI is exposing the industry's foundations: AI may be dominating conversations at Cannes, but Regina and Kunal argue that its biggest impact isn't replacing marketers—it's exposing weak infrastructure. The businesses that have invested in strong technology foundations will be best positioned to take advantage of the next wave of innovation.

Why commerce is becoming bigger than commerce media: Retail media has become one of the industry's fastest-growing sectors, but both guests suggest the conversation is rapidly broadening. Commerce is evolving beyond advertising and into a connected ecosystem where discovery, engagement and transactions become part of a single consumer experience.

Why consumer experience is becoming the new competitive advantage: From hyper-personalisation to AI-assisted shopping, the future of commerce will be defined by brands that understand consumers better—not simply those that serve more ads. The discussion explores why relevance, trust and continuous learning will become increasingly valuable.

Why infrastructure matters more than hype: As agentic commerce gains momentum, the conversation turns to what actually needs to happen behind the scenes. Building AI experiences requires connected data, interoperable systems and technology capable of supporting real-time commerce—not simply adding AI on top of existing workflows.

Why the next generation of brands will think differently: Kunal shares why many emerging brands—particularly from China—are beginning to shift from competing on price to investing in long-term brand building. Regina reflects on how retailers are becoming more discerning buyers of technology as the industry matures.

Why Cannes still matters: Beyond the conference itself, both guests describe Cannes as a place where ideas become partnerships, strategies become products and conversations become long-term industry change. It's less about predicting the future—and more about building it.

About the hosts:

• Nick Morgan: Nick is an entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in digital marketing and eCommerce. He founded Vudoo in 2018, a platform that enables in-stream content commerce across articles, videos, and images. Nick's work transforms every ad impression into a potential shop front, offering a seamless eCommerce experience.

• Paul Blackburn: Paul is a digital media innovator with over 20 years of experience. At News Corp Australia, he launched the "Intent Connect" data platform and led innovation in shoppable video and the "Total Commerce" framework. Now as Chief Growth Officer at Vudoo, he helps brands, publishers, and agencies unlock new ways to monetise content through immersive, commerce-enabled experiences.
  
  

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