I took a few weeks off this summer. Following Cannes I took a couple of weeks off with my family in the south of France and Italy, driving first along the coast and then to Tuscany, eventually arriving in Rome. There, we took a 16.5 hour flight to Perth, Western Australia. 

(As context for those of you who are new followers or who missed this, my family and I made the decision to relocate from the US to Australia. I shared all the details here.)

During this time I only checked my email for messages from my accountant, and only recently logged into LinkedIn (in all honestly I was a bit scared). I didn't maintain my daily media diet of industry podcasts or news sites. 

All this means, I am almost completely unaware of everything that’s unfolded in the retail, ecommerce, and AI universe in the past month. 

And it feels…. kinda great. More specifically, it feels fine. It doesn’t feel like we’re hurtling toward the singularity, or that consumer privacy is truly dead (especially after being in europe 😉) or worrying about LinkedIn’s algorithm. 

My nervous system has reset, remembering that all this stuff that occupies my 9-5 hours is not, in fact, life-or-death.

Getting off the hamster wheel for a few weeks also allowed me access into the mind of the “normie” consumer - one who’s not chronically up-to-date on all the latest advances in ecommerce and digital advertising and AI. I remember that generally consumers don’t often notice the major, ground-breaking, industry-first innovations we’re pioneering in our industry. They’re just trying to get the stuff they want or need, at a good price and low effort. Sometimes that means changing their habits. But there's usually a lot of inertia to change.

All of this to say, taking some time out is obviously good for the soul, but also good for perspective.    

Before I get back to meat-and-potatoes industry commentary this week, please excuse a few last personal indulgences. How the move back to Australia is going so far, some books I loved, and what I’m excited about. 

SPONSORED
CTA Image

Are manual processes slowing down your RMN momentum? 

With GrowthLoop’s composable commerce media solution, retail media and ad teams can build and launch precise audiences in minutes, activate across DSPs and ad platforms, and deliver transparent ROI reporting that drives advertiser revenue. 

Learn how retail media leaders at Costco, Fanatics, and Gopuff use GrowthLoop to deliver stronger results for their brand partners.

Learn more

1 - The move 

I’m back in my hometown of Perth, where all the extended family is, and our son is back at school. Big wins on all fronts there, and really happy with our decision. 

Which is a huge relief because this move has been extremely stressful. Lots of paperwork, lots of forms, and lots of money. Ironically, a good deal of said paperwork and money has been thrown at getting our 9-year-old cat over here, which is still not yet complete. 

With all of this tumult and change in my personal life, I’m leaning into extreme contrast in my professional life.  

It's winter down under! My Mum was knitting this cardigan for herself but I kind of comandeered it and have been wearing it on repeat. As I understand it, these are the colors for the North Melbourne AFL team. Oops.

I am very prone to shiny object syndrome. Absolutely. I will put my hand right up there.

But from now through to the end of the year, I’m going to pretty much stick to what’s been working. Fresh commentary on the retail media industry four days a week, distributed though a podcast, newsletter and on LinkedIn. If it ain’t broke…!

2 - What I’m excited about

With all that said, here’s some things I am excited about, and some of them are vaguely new-ish. 

  1. Creating more funny videos! I’ve been blown away by how much people like these videos. And I simply love making them. I’m open to partnerships on these! Best if your marketing team has a strong stomach. 
  2. New sponsor for this season, Growthloop! First came on my radar as a named tech provider of Costco Velocity in early 2026. I'm excited to continue collaborating with a company who's making big waves in the RMN space. 
  3. Basket Case! This is a project I’m part of with The Drum and QSIC, an irreverent and lively podcast series talking shop. They also feature some of those silly videos I mentioned. The latest episode dropped last week.
  4. Re-acquainting myself with the aussie retail landscape and learning what’s new and different in the APAC market.
  5. Not filing income taxes in 2 countries. After 15+ years of being a dual national I dream of only thinking about taxes once a year. 

3 - The books

When dreaming of my European vacation I only had one vision in mind: park my butt on various beaches, eat great food, and read a fat stack of novels. On these metrics, the vacation was a huge success.  I didn’t have any luggage space for souvenirs, but I gained some souvenir weight (!!) and made a solid contribution to my Goodreads “read” list. Here are my faves:

  1. Rosie and Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott. Somehow I missed that this is a 3-part series and skipped the second book. No matter. Both books were gripping portrayals of the ups and downs of family life and are able to stand alone.
  2. The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. Never got around to watching the film, and I’m really glad I didn’t because the book was excellent. A master feat of taking a very unsavory and unlikeable protagonist and somehow making you want them to succeed.
  3. The Calloway Tetralogy by Jay McInerney. Poignant but entertaining (and at times very funny) character study of a yuppie couple living in New York City, set over several decades. Another example of anti-heroes that you grow to love. Told across four novels which again somehow, I failed to read in order.   

Well that’s about it. This will be the last personal update for a while. I tend to indulge in a little bit of introspection at the beginning and end of each half-year season when I take a break. Thanks for being part of the journey!