Tourists flew in for the World Cup and went viral filming trips to Buc-ee&#x27;s and Waffle House. Rick Watson and Jessica Lesesky unpack what that attention is actually worth, then move to two bigger bets.<br>The Watson Weekly Weekend episode is sponsored by Avalara. Its Agentic Tax and Compliance automates behind-the-scenes work for ecommerce brands, enabling accurate checkout tax calculation, clearer tariff and duty visibility, and fewer customer surprises. Avalara integrates with platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce. Learn more at avalara.watsonweekly.com<br>OpenAI is selling ChatGPT as an ad platform, with claims of 900 million weekly users and a target of a $100 billion ad business by 2030. The pitch is conversational intent. The problem is everything the older platforms already learned the hard way about guardrails, minors, and regulated categories.<br>Then Shopify Editions Spring 2026, where the catalog is suddenly the whole strategy. Shopify wants to be the feed AI shopping agents read from, and Shop Pay is now available on any platform, anywhere. Rick makes the case that this is Shopify finally aiming at Amazon<br>#watsonweekly #bucees #wafflehouse #worldcup #openai #shopify #ShopifyEditionsSpring2026

Shopify Points Its Catalog at Amazon (and ChatGPT Sells Ads)

The Watson Weekly: eCommerce Strategy & News

# Full Transcript

**Podcast:** The Watson Weekly: eCommerce Strategy &amp; News

## Transcript

Welcome to the Watson Weekly. I'm your host Rick Watson. Hey, it's Jess Loseski. We're back. Can't get rid of us. Oh no! Today's show is a banger. We have a few fun stories. First, the World Cup. The tourists are going viral for visits to Buc-ee's and Walmart. Could brand deals follow? Second, OpenAI tells Khan that we are an ad platform.

And finally, our mega-story, Shopify Editions Spring 26. Shopify wants your catalog. But first, if you don't know about our newsletter, check it out. It's a simple website. You could probably guess it. Watson and Weekly.com. Go on there. Subscribe. Help us out. Tell your friends. Don't want to miss this. Yeah, your enemies too. That's right. We're frenemies. We welcome all types.

Well, Rick, I'm going to hit us off with our first story, which the World Cup tourists are going viral for their first visits to Buc-ee's, Walmart. Are these brand deals going to turn into something bigger as a result? So here's the thing to catch you up. The 2026 World Cup is upon us, and it has been years in the making. It's in the US, Canada, Mexico this summer. We've got an international stage flooding to the States.

And if you have missed this on Instagram, I don't know what you're doing with your life. Right. Because it is everywhere. It's just blown up. While many of the Americans are trying to showcase their best life in Spain or France or Italy. You know, I just came off my Spanish trip, you know? Ah! Showing all the sites. That's right. Little hair clip.

We've got all the Europeans coming over to the US sharing the main tourist destinations that you see, which are Buc-ee's, Waffle House, Walmart. Yeehaw! Tractor Supply, I think, was even in the mix. And, you know, there are some real standouts here, Rick. They're discovering things like Big Gulp. They're discovering tacos, pizza, and the glorious condiment of it all, ranch dressing.

Ranch dressing is underrated, people. It's having its moment. It's, you know, what we've discovered and loved for years. You can make anything taste better with ranch. Our European friends seem to cannot get enough of it. And you're seeing these bottles lining up at TSA. But really the story here is, you know, are there brand deals that are going to follow? And we've actually seen a couple of examples of this. So Scottish creator, Sean Alexander, has got 50,000 Instagram followers. That's a fun one.

He picked up like tens of thousands of followers just in a couple of days. Now his main job is his side hustle. Yes, exactly. Yeah. He had like his marketing consultancy job, which is kind of off to the side here as he's getting sponsored by Sonic. Yes. And some players are doing it too. So Spain's La Minha Mall got spotted at like shopping in a Georgia Walmart. So do you think that Rick, this is a trend that's catching on?

Or will this flame out, you know, as quickly as the summer ends? It's I mean, ...

Shopify Points Its Catalog at Amazon (and ChatGPT Sells Ads)

Transcript

Built for investment professionals

Every day you wait, your competitors are finding
edge in conversations you're not hearing.

Shopify Points Its Catalog at Amazon (and ChatGPT Sells Ads)

Transcript

Built for investment professionals

Every day you wait, your competitors are findingedge in conversations you're not hearing.

Every day you wait, your competitors are finding
edge in conversations you're not hearing.