Shopping, Sizing, Social, AI Strategy, And Domestic Shoe Manufacturing

This week, with a slight delay, Grace and Ben discuss:The ongoing tension between retailers and AI agents, and the reversed injunction in the case of Amazon and Perplexity: https://easternherald.com/2026/08/05/perplexity-comet-amazon-ninth-circuit-ruling/Several surveys, and reporting, on the reasons that brands are not realising value from their AI investments: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/technology/the-reason-your-ai-investments-arent-paying-off/Pinterest's expansion into the physical world, and the dominance of shopping in social media: https://www.retail-week.com/stores-and-property/pinterest-invests-in-new-london-office-as-part-of-new-era-of-shopping-vision/7051782.articleNew data that suggests people taking GLP-1 class medications are more likely to visit stores, and the implications for sizing and commerce: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/glp-1-users-in-store-clothes-shopping-trip-is-back-2026-08-02/A feel-good story from New Balance's UK factory, with some slightly more complicated context: https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/new-balance-unveils-new-outdoor-space-for-factory-workers/2026080589618