Welcome to the Watson Weekly, Weekend edition. Rick Watson and Jessica Lesesky discuss the week after the Super Bowl, and while half the industry is likely still nursing a "Big Game" hangover, the retail and tech worlds are moving at a breakneck pace. We’ve got a lot to unpack today, from $10 million commercials to a streaming giant suddenly selling paperbacks.

The 2026 Super Bowl saw 30-second ad spots hit a staggering $8–$10 million. But here’s the kicker: huge budgets don't guarantee success. This year was the "AI Bowl," yet most of it felt surprisingly safe.

Notably, for the first time in many years, we saw zero EV ads. It seems the industry is playing it safe, which is rarely a winning strategy in the long run.

Target is shaking things up—again. Under CEO Michael Fiddelke, they’ve announced a series of executive moves aimed at "accelerating growth" (of course).

Here is the real head-scratcher: Target is still searching for a new role that combines Marketing and Guest Experience and its 2026. Is it just me, or does this feel like a case of playing defense? Target has been bleeding talent and customers to Walmart and Costco for years. They seem to be stuck in a cycle of moving the same leaders around rather than innovating like they did in the early days of its Buy Online Pickup in Stores (BOPIS) strategy. Where is the innovation and a reason to go to Target? Asking for a friend,

In a move few saw coming, Spotify is partnering with Bookshop.org to sell physical books directly through its app. The highlight is a feature called "Page Match," allowing users to sync a physical book page with its audiobook counterpart via their camera.

While physical books still represent 73% of trade publishing revenue, you have to wonder if this is a distraction. Critics are already pointing out that Spotify’s royalty model still leaves many indie artists with negligible earnings. Is moving into paperbacks a noble cause, or just another way to find a margin that music doesn't provide?

Take that book revenue and give it back to your artists — you know, the people who built your company in the first place?

Finally, let’s look at the earnings. Amazon is doubling down on the future, planning to invest $200 billion in AI and data centers. AWS is back in a big way, growing 24% year-over-year. Even more impressive? Rufus, their AI shopping assistant, "reportedly" drove $12 billion in incremental sales in 2025.

Meanwhile, Shopify is proving it’s no longer just for "small shops". Their revenue is now 3.9x what it was in 2020.

When a company authorizes a $2 billion share buyback, they aren't just growing; they’re flexing.

The Home Depot isn't just selling hammers anymore; they’re selling efficiency, and their new Material List Builder AI is the latest proof of that.

If you’ve been following my Watson Weekly podcast, you know my mantra: inventory is marketing, but convenience is the ultimate moat. What Home Depot is doing here is a classic "Pro-First" strategy. By allowing contractors to turn a messy voice memo or a fragmented text thread into a clean, actionable material list with live inventory and preferred pricing, they remove the friction that drives customers to competitors.

The big takeaway? This isn't just a shiny AI toy; it’s a workflow integration. Home Depot understands that for a professional, time is the only resource they can't buy back. By layering this AI tool on top of their $18.3 billion SRS Distribution acquisition, they are building a "Pro Ecosystem" that is incredibly hard to displace.

The question for every other retailer is this: Are you helping your customer buy a product, or are you helping them finish a job? If you aren't solving the back-office headache, you're just a commodity. Home Depot is playing the long game here, and the data they’ll capture from these project lists is the real crown jewel.

Home Depot is moving upstream in the buying cycle by solving the "back-office headache" of project planning. By turning messy memos into actionable lists, they are embedding their inventory directly into the contractor's workflow, making it nearly impossible for pros to switch to a competitor once the job has started.