Midland Paper thinks you need to read this article (click here). They included the article in a newsletter this week.
Is there a rise in Slow Commerce? I asked one of the AI apps to tell me about Slow Commerce. Surely if it were a trend, AI would know about it, right?
Here’s another AI application.
In 2026, there is an abundance of data showing that catalog marketing was harmed deeply by ecommerce, then had the doors blown off of it by the paper/printing industry, who constrained supply, raised prices, and fired my clients … pushing the marketing channel to the brink unless you have the marketing budget of a Zombie Retailer or Amazon.
If an abundance of facts/data doesn’t align with your worldview, it’s fashionable to create alternate facts. You see it in politics every day.
Thing is, Midland Paper doesn’t need to peddle opinions dressed up as facts. They have clients. They have success stories.
If they think Slow Commerce is a trend, why not show an example? Show people what Trader Joe’s is doing – even if you don’t directly work with them. They sent me sixteen pages of homespun commerce today.
There’s even a crossword puzzle at the back of that thing. Old school.
I realize it’s a lot more fun to get on an airplane and meet with the creative folks at a Zombie Retailer … they’re willing to waste tens of thousands of dollars on branding, not expecting a penny of sales in return. Who wouldn’t like that kind of business? Of course, maybe that’s why they’re Zombie Retailers, but that’s a story for another day.
For today, no need for alternate facts when reality is delivered from a company like Trader Joes.
