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Summary:

In this ecommerce podcast, James & Paul drill into how to build out a loyalty strategy, with examples of brands executing this well. This episode is useful if you have a loyalty program and want to improve it, or are in the process of building out a loyalty strategy.

The main focus is on positioning loyalty strategy correctly, because loyalty is about more than a program. A loyalty strategy is focuses on customer engagement & customer experience, because loyalty is earned through consistently great customer experience.

This podcast will help you understand the fundamental mechanics of building customer loyalty, exploring levers to encourage customers to feel more positive about your brand and giving them a reason to shop directly with you. Loyalty starts when people first visit and come get used to your brand, not just when they're buying or in a repeat purchase cycle.

Tune in to understand the evolution of loyalty strategies, the importance of customer experience, leveraging customer insights and data, and the necessity of financial modeling to justify investments in loyalty programs. You'll get practical examples to help you enhance your loyalty offering and better understand customer value.

Key takeaways:

• Loyalty is earned through great customer experience.
• A loyalty strategy is more than just a program.
• Understanding customer engagement mechanics is crucial.
• Loyalty should be viewed as a broader customer strategy.
• Rewarding positive customer behaviour is essential.
• Customer insights are vital for effective loyalty programs.
• Setting clear goals is necessary for loyalty success.
• Measuring success should include customer experience metrics.
• Incentivising data collection enhances customer understanding.
• Financial modelling is critical for justifying loyalty investments.

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Summary:

In this podcast, the discussion revolves around the impact of AI on ecommerce teams, particularly focusing on the relationship between technology agencies and their clients.

The conversation highlights Seth's experiment of building a website using AI tools without any developer assistance, revealing both the potential and challenges of AI in development.

The discussion emphasises the importance of understanding AI's capabilities, the ongoing need for developers, and the efficiency gains that AI can bring to agencies. It also covers the future of AI in ecommerce platforms and the necessity of collaboration between AI and human expertise.

During this conversation, James, Seth & Jim explore the evolving role of AI in ecommerce, emphasising the importance of efficiency, risk management, and the need for prompt engineering strategies.

They explore how AI can enhance decision-making, streamline operations, and drive innovation while also addressing the complexities and risks associated with integrating AI tools into business processes.

Key takeaways:

• Understanding AI's capabilities is crucial for marketers.
• Building complex applications with AI requires technical knowledge.
• AI can expose security vulnerabilities if not used carefully.
• The role of developers remains critical despite AI advancements.
• AI can speed up design thinking and ideation processes.
• AI can speed up coding but requires human oversight.
• Agencies are leveraging AI for efficiency gains.

• The future of ecommerce may rely on AI-driven interfaces.
• Collaboration between AI and human developers is essential.

• Prompt engineering is essential for maximising AI productivity.

• Agencies must evolve to become educators in AI usage.

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Episode summary:

In this episode of the Inside Commerce podcast, Paul Rogers speaks with Matt Parkinson from Gene about the evolution of Magento and Adobe.

They explore the dangers of platform tribalism, and discuss the current state of the platform ecosystem, the challenges and opportunities facing businesses in the ecommerce space. They cover the aggressive competition among platforms, the flexibility of Magento, and the implications of Adobe's SaaS strategy.

Additionally, they explore the role of Hyva in revitalising the Magento community and enhancing innovation. Paul and Matt Parkinson also discuss the evolving landscape of ecommerce, focusing on Adobe and Shopify.

Key takeaways:

• The platform ecosystem has become aggressive and tribal, with strong opinions on various platforms.

• Magento aims to serve a wide range of businesses, from small startups to large enterprises.
• Adobe's SaaS strategy addresses known issues with Magento, such as total cost of ownership.
• The app builder offers a low-code solution for integrating third-party technologies.
• Adobe Commerce Optimizer provides a pathway to full SaaS for existing Magento users.
• Hyva front-end has revitalised the Magento community and enhanced innovation.

• Community advocacy plays a crucial role in product development.
• The future of Adobe and Magento is leaning towards enterprise and B2B markets.
• Shopify's ease of use contrasts with the complexity of B2B solutions.
• Bluefinch aims to streamline the patching and upgrading process for merchants.
• ShopThru seeks to revolutionize ecommerce by embedding checkout experiences.

• The future of ecommerce will likely involve more AI and agentic commerce.

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Summary:

In this episode ecommerce podcast, Paul Rogers speaks with ThruDark founder Louis Tinsley , who shares his unique journey from special forces to ecommerce entrepreneurship.

Louis discusses the challenges and successes of building a brand in the outdoor industry, the importance of leveraging relationships, and the strategic decisions that have shaped ThruDark's growth.

He emphasises the significance of team dynamics, investment, and the lessons learned along the way, while also looking ahead to future goals and international expansion.

Key takeaways:

• Louis spent years in the Royal Marines and special forces.
• The idea for ThruDark stemmed from a passion for outdoor equipment and product design.
• Initial challenges included navigating the transition from military life to entrepreneurship.
• Social media played a crucial role in building brand awareness and reaching audiences.
• Leveraging relationships with high-profile individuals helped ThruDark gain traction.
• Hiring key individuals was essential for scaling the business effectively.
• Investment from the Clark Group accelerated ThruDark's growth and provided valuable guidance.
• Bringing in a CEO was a strategic move to professionalise the business.
• International expansion is a focus, with a growing presence in the US and Canada.
• Reflecting on achievements is important for maintaining motivation and setting future goals.

In this ecommerce podcast, Tash Grossman, founder and CEO of Slip, discusses the transformation of shopping receipts into valuable engagement tools for retailers. She shares her journey from management consulting to founding Slip, emphasising the importance of learning from mistakes and the challenges of integrating technology in retail. Tash highlights the significance of digital receipts in enhancing customer experience, loyalty programs, and the potential for subscription services. The conversation also touches on overcoming barriers in retail technology and the future of retail media.Key takeaways:1. Digital receipts can enhance post-purchase engagement.2. Retailers should prioritise the value of receipts.3. Customer acquisition costs are rising, making retention crucial.4. Opt-in rates can be significantly increased with self-service data entry.5. Loyalty programs can be enriched through personalised digital receipts.6. Subscriptions via digital receipts present a new revenue opportunity for retailers.7. Retail media can be monetised through digital receipts.8. Integration with existing systems can be quick and efficient.

Inside Commerce is the first podcast to talk you through what the latest Shopify release means for ecommerce stores. James discusses the relevance of key new features and upgrades with Ben Homer, Senior Solutions Engineer, pulling apart the benefits and implications for merchants.

Shopify Editions always attracts lots of attention. Following an embargo in the partner community of the pre-release information, there's a frenzy of LinkedIn posts sharing the key features updates. Our podcast goes deeper, sifting through the 100+ updates to focus on the strategic pillars that are most relevant, and what the feature improvements mean for ecommerce teams.

We focus on four key strategic areas:

1. The new Horizon theme suite
2. Architectural development in Markets for International commerce
3. POS (Point Of Sale)
4. Sidekick AI Assistant

James Gurd and Ben Homer focus on the strategic implications of new features and discuss what Shopify's 'declarative commerce' positioning means in terms of product focus.

The new Horizon theming is covered, exploring how flexibility for content management is the main focus, enabling business user to do more before they need development resource. This includes AI block generation, block copying and block nesting.

For Markets, James & Ben discuss how the latest improvements aim to empower merchants, streamline internationalisation, and simplify multi-store management, ultimately enhancing the ecommerce experience.

Ben explains the reasoning behind new enhancements in Shopify's offering, focusing on B2B capabilities, point of sale systems, and the integration of generative AI to improve business efficiency. The dialogue emphasises the importance of localisation in markets, the user experience in retail environments, and the potential of AI tools like Sidekick to streamline operations and data management. Additionally, the conversation touches on the next generation of

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Summary:

Why do brands invest in the upper funnel?

In this podcast, digital marketing strategist Geeta Randev discusses the evolving landscape of digital marketing, emphasising the importance of investing in upper funnel marketing to build brand awareness and customer loyalty.

She highlights the need for managing expectations regarding the time it takes to see results from upper funnel investments and the significance of understanding the entire consumer journey, which begins before a customer even visits a website.

Geeta also addresses the challenges of creating cohesive consumer experiences across multiple touchpoints, and the art of storytelling in marketing, advocating for a more integrated approach to engaging consumers.

The podcast explores the intricacies of digital marketing, focusing on the importance of landing pages, user journeys, and the role of AI in enhancing marketing strategies.

Geeta and James discuss how brands can better engage consumers through thoughtful content strategies and the necessity of nurturing leads through the sales funnel.

The conversation also highlights the challenges and opportunities presented by AI in marketing, emphasising the need for brands to adopt a strategic approach to its implementation. Finally, Geeta addresses common pitfalls in marketing strategies, urging brands to be authentic and transparent in their messaging.

Key takeaways:

• Investing in upper funnel marketing is a long term commitment
• Managing ROI expectations is challenging
• The consumer journey starts before they hit your website.
• You need to own the entire consumer journey from start to finish.

• Storytelling should be interwoven across the site for better engagement.
• Reconsider the formatting of landing pages to enhance user engagement.

• Nurturing consumers through the funnel requires tailored content and strategies.
• AI can significantly enhance marketing efforts but requires careful implementation.

• Consumers are increasingly savvy and can see through inauthentic marketing.

Summary:

In this ecommerce podcast, James Gurd discusses the recent BigCommerce Partner Summit with agency leaders Rupert Cross and Mark Slocock.

They explore BigCommerce's market positioning, particularly in the B2B space, and share insights from the Partner Advisory Board.

The conversation delves into the challenges and areas for improvement for BigCommerce, including the need for better tools and features. They also discuss the roadmap for future developments, the role of AI, and the importance of composability in ecommerce solutions.

The conversation delves into the evolving landscape of ecommerce, focusing on BigCommerce's product strategy. Mark and Rupert discuss the importance of content management, the integration of B2B solutions, and the significance of self-service capabilities for businesses.

The discussion emphasises the need for flexibility in ecommerce platforms to meet diverse business needs and enhance user experience.

Key takeaways:

• BigCommerce is focusing on B2B opportunities as a key growth area.

• Vertical-specific solutions are needed to address unique business requirements.

• AI and composability are becoming essential in ecommerce strategies.
• Flexibility in licensing and pricing models is important for merchants.
• Page Builder needs significant improvements for better usability.

• Merchants want to see use cases rather than just features; you can't be all things to all people.

• A strong promotions engine is vital for ecommerce success.
• Flexibility in platforms allows for better growth opportunities.
• Continuous dialogue among industry experts fosters innovation.