

The Watson Weekly - Your Essential eCommerce Digest
RMW Commerce
Join Rick Watson, 20+ year eCommerce veteran and CEO & Founder of RMW Commerce, to hear all the latest in the world of eCommerce — from established players like Amazon and Shopify to the new startups, fresh off their latest round of funding. From Marketplaces to Direct-to-Consumer to Supply Chain to Payments, it’s all here.
New episodes every Monday, just in time for your morning commute!
Find more great content from Rick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ecommercestrategyconsulting/
New episodes every Monday, just in time for your morning commute!
Find more great content from Rick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ecommercestrategyconsulting/
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 18, 2025 • 14min
August 18th, 2025: We Once Made a Deal with Google. The Deal Has Changed, The Unspoken AI Enthusiasm Gap At Large Companies, The Road Ahead for Commerce.com, and An Update On Gnawing Your Arm Off, or Replatforming
Today on our show:We Once Made a Deal with Google. The Deal Has ChangedThe Unspoken AI Enthusiasm Gap At Large CompaniesThe Road Ahead for Commerce.comAn Update On Gnawing Your Arm Off, or Replatforming- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Aug 11, 2025 • 16min
August 11th, 2025: Amazon Reports Earnings, Dogged by AI Questions, Shopify Q2 Earnings Show Its Not Going Anywhere, Klaviyo Delivers Growth, But Efficiency Still Lacking, and Recap from Austin: Auctane’s Spicy Innovation Delivered Event
Today on our show:Amazon Reports Earnings, Dogged by AI QuestionsShopify Q2 Earnings Show Its Not Going AnywhereKlaviyo Delivers Growth, But Efficiency Still LackingRecap from Austin: Auctane’s Spicy Innovation Delivered Event- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 4 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Aug 4, 2025 • 12min
August 4th, 2025: Bigcommerce Rebrands as Just Commerce, UPS Q2 Earnings Highlights Strange Economic Times, Last Flight of the Aggregator: OpenStore Valuation Burns, and Amazon Pulled out of Google Shopping for AI, not for Advertising
Today on our show:Bigcommerce Rebrands as Just CommerceUPS Q2 Earnings Highlights Strange Economic TimesLast Flight of the Aggregator: OpenStore Valuation BurnsAmazon Pulled out of Google Shopping for AI, not for Advertising- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Jul 17, 2025 • 55min
The CEO Spot: From Silicon Chips to Supply Chains – Dipti Desai’s Mission to Modernize EDI
In this debut episode of The CEO Spot, Rick Watson sits down with Dipti Desai, Founder and CEO of crstl, for an unfiltered look into one of the most quietly powerful protocols in commerce—EDI.From her early days as an electrical engineer in Silicon Valley to building mission-critical infrastructure for today’s omni-channel brands, Dipti shares the journey that led her to found crstl—a SaaS network designed to modernize the way suppliers and retailers communicate.We explore:The surprising origin story of crstl during the PPE crisisWhy EDI is more like the English language than a piece of legacy techThe difference between the application layer and the protocol layer—and why it mattersHow penalties, complexity, and digital transformation are reshaping supplier operationsWhy crstl doesn’t charge by seat and how it's enabling real collaboration at scaleThe future of B2B commerce in an age of AI, API, and protocol convergenceWhether you’re a founder, brand operator, or just EDI-curious, this episode unpacks how structured data exchange is fueling the future of retail—and why ignoring the "boring" infrastructure could be your biggest mistake.

Jul 14, 2025 • 13min
July 14th, 2025: NRF Files Suit Against NY State Law, Why Is There No Best Practice for ECommerce Org Structure, Amazon Quietly Cornering Market on Robot Patents, and LuluLemon in Markdown Hell
Today on our show:NRF Files Suit Against NY State LawWhy Is There No Best Practice for ECommerce Org StructureAmazon Quietly Cornering Market on Robot PatentsLuluLemon in Markdown Hell- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Jun 30, 2025 • 13min
June 30th, 2025: Klarna CEO Claims They Will Be a Super App, Walmart Investor Event Sheds New Light, Should You Put a Chatbot In Front Of Your Retail Store, and Musings from CommerceNext and Mirakl’s Summit
Today on our show:Klarna CEO Claims They Will Be a Super AppWalmart Investor Event Sheds New LightShould You Put a Chatbot In Front Of Your Retail StoreMusings from CommerceNext and Mirakl’s Summit- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Jun 23, 2025 • 11min
June 23rd, 2025: Saks Global Still Sounds in Trouble, Facebook Says eCommerce is Great -- For Other People, Jassy’s AI Memo Was a Snoozefest, In a Good Way, and Amazon Extending Prime Day Doesn’t Give me Warm Fuzzies
Today on our show:Saks Global Still Sounds in TroubleFacebook Says eCommerce is Great -- For Other PeopleJassy’s AI Memo Was a Snoozefest, In a Good WayAmazon Extending Prime Day Doesn’t Give me Warm Fuzzies- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Jun 16, 2025 • 9min
June 16th, 2025: Palantir Partners with Bolt, Amazon Releases AI Video Generation Tools, Sezzle Sues Shopify For AntiCompetitive Practices, and Walmart Releases New AI Tools
Today on our show:Palantir Partners with BoltAmazon Releases AI Video Generation ToolsSezzle Sues Shopify For AntiCompetitive PracticesWalmart Releases New AI Tools- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Jun 9, 2025 • 11min
June 9th, 2025: Shopify MCP Server Raises More Questions Than Answers, Could the AI Race Become a Hardware Race, and Temu Half Off - Just In Time For Summer
Today on our show:Shopify MCP Server Raises More Questions Than AnswersCould the AI Race Become a Hardware Race?Temu Half Off - Just In Time For Summer- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly

Jun 2, 2025 • 11min
June 2nd, 2025: Salesforce to acquire Informatica, Social Commerce Panel Reveals Influencer Importance, Lowes Launches Its Marketplace, and Tariff Feud Event with Passport Recap
Today on our show:Salesforce to acquire InformaticaSocial Commerce Panel Reveals Influencer ImportanceLowes Launches Its MarketplaceTariff Feud Event with Passport Recap- and finally, The Investor Minute which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.Today's episode is sponsored by Mirakl.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly