The Watson Weekly - Your Essential eCommerce Digest

In the final episode of this special 3-part Watson Weekly series, Rick Watson is joined by Kelly Goetsch, Advisor at Commerce Tools, to discuss what’s next for the world of commerce. Key topics include:The rise of social shopping and platforms like TikTok ShopsHow AI is redefining brand discovery and trustPredictions for retail growth and consumer behavior in 2025The enduring influence of earned media in building connectionsThis episode ties the series together with forward-looking insights and strategies to thrive in an ever-changing e-commerce landscape.

Today on our show:Our 2025 NRF event analysisRecapping the first ever RMW Commerce Five Forces event in New York CityAnd 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

In Part 2 of this special Watson Weekly series, Rick Watson and Kelly Goetsch dive deep into the complexities of B2B commerce. They discuss:The generational shift reshaping the industryChallenges like the "Bob Problem" and outdated practicesThe role of composable commerce in streamlining processesHow solutions like Commerce Tools Foundry are enabling businesses to innovateExplore how B2B is evolving to meet modern demands while navigating its unique challenges. Don’t miss this insightful conversation that bridges tradition and innovation.Stay tuned for the final episode in this series, rolling out next week!

Today on our show:Shopify 2025: The Entrepreneur, the Rulemaker and the Bridge-BuilderMastercard Holiday numbers show roses for eCommerceIs 2025 the year of the niche down?Amazon still the king of warehouse growthAnd 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

In this special episode of Watson Weekly, Rick Watson is joined by Kelly Goetsch, a Commercetools Advisor and industry thought leader. Kelly shares his unique insights into the evolving landscape of e-commerce, focusing on the intersection of technology and healthcare. Together, they explore key topics like consumer behavior trends, the growing role of composable commerce, and the untapped opportunities in health tech. From tackling HIPAA compliance to redefining retail experiences, this episode dives deep into the transformative potential of technology across industries. Don’t miss this engaging discussion packed with expertise and forward-thinking strategies.About Kelly - Kelly Goetsch is a commercetools Advisor. Until January 2025, Kelly was the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, and prior to that, he served as the Chief Product Officer at commercetools for nearly six years. Goetsch is an industry thought-leader who champions the MACH (Microservices, API, Cloud-Native, and Headless) movement, and co-founded the MACH Alliance, a group of 100+ independent, future-thinking tech companies dedicated to advocating for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems. Prior to commercetools, Goetsch held senior-level product development and go-to-market responsibilities at Oracle and held the role of Senior Architect ATG (acquired by Oracle), where he was instrumental to 31 large-scale ATG implementationsHe is the author of four books - GraphQL for Modern Commerce (O'Reilly, 2020), APIs for Modern Commerce (O'Reilly, 2017), Microservices for Modern Commerce (O'Reilly, 2016) and E-Commerce in the Cloud (O'Reilly, 2014). He holds three patents, including one key to distributed computing.

Today on our show:Amazon building 25% of all warehousesUPS hiking SurePost rates by 10%Lowes develops a new marketplaceQuickbooks partners with Amazon Marketplace Seller CentralAnd 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 

Today on our show:Shopify releases a boring updateWas Amazon haul launched sooner as political strategy?What is the potential impact of tariffs on eCommerce?Why use an outside consultant to help you solve a problem?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

Today on our show:3 observations from Cyber WeekThe 3 coming wars in the next 5 years5 reasons Klaviyo is growing faster than most anyone right nowAnd 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

Attention, Watsonians! Pardon us as we were on a brief hiatus over the holiday week - we'll be back next week with a brand new episode!

Today on our show:How you should read the Gartner QuadrantWordpress is the Craigslist of website buildersTarget reports terrible earningsWalmart reports great earningsAnd finally, The Investor Minute, which contains 5 items this week from the world of venture capital, acquisitions, and IPOs.https://www.rmwcommerce.com/ecommerce-podcast-watsonweekly