The Watson Weekly - Your Essential eCommerce Digest

Today on our show:Walmart reports fiscal year 2025 earningsSaks stopped paying vendors on timeTikTok subscriptions could help creatorsBigCommerce reports 2024 earningsAnd 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 Q4 2024 earnings: The age of efficiency comes to ShopifyIt’s not just you - age of efficiency acceleratingAmazon Q4 earnings wins the Grammy for free cash flowAmazon ad engine getting hungry: look out Google ShoppingAnd 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:Trump eliminates the de minimis for ChinaAI won't solve all the problems, but we don't realize it yetUPS Q4 2024 earnings: steering towards margin, away from AmazonAI is not the new SEO. Brands could be in a marketplace without realizing itAnd 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 a special edition of our show:Remembering Kent AllenEvolution of Global eCommercePioneers in Cross-Border TradeCurrent Trends and PlayersJim OkamuraPartner, McMillanDoolittle and co-founder, Global E-Commerce Leaders ForumJim has over 25 years of consulting experience focused on strategic planning in the retail industry. His work in retail innovation and digital transformation has resulted in industry-leading thinking on retailer best practices and strategy. Jim has published global and national retail studies and has been a featured speaker at the NRF, Shop.org, and many international conferences. In 2013 Jim co-founder the Global E-Commerce Leaders forum, a digital retail community and conference series focused on global growth strategies for consumer brands. Jim has developed growth strategies for clients such as Adidas, Bridgestone, Maurices, Dress Barn, Gap, DSW, LensCrafters, Nike, Neiman Marcus, Souris Mini, Timberland, Victoria’s Secret, Lowes, Crate and Barrel, MasterCard, Walgreens, Marriott and Emart. Scott SilvermanCo-Founder CommerceNext; Co-Founder, Global Ecommerce Leaders ForumSilverman has been active in the retail and ecommerce industries for more than 20 years and is passionate about digital commerce and the innovation driving the industry. In 2013, Silverman co-founded the Global Ecommerce Leaders Forum, a forum and series of conferences for international and cross-border ecommerce. In 2017, Silverman co-founded CommerceNext, a community, event series and conference for marketers at retail and direct-to-consumer brands.Silverman began his career in ecommerce in 1999 where he led National Retail Federation’s digital division, Shop.org, until 2010. During his time at NRF he launched the Shop.org Annual Summit and a number of research studies. He co-invented “Cyber Monday” in 2005 and was the founder of Cybermonday.com in 2006, a shopping site that has generated more than $2.5 million for NRF’s Ray Greenly scholarship fund.In honor of Kent Allen:A digital commerce industry analyst for the last twenty plus years, Kent’s research and thought leadership has strongly influenced the development of the global/cross-border ecommerce sector. Since collaborating with Jim Okamura on the industry’s first international ecommerce benchmark study in 2008, Kent has published a wide collection of reports and articles chronicling the rise of global ecommerce ecosystems.Kent also leads strategy, industry analysis, thought leadership and content marketing initiatives that focus on omnichannel commerce and digital marketing innovations. His work includes executive research, industry speaking engagements, white papers and case studies, social content, webinars, and retail tours for retail and consumer goods executives. His latest focus, The Global Customer Journey Project explores how the online shopping journey differs in markets around the world.The Research Trust’s industry marketing programs help innovative digital companies tell their story and build ongoing relationships with prospects, established clients and partners. Kent’s practice provides a mix of strategic planning services, best practices research and market analysis for global brands and technology partners striving to better serve connected consumers around the world.

Today on our show:Risks to Amazon in the AI WarsPrivate equity outlook in 2025Artificial Intelligence moving from creating to doing with OpenAI OperatorHow to grow faster is an elusive questionAnd 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 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.