We sit down with Brandon Kuipers, Co-founder and CMO of Zox, to discuss how a family arts-and-crafts project evolved into a globally recognized e-commerce brand. Hear how Zox grew from a family project to an international success by leveraging data-driven marketing, and how emerging tools like Triple Whale's Sonar have unlocked global markets. From Kitchen Table to Global BrandKey takeaways:Leveraging the right data tools, like Sonar, significantly improved Zox's data visibility, enabling them to optimize ad performance in international markets.Localized strategies, like creating region-specific products such as language-adapted designs, can help deepen market engagement.[00:06:32] “Building a business is about innovating, even when you feel like you have it figured out.” — Brandon[00:17:54] Once Sonar was set up, our data accuracy went from tracking almost none of our conversions to tracking just about every conversion." — Brandon[00:20:30] “Sonar has been the missing link, reopening markets we thought had closed down.” — Brandon[00:25:18] “Even if an ad flops in the U.S., it can still perform well in other regions. Nothing is wasted.” — Brandon[00:28:30] “This level of visibility is enabling full-on product pivots to better address new markets.” — Brian Associated Links:Learn more about Sonar, Triple Whale’s Meta Integration.Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Kellet Atkinson, Product Manager at Triple Whale, brings a wealth of experience in e-commerce technology to the discussion. He emphasizes the importance of first-party data in a privacy-focused landscape and how it can transform marketing strategies. The conversation delves into the evolution of e-commerce analytics through AI, highlighting the challenges of data interpretation and the necessity of clean data. They also explore the balance between human intuition and machine learning in decision-making, alongside innovative tools like Sonar that enhance ad performance.

“Email’s stability in a changing digital world makes it one of the few reliable channels left for brands, even after ten years.” Seasoned eCommerce and email marketing expert Greg Zakowicz joins Brian and Phillip to unpack the holiday inbox squeeze. The Tried and True, Yet Hackable, Email CampaignKey takeaways:[00:01:41] “Email’s stability in a changing digital world makes it one of the few reliable channels left for brands, even after ten years.” – Greg[00:05:46] “Honing in on your unique value, especially if you’re a small brand competing with giants, is more critical than ever.” – Greg [00:08:23] “Strategic timing, like sending a campaign around a product’s peak usage time, can make a huge difference in engagement.” – Phillip[00:25:23] “People want creative, engaging content even if it’s transactional; small touches can make emails stand out in crowded inboxes.” – Greg [00:30:08] “Just because everyone’s doing 25% off doesn’t mean it’s the only thing that works; there’s room for creativity in how you present offers.” – Greg Associated Links:Learn more about OmnisendCheck out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Phoebe Yu, a UX designer and content creator, dives into the cultural dimensions of user experience design. She discusses how Japan's unique communication style has influenced design trends and emphasizes the importance of user feedback across cultures. Phoebe highlights the differences between low context and high context cultures, showcasing their effects on e-commerce usability. She also shares insights on reducing user friction and encourages curiosity about diverse cultural practices, ultimately advocating for tailored design approaches.

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Spooky Commerce finishes with an epic finale as we explore the mysterious history of Seattle's iconic Pike Place Market. Phillip, Brian, and Sarah share tales of ghost sightings, haunted (coffee) grounds, and the rich lore behind one of the oldest continuously operating markets in the U.S. PLUS: Phillip and Brian debrief a tragedy involving AI-to-human relationships and discuss the challenges parents face as children gain unrestricted access to AI tools. The Roast With the GhostTW: This week’s episode discusses sensitive subject matter, including suicide.Key Takeaways:AI taking on a life of its own: Children have unrestricted access to increasingly lifelike AI tools. Pike Place Market is home to more than just vendors: It's rumored to house spirits from Seattle’s early days.Kells yeah: Kells Irish Pub sits on a former mortuary and a former indigenous burial site – and is one of Seattle’s most haunted locations. [00:09:30] “​​The thing is, the difference between what you were doing and what an AI is doing is you are interacting with real people. Message boards were human-to-human communication. It was just instantaneous. This is like, getting sucked into a video game that has no end.” – Brian[00:18:00] "This thing (AI) has escaped containment." – Phillip[00:25:22] “Brian’s developed a palate that's sophisticated enough to taste the ghost in Pike Place roast.” – Phillip[00:03:35] "The building that Kells Pub exists in is the Butterworth and Sons building, which was not only a former mortuary, but it was also built on top of tribal burial grounds.” – Sarah[00:40:00] “There's just there's so many elements here that would actually enable this sort of storytelling around the place.” – BrianAssociated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

This week we unpack multisensory commerce, the economical ebb and flow of re-commerce, and reflect on Phillip’s keynote at the Motion Creative Strategy Summit. PLUS: Spooky Commerce is back. Phillip, Brian, and Sarah journey to a haunted 1980’s Bay Area Toys R Us.The Duality of RecommerceKey takeaways:Tactile interactions produce profound experiences – something digital media cannot replicate. Phillip’s keynote presentation at the Motion Creative Strategy Summit highlighted the polymathic inspiration of tactile creativity.[00:09:30] “Things that you consider to be highly immersive aren't as immersive as you think they are. The sphere is very immersive, but it is not as tactile as Meow Wolf's Omega mart.” – Phillip[00:21:15 ] “I step into that Waymo and I get, you know, a technology rush. It feels like, finally. Oh, finally. It's here. All the things that we've all dreamed of. And I think it's because the imagination has already moved on.” – Brian[00:33:30 ] "Sylvia Brown herself came in, so this brought a lot of coverage to the story…they did this whole televised seance moment, and she discovered that the ghost's name is Johnny Johnson." – Sarah[00:34:15] "What a weird fate for him. You know? First of all, tragic death. Second of all, like, a toy store gets built over, like, this beautiful ranch where he was supposed to live this life, and then he gets to haunt toys." – BrianAssociated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

From dead-and-undead-again crypto cycles to eBay’s paranormal side, we explore the range of the paranormal in this week’s installment of Spooky Commerce. Listen now!Crypt-O-Currency, Panic Buying and Paranormal DucksKey takeaways:eCommerce giants like Pinduoduo (Temu’s parent company) are contributing to deflation in China by flooding the market with cheap goods.Disaster alerts compete with the attention economy. In our daily flurry of push notifications, we might also be alerted of an impending natural disaster.Despite repeated crashes, the cryptocurrency market continues to revive itself.{00:03:55} "The visual language of a hurricane is lines at retail or empty shelves having been bought out. It’s part of the cultural act of a disaster... commerce is so disrupted in a moment of disaster." – Phillip{00:19:10} "I don't know which is worse, this horrific porcelain doll I'm looking at called the 'Haunted Effanbee Doll' from the 1930s, or the fact that it's listed at $12,000." – Phillip{00:27:20} “I am not clicking that link. Oh, it’s a duck? Okay, link me that one.” – Brian{00:31:00} “There's a lot of stuff that's sold on the Internet that's actually really hard to validate whether it can do what it says that it does. And I bet there are reviews of this duck that make it sound like people had paranormal experiences with it… Individual experiences are what we use to validate whether something is trustworthy to purchase.” – Brian{00:33:00} "Do the delivery drivers know they’re transporting haunted relics?" – SarahAssociated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Is the world of copyright infringement getting weirder? We catch up on the latest (and tastiest) brand battles. PLUS: October-exclusive segment, Spooky Commerce, where we take a look at an interesting urban legend that will make you say, “Holy matrimony!” Seattle Suits and LawsuitsMore from Shoptoberfest: Brian, Mike Wattier and Jeremy Noonan dive deeper into our latest report, “The Honest Truth.”Key takeaways:The lines separating brands’ identities are blurrier and blurrier as markets become more trend-saturated. Enter: Muddy Bites suing The Best Part, and Smuckers suing Chubby.Our latest report found that 77% of retailers trust their agency, but only 1 in 5 brands or retailers actually end up using their agency account manager to help them make a decision about what software they pick. {00:14:39} “Identity is actually going to be a necessity, not just for keeping your identity unique, but also to keep yourself from being copied, or to also make sure that you're not copying anybody else…The only way to protect yourself is to be extremely different.” - Brian{00:15:40} “It could help to be more creative. I do think that if copyright lawsuits were this prevalent during the early age of the Internet, we wouldn't have the Internet we have today.” - Phillip{00: 34:00} “We take the bull by the horns on that one. We want to drive that process because oftentimes, the people that are developing these products, they're not in the trenches doing the implementation, so they're not always fully aligned.” - Jeremy Noonan{00:39:52} “Speed equals money, how fast do you want to go? Leadership doesn't understand the intricacies of the actual work itself. They're not getting that unvarnished truth about how to fill the gaps properly.” - Mike WattierAssociated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

If buying software were a cage match, the RFP would be a royal rumble. Dive into the weird world of software buying and the flawed nature of RFPs with Philipp Krueger and Jason Nyhus, as we explore insights from the latest Future Commerce report, "The Honest Truth."Lies, Damned Lies, and RFPsKey takeaways:“The Honest Truth” report reveals that 81% of merchants expect software implementation to differ from their original RFP expectations.Companies value both speed to market and customization, but these priorities are often at odds. Integrating AI into software selection processes can free up time to develop more tailored solutions.{00:26:56} “[The RFP process] is flawed to the bone. You're reduced to feature lists. And you just tick off boxes; ‘Can we do that? Can we do that?’ ” - Philipp Krueger{00:29:17} “I think AI is going to completely revolutionize the way that we capture requirements, the way that we qualify what's being said in an RFP, and how we do agency and software selection.” - Phillip Jackson{00: 30:19} “RFP processes, I think they started in the late 19th century if I remember correctly. So today, we're still running this antiquated process of trying to figure out what vendors can we work with, which is 100 years old…maybe this is the moment that AI changes it.” - Jason Nhuys{00:52:10} “I don’t think you should rely on a classic RFP process because all vendors will give you their, quote, unquote, ‘honest truth.’” - Jason NhuysAssociated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!