Future Commerce

Have a More Holistic Global View of the WorldKent Allen is the Co-Founder of GELF, who has been in the ecosystem and helping lead the conversation of cross-border for 25 years“We've got to realize that the very nature of digital commerce is cross-border.” -KentIn the last few years we’ve seen a boom in eCommerce, which has inherently led to a boom in cross-borderThe monkey paw of cross-border is having to be extremely specific when manifesting things in the eCommerce worldCross-border eCommerce is a diversification play. It’s an opportunity to be relevant to your consumer and the next-decade consumer.You don’t have to go strictly direct-to-consumer; marketplaces can be a huge opportunity for selling internationally. If you’re able to adapt your domestic operations, you can quickly and easily fulfill international orders from your domestic operation“When you're ready to kind of go into new markets and you need to find customers and things like that, marketplaces are usually the best way to do it.” -KentIf you ignore selling internationally, others aren’t and you will lose markets in the future“You have to have a more holistic global view of the world” -Kent Associated Links:Want to learn more about going cross-border? Download our free Step by Step guide!Get connected with Avalara!Learn more about Kent Allen and GELFListen to our other Step by Step seasonsFind our other Future Commerce episodes on our websiteHave 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!

It Takes an Ecosystem to Grow InternationallyJason Nyhus is the SVP of Global Sales at Digital River, focusing on helping brands go global“The honest reality of today is a lot different than it was a decade ago. If you make any product, you are inherently global overnight.”- JasonJust because you’re able to take people’s money, doesn't mean you will be able to fulfill the brands promise. You have to make sure that you will still be able to deliver an on-par experience. You have to be able to serve the demandThere are two categories to consider:1. Where is the product coming from? Does it have to cross the border?2. Where is the payment being taken? Does that also have to cross the border?The more onshore, the better. Better in terms of products, how long it takes to get there and making sure you have the appropriate payment methods.A brand can really screw up when they go global if they surprise their customers in a negative way.“It's not just your flagship. If you're going cross-border, it's your only ship.” -Brian“A lot of people think that they can execute an international global expansion. The question is, should they do it themselves or should they find help from some of the companies that you have on this podcast? Because I think that's probably the most likely best path for a lot of them.” -JasonAssociated Links:Want to learn more about going cross-border? Download our free Step by Step guide!Get connected with Avalara!Learn more about Jason Nyhus and Digital River Listen to our other Step by Step seasonsFind our other Future Commerce episodes on our websiteHave 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!

The Super Bowel MovementWe admit, we were talking s**t about Tushy on a recent Senses email, only because our team was very intrigued by the Super Bowel campaign, and of course this prompted conversation between our teams and here we are, dropping poop jokes on the showTUSHY is the modern bidet brand that washes your butt clean after you poop.“Make something that you would be curious to click on. It changes the way you make art and the way you create and do things. It truly is all about authenticity.”-MikiShowing authenticity in marketing and in gerneral, in being a brand, is important because it matches people up with a brandMiki looks at things in a three prongs thesis:Best in class product. No matter the product, it has to be cool, intriguing, delicious and elevate your life.Artful design across every touchpoint of the brand/product. “It's considered artful design across every touchpoint of our brand, when it makes you open your heart.” -MikiAcessible, relatable language. Have the authentic conversation like you're texting your best friend“The things that we do aren’t just for the sake of them, but to open up a broader conversation.” - Miki“The antidote to late capitalism is more human connection and more fulfillment of us having deeper conversations.” -PhillipAssociated Links:Learn more about Miki Agrawal and TUSHY- Use FUTURETUSHY for 10% off your purchase!Tushy’s Super Bowel Campaign Subscribe to Insiders and Senses to read more of our hot takes!Listen to our other episodes of Future CommerceInfinite Shelf Season 2 OUT NOW!Stay tuned for our newest season of Step by Step…coming soon!Have 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!

Everything is Better in PersonEveryone is still suffering through the turmoil of work from home life, job transitions, not knowing how to interact with customers, and so much more but Etail West was able to provide a way for everyone to relate and be in person again for the first time in a long time.“The struggles that any company has to build out culture, whether it's in-person or even more challenging when it's remote, those challenges are no different than when you're trying to build a relationship with your customer.” -TommyCulture transparency is important, from company culture all the way down to building relationships with your customers.Mary Grace has a brilliant way of thinking called X-Factor, where she analyzes everything on three levels, execution, raw nerve or bravery, and the overall X-Factor (or wow factor) to the thing being analyzed.Etail West provided the opportunity for everyone to connect again, it provided the safety net for life to feel free and for those attending to interact and share successes and helpful strategies of how they pushed through the times of COVID.Associated Links:Learn more about Tommy Lamb, Mary Grace Tift and WITHINWatch us build in public. Subscribe to our YouTube or Twitch and never miss a Casting Visions Episode!Subscribe to Insiders and Senses!Listen to our other episodes of Future CommerceInfinite Shelf Season 2 coming in March!Stay tuned for our newest season of Step by Step…coming soon!Have 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!

What Even is Arbitrage?Phillip’s new definition of arbitrage: an untapped source of potential; a source of growth that's under leveraged or as yet undiscovered.“The real arbitrage opportunity is hard work. Everybody wants a shortcut, and everybody wants the one weird trick.” - PhilllipWe’re stuck in a e-commerce industry diet fad phase. Everyone is searching for the one weird trick, but there is no weird trick, its just an endurance race of hard work.“Work hard and keep working longer than you ought, because most others will not.” - PhillipGentle parenting is a style of parenting that is becoming very popular but there is a common refrain which is to do dangerous things carefully. Doing things carefully can be looked at the same in commerce, we take risks and are not promised a guaranteed outcome, but you test it and learn from it.Luxury by nature is an exception because it will always be the minority. In eCommerce, we often look at luxury as an exception, and we go and build for that experience, but we’re actually building for the exception.Associated Links:Watch us build in public. Subscribe to our YouTube or Twitch and never miss a Casting Visions Episode!Subscribe to Insiders and Senses!Listen to our other episodes of Future CommerceInfinite Shelf Season 2 coming in March!Stay tuned for our newest season of Step by Step…coming soon!Have 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!

The Evolution of Future CommerceToday we’re talking about the future of Future Commerce, going in depth on all our deep and dreamy stuff we got going on!“Commerce is relationship, identity, and connection between people. As we see changes in the way that people relate, commerce is affected and vice versa. As commerce changes, the way that people relate is changed.” - BrianBecause everyone has the ability to change, we at Future Commerce want to grow and adapt with the change, commence Casting Visions: building in public. Casting Visions will be the spot of Future Commerce where we will be looking beyond commerce.“Future Commerce is a company. It's a media company. It performs research and comes up with original ideas, big ideas, on how the world will be changed via commerce and how we're all going to have to adapt or create the new future. And that is powered by people who are futurists, who are risk-takers, and who are creating the new commerce paradigms and experiences for the future.” -PhillipNot only are we working on Visions, but we have amazing growth going on with our subproperties, Step by Step, Infinite Shelf, Nine by Nine, and Future Commerce Salons. That’s why now is a great time to make Visions more than just a report.Visions is more than just a report. That’s why we’re building it in public, with our friends and colleagues of Future Commerce“As you do push boundaries, sometimes you push right over the edge. And I think there's a time and a place to do that. And it is risky to do that. But Future Commerce is for the risk-takers. We want people who are ready to put it all on the line at some point and show things off.” - Brian Associated Links:Watch us build in public. Subscribe to our YouTube or Twitch and never miss a Casting Visions Episode!Brian’s Insiders piece: #080: Rethinking Brand Power StructuresSubscribe to Insiders and Senses!Listen to our other episodes of Future CommerceInfinite Shelf Season 2 coming in March!Stay tuned for our newest season of Step by Step…coming soon!Have 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!

Crossborder, Spotify, and The Truths of Modern Living“A lot of growth in retail and eCommerce is trying to sell you things that really nobody actually needs.” - PhillipBehavioral purchasing modes help explain personal shopping habits and the need to stock up on a product one really likes. We all have behavioral purchasing modes, even though each individual might go about it differently.Step by Step Season 7 Preview: The future of many brands is to go cross-border. But American brands cannot expect that other countries and cultures will have the same shopping habits and demand curve as US markets.“The way that [brand operators] think about that consumer has to change, which means that maybe the whole purpose of [the] brand and the way [operators] market changes too.” - PhilipBuying items from Amazon is just pure fun. The Amazon Advertising ecosystem is also a prime example of conspicuous consumption.You would think with DTC era and the growth of Amazon prime that recycling matters would increase, but they've actually been spiraling down.Brian offers a genius new venture to Amazon for cardboard recycling. Hey Jassy, take note.“Modern living, our work is really just waste management. Most of our lives are just spent managing our waste. I don't think it's that far from the truth.” - BrianAssociated Links:Phillip’s recent Insiders piece: The Death & Rebirth of NeutralitySubscribe to our Casting Visions Twitch Stream as we build in Public. Check out Casting Visions! Subscribe to Insiders and Senses!Listen to our other episodes of Future CommerceInfinite Shelf Season 2 coming later this month!Stay tuned for our newest season of Step by Step…coming soon!Have 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!

A Pop-Up Amazon Go?Overall, health safety was top of mind for everyone“The safety protocols and the vaccine protocols worked very well for this event, and I think it proves we can have large scale events even if they're lightly attended.” - PhillipThe shining star of NRF ‘22 was the innovative Amazon Go Pop Up Store on the main floor, providing attendees with convenient snacks and needs.Maybe they should consider hosting it a different weekend? Not MLK weekend…“Prior to the 90s, there was the age of clientele and glamor to retail that NRF to some degree represented.” - Brian“Ecom can be an invisible industry. And you know what that's doing? It's taking the glamor out of the industry.”- BrianAssociated Links:Subscribe to Insiders and Senses!Listen to our other episodes of Future CommerceListen to our newest podcast, Infinite ShelfHave 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!

“Every Company Will Be a Crypto Company”Mags is someone who is thinking about the future of the startup ecosystem. She’s passionate about why and how people spend their time, money, and attention“The reality is people will always have needs, they will always buy things and services to fulfill those needs. New brands will still be launching.” -MagsThe journey of NFTs is still early. In many ways they’re very similar to DTC brands as its become easy to launch, and the early movers have made a lot of moneyIn return, we’ve gotten flooded with too many options that are not differentiated“My gut feel right now is that Web3 is about technical capabilities and about user needs. But it's also about culture and ethos and the mentality around what that actually means and then why the centralization matters.” -Mags“Initially, every company is a tech company and then every company is a fintech company, and at some point every company will be a crypto company.” -MagsNFTs are loyalty. They’re a way to assign value to what it means to be associated to a brand“The benefit of a DAO is just the speed of organization.”- BrianLive Streaming is just a part of content, and content is important and will continue to be in the future. It’s a matter of storytellingAssociated Links:Learn more about Magdalena KalaSubscribe to InsidersListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceListen to our newest podcast, Infinite ShelfHave 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!

Connecting Acquisition Back to SubscriptionHawaii Volcanic Beverages is a purpose-driven ultra-premium alkaline water and active lifestyle brand based in Hawaii.Ordergroove helps innovative brands enable Relationship Commerce with successful subscription, predictive reorder, and membership experiences.“Water brands have a tremendous opportunity in really high, densely populated metropolitan areas…no one wants to lug around a case of water in the subway, walk up 10 flights of stairs to their apartment on a monthly basis. So why not just order it online?” -DanielThere are three major parts of relationship commerce. How you get them to enroll, the way you retain them, and the way you extend lifetime value.“Ordergroove provides this platform or this flexibility out of the box for people.” -Eddie“What eCommerce enables us to do is eliminate those barriers of not having those distribution points to where even if we have someone come all the way from New York to Hawaii to buy our water and they want to take that product home with them, they can still jump on our website and get a case delivered to them all the way in New York.”-DanielAssociated Links:Learn more about Eddie Hsieh and OrdergrooveLearn more about Daniel Kim and Hawaii Volcanic BeveragesSubscribe to InsidersListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceListen to our newest podcast, Infinite ShelfHave 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!