Future Commerce

On Headless, Influencers, and Live StreamingWhat does digital marketing attribution look like if there are no cookies? And what are people doing in response to this? Frantic behavior. “Frantic behavior can be exciting because that means there is opportunity to be part of the solution.” - GaryProduct market fit is beginning to become influencer fit. Consumers want to buy from experiences and from influencers they trust. Having a “genuine influencer” promote something to a consumer doesn’t take a lot of convincing.The law of platforms is always evolving. “The platform always evolves where its ecosystem performs R&D for it, and then it makes its strategic bets and product roadmap based on what's getting market share, and in this case, capital allocation.” -PhillipAssociated Links:Learn more about Gary BenerofeCheck out our interview with Lomi’s Matt BertulliThe Cookiepocolypse and the Zero-Party Data Opportunity with Ben ParrOur interview with Liyia Wu from ShopShopsSubscribe to InsidersSign up for the prerelease of Nine By NineEnd of episode Com Truise tunesHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on Futurecommerce.fm, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Accounting Platforms for Business Data that have Climate ImpactSustainaBase is a software program that helps manage the carbon footprint of a company, akin to an accounting platform. SuistainaBase tracks carbon emissions, as well as water and waste metrics, taking data and science calculations to organizations to create meaningful actions.“Sustainability is important and it's something that we should be tracking like the way we track dollars. We should be checking to see if we're really making the reductions that we want to be making and the impacts that we want to be reducing.” -Gaida“Project Gigaton is a Walmart program, it's a big audacious program with a very meaningful goal. They’re working to avoid a billion metric tons of greenhouse gasses from their supply chain by the year 2030.” -Holly Smaller companies may see some challenges in the sustainability approach but starting somewhere and starting small helps add to the change of creating meaningful actions. Starting these efforts from the beginning can be easier than starting them mid way with a larger company. Carbon accounting can start anywhere but it has to start somewhere. One person isn't going to make a change but a community, the government, and a company working together will. Ways decision makers can start small is by building opportunities for change within their organization, building community efforts, and sourcing companies that are working towards sustainability. Associated Links:Learn more about Gaida Zirkelbach, Holly Lichtenfeld, and SustainaBase. Well Made podcast by Stephan AngoSucharita Kodali joins the Future Commerce pod Holly’s 3 C’s to Supply Chain Accountability Want to hear what else is next in commerce? Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce 

God-Like Technology Pattern is a family of purposeful brands providing the essentials to make, shape, and grow a home- the foundation of daily life.The times we are living in are culturally defining. People have a deep ingrained need for personal and internal connection, it's bigger than digital behavior, it's deeper.“There is a future where people are going to find some way to silence the digital noise” -PhillipWith so many individual merchants comes a lot of fragmentation, similarly to how markets work there is disruption and consolidation, there's efficiencies to be found in all the fragmentations. “In interpersonal relationships, it's good to work on your relationships, but in startups it’s good to lean into your strengths.” -EmmettThere is going to be a huge graduation in DTC and see it become a world of diverse products being made in a very quality way to specific communities. “Things are about to get more interesting in eCommerce. There are going to be smart and targeted smaller exits that will result in professional grade community specific products.” - Brian Associated Links:Learn more about Emmett Shine and PatternSubscribe to Insiders Check out our latest report: Service Is The New Storefront Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce! Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on Futurecommerce.fm, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Facing the CookiepocalypseOctane AI is the zero-party data platform for Shopify and eCommerce brands. “We help stores and brands collect super valuable insights on their customers in a very direct opt-on kind of way and use that information to personalize the shopping experience.” -BenHow can brands bounce back from the cookiepocalypse? Stop depending on others and own your data.“Stop renting the relationship that you have with your customer from Facebook and Google and other platforms and collect data and build your own data profile, your own buyer profile of your customer… Octane AI is entirely built around collecting data and getting more explicit opt-ins and leveraging that data for better conversion rates and better personalization.” - BenThe beauty of zero-party data is that brands can leverage it in any way because their customers voluntarily gave it to them.“A salesperson’s job is not to persuade, a salesperson is not a persuader. A salesperson is a facilitator of next steps.” -Phillip When looking at all these tools and apps we use, they shouldn’t be viewed as methods of persuasion, but as facilitators for the next steps.“The center of great AI is collecting data and having great data sets.” -BenAssociated Links:Learn more about Ben Parr and Octane AIThe Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair EnnsMelanie Travis episodes:[Step by Step] How Does CX Drive Lifetime Value?“People Aren’t Buying Into A Story, They’re Buying Into A Community”Subscribe to InsidersCheck out our latest report: Service Is The New Storefront Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

“FBA” - Fruit by the Acre? More like Fulfillment by AmazonBoosted Commerce is an eCommerce platform working to distribute the most up-and-coming brands on a global basis.“We started Boosted really as a way of identifying these amazing businesses and brands that people have created.” -KeithAmazon is the world's largest shopping mall, and its importance is only going to increase over time. By getting a spot in this shopping mall, Boosted will be able to create great long-term success. What should a brand look for in terms of the future? Durability, packaging of the product, and the brand elements created. “What's unique about this ecosystem is maybe the speed at which you can get profitable doing that.” -Keith“We're 25 years into the digital commerce revolution. There's a lot of things that have yet to even happen, we're right at the very beginning. What an incredible time to sort of amass a critical mass of all of these capabilities.” -PhillipRetail is changing every day and we’re learning that the stories behind the brands matter.“The story matters more and people are wanting to believe and believe that they're buying a product with a greater vision or sense.” -KeitheCommerce is going to get more and more satisfying as a consumer and grow exponentially, those things are just fundamental. No one is going back to the way it was before.  Associated Links:Learn more about Keith Richman and Boosted CommerceSubscribe to InsidersListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on Futurecommerce.fm 

Burn Your Own House Down Before Somebody Else Does Pela is a waste innovation platform. Selling the world's first compostable phone case along with eyewear, countertop compost systems, and haircare.“We design waste out of the human experience. We’re a weird combination of commerce DTC, while also investing in material science, and figuring out how to get waste out of everyday products.” -Matt“One of our core values at Pela is community. Community is taking care of the whole. We have this belief that you should leave the campsite better than you found it.”- MattThere are a lot of ways to build consumerism without waste. One way Pela is working on building this is by creating their product, Lomi, a compost machine. Throw in your leftover food at night, go to sleep, wake up, and you have compost. The idea behind Lomi is to have distributed waste management: to have innovation and waste be consumer-driven rather than government-driven. “If every home in America had a Lomi, 80% of their food waste would be reduced. Not only is that reducing food waste, but the carbon footprint for all waste management would drop dramatically.” - Matt“It would be great if more entrepreneurs started looking at innovations as a legit competitive advantage. Yes it’s risky, but if you’re trying to build real value, it’s the way to go.” -Matt DTC and eCommerce brands are at the starting point of major innovations for the future of commerce and how we experience products that better our lives and society. Associated Links:Learn more about Matt Bertulli and PelaEpisode 178 with Jack Defuria from ParadeSubscribe to InsidersListen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

Building for the Future of Ecommerce LogisticsShipBob is a full service fulfillment platform coming out of a remarkable Series E that clocked in at $200 Million. ShipBob has been a partner of Future Commerce for a while now and we couldn’t wait to talk about this incredible raise.There are a lot of different shipping solutions across the buyer journey, and it can lead to a bit of confusion. ShipBob is  helping break this confusion by being the one solution, which is what customers, merchants, and consumers want. It does this with integrations to multiple labelling and order management systems, all available through an integrations marketplace.“One of our goals is to continue to build a solution that works for people who are just getting started that can scale up like mentioned with international B2B, so you don't have to look elsewhere.” -CaseyHow do retailers determine what an operator's capabilities are and what they could do specifically for your brand?“It's something we've already been investing in for a while, and we are seeing these people as direct to consumer and just eCommerce continues to evolve that have worked at a lot of companies that have scaled well. I think we're just going to see more of that. And again, it's going to be tough. People make some of the bad hires just like they will for any role.” -CaseyThere’s a beauty to this industry, and there is a lot of opportunity for growth and complementary solutions.Associated Links:Learn more about Casey Armstrong and ShipBobLet us know what you think the future of all things shipping looks like at hello@futurecommerce.fmSubscribe to InsidersListen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

The “84-Point Check”, but Make it HumanWith almost a million and a half associates in the United States and 150 million customers in stores and online, it's safe to say they’re one of the largest retailers in the world. But what are they doing in health? A lot, it seems.Walmart has been in the healthcare world since the 70s; they realize that they have a significant role to play. With 90% of Americans living within 15 miles of a Walmart, they’re aiming to address the care needs of people and help get access to basic healthcare in an affordable way.“How do you engage customers in healthcare? … By building robust omnichannel experiences that aren't about one channel but are about how all these various channels can come together to create something far more robust.” -MarcusWith omnichannel systems coming online in healthcare it’s providing more opportunities for personal monitoring systems, taking a proactive approach to healthcare. You take your car to the shop and get an 84 point check on maintenance; why not an 84 point check on humans? “I'm not looking for one size fits all. I'm looking for a solution that is one size fits one.” -Marcus.  This approach brings a personalized experience for every person, creating a revolution of diagnostics. Not only is healthcare being affordable broken, but also the speed of care. Patients have to go through multiple doctors, specialists, and tests to get the answers they need weeks later, while also not knowing how much it will cost them in the end. This revolution of diagnostics will ultimately result in a more efficient healthcare system that most Americans can afford. COVID helped accelerate healthcare as we know it today, showing us that speed of care can happen. If it can happen in an omnichannel or a parking lot, then it can happen in the office as well. “We as consumers deserve to be treated better than the system has treated us, and we deserve to have more access. We deserve to have things be more convenient and we deserve to be treated better and have things be simpler.” -MarcusWalmart Health is on the road to greater access for all Americans. One of the ways they're doing that is by looking at the communities with greater demand, a net health need. This method is what has driven them to open in cities in Georgia, Illinois, and more.A consumer and a patient are one in the same. Consumers want high quality, for things to be affordable, convenient, simple, and they want a choice. Patients want all the same things. Associated Links:Learn more about Marcus Osborne and Walmart HealthLet us know what you think the future of healthcare looks like at hello@futurecommerce.fmSubscribe to InsidersListen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

“OMG CDP” Wait. What exactly is CDP? Customer Data Platform.Wielding CDP well means brands can provide a freaky-personal experience for customers.Customers will freely give brands their first-party data if it means their experience will be better. Don’t blow it by making their experience worse.“If the expected behavior is convenience, then not only it's not freaky, it's what they're hoping and expecting you to do and they reward you with that with more activity and more loyalty over time.” - JoshCDP can power personalization and segmentation efforts. How do we know if this is too “big-brotherish?” Look at your open and click-through rates.“If your open rates are suffering, then, hey, something's wrong with your messaging strategy and what you're personalizing around.” - HoumanClick-through and open rate metrics are direct indications of how much your customer is enjoying your content.You can’t manage privacy compliance issues only through email anymore. CDP’s are important in helping manage privacy issues, etc.“When customers opt into giving you data, if they never see the net benefit of that and it only benefits your business, then the customers aren't going to keep giving you data.” - BrianThe writing has been on the wall, regulatory changes are coming in customer privacy. Houman is combating this by doubling down on Carparts.com’s first party data strategy.CDP should ultimately be used to build a meaningful relationship and loyalty with your customers.“The future of customer engagement is real time relevance at scale” - JoshAssociated Links:Learn more about Josh Francia and Blueshift at Blueshift.com or Blueshift on LinkedIn.Learn more about Houman Akhavan and Carparts.com at Carparts.com or Carparts.com on LinkedIn.Subscribe to InsidersListen to our other episodes of Future Commerce!Our mini-series, Step by StepOur sister podcast, Stairway to CEO! Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on Futurecommerce.fm, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

The Multiverse is Real “Brands are like cows because it’s very easy for them to understand how things affect them, but it's very hard to see how things in the world affect others.” -BrianTechnology can act as a containing—or limiting—factor. It can enable cost savings, but it can also be an enabler of more meaningful interactions.Shopify is looking to the future as a global empowerment of a merchant classDigital channels for legacy retailers boomed during the pandemic. Why? Default behaviors are latent. We will always regress to defaults, especially in a retail context. Best Buy is a great example of this; as are Lowes and Home Depot. Digital success was bolstered by physical defaults.For the first time in a decade, eCommerce is facing headwinds. Why? Because traditional brick and mortar retailers are experiencing tailwinds due to reopening. The roaring twenties will prove to be difficult for eCommerce businesses.Where is luxury headed? Luxury is the silence of money and not constantly being barraged with ads.Associated Links:Check out Brian’s Insiders piece: How Now Brand Cow: On Operational Efficiency in Ecommerce TechSubscribe to InsidersListen to our other episodes of Future Commerce!Our mini-series, Step by StepOur sister podcast, Stairway to CEO! Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on Futurecommerce.fm, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!