eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where AI Efficiency Meets Human Connection
Steve Hutt | Shopify and eCommerce Expert
Running a Shopify store? You already know success isn't about finding the right app—it's about knowing which strategies actually work at your specific stage of growth.
I'm Steve Hutt, and I've lived every level of the ecommerce journey. From eBay Power Seller shipping products from my garage, to co-founding and scaling VisionPros.com (an optical DTC startup) through to a successful exit, then spending 6+ years as a Shopify Merchant Success Manager helping 100+ brands from startup to enterprise scale, including working with teams at Tentree, Dr. Squatch, Bulletproof Coffee, Salt & Straw Ice Cream, MUD/WTR, Bokksu, and many more.
Here's what makes this podcast different: I've been on both sides of the table.
6+ years working inside Shopify gave me access to what's coming before most merchants know it exists. Building, scaling, and successfully exiting my own ecommerce businesses taught me what actually works when your money and reputation are on the line. That combination of insider access plus real operator experience gives you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.
Since 2018, eCommerce Fastlane has delivered over 430 episodes and more than 2 million downloads to ambitious Shopify founders and marketers. Every week, I chat with operators, developers, and experts who share what's actually moving the needle right now—not theory, but patterns I've seen work consistently across dozens of brands at multiple stages.
Whether you're launching your first store or scaling past seven figures, every episode gives you stage-aware strategies you can implement this week. We cover Shopify apps and best practices, digital marketing and retention tactics, AI and automation tools, as well as operations and logistics that reduce overwhelm while building lasting customer loyalty.
You'll learn how to leverage emerging tech without losing what makes your brand unique. You'll also hear real founder stories, including lessons from my own journey building and exiting a DTC brand, plus insights from 430+ industry leaders who've been exactly where you are.
This isn't content for content's sake. It's the insight you'd get sitting at a mastermind table with someone who's succeeded at every level, helped hundreds of others do the same, and has the pattern recognition to show you what actually works at your current stage.
Ready to grow smarter, not just faster? Join thousands of founders and marketers in the eCommerce Fastlane community through our podcast, newsletter, blog, and forthcoming book "Thriving with Shopify."
Steve Hutt
DTC Founder | Podcast Host
Find Us Online
Website: eCommerceFastlane.com
Newsletter: FastlaneInsider.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shutt
X: x.com/stevenhutt
Instagram: instagram.com/ecommercefastlane
Email: steve@ecommercefastlane.com
I'm Steve Hutt, and I've lived every level of the ecommerce journey. From eBay Power Seller shipping products from my garage, to co-founding and scaling VisionPros.com (an optical DTC startup) through to a successful exit, then spending 6+ years as a Shopify Merchant Success Manager helping 100+ brands from startup to enterprise scale, including working with teams at Tentree, Dr. Squatch, Bulletproof Coffee, Salt & Straw Ice Cream, MUD/WTR, Bokksu, and many more.
Here's what makes this podcast different: I've been on both sides of the table.
6+ years working inside Shopify gave me access to what's coming before most merchants know it exists. Building, scaling, and successfully exiting my own ecommerce businesses taught me what actually works when your money and reputation are on the line. That combination of insider access plus real operator experience gives you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.
Since 2018, eCommerce Fastlane has delivered over 430 episodes and more than 2 million downloads to ambitious Shopify founders and marketers. Every week, I chat with operators, developers, and experts who share what's actually moving the needle right now—not theory, but patterns I've seen work consistently across dozens of brands at multiple stages.
Whether you're launching your first store or scaling past seven figures, every episode gives you stage-aware strategies you can implement this week. We cover Shopify apps and best practices, digital marketing and retention tactics, AI and automation tools, as well as operations and logistics that reduce overwhelm while building lasting customer loyalty.
You'll learn how to leverage emerging tech without losing what makes your brand unique. You'll also hear real founder stories, including lessons from my own journey building and exiting a DTC brand, plus insights from 430+ industry leaders who've been exactly where you are.
This isn't content for content's sake. It's the insight you'd get sitting at a mastermind table with someone who's succeeded at every level, helped hundreds of others do the same, and has the pattern recognition to show you what actually works at your current stage.
Ready to grow smarter, not just faster? Join thousands of founders and marketers in the eCommerce Fastlane community through our podcast, newsletter, blog, and forthcoming book "Thriving with Shopify."
Steve Hutt
DTC Founder | Podcast Host
Find Us Online
Website: eCommerceFastlane.com
Newsletter: FastlaneInsider.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shutt
X: x.com/stevenhutt
Instagram: instagram.com/ecommercefastlane
Email: steve@ecommercefastlane.com
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 10, 2025 • 28min
1-Hour Delivery Meets Bulletproof Hardware: Shopify Winter Editions 2026
Bluetooth scanners failing during your busiest checkout rush is about to become a problem of the past.In this episode, discover:How Shopify's new POS Hub eliminates the wireless peripheral failures that generate most retail support tickets—using wired connections that work with legacy hardware worth thousandsWhy 1-hour local delivery via Uber Direct integration matters more in the final December week (retail's biggest) than during Black Friday weekendHow to enroll in-store customers into subscriptions and manage stock counts natively on POS across multiple global marketsRay Reddy is VP of Retail at Shopify. He leads the team behind POS innovations for brick-and-mortar brands operating from single locations to global retail chains.Whether you're doing $10K months or $1M months, this conversation delivers actionable insights you can implement this week.📝 Full show notes, strategic takeaways, and resources: https://ecommercefastlane.com/podcast/episode-437/Connect with us:🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevenhutt💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shutt/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivingwithshopify
Dec 4, 2025 • 36min
The $250K Problem Hiding In Your Warehouse Corner
Most DTC brands lose 15-30% of their margin to return processing mistakes they don't even know they're making.In this episode, discover:Why the "chaos corner" in your warehouse costs more than the actual refunds—from restocking delays to inventory write-offs that silently destroy profit marginsHow 50-500% return volume spikes in January-February create your biggest hidden opportunity to recover margin (not just process faster)The 5-minute Shopify integration that turns return data into actionable P&L insights before your next BFCM wave hitsKyle Bertin is Co-founder and CEO of Two Boxes, a returns processing platform. His work touring major fulfillment centers at Outrider revealed the same problem everywhere: billion-dollar logistics operations with returns sections stuck 30 years in the past.Whether you're doing $10K months or $1M months, this conversation delivers actionable insights you can implement this week.📝 Full show notes, strategic takeaways, and resources: https://ecommercefastlane.com/podcast/episode-436/Connect with us:🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevenhutt💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shutt/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivingwithshopify
8 snips
Dec 2, 2025 • 42min
AI Agents That Actually Work: How DTC Brands Save 200+ Hours Monthly (Without Engineers)
Ibby Syed, co-founder of Cotera and a former data scientist at Peloton, shares insights on leveraging AI-driven autonomous agents for DTC brands. He explains how these agents save time by automating repetitive tasks without the need for constant oversight. Discover a real-world example where a fitness brand quickly identified influencers from top customers, a task that once took months. Ibby also discusses bridging the gap between data teams and marketers, emphasizing the strategic advantages of adopting AI in e-commerce.
Nov 25, 2025 • 47min
The $20 Billion Affiliate Mistake: Stop Paying for Customers Who Were Already Buying
You're paying affiliate commissions on customers who were already buying from you—Josh Kennedy calls this the "$20 billion mistake."In this episode, discover:Why 2/3 of affiliate partnerships drain profit instead of driving growth—loyalty platforms and coupon sites intercept checkout without creating valueThe search-first framework that generated $10M in real revenue—reverse-engineer where customers already look for solutions, then build direct creator relationshipsHow to audit your top 10 partners for cannibalization—switching from last-click to multi-touch attribution reveals who actually influences decisions versus who games the systemJosh Kennedy is Founder of Imagine Marketing. He's generated over $10 million in documented affiliate revenue by focusing on upper-funnel content partnerships that drive new customers instead of intercepting existing ones.Whether you're doing $10K months or $1M months, this conversation delivers actionable insights you can implement this week.📝 Full show notes, strategic takeaways, and resources: https://ecommercefastlane.com/podcast/episode-434/Connect with us:🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevenhutt💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shutt/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivingwithshopify
Nov 18, 2025 • 39min
Customer Acquisition Costs Keep Rising—The Multi-Channel Fix Most Brands Are Missing
The customer acquisition playbook that built your business three years ago is actively bleeding money today.In this episode, discover:Why single-channel strategies are crushing margins as CPMs creep up year over year—and the integrated SEO + paid media approach that's reducing customer acquisition costs by treating channels as complementary systems, not competing budgetsHow to extract actionable BFCM insights within 1-2 weeks while you still have Q4 runway to capitalize on Christmas traffic, gift card redemptions, and January clearanceThe "messy middle" reality where customers hit 6-8 touchpoints in 15 minutes—and why brand recall now drives transactions before they reach your cartRuss Macumber is Co-Founder & Managing Director at Impressive Digital. He's worked with e-commerce brands from $2 million to $500 million+ in revenue since 1999, navigating the entire evolution from traditional marketing through today's multi-channel reality.Whether you're doing $10K months or $1M months, this conversation delivers actionable insights you can implement this week.📝 Full show notes, strategic takeaways, and resources: https://ecommercefastlane.com/podcast/episode-433/Connect with us:🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevenhutt💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shutt/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivingwithshopify
Nov 11, 2025 • 34min
The 2 Discount Types Every Shopify Merchant Needs for BFCM (+ Why Most Are Using the Wrong One)
Here's what most brands get wrong about discounting: they launch site-wide sales that spike orders for a few days, then train customers to never buy at full price again.In this episode, discover:Why quantity-based discounting ("buy more, save more") doesn't condition customers to wait for promotions and can be a permanent offer that protects margins while lifting AOV by 30-40%.The critical difference between bulk tiered pricing and volume bundles—and how to match discount structures to how customers actually want to buy your products instead of just copying competitors.How to use strategic discounting to offset rising CAC from Google algorithm changes, with frameworks that work whether you're spending $500 or $50K monthly on ads.Katie Keith is the Founder and CEO of Barn2, serving 100,000+ stores with insights backed by millions of transactions across the WooCommerce ecosystem, now bringing that expertise to Shopify.Whether you're doing $10K months or $1M months, this conversation delivers actionable insights you can implement this week.📝 Full show notes, strategic takeaways, and resources: https://ecommercefastlane.com/podcast/episode-432/Connect with us:🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevenhutt💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shutt/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivingwithshopify
Nov 7, 2025 • 33min
Stop Guessing on Ad Creative: AI Consumer Agents Predict Purchase Intent Before You Launch
Most founders don't realize they're stuck in the ad creative grind until they're months deep into it.Everyone's chasing the same AI tools to pump out images and copy, but here's what they're missing: the real bottleneck isn't creating ads—it's knowing which ones will actually convert before you spend a single dollar testing them.Think about your options for a second. You could drop $15,000 with an agency and wait four to six weeks for tested ad variants. Or you could spend $50 and get 20 AI-generated, consumer-validated ad concepts in under 15 minutes—complete with data showing exactly which ones will perform best. A year ago, that second option didn't exist. But today, something's shifted. Small to mid-sized brands that've been locked out of the sophisticated testing that eight-figure operations run are finally getting access to enterprise-level consumer intelligence.Today's guest is Armen Mkrtchyan, CEO and co-founder of Extuitive, a company that emerged from Flagship Pioneering—the same innovation lab behind Moderna. Armen and his team built something remarkable: a proprietary database of over 150,000 AI consumer agents trained on real people living in the US. These agents can predict purchase intent, skepticism triggers, and price sensitivity before you launch a single campaign.This isn't just another AI image generator churning out generic assets. This is validated creative testing at a scale that was previously impossible for most brands. Whether you're prepping for Black Friday or planning Q1 launches, understanding how AI consumer validation works could fundamentally change your approach to creative production.Let's get into it.Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome.TwitterLinkedInFacebookFor more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.
Nov 5, 2025 • 41min
From App Chaos to Conversion Engine: Building Shopify Stores That Scale
Here's what most founders don't realize until they're deep in the scaling trenches: that DIY Shopify store that got you to $2-3M? It's probably your biggest bottleneck right now.Your site's crawling from app bloat, conversion rates have plateaued, and expanding internationally feels like a six-month, six-figure nightmare you don't have bandwidth for.Meanwhile, the top 1% of Shopify brands are launching multi-region storefronts with localized currencies, duties, taxes, and languages—and they're live in 8-12 weeks. The difference isn't unlimited budgets or massive teams. It's knowing how to build for scale from day one.Today's guest literally helped build the Shopify Plus Partner Program. Mac King is Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Domaine, the world's largest independent Shopify design and development agency with over 350 sites launched globally. Before founding Domaine, Mac was at Shopify in the early days, flying around North America convincing agencies (including me) to become Shopify Plus Partners back when people were skeptical about paying $1,000 for Plus. Now he leads a team that builds sites for mid-market and enterprise brands who need architecture that scales—without the constant firefighting and tech debt that comes from the DIY approach.Let's dive in.Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome.TwitterLinkedInFacebookFor more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.
Oct 28, 2025 • 42min
Your Phone Number Is Killing Your Conversions: How AI Voice Agents Turn Missed Calls Into Revenue
Every time your phone rings and goes to voicemail, you're losing a customer forever.Research shows that more than 80% of potential buyers who hit voicemail don't call back—they head straight to Google and find your competitor instead. Think about what that means: someone saw your ad, got excited about your product, had a question about sizing or shipping, and was ready to buy. Then your phone rang four times, kicked to voicemail, and that $200 average order walked away.For smaller Shopify stores, the phone typically routes to someone's personal cell—which means if you're in a meeting, at dinner, or asleep, you're bleeding revenue. For larger operations, you're either paying thousands monthly for call center staff or dealing with frustrated customers navigating clunky IVR systems that make them want to hang up before they even reach a human. Either way, the phone—one of your most powerful sales and service channels—becomes your weakest link.Today's guest is Thomas Rivera, Founding Partner of NLPearl, one of the first companies bringing AI voice agents specifically to the Shopify ecosystem. His platform answers every call 24/7, looks up orders in real-time from your Shopify admin, handles returns and FAQs, makes product recommendations, and can even transfer to live agents during business hours when you need that human touch. It takes about 10 minutes to set up, costs a fraction of traditional call centers, and the voice quality is so human-like you'd swear you were talking to a real person. Whether you're doing $10K months or $10M, this is the infrastructure that turns missed calls into revenue. Let's dive in.Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome.TwitterLinkedInFacebookFor more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.
Oct 23, 2025 • 41min
The Launch Revolution: Building Emotional Loyalty Through Drops
Every Shopify brand scaling beyond six figures eventually faces this moment: you've got a product people actually want, demand is building, and you decide to run a launch.Then the site crashes, bots clear out inventory in seconds, real customers get locked out, and your support inbox explodes for weeks. Whether you're dropping limited sneakers or launching a new product line, the infrastructure that works for everyday commerce completely falls apart when passionate fans show up all at once.Andrew Lipp lived this frustration firsthand—not as a store owner, but as a regular guy trying to buy Nike Stranger Things sneakers. He showed up at launch time, entered his credit card details, got a confirmation, drove to the store for pickup, and was told "we don't have your transaction." The site had crashed, they'd oversold, checkout went out of sync, and the kicker? They couldn't even refund his money because the transaction never fully processed. Meanwhile, those exact shoes were instantly listed on resale markets for 3x the price.That broken experience led Andrew to leave Google, recruit a couple colleagues, and build EQL—a platform that's powered launches for Nike, Crocs, Stanley, Foot Locker, and dozens of Fortune 100 brands. They just launched their Shopify app last month to bring these same elite launch tools to brands of every size, whether you're a solo creator testing your first drop or a growing DTC brand trying to manage hype without breaking your store. Let's dive in.Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome.TwitterLinkedInFacebookFor more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.
