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 dig into Shopify apps, digital marketing, retention tactics, AI tools, and the operational stuff that actually reduces overwhelm—while building customer loyalty that lasts.

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 guests across 430+ episodes who've been exactly where you are.

This isn't content for content's sake. It's what you'd get sitting at a mastermind table with someone who's built, scaled, and exited—and helped hundreds of others do the same.

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

Oct 12, 2020 • 49min

109: Maximize Revenue And Profitability Through Data-Driven Omnichannel Analysis

Growth Mindset? Invest In Yourself Today!Being an entrepreneur truly is a life of learning. All it would take is a new idea, a strategy, a Shopify app, or a marketing platform to be the next thing you need to improve efficiencies, drive more revenue, and build lifetime customer loyalty for your Shopify brand.My guest in today’s episode is Dan LeBlanc the Co-Founder and CEO from Daasity.They are the first and only data analytics platform built for Shopify Direct-to-Consumer brands by industry leaders in the D2C space. Their proprietary data model empowers merchants with strategic insights that move beyond basic reporting to drive their businesses forward. What You Will Learn TodayWhy Shopify brands need to become data-driven organizations.How to transform and combine disparate data sources together in a meaningful way to take action.Learn how successful D2C brands are creating a cohesive data model to understand the metrics that matter.Links And Resources Mentioned In This EpisodeDaasity - Free TrialDaasity Shopify AppEnquireGoogle Analytics Data Foundation AuditThank You For ListeningI truly appreciate you choosing to listen today and for supporting the podcast and it's sponsors. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.I would also be so grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and I read each and every one personally!New Strategies Each Week To Help You Build And Scale Lifetime Customer Loyalty. SUBSCRIBE HERE!Being an entrepreneur is a life of learning. All it would take is a new idea, strategy, Shopify app, or marketing platform to be the next thing you need to drive more revenue and lifetime loyalty for your Shopify store. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify and don’t miss a single episode!REWIND : EPISODE SPONSORAutomated Backups. Painless Recovery.Accidents can happen and it can have major financial impact on your business. What happens when you install an app and it messed up your theme? Or you upload a product catalog with errors or a store collaborator deleted product images by mistake.Common myth; Shopify has a backup that you can use when something goes wrong with your store. Untrue! Myth busted. Shopify has no native backups.So what do you do? You use Rewind to protect your Shopify store with automated backups.Rewind should be the first app you install to protect your store against human error, misbehaving apps, or collaborators gone bad. It’s like having your very own magic undo button.The Rewind App is trusted by over 30,000 businesses from side hustles to the biggest online retailers like Gatorade and MVMT Watches.Best of all? Respond to any of their welcome emails and mention the eCommerce Fastlane Podcast and you’ll get your first month of backups absolutely free.Protect your business and get peace of mind with Rewind Backups. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 9, 2020 • 47min

108: Convert 3x More Customers And Build Brand Loyalty With The Best Mobile Shopping Experience

Growth Mindset? Invest In Yourself Today!Being an entrepreneur truly is a life of learning. All it would take is a new idea, a strategy, a Shopify app, or a marketing platform to be the next thing you need to improve efficiencies, drive more revenue, and build lifetime customer loyalty for your Shopify brand.My guest in today’s episode is Eric Netsch, the Founder and CEO from Tapcart. They are a mobile commerce SaaS platform that integrates directly with Shopify which enables brands to quickly and easily build a native mobile app for their eCommerce store. The company is trusted by over 20,000+ Shopify brands including Fashion Nova, Chubbies, Urban Planet, FIGS, The Hundreds, and more. Tapcart has also been recently been listed as a Shopify Plus Certified App Partner, so you know they have the technology and scale to help your brand with mobile commerce.What You Will Learn TodayWhy traditional “mobile-friendly” websites aren't providing the conversion and retention brands need today.Why having a mobile app gives you full control over the end-to-end shopping experience.How to implement real-time communication to generate a steady stream of sales.How to engage with shoppers with your blog, lookbook, and video content directly in your native iOS and Android app.Links And Resources Mentioned In This EpisodeTapcart - 30-day free trialTapcart Shopify AppShopify Plus Certified AppsHeapThank You For ListeningI truly appreciate you choosing to listen today and for supporting the podcast and it's sponsors. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.I would also be so grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and I read each and every one personally!New Strategies Each Week To Help You Build And Scale Lifetime Customer Loyalty. SUBSCRIBE HERE!Being an entrepreneur is a life of learning. All it would take is a new idea, strategy, Shopify app, or marketing platform to be the next thing you need to drive more revenue and lifetime loyalty for your Shopify store. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify and don’t miss a single episode!REWIND : EPISODE SPONSORAutomated Backups. Painless Recovery.Accidents can happen and it can have major financial impact on your business. What happens when you install an app and it messed up your theme? Or you upload a product catalog with errors or a store collaborator deleted product images by mistake.Common myth; Shopify has a backup that you can use when something goes wrong with your store. Untrue! Myth busted. Shopify has no native backups.So what do you do? You use Rewind to protect your Shopify store with automated backups.Rewind should be the first app you install to protect your store against human error, misbehaving apps, or collaborators gone bad. It’s like having your very own magic undo button.The Rewind App is trusted by over 30,000 businesses from side hustles to the biggest online retailers like Gatorade and MVMT Watches.Best of all? Respond to any of their welcome emails and mention the eCommerce Fastlane Podcast and you’ll get your first month of backups absolutely free.Protect your business and get peace of mind with Rewind Backups. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 2, 2020 • 24min

104: Build Mutually Beneficial Partnerships With Influencers, Press/Media, And Other Shopify Brands To Sell More Together

Growth Mindset? Invest In Yourself Today!Being an entrepreneur truly is a life of learning. All it would take is a new idea, a strategy, a Shopify app, or a marketing platform to be the next thing you need to improve efficiencies, drive more revenue, and build lifetime customer loyalty for your Shopify brand.My guest in today’s episode is Jason Goldberg the President & Co-Founder of Carro. They are a Shopify Sales Channel that helps brands partner with influencers, press, media, and each other so that they can sell more together.Let's jump into this show and learn more!What You Will Learn TodayHow to find and collaborate with influencers and creators that love your brand.What is a Brand Partnership and how can it help your Shopify store.How can you sell the products from another Shopify store without the capital investment of inventory.Links And Resources Mentioned In This EpisodeCarroCarro Shopify AppThank You For ListeningI truly appreciate you choosing to listen today and for supporting the podcast and it's sponsors. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.I would also be so grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and I read each and every one personally!New Strategies Each Week To Help You Build And Scale Lifetime Customer Loyalty. SUBSCRIBE HERE!Being an entrepreneur is a life of learning. All it would take is a new idea, strategy, Shopify app, or marketing platform to be the next thing you need to drive more revenue and lifetime loyalty for your Shopify store. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify and don’t miss a single episode!REWIND : EPISODE SPONSORAutomated Backups. Painless Recovery.Accidents can happen and it can have major financial impact on your business. What happens when you install an app and it messed up your theme? Or you upload a product catalog with errors or a store collaborator deleted product images by mistake.Common myth; Shopify has a backup that you can use when something goes wrong with your store. Untrue! Myth busted. Shopify has no native backups.So what do you do? You use Rewind to protect your Shopify store with automated backups.Rewind should be the first app you install to protect your store against human error, misbehaving apps, or collaborators gone bad. It’s like having your very own magic undo button.The Rewind App is trusted by over 30,000 businesses from side hustles to the biggest online retailers like Gatorade and MVMT Watches.Best of all? Respond to any of their welcome emails and mention the eCommerce Fastlane Podcast and you’ll get your first month of backups absolutely free.Protect your business and get peace of mind with Rewind Backups. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 24, 2020 • 40min

103: Shoppable Quizzes: A Game Changing Technology To Drive Engagement And Personalized Brand Experiences

Growth Mindset? Invest In Yourself Today!Being an entrepreneur truly is a life of learning. All it would take is a new idea, a strategy, a Shopify app, or a marketing platform to be the next thing you need to improve efficiencies, drive more revenue, and build lifetime customer loyalty for your Shopify brand.My guest in today’s episode is Matt Schlicht and Ben Parr from Octane AI. Over the past 4 years, they have built the wildly popular Facebook Messenger and SMS App used by 1000’s of Shopify brands.Today's episode we learn about a game-changing new technology that has been built into the platform to drive engagement and personalized brand experiences through shoppable quizzes.The Octane AI Shoppable Quiz enables Shopify brands to get to know the needs, preferences, and concerns of each customer and then uses this information to build a relationship where the right products and information can be shown at the right times.What You Will Learn TodayWhy a consultative experience on your Shopify store builds trust through guided questions and product recommendations.The difference between Buyer Personas and Buyer ProfilesBuilding detailed buyer profiles will assist in personalizing your brand's emails, SMS, Messenger, and ads.Learn how to collect more emails and discovered segments of customers with a 75% higher AOV than the average customer.Links And Resources Mentioned In This EpisodeOctane AIOctane AI Facebook Messenger PlaybookSkinny Mixes Shoppable QuizThank You For ListeningI truly appreciate you choosing to listen today and for supporting the podcast and it's sponsors. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.I would also be so grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and I read each and every one personally!New Strategies Each Week To Help You Build And Scale Lifetime Customer Loyalty. SUBSCRIBE HERE!Being an entrepreneur is a life of learning. All it would take is a new idea, strategy, Shopify app, or marketing platform to be the next thing you need to drive more revenue and lifetime loyalty for your Shopify store. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify and don’t miss a single episode!REWIND : EPISODE SPONSORAutomated Backups. Painless Recovery.Accidents can happen and it can have major financial impact on your business. What happens when you install an app and it messed up your theme? Or you upload a product catalog with errors or a store collaborator deleted product images by mistake.Common myth; Shopify has a backup that you can use when something goes wrong with your store. Untrue! Myth busted. Shopify has no native backups.So what do you do? You use Rewind to protect your Shopify store with automated backups.Rewind should be the first app you install to protect your store against human error, misbehaving apps, or collaborators gone bad. It’s like having your very own magic undo button.The Rewind App is trusted by over 30,000 businesses from side hustles to the biggest online retailers like Gatorade and MVMT Watches.Best of all? Respond to any of their welcome emails and mention the eCommerce Fastlane Podcast and you’ll get your first month of backups absolutely free.Protect your business and get peace of mind with Rewind Backups. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 16, 2020 • 41min

102: A Profit-Driven Approach To Performance Marketing Through Paid Media Feedback Loops

Growth Mindset? Invest In Yourself Today!Being an entrepreneur truly is a life of learning. All it would take is a new idea, a strategy, a Shopify app, or a marketing platform to be the next thing you need to improve efficiencies, drive more revenue, and build lifetime customer loyalty for your Shopify brand.My guest in today’s episode is Simon Poulton the Vice President of Digital Intelligence at Wpromote. They the largest independent Digital Marketing Agency in the United States. They take their “Think Like a Challenger” mantra seriously by challenging the status quo to drive significant results and steal market share for clients. Wpromote uses a profit-driven marketing approach to increase customer lifetime value to impact the bottom line. Why outspend the competition when you can outsmart them?Learn more about the next wave of data-driven digital marketing. Specifically, how you can prepare your Shopify brand’s data today for the data processing tools and platforms of tomorrow.Digital marketing is fundamentally changing and as machine learning continues to take a larger role, you need to make sure the data we’re feeding the machines is accurate, enriched and granular. Exciting and timely episode. Let’s jump in...What You Will Learn TodayGranular approach to data extraction.Re-imagining a way to think about paid media feedback loops.How to implement the Shopify ecommerce values template for Google Tag Manager.Measure, analyze, and report on data to inform your digital marketing strategy across every channel.How Predictive Customer Lifetime Value (pCLV) is the key to unlocking sustainable growth.Links And Resources Mentioned In This EpisodeWpromote - Free 20-point Google Analytics Audit. (mentioned eCommerce Fastlane)Shopify Google Tag Manager TemplateThe Trade DeskLiveRampFind and fix Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in Google AnalyticsGeneral Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)404 Error TrackingHotJarFullStoryUserTestingFacebook Atlas GraphFree Google Analytics TrainingThank You For ListeningI truly appreciate you choosing to listen today and for supporting the podcast and it's sponsors. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.I would also be so grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and I read each and every one personally!New Strategies Each Week To Help You Build And Scale Lifetime Customer Loyalty. SUBSCRIBE HERE!Being an entrepreneur is a life of learning. All it would take is a new idea, strategy, Shopify app, or marketing platform to be the next thing you need to drive more revenue and lifetime loyalty for your Shopify store. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify and don’t miss a single episode!REWIND : EPISODE SPONSORAutomated Backups. Painless Recovery.Accidents can happen and it can have major financial impact on your business. What happens when you install an app and it messed up your theme? Or you upload a product catalog with errors or a store collaborator deleted product images by mistake.Common myth; Shopify has a backup that you can use when something goes wrong with your store. Untrue! Myth busted. Shopify has no native backups.So what do you do? You use Rewind to protect your Shopify store with automated backups.Rewind should be the first app you install to protect your store against human error, misbehaving apps, or collaborators gone bad. It’s like having your very own magic undo button.The Rewind App is trusted by over 30,000 businesses from side hustles to the biggest online retailers like Gatorade and MVMT Watches.Best of all? Respond to any of their welcome emails and mention the eCommerce Fastlane Podcast and you’ll get your first month of backups absolutely free.Protect your business and get peace of mind with Rewind Backups. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 5, 2020 • 41min

101: Build Authentic Customer Relationships Through Powerful Automation, Deep Segmentation, And Automated Data Science

Guest Jake Cohen, Head of Product Marketing for Klaviyo, discusses the importance of authentic customer relationships, deep segmentation, and automation in building successful Shopify brands. He shares insights on using email, SMS, and signup forms to make money from day one, future-proofing scalable growth, and the role of data science. The podcast also explores advice for mid-market and enterprise brands, upcoming features and innovations in Klaviyo, and the seamless integration between Klaviyo and Shopify.

Jul 22, 2020 • 33min

100: Shopify Is Building The World's First Retail Operating System To Arm Resilient Entrepreneurs

Today is an exciting day… A milestone… A time to reflect… A time to celebrate…Today is the 100th episode of eCommerce Fastlane!!It’s been an incredible 2-year journey of growth. Personally, professionally, and most importantly the impact the show has had with knowledge sharing from subject matter experts in commerce including our Agency Partners, Marketing Platform partners, and App Partners in the Shopify ecosystem.Joining me on the podcast, I could think of no other person who I’d like to chat with...My guest today is Harley Finkelstein, the Chief Operating Officer of Shopify. The company that has given me and many others the opportunity to develop their life’s work, by helping independent businesses and entrepreneurs navigate and thrive online and in-store.What You Will Learn TodayHow the global pandemic and stay-at-home orders over the past 3-months has affected consumer spending.Why Shopify retailers should be diligent to meet the ever-evolving customer experience requirements in order to win and remain relevant.How retail and commerce are changing and what Shopify brands can do today to remain relevant and competitive.Why building a community around your brand will allow you to know your customers or potential customers better.Links And Resources Mentioned In This EpisodeShopifyShopify App StoreShopify CompassShopify Free ToolsShopify YouTube ChannelShopify ReUnite 2020 AnnouncementsThank You For ListeningI truly appreciate you choosing to listen today and for supporting the podcast and it's sponsors. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.I would also be so grateful if you would consider taking a minute or two to leave an honest review and rating for the show in iTunes. They’re extremely helpful when it comes to reaching our audience and I read each and every one personally!New Strategies Each Week To Help You Build And Scale Lifetime Customer Loyalty. SUBSCRIBE HERE!Being an entrepreneur is a life of learning. All it would take is a new idea, strategy, Shopify app, or marketing platform to be the next thing you need to drive more revenue and lifetime loyalty for your Shopify store. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify and don’t miss a single episode!REWIND : EPISODE SPONSORAutomated Backups. Painless Recovery.Accidents can happen and it can have major financial impact on your business. What happens when you install an app and it messed up your theme? Or you upload a product catalog with errors or a store collaborator deleted product images by mistake.Common myth; Shopify has a backup that you can use when something goes wrong with your store. Untrue! Myth busted. Shopify has no native backups.So what do you do? You use Rewind to protect your Shopify store with automated backups.Rewind should be the first app you install to protect your store against human error, misbehaving apps, or collaborators gone bad. It’s like having your very own magic undo button.The Rewind App is trusted by over 30,000 businesses from side hustles to the biggest online retailers like Gatorade and MVMT Watches.Best of all? Respond to any of their welcome emails and mention the eCommerce Fastlane Podcast and you’ll get your first month of backups absolutely free.Protect your business and get peace of mind with Rewind Backups. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!

Get the app