Ecommerce Coffee Break – The Ecom Marketing & Sales Podcast

In this episode, we discuss how to start a profitable e-commerce business in 2026 without wasting money or burning yourself out. Ben Knegendorf, Co-Founder at dropshipbreakthru.com, shares why most new sellers fail early, what makes high-ticket dropshipping safer and more profitable, and the essential steps to take in your first 30 days.Topics discussed in this episode:  Why the old copy-paste “guru” models are crashing in 2026.Why most new sellers fail before they even hit “launch”.Why high-ticket is safer than chasing low-ticket chaos.How to spot $1,000+ products that don’t bleed returns.The simple way to test a product without burning cash on ads.The real amount you need to start an ecom business the right way.Why a real brand beats hacks and keeps you in the game long-term.Links & Resources Website: https://dropshipbreakthru.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dropship-breakthruInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dropshipbreakthru Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dropshipbreakthruX / Twitter: https://x.com/DropshipPodcastGet access to more free resources by visiting the show notes at https://tinyurl.com/3j99a8we______________________________________________________ LOVE THE SHOW? HERE ARE THE NEXT STEPS! Follow the podcast to get every bonus episode. Tap follow now and don’t miss out! Rate & Review: Help others discover the show by rating the show on Apple Podcasts at https://tinyurl.com/ecb-apple-podcasts Join our Free Newsletter: https://newsletter.ecommercecoffeebreak.com/ Support The Show On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EcommerceCoffeeBreak Partner with us: https://ecommercecoffeebreak.com/partner-with-us/

Cara Marin, an ecommerce marketing expert from Seguno, shares insights from a benchmark study on 162,000 discount campaigns. She discusses how unique discount codes prevent leaks and protect brand perception, while also allowing for more effective promotions. Marin highlights the importance of targeted offers like welcome and win-back discounts, and why gift-with-purchase strategies can boost revenue. Smaller brands can learn to leverage these tactics, mirroring the success of larger companies without sacrificing margins.

In this episode, we dive into the silent killer of e-commerce team productivity: using personal chat apps for work. Guy Weiss, CEO and founder of ZenZap, shares how relying on apps like WhatsApp can quietly harm your business through security risks, employee burnout, and lost data. He reveals the "hidden cost" of the "always on" culture and explains how a business-focused messenger can keep your company's secrets safe, integrate with your tools, and make your team highly productive.Topics discussed in this episode:  Why personal chat apps break work. The hidden cost of "always on" culture. Why personal apps ruin work/life separation. How your business IP is lost on employee phones. Why unstructured group chats cause missed orders. Why staff privacy matters as a business grows. How ZenZap solves complex communication. Links & Resources Website: https://www.zenzap.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zenzap/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zenzapappYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@zenzap_app Get access to more free resources by visiting the show notes at https://tinyurl.com/yeym4uyb______________________________________________________ LOVE THE SHOW? HERE ARE THE NEXT STEPS! Follow the podcast to get every bonus episode. Tap follow now and don’t miss out! Rate & Review: Help others discover the show by rating the show on Apple Podcasts at https://tinyurl.com/ecb-apple-podcasts Join our Free Newsletter: https://newsletter.ecommercecoffeebreak.com/ Support The Show On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EcommerceCoffeeBreak Partner with us: https://ecommercecoffeebreak.com/partner-with-us/

In this episode, Claus Lauter, host of the Ecommerce Coffee Break Podcast, dives into his journey of building the show.He gives a recap of 2025, shares lessons learned from growing a slow social channel, and explains how the podcast evolved from a side project into a full-time, monetized business.He also highlights the growing impact of AI on online shopping and ecommerce for both customers and suppliers.Topics discussed in this episode:  Why the 2025 goal of 100 episodes is happening.AI's huge impact is on online shopping.How the podcast started four and a half years ago.What the host learns from all interview guests.Why only 10% of global podcasts are active.Why most podcasts stop after episode seven.What "pod fade" means for new podcasters.Links & Resources Website: https://ecommercecoffeebreak.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecommerce-coffee-break-podcast/X/Twitter: https://x.com/ecomcoffeebreakInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecommercecoffeebreak/Get access to more free resources by visiting the show notes at https://tinyurl.com/5hcc6uv4______________________________________________________ LOVE THE SHOW? HERE ARE THE NEXT STEPS! Follow the podcast to get every bonus episode. Tap follow now and don’t miss out! Rate & Review: Help others discover the show by rating the show on Apple Podcasts at https://tinyurl.com/ecb-apple-podcasts Join our Free Newsletter: https://newsletter.ecommercecoffeebreak.com/ Support The Show On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EcommerceCoffeeBreak Partner with us: https://ecommercecoffeebreak.com/partner-with-us/

Join Simon Wijckmans, Founder and CEO of cside, as he delves into the world of friendly fraud—a silent threat to eCommerce margins. He explains how bad actors exploit chargebacks for profit and why payment issuers make it easy for customers to file disputes. Discover the hidden costs of fighting chargebacks and how client-side security intelligence can prevent them. Simon shares insights on device fingerprinting, the critical nature of browser security, and a case study showing how one business reduced chargebacks by up to 70%!

In this insightful discussion, Karl O'Brien, Co-founder of Store Hero and former digital marketing agency founder, reveals how e-commerce businesses can shift their focus from revenue to profitability. He highlights the common 'profit shock' merchants face at month-end and explains the importance of understanding contribution margins. Karl unveils strategies to identify hidden cash cows and the dangers of discounting. Additionally, he stresses that successful Q4 strategies should prioritize profit rather than just sales.

In this episode, we dive into how AI is accelerating the shift in user-generated content for advertising. Donatas Smailys, Co-founder and CEO of Billo, shares why social algorithms now demand high-volume content, his view on using AI as a scaling tool for real human creators (not for generating fake humans), and the crucial role of authenticity and variety in winning on platforms like Meta and TikTok. He also discusses the future of trust and AI characters in the content landscape.Topics discussed in this episode:  Why social algorithms now demand high-volume content daily. What makes a successful brand-creator relationship: emotion and performance data. Why Meta's Andromeda algorithm now wins with variety and volume of creatives. Why fake faces and AI-generated UGC are viewed as short-term gains with risk of backlash. How Billo uses AI to instantly generate the next creative from existing real human content. Why the future will require clear differentiation between real and AI content. Links & Resources Website: https://billo.app LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smailys/  Get access to more free resources by visiting the show notes at https://tinyurl.com/y2zubc9w______________________________________________________ LOVE THE SHOW? HERE ARE THE NEXT STEPS! Follow the podcast to get every bonus episode. Tap follow now and don’t miss out! Rate & Review: Help others discover the show by rating the show on Apple Podcasts at https://tinyurl.com/ecb-apple-podcasts Join our Free Newsletter: https://newsletter.ecommercecoffeebreak.com/ Support The Show On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EcommerceCoffeeBreak Partner with us: https://ecommercecoffeebreak.com/partner-with-us/

In this archive episode, we dive into the power of social proof and why trust building is essential for e-commerce success. Dan Vaneker, CEO and founder of trustprofile.com, shares his insights on how web shops can enhance trustworthiness through customer reviews and trust pages. He explains why customers rely on reviews before buying, how small shops can compete with giants like Amazon by focusing on trust, and the best strategies for collecting, aggregating, and responding to all types of customer feedback.Topics discussed in this episode:  Why 75% of consumers check reviews before buying.How consistency in shop address data builds customer trust.How to get started by claiming and improving your trust profile.Why you should first invite existing customers for a review boost.How product reviews are crucial for Google Shopping and informed decisions.Links & Resources Website: https://www.trustprofile.com/Shopify App: https://www.trustprofile.com/topic/integrations/shopify-integration/ Shopify App Store: https://apps.shopify.com/trustprofileLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dvaneker/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/trustprofile/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trustprofile/Get access to more free resources by visiting the show notes at https://tinyurl.com/3vj9ffzc______________________________________________________ LOVE THE SHOW? HERE ARE THE NEXT STEPS! Follow the podcast to get every bonus episode. Tap follow now and don’t miss out! Rate & Review: Help others discover the show by rating the show on Apple Podcasts at https://tinyurl.com/ecb-apple-podcasts Join our Free Newsletter: https://newsletter.ecommercecoffeebreak.com/ Support The Show On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EcommerceCoffeeBreak Partner with us: https://ecommercecoffeebreak.com/partner-with-us/

In this archive episode, we dive into email marketing strategy and how e-commerce merchants can maximize its potential. Andriy Boychuk, founder at flowium.com, an email marketing agency for e-commerce, shares strategies for improving your setup, metrics, and overall performance. He explains how to effectively grow your email list before major sales seasons like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, the power of segmentation, and the critical importance of email deliverabilityTopics discussed in this episode:  Why merchants feel they are not maximizing email marketing.Why planning ahead for Q4 sales is extremely important.The four key segments for Black Friday/Cyber Monday.How to convert traffic into email subscribers before sales season.What early bird and giveaway strategies grow your list.How segmentation can multiply your campaign revenue.Links & Resources Website: https://flowium.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andriyboychuk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andriyboychuk/Twitter: https://twitter.com/aboychuk Get access to more free resources by visiting the show notes at https://tinyurl.com/2v2wkw4w______________________________________________________ LOVE THE SHOW? HERE ARE THE NEXT STEPS! Follow the podcast to get every bonus episode. Tap follow now and don’t miss out! Rate & Review: Help others discover the show by rating the show on Apple Podcasts at https://tinyurl.com/ecb-apple-podcasts Join our Free Newsletter: https://newsletter.ecommercecoffeebreak.com/ Support The Show On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EcommerceCoffeeBreak Partner with us: https://ecommercecoffeebreak.com/partner-with-us/

In this episode, we dive into the massive shift impacting online sellers as shoppers use ChatGPT and other AI search tools for product discovery. Erik Wikander, CEO and co-founder of Wilgot.ai, unpacks the concept of agentic commerce — where AI completes the end-to-end purchase for the user. He shares what this revolution means for D2C brands, why the old SEO playbook is dead, and how to use Agentic Product Optimization to make your product content AI-ready and capture new, hyper-relevant customers.Topics discussed in this episode:  Why a major disruption is coming to Google search.What agentic commerce is and how it changes how we buy.Why the old e-commerce SEO playbook no longer works.How AI fan-out search runs hundreds of searches from one query.Why brands must now optimize for context instead of human clicks.How smaller brands can use this shift to outrun bigger competitors.What’s changing about paid search ads in the age of AI.Links & Resources Website: https://www.wilgot.ai/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikwikander/Get access to more free resources by visiting the show notes at https://tinyurl.com/yrsu7srx______________________________________________________ LOVE THE SHOW? HERE ARE THE NEXT STEPS! Follow the podcast to get every bonus episode. Tap follow now and don’t miss out! Rate & Review: Help others discover the show by rating the show on Apple Podcasts at https://tinyurl.com/ecb-apple-podcasts Join our Free Newsletter: https://newsletter.ecommercecoffeebreak.com/ Support The Show On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EcommerceCoffeeBreak Partner with us: https://ecommercecoffeebreak.com/partner-with-us/