Checkin to Checkout

In this conversation, Andrew Mosko, Director of D2C and Digital at Throne Sport Coffee, shares insights into his role overseeing digital commerce and marketing strategies. He discusses the evolution of e-commerce, the importance of agency support, and the lessons learned from failures in the industry. The conversation also delves into the impact of AI on consumer behavior, the significance of effective communication within teams, and innovative marketing strategies that leverage consumer psychology. Andrew emphasizes the need for storytelling in e-commerce and shares his current focus on understanding human decision-making processes.

Want any help improving Revenue Per Visitor? Check out https://Mobile1st.com.

Interested in talking to Justin or getting on the show, find him on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinaronstein/

Takeaways:

In this conversation, Dimitri Anderson, CIO and Head of E-Commerce and Marketplace Strategy at Leroy Merlin, shares insights into his hybrid role that combines technology and business to drive growth. He emphasizes the importance of user feedback, innovative features, and A/B testing in e-commerce. Dimitri discusses the challenges of advertising overspending and the role of AI in enhancing customer experience. He also highlights the efficiency of small teams and the future trends in e-commerce, particularly in the South African market.

Want any help improving Revenue Per Visitor? Check out https://Mobile1st.com

Interested in talking to Justin or getting on the show, find him on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinaronstein/

In this conversation, Kasey Wiese, the Director of E-commerce at Liberty Safe, shares insights into her role and the challenges of leading an e-commerce team. She discusses the importance of prioritization, delegation, and emotional resilience in leadership. Kasey emphasizes the need for a culture of experimentation and the complexities of personalization in e-commerce. She also reflects on the stress of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the significance of trust and communication in leadership, and the value of implementing best practices from the Baymard Institute. Kasey's experiences highlight the evolving landscape of e-commerce and the continuous learning required to succeed in this field.

Want any help improving Revenue Per Visitor? Check out https://Mobile1st.com

Interested in talking to Justin or getting on the show, find him on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinaronstein/

Takeaways

This is the first episode of Season 2. Episodes in season 2 will be released weekly and will be 30 minutes long.

In this episode, Garrett Peters, CEO and co-founder of Duncan and Stone Paper Company, shares insights into his daily responsibilities, the challenges of running an e-commerce business, and the lessons learned from failures. He discusses the importance of breaking down new tasks into manageable steps, the significance of building a strong team, and the strategies for future growth, including influencer marketing and optimizing Amazon sales.

Want help hitting your 2026 goals by increasing revenue per visitor? Checkout Mobile1st.com.

Takeaways

In this conversation, Jonah, the director of commerce and growth at ProShop, discusses his role in building a golf community through e-commerce and content marketing. He shares insights on team structure, customer acquisition, and the challenges of navigating social media platforms like TikTok. Jonah emphasizes the importance of storytelling in brand building, the complexities of attribution reporting, and the impact of AI on the future of e-commerce. He also reflects on personal experiences with failures, setting boundaries, and the significance of clear communication within an organization.

Want help growing RPV, checkout Mobile1st.com.

Takeaways

"But our brand is different."

It is the most dangerous phrase in enterprise e-commerce. It leads to tech debt, bloated roadmaps, and a digital ecosystem that represents a graveyard of "nice-to-have" features that never scale.

In this episode (our first-ever LIVE recording!), we sit down with Grace Edinger, Director of Ecommerce Product Management at Stanley Black & Decker.

Grace is responsible for the digital backbone powering some of the world’s most iconic brands—DeWalt, Craftsman, Black+Decker, and Cub Cadet. She joins the show to break down how she manages hundreds of stakeholders, navigates complex corporate politics, and enforces her strict "No Special Snowflakes" rule to keep the roadmap clean.

We cover:

The "Special Snowflake" Syndrome: Why saying "yes" to every custom brand request is actually destroying your ability to scale.

Project vs. Product Mindset: How to stop operating as an "Order Taker" for Marketing and start operating as a strategic partner who demands data before building.

The Invisible Work: Why the unsexy work of consolidating ERPs and building a unified foundation matters more than the latest AI hype.

Stakeholder Politics: The exact scripts and strategies Grace uses to say "no" to bad ideas without burning bridges.

If you are an E-Commerce Director drowning in feature requests or trying to drive digital transformation in a legacy organization, this episode is your playbook for taking back control.

Brian “Purk” Purkiss leads D2C acquisition and the ecommerce site for Honest Paws at OnePet. In this episode, Brian gets honest about what actually moves conversion and what just burns time. We dig into the puzzle of ecommerce decision making, how to turn tiny wins into big results, and why the bravest thing you can do is sometimes remove the shiny thing you just added.

You’ll hear:

Why small, measured iterations beat year-long redesigns

The counterintuitive truth that removing elements often lifts revenue

How to set goals, form a hypothesis, and measure impact without ego

A practical workflow for roadmapping, testing, and sharing lessons with your team

Preventing burnout with “fallback” tasks and Fun Feature Friday

Building a culture of ownership and trust on a fully remote team

Brian’s hardest leadership lesson and how he fixed it

If you care about conversion rate, new customer acquisition, and making your site 0.1% better week after week, this one’s for you. Hosted by Justin Aronstein with Connor.

Should Amazon really be the enemy of DTC?

Most e-commerce leaders will tell you to prioritize your own site, own the customer, and push for loyalty. But Tom Funk — E-Commerce Director at Ann Clark Ltd. and veteran of Vermont Teddy Bear, Keurig Green Mountain, and Gardener’s Supply — has a very different take.

In this episode of Check In to Check Out, Tom shares why Amazon actually delivers a better customer experience than most merchant sites ever could, why his Shopify product pages send shoppers directly to Amazon, and what happened when he failed to convince a leadership team that Amazon was essential to their growth.

We get into:

The real ratio of Amazon vs. DTC revenue (and why most brands get it wrong)

The operational realities that make Amazon unbeatable for certain products

How to position DTC so it complements, not competes with, marketplaces

Tom’s hard-learned lessons about culture, data storytelling, and failed persuasion

If you’ve ever debated whether to push harder into Amazon or double down on your own site, this episode will challenge your assumptions.

In this conversation, John Arquete, an experienced e-commerce director, shares insights on managing an e-commerce business through challenging times. He discusses the importance of team dynamics, effective communication, and understanding customer needs. John reflects on his career journey, the lessons learned from failures, and the impact of economic changes on e-commerce strategies. He emphasizes the need for authenticity in marketing and the potential of AI to transform the e-commerce landscape. Overall, the discussion provides valuable takeaways for e-commerce leaders looking to navigate the complexities of the industry.

Takeaways