In this episode, we explore the fascinating journey of Dedrick Boyd, founder of TechSparq, as he shares his insights on creating purposeful and sustainable businesses within the digital space. 

We dive into the groundbreaking Empower Global project, which aims to elevate black creatives and their brands, providing a dedicated space for marginalized communities to sell and promote their products. We also discuss the potential of Metaverse concepts to create virtual spaces for communities to connect, gather, and organize, transforming e-commerce into a more social and immersive experience. 

Additionally, we examine the importance of incorporating gamification in e-commerce to create engaging experiences for consumers and the potential for car configurators and other customizable shopping experiences within the metaverse. 

Join us in this thought-provoking conversation about the future of e-commerce and virtual experiences!

Show Highlights:

• Overcoming Difficult Challenges With Custom Software
• Creating Human Connections in Online Experiences
• The Rapid Evolution of Technology
• The Future of Car Configurators
• Perception of Websites
• Building a Community Through Direct Transactions
• Increasing Bandwidth for High Fidelity Products

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We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Salesforce Commerce Cloud is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot!

Supporting Resources:

Find Dedrick:

LinkedIn

Instagram

Twitter

dedrickboyd.com

TechSparq:

https://www.techsparq.com/

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Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Retail is an ever-changing space. Add in health and wellness, and it changes even more so. Trends come and go in the health and wellness industry, and they all affect the retail marketplace and eCommerce. With each trend comes new opportunities for products and systems.

In this episode, we have a conversation with James Murphy from the retail industry advisory team at Salesforce. Their job is to stay up to date on the latest trends, innovations, emerging tech, and anything that is impacting modern retail. James has been in the retail space for 20 years and has experienced some drastic changes, not to mention Covid-19. 

Listen in to this episode to learn about the eCommerce revolution in retail health and wellness and how James thinks it may continue to evolve.

Show Highlights:

• Trends and retail around the health and wellness space.

• The role of retail around the pandemic.

• How loyalty programs and memberships have been reimagined.

• How consumers and retailers are approaching data sharing.

• Where retailers are missing opportunities when it comes to DIY.

Subscribe and Review

We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Salesforce Commerce Cloud is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot!

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Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Sustainability is becoming a hot topic in consumerism and affects retailers and investors in all industries. Many changing expectations are causing retailers to respond with actions that will meet the new expectations. In this episode, Nat and Celeste Richardson discuss the positive impacts responding to sustainability goals will have on the bottom line, customer satisfaction, and loyalty.

Celeste Richardson is the retail industry advisor and senior manager at Salesforce. She is passionate about sustainability and working with retail leaders to drive meaningful changes. Celeste has over 15 years of experience in retail merchandising, sourcing, and digital marketing and is consistently connecting with retail leaders in all industries to help transform customer and employee experiences.

Enjoy this episode!

Show Highlights:

• How customers are shifting their buying habits to be more sustainable.

• The impact investors have on sustainability efforts.

• How brands are responding to the call to action and practicing sustainability.

• The biggest challenges in creating a fast fashion resale market.

• How brands can create their own consumer-to-consumer resale markets.

Subscribe and Review

We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Salesforce Commerce Cloud is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot!

***

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

With the digital space everchanging, the live shopping experience changes as well. Consumers, retailers, and even the product producers such as farmers are shifting their advertising efforts. 

In this episode, we interview Alan Shekhtman and Martin Polash from Bambuser – the market leader in live video shopping and video commerce. Being immersed in live shopping, Alan and Martin provided many insights on how the online shopping experience is affected, the metrics of conversions, lifetime value, etc., and more.

Listen in to learn how live shopping and video are changing how we buy and sell in the marketplace today and what the future of live shopping may be.

Show Highlights:

• What Bambuser is, and how it affects the online shopping experience.
• The role influencers play in live shopping.
• Use cases for telehealth, food, and farming.
• How to help retailers with the challenge of creating content.
• How live shopping is driving engagement and conversions.
• The difference between one-to-many and one-to-one products.
• What the future of live shopping looks like to Alan and Martin.

Subscribe and Review

We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Salesforce Commerce Cloud is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot!

***

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

How will digital media create monetization in a world where so much media is free? The media space is ever-changing, and media companies and artists alike have to adapt to be able to continue to make money. Media trends come and go quicker than ever as well, and companies struggle to bring their data together to target the correct audiences.

In today’s episode, we interview Rajat Sharma and Markus Schäfer. Rajat is the global media advisor at Salesforce. He’s been in media for about ten years, working in various roles, and was at NBC before joining Salesforce. Markus is Salesforce's industry solutions and strategy director for media and entertainment. He was previously a tech consultant. We discuss the struggles that media companies face, the trends they are seeing, and how artists and media companies can continue to make money through advertising, NFTs, merchandise, and more.

Listen in to learn more about how media companies and artists are adapting to the changes in media consumption.

Show Highlights:

• Big media trends are that Rajat and Markus are seeing
• Strategies artists should be using to create monetization
• How media companies can create monetization
• How media companies are approaching merchandising
• Struggles media companies have with bringing data together to improve targeting
• What happens if artists don’t own their music contracts
• The effect of AI-generated content

Subscribe and Review

We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Salesforce Commerce Cloud is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot!

*** Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

What happens when content and commerce combine? You get conversions! Although shoppable ads have been around for a while, they have only recently begun to emerge on streaming platforms. It’s a revolutionary experience for advertisers to transition from measuring views to measuring purchases on television.

In this episode, we speak with Vassil Mladjov – an investor and board member of tallio.io, the VP of strategy at MoEngage®, and a political and tech reporter in Bulgaria. He is a longtime entrepreneur and innovator who helps startups optimize their business models. Vassil is also a former Gartner analyst who has been working in the streaming video and e-commerce space for over two decades.

Listen in to discover how shoppable ads are only scratching the service of digital advertising.

Show Highlights:

• How shopping through ads on television works
• Why shoppable ads are working now
• What is the future of shoppable ads
• How the possibilities of shoppable ads are endless

Subscribe and Review

We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Salesforce Commerce Cloud is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot!

Supporting Resources:

• Follow Vassil on LinkedIn
• tallio.io
• moengage.com

*** Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Brands are in a position where they must exceed customer expectations even if the customer wasn’t expecting it. No brand is safe from the need to stay one step ahead of its customers – just think of Blockbuster and Nokia.

In this episode, I have a great conversation with Brian Solis, the global innovation evangelist here at Salesforce. Brian is a world-renowned digital anthropologist, futurist, eight times bestselling author, and international keynote speaker. He has consistently been recognized as one of the world's leading voices in innovation, business transformation, and leadership for over two decades.

Listen in to learn about the customer experience in a digital-first world and how brands can survive the changes and continually exceed their customers' expectations.

Show Highlights:

• How customer expectations have changed
• How a digital-first world has changed people and continues to change people
• Why we must show our customers what’s possible
• Why you need to have a vision or end goal
• The relationship between digital and in-person shopping
• What is the pre-Metaverse, according to Brian
• What can brands do today that customers are not expecting

Subscribe and Review

We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Salesforce Commerce Cloud is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot!

Supporting Resources:

briansolis.com

Follow on Twitter

Follow on LinkedIn

If you're interested in learning more about Salesforce Commerce Cloud, please check out our page: https://www.salesforce.com/ca/products/commerce-cloud/overview/.

*** Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.

Where do brands have to evolve to meet customer expectations? In this conversation with Rob Garf, we discuss the possibilities along with shopping at the edge and what that means for omnichannel customer experience.

With more than 25 years of global retail experience as a practitioner, industry analyst, strategy consultant, and software leader, Rob is no stranger to the industry, and the challenges retailers face. Rob is the VP and GM of Retail at Salesforce, and he currently leads retail strategy, product, and insight and advises senior executives globally on digital transformation. Rob is also a frequent industry speaker, a member of the NRF Digital Council, and chair of the retail customer advisory board.

Listen in for Rob’s thoughts on how the relationship between brands and consumers is changing.

Show Highlights:

• How our relationship with shopping has changed
• If consumers feel pressure by constantly shopping
• The difference between micro-moments and shopping for large events
• How consumers do their own research before buying a product today
• Studio stores focus on storytelling rather than selling all their products in-store
• What is changing with customer loyalty

Subscribe and Review

We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Salesforce Commerce Cloud is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot!

Supporting Resources:

Read the Blog Follow Rob on Twitter

If you're interested in learning more about Salesforce Commerce Cloud, please check out our page: https://www.salesforce.com/ca/products/commerce-cloud/overview/.

*** Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.  Let them know I sent you.

After the pandemic and an increase in online shopping, the spotlight has been put on eCommerce and how it will impact our lives going forward. There is a new balance between eCommerce and shopping in-store. For example, when a customer visits a store, there is a reason they decided to visit in person and not shop online. With software like Salesforce, retailers have the opportunity to know their shoppers better than anyone.

Kimberly Barach is a Salesforce Industry advisor and grocery expert with over a decade of grocery experience. She has a history of using data to develop strategies to drive customer engagement and personalization and prior experience in one-on-one marketing activation, data commercialization, merchandising, and private label.

Listen in to this conversation with Kim to hear where grocery has been, where it's going with respect to online shopping, and what in-store activations will look like.

Show Highlights:

• Kim's time spent at the Grocery Shop conference in Vegas and conversations she had with retailers
• The importance of personalization and a first-party data strategy
• How to use different metrics to measure a business’s success
• How grocers are helping their customers and themselves during a time of inflation
• How sustainability is making its way into the conversation

Subscribe and Review

We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Salesforce Commerce Cloud is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot!

Supporting Resources:

Kim’s LinkedIn

If you're interested in learning more about Salesforce Commerce Cloud, please check out our page: https://www.salesforce.com/ca/products/commerce-cloud/overview/

*** Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com.  Let them know I sent you.

Did you know the eCommerce structure has not changed since it first began? Until now! With the use of the metaverse, the consumers' shopping experience is dramatically changing. Our online experiences are now becoming more fun and personalized because of a new company called, Obsess. Obsess is a Salesforce partner and experiential eCommerce platform that enables brands to create 3D immersive stores on their website and in the metaverse.

Neha Singh is the CEO and founder of Obsess, where she is changing the way brands interact with consumers online. Fortunately, it’s incredibly accessible. You don’t need a VR headset or a special device; you can shop in the metaverse by visiting a regular URL.

Listen to this episode to learn how Obsess is revolutionizing virtual eCommerce platforms.

Show Highlights:

• Neha’s history working at Google and Vogue and the problems Vogue faced
• The evolution of online shopping through VR
• How brands are using gamification and the effect it has on engagement
• The other use cases for Obsess beyond retail
• Best practices for building online experiences for brands during the holidays
• Why brands should or shouldn’t use avatars
• What is next for Obsess and the eCommerce experience

Subscribe and Review

We’d appreciate you subscribing to this podcast and leaving an Apple Podcasts review. Reviews help others discover and learn what Salesforce Commerce Cloud is all about. It only takes a second and helps us out a lot!

Supporting Resources:

Follow Obsess:

ObsessAR.com

Twitter

Follow Neha:

LinkedIn

Joint Salesforce and Obsess Demo

*** Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know I sent you.