eCom Collab Club Podcast - The eCommerce Podcast for DTC Businesses

Most eCommerce businesses still run on people manually moving information from one place to another.

Copying.Pasting.Updating.Chasing.

And somehow we’ve all accepted this as normal.

In this episode, Adam sits down with Simon Green, Co-Founder of Sprintr, to talk about where AI automation is actually changing eCommerce businesses — not just content generation, but the operational workflows quietly eating up time, money and brainpower behind the scenes.

This is less “AI thought leadership” and more:
👉 what should already be automated👉 what brands are still doing manually for no reason👉 and what happens when workflows start redesigning themselves around AI

If your current AI strategy is mostly “make this sound more professional”… this episode might cause a minor existential crisis.

In this episode:

• Why most brands approach AI backwards
• The operational workflows nobody talks about
• What “human middleware” actually means
• Tasks humans shouldn’t still be doing manually
• Where automation creates immediate impact
• AI and the future of team structure
• The first workflows Simon would automate inside a £10m Shopify brand

Links

Sprintr → https://sprintr.ai/Simon Green (LinkedIn) → https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-gr33n/Adam Pearce (LinkedIn) → https://www.linkedin.com/in/shopifyexpertadampearceBlend Commerce → https://blendcommerce.com

#aiautomationecommerce #shopifyaiworkflows #ecommerceautomation #aioperationsecommerce #workflowautomationshopify #ecommerceaitools #shopifyworkflowautomation #aiinecommerceoperations

Most brands think they have a retention problem.

They don’t.

They’ve got an everything-else problem…and they’re trying to fix it by sending more emails.

In this episode, Adam is joined by Craig Niven, Founder of FILDI, to unpack what actually causes subscription churn — and why your lifecycle team is being asked to fix things they didn’t break.

From acquisition quality and pricing strategy to failed payments quietly draining revenue, this is a look at the parts of subscription businesses that don’t show up in your Klaviyo dashboard.

Craig’s spent 15+ years working in subscriptions across Sky, BT, News UK and sports streaming platforms, and now helps brands stop the bleeding and build subscription models that actually hold together.

He’s also a Lord of one square foot of Scotland.

In this episode

• Why “retention = emails” is one of the biggest myths in eCommerce
• How churn often starts with who you acquire (not how you retain)
• Why discount-led acquisition can backfire long-term
• The pricing mistakes that quietly kill subscriber value
• What passive churn is — and why most brands miss it
• Why emails can’t fix broken systems (but still have a role)
• What a proper retention system actually looks like

Links

FILDI → https://fildi.coCraig Niven (LinkedIn) → https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigniven/Adam Pearce (LinkedIn) → https://www.linkedin.com/in/shopifyexpertadampearce/Blend Commerce → https://blendcommerce.com

If your churn rate is creeping up…this episode will tell you why and what you can do about it.

Expanding internationally sounds like the dream.

More customers. More markets. More revenue.

Until your margins disappear, your ops get messy, and you realise you’ve accidentally built five slightly broken businesses instead of one good one.

In this episode, Adam sits down with Kareem Raslan, Managing Director of Braingain, to talk about what scaling internationally actually looks like.

From importing dumbbells during lockdown and delivering them around London… to building a brand with 100,000+ customers across 30+ countries, Kareem shares the lessons (and mistakes) that shaped Braingain’s growth.

This is a conversation about simplifying, focusing, and building a business that actually makes money — not just one that looks good on a map.

In this episode:

• Why trying to sell everything everywhere doesn’t work
• The reality of unit economics across multiple markets
• Why first-order profitability matters more than most brands admit
• How localisation impacts performance in EU markets
• What breaks first when you scale (and how to fix it)
• Why simplifying channels can unlock growth
• The challenges of working capital during expansion
• What Kareem would do differently starting again

About the guest

Kareem Raslan is the Managing Director of Braingain, a fitness equipment brand that scaled rapidly from a lockdown side hustle into a global business serving 100,000+ customers across 30+ countries.

Starting by importing adjustable dumbbells and delivering them locally around London, Kareem has built Braingain into a brand focused on profitable growth, strong unit economics and disciplined expansion.

He has hands-on experience navigating the complexities of international expansion, product focus, channel strategy and scaling operations.

🔗 Braingain website ➡️ https://www.braingain.fit

🔗 Kareem Raslan (LinkedIn) ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kareemraslan/

About the host

Adam Pearce is Co-Founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®, helping eCommerce brands grow through smarter CRO, customer experience and commercial strategy.

Known for cutting through noise and focusing on what actually drives growth, Adam brings practical, operator-led conversations to founders and teams.

🔗 Adam Pearce (LinkedIn)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shopifyexpertadampearce

Links

Braingain → https://www.braingain.fitAdam Pearce (LinkedIn) → https://www.linkedin.com/in/shopifyexpertadampearceBlend Commerce → https://blendcommerce.com

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💬 Comment: What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made (or seen) when expanding internationally?

#internationalecommerceexpansion #ecommercescalingstrategy #uniteconomicsecommerce #dtcglobalexpansion #howtoscaleecommerceinternationally #ecommerceprofitability #amazonshopifystrategy#ecommercegrowthmistakes

In this episode, Adam sits down with Emma Burke, founder of LACEEZE, who’s done something most founders only talk about…

She’s picked a very specific goal:
👉 Get her brand into Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Not “grow wholesale.”
Not “explore retail.”
Actual, named retailer. Big leagues.

So naturally, Adam does what Adam does — pulls the plan apart (nicely) to figure out if it’s genius, madness… or somewhere in between.

This is Part One of the journey, where Emma lays everything on the table: the thinking, the strategy, and what she’s already tried to make it happen.

No fluff. No “manifest it and it’ll come.” Just what it really looks like when you aim for big retail.

They cover:

– Why Emma chose Dick’s Sporting Goods (and what makes it the right target)– The real ways brands get in front of retail buyers– What she’s already tried — and what’s worked (and hasn’t)– The gap between “getting stocked” and actually being ready for it– What founders underestimate about retail scale– The operational, margin and growth implications of going wholesale– Why landing a big retailer isn’t the finish line — it’s the starting gun

This episode is for any founder thinking: “Should we go wholesale?”
“How do you actually land a big retailer?” or
“Are we even ready for that level of scale?”

About the Guest

Emma Burke is the founder of LACEEZE, building a brand designed to scale — with ambitions to break into major retail. She’s sharing the process in real time, not after the fact.

About the Host

Adam Pearce is Co-Founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®, helping eCommerce brands grow through better strategy, CRO and customer experience.

Links

Blend Commerce → https://blendcommerce.com

LACEEZE → https://laceeze.co.uk/

If you’ve ever thought about taking your brand into retail…this is where the reality check starts.

How Finula Crowe built New Day Originals through authenticity and networking.

What does it actually mean to build a brand around a person?

In this episode, Adam is joined by Finula Crowe, founder of sustainable fashion brand New Day Originals, to talk about founder-led brands, networking, and why personal visibility is becoming one of the biggest growth advantages in modern eCommerce.

Rather than hiding behind the brand, Finula has built her business by showing up — sharing the story behind the company, connecting with people in the industry, and building genuine relationships along the way.

The conversation explores why founder presence builds trust faster than polished marketing, how networking still creates the best opportunities in business, and why playing the long game in eCommerce is less about hacks and more about human connection.

In this episode

• Why founder visibility is becoming a competitive advantage• How personal brand and business brand reinforce each other• The power of authentic networking in eCommerce• Building community around a sustainable fashion brand• Why relationships compound over time

Links

New Day Originals → https://newdayoriginals.com
Adam Pearce (LinkedIn) → https://www.linkedin.com/in/shopifyexpertadampearce
Blend Commerce → https://blendcommerce.com

Most eCommerce brands obsess over the digital stuff.

Ads. Funnels. Landing pages. Checkout flows.

And then the customer finally buys… and the entire experience ends in a box.

In this episode, Adam Pearce sits down with Luke Howitt, Co-Founder of Supplied, to talk about the most overlooked moment in the customer journey: when the product actually arrives.

They unpack why packaging shapes first impressions, influences retention, and quietly becomes one of the biggest operational headaches as brands scale.

If your brand's growing fast, or you want it to, this episode might save you from discovering the “cardboard bottleneck” the hard way.

They cover:

– Why packaging is the book cover to your brand– The moment digital experience becomes physical reality– Why brands underestimate the power of the unboxing experience– How packaging affects loyalty and repeat purchase– Why packaging becomes a bottleneck as brands scale– Operational challenges high-growth brands run into– How packaging decisions impact logistics, cost and CX– Balancing brand presentation with sustainability

About the Guest

Luke Howitt is Co-Founder of Supplied, an end-to-end packaging supplier helping eCommerce brands design and scale packaging that matches their brand experience.

Supplied works with fast-growing brands to ensure packaging supports both brand perception and operational efficiency as they scale.

About the Host

Adam Pearce is Co-Founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®, helping brands grow through better customer experience, CRO and smarter operational thinking.

Links

Supplied → https://supplied.agency

→ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukehowitt/

Adam Pearce (LinkedIn) → https://www.linkedin.com/in/shopifyexpertadampearce

Blend Commerce → https://blendcommerce.com

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💬 Comment: What’s the best unboxing experience you’ve ever had from a brand? And (because you want to – go on, you know you do), what's the worst?

#ecommercepackaging #theunboxingexperience #customerexperience #ecommerce #brandpackagingstrategy #dtcpackaging #ecommercefulfilment #ecommercegrowth #brandexperience

Customer support has spent years being treated like admin.
The inbox. The tickets. The thing you “deal with later.”

Turns out… it’s quietly influencing whether customers buy, bounce, or come back annoyed.

In this episode, Adam Pearce is joined by Gareth Cummings, CEO of eDesk, to unpack why customer support sits inside the revenue funnel — and why ignoring it is costing brands more than they realise.

They cover how customer questions shape buying decisions, what breaks as brands scale, and where AI actually helps support teams (without removing the humans that customers still want).

If you care about conversion, retention, or not drowning in tickets — this one’s worth wrapping 'round your ears.

They cover:

– Why support is wrongly treated as a cost centre– Where customer questions influence conversion– What customers are actually asking before they buy– Why support data should sit closer to marketing– Where support lives in the funnel (hint: everywhere)– What breaks first as brands scale– How response speed impacts revenue and returns– Where AI helps — and where it’s dangerous– Why fully human-less support is a terrible idea– What £3–10m founders can do tomorrow morning

About the Guest

Gareth Cummings is CEO of eDesk, a customer support platform built specifically for eCommerce brands looking to scale without sacrificing speed, consistency or humanity.

About the Host

Adam Pearce is Co-Founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®, helping brands grow by focusing on the things that actually move the needle.

Links

eDesk → https://www.edesk.com

Adam Pearce (LinkedIn) → https://www.linkedin.com/in/shopifyexpertadampearce

Blend Commerce → https://blendcommerce.com

#ecommerce #customersupport #cx #conversion #retention #aiincx #ecomcollabclub

For a while, subscriptions were hailed as the holy grail of eCommerce.
Launch one, sit back, count the money. Easy.

Reality had…other plans.

In this episode, Adam Pearce is joined by John Burke, Founder and Non-Executive Director of Craft Gin Club, to talk about how subscription models have evolved – and what separates the brands that last from the ones that quietly churn themselves into oblivion.

This is a calm, grown-up look at subscriptions in 2026: less gimmicks, more value.

They cover:

– How subscription models have changed over the last decade– Why customers are more selective than ever– Loyalty vs lock-in (and why one kills brands)– What Craft Gin Club got right building long-term retention– Pricing, cadence and perceived value– Why “easy recurring revenue” was always a myth– What the future of subscriptions really looks like

About the Guest

John Burke, Founder and Non-Executive Director of Craft Gin Club, one of the UK’s most established subscription brands built on curation, experience and community.

About the Host

Adam Pearce, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®, helping brands grow without nuking margins or trust.

Links

Craft Gin Club → https://www.craftginclub.co.ukBlend Commerce → https://blendcommerce.com

eCom Collab Club® → https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-ecom-collab-club

#subscriptions #ecommerce #retention #recurringrevenue #dtc #ecomcollabclub

What Do CEOs of eCommerce Brands Really Think About?

Everyone talks about growth tactics.
Very few talk about the mental load of actually running the business.

In this episode, Adam Pearce sits down with Luke Bream, CEO of Valentte, for an honest conversation about what really occupies the mind of an eCommerce CEO — beyond dashboards, Slack pings, and LinkedIn optimism.

This isn’t about hacks.
It’s about leadership, pressure, decision-making, and the quiet stuff nobody posts about.

They cover:

– What keeps eCom CEOs awake at night– The shift from founder mode to CEO mode– Decision fatigue and prioritisation– Growth vs stability (and when to choose each)– Leading teams without micromanaging– Why more data doesn’t always equal better decisions– The realities of responsibility, pressure, and long-term thinking

If you’re running a brand, or want to one day, this episode hits differently.

About the Guest

Luke Bream is CEO of Valentte, a premium home fragrance and lifestyle brand built on craftsmanship, calm, and long-term brand thinking. Luke focuses on sustainable growth, leadership clarity, and building a business that lasts.

About the Host

Adam Pearce, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®, helps brands grow without losing their minds, margins, or momentum.

Links

Valentte → https://www.valentte.comLuke Bream on LinkedIn → https://uk.linkedin.com/in/luke-breamAdam Pearce on LinkedIn → https://uk.linkedin.com/in/shopifyexpertadampearceBlend Commerce → https://blendcommerce.com

#ecommerce #leadership #ceomindset #founders #dtc #ecomcollabclub

In this episode, Adam sits down with Craig Niven: Founder of FILDI, 15-year subscription veteran and literal Scottish Lord — to unpack one of the most misunderstood relationships in eCommerce:

CRO + Subscriptions.

Most brands treat them like divorced parents who only communicate through passive-aggressive notes…but the reality is they have to work together if you want recurring revenue that actually sticks.

Craig’s seen subscriptions at Sky, BT, News UK, NFL Game Pass, Tennis TV and Future. He’s here to explain what healthy subscription businesses do differently, why so many brands launch subs badly and how to stop churn before it starts.

This one’s a biggie for anyone running subscriptions, planning to launch them, or wondering why their LTV looks like a heart monitor.

They cover:

– Why CRO & Subscription teams accidentally sabotage each other– How AB tests impact churn (yep, really)– AOV vs ARPU vs LTV: which metrics actually matter– The subscription boom: who should (and shouldn’t) launch one– Loyalty vs retention (and why points don’t equal loyalty)– The upsides, downsides & emotional damage of subscription models– Craig’s top 3 non-negotiables for subscription success– What healthy subscription businesses look like behind the scenes– How CRO + Subs can collaborate without stepping on each other’s throats

About the Guest

Craig Niven, Founder of FILDI Subscriptions Consultancy and official Lord of Glencoe (one square foot of Scottish land, infinite authority).
Craig has spent 15 years deep inside the subscription world across Sky, BT, News UK, NFL Game Pass, Tennis TV and Future.
Today, he helps scale-up brands build, understand and grow recurring revenue.

FILDI – https://www.fildi.co
LinkedIn – Craig Niven: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigniven/

About the Host

Adam Pearce, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®. CRO obsessive. Known for saying the quiet eCom thoughts out loud (and then some).

Join the eCC community → https://ecomcollabclub.com/community

Work with Blend

Need your site to convert like your metrics depend on it? Get CRO help from Blend Commerce → https://blendcommerce.com