Inside Commerce: Ecommerce Strategy, CX and Technology Podcast

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Ecommerce personalisation tech has progressed rapidly, with a wide range of vendors to choose from. However, personalisation is often reliant upon pushing product recommendations based on prior and current browsing, and purchase behaviour.

But...

Not everyone visiting your website has purchase intent, and those that do will be in different stages of their decision cycle. Continuing to treat everyone as a high intent buyer isn't an optimal customer experience and is likely to be losing you potential customers.

In this podcast we talk about predicting user intent to improve on-site segmentation and conversion. Our guest, David Mannheim, is the founder of Made With Intent, a tool focused on understanding user intent. The conversation covers topics such as the problems with generic pop-ups and blanket discounting, the importance of segmenting customers based on intent, and the integration options for the tool. David's vision for the future is to embed predictive intent in ecommerce and change the perspective of the industry.

Key takeaways:

1. Understanding user intent is crucial for effective on-site segmentation and conversion.

2. Generic pop-ups and blanket discounting are not always the best approach and can be annoying for users.

3. Segmenting customers based on their intent allows for more personalised and targeted communication.

4. Made With Intent integrates with various platforms to provide data insights and improve customer experiences.

5. The future vision is to change how businesses optimise their websites.

Tune in for an interesting and lively debate on user intent.

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In this episode, James Gurd interviews experienced digital marketing strategist Anna Wilson about the role of offline media in ecommerce.

Anna explains the rise of the fractional CMO role, the changing role of offline media in the digital age, and the appeal of direct mail in a crowded digital space.

The podcast will help you understand the relevance of print formats for different audiences, the importance of personalisation in retention strategies, and the measurement of offline marketing success.

We also touch on the role of programmatic direct mail and the challenges and considerations of sustainability in print campaigns.

Key takeaways:

James & Paul interview Hannah Tickle, an experienced experimentation leader who's currently the Experimentation Team Lead at Trainline.

The episode discusses the role of experimentation in ecommerce, the importance of ownership of within organisations, and the impact of hypotheses, testing speed, and data analysis.

Hannah shares insights on building a culture of experimentation and the benefits of using a custom testing stack. She also touches on the challenges of incorporating user feedback and the importance of understanding the limitations of qualitative research.

Takeaways:

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Let’s set the scene for this podcast. Operational efficiency is critical for ecommerce success. James recently moderated a panel at Dark Matter Commerce’s Commerce Fusion event, exploring the business case for investment in better automation with Green Feathers Ecommerce Director, James Ewens.

The topic for that panel was, "Say goodbye to excel and error-strewn manual work. Hello to automated retail and growing fearlessly".

The conversation was popular with the audience, so we decided to extend the discussion with James Ewens to ultimately answer the WHY, WHEN, WHAT & HOW of evolving from manual and spreadsheet based approaches to running key processes, to increased automation using modern technology.

Although we often joke about Excel or other manual systems managing a business, sometimes it’s the right thing to do given where that business is at. However, scaling on manual processes adds risk and businesses need to identify when it's time to change, and what change is required.

Both James' have first hand experience of large digital transformation projects and give advice on spotting the signs that change is required, the risks of not changing fast enough and the benefits of investing in better systems and processes.

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Stay connected with the leading ecommerce platforms. James & Paul interview leaders and visionaries from Shopify, BigCommerce, Centra, Commerce Layer and Remarkable Commerce for a fireside chat on what’s happened during Q2 2024.

Each quarter, we catch-up with the leadership teams of leading ecommerce vendors so you can hear directly from them what their strategic and product focus has been for the last quarter.

In this episode we cover:

1. Key trends shaping the vendor's strategy and roadmap

2. Key product releases from Q2 and impact for merchants

3. Looking ahead: what's coming in Q3?

Enjoy!

We often find ecommerce teams focus more on search algorithms and campaigns, like product boosting and redirects, less on ensuring the site gets people into relevant search journeys quickly and effectively. Through simple testing, we’ve seen search engagement (the % of users using search) increase by double digits.

In this 10-minute video & audio tutorial, James Gurd shares practical tips for boosting search usage and improving the search experience by focusing on two aspects:

Search box design and visibility

Default view and type-ahead efficiency

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In this episode, we sit down with By Association Only CTO Dan Gamble to review the latest Shopify product release, explaining what it means for merchants and what it reveals about Shopify’s product strategy and GTM focus.

If you’re part of the Shopify universe, then you’ll be well aware of Editions and the marketing bandwagon that accompanies it. Twice a year, Shopfidy drops a major product release containing 100+ new features, features enhancements and technical updates.

There’s a lot of talk about what has landed, less about the implications for ecommerce teams. In this episode, we pick out the important themes and explain what has impressed us, and why. We also discuss how these new features benefit ecommerce teams, whilst highlighting capability gaps that still need to be addressed, flagging which are in-flight but don’t have a committed release date.

We cover the following big topics:

Content management

Markets

Products & merchandising

Customer Service

Reporting and analytics

Checkout B2B

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Welcome to the latest episode of the Inside Commerce Podcast, your go-to source for innovative strategies to enhance your online retail business. In this episode, we explore the challenges of delivering cross-border ecommerce, featuring an interview with the experts at Swap Commerce.

Known for their market-leading returns platform, Swap Commerce now also helps merchants unlock new markets via their new cross border solution.

In this episode, Cian Wright explains how their services — DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) shipping, automatic tax remittance, and express customs clearance — streamline the complexities of international sales. We discuss the advantages of DDP shipping, which ensures that all duties and taxes are paid upfront, offering a seamless experience for customers and reducing unexpected costs at delivery.

An interesting insight is the benefit Swap Commerce provides to finance teams through the automatic clawback of duty on returns. This feature is crucial, as retailers often lose out when using merchant of record solutions that do not offer this functionality. By automatically reclaiming duties on returned items, Swap Commerce helps businesses maintain their profitability and operational efficiency.

Tune in to for advice on your cross-border ecommerce strategy, helping you expand globally while managing the financial intricacies of international trade.

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International expansion is front of mind for many ecommerce teams in 2024. In this episode we delve into the complexities of managing a global ecommerce strategy with the DTC Ecommerce Manager at BRG Group brands, which include Breville and Sage Appliances. Myles shares his experience and insights on navigating the intricacies of maintaining multiple websites across 17 countries, including multiple languages.

The conversation starts with the international setup and tech stack, and then covers the fundamental need for localisation of website content and the shopping experience. Myles explains that localising content is not just about translating text; it's about adapting the user experience to resonate with local cultures, preferences, and behaviours. This involves modifying product descriptions, adjusting imagery, and tailoring marketing messages to align with the expectations and norms of each region. Myles also highlights that true localisation requires a deep understanding of the local market, which often means collaborating closely with local teams or hiring native speakers.

Another key aspect discussed is the importance of standardising the technology stack via central ownership. Myles explains that having a unified platform and centralised control helps ensure consistency, efficiency, and scalability. By standardising on a single ecommerce platform, the brand can streamline operations, manage updates more effectively, and reduce the complexity of maintaining different systems. Central ownership also facilitates better data integration, allowing for more comprehensive analytics and insights across all markets.

However, with centralisation comes the challenge of maintaining a consistently high level of customer service across global teams. Myles candidly discusses the difficulties in achieving uniformity in customer service standards when dealing with diverse teams spread across various time zones and cultural backgrounds. Additionally, leveraging technology such as AI-driven customer service tools can help provide immediate and consistent support, bridging the gap between different regions.

Throughout the podcast, Myles' insights provide a valuable roadmap for any ecommerce manager looking to navigate the complexities of a global ecommerce strategy, balancing localisation, technological standardisation, and exceptional customer service.

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70.19% is the average documented online shopping cart abandonment rate. Every ecommerce site has abandoned carts, and trying to recover them is every ecommerce team’s obsession (well, it should be).

In this video short, we talk you through a recommended 3-phase approach to abandoned cart email programs and the role of SMS reminders in the process. Having done this for a few brands, our advice (which should be tested of course!) is: