Many Shopify brands rely on the pop-up included with their email platform. But what if that default pop-up is holding back their email list growth?

In episode #37 of the Retention Edge, Pietro Saccomani, founder of MobiLoud, sits down with Shaan Arora, co-founder and CEO of Alia, to unpack how the company grew from a college dorm-room idea into an AI-powered pop-up platform used by 4,500 brands.

From deciding not to accept outside funding to bootstrapping the company through a $60 million acquisition, Shaan shares how narrow positioning, free marketing channels, agency partnerships, referrals, and hands-on customer support helped Alia grow. He also explains how AI-driven testing and personalized offers can generate two to three times more email opt-ins within 30 days.

We dive deep into:

- Why focusing exclusively on pop-ups accelerated Alia’s growth

- How Alia uses AI to show different offers, messages, and pop-ups to different shoppers

- Why agency partnerships and referrals became major growth channels

- How brands can increase opt-ins without always offering larger discounts

- Why Shaan chose not to accept a family-and-friends funding round

- How hands-on setup helps customers start using the software successfully

- What changed after Alia’s $60 million acquisition

- Why list health still matters as email and SMS marketing continue to grow

If you lead eCommerce, retention, email marketing, or growth at a Shopify brand, this episode offers practical lessons on list growth, personalization, positioning, customer support, and building a focused SaaS company. Growth doesn’t always coming from solving as many problems as possible, but from solving one important problem exceptionally well.

📜 Subscribe to the Retention Edge Newsletter: https://retentionedge.co/

📱 Get a free preview of your brand’s mobile app: https://www.mobiloud.com/

Connect with Pietro: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pietrosaccomani/

Connect with Shaan: linkedin.com/in/shaan-arora/

Most brands have hundreds of thousands of customers who bought once and never came back. They know it. They just don't know what to do about it or they've given up trying.

In episode #36 of the Retention Edge, we sit down with Nate Okonkwo, Co-Founder & CEO of Remarkable AI, to unpack why win-back is one of the most underleveraged revenue channels in ecommerce and how AI is finally making true one-to-one personalization possible at scale.

From a beauty retailer that hit $26,000 in revenue by reaching just 1,500 customers, to a jewelry brand generating $17 per customer with zero discount codes, Nate shares real results that challenge everything brands think they know about re-engagement.

We dive deep into:

- Why the industry average for win-back emails is just $0.11 per customer and how to leave that number far behind

- How Remarkably.ai uses order history, browsing behavior, and customer support data to personalize at scale

- The TikTok comment strategy that drove a 7x return on spend for one brand

- Why "Done For You" beats software every time for stretched marketing teams

- How human-in-the-loop AI protects brand safety while still moving fast

- The shift from campaign blasting to genuine customer relationships and why it actually sells more

If you lead retention, CRM, or growth at a DTC or ecommerce brand, this episode will change how you think about the customers already in your database. Because the biggest opportunity in your business might not be acquiring new customers, it's the ones you've already lost.

📜 Subscribe to the Retention Edge Newsletter: https://retentionedge.co/

📱 Get a free preview of your brand’s mobile app: https://www.mobiloud.com/

Connect with Pietro: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pietrosaccomani/

Connect with Nate: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anetookonkwo/

Search is no longer just about keywords and rankings. But what happens when customers start discovering products through AI instead of traditional search?

In episode #35 of The Retention Edge, hosted by Pietro Saccomani, founder of MobiLoud, we sit down with Lauren Livak Gilbert, Executive Director of the Digital Shelf Institute, to unpack how AI is reshaping product discovery and what it means for brands.

From the rise of AI-driven discovery to the growing importance of answer engine optimization, Lauren shares insights from working with over 10,000 commerce leaders. She explains how brands need to rethink content, data, and digital shelf strategy to stay visible in an AI-first environment.

We dive deep into:

- Why AI discovery limits results to just a few products instead of thousands

- What answer engine optimization (AEO) means and how brands can adapt

- The importance of machine-readable content, taxonomy, and crawlability

- Why most brands struggle with personalization due to disconnected data

- How retention now depends on delivering clear value to customers

If you're a digital marketer, growth strategist, or brand leader navigating AI, SEO, and customer retention, this episode will help you understand how discovery and visibility are changing in real time.

📜 Subscribe to the Retention Edge Newsletter: https://retentionedge.co/

📱 Get a free preview of your brand’s mobile app: https://www.mobiloud.com/

Connect with Pietro: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pietrosaccomani/

Connect with Lauren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenlivak/

Turning a first purchase into a long-term customer is one of the hardest challenges in modern eCommerce. But what actually drives loyalty when you sell products people do not buy every month?

In episode #34 of the Retention Edge, Pietro Saccomani, founder of MobiLoud, sits down with Sarah Sathaye, Chief Revenue Officer of NAADAM, to explore how modern retail brands combine physical stores, digital channels, and loyalty strategies to drive repeat purchases and long-term customer relationships.

Sarah shares lessons from NAADAM’s omnichannel growth, including how seasonal pop-up stores increase engagement and order frequency, why certain products sell better in physical retail than online, and how brands can learn from geographic differences in customer behavior.

We also discuss how teams are experimenting with AI across eCommerce, from product imagery to website content, and why search behavior is changing as customers begin asking more complex questions on websites and AI tools.

We dive deep into:

- Why pop-up retail can act as both a marketing channel and a sales driver

- How brands create multiple touchpoints to stay top of mind with customers

- The role of subscriptions, bundling, and loyalty programs in driving repeat purchases

- Why multi-channel distribution can strengthen customer relationships instead of weakening them

- How AI is influencing search, content creation, and future eCommerce discovery

If you lead marketing, growth, or customer experience for a DTC brand, this episode offers a practical look at how modern retail brands build loyalty across channels and turn occasional buyers into repeat customers.

📜 Subscribe to the Retention Edge Newsletter: https://retentionedge.co/

📱 Get a free preview of your brand’s mobile app: https://www.mobiloud.com/

Connect with Pietro: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pietrosaccomani/

Connect with Sarah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahsathaye/

Marketing tools keep changing. But the way humans make decisions hasn’t. So what happens when marketers stop chasing every new AI trend and start focusing on psychology instead?

In episode #33 of the Retention Edge, Pietro Saccomani, Founder of MobiLoud sits down with Phill Agnew, Founder and Host of the Nudge Podcast, the UK’s number one marketing podcast focused on behavioral science. Phil explains how timeless psychological principles can help marketers persuade customers, build stronger brands, and stand out in a world flooded with AI-generated content.

From experiments that increased beer sales 2.5x with a simple “best-selling” sign, to the surprising reason Starbucks customers disliked faster coffee service, Phil shares real studies and examples that show how perception, effort, and social proof shape buying behavior.

We dive deep into:

- Why human psychology matters more than chasing the latest marketing tool

- The social proof experiments that dramatically increased product sales

- Why showing effort can make customers value your product more

- How AI may create a “sea of sameness” in marketing content

If you're a marketer, founder, or growth leader trying to cut through the noise of modern marketing, this episode will change how you think about persuasion and brand building. Because while technology evolves quickly, human behavior doesn’t.

📜 Subscribe to the Retention Edge Newsletter: https://retentionedge.co/

📱 Get a free preview of your brand’s mobile app: https://www.mobiloud.com/

Connect with Pietro: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pietrosaccomani/

Connect with Phill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew/?originalSubdomain=uk

Nudge’s Reading List: https://nudge.kit.com/readinglist

Revenue is growing. Sales are coming in. Ads are running. But what if your margins are quietly shrinking underneath it all?

In episode #32 of the Retention Edge, Pietro Saccomani, Founder of MobiLoud, sits down with Nate Littlewood, Fractional CFO and Founder of Future Ready CFO, to unpack the hidden financial leaks that silently erode profitability in ecommerce and CPG brands. Drawing from his experience as a former ecommerce founder and now a financial partner to seven-figure brands, Nate explains why growth alone is not the goal and how better financial visibility drives smarter digital strategy.

From gross-to-net revenue leakage through discounts and refunds, to inventory misalignment that increases storage and financing costs, Nate breaks down the operational blind spots most founders overlook. He also shares why “lifetime gross profit” is a more useful metric than traditional LTV for physical product brands, and how misunderstanding your CAC payback window can create serious cash flow risk.

We dive deep into:

- Why many founders avoid their numbers and how that mindset limits growth

- Where hidden profit leaks typically show up in ecommerce P&Ls

- How inventory decisions impact cash, debt, and scalability

- The real difference between lifetime value and lifetime gross profit

- Why fast-growing brands can still run out of cash

- How to focus on the right bottleneck instead of chasing shiny marketing tactics

If you lead growth, finance, or marketing at a DTC brand, this episode will reshape how you think about profitability, retention, and capital efficiency. Because in ecommerce, revenue is vanity but cash and margin are strategy.

📜 Subscribe to the Retention Edge Newsletter: https://retentionedge.co/

📱 Get a free preview of your brand’s mobile app: https://www.mobiloud.com/

Connect with Pietro: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pietrosaccomani/

Connect with Nate: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanlittlewood/

Seasonal discounts feel inevitable in eCommerce. But what if 50% OFF sales are actually a symptom of broken pricing strategy?

In episode #31 of the Retention Edge, we sit down with Viacheslav Sabirov, Founder of BATNA, to explore a radically different approach to pricing: letting customers negotiate in real time. Instead of blanket markdowns and end-of-season fire sales, BATNA enables shoppers to “name their price” through a structured dialogue, helping retailers increase conversion, grow order value, and protect margin without publicly slashing prices.

Drawing from his background in retail pricing at an $8B FMCG company, Viacheslav explains why traditional pricing is often guesswork, especially in fashion where value is deeply subjective. We unpack how BATNA uses internal product valuation based on demand and stock movement, why seasonal discounts train customers to wait, and how negotiation can replace loyalty programs and discount policies in brick-and-mortar environments.

We dive deep into:

- Why fixed pricing leaves money on the table

- How real-time negotiation captures willingness to pay

- The psychology behind customers waiting for discounts

- How dynamic deal logic can increase units per transaction

- Why discount signs can quietly damage brand perception

- What retailers should consider before personalizing price

If you lead growth, pricing, or retention at a Shopify brand, this episode will challenge how you think about conversion strategy and margin protection. Because in eCommerce, pricing is not just a number, it is your positioning.

📜 Subscribe to the Retention Edge Newsletter: https://retentionedge.co/

📱 Get a free preview of your brand’s mobile app: https://www.mobiloud.com/

Connect with Pietro: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pietrosaccomani/

Connect with Viacheslav: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slava-sabirov/

Traffic is expensive. Guessing is even more expensive. So what happens when you apply the scientific method to your website?

In episode #30 of the Retention Edge, we sit down with Brian Massey, Founder of Conversion Sciences, to break down how data, structured experimentation, and disciplined A B testing improve conversion rates. From analytics blind spots to mobile UX friction, Brian explains what actually moves the needle once visitors land on your site.

Drawing from years of post-click optimization work, Brian explains why “smartest person in the room” testing fails, how heatmaps and session recordings validate hypotheses, and why optimization programs stall when they rely on opinion instead of evidence.

We dive deep into:

- Why A B testing programs lose momentum without data-backed prioritization

- The biggest mobile UX mistakes, including shrinking desktop pages instead of designing mobile-first

- How checkout friction, form errors, and cognitive load drive abandonment

- Why landing pages must match the promise made in your ads

- How entrance and exit overlays support email capture and abandoned cart strategies

- Why defining your brand’s “in-group” builds stronger long-term loyalty

If you lead growth, marketing, UX, or digital strategy at an eCommerce brand, this episode will sharpen how you approach conversion rate optimization. Because sustainable growth does not start with more traffic. It starts with understanding your audience and testing what actually works.

📜 Subscribe to the Retention Edge Newsletter: https://retentionedge.co/

📱 Get a free preview of your brand’s mobile app: https://www.mobiloud.com/

Connect with Pietro: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pietrosaccomani/

Connect with Brian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bmassey/

Customer experience is often treated as a support function. But what if it could be your most powerful growth engine?

In episode #29 of the Retention Edge, Pietro Saccomani, Founder of MobiLoud, sits down with Kira Waite, Director of Operations and CX at Artifact Uprising, to unpack the intersection of operations, experience, and long-term loyalty especially during high-stakes holiday seasons.

Kira shares how her team proactively reduces “where is my order” tickets, why on-time shipping is their #1 retention metric, and how Artifact balances custom digital experiences with handcrafted product delivery. From empathy training to mobile UX challenges and B2B seasonal pivots, this conversation reveals how retention is built before and after the sale.

We cover:

- Why Artifact plans for Q4 starting in Q1

- The tech stack and vendor relationships behind premium CX

- Why pre-purchase support (like in-cart chat) boosts conversions

- When to invest in mobile experience vs. mobile apps

- What most brands get wrong about phones, loyalty, and high-LTV customers

If you’re scaling a DTC brand, managing seasonal peaks, or building CX as a profit center, not a cost, you’ll walk away with new ideas and tactical takeaways.

📜 Subscribe to the Retention Edge Newsletter: https://retentionedge.co/

📱 Get a free preview of your brand’s mobile app: https://www.mobiloud.com/

Connect with Pietro: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pietrosaccomani/

Connect with Kira: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kira-waite-1b105615/

Most product teams treat catalog content like a checklist. But what if your messy data is silently wrecking SEO, discoverability, and CX?

In episode #28 of The Retention Edge, we sit down with Vidar Trojenborg, Co-Founder of Emfas, to explore how AI-powered product enrichment is redefining digital growth for eCommerce brands and multi-brand retailers alike.

From fixing broken PLM handoffs to automating alt text, enriching PDPs, and pushing products into ChatGPT, Vidar shares how Emfas helps brands regain control over messy catalogs and unlock visibility across channels.

We dive deep into:

- Why poor product data ruins SEO and LLM discovery

- How AI transforms PIM systems from manual to scalable

- The future of PDPs (and why FAQs matter more than ever)

- When to automate vs. when to prompt-engineer

- Common myths about catalog AI and hallucination risks

If you're running on Shopify, managing thousands of SKUs, or building for the next era of generative search, this episode is packed with lessons to help you scale content, save time, and stay competitive. Because in eCommerce, your product data is your storefront.

📜 Subscribe to the Retention Edge Newsletter: https://retentionedge.co/

📱 Get a free preview of your brand’s mobile app: https://www.mobiloud.com/

Connect with Vidar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidar-trojenborg-289059106/