The Commerce Collective Podcast

Retail Media…you’ve probably heard of it. And no, it’s not quite the same as our “Metail” approach to eCommerce. In this episode we have the privilege of sitting down with Elena Gulotta, Director of Account Strategy on the Retail Media team at Criteo. We cover the scope and technicalities of retail media, getting started and then scaling with Criteo, Criteo’s push towards Commerce Media, the Commerce Max launch, and what makes a successful partnership between brands and their Criteo team. Listen in for a light-hearted conversation packed with fundamental knowledge on one of the most relevant fields of digital commerce.

Mastering Metail doesn’t end with an understanding of winning on Amazon, Walmart, and Instacart - we’ll continue to explore the most relevant topics in digital commerce while educating you along the way. In this episode, Donte McCrary-McClain, Senior Manager of Client Services at Flywheel Digital, will share his journey of working across multiple brands with a focus on eCommerce to his transition to an agency, sharing everything he’s learned along the way. Brand-agency partnerships are complicated yet fuel the power of digital commerce - so listen in because you won’t want to miss this.

In this episode, we talk to Russ Dieringer, founder of Stratably, about a recent newsletter he published titled ‘What do we mean by “eCommerce”?’ In it, Russ challenges retail leaders to be more precise in how they think about eCommerce, as store-based omni retailers have a different set of growth levers and future growth potential than pureplay eTailers. We’ll also learn about writing an eCommerce newsletter aiming to increase brands’ digital IQ as well as Russ’ tips on finding trusted sources of information.

On this episode of Mastering Metail we bring back a guest from our Amazon season, Amanda Wolff, Chief Marketing Officer at OneSpace, to cover content on Instacart. We’ll learn about what type of content exists on Instacart, we’ll break down the components of the PDP, and we’ll get into how consumers and brands think about content on site when compared to Amazon and Walmart.

We’ve learned the basics of how Instacart works, and now Bernie Che, Associate Director of Omnichannel Platforms at Flywheel Digital, teaches us even more about advertising on Instacart - which is where so much of your power as a brand lies on the platform. We’ll cover strategy in more depth as well as metrics for success for brands looking to step up their game on Instacart.

*In this episode we will refer to Instacart Plus as Instacart Express, which changed post-recording of this episode.

In our first episode of our Instacart Masterclass, Ellie Edwards, Product Designer at Perpetua teaches us all about Instacart - how it works and how brands can get set up with an advertising account to really get things rolling. We’ll cover logistics, ad units available, how to grow your brand, and so much more.

Are you an online seller looking to enter the Walmart ecosystem? Or maybe a 1P supplier that’s considering making the jump to Walmart Marketplace? Well, this episode is for you! Corey Hammond, VP of Product Strategy at WhyteSpyder, will break down Walmart Marketplace, Walmart’s motivations for its online retail platform, and how sellers and suppliers can find success on the marketplace while understanding the nuances specific to Walmart.com.

We’ve touched on the algorithm, but what goes into appearing on page one without the support of media dollars? This is where understanding organic search comes in, and Ryan Monigan, VP of Insights & Strategy at WhyteSpyder, will give us everything we need to know about, well, everything we know about the algorithm.

We couldn’t give you a Walmart ecommerce masterclass without touching on paid search, right? In this episode, Tim Jefferson, Director of Strategy & Insights at WhyteSpyder, will reveal what creates a successful paid search strategy on Walmart, how the rules of what works aren't set in stone, and what the term paid search really encompasses on Walmart.com.

Before you can do much of anything on Walmart.com, you’ll need to import a catalog of products. But that catalog will do you little good without best-in-class content and every product attribute the world’s largest retailer requires. That may seem like a lot to handle, but Lily Grant, VP of Account Services at WhyteSpyder, will guide us through everything we need to know about catalog management on Walmart.com and how suppliers can utilize every resource available to achieve success.