Five-year-olds don’t know what life was like before Siri and Alexa, or even smartphones. Touchscreens and voice assistants are simply their “norm.” But many of us are continually trying to adapt to the growing number of technological advancements increasingly influencing our day-to-day interactions. For this episode, I sat down with my five-year-old son to discuss a number of topics related to commerce today. While you might not think a child’s perspective matters, it does. In fact, the parallels between his expectations and those of consumers today are strikingly similar. In this episode, you’ll discuss: 

• A five-year-old’s thoughts on voice assistants and browserless commerce 

• The differences in ecommerce on smartphones vs. laptops 

• Whether shipping speed really matters to a five-year-old 

• His likes and dislikes with the in-store experience 

• Ice cream and fish: Matthew takes on the 15-second podcast gauntlet 

Follow Greg Zakowicz on Twitter: @WhatsGregDoing

Millennials have become quite the punchline lately. But this generation has actually been credited with changing the way retailers focus on communicating with their consumers. Join me as I welcome Jeffrey Grannis, Director of Digital at Juice Beauty, to share how the brand approaches storytelling in their marketing campaigns, and how these strategies can be applied to millennials and non-millennials alike. After all, there is a story in everything! In this episode of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, we’ll discuss: 

** Marketing storytelling and Juice Beauty’s approach to it. 

** Why retailers have been slow to adopt it. 

** How to get started and choose the right story to tell. 

** What it is about millennials that makes them so special. 

** How to balance storytelling with promotional messaging. 

For more information on Juice Beauty, contact Jeffrey at: 

[email protected] | www.JuiceBeauty.com | www.Instagram.com/JuiceBeauty 

Follow Greg Zakowicz on Twitter @WhatsGregDoing

Technology is evolving quickly, and the way consumers interact with retailers is changing just as fast. From mobile browsing to voice commands, retailers need to take stock of the experiences they provide and how well they are meeting consumer expectations. In part 2, Something Digital’s Phillip Jackson talks with me about what he dubs “the future of commerce 2.0.” Phillip discusses the future in terms of what is currently accessible to retailers, and how they should use those tools to meet customer expectations. 

In part 2, we discuss: 

** The new paradigm of mobile computing and platforms of the future 

** What the future of customer support looks like 

** The commerce of virtual and augmented reality 

** Why social platforms like Facebook no longer exist 

** What marketers need to take stock of today 

For more information on Something Digital, contact Phillip at: [email protected] – 646-561-6600 – @PhilWinkle 

** And be sure to connect with Greg on Twitter @WhatsGregDoing

Technology is evolving quickly, and the way consumers interact with retailers is changing just as fast. In part 1 of this 2-part interview, Something Digital’s Phillip Jackson talks with me about how the consumer experience is changing and how that affects the way retailers approach search functionality on their site. He also shares his insights on how the site search of today may look vastly different in only a few years. In part 1, you’ll hear about: ** Phillip’s background and his former life as a rock star … seriously! 

** Why you’re not competing with Amazon 

** Whether site search is the most important step in the customer journey 

** How mobile devices and spoken word affect site search 

** The biggest misconception about site search 

For more information on Something Digital, contact Phillip at: [email protected] – 646-561-6600 – @PhilWinkle 

** And be sure to follow Greg Zakowicz on Twitter @WhatsGregDoing

The retail industry is changing. We all know it. So what can you do about it? How will you keep up? In this episode of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, Blue Acorn Chief Marketing Officer Chris Guerra and I discuss the future of omnichannel, personalization and micro-content, as well as how to deal with the behemoth that is Amazon, among a few other things. You’ll hear about: 

** The types of personalization that are most important.

** Cross-device engagement and the omnichannel experience. 

** How customer service will transform brick-and-mortar retail. 

** Competing with Amazon in the long term. 

** And did Chris just say he’d eat Nemo? 

For more information on Blue Acorn, contact Chris at: [email protected] – 561-267-8134 – www.BlueAcorn.com 

We welcome your feedback and invite you to share any topics you’d like to hear about. [email protected] | @WhatsGregDoing

Not all marketers have the luxury of working with lots of data and large CRM teams to develop client segments and buyer affinities. In this episode of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, Stephanie Urban, director of digital marketing at Tarte Cosmetics, and I will discuss why developing an A/B testing plan and segmentation strategy for today’s shoppers is critical. We’ll dig into some practical ideas for testing, reporting structures and optimization opportunities when you don’t have “big data.” A few topics covered in this episode: 

** Deciding what to test. 

** Subject line testing: Is it worth it? 

** The data points you should pay attention to. 

** How to set up a testing plan and how far out you should plan. 

** Stephanie’s amazement over hashtags and her surprising knowledge of fish. 

** Be sure to follow Greg on Twitter @WhatsGregDoing. 

** If there are topics you'd like to hear about, or if you are interested in telling your Ecommerce story, let Greg know at [email protected]

People are visual creatures, and now that consumers are socially connected at every second, it’s more important than ever for retailers to tie that social behavior into their ecommerce efforts. In this episode of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, Bill Connolly, Director of Content Marketing at Olapic, talks with me about the importance of visual marketing, the benefits of earned content, the manifesting trend of the convergence of frictionless and distributed commerce and what this all means for your marketing efforts now and in the future. 

A few topics covered in this episode: 

** What is content crunch? 

** Earned content and how to use it. 

** How will brands be affected by voice search? ** Changing the narrative story of your brand. 

** How funny is Bill, and what exactly is a sculpin? 

For more information on Olapic, connect with Bill at: [email protected] – 888-399-6685 – www.olapic.com 

You can find me on Twitter at @WhatsGregDoing

Mobile is at the center of how people interact with brands. As a former executive with companies such as PacSun and Harbor Freight, Guidance’s Brian Beck has unique insight into how retailers can execute an effective mobile strategy. In this episode, Brian shares his thoughts and insights on the trends in mobile, how mobile is changing retailers and what they need to do to continue adapting to the mobile evolution. A few topics covered in this episode: 

** Desktop-only disorder. 

** The state of omnichannel today and what is holding retailers back. 

** How to optimize for the mobile checkout. 

** The direction Amazon is heading and how to compete with them. 

** How well Brian knows his fish. 

For more information on Guidance, connect with Brian at: [email protected] – (732) 208-2763 – www.guidance.com 

** Follow Greg on Twitter @WhatsGregDoing. 

** Topics you'd like to hear about? Interested in telling your Ecommerce story? let Greg know [email protected]