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 of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, 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 hear about: • 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. We welcome your feedback and invite you to share any topics you’d like to hear more about. We welcome your feedback and invite you to share any topics you’d like to hear more about. [email protected] | @WhatsGregDoing And stay tuned for the next installment of The Commerce Marketer Podcast. In the meantime, you can check our blog (http://ora.cl/qc2JH) for our latest episodes, or subscribe to our series via iTunes (http://ora.cl/xQ6rE). About this Podcast: Senior Commerce Marketing Analyst Greg Zakowicz speaks with professionals across the retail industry about ecommerce trends, strategies and what lies ahead for commerce marketers and retailers. And in true Bronto fashion, they’ll have a little fun as well. Check back here or at http://www.blog.bronto.com for the latest episodes, and be sure to let us know what topics you’d like to hear about.

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 Juice Beauty 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 or visit them online: [email protected] | http://www.JuiceBeauty.com | http://www.Instagram.com/JuiceBeauty We welcome your feedback and invite you to share any topics you’d like to hear more about. [email protected] | @WhatsGregDoing And stay tuned for the next installment of The Commerce Marketer Podcast. In the meantime, you can check our blog (http://ora.cl/qc2JH) for our latest episodes, or subscribe to our series via iTunes (http://ora.cl/xQ6rE). About this Podcast: Senior Commerce Marketing Analyst Greg Zakowicz speaks with professionals across the retail industry about ecommerce trends, strategies and what lies ahead for commerce marketers and retailers. And in true Bronto fashion, they’ll have a little fun as well. Check back here or at http://www.blog.bronto.com for the latest episodes, and be sure to let us know what topics you’d like to hear about.

Technology is evolving quickly, and the way consumers interact with retailers is changing just as fast. In this two-part episode of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, Something Digital Ecommerce Evangelist Phillip Jackson joins me for a wide-ranging conversation on the consumer experience, site search and the “future of commerce 2.0.” In Part 2, Phillip talks with me about what he dubs “the future of commerce 2.0.” Rather than only speculating about the cool things that could happen, Phillip discusses the future in terms of what is currently accessible to retailers, and how they should use those tools to meet customer expectations. Here are a few of the other topics we covered: • The new paradigm of mobile computing and platforms of the future. (2:00) • The future of brand messaging in social platforms. (10:00) • The commerce of virtual and augmented reality. (15:00) • How post-apocalyptic zombies help Phillip work out. (18:00) • Why social platforms like Facebook no longer exist (22:00) • What marketers need to take stock of today. (24:00) Want to hear the rest? Listen to Part 1 at https://youtu.be/_OEtfqpy10U

Technology is evolving quickly, and the way consumers interact with retailers is changing just as fast. In this two-part episode of The Commerce Marketer Podcast, Something Digital Ecommerce Evangelist Phillip Jackson joins me for a wide-ranging conversation on the consumer experience, site search and the “future of commerce 2.0.” In Part 1, Phillip 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. Here are a few of the other topics we covered: • Phillip’s background and his former life as a rock star… seriously! • You are not competing with Amazon. Here’s why! (8:20) • Is site search the most important step in the customer journey? (10:00) • How mobile devices and spoken word affect site search. (14:15) • When to seek outside help to optimize your search functionality (19:00) • The biggest misconception about site search. (23:00) Want to hear the rest? Listen to Part 2 at https://youtu.be/mi_e3cnZoHM

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?

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, we’ll 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.

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?

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.