On this episode I’m back with my co conspirator and regular guest Luke Hodgson - co founder of Commerce Thinking and High Cohesion.

Today we’re discussing the 2025 predictions report we (Factory) released last week. The report was a bit of a big dog, so we decided to tackle a few but not all subjects. However, I highly recommend you go and check out the full blog at Factory-digital.com

So what did we talk about?

The importance of community as a central element of brand strategy, the evolving nature of commerce platforms into customer experience platforms, the changing eCommerce technology landscape, the implications of AI adoption for brands, where we are with sustainability and why stock turn will be the most important topic in 2025.

This podcast is brought to you by our mates at Shopify.

Shopify is a key player that’s revolutionising retail by empowering unified commerce across online, offline, and wholesale channels. With one of the largest and robust ecosystems among commerce platforms, we’re excited to have them join us on this podcast journey. Check them out here.

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m chatting with Rob Watkiss, CTO at Sungod and we’re discussing whether composable stack’s are the future of commerce?

We touch on Rob's journey from aerospace engineering to consumer, Sungod’s transition from monolithic to composable, why choosing the right stack is crucial for scalability, how internal resources can be both a strength and a challenge, the power of composable architecture when it comes to experimentation, why it’s so important to balance the skills in your internal team and answer the question - is composable the future of commerce?

This podcast is brought to you by our mates at Shopify.

Shopify is a key player that’s revolutionising retail by empowering unified commerce across online, offline, and wholesale channels. With one of the largest and robust ecosystems among commerce platforms, we’re excited to have them join us on this podcast journey. Check them out here.

Checkout Factory here

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m breaking down the most boring product update of 2024: Shopify’s Winter Editions with Ben Homer Senior Solutions Engineer at Shopify.

We touch on Ben’s journey from agency to tech, the pros and cons of RFPs, Black Friday Cyber Monday stats and how Shopify held up over the period, a deep dive on Edition announcements - specifically, customer accounts, checkout, POS, semantic search and Shopify Flow, and why this Editions release was so so boring.

This podcast is brought to you by our mates at Shopify.

Shopify is a key player that’s revolutionising retail by empowering unified commerce across online, offline, and wholesale channels. With one of the largest and robust ecosystems among commerce platforms, we’re excited to have them join us on this podcast journey. Check them out here.

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m chatting with Miranda Shanahan a very excellent brand consultant and we’re discussing whether brands are becoming TV shows?

We touch on the evolving landscape of brand marketing, the impact of platforms like TikTok and Instagram on content distribution, the role of brand hosts, how brands can create compelling content on a budget, the significance of targeting niche communities for brand relevance and whether brands are indeed becoming TV shows?

This podcast is brought to you by our mates at Shopify.

Shopify is a key player that’s revolutionising retail by empowering unified commerce across online, offline, and wholesale channels. With one of the largest and robust ecosystems among commerce platforms, we’re excited to have them join us on this podcast journey. Check them out here

Checkout Factory here

Sign up to our newsletter here

On this episode I’m back chatting with my mate, and tech strategy guru, Luke Hodgson - co founder of Commerce Thinking and High Cohesion - and we’re dicussing whether UK brands need to worry about Trump’s tariffs.

We touch on what UK brands need to think about in order to assess their exposure to US tariffs, the de minimis rule changes and their impact, why brands should model potential scenarios to prepare for tariff impacts before policies are formalised, why opening a US distribution center may be a strategic move, what the tariffs mean for consumer price, whether these tariffs will repair the frosty EU and UK relationship and pose the question - is Trump bluffing?

This podcast is brought to you by our mates at Shopify.

Shopify is a key player that’s revolutionising retail by empowering unified commerce across online, offline, and wholesale channels. With one of the largest and robust ecosystems among commerce platforms, we’re excited to have them join us on this podcast journey. Check them out here.

Checkout Factory here

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m chatting with Louise Macnab, founder of JERMS - a brand creating A Holistic Approach to Gut Health and we’re discussing why bacteria has a bad reputation?

We touch on the mission to make gut health accessible to everyone, cutting through the gut health market which is becoming more and more saturated, why scientific credibility is crucial for building trust in health brands, the power of customer engagement through consultations and how it helps build community and loyalty, how Louise's background in law aids her in navigating business challenges and why bacteria is often misunderstood but so incredibly beneficial and essential for health.

This podcast is brought to you by our mates at Shopify.

Shopify is a key player that’s revolutionising retail by empowering unified commerce across online, offline, and wholesale channels. With one of the largest and robust ecosystems among commerce platforms, we’re excited to have them join us on this podcast journey. Check them out here.

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m chatting with my with Morgan Fowles - CEO at active wear brand Tala - and we’re debating whether customer obsession is overrated.

We discuss why customer obsession is not a box ticking exercise, the power of involving customers in the product development process, why understanding the customer profile is both qualitative and quantitative, how creators play a significant role in modern branding dynamics and why customer obsession should be a core value from the start.

This podcast is brought to you by our mates at Shopify.

Shopify is a key player that’s revolutionising retail by empowering unified commerce across online, offline, and wholesale channels. With one of the largest and robust ecosystems among commerce platforms, we’re excited to have them join us on this podcast journey. Check them out here: https://www.shopify.com/uk/enterprise?utm_source=your-basket-is-empty&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=24q4_cneparme_ne_media_partnerships&utm_content=enterprise-uk-en-newsletter-1

Checkout Factory here

Sign up to our newsletter here.

LinkedIn

On this episode I’m chatting with my friend and long time collaborator Luke Hodgson, co founder of Commerce Thinking & High Cohesion.

This is a new format I’m trialing where Luke and I pick off topics and debate them. I’ll admit I’m taking a lot of reference from Pichfork’s under or over Youtube series and Food 52’s overrated content.

For this conversation, we’re debating experiential retail. We cover why new luxury focuses on knowledge rather than just price ,the Commerce Thinking team’s Field notes from cities and how it reveal consumers interests, why community plays a crucial role in modern retail, how luxury experiences can sometimes feel intimidating, how brands like Kith, Arket and Rapha are approaching retail, and of course, our final thoughts on whether experiential retail is underrated, overrated or just rated.

This podcast is brought to you by our mates at Shopify.

Shopify is a key player that’s revolutionising retail by empowering unified commerce across online, offline, and wholesale channels. With one of the largest and robust ecosystems among commerce platforms, we’re excited to have them join us on this podcast journey. Check them out here: https://www.shopify.com/uk/enterprise?utm_source=your-basket-is-empty&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=24q4_cneparme_ne_media_partnerships&utm_content=enterprise-uk-en-newsletter-1

Checkout Factory here

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m chatting with Rob Abrahams, Founder & CEO at COAT Paints and we’re discussing what it’s like to reimagine a 1,000 year old product.

We discuss Rob’s transition from automotive to consumer products, how Coat is aiming to modernise both the front end and back end of the paint industry, why the DTC model is central to Coat's business strategy and certainly NOT dead, how TikTok is gaining importance for engaging their consumers and its impact on the home DIY movement, and how a pair of sweatpants was central to the inception of the brand.

This podcast is brought to you by our mates at Shopify.

Shopify is a key player that’s revolutionising retail by empowering unified commerce across online, offline, and wholesale channels. With one of the largest and robust ecosystems among commerce platforms, we’re excited to have them join us on this podcast journey. Check them out here: https://www.shopify.com/uk/enterprise?utm_source=your-basket-is-empty&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=24q4_cneparme_ne_media_partnerships&utm_content=enterprise-uk-en-newsletter-1

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m chatting with James Kearns, Managing Director at Rapanui Clothing. Part of the Teemill group and a brand that focusses on natural and recycled materials.

We discuss his journey in retail, transitioning from corporate giants to direct-to-consumer, and the intricacies of migrating to Shopify. specifically, the importance of technical resources during migration, risk management strategies, the significance of prioritisation, why the reason behind a migration is so important and how to avoid major migration miss steps.

This podcast is brought to you by our mates at Shopify.

Shopify is a key player that’s revolutionising retail by empowering unified commerce across online, offline, and wholesale channels. With one of the largest and robust ecosystems among commerce platforms, we’re excited to have them join us on this podcast journey. Check them out here: https://www.shopify.com/uk/enterprise?utm_source=your-basket-is-empty&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=24q4_cneparme_ne_media_partnerships&utm_content=enterprise-uk-en-newsletter-1

Checkout Factory here

Sign up to our newsletter here.