The creator landscape on TikTok isn’t a gold rush anymore—it’s a discipline. We sit down with Jordyn Levine from Yuka to break down how brands can actually find the right creators, send messages that get answered, and turn top-of-funnel discovery into measurable sales across TikTok Shop, Amazon, and Shopify. If you’ve felt the shift from deal-shouting videos to engaging demos and storytelling, this conversation gives you the playbook to catch up—and then get ahead.

We dig into Yuka’s AI-powered creator search that lets you filter for the exact traits that matter, from “women with red hair who speak Spanish” to visually signaled audiences like “moms with babies.” Jordyn shows why ultra-specific targeting makes outreach irresistible and how better briefs yield better content. Then we zoom out: TikTok is your living billboard. Unlike a highway ad, you can test hooks, angles, and formats daily—and now you can measure the cross-channel halo with dashboards that finally prove when a viral moment lifts Amazon conversion.

Logistics is strategy, too. TikTok’s fulfillment push and label requirements have 3PLs scrambling, but faster shipping wins impulse decisions. We talk through Fulfilled By TikTok, Carrier By TikTok, ERP label compatibility, and why three-day delivery meaningfully boosts conversion. On the creative front, we tackle AI-generated videos versus human emotion—where synthetic content helps scale and where real faces, textures, and reactions still close the sale. Category-wise, health and personal care thrived by being demonstratable, and women’s apparel is surging for the same reason. If your product shows a visible transformation in seconds, creators can make it pop.

Finally, we look at the bigger shift: shopping is moving from search to discovery. Personalized feeds are becoming storefronts where the right products find the right people. To thrive, brands need precise creator recruiting, clear demos, fast fulfillment, and halo-aware analytics—plus smart Amazon tactics around GEO, Rufus, and conversion-first creative. If that’s the roadmap you’ve been hunting for, you’ll leave with concrete steps to execute.

If you enjoyed this conversation, follow the show, share it with a teammate, and leave a quick review—what’s one creator outreach tweak you’ll test this week?

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Want to stop renting your Amazon customers and start building real retention? We sat down with Andrew Smith to unpack a practical system that captures first-party data ethically from marketplace buyers using QR-led, post-purchase journeys—no gimmicks, no review manipulation, and no forced channel hopping. If you’ve felt the squeeze of higher acquisition costs and shrinking attention, this conversation maps out a smarter path.

We trace how buying behavior shifted after 2020, why marketplaces now win attention, and what most brands miss about repeat purchases on Amazon. Andrew explains how to design compliant inserts, deliver unique Amazon-specific incentives, and personalize flows by scan count so the second interaction feels new, relevant, and rewarding. Instead of pushing people off-platform, we show how to retain them where they actually like to shop, then layer in education over time to deepen brand loyalty.

You’ll learn why awareness plays like billboards rarely convert, how lifecycle-timed emails outperform generic review requests, and the simple cadence that can double repeat rates without heavy ad spend. For new sellers, we lay out a launch strategy that uses Amazon velocity to seed an owned list, bypassing the “Meta tax” while keeping budgets sane. Throughout, we stay grounded in first-party data ethics, clear compliance guardrails, and tool choices that align pricing with real outcomes.

If you’re ready to turn one-time buyers into loyal fans with straightforward, human-first retention, this episode delivers the blueprint. Subscribe, share with a fellow seller, and leave a quick review to tell us the next retention topic you want us to tackle.

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Your next conversion lift might not come from new ad creative or a fancy A+ module. It’s hiding in your reviews—what customers love, what frustrates them, and which negatives never should have been there in the first place. We sit down with Sean to map a practical playbook for Amazon review defense: identifying clear policy violations, reporting them through the paths that actually work, and building a reliable tracker so removals stick instead of quietly reappearing.

We get specific about what crosses the line. Pricing mentions and off-platform comparisons often slip past automated filters but are among the fastest to remove. Subjective taste is usually fair game, yet reviews that nudge shoppers to competitors or misstate use can be challenged. You’ll hear why the “compensated review” form frequently yields higher success against fake or coordinated review bombs, how to document verified vs. unverified claims, and why multiple tickets with tighter evidence can make the difference with Amazon support.

But cleanup is only half the equation. With only about 10% of buyers writing reviews, every written comment carries outsized weight in rankings, ads performance, and AI-driven recommendations. Sean shows how to turn review data into a product roadmap: fix packaging pain, clarify instructions, address compatibility issues, and surface features customers feel are missing. We also compare Amazon’s native review analysis with deeper two-year sentiment tracking, and share simple ways solo sellers can stay proactive—like using targeted alerts or hiring a focused VA to manage submissions and weekly insights.

If you sell on Amazon, this conversation is a blueprint for protecting your listing and improving your product at the same time. Subscribe for more seller-first strategies, share this with a founder who needs a review win, and leave a quick rating to tell us what topic you want next.

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VAT can feel like a wall between your store and European growth, but the reality is far more manageable when you follow a focused plan. We walk through exactly where to start, why you don’t need to register in every country, and how to use Amazon’s systems and modern VAT tools to stay compliant while protecting cash flow.

We begin with market selection. For many U.S. sellers, the UK is a smart first step thanks to shared language, straightforward rules, and easier labeling. From there, Germany and France become natural additions—especially with Amazon programs that simplify cross-border logistics. We lay out when a VAT number is required, the documents authorities actually review, and how to avoid month-long delays by submitting strong applications that anticipate follow-up requests.

We also get real about product-specific rules. VAT itself is product-agnostic, but EU safety laws are not. High-risk categories like cosmetics, supplements, and infant toys often require an EU Authorized Representative and distinct certifications before your listings can go live. On the money side, we explain how Amazon often remits VAT on your behalf as a deemed supplier, why your filings may show zero payable VAT, and where the real cash sits: import VAT refunds. Learn when to import via the UK, France, Germany, or the Netherlands, how reverse charge mechanisms ease cash flow, and why the “best” route depends on your sales mix and storage plan.

Rounding it out, we unpack OSS and the EU’s upcoming VIDA initiative, both aimed at streamlining cross-border VAT for multichannel sellers. If you’re using Shopify or a 3PL alongside Amazon, OSS can help you charge the right destination VAT rate and file quarterly without juggling multiple registrations. The big takeaway: adopt a proactive VAT strategy powered by software that pulls data from Amazon, automates filings, tracks refunds, and stands up to audits—so you can scale without fear.

Enjoyed the conversation? Subscribe, share with a fellow seller eyeing Europe, and leave a quick review with your top VAT question—we’ll tackle it next.

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Searching for your place on the digital shelf while the aisle stretches to infinity? We sit down with Rob Hahn, CEO of Pattern and former Amazon leader, to unpack what actually drives marketplace growth when loyalty is fading and choice is exploding. The answer isn’t louder ads—it’s the pairing of a genuinely great product with operational speed that turns clicks into carts.

We trace Rob’s journey from early, robot-free Amazon warehouses to launching robotics sites, then to scaling brands globally at Pattern. Along the way, we break down why algorithms reward conversion, low return rates, and strong reviews above brand narratives, and how Prime, one-day shipping, and inventory proximity now act as silent salespeople. Rob explains the one-to-ten leap: master both selling and moving stuff. That means in-stock discipline, listing health, and logistics strategy that shortens delivery windows and lifts rank.

We also dive into brand identity on platforms with very different discovery patterns. TikTok Shop, Amazon Search, and Walmart demand distinct creative and pricing choices without eroding equity. Rob makes the case for data over opinions, revealing how first-party insights across hundreds of thousands of SKUs guide spend, forecast demand, and spot profitability leaks. On AI, we cut through hype: it’s powerful for rapid testing and classification, but only as good as the inputs. High-integrity assets and human oversight keep details right where accuracy matters most.

Looking ahead, Rob leans on a durable truth: shoppers will always want better products, lower prices, and faster, often free, delivery. Social commerce may spike, AI may normalize, but those fundamentals won’t budge. If you align around quality, speed, and cost—and let data lead—you’ll keep winning shelf space the algorithms can’t ignore. Subscribe, share with a teammate who owns marketplace growth, and drop a review with your biggest bottleneck—we’ll tackle it on a future show.

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Record Q4 sales can hide a painful truth: without clean books, you may be celebrating revenue while bleeding profit. We sit down with ConnectBooks CEO Nachman Lieser to unpack a simple but powerful idea—your books are the story of your business, and the clearer the story, the smarter your decisions.

We start with the real shocks sellers faced this year, from tariffs to rising storage costs, and show how to see their impact on margins instead of guessing. Nachman explains why comparison reports matter on big promo days, and how to allocate returns and storage fees to the correct months so December’s P&L reflects reality. That single shift often exposes loss-making SKUs masked by flashy sales. We also dig into landed cost, overhead, and category splits so you can know your true break-even by product type and stop relying on gut feel.

Cash flow takes center stage as we explore inventory age and turnover. If monthly COGS is $300k, why is $2.5M tied up on the shelves? Learn simple thresholds to right-size inventory, reduce carrying costs, and improve liquidity. Nachman highlights how Costco wins with roughly 3,800 SKUs and high turns—and how that mindset can guide smarter purchasing, forecasting, and pricing in your own catalog. The payoff: fewer heroics, more control, and a bank balance that matches your effort.

If you want a clearer P&L, healthier cash flow, and a calm plan for Q4 and beyond, this conversation maps the path. Subscribe, share with a seller who needs a margin wake-up, and leave a review with the one metric you’ll track differently this week.

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What if your biggest growth unlock isn’t a new channel, but how you use the ones you already have? Two seasoned operators go head-to-head on the smart way to apply AI, the real winners for 2026 ad spend, and the first hire that sets your brand’s trajectory. The conversation gets specific fast: why letting AI write your SEO is a trap without data, how compliance hallucinations can quietly nuke revenue, and where “amplify, don’t replace” turns AI into a creative force multiplier for images and short-form video.

We weigh “Amazonia” against TikTok’s momentum and land on a pragmatic view: Amazon remains the backbone for scalable, exit-worthy revenue, while TikTok and Reddit create edge opportunities when matched to the right ICP and creative. The hire debate splits the room—growth manager to push demand and break bottlenecks vs COO to build processes first—but both paths win when you commit to testing and clear goals. On wasted spend, we call out untargeted brand campaigns and untested products, then offer a tighter loop: prototype, measure, iterate, scale.

Expect actionable channel strategy. Treat Instagram and Facebook as distinct ecosystems inside Meta. Explore Reddit for efficient, context-rich placements that meet buyers inside candid communities. Max out branded and high-intent search on Google and Amazon to catch ready demand. For the customer journey, we frame friction as price and choice: price must tell a value story, and choice overload demands sharper positioning, clean comparisons, and a single, obvious job-to-be-done. Retention flows from product truth and experience—memorable unboxing, useful follow-ups, and a product that simply works.

We close by showing where AI truly shines right now: accelerating creative. Generate lifestyle images and believable video seconds, then polish with human editing to ship more winning variants across PDPs and feeds. If you want to grow faster without burning cash, this showdown delivers the blueprint. If you learned something useful, follow the show, share with a teammate, and leave a quick review—what tactic are you betting on for 2026?

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The past year didn’t just test margins—it rewired how smart sellers plan, create, and scale. We sit down with Abe Chomali to unpack the two forces that defined 2025—tariffs and AI—and get tactical about what actually moved the needle and how to turn those lessons into a winning 2026 strategy.

We start with the tariff squeeze and why the brands that treated it as a finance problem, not a marketing problem, came out ahead. Abe breaks down contribution margin in plain terms and shows how earlier inventory bets, disciplined pricing, and forecasting turned pressure into profit. Then we shift to AI: not the hype around shiny shopping features, but the real gains from spinning up dozens of video and image variations, testing them ruthlessly, and pairing results with AMC insights. If you’ve wondered whether a 2% conversion lift matters, Abe explains why at scale it can equal a house.

We also explore how Amazon’s search experience is quietly evolving—answering nuanced questions, reducing returns, and rewarding detail-rich listings that anticipate buyer needs. Abe shares why 2026 success will belong to sellers who combine differentiated products with rigorous operations and own demand beyond ads. Think Amazon Creator Connections, TikTok, and community-driven awareness that primes shoppers before they ever type a keyword.

If you’re launching next year or leveling up, this conversation doubles as a playbook: build something truly better, run your numbers like a pro, and let AI accelerate creative and analysis rather than replace judgment. Subscribe, share this with a fellow seller, and leave a review to tell us the first test you’re running this week.

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Headlines moved fast this quarter, but the throughline is unmistakable: AI now sits at the center of e‑commerce strategy. We dig into Amazon’s shift toward agentic AI that actually does the work—fixing listings, launching campaigns, and resolving account issues—then follow the ripple on the shopper side as Rufus becomes a core shopping layer. When customers type “best drain cleaner for old pipes,” the assistant doesn’t just find keywords; it selects solutions. That’s why GEO—optimization built for how AI understands goals, entities, and outcomes—now beats traditional SEO.

We also unpack TikTok Shop’s growing pains and progress. Counterfeiters tried to ride generative tools to fake reviews and visuals; TikTok answered with a combined AI and human crackdown that removed tens of millions of listings and hundreds of thousands of sellers. The message is clear: trust is the moat. Meanwhile, Walmart tested a premium pivot, chasing higher-end assortments. The opportunity is real, but shopper expectations and merchandising still lag. Premium brands should enter with care, protect price architecture, and watch for improvements in content modules, ads, and service SLAs before scaling.

Numbers tell the rest of the story. Cyber Monday hit a record $14.25B, Black Friday reached $11.8B, and total Cyber Week spend landed at $44.2B. Mobile accounted for 57% of Black Friday purchases, and AI-assisted shoppers were 38% more likely to convert—proof that the path to purchase runs through a small screen and a smart agent. Looking forward, AWS is pushing custom silicon to cut AI costs, and TikTok is preparing a U.S. data migration by March 2026 alongside stricter AI labeling. Our takeaways are simple: build mobile-first content, structure product pages so assistants can parse real outcomes, invest in authentic creator proof, and price for promotion-heavy peaks.

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