Articles & Podcast Episodes

Rich Kahn

How Bots Are Stealing Your Digital Marketing Budget

Digital advertising has evolved into something far more sinister than most merchants realize. While business owners focus on optimizing conversion rates and improving customer experiences, a silent threat drains marketing budgets at an alarming rate. This episode of Talk Commerce features Rich Kahn, CEO and founder of Anura.io, who reveals the shocking truth about how fraudulent traffic is costing businesses billions of dollars annually.

Introduction

In this episode of Talk Commerce, host Brent Peterson sits down with Rich Kahn to discuss the pervasive issue of bot fraud in digital advertising. Rich brings decades of internet business experience dating back to 1993, when the internet was just becoming public. As the founder of Anura, he’s dedicated his career to protecting businesses from fraudulent traffic that masquerades as legitimate customers. The conversation reveals how modern bot operations have shifted from destructive attacks to sophisticated money-stealing schemes that impact every business buying digital advertising.

Key Takeaways

  • Global digital marketing spending reached over 700 billion dollars last year, with 140 billion stolen by fraudsters
  • On average, 20 to 25 percent of paid traffic is fraudulent and will never convert
  • Traditional CAPTCHA systems fail to stop bots and actually hurt conversion rates by frustrating real customers
  • Bot farms use AI-powered tools like “fraud GPT” to create sophisticated clicking bots that mimic human behavior
  • Cloud computing platforms like AWS now include DDoS protection, but ad fraud remains largely unprotected
  • Google’s “partner networks” checkbox distributes ads to millions of websites, creating opportunities for fraudulent clicks
  • Real humans fail CAPTCHA tests 34 percent of the time according to Harvard studies
  • Implementation of fraud detection can be completed in three minutes using Google Tag Manager
  • Different marketing channels carry varying levels of fraud risk, with programmatic and affiliate marketing showing the highest rates
  • The question isn’t whether you have fraud but how much fraud is impacting your budget

About Rich Kahn

Rich has been building internet businesses since 1993, just two years after the internet became public. Starting as a hands-on developer who wrote code and handled sales himself, he’s grown into a leadership role that focuses on guiding teams and working on strategic business development. His company adopted the Entrepreneurial Operating System about four or five years ago, which transformed how the organization manages meetings and maintains productivity. Rich’s technical background combined with his business acumen positions him uniquely to understand both the technical sophistics of bot fraud and its business impact. Throughout his career, he’s witnessed the evolution of internet threats from destructive DDoS attacks to profit-driven fraud schemes. Rich Kahn continues to share his expertise through regular LinkedIn posts and podcast appearances, helping businesses understand and combat digital advertising fraud.

Episode Summary

The conversation begins with Rich explaining how his role has evolved from writing code and managing sales to guiding leadership teams. He credits the Entrepreneurial Operating System with reducing meeting frequency while increasing productivity. The discussion then shifts to the core topic of bot fraud and its staggering financial impact on businesses.

Rich draws a clear distinction between old-style bots designed to take down websites and modern bots created to steal advertising dollars. “Last year, as a global society, the globe, the world spent a little over 700 billion dollars in digital marketing. Of that, 140 billion was stolen by fraudsters,” Rich reveals. This represents a massive drain on marketing budgets that most businesses don’t even realize they’re experiencing.

The mechanics of ad fraud become clearer as Rich explains how Google’s partner network functions. When advertisers build campaigns in Google, a pre-checked box includes partner networks, distributing ads across millions of websites globally. While some are legitimate sites like CNN or Weather.com, countless smaller sites create opportunities for fraud. Website owners are incentivized to generate clicks because they earn money from each interaction. Some knowingly deploy bots, while others unknowingly purchase cheap traffic filled with fraudulent visitors.

Rich addresses the common misconception that CAPTCHA systems provide adequate protection. “Captcha has been beat I want to say early 2000s, it might have been back in the 90s, but early 2000s,” he explains. The technology hasn’t kept pace with bot sophistication. More troubling is the impact on legitimate customers. Research from Harvard indicates that real humans fail CAPTCHA tests 34 percent of the time, creating friction in the buyer’s journey and reducing conversion rates.

The discussion turns to AI-powered fraud tools available on the dark web. Fraudsters can access software that writes custom bots without technical knowledge. “If you decided to go on the dark web and search for fraud GBT, you’ll find a piece of software, a piece of AI software that will actually physically write bots to click on ads,” Rich warns. These tools provide step-by-step deployment instructions, democratizing cybercrime and making it accessible to non-technical criminals.

Anura’s solution analyzes over 800 data points on each visitor, determining in real-time whether traffic is legitimate or fraudulent. This approach allows businesses to take immediate action, blocking fraudulent form submissions, preventing fake credit card transactions, or restricting access to certain pages. The system integrates seamlessly with Google Tag Manager, enabling deployment in approximately three minutes without technical resources.

Rich offers practical advice for businesses concerned about their fraud exposure. Different marketing channels carry varying levels of risk, with programmatic and affiliate marketing showing the highest fraud rates. Anura provides a fraud calculator on their website where businesses can input their marketing spend across different channels to estimate their fraud losses. The company also offers a free 15-day trial that scans traffic to identify exactly how much fraud exists and where it originates.

Final Thoughts

The digital advertising ecosystem faces a crisis that most businesses haven’t fully grasped. With fraudsters stealing 140 billion dollars annually from digital marketing budgets, the financial impact extends far beyond individual companies to affect the entire economy. Rich makes the situation clear: “It’s no longer a question of if you have fraud, it’s a question of how much fraud you have.” As Black Friday and Cyber Monday approach, businesses need to evaluate their fraud exposure urgently. The good news is that solutions exist and can be implemented quickly. The question every merchant should ask isn’t whether bots are clicking their ads but rather how much of their budget is being botted away.

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James Schutrop

How Robotically Handwritten Letters Transform Customer Engagement with James Schutrop

In this episode of Talk Commerce recorded live at Ecomm Forum in Minneapolis, host Brent Peterson sits down with James Schutrop, founder of Scribe. The conversation centers on how businesses can cut through digital noise using robotically handwritten letters that integrate directly into existing CRM systems. James explains how his company’s technology uses real pens and robots to create authentic-looking handwritten correspondence, complete with local postmarks that maintain the personal touch customers crave in an increasingly automated world.

Key Takeaways

  • Consumers receive over 120 emails daily, creating significant digital fatigue that handwritten letters can help overcome
  • Scribe’s robots use real ballpoint pens to create intentional imperfections that make letters appear genuinely handwritten
  • The system integrates directly into existing CRM platforms, allowing businesses to automate handwritten letter campaigns
  • Postmark location matters significantly—letters mailed from out-of-state locations raise red flags and reduce effectiveness
  • Scribe is the only company capable of removing postmarks on individual letters by batching orders to meet USPS requirements
  • An algorithm varies each character so no two letters look identical, passing authenticity tests
  • The technology works best for thank you notes, customer appreciation, and other personal business communications

About James Schutrop

James Schutrop is the founder of Scribe, a company specializing in robotically handwritten letters for business communications. He’s recognized the growing disconnect between businesses and their customers caused by digital saturation and has developed a scalable solution that combines automation with authentic personal touch. James brings expertise in marketing automation, customer relationship management, and understanding how traditional marketing methods can effectively complement modern digital strategies. Through his work at Scribe, James Schutrop has helped businesses reconnect with their customers by bringing back the lost art of handwritten correspondence.

Episode Summary

The conversation begins with James explaining the core problem his company solves. People are drowning in digital communications, receiving more than 120 emails each day. A standard thank you email doesn’t make recipients feel genuinely appreciated anymore. However, a handwritten letter accomplishes what digital communication can’t—it makes people feel valued and loved. The challenge has always been implementation. While most companies understand they should send handwritten notes to customers, the practice typically stops at the sales manager level and maybe a few top-performing salespeople.

“Almost every company knows that they should be treating their customers better. They should be writing them handwritten thank you letters. But the actual implementation of that usually stops at the sales manager and a couple of the top salespeople,” James notes during the discussion.

Scribe’s solution automates the entire process. The system plugs directly into existing CRM platforms, allowing businesses to upgrade any email flow or automation to include handwritten letter campaigns. Companies can set up the automation and forget about it, knowing their customers will receive personal touches without requiring constant management.

Brent observes the actual machine in operation during the interview, noting that it’s not a printer creating a handwritten effect. James confirms that robots hold real ballpoint pens and write on actual paper, creating authentic indentations and ink variations. The choice of ballpoint pens is intentional. Higher-quality pens could be used, but research shows that the imperfections created by ballpoint pens—including gaps in ink caused by pressure variations—actually increase response rates.

The technology includes an algorithm that varies every individual character. No two O’s look the same. No two E’s look identical. The result passes what James calls “sniff tests,” appearing as though the letter came from a friend or family member rather than a marketing department.

One of the most significant technical achievements James discusses is postmark removal. The postmark is the marking next to the stamp that indicates where a letter was mailed from. Most handwritten letter services mail from a single location, often Arizona or Phoenix. When an insurance agent in Ohio sends a supposedly personal letter to a customer in Ohio, but the postmark shows it came from Arizona, it raises immediate red flags.

“The only reason why handwritten letters work is because it’s the thought that counts and they think you spent the time on it,” James explains. “So if you have that out of state postmark on there, even if everything looks great, if that sets off the red flag for them and do that ad filter in their brain that, okay, maybe this was actually mass produced, they didn’t actually write this, you’re soiling the pond that you’re fishing out of basically.”

Brent shares his personal experience with this exact issue. He’d used a Phoenix-based service to send a letter to his 86-year-old father, who immediately noticed the out-of-state postmark and called him out on it. If an elderly recipient catches it, marketing-savvy customers certainly will.

Scribe solves this problem through a sophisticated batching system. The USPS allows postmark removal for batches exceeding 500 pieces. However, CRM-triggered letters are typically one-off communications sent when specific actions occur. Scribe’s system backpacks hundreds and thousands of individual orders onto each other, producing them in the proper order required by the USPS. Even though each letter is technically a one-off piece triggered by individual customer actions, the system batches and pre-sorts them as bulk mail. This allows Scribe to offer postmark removal on individual pieces, maintaining authenticity where it matters most.

The entire process is automated beyond just the writing. Inserters open envelopes, fold cards, place them inside, apply liquid to seal the envelopes, and prepare them for mailing. The assembly line approach eliminates the manual labor that prevents most businesses from implementing handwritten letter campaigns at scale.

James draws an interesting comparison between marketing trends and fashion. When everyone moves in one direction, the innovative approach often involves returning to what worked 20 or 30 years ago. With artificial intelligence increasing digital noise through more texts, emails, and advertisements, people are craving human interaction more than ever. Handwritten letters provide a breath from the bombardment while still leveraging automation.

For businesses interested in implementing robotically handwritten letters, James directs them to scribehandwritten.com where they can fill out forms or book consultations. He’s also available on LinkedIn under James Schutrop.

Regarding his experience at Ecomm Forum, James notes it’s his first year attending the event in Minneapolis. He’s impressed by the event’s focus on actionable content rather than motivational speaking. He particularly enjoyed the bagpipes signaling everyone to go into the event. “If you’re at an event you’re probably already motivated so try and find events like this where they’re actually giving you something to implement when you walk away,” he observes. James mentions he hasn’t had a chance to check out all the speakers yet but overall thinks it’s a really great event that provides practical implementation strategies rather than just inspiration.

Final Thoughts

The conversation with James Schutrop reveals how businesses can leverage technology to bring back personal touches that digital communications have eliminated. By automating handwritten letters while maintaining authenticity through real pens, character variation algorithms, and local postmarks, companies can scale personalization without sacrificing the human element. As digital noise continues to increase with AI-generated content, the value of tangible, personal communications will only grow. The question isn’t whether your business should explore handwritten automation—it’s whether you can afford not to write off this opportunity to stand out.

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Frank Verdeja

Frank Verdeja on Bridging the Gap Between Technology and Business Teams

On this episode of Talk Commerce, host Brent Peterson sits down with Frank Verdeja at the E-commerce Forum in Minneapolis. Frank brings 13 years of experience in e-commerce and data management to the conversation. Currently working for a data management company, Frank shares his insights on the relationship between technical teams and business stakeholders. The discussion covers his journey through the e-commerce industry and how proper communication creates successful outcomes for organizations.

Key Takeaways

  • Context is the foundation for successful communication between technical and business teams
  • Providing technical teams with the why behind their work increases productivity and engagement
  • Business stakeholders need technical context to understand project timelines and roadblocks
  • Data integrity has become increasingly important as organizations move to cloud infrastructure
  • Master data management enables better machine learning outcomes and geo-specific content delivery
  • Organizations are choosing to own their data within their own cloud environments

Episode Summary

The conversation begins with Frank reflecting on his early days at ShopJimmy, a Magento-based e-commerce platform. He credits this startup experience as the foundation for his career. Working directly with in-house developers taught him to serve as a bridge between technology and business functions.

Frank explains his approach to overcoming communication challenges between technical and business teams. “The biggest thing that I’ve always learned is to overcome the challenges, the best first approach is to give context,” he states. When working with technical teams, he emphasizes the importance of explaining what they are building and why it matters. This approach helps project managers and directors guide product roadmaps while showing developers that their work provides real value.

From the business perspective, Frank notes that technical context helps stakeholders understand roadblocks and timeline constraints. He distinguishes between core applications that can be rolled out quickly and custom solutions that require more development time. This mutual understanding creates respect between teams and helps everyone function as a unified group.

The conversation shifts to Frank’s current role at Precisely, a global data integrity company. The organization focuses on data governance, data observability, data integration, data quality, and master data management. Precisely also provides location intelligence services that support customer and supplier onboarding processes. Frank describes how these services enhance e-commerce operations through improved tax jurisdiction calculations, price modeling, and geo-specific content delivery.

Frank discusses the growing importance of data management in the age of AI and cloud computing. Organizations now have access to systems that can store massive amounts of raw data. This capability makes data management systems more critical than ever. He notes that customers increasingly prefer to maintain their data within their own cloud infrastructure. This trend requires platforms that can integrate with existing cloud environments rather than requiring on-premise installations.

When asked about his goals for attending the E-commerce Forum, Frank expresses his passion for discovering new e-commerce companies in the Twin Cities area. His startup background keeps him invested in supporting emerging players in the industry.

Final Thoughts

Frank Verdeja demonstrates that effective communication requires more than just translating technical jargon. It requires providing context that helps both sides understand the value and constraints of their work. As organizations continue to generate more data and move operations to the cloud, the need for skilled professionals who can bridge these gaps will only increase. Are you building the right bridges in your organization to connect your technical and business teams?

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Rytis Lauris

Marketing Automation Transforms E-commerce Revenue with Rytis Lauris

In this episode of Talk Commerce, host Brent Peterson sits down with Rytis Lauris, CEO and co-founder of Omnisend, to discuss the power of marketing automation for online retailers. The conversation covers why automated messaging generates 37% of email orders while accounting for just 2% of sends, how AI is changing the role of marketers, and what the future holds for e-commerce in an agent-driven world. Rytis shares insights from 11 years of building specialized marketing tools for online stores and explains why retention marketing has become the difference between profit and loss for most e-commerce businesses.

Key Takeaways

  • First purchases lose money: Most online stores pay more in advertising costs to acquire customers than they earn from initial transactions, making retention marketing essential for profitability.
  • Automated messages deliver 1,480% better ROI: Automated emails generate $2.96 per message compared to just $0.10 for generic bulk campaigns in the United States.
  • Timing beats volume: Sending fewer messages at the right moments based on customer behavior converts better than blasting entire lists with the same content.
  • 15-20 automated flows outperform 2-3: Businesses should create automated sequences for every customer journey touchpoint, not just abandoned carts and welcome emails.
  • AI changes marketer roles: Marketers need to evolve from content creators to managers of AI agents and assistants rather than fear replacement.
  • Omnichannel wins: Combining email, SMS, and web push notifications in single automations allows customers to choose their preferred communication channels.
  • Web push remains underutilized: Push notifications prove highly effective for users who enable them, yet most businesses don’t take advantage of this channel.
  • AI tools help non-technical marketers: Natural language segment creation removes the barrier of complex logical operators for creative marketers.

About Rytis Lauris

Rytis brings over a decade of e-commerce marketing experience to his role at Omnisend. Before founding the company 11 years ago, he ran a digital marketing agency serving online retailers, where he identified gaps in how generic email service providers handled e-commerce customer journeys. That observation led him to spin off Omnisend as a specialized marketing automation platform built specifically for businesses selling online. Beyond his work in e-commerce technology, Rytis serves in non-governmental organizations focused on secondary education, believing foundational learning in early years proves critical for success later in life. He’s also an avid reader who enjoys both business books and novels, and he plays squash to stay active.

Episode Summary

The conversation begins with Rytis explaining the fundamental economics that make retention marketing non-negotiable for e-commerce businesses. He points out that online stores typically lose money on first transactions because acquisition costs through Google and Meta exceed initial purchase values. Email marketing provides the most cost-effective channel for inviting customers back for repeat purchases, which is where businesses actually generate profit.

Rytis shares that Omnisend started as a spin-off from his digital marketing agency 11 years ago. Running the agency taught him two things: first, that e-commerce customers leave more behavioral traces than other business types because their entire journey happens online, and second, that e-commerce would experience sustained growth for many years. Both assumptions proved correct over the following decade.

“Automated messages drive 37% of conversions while representing only 2% of sends,” Rytis explains. This happens because trigger-based messages respond to specific customer actions rather than broadcasting to everyone. When someone abandons a shopping cart or browses specific products, automated sequences send highly relevant messages about those exact items instead of generic promotions.

Brent asks about the dollar value difference between automated and bulk campaigns. Rytis confirms that automated emails generate $2.96 per message on average in the United States, compared to just 10 cents for traditional campaigns. The massive difference stems from better timing, better context, and fewer but more targeted messages creating higher engagement and conversion rates.

The discussion shifts to helping businesses identify automation opportunities. Rytis notes that Omnisend includes presets for all major customer journey touchpoints, allowing users to enable flows with a single click and then customize from there. He’s currently working on an AI assistant that will analyze usage patterns and identify revenue losses from underutilized capabilities or missed touchpoints.

When asked about AI’s impact on marketing tools, Rytis identifies two important vectors. First, marketers now expect more guidance about what to do next, so tools provide recommendations when they detect suboptimal forms or campaigns. Second, AI helps marketers execute recommendations through features like subject line writers, copy assistants, and segment creators. The segment creator has become the most popular AI feature in Omnisend because it lets creative marketers build complex audience segments using plain language instead of struggling with logical operators.

Rytis emphasizes that businesses need 15 to 20 automated flows, not just the two or three that most companies implement. Every customer journey touchpoint should trigger an automated sequence. Welcome series, abandoned browse, post-purchase emails, VIP status changes, and at-risk customer sequences all deserve their own automation.

The conversation turns to how consumers use AI to make purchases. Rytis believes buying will remain an emotional decision rather than becoming fully automated by AI agents. While agents might handle recurring purchases and restocking necessities, consumers will still want to make emotional choices themselves. However, he acknowledges that ChatGPT’s recent integration with Shopify and Etsy checkouts represents a fundamental shift, allowing purchases without leaving the conversation window.

Brent brings up a discussion from ShopTalk about websites potentially declining in importance as marketplaces and AI purchasing tools grow. Rytis agrees that online stores will need to maintain two interfaces: one for humans to browse and choose products emotionally, and another for AI assistants to navigate and make purchases programmatically.

Addressing concerns about AI replacing human marketers, Rytis draws a parallel to the industrial revolution. Steam engines and electricity replaced human labor in factories, but humans still played essential roles operating machines and designing production processes. He believes AI represents a similar transformation rather than elimination of human work.

“AI will take your job as it is today,” Rytis states frankly. “You’ll have to become managers of AI agents and assistants.” He argues that when everyone uses ChatGPT to generate marketing copy, all content starts looking the same—like mixing all colors together to create brown. Someone has to stand out, and differentiation will require human creativity and brand voice.

Rytis prefers LinkedIn for professional connections and encourages e-commerce businesses to try Omnisend, particularly if they’re either not using specialized e-commerce automation tools or if they’re overpaying for the market leader when they could achieve the same results at lower cost. Throughout the conversation, Rytis demonstrates both technical knowledge of marketing automation mechanics and strategic understanding of how online retail economics drive the need for sophisticated retention programs.

Final Thoughts

The shift from bulk campaigns to automated, behavior-triggered messaging represents more than incremental improvement. When the right message reaches the right customer at exactly the right moment, conversion rates don’t just increase—they multiply. Rytis makes clear that this isn’t about sending more emails but about sending smarter ones. As AI tools become ubiquitous, the businesses that win won’t be those that simply adopt the technology but those that maintain distinctive brand voices while leveraging automation to deliver value at scale. The question isn’t whether to automate your marketing—it’s how many touchpoints you’re leaving unattended and how much revenue you’re leaving on the table. Are you managing your marketing, or are you letting opportunities slip through the cracks?

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Sean Callihan

Sean Callihan Discusses Commerce’s Evolution and AI-Powered Data Optimization

Live from Ecomm Forum

Welcome to another episode of Talk Commerce, where host Brent Peterson sits down with industry leaders to discuss the latest trends shaping online retail. Recording live from the e-commerce forum in Minneapolis, this conversation features Sean Callihan, a partner manager at Commerce—the company formerly known as BigCommerce. During this engaging discussion, Sean shares insights into the company’s strategic rebrand, its growing focus on B2B solutions, and how the organization is positioning itself in the emerging world of AI-powered commerce. The conversation offers merchants and technology partners valuable perspectives on data optimization, platform flexibility, and the changing landscape of product discovery.

Key Takeaways

  • Commerce has evolved from BigCommerce into a parent company with three distinct products: BigCommerce (the SaaS platform), Feedonomics (a feed management and data optimization platform), and Makeswift (a low-code, no-code page builder)
  • B2B has become a strategic pillar for Commerce, with dedicated product development and go-to-market teams serving wholesale and B2B merchants alongside traditional B2C clients
  • The open SaaS approach allows merchants to integrate legacy systems without ripping and replacing their entire infrastructure, particularly important for B2B distributors
  • AI readiness centers on data optimization, with Feedonomics helping merchants prepare their product data for discovery through conversational AI and large language models
  • Product data enrichment serves dual purposes, improving both AI discoverability and on-site shopping experiences by pulling information from reviews, sizing charts, and social media
  • Makeswift will soon replace the native page builder within the BigCommerce platform, bringing advanced marketing capabilities directly into the core product
  • The low-code, no-code approach benefits both marketers and developers, allowing faster execution while still providing technical teams with workflow customization options

About Sean Callihan

Sean brings a unique perspective to his role at Commerce, drawing from six years with the company and an earlier six-year stint working within digital agencies. As a partner manager, Sean works extensively with both traditional system integrators and digital marketing agencies, helping them navigate the Commerce ecosystem and build successful merchant relationships. His agency background gives him valuable insight into the challenges partners face when implementing e-commerce solutions. Throughout his tenure at Commerce, Sean has witnessed the company’s transformation from a single-product SaaS platform into a multi-product organization serving diverse merchant needs across B2C and B2B segments.

Episode Summary

The conversation begins with Sean explaining the reasoning behind BigCommerce’s rebrand to Commerce. The strategic shift wasn’t merely cosmetic—it reflected the company’s evolution following two significant acquisitions. After purchasing Feedonomics, a leading feed management platform, the organization found itself in an awkward position. Feedonomics is platform-agnostic, meaning it works with any e-commerce system, including BigCommerce competitors like Shopify. This created messaging challenges when BigCommerce representatives tried to discuss the benefits of Feedonomics with merchants on other platforms.

The solution was creating Commerce as a parent company housing three distinct products. BigCommerce continues as the SaaS e-commerce platform that’s been serving merchants for years. Feedonomics operates as the data optimization engine, helping merchants push products to any channel they choose—whether that’s Walmart, TikTok, Instagram, or countless other marketplaces. The platform’s core strength lies in optimizing product data for each channel’s specific requirements, improving search rankings and return on ad spend.

The third product, Makeswift, came through a more recent acquisition. This low-code, no-code page builder solution doesn’t even require an e-commerce context—it works for informational sites as well. Marketers and developers both appreciate the tool because it brings stories to life on websites without requiring extensive technical knowledge. All three solutions can work together or independently, giving Commerce flexibility in how it approaches different market segments.

Sean then shifts the discussion to B2B, which has emerged as a major strategic pillar for Commerce. The company recognized that many merchants wanted to add wholesale or B2B arms to their businesses but lacked the tools to do so effectively. Rather than forcing merchants to cobble together various apps and workarounds, Commerce invested heavily in B2B-specific functionality. This wasn’t just a product decision—the company established dedicated B2B teams for product development, go-to-market strategy, and sales.

The B2B approach makes sense given Commerce’s B2C heritage. Business buyers increasingly expect shopping experiences that mirror consumer-focused websites. Since Commerce already excelled at B2C experiences, extending that expertise to B2B was a natural progression. The company maintains separate B2C teams to continue serving that market without alienation, while B2B teams focus on the unique requirements of wholesale, distribution, and business-to-business transactions.

Sean emphasizes the importance of Commerce’s open SaaS philosophy, particularly for B2B merchants. Many distributors and manufacturers work with legacy industry-specific systems they can’t easily replace. Commerce’s open API structure allows these companies to integrate existing systems without ripping out their entire technology infrastructure. If a merchant outgrows one solution, they don’t need to replace their e-commerce platform—they simply swap out the specific component that no longer serves their needs.

This approach acknowledges a fundamental reality: no single platform can feasibly build everything that’s perfect for every merchant. The e-commerce ecosystem contains numerous specialized players, each solving specific problems. Commerce’s extensibility allows merchants to assemble the right combination of tools for their unique business requirements, both today and as they scale tomorrow.

The conversation then turns to artificial intelligence and agentic commerce. Sean explains that Feedonomics provides Commerce with a significant advantage in this space because it’s fundamentally a data platform. This expertise positions the company well as it forms relationships with OpenAI, Perplexity, and other large language model providers. The way consumers shop continues to evolve, and merchants need their brands to be discoverable through these new channels.

Traditional search engine optimization focused on scraping websites and indexing whatever product information appeared on pages. AI-powered search works differently. Consumers have conversations with AI assistants, asking specific questions and expecting detailed answers. Merchants need their data structured to respond to these conversational queries. That data doesn’t come solely from product descriptions—it includes reviews, sizing charts, social media interactions, message boards, and other non-traditional sources.

Commerce is helping merchants prepare their data for this new reality through what Sean calls AI data readiness. An interesting byproduct of this work is that the enriched data optimized for LLM discovery can also feed back into the merchant’s own website. If the company is pulling proof points from multiple sources to educate AI systems, why not use that same enriched content to improve the on-site shopping experience? Merchants benefit twice: better AI discoverability and more robust product pages on their branded websites, where they maintain the highest profit margins.

Sean also discusses the future of product discovery pages. Many merchants currently provide minimal information—perhaps a few bullet points—on their PDPs. This approach doesn’t serve AI-powered search well. Through Feedonomics and its AI readiness initiatives, Commerce is helping merchants understand what data they need and where to source it. The result is product pages that satisfy both human shoppers and the AI systems that increasingly guide purchase decisions.

Regarding Makeswift’s roadmap, Sean shares his excitement about the tool’s integration into the core BigCommerce platform. Currently, Makeswift has been used primarily with Commerce’s Catalyst product for building headless websites. The next iteration will replace the native page builder within BigCommerce itself. This represents a significant user experience upgrade because Makeswift was built from the ground up with modern marketing workflows in mind.

The existing page builder serves its purpose, but it wasn’t designed with contemporary marketing needs as a priority. Makeswift brings that marketing-first thinking directly into the platform. Sean notes that the tool appeals to both marketers and developers, even though it’s positioned as low-code, no-code. Developers appreciate it because they can build out workflows and frameworks that marketers then leverage independently. This doesn’t eliminate development jobs—it shifts developer focus to enabling marketing agility rather than executing every individual page change or content update.

Sean wraps up by reflecting on why he returns to the e-commerce forum year after year. He’s attended four consecutive years, plus the virtual edition during COVID. He appreciates that Irish Titan, the event organizer, has created something inclusive rather than exclusive. Unlike some high-profile conferences that feel corporate and buttoned-up, the e-commerce forum welcomes the entire Midwest ecosystem—partners, merchants, and service providers all learning together in a relaxed environment.

The forum gives Sean opportunities to connect with the partner ecosystem he works with daily while also meeting merchants who attend to learn and network. Everyone arrives with their guard down, ready to share knowledge and have genuine conversations. It’s quirky, fun, and educational—a combination Sean clearly values as he makes the annual trip to Minneapolis.

Final Thoughts

Sean Callihan’s insights reveal how Commerce is positioning itself for the next evolution of online retail. The rebrand reflects strategic maturity, acknowledging that serving modern merchants requires more than a single platform. By housing BigCommerce, Feedonomics, and Makeswift under one parent company, Commerce can meet merchants wherever they are in their growth journey without forcing awkward product conversations. The B2B focus addresses a significant market opportunity while leveraging existing B2C strengths. Most importantly, the emphasis on AI readiness and data optimization demonstrates forward thinking about how product discovery will work in an increasingly conversational commerce landscape. As merchants prepare their businesses for AI-powered search and agentic shopping experiences, having clean, enriched, multi-source product data isn’t optional—it’s foundational to remaining discoverable and competitive in tomorrow’s market.

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Shaheen Samavati

Multilingual Content Creation Adapts to the Age of AI with Shaheen Samavati

Host Brent Peterson sits down with Shaheen Samavati, co-founder and CEO of Vera Content. The conversation explores how content creation agencies navigate the challenges brought by AI tools while maintaining quality standards for multilingual content. Shaheen shares insights from her decade-long journey building a content agency that serves brands across European markets and beyond. They discuss everything from the impact of ChatGPT on the content industry to the nuances of adapting content for different Spanish-speaking markets. This episode offers valuable perspectives for anyone wondering how human creativity and AI capabilities can coexist in content marketing.

Key Takeaways

  • Content creation agencies must integrate AI tools while maintaining quality standards that exceed what automated systems can produce alone
  • Clients now expect faster turnaround times and lower costs, but still demand premium results that require human expertise
  • Words have become cheaper due to AI, yet the demand for high-quality, curated content continues to grow
  • Proper onboarding and style guide development remain critical for successful long-term content partnerships
  • Localization goes beyond translation—it requires understanding cultural nuances and regional dialects to connect with audiences effectively
  • The volume of content being created has exploded, creating greater need for human curation and quality control
  • Optimizing content for large language models shares similarities with traditional SEO but requires specific adaptations
  • Video content creation and influencer partnerships have grown as alternatives to traditional written content

About Shaheen Samavati

Shaheen comes from a background in print journalism, having worked in newspapers before relocating to Spain for an MBA program. Her career evolved through corporate communication and marketing roles at European companies, where she identified a significant gap in the market for multilingual content services. Originally from the Cleveland, Ohio area, she noticed how European businesses struggled to manage content across multiple markets effectively.

Ten years ago, Shaheen launched Vera Content to address this challenge. The agency specializes in helping brands create and manage large-scale multilingual content projects, including blogs and social media content for audiences across Europe and beyond. She participated in the Entrepreneurs’ Organization Accelerator program in Barcelona, which proved instrumental in scaling her business. Shaheen’s passion for learning and sharing knowledge drives everything she does, from building her agency to creating free resources for marketers navigating the changing content landscape.

Episode Summary

Shaheen explained that her agency works primarily with brands creating content for multiple European markets. “We help brands create and manage large-scale multilingual content creation projects for audiences across Europe and beyond, which basically means we work on blogs and social media pages for different markets,” she said. The agency’s core competency lies in managing local teams who serve as eyes and ears on the ground in each market.

The conversation quickly turned to the elephant in the room—ChatGPT and its impact on the content industry. Brent shared his own experience purchasing a content company that struggled after ChatGPT’s release, as many clients believed they could handle everything themselves. Shaheen acknowledged similar challenges but noted that Vera Content continues to grow by adapting their approach.

“We’re having to integrate a lot of these AI processes into our own processes,” Shaheen explained. “Some of the types of projects we did in the past, we’re seeing less of, but we’re seeing more of other types of projects.” The agency has diversified beyond blog content into social media management, user-generated content video creation, and influencer partnerships.

However, the expectations have shifted dramatically. “They want more than what AI has to offer, so we really have to go above and beyond to match their brand voice or offer thought leadership, because they are paying for that human content, but they also want it cheaper and faster,” Shaheen noted. This creates pressure on teams to deliver exceptional results while managing client expectations about what’s realistic.

Brent raised an important point about billing models, noting that words have become cheap in the AI era. Shaheen confirmed this reality affects their business. “The amount of time that’s expected to create an article now is less because of all the tools available,” she said. While Vera Content bills by the hour rather than by word count, they’re constantly compared against per-word pricing for certain project types.

The discussion explored how managing expectations has become more challenging. Brent shared his experience with Content Basis, where clients expected AI-generated content to be perfect on the first round without understanding the need for training and refinement. Shaheen emphasized that Vera Content only takes on long-term collaborations with proper onboarding phases.

“We do only work on long-term collaboration basis, and we have that onboarding phase that for us is really important,” she explained. At the beginning of every project, they build a style guide and create training resources for writers. “If the client’s not willing to wait a couple of weeks for us to get that all set up, then it’s probably not the right fit,” Shaheen stated firmly.

The conversation shifted to the complexities of managing international teams. Shaheen explained that their target clients typically have very high English proficiency since they’re managing content or marketing campaigns across multiple markets. Most client communication happens in English, though the agency’s Spanish base means everyone also speaks Spanish.

Brent drew parallels to his experience with development teams in Bolivia and other South American countries, where English proficiency varied. The discussion then explored fascinating nuances of Spanish localization across different markets. Shaheen addressed the common question about whether there’s truly a “generic Spanish” or “Latin Spanish.”

“There is nobody who really speaks like that,” she said. “It’s trying to create a neutral version where you’re not using any very specific local vocabulary, using a more neutral vocabulary that would be understood more universally.” However, this approach involves trade-offs. While neutral Spanish can work for broad audiences, it doesn’t create the emotional connection that truly localized content achieves. “The more localized it is, the more narrow you’re going and the more different versions you’ll have to make, and the more expensive that is,” Shaheen explained.

She gave the classic example of “coger un taxi,” which is perfectly normal in Spain but inappropriate in some Latin American countries. These linguistic landmines make local expertise invaluable. The need for localization depends heavily on the audience and context. Some B2B clients targeting international company employees can succeed with English-only content, while consumer brands selling products in local markets need fully localized messaging.

Brent brought up the evolution of search optimization, from voice search preparation for Alexa and Siri to current large language model optimization. Shaheen confirmed this remains a major focus area for Vera Content. “We’re staying on the cutting edge of that,” she said, noting they were preparing a webinar on the topic. While optimization for traditional SEO and LLMs doesn’t appear hugely different yet, there are specific considerations that can help content perform better in AI-powered search results.

The conversation touched on seasonal content patterns, with Brent asking about fourth-quarter demand around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Shaheen noted that while seasonal content creation happens every year, the bigger trend is the overall explosion in content volume. “We’re seeing more content being created than ever before in the history of humanity,” she observed. “It’s so easy to create content now and everyone is.”

This led to an interesting observation about market corrections. Despite—or perhaps because of—the flood of AI-generated content, Shaheen has noticed renewed interest in print publications. “I think that shows the hunger there is for actually curated, well-organized content that has been vetted by someone because of all the crap that’s just being spewed out on the internet these days,” she said.

Brent emphasized a critical point about differentiation. Content created purely through ChatGPT without human refinement becomes indistinguishable from what everyone else produces. “There’s no differentiator in your own brand if you’re just using a straight-up model and never having anybody edit it,” he noted. Shaheen agreed completely, adding that AI can speed up processes tremendously when used properly.

“You need to give it the source information,” she advised. “Don’t ask it to look for the source information for you, because what it will find is what everyone else is finding, and it’s going to create the same old generic stuff.” This insight captures the essential role humans play in the AI-assisted content creation process—providing unique perspectives, proprietary information, and editorial judgment that generic models cannot replicate.

Throughout the episode, both Shaheen and Brent demonstrated how content professionals must evolve rather than resist technological change. The agencies and companies that thrive will be those that integrate AI tools strategically while maintaining the human expertise that creates truly valuable content. Quality curation, brand voice consistency, cultural adaptation, and thought leadership remain firmly in the human domain, even as AI handles more of the heavy lifting in content production.

As the conversation wrapped up, Shaheen Samavati encouraged listeners to explore the free resources available on Vera Content’s website, including guides on LLM search optimization, global social media management best practices, and AI content creation strategies. Her pragmatic approach to navigating industry disruption offers a roadmap for other content professionals facing similar challenges in this transformative period.

Final Thoughts

The content creation industry stands at a crossroads where AI capabilities and human expertise must work together rather than compete. Shaheen’s experience demonstrates that while tools like ChatGPT have changed client expectations and pricing models, the demand for quality, localized, brand-aligned content remains strong. Success requires agencies to be strategic about AI integration while doubling down on the value only humans can provide—cultural understanding, brand voice mastery, editorial judgment, and original thought leadership. The companies creating generic AI content without human refinement will find themselves lost in the noise, while those investing in proper processes and human expertise will stand out in an increasingly crowded content landscape. As Shaheen’s journey shows, the future of content isn’t about choosing between human or artificial intelligence—it’s about orchestrating both to create something greater than either could achieve alone.

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Ben Marks

Live from Ecomm Forum: Ben Marks on PHP Foundation and the Future of Open Source Commerce

Live from Ecomm Forum, host Brent Peterson sits down with industry veterans to discuss the latest trends shaping ecommerce. Ben Marks is a well-known figure in the open source commerce community who recently transitioned from his previous employer to launch several new ventures. The conversation covers Ben’s new role with the PHP Foundation, his work with Nomicore, and his perspective on the current state of Magento and Adobe Commerce.

Key Takeaways

  • Ben Marks has taken on the role of handling all fundraising efforts for the PHP Foundation, an organization that maintains and develops the PHP programming language
  • PHP continues to thrive despite long-standing predictions about its demise, with ongoing improvements and community support driving its relevance
  • Magento remains supported by Adobe but hasn’t received feature updates in years, only security and performance patches
  • The open source community around Magento stays strong, with volunteers continuing to contribute time and effort
  • AI is becoming a forcing function for commerce companies, separating those who will survive from those who won’t
  • Data is emerging as the new storefront, replacing traditional SEO-focused strategies
  • Intentionality matters when adopting AI tools—companies need to start somewhere and build momentum
  • AI-powered shopping experiences are already changing consumer behavior and purchase patterns

About Ben Marks

Ben has spent his entire career working in and around the PHP ecosystem, building expertise in open source commerce platforms and community development. His background includes significant time at Magento, where he helped shape developer relations and consulted on the founding of the Magento Association. After leaving Adobe in May, Ben launched into consulting work while taking on leadership positions that allow him to give back to the communities that built his career. His expertise spans ecommerce platforms, developer advocacy, and open source governance. Beyond his technical knowledge, Ben brings a unique perspective on how communities form, thrive, and create value beyond traditional business models.

Episode Summary

Ben shares his new ventures since leaving Shopware in May, including his role handling fundraising for the PHP Foundation and joining the founding team at Nomicore. He pushes back on the narrative that PHP is dying, explaining how the language continues to improve through foundation support and community contributions. Recent developments include significant performance improvements and new features like an official MCP package.

The conversation shifts to the current state of Magento and Adobe Commerce. Ben offers a candid assessment, noting that while Adobe still supports Magento and the Magento Association, the product hasn’t received feature updates in years. Adobe Commerce continues to develop separately. Ben suggests a clear line needs to be drawn between these products and personally would love to see Magento turned over to the ecosystem. Despite these complexities, he remains impressed by how many people still care deeply about Magento and continue contributing to the community.

Ben discusses highlights from the ecommerce forum, particularly a panel featuring executives from commercetools, Shopware, and Klaviyo discussing AI’s impact on commerce. The key takeaway centers on intentionality. Klaviyo takes 10 minutes during every all-hands meeting to showcase efficiency improvements made with AI. This approach separates companies that will thrive from those that won’t. Sharon from commercetools champions the idea that data is the new storefront, arguing that companies need to rethink strategies as search engine traffic declines.

Ben illustrates this shift with a personal shopping experience. He asked ChatGPT to help find specific boots in black for his wife before a wedding trip. The AI analyzed their travel route, evaluated delivery options, found a shoe shop in Lexington, Massachusetts along their route, verified the store had reliable inventory data through their Magento 2 site, and provided everything needed to complete the purchase. This experience changed how Ben Marks thinks about shopping in the future.

Final Thoughts

Ben Marks brings a valuable perspective to the ongoing transformation happening in ecommerce and open source technology. His work with the PHP Foundation ensures that the underlying technology powering billions in commerce transactions continues to evolve. His involvement with Nomicore points toward a future where natural language replaces structured searches. His continued engagement with the Magento community demonstrates how open source ecosystems create lasting value beyond any single company’s control.

As the lines between search, discovery, and purchase continue to blur, one question remains: Will your commerce strategy enable customers where they want to be, or will you keep investing in where they used to be?

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Dave Malda

Live from Ecom Forum: iPaaS Transforms E-commerce Data Integration for Growing Businesses with Dave Malda

In this episode of Talk Commerce, host Brent Peterson sits down with Dave Malda, a data integration expert from iPaaS.com, at the Ecom Forum in Minnesota. The conversation explores how integration platforms are becoming essential infrastructure for e-commerce businesses. Dave breaks down the technical aspects of iPaaS technology and explains why modern online retailers can’t afford to operate without proper data integration systems. This episode provides valuable insights for business owners looking to scale their operations and eliminate manual data entry bottlenecks.

Key Takeaways

  • Integration platforms as a service (iPaaS) serve as middleware that sits in the cloud and moves data between different business systems automatically
  • The hub-and-spoke architecture differs from traditional point-to-point connectors, making it easier to scale integrations across multiple platforms
  • Businesses processing more than 250 orders per month typically start experiencing pain points that require automated integration solutions
  • Manual data entry creates delays in customer communications and increases the risk of errors when staff members are unavailable
  • Retail businesses can capture in-store customer data and push it to marketing platforms like Klaviyo to enable ongoing customer engagement
  • The shift toward headless and composable commerce makes iPaaS systems imperative for modern e-commerce operations
  • Organizations with three or more systems to integrate represent the sweet spot for iPaaS solutions

About Dave Malda

Dave brings extensive experience in e-commerce integration and data management to his role at iPaaS.com. Based in Canada, he works with businesses across North America to implement integration solutions that eliminate manual processes and enable growth. His expertise lies in helping organizations understand how middleware technology can transform their operations by connecting various systems including e-commerce platforms, ERPs, point-of-sale systems, and marketing automation tools. Dave’s approach focuses on practical implementations that deliver immediate value while providing the flexibility to scale as businesses grow.

Episode Summary

The conversation begins with Dave explaining what iPaaS actually means for business owners who might not be familiar with the acronym. He describes it as an integration platform as a service that functions as middleware sitting in the cloud. The primary function involves moving data back and forth between different business systems without manual intervention.

Dave uses a common e-commerce scenario to illustrate the concept. “A very popular use case in the e-commerce space is say Shopware or Big Commerce or Shopify orders into NetSuite or Dynamics 365,” he explains. The system eliminates manual entry of order data by automating the entire process. This simple example represents one of the most requested integrations in the e-commerce world.

What sets iPaaS.com apart from competitors involves the underlying architecture. Dave describes it as a hub-and-spoke system rather than traditional point-to-point connections. Data flows into a central hub where it becomes accessible to any connected integration or spoke. This design makes it significantly easier to dial integrations up or down as business needs change.

Brent draws an analogy to help clarify the concept, describing iPaaS as central plumbing for data. It provides CTOs and technical leaders with a control center where they can manage how data moves throughout their entire technology stack. The platform handles webhooks, data pulls, and pushes between systems, functioning as an appliance that ensures everything communicates properly.

The conversation shifts to customer experience and why integration matters beyond just internal efficiency. Dave points out two critical moments in every online purchase. “The first thing I look for is that email, okay, the purchase has been made, congratulations. The second thing I look for is where’s my tracking number, right?” When these communications rely on manual processes, delays become inevitable. Staff absences due to illness or vacation can create gaps where orders go unprocessed or customers don’t receive timely updates.

Dave identifies a specific threshold where businesses typically recognize the need for integration platforms. Organizations processing more than 250 orders per month start feeling the pain of manual data entry. While this volume isn’t massive, it’s substantial enough that manual processes become unsustainable. At this point, iPaaS solutions deliver immediate return on investment by eliminating bottlenecks and reducing errors.

Beyond order processing, Dave introduces another valuable use case that many retailers overlook. Brick-and-mortar stores collect customer information at checkout, but without proper integration, that data remains trapped in the point-of-sale system. “You have people coming in, buying a Tilly hat, buying a Hawaiian shirt, and they walk out the door and you may never speak to them again,” Dave notes. By integrating POS systems like NCR Counterpoint with marketing platforms like Klaviyo, retailers can capture customer emails and phone numbers, then segment and target those customers with relevant campaigns throughout the year.

Brent emphasizes how the evolution toward headless commerce and composable architecture has made iPaaS technology imperative rather than optional. Modern SaaS platforms often lack built-in customization options for integrations. E-commerce owners need external integration platforms to ensure their various systems work together seamlessly. This represents a fundamental shift from how e-commerce operated even five to ten years ago.

Dave reflects on how integration approaches have evolved over the past decade. Previously, businesses built custom in-house integrations, created elaborate spreadsheet workflows, or relied on manual import and export processes. While these methods technically work, they put companies at a significant disadvantage. The modern approach involves evaluating available platforms, selecting one that fits specific business needs, ensuring cost-effectiveness, and choosing solutions that scale as the business grows.

The discussion touches on competitive landscape and market positioning. Dave acknowledges that numerous players exist in the integration space, many of whom excel at what they do. However, iPaaS.com’s sweet spot involves businesses needing to connect three, four, five, or eight different systems rather than just two endpoints. “When it’s Shopify to NetSuite to Pymcor to, you know, add in the system, that’s where we really shine,” Dave explains. Organizations with complex technology stacks benefit most from the hub-and-spoke architecture that iPaaS.com provides.

Brent mentions that lower-cost entry points exist in the integration market, making it accessible for smaller businesses to begin automating workflows. This democratization of integration technology means companies don’t need massive budgets to start benefiting from automation. Getting early experience with integration platforms prepares businesses for future growth and more complex integration needs.

The conversation wraps up with Dave providing multiple channels for reaching him. He maintains an active presence on LinkedIn and X, and he’s available via email at dave.malda@ipaas.com. This multi-channel accessibility reflects the modern business approach of meeting customers where they’re most comfortable communicating.

Final Thoughts

Integration platforms have moved from nice-to-have technology to essential infrastructure for e-commerce businesses. The shift toward composable commerce architectures means that companies must think strategically about how their various systems communicate. Manual processes create bottlenecks that limit growth and damage customer experience through delayed communications. Organizations processing significant order volumes need automated solutions that ensure data flows seamlessly between e-commerce platforms, ERPs, marketing tools, and other business systems. Dave Malda from iPaaS.com demonstrates that the right integration platform doesn’t just connect systems—it passes data through the organization with precision and reliability.

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Jason Nyhus

Live from Ecom Forum: Jason Nyhus from Shopware Reveals How Agentic Commerce Transforms B2B Sales

Recorded live from the e-commerce forum in Minneapolis, host Brent Peterson sits down with Jason Nyhus, General Manager of Shopware‘s North American business. This marks Jason’s fourth or fifth appearance on the podcast, highlighting the strong relationship between Talk Commerce and Shopware. The conversation covers Shopware’s approach to AI and agentic commerce, the company’s momentum in the US market, and what makes their community-driven model stand out in an increasingly crowded e-commerce platform landscape.

Key Takeaways

  • Shopware views AI through two lenses: automating routine tasks for e-commerce professionals and implementing agentic commerce to free up B2B sales reps for actual selling
  • Sales representatives currently spend only 25% of their time actually selling, with the remaining 75% consumed by administrative tasks
  • Shopware has grown to several thousand merchants in North America and is now the fastest-growing e-commerce platform in the region
  • The platform’s success stems from three factors: being open source, European clients expanding to North America, and strategic partnerships with agencies
  • Shopware’s business model focuses on being world-class at one thing—commerce software—while letting partners excel at hosting, payments, marketing, and other services
  • The company’s Shoptoberfest event features 10-minute TED Talks by actual merchants sharing real experiences rather than vendor presentations

About Jason Nyhus

Jason Nyhus serves as General Manager at Shopware, where he oversees the company’s North American operations. With extensive experience in the e-commerce space, Jason has witnessed the evolution of digital commerce platforms firsthand. His approach centers on building authentic relationships with merchants and fostering a community-driven ecosystem. Jason’s leadership style emphasizes intimacy and partnership over transactional sales relationships, which has proven instrumental in Shopware’s expansion across North America. Before joining Shopware, he was already connected to the e-commerce community, having met Shopware’s founders, the Hamann Brothers, nearly eight years ago at a Magento unconference in Cologne.

Episode Summary

The conversation begins with Jason explaining Shopware’s perspective on the current AI landscape. He acknowledges that the industry is experiencing what he calls an “AI bubble,” where every company claims to be AI-first. Jason doesn’t mince words about this phenomenon, referring to it as “AI washing.” However, Shopware’s approach differs from the noise.

Jason breaks down Shopware’s AI strategy into two distinct parts. First, the platform uses AI to automate what he describes as “the blue collar work that the white collar people in e-commerce do.” This includes product creation, editing, imagery generation, descriptions, and campaign management. The goal isn’t to replace strategic thinking but to free up professionals to focus on higher-value activities.

The second aspect focuses specifically on B2B commerce through what Shopware calls agentic commerce. Jason provides a striking statistic: sales representatives at manufacturing companies spend approximately 75% of their time on non-selling activities. These activities include corporate mandated tasks that have nothing to do with building relationships or closing deals. “We view Agentic Commerce as a way to really give the sales reps more time to sell by introducing these agents that automate a lot of the blue collar work that they have to do that’s not selling,” Jason explains.

When Brent mentions hearing positive buzz about Shopware finding its footing in the US market, Jason points listeners to independent sources like Built With to verify the platform’s growth. The numbers speak for themselves—several thousand merchants now run on Shopware in North America. Jason attributes this momentum to three specific factors.

First, Shopware’s open source nature allows anyone to install and run the platform for free. This accessibility has led to organic adoption as merchants discover world-class capabilities without upfront costs. Second, European clients who were hesitant to expand to North America now feel confident doing so with Shopware’s established US presence. Third, Jason credits his team and agency partners for launching numerous new stores.

Jason rattles off impressive client names including Uppababy, Dunham Sports, Albany Fasteners, and Boo Ally. He confidently states that Shopware is now the fastest-growing e-commerce platform in North America, though he’s quick to credit the community and ecosystem for this success rather than taking sole credit.

Brent shares a recent conversation he had with the e-commerce manager at Eagle Crusher, who spoke highly of both Shopware’s team and their agency partner. This prompts a discussion about what makes Shopware different from larger platforms where sales representatives often disappear after closing deals, only to resurface during renewal time.

Jason acknowledges that Shopware is “still subscale compared to some of our competitors,” which allows for a level of intimacy that larger companies can’t maintain. He doesn’t view this as a weakness but rather as a strategic advantage. Jason emphasizes that Shopware targets complex use cases rather than straightforward implementations. “There are a lot of other solutions that are really good and great at solving the more kind of straightforward use cases,” he notes. “And so frankly, those aren’t really our customers.”

This complexity requires deep understanding of what makes each brand unique. Jason uses Above the Fray, an agency partner, as an example. They specialize in the American Equipment Manufacturing space and understand the pain points of merchants like Eagle Crusher. This specialized knowledge creates better outcomes for everyone involved.

Jason outlines three requirements for buying Shopware. First, clients must love Shopware’s people. The company invests heavily in hiring individuals that merchants will like and trust. Second, clients must love the product itself. Jason makes it clear that if Shopware isn’t the right fit, they’d rather walk away from the transaction. Third, clients must love Shopware’s partners. “We think if you line those three things up with a partner that we like and trust, our odds of success are very, very high,” Jason states.

Brent recalls meeting the Hamann Brothers nearly eight years ago at a Magento unconference in Cologne. He remembers them showing up, giving a presentation, and answering questions without any sales pitch. This memory illustrates the community-first approach that has become Shopware’s hallmark.

The conversation shifts to Shopware’s community events, particularly Shoptoberfest. Jason explains that there are six primary ways to make money in e-commerce: software, hosting, payments, marketing services, professional services, and app stores. He adds a seventh category for training and certifications. Rather than trying to dominate all seven revenue streams, Shopware focuses on being world-class at one thing—commerce software—and lets partners excel at the rest.

This philosophy fosters mutual dependence and collaboration. Companies can focus on their core competencies, remain competitive on pricing, and deliver better services. Jason credits the inspiration for Shoptoberfest to Stefan Hamann’s visit to the Ecom Forum in Minneapolis a few years ago. Stefan appreciated how the event didn’t take itself too seriously and how Irish Titan, the organizing company, took a back seat to let the community shine.

“Americans love Oktoberfest. Why don’t we create event called Shoptoberfest,” Stefan proposed. Jason calls this one of the best marketing ideas he’s ever heard, especially considering it came from Stefan Hollein, whom he describes as the “self-proclaimed nerd of the business.” Shoptoberfest has now run for two consecutive years with tremendous success.

What makes Shoptoberfest unique is its format. Jason explains that most industry events feature speakers discussing high-level generalities about AI or trends without getting to practical applications. Shoptoberfest flips this model by making merchants the stars. The event features 10-minute TED Talks by eight merchants sharing their lived experiences with change management, AI adoption, and real-world problem solving. “It’s my favorite event of the year,” Jason admits.

Wrapping up the conversation, Jason praises Irish Titan for organizing the Ecom Forum. He notes that Minneapolis is home to major corporations like Best Buy, Target, Medtronic, and 3M, yet nothing really connected the e-commerce community before Irish Titan stepped in. He emphasizes that Irish Titan invests significant money and energy into the event not because it benefits them directly but because it strengthens the community. While Jason prefers the term “community,” he acknowledges that Darin from Irish Titan likes to say “ecosystem.” Regardless of terminology, the spirit remains the same—bringing people together for collective benefit rather than individual gain.

Jason Nyhus’s insights reveal a company that has found success by going against conventional wisdom. Instead of trying to own every aspect of the e-commerce value chain, Shopware focuses on being exceptional at one thing and partnering for the rest. Instead of chasing every potential customer, they target complex use cases where their platform truly shines. Instead of the typical vendor-customer relationship, they build genuine partnerships based on mutual respect and shared success. This approach has transformed Shopware from a European platform trying to break into North America to the fastest-growing e-commerce solution in the region.

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Sharon Gee

Sharon Gee Is Transforming Ecommerce with AI and Agentic Commerce

In this episode of Talk Commerce recorded live from Ecom Forum in Minneapolis, host Brent Peterson sits down with Sharon Gee, Senior Vice President of Product at Commerce, to discuss the seismic shifts happening in ecommerce. The conversation explores how artificial intelligence and agentic commerce are reshaping the way merchants connect with customers. Sharon brings extensive experience from her six years at Commerce, where she oversees AI offerings across BigCommerce, Feedonomics, and Makeswift. What emerges from this discussion isn’t just another tech conversation but rather a roadmap for merchants navigating the transition from traditional SEO to a world where agents shop alongside humans.

Key Takeaways

  • Data has become the new storefront as consumers increasingly turn to answer engines rather than traditional search
  • Merchants need to provide structured, contextual data to AI agents, not just visually appealing websites for human shoppers
  • The adoption rate of AI tools like ChatGPT has outpaced every other consumer technology in history, including cell phones
  • Product data must now exist on multiple levels, from basic ad information to unstructured content hidden in PDFs
  • B2B commerce stands to benefit significantly from agentic AI, particularly through AI-powered sales assistants
  • Trust protocols are being established to manage transactions between shoppers, shopper agents, merchants, and merchant agents
  • AI democratizes marketing tools, allowing creative thinkers to execute ideas without engineering expertise
  • User reviews represent a treasure trove of search terms that should inform product descriptions

About Sharon Gee

Sharon serves as Senior Vice President of the Product Organization at Commerce, where she focuses on AI offerings across the company’s portfolio. She played a key role in leading the acquisition strategy for Feedonomics four years ago and served as General Manager of that business during its successful integration. Before joining Commerce, Sharon spent time agency-side in New York City. Her expertise spans ecommerce platforms, enterprise data feed management, and visual editing solutions. Outside her professional life, Sharon owns a flower farm and coffee shop in Colorado, offering her a unique perspective that balances digital commerce with hands-on retail experience. Throughout the industry, Sharon has become recognized for her insights on how AI and data optimization can transform merchant visibility and customer acquisition.

Episode Summary

The conversation begins with Sharon outlining her role at Commerce and immediately diving into what she describes as the most exciting development in ecommerce: agentic commerce. She explains that for decades, commerce professionals have been optimizing data for advertising channels, trying to improve conversion rates and return on ad spend. However, the fundamental rules remained consistent—acquire customers through Google or Meta, drive them to your website, and hope to convert them at rates between two and five percent.

“Somebody came along and bopped the board game and now we get to reset all the pieces,” Sharon explains. The game-changer is that consumers now turn to answer engines for their most basic questions. These aren’t simple queries based on price or size filters. Instead, shoppers ask complex questions like wanting a dress for a wedding in Italy in a specific color and size, delivered by tomorrow. This shift requires merchants to bring together data from marketing channels, internal systems, and content teams because data has become the new storefront.

Sharon emphasizes that answer engines need deep context to respond to long-form queries effectively. The challenge for merchants becomes ensuring their products are discoverable wherever shoppers are looking and making it easy to shop however the consumer prefers—whether that means clicking through to a personalized product page where they can visualize furniture in their living room or buying mascara with a thumbprint because they already know what they want.

The conversation then shifts to the technical differences between old SEO practices and the new reality of AI-driven discovery. Sharon points out that ChatGPT reached 100 million users faster than any other technology in history. This rapid adoption creates both opportunity and challenge. Answer engines need data, and while they can scrape websites for it, those websites aren’t optimized for agents. They’re full of HTML, images, and visual elements designed for human brains, not for AI consumption.

Sharon introduces a framework for thinking about data levels. Level one includes basic information needed for Google ads—title, description, image, size, color, and weight. Level two encompasses the significantly more extensive data required to list on marketplaces like Amazon. Level three consists of product specifications sitting in Product Information Management systems—manufacturing details, materials, origins, and technical specs. Levels four and five venture into unstructured data territory, including PDFs on websites and user reviews.

“That’s not the kind of data you usually show on a product detail page,” Sharon notes. This creates what she calls a bifurcated experience. Merchants now need to provision different experiences because agents are customers too. When an agent visits a site, it doesn’t need pretty pictures—it needs structured data and links to images it might want to reference.

Brent raises the question of whether this means adding data below the fold on product pages or creating entirely separate experiences. Sharon confirms the latter. When a merchant senses that an agent rather than a human is visiting, they should render a different version of the website filled with data rather than images. This aligns with what Sharon identifies as three fundamental truths: the customer is the channel, data is the new storefront, and agents are customers too.

The discussion moves to whether merchant sites might eventually become pure APIs without customer-facing elements. Sharon argues for a both-and approach. The brand site remains one channel where people interact with data, and it’s the one channel merchants fully control. However, on third-party agentic channels, merchants don’t control visualization—they only control the data they provide. This makes data investment critical for visibility on channels merchants don’t control, while simultaneously requiring deep investment in owned channels.

Sharon draws a parallel to how marketers have always known that sending better data to Google results in lower cost-per-click because the data more relevantly answers searcher queries. She observes that data specialists are inheriting the earth—the people who once led organic search, then paid advertising, now lead agentic strategy. This mirrors how creative directors once ran websites before being replaced by people who could read website analytics.

The conversation touches on both first-party and third-party AI applications. Sharon describes the baby version of what’s coming as shopper assistants or chatbot experiences on brand websites. However, she sees massive potential in B2B sales assistants trained on the same documentation as human sales representatives. If three-quarters of the sales cycle could progress overnight while sales reps sleep, those reps could focus on high-touch human interactions. Sharon believes B2B commerce will leapfrog B2C experiences through agentic AI because B2B companies are manufacturers with deep data, extensive documentation, and sophisticated pricing structures with custom price books and customer groups.

Brent raises concerns about AI reliability, noting his frustrations with coding assistants that make illogical mistakes and assumptions. He envisions scenarios where an agent searching for hiking shoes for Tuscany presents three options but autonomously purchases one without confirmation. Sharon acknowledges these valid concerns and explains that commerce platforms, channel partners, and payment partners are collaborating on protocols to address exactly these issues.

“You’ve seen more open protocols released in the past six months than like the previous 10 years combined,” Sharon observes. Companies across the industry recognize that nobody wants an internet that isn’t safe or trustworthy. Trust becomes paramount when authorizing agents to shop on behalf of consumers. The human-in-the-loop component requires careful protocol design because transactions now involve four parties: a shopper, a shopper agent, a merchant, and a merchant agent. All four must trust each other.

Sharon mentions specific initiatives like Stripe ACP and PayPal protocols, as well as Google’s AP2 and other agentic protocols. Technology companies are leaning into these challenges because the problems are both complex and exciting. Meanwhile, attorneys are appropriately concerned about data security. Sharon frames this moment as one where the new rules of the internet are being written in the agentic space.

The opportunities this creates excite Sharon tremendously. She asks Brent to imagine rewriting an entire product catalog with a button click using generative AI, based on search terms from various channels. A merchant could refocus their entire catalog around Halloween instantly. Previous limitations—insufficient copywriters or creative resources—no longer apply. While many discuss AI primarily as a cost-reduction tool for operational efficiency, Sharon emphasizes its role as a growth enabler. AI provides jet fuel for existing team members, unlocking capabilities and scale never before possible because humans are freed from operational tasks that robots handle better.

“I would love it if our generation is the last one to use a mouse and a keyboard,” Sharon declares, capturing her optimism about AI’s potential to improve user experiences fundamentally.

Brent agrees and adds that AI’s greatest value for merchants might be identifying what they’re not doing rather than what they should be doing. Instead of worrying about generating content, merchants should focus on finding patterns in their data that reveal missing content opportunities.

Sharon confirms that many Commerce customers use tools to define simulated personas based on actual users, then understand what queries those personas might ask on various channels. Based on those questions, merchants can determine what content they need. She returns to the example of someone in Colorado planning an Italy vacation—does a merchant have the right content to ensure their products get referenced instead of competitors’ products?

Sharon believes marketers who understand what shoppers actually want and can articulate their unique value proposition will win because AI has democratized tooling. All platforms are working to ensure an open, trusted transactional experience with secure data presentation. For brand marketers, this represents an extraordinary opportunity. An army of agents can now support goals that previously required engineering expertise. If someone can think it, dream it, and believe it would deliver good outcomes, they can do it.

As the conversation concludes, Sharon reflects on why she values Ecom Forum. She praises Darin and the Titans group as heartfelt humans in commerce who curate thought leaders dealing with real implementation problems. Despite AI’s omnipresence, Sharon reminds listeners that commerce still centers on humans. Sharon Gee’s insights reveal that success in this new landscape requires merchants to embrace data as their most valuable asset while never losing sight of the human experiences they’re ultimately trying to enhance.

Final Thoughts

The transformation Sharon describes isn’t coming—it’s already here. Merchants who recognize that data has become their new storefront and invest accordingly will capture outsized visibility in channels where attention is rapidly shifting. The bifurcation between human and agent experiences requires technical sophistication, but platforms are building the infrastructure to make this transition manageable. What remains constant is the need to understand customers deeply and articulate unique value clearly. As protocols establish trust frameworks for this four-party transaction ecosystem, the merchants who win won’t just be the ones with the best technology. They’ll be the ones who recognize that while agents are shopping, humans are still the ones making the final decisions—and both deserve experiences built specifically for them. In the end, you might say the future of commerce isn’t just about making transactions easier—it’s about making discovery more intelligent and trust more transparent, one data point at a time.

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