Jason eloquently described the mid-market merchant as a business that doesn’t quite fit into the standard SMB or enterprise categories. These merchants often have complex use cases and unique needs that aren’t easily met by one-size-fits-all solutions. As someone who has worked with numerous mid-market businesses, I can attest to the importance of finding a platform that offers the flexibility and customization required to address their specific challenges.
The Pitfalls of Big Software and Cookie-Cutter Solutions
One of the most significant issues mid-market merchants face is the dominance of big software companies in the e-commerce space. As Jason pointed out, these companies often prioritize their own profit motives over the needs of individual merchants. The result? A homogenized e-commerce experience that lacks the differentiation and customization many mid-market brands rely on to stand out in a crowded market.
I’ve seen firsthand how frustrating it can be for merchants to feel forced into a box, unable to tailor their online presence to their unique brand identity. This is where open-source platforms like Shopware shine, offering the freedom and flexibility to create truly distinctive e-commerce experiences.
The Importance of Adaptability and Customization
As the e-commerce landscape continues to evolve at a breakneck pace, adaptability has become a crucial factor in the success of mid-market merchants. Jason emphasized the significance of choosing a platform that allows for easy customization and integration with emerging technologies like AI.
In my experience, the ability to modify and own your code is a game-changer for mid-market businesses. It allows them to create tailored experiences that align with their brand and business processes, rather than being constrained by the limitations of a rigid, one-size-fits-all solution.
Final Thoughts
My conversation with Jason Nyhus at Shop Talk was an eye-opening exploration of the challenges and opportunities facing mid-market merchants in the e-commerce world. By understanding the unique needs of these businesses and embracing adaptable, customizable solutions, we can help them navigate the complexities of online retail and thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.
If you’d like to learn more about Jason’s insights and the innovative solutions Shopware offers for mid-market merchants, be sure to check out the full podcast episode. And as always, keep the conversation going by sharing your own experiences and strategies for success in the comments below.
FIN Studio Events is revolutionizing the e-commerce photography industry with its cutting-edge technology and collaborative approach. Discover how the upcoming events in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York City are empowering brands and businesses to elevate their online visual content and stay ahead of the curve.
I’m excited to have Nils Jessen, co-founder and CEO of Mabel AI, as our guest on Talk Commerce today. In this insightful conversation, Nils dives into the world of e-commerce advertising and shares how his company is revolutionizing the way brands optimize their ad performance. Let’s explore the key takeaways from our discussion.
The Challenges of Ad Tracking Post-iOS 14.5
One of the main issues Nils highlights is the impact of iOS 14.5 on ad tracking and data quality. He explains:
“Since iOS 14.5 and so on, the data quality has gotten increasingly worse to a point where the algorithm of your ad platform is missing the data to really understand your target audience. And therefore, your targeting becomes worse.”
This change has made it more difficult for ad platforms to effectively target the right audience, leading to suboptimal ad spend and performance.
Mabel AI’s Unique Approach to Solving the Problem
Nils differentiates Mabel AI’s approach from other tools in the market:
“What we’ve basically done is built a completely new architecture of how the tracking script is loaded into your shop, how the data is captured. The data quality is way more complete again, that every single event is captured with as much parameters as possible.”
By focusing on capturing high-quality, raw conversion data and feeding it directly into ad platforms, Mabel AI empowers the algorithms to make better targeting decisions and optimize campaign performance.
The Power of Controlling Your Own Data
One of the key insights Nils shares is the importance of businesses controlling their own conversion data:
“Every business themselves should be able to control their own conversion data. So that if you run an online shop, you should be the entity that controls who gets access and you shouldn’t be like dependent on a few big players that they are like so nice to give you this data.”
By using tools like Mabel AI, e-commerce brands can take ownership of their data flow and reduce their dependence on big tech platforms.
Leveraging AI for Smarter Ad Optimization
Nils emphasizes the role of AI in ad optimization, drawing parallels to the well-known algorithms used by Google and Meta:
“If you’re in the ad space, you have to keep in mind the algorithms by Google and Meta and so on who do the targeting. They are some of the most advanced and biggest AIs that mankind has built and they’ve been there for years.”
He explains how Mabel AI acts as a bridge, providing these powerful algorithms with the best possible training data specific to each business, enabling them to deliver optimal marketing outcomes.
Brent Peterson: Throughout our conversation, Nils provided invaluable insights into the evolving landscape of e-commerce advertising. As someone who has worked with numerous brands on their marketing strategies, I can attest to the importance of having accurate, high-quality data to fuel ad optimization.
Mabel AI’s innovative approach to tracking and data management is a game-changer for businesses looking to maximize their ad performance. By taking control of their data flow and leveraging the power of AI, e-commerce brands can gain a significant competitive advantage in today’s digital marketplace.
I highly recommend checking out the full Talk Commerce episode with Nils Jessen to dive deeper into these topics and learn more about how Mabel AI is transforming the world of e-commerce advertising.
In the ever-evolving landscape of content creation and monetization, a new generation of entrepreneurs has emerged, each with a unique story to tell and invaluable lessons to share. ‘Unleash Your Content Potential: Insights from 33 Trailblazing Entrepreneurs’ is an anthology that delves into the diverse experiences, strategies, and perspectives of these content pioneers.
Recurate unveils its ResaleOS™ 2.0 suite of solutions, transforming how brands approach and capitalize on the booming secondhand market. Discover the groundbreaking features that streamline resale programs and drive growth.
I recently had the pleasure of hosting Mike Micucci, CEO of Fabric Commerce, on the Talk Commerce podcast. With his deep experience in ecommerce, including leadership roles at Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Mike shared fascinating insights into how composable commerce and AI are revolutionizing the omnichannel retail experience. In this post, I’ll highlight some of the key takeaways from our conversation.
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The Power of Composable Commerce
Mike explained that composable commerce provides retailers the flexibility to build the experiences they want while still benefiting from a unified backend platform. Fabric’s composable platform allows retailers to seamlessly manage the full commerce lifecycle, from merchandising to order fulfillment.
As Mike put it, “Commerce doesn’t stop at checkout. It’s just getting started.” I couldn’t agree more. Composable commerce empowers brands to craft unique customer journeys that extend beyond the buy button.
Accelerating Omnichannel with Fabric
For retailers looking to enhance their omnichannel capabilities, Mike outlined two key approaches with Fabric’s platform:
Incrementally add discrete services like real-time inventory or advanced promotions to their existing tech stack
Implement a comprehensive omnichannel solution by leveraging Fabric’s pre-built “primitives” – mini-apps that accelerate time-to-market and reduce complexity
Having seen many retailers struggle with siloed systems and inconsistent experiences, I’m excited by Fabric’s vision for a unified omnichannel platform. It’s a game-changer.
The Transformative Power of AI
Mike and I also discussed the transformative potential of AI in commerce. While many retailers have adopted basic machine learning for product recommendations, Mike envisions AI driving significant operational improvements.
By harnessing data across merchandising, fulfillment, and returns, AI can enable dynamic pricing, intelligent inventory allocation, and proactive decision-making. As Mike noted, this was previously only possible for retail giants like Amazon. But with platforms like Fabric democratizing access to advanced AI, every retailer can now unlock this potential.
The implications are vast – I believe we’ll see AI fundamentally reshaping how brands operate and engage customers in the coming years.
Unifying Digital and Physical Retail
Finally, Mike emphasized the importance of blending digital and physical experiences into one cohesive customer journey. Fabric’s platform empowers retailers to offer seamless omnichannel scenarios – browse online, purchase in-store; buy on mobile, pick up curbside; endless aisles in fitting rooms – all on a single platform.
This unified approach powered by robust APIs is key to meeting modern customer expectations. I’m thrilled to see composable commerce and platforms like Fabric making this level of integration achievable for retailers of all sizes.
Boosting Performance and Flexibility with Fabric’s Ethos
One aspect of Fabric’s approach that stood out to me was their ethos of “boost what’s there, make it better and faster.” Mike explained how this allows retailers to incrementally adopt Fabric’s services to enhance their existing infrastructure, rather than ripping and replacing everything at once.
This modular approach, enabled by composable architecture, gives brands the agility to tackle their most pressing needs first, then layer in additional capabilities over time. From my experience, this agile mindset is essential for success in today’s fast-moving retail environment.
The Symbiosis of Composable Commerce and Omnichannel
Throughout our discussion, it became clear that composable commerce and omnichannel retail are intricately linked. The modularity and flexibility of composable architectures perfectly align with the demands of omnichannel selling.
As customer journeys increasingly criss-cross between digital and physical touchpoints, retailers need the ability to rapidly compose and recompose experiences. Fabric’s platform, with its comprehensive suite of APIs and pre-built components, makes this level of agility possible.
Empowering Store Associates with Clienteling
One exciting use case Mike highlighted was clienteling – equipping store associates with tools to deliver personalized, high-touch service. Historically, clienteling has been challenging due to disconnected systems and data silos.
But with a unified platform like Fabric, associates can now access customer profiles, past purchase history, product information, and inventory data in real-time. This empowers them to deliver the kind of consultative, omnichannel experiences that drive loyalty and revenue.
As brick-and-mortar retail rebounds post-pandemic, I believe clienteling will be a key differentiator. Composable commerce makes it achievable at scale.
As I reflect on my conversation with Mike, I’m struck by the vast potential of composable commerce to reshape retail. By breaking down monolithic systems into modular, API-driven components, retailers can finally achieve the speed and flexibility needed to thrive in the omnichannel era.
Moreover, the convergence of composable architectures and AI opens up exciting new possibilities. From dynamic pricing to predictive merchandising, retailers can now harness data and intelligence in previously unimaginable ways.
Of course, technology is just one piece of the puzzle. Retailers must also foster a culture of agility, experimentation, and customer-centricity. But with platforms like Fabric providing the technological foundation, I believe we’ll see a new generation of retailers redefining what’s possible in omnichannel commerce.
If you’re as passionate about the future of retail as I am, I invite you to listen to my full Talk Commerce podcast episode with Mike Micucci. And if you’ll be at Shoptalk, swing by the Fabric booth to see their technology in action.
The retail renaissance is here – and it’s composable. Let’s embrace this exciting new era together.
parcelLab, the premier retail, e-commerce, and post-purchase customer experience platform, has announced the appointment of Noel Hamill as its new Global Chief Marketing Officer. Hamill’s extensive expertise will be instrumental in shaping parcelLab’s global go-to-market strategy and vision, helping to transform the customer journey and fuel the company’s next stage of business growth.
SHOPLINE, the leading global provider of unified commerce solutions, is unveiling its latest advancements at Shoptalk, the premier global gathering of retail and ecommerce leaders. With social commerce expected to reach a staggering $2.9 trillion by 2026, SHOPLINE is strategically positioned to help brands capitalize on this fast-growing trend through its industry-leading, all-in-one platform.
In this episode of Talk Commerce, we have the pleasure of speaking with Matt Butler, CEO and co-founder of Bonsai. Bonsai is a company that measures and generates incremental outcomes for their clients through the power of first-party data. With a background in retail analytics at Google and a passion for data-driven storytelling, Matt brings a wealth of knowledge to the conversation.
The Shift in Digital Marketing
Matt discusses the changing landscape of digital marketing, particularly in the post-pandemic era. He notes that the days of simply throwing money at Google and Facebook ads to drive growth are gone. As he puts it:
“The attention around your consumer is incredibly sophisticated. So many platforms, it’s competitive. And so everyone’s sort of hit this sort of plateau, is what we hear.”
To overcome this plateau, businesses need to focus on generating incremental outcomes through first-party data.
The Power of First-Party Data
Bonsai’s approach to measurement revolves around leveraging a business’s own sales data, customer behavior insights, and touchpoints. By stitching these elements together, they can provide a deeper understanding of customer acquisition and optimization. Matt explains:
“A business is zoned sales data, customer behavior insights and identity and touch points, those things, when stitched together, can dive deeper so that when you’re thinking about acquiring a customer from a Google, you can see what else that customer is doing. You can understand if it’s really a new one or how to optimize media to find that next new customer.”
Small Wins, Big Impact
When it comes to measuring success, Matt emphasizes the importance of small wins. He shares an example:
“Some of our big wins were helping clients take, you know, pools of like large pools of money for acquisition, drive 15% better throughput, right? And you’re like, okay, 15%, you know, guys, that’s 10 million more incremental annual dollars, right?”
These seemingly small percentages can translate into significant business growth when applied at scale.
Unifying Customer Data
For retailers with both online and brick-and-mortar presence, Matt stresses the importance of having a single source of truth for customer identity. He advises:
“If you’ve got online and you’re going into stores, unify that customer ID, right? Like use a point of sale that like you can bring that data together if you’re a brick and mortar going online. Same approach, right? Have a single view of your own customer.”
By unifying customer data across channels, businesses can gain a more complete view of their customers and make data-driven decisions.
The Future of Data in Retail
Looking ahead to 2024, Matt sees a mainstream realization of the need for retailers to own their customer conversation and data. He predicts:
“This year is definitely like, you’re not getting your house in order, you’re probably officially going to start falling behind.”
Businesses that prioritize first-party data and measurement will be well-positioned for success in the coming years.
As the retail landscape continues to evolve, the insights shared by Matt Butler and Bonsai demonstrate the critical role that first-party data plays in driving growth. By leveraging their own customer data, businesses can make informed decisions, optimize their marketing efforts, and ultimately achieve incremental outcomes.
To learn more about how first-party data can benefit your business, be sure to listen to the full episode of Talk Commerce featuring Matt Butler.
