retail analytics

Ben Dutter

AI and Analytics: Transforming the Future of eCommerce with Ben Dutter at eTail Palm Springs

On a special episode of Talk Commerce from E-Tail West, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Ben Dutter, Chief Strategy Officer at Power Digital. Ben, whose name he explains is “like butter with a D,” brings extensive experience in helping over 600 brands grow through strategy, marketing, and data measurement.

The Democratization of Analytics Through AI

One of the most striking insights from our conversation was how AI is revolutionizing access to analytics. Ben highlighted that what once required hours of analysis by skilled professionals can now be accomplished in minutes by anyone with access to AI tools. “The interface reducing the friction of accessing that data has been the biggest boon in the last couple of years,” Ben explained.

As someone who’s seen the evolution of ecommerce analytics firsthand, I was particularly intrigued by Power Digital’s internal tool that allows clients to query their data through a chat-based interface. This democratization of data access represents a significant shift in how businesses can make informed decisions.

The Current State of AI: Challenges and Opportunities

During our discussion, Ben candidly addressed the elephant in the room – AI hallucinations. While the technology has made remarkable strides, he advised caution when using AI for major business decisions. “It’s still about 10 to 15 percent things that completely just don’t exist,” he noted regarding AI-generated research, emphasizing the continued need for human verification.

The Future of Shopping: AI Agents and Commerce

Perhaps the most fascinating part of our conversation centered on the future of AI shopping agents. Ben shared his vision of tools like Perplexity evolving into full-service shopping assistants capable of completing transactions. This led to an interesting discussion about how merchants need to prepare their infrastructure for this emerging technology.

SEO Evolution in an AI-Driven World

The impact of AI on SEO cannot be overlooked. Ben referenced HubSpot’s recent experience with traffic loss due to chat bots, highlighting how traditional search patterns are shifting. This brings up crucial considerations for merchants planning their digital strategies.

Strategic Planning for Peak Shopping Seasons

When it comes to preparing for major shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Ben emphasized the importance of long-term planning. “Black Friday starts January 1st,” he noted, stressing the significance of building mental availability and brand awareness throughout the year.

The Future of Retail: Online vs. Physical Presence

Our conversation concluded with an insightful discussion about the balance between online and physical retail. Ben shared the striking statistic that approximately 80% of all transactions (excluding gas and grocery) still occur in physical stores, providing valuable context for merchants considering their omnichannel strategies.


As we wrapped up our conversation, Ben introduced FusePoint, Power Digital’s new sub-agency focused on pre and post-marketing strategy. This new venture aims to help brands develop effective go-to-market strategies while ensuring measurable results.

For those interested in connecting with Ben or learning more about Power Digital’s work, you can find him on LinkedIn – he’s the only Ben Dutter in the world, as he proudly notes.

This conversation with Ben highlighted the rapid evolution of ecommerce and the critical role AI plays in shaping its future. As we continue to navigate these changes, it’s clear that staying informed and adaptable will be key to success in the digital commerce landscape.


Want to hear more insights from Ben Dutter? Listen to the full Talk Commerce episode for a deeper dive into these topics and more.

Resultiks

Resulticks SHOP Platform Bridges Digital-Physical Retail Divide with AI-Powered Innovation

Resulticks introduces SHOP, an AI-powered platform that unifies physical and digital retail experiences, enabling personalized customer engagement and improved attribution across all shopping channels.

Talk Commerce - Matt Butler

Driving Growth Through First-Party Data: Insights from Bonsai’s Matt Butler

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.