Future Commerce

On Headless, Influencers, and Live Streaming What does digital marketing attribution look like if there are no cookies? And what are people doing in response to this? Frantic behavior.  “Frantic behavior can be exciting because that means there is opportunity to be part of the solution.” - Gary Product market fit is beginning to become influencer fit. Consumers want to buy from experiences and fro...

Accounting Platforms for Business Data that have Climate Impact SustainaBase is a software program that helps manage the carbon footprint of a company, akin to an accounting platform. SuistainaBase tracks carbon emissions, as well as water and waste metrics, taking data and science calculations to organizations to create meaningful actions. “Sustainability is important and it's something that we s...

God-Like Technology  Pattern is a family of purposeful brands providing the essentials to make, shape, and grow a home- the foundation of daily life. The times we are living in are culturally defining. People have a deep ingrained need for personal and internal connection, it's bigger than digital behavior, it's deeper. “There is a future where people are going to find some way to silence the digi...

Facing the Cookiepocalypse Octane AI is the zero-party data platform for Shopify and eCommerce brands.  “We help stores and brands collect super valuable insights on their customers in a very direct opt-on kind of way and use that information to personalize the shopping experience.” -Ben How can brands bounce back from the cookiepocalypse? Stop depending on others and own your data. “Stop renting...

“FBA” - Fruit by the Acre? More like Fulfillment by Amazon Boosted Commerce is an eCommerce platform working to distribute the most up-and-coming brands on a global basis. “We started Boosted really as a way of identifying these amazing businesses and brands that people have created.” -Keith Amazon is the world's largest shopping mall, and its importance is only going to increase over time. By get...

Burn Your Own House Down Before Somebody Else Does  Pela is a waste innovation platform. Selling the world's first compostable phone case along with eyewear, countertop compost systems , and haircare. “We design waste out of the human experience. We’re a weird combination of commerce DTC, while also investing in material science, and figuring out how to get waste out of everyday products.” -Matt “...

Building for the Future of Ecommerce Logistics ShipBob is a full service fulfillment platform coming out of a remarkable Series E that clocked in at $200 Million. ShipBob has been a partner of Future Commerce for a while now and we couldn’t wait to talk about this incredible raise. There are a lot of different shipping solutions across the buyer journey, and it can lead to a bit of confusion. Ship...

The “84-Point Check”, but Make it Human With almost a million and a half associates in the United States and 150 million customers in stores and online, it's safe to say they’re one of the largest retailers in the world. But what are they doing in health? A lot, it seems. Walmart has been in the healthcare world since the 70s; they realize that they have a significant role to play. With 90% of Ame...

“OMG CDP”  Wait. What exactly is CDP? Customer Data Platform. Wielding CDP well means brands can provide a freaky-personal experience for customers. Customers will freely give brands their first-party data if it means their experience will be better. Don’t blow it by making their experience worse. “If the expected behavior is convenience, then not only it's not freaky, it's what they're hoping and...

The Multiverse is Real  “Brands are like cows because it’s very easy for them to understand how things affect them, but it's very hard to see how things in the world affect others.” -Brian Technology can act as a containing—or limiting—factor. It can enable cost savings, but it can also be an enabler of more meaningful interactions. Shopify is looking to the future as a global empowerment of a mer...

The Internet is a Literal Web Congratulations to friend of the show, Ian Leslie, and to Industry West for ranking on 2PM’s DNVB list and for Adobe Experience Maker Awards. Phillip and Brian talk about the Adobe Experience Maker Awards, the rankings, and ask the question of how some brands are ranked so highly.  Millennials didn’t invent meal prep delivery. Schwann foods, and catalog delivery — eve...

Headless Checkout Domm gives the story behind the creation of Fast, how a family member forgetting a password sparked an idea for easier checkouts across all platforms. “Our goal is to build a consumer network” -Domm The challenges faced as a leader and facing polarizing feedback. “It’s our job to protect consumer data, and consumer payments. This is typically the default relationship that consume...

“It’s like shipping inception” Are we in a Shipping Inception or are 3PLs and 4PLs really that complicated?  Identifying where your customers are is key in choosing the right 3PL solution for warehousing and shipping.  “Despite the Amazon narrative, not everyone needs everything in 30 seconds… I think it's critically important for brands to manage customer expectations, meaning if you don't have t...

The Post-Purchase Experience Consumer expectations are almost unfair for smaller businesses. But that doesn’t mean brands can’t continue to provide a great post-purchase experience.  Many brands have turned to 3PLs to help meet the demand of fast shipping and to keep shipping costs lower.  “Brands have to be more transparent with customers. They need to give customers a choice around what services...

A Different Innovation  “Shipping is a growth engine. The entire web is possible, all eCommerce is possible because you could ship stuff. The question is, how do you master that in a way that is intentional as a brand or as a marketplace?” - James  As the largest resale marketplace, the mechanics of Flyp are run differently. Flyp works to connect owners with sellers, creating a different experienc...

Not a Cookie Cutter Method With the rise of shipageddon, shipping has become about getting products to the customer as safe and quickly as possible. Due to the different mentalities and thought processes of shopping during COVID, many customers choose different methods causing businesses to shift their concerns of shipping. “It's not just a cookie cutter thing where you're doing clothes or a hat o...

It’s All About the Mindset Michelle McNamara joins the show to talk about the common pain points of shipping among merchants, and how the pandemic has impacted e-commerce with the shifts of consumer behavior.  Shipping is not one size fits all, it's unique to every business. Shipping should be thought of as a key differentiator to add value to your business.   “Think of ways you can increase your...

The 16-Year Old CPG Startup Kevin shares his incredible work at Nuun Energy and their growth of being acquired by Nestlé Health Science. Sustainability and ESG are at the forefront of product innovation for Nuun, but category innovation and form factor are top of mind in fast moving consumer goods and CPG, as well. When it comes to health and creating new connections, information is right at our f...

Fair Trade, Fair Labor, and Sustainable Chocolate is Possible Shipping chocolate is challenging enough, but sourcing and housing craft chocolate from global suppliers, and creating a marketplace for consumers who have very specific expectations around buying and consuming chocolate is harder still. The challenges of creating a great customer experience with shipping delays in the midst of COVID cr...

Content Creation and Open-Ended Conversations For the Love is a DTC newsletter covering mission-driven companies and aims to provide meaningful content for entrepreneurs and founders. The trio shares the joys and pains of producing weekly content and how that informs their own understanding of the market. Creating content is a means of learning and growing, and developing a cadence that requires y...

Nostalgia and Monoculture Rob shares the story of how Rally acquired a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and their plan to make it accessible to the public Gen Z is growing up to be a completely different wealth creation cycle then the one that currently exists Rob breaks down how Rally operates, the legal system that makes their IPOs possible, and how the system they created is both an onl...

The agency world doesn’t get enough respect Agencies are a necessary part of fractionalizing expertise. Legal and accounting are good examples of fractionalized professional services. The more mature you are as a business, the more it becomes imperative to bring those capabilities in house. Proof points of DTC brands who acquired professional services: Ro and Glossier Agencies are concentrators of...

The Big Pivot: From Physical Products to Headless Commerce The core idea of the pivot from physical products to software was the basis of our piece in Insiders #070: Phenomenological Brands , which is how we booked Arfa (now Chord) to the Show. The Chord team’s background in deploying technology at Glossier informed the need for unique eCommerce experiences, and headless represents a shift from th...

Society and Audience Connection There’s a difference in connection with audiences—connection through logic (written) and connection through emotion (art). On emotional connection: “...when it connects with somebody, it deepens the experience of the things you’re trying to say through words.” - Phillip Jackson Lumi is a software company connecting packaging manufacturers to brands and creating last...

A perfect rating isn’t perfect. Who knew? Validation on the web has been undermined by farms and bots, and trust is harder to build than ever before. Technology can solve for some of the challenges in building trust with your customers. In this episode we dive into the the complexity of building trust, and the paradox of how running an Amazon Prime operation can help you get better at delivering i...