The Space Bar: Ecommerce Podcast by Space 48

The Web Almanac report is an annual review of the state of eCommerce which was authored this year by our very own Tom Robertshaw. We discuss how eCommerce websites are built, their performance, and other technologies that are commonly used by eCommerce sites. Topics we cover from the report: An introduction to Web Almanac and the methodology from the report Top eCommerce platforms and what are the...

Do you have a BigCommerce store but you don't know which apps are the best...? Don't worry, we have got you covered. We have used our experience as BigCommerce Agency Partner of the year to shortlist the best apps in the BC App Marketplace based on the following categories: CMS Shipping Experience & Back office Workflows Back in stock notifications ESP Subscriptions  Search & Merchand...

The B2B customer is evolving, they’re no longer a user of fax machines or even a mobile device to make calls. They’re shoppers like you and I so how should B2B businesses be changing their approach to digital commerce to accommodate for this new generation of B2B customers. How does the commerce experience differ and where does it start to cross over into B2C? Should eCommerce technology companies...

What is generally considered as the busiest week of the year for most retailers, the Black Friday / Cyber Monday period can see many retailers doing over 50% of their annual sales in just 7 days. With opportunity comes risk so what can retailers be putting in place to make sure their peak period doesn't end in disaster? On this week's episode of the Space Bar Podcast we talk to two technology comp...

In this week's episode we discuss a topic which has been the source of much debate within the digital commerce industry over the past couple of years and that is Headless. We breakdown what headless actually means at a non-technical level and why it's important for the future of digital commerce. We discuss why merchants should consider a headless approach, including the benefits it brings them an...

With the high street still recovering from a traumatic period where for many weeks and months, many retail stores were unable to open, we discuss what physical retail can and must learn from digital commerce. Now that many consumers have found a new and more convenient way to shop online, what must the high street do to lure consumers back into their stores? We discuss our personal frustrations fr...

This week's episode of the Space Bar is addressing payments in digital and physical retail and asking the question, when did payments become so complicated? There's a wealth of different payment service providers (PSPs) in the market now, all offering a multitude of different options for consumers to choose from. But why have we seen this steady rise in the number of providers out there and how sh...

Globalisation is providing new opportunities for online retailers. As the world becomes more connected and selling across borders becomes more efficient and easier to handle, online brands and retailers are embracing the opportunity to expand their market presence and to make their offers available to a broader consumer base. However, the rise of internationalisation has also forced online retaile...

On this week's episode we talk to 2 retailers in the sports vertical to get their take on how they have been using Shopify Plus to grown their online businesses. We discuss their journeys to selecting Shopify Plus as their eCommerce platform, what it's like to work with day to day, including their go to apps to help improve their customer experience. We also discuss what the future holds for their...

On this episode of the Space Bar Podcast, we're discussing the much anticipated announcements from the recent Shopify Unite partner and developer conference. Every year Shopify hold an event to discuss what they've been working on for the past 12 months and very often announce some major bombshells! This year was no exception so we're joined by Peter Hicks, Tech Lead at Space 48 and Kieran Cole, a...

Welcome back to the Go Global With Your Ecommerce mini-series on the Space Bar Podcast in partnership with BigCommerce. In episode 4, we're focusing on product information and product experience management with our partner Akeneo, discussing the differences between PIM and PXM and how to avoid common mistakes in setting up your product data in international commerce. We're joined by James Bar...

Welcome back to the Go Global With Your Ecommerce mini-series on the Space Bar Podcast in partnership with BigCommerce. In episode 3, we're focusing on shipping and fulfilment in international ecommerce with our partner ShipperHQ and discussing how to deliver an Amazon style checkout experience to your international customers. We're joined by Quentin Montalto, COO, ShipperHQ , our eCom Platfo...

In this episode we discuss the changing landscape of Magento following the Adobe Summit with official updates on the future and we also discuss the future from the Magento Community. We breakdown the announcements, how the platform will change under the stewardship of Adobe and what this means to merchants, developers and agencies.  We also discuss Hyvä Themes and how it is shaking up the wor...

Welcome back to the Go Global With Your Ecommerce mini-series on the Space Bar Podcast in partnership with BigCommerce. In episode 2, we're focusing on payment gateways in international ecommerce with our partner Adyen and discussing the need for local payment methods in each region, how these can affect conversion and some examples of retailers who are doing this really well. We're joined by...

In this episode we discuss the wonderful world of BigCommerce Apps with our Innovation Director Tom Robertshaw . We discuss the BigCommerce platform and how the app ecosystem works within the Open-SaaS approach to e-commerce plus all the learning along the way. We compare and contrast the process of building apps and extensions on other platforms Vs BC as well as share more about our future plans....

Welcome to the Go Global With Your Ecommerce mini-series on the Space Bar Podcast in partnership with BigCommerce. In this episode, we are starting the series with taxes and customs in international ecommerce with our partner Avalara. We cover tax obligations, customs rules and regulations to consider when trading in new markets with:Mark Carpenter, Senior Manager, Strategic Alliances, at Ava...

In this episode, we discuss our Top 5 actionable tactics of how you can grow your e-commerce business if there is more of a considered customer journey involved.  For Vertices such as home furniture, white goods, electrical equipment or gadgets i.e. drones you need to adapt your approach and you will get advice on how you can improve from our team of consultants. Top 5 Tips for Considered Com...

In this episode we discuss the Home & Garden online retail vertical which in 2020 was estimated to have grown by over 20%. What makes Home & Garden different from other retail verticals and how do strategies for acquisition, conversion and retention of new customers differ from that of fashion or other verticals? We are joined by Mike Murray, MD and Founder of bed and mattress retailer, La...

This episode is part 2 of our exclusive interview with Brent Bellm, the CEO of the eCommerce platform, BigCommerce. In this part, our MD Jon Woodall gets more into Brent's role at BigCommerce, why BigCommerce is different to the other eCommerce platforms out there and what his vision is for the business. We talk future expansion plans, the ecosystem that surrounds BigCommerce and how BigCommerce h...

In this special 2 part episode, Space 48's Managing Director has a one on one intimate chat with the CEO of BigCommerce, Brent Bellm. We get to find out about Brent's childhood and his family history, what he got up to at school, college and university and what set him up on his path to being the CEO of one of the biggest eCommerce platforms in the world. We discuss who inspired Brent in his earli...

In a special bonus episode of the Space Bar Podcast, we have an exclusive interview with former Magento Evangelist, Ben Marks on the day he officially announced he had joined German based eCommerce platform Shopware. We get the inside scoop on his decision to join Shopware and what led to him moving on from Magento after nearly 7 years. We discuss his new role at Shopware and how he hopes to conti...

On this special edition episode in honour of International Women’s Day, we’re discussing the subject of pushing for a gender balance in tech.  It’s no secret that there is a gender imbalance in the industry. We want to know what’s behind this gender imbalance and how can we encourage more women into the industry and the less represented roles? Our host, Erica is joined by three amazing women...

In this week's episode we interview Cat Evans, Marketing Director at Tech 21 to get a behind the scenes look at what makes the business so successful and a personal insight into how Cat ended up in a marketing career, despite her interests being in a completely different area! We discuss her previous role at Amazon, and how if you didn't know and own your numbers, you wouldn't make a success of yo...

On this week's episode we're unpicking the top eCommerce stories of the past few weeks and discussing what is happening on the high street and what it will look like when we get out of the current lockdown. We specifically cover: 1. Primark 'refusing' to go online despite suffering a rumoured £1bn loss during the pandemic 2. The Boohoo acquisition of Debenhams 3, ASOS acquiring the Arcadia group b...

In this week's episode we have an open discussion around the impact we've seen so far of Brexit on both retailers and customers in the UK and in the EU. There's been so many stories coming out in the news over the past few weeks with consumers being hit with large duty and import tax charges, we wanted to get to the bottom of what's going on and how the trade deal is affecting merchants shipping i...