Unboxing Ecommerce: Operations Behind Online Brands

James and Jennifer order from Warby Parker and feel trusted. Why Warby Parker?  Counterpoint to Sunglass Hut (Oakley, Ray-Bans, LensCrafters, Pearle Vision) dominance. Research included these sources : Warby Parker:  https://www.warbyparker.com/history The Business Model Analyst:  https://businessmodelanalyst.com/warby-parker-business-model/ Knowledge at Wharton:  https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.e...

James and Jennifer go off-format to discuss Returns with a panel of experts at Manifest Las Vegas . Special guests Jeff Wolpov (SVP, Ryder Ecommerce ), Jonathan Poma (CEO, Loop ), and Kyle Bertin (CEO, Two Boxes ). Recorded, edited, and mastered by Matt and Alex, Podcaster Studios , Las Vegas _______________ Have a brand/shopping experience you want us to review? Send us a message at unboxingecomm...

James and Jennifer order from Bloomingdale's and guest Maia Benson (ex-Shopify) gets free shipping from Bangalore, India. Why Bloomingdale's / Macy's?  Our first guest ever Maia Benson talks about nostalgia, experiencing something “special”, and the desire to tap a certain use case in her online shopping. Research included these sources : Bloomingdale’s: https://www.bloomingdales.co...

James and Jennifer order from Urban Outfitters and James falls apart. Why Urban Outfitters?  They are a sophisticated family of demographic-oriented businesses. Research included these sources : URBN:  https://www.urbn.com/home Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_Outfitters Financial Times:  https://markets.ft.com/data/equities/tearsheet/profile?s=URBN:NSQ Global Data:  https://www.glo...

Community and connection come up more than once as James and Jennifer consider Powell's e-tail backend like an archaeological dig into the past. Once they get their packages, they go absolutely bananas over the branded packing slip, supporting their theory that Powell's might just care more about the physical, tangible, in-person connection to their customers than updating their technolo...

James and Jennifer order from netflix.shop.  Jennifer is not impressed with the shopping experience, surprising James, who didn't have the same visceral reaction.  They talk about localization and get a bit emotional as they embrace the moniker MLP.  In the end, they are kind of delighted with the tech stack and the story it told. Research included these sources : Netflix:  https://about.netf...

James and Jennifer order from Bombas and receive their first-ever package without a packing slip.  They get emo over workers in ecomm, about dry, healthy feet, and about their orders generating goodness in multiples.  There's a lot of love and heart-feels in this episode. Research included these sources : Bombas website:  https://shop.bombas.com/pages/about-us Bombas Impact Report, 2022:  htt...

James and Jennifer talk about a recent dog-sitting adventure and a Mattress Factory mystery before they order socks from Stance. They get into Stance's ties to skateboarding, Rihanna, and artists then go deep into their packages' journeys, pixels, QR codes, and bare-bones packing slips. They haven't gotten over their disappointment with the Fenty lipstick "debacle". Resear...

James and Jennifer order refillable lipstick (and mascara for Jennifer) from Fenty Beauty to analyze the shopping experience, then reverse engineer the storage, logistics, and packaging details to understand their order's journey. Research on Fenty Beauty included these sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenty_Beauty https://440industries.com/fenty-beauty-history-case-study-rihannas-story...

James and Jennifer order a base-layer garment from Patagonia to analyze the shopping experience, then reverse engineer the storage, logistics, and packaging details to understand their garments' journey. Research on Patagonia included these sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonia,_Inc . https://brandminds.com/patagonia-the-story-behind-the-brand/ https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/cl...

Unboxing Ecommerce is coming soon to your favorite podcast places. Episodes drop every other Tuesday starting November 7th. James and Jennifer order products from brands to analyze the shopping experience, then reverse engineer the storage, logistics, and packaging details to understand their order's journey. _______________ Have a brand/shopping experience you want us to review? Send us a me...