eCommerce Podcast

With over 10,000 3PLs in the US alone, how do you avoid choosing one that sinks your business? Dave Gulas from EZDC 3PL shares the horror stories he's witnessed and the questions that separate good logistics partners from disasters waiting to happen.In this episode, we explore why treating logistics as a commodity leads to problems, how to vet a fulfilment partner properly, and the operational details that matter when you're shipping thousands of orders monthly. Dave's background in the pharmaceutical industry, where urgency is non-negotiable, shaped his approach to e-commerce fulfilment. He shares what he looks for in great clients (spoiler: they ask the most questions) and why his sales cycle runs several months by design.Key Point Timestamps:07:06 - What EZDC 3PL does and who they serve08:57 - When outsourcing fulfilment makes sense22:45 - Why treating logistics as a commodity fails27:43 - Horror stories from bad 3PL partnerships32:37 - The technology stack that matters40:59 - Warehouse layout for efficiency48:20 - The questions to ask before choosingThe Partnership Mindset (22:45)Dave doesn't respond to enquiries that simply ask "what's your pricing?" without context. His reasoning is straightforward."It truly is a partnership. When you get into a business partnership with somebody, are you just going to look someone up online, ask a couple of questions and sign the contract? I hope not."The brands that treat logistics as a commodity, shopping purely on price, often end up with the problems Dave sees repeatedly. His sales cycle runs several months because both sides need to establish clear expectations before committing.The Horror Stories (27:43)Dave has heard them all. Warehouses going bust without telling clients. Inventory tracked on spreadsheets. Response times measured in days."We've heard all the horror stories you can think of from literally the warehouse going out of business because they defaulted on their lease and not telling the brand and basically stealing inventory."These aren't edge cases. When they happen, it's "a big hole to dig out of." Sometimes businesses don't recover.The Technology Stack (32:37)Dave uses ShipHero as his warehouse management system. But the specific system matters less than having a proper one at all."I'm shocked at how many actual 3PLs are out there where they're tracking inventory on spreadsheets and they're doing things manually. I have brands talk to me like, can you connect to our Shopify? Is that possible? They don't even realise that's possible because they're coming from a warehouse that doesn't do that."If a potential partner mentions spreadsheets, that's your cue to walk away.The Questions That Matter (48:20)Dave's best advice is simple: ask more questions. The best long-term relationships start with the most questions on the front end."The best clients, the best long-term relationships are the ones that ask the most questions on the front end. So we're happy to answer them. You can't ask too many."Ask about their technology stack. Ask for references. Do a site visit if possible. The goal isn't to catch them out. It's to establish clear expectations before you commit.Today's GuestToday's guest: Dave GulasCompany: EZDC 3PLWebsite: ezdc3pl.comLinkedIn: Connect with Dave on LinkedIn

Companies that capture and apply lessons have a 27% higher success rate. Yet most eCommerce founders either skip their year-end review entirely or give their numbers a cursory glance. In this Slingshot episode, Matt Edmundson shares the framework that saved LEGO from bankruptcy and reveals why accountability partners increase goal achievement by 95%.Episode SummaryMatt opens with the remarkable story of LEGO's near-collapse in 2003, when the company discovered it hadn't generated economic profit for over a decade. Through confronting brutal facts with honest review, they transformed into one of the world's most successful brands. We explore the common traps founders fall into during reviews, including the dangerous 'genius trap' when things go well. Matt introduces the Slingshot framework covering seven essential business areas, explains the critical difference between lead and lag measures, and shares the specific financial and customer metrics worth tracking. The episode closes with compelling research on why doing reviews alone limits your potential.Key Point Timestamps:00:18 - The Importance of Year-End Reviews01:16 - How LEGO Saved Themselves from Bankruptcy04:49 - Common Review Pitfalls and the Genius Trap14:00 - The 7 Areas of the Slingshot Framework22:00 - Lead Measures vs Lag Measures27:00 - The Numbers Worth Tracking33:53 - The Power of Accountability PartnersLEGO's Brutal Facts Revival (01:16)In 2003, LEGO was on the brink of bankruptcy with sales down 30% and $800 million in debt. This was a company that hadn't made a loss between 1932 and 1998. When leadership finally conducted a thorough review, they discovered the company hadn't generated any economic profit for more than ten years."They didn't know which products actually made money. They didn't know their customers anymore," Matt explains. "As one executive put it, the culture was so closed off that massive opportunities were completely invisible."The result of confronting these brutal facts? Nearly 20% compound growth over two decades. By 2020, they'd launched an entire 18+ product line for the adult customers they'd previously ignored.The Genius Trap (04:49)Matt introduces a subtle trap that catches founders when things actually go well. When the facts aren't brutal, it's dangerously easy to cherry-pick wins and build narratives that feel good but teach nothing."The goal isn't to prove you're brilliant. It's to understand what actually worked, what didn't, and where to focus next," Matt emphasises. "Imagine presenting your findings to a board of directors. What would you proudly share? And what would you rather not mention? That second list is where the real insights live."This isn't ego management. It's pattern recognition that drives genuine improvement.The Slingshot Framework: 7 Areas That Matter (14:00)After years of building and selling eCommerce businesses, Matt shares the seven interconnected areas that meaningful reviews need to cover:1. Sell (Product) — Which products are your real winners versus quietly draining resources?2. Story (Brand) — Do you truly understand who you're serving and is your messaging landing?3. Tech Stack — Is your technology helping or hindering? Are systems integrated or fragmented?4. Marketing — If your main marketing channel disappeared tomorrow, would your business survive?5. Optimise (Conversion) — When did you last watch a real customer try to use your site?6. Experience (Post-Purchase) — Is your post-purchase journey building loyalty or losing customers?7. Growth — Which growth lever has the most room to improve?The 95% Accountability Advantage (33:53)Matt closes with research that shows having an accountability partner increases the likelihood of achieving your goals by 95%, compared to just 10% when working alone."Reviewing in isolation has limits. You'll be kinder to yourself than you should be. You'll miss the blind spots that others are gonna catch for you," Matt notes. This is precisely why the eCommerce Cohort was created — a free monthly group where founders share challenges, give feedback, and hold each other accountable.Episode link: https://www.ecommerce-podcast.com/year-end-review-most-ecommerce-founders-skip

What does the Nativity story have to do with running an eCommerce business? In this special Christmas Day message, Matt Edmundson draws some beautifully tenuous parallels between shepherds, mangers, and Joseph, and the journey of every Digital David building something meaningful.Episode SummaryThis isn't a typical episode with frameworks and downloads. It's a cup of tea and a heartfelt thank you. Matt reflects on the meaning of Advent (the arrival of something wonderful) and finds unexpected connections between the Christmas story and the eCommerce journey. From early customers who become unlikely evangelists, to bootstrap operations that are sufficient for their purpose, to the quiet faithfulness of just doing the work without needing the spotlight.Key Point Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction02:25 - The Magic of Advent04:47 - The Shepherds (Your First Evangelists)06:59 - The Manger (Your Bootstrap Operation)09:11 - Joseph (Quiet Faithful Execution)11:32 - A Thank You to Digital DavidsThe Shepherds: Your First Evangelists (04:47)The shepherds weren't the target demographic for announcing a royal birth. They were society's undesirables. Yet they became the first evangelists, so moved by what they saw that they couldn't stop telling everyone.Your early customers might be similar. They're not the fancy influencers with high follower counts. They're the ones who discovered you before you were polished, before the fancy branding and proper email sequences. They found something genuine and couldn't stop talking about it.Matt shares a story from Jersey (his old beauty company) about a lady who wrote blogs from another country, bringing in tens of thousands of pounds in sales monthly. These early adopters spread your story in a way no marketing budget could ever buy.The Manger: Your Bootstrap Operation Is Enough (06:59)Jesus was laid in a feeding trough. Not exactly the expected birthplace for a king. Yet the wise men still brought their finest gifts, recognising true worth beyond humble circumstances.Your eCommerce business might not look as impressive as your well-funded competitors'. Your tech stack might be held together with hope and Zapier. Your warehouse might be your garage. But excellence isn't about having the fanciest infrastructure. It's about faithfully serving your mission with whatever resources you have.The manger was sufficient for its purpose. It held the baby. So is your scrappy, bootstrap operation.Joseph: Quiet Faithful Execution (09:11)Joseph barely gets any lines in the school play. Almost no dialogue in the Bible. But watch what he does. He takes Mary as his wife when it would have been easier not to. He travels to Bethlehem. He flees to Egypt. He returns when told it's safe. Each decision required faith and immediate action. No fanfare, no recognition."Execution trumps intention every single time," Matt emphasises. You can have brilliant strategies, beautiful brand guidelines, and ambitious growth plans. But without disciplined follow-through, your business stalls.Joseph models something we can all learn from. A man of quiet faithfulness, just doing the work without needing the spotlight.Episode link: https://www.ecommerce-podcast.com/christmas-thankyou

Most eCommerce brands settle for pop-up opt-in rates of 3-5% whilst competitors achieve 10-15%. Shaan Arora, CEO of Alia Popups, reveals the systematic testing approach used by 3,000 brands including Peloton and Nike to dramatically improve email collection without destroying margins.We explore why copy matters more than design, how mystery discounts outperform fixed offers, the difference between mobile and desktop timing, and why holdout tests prove pop-ups increase both conversion rates and AOV despite the annoyance factor. Shaan shares data-driven insights from 100 million monthly pop-up views.Key Point Timestamps:02:17 - The biggest pop-up problem brands face04:55 - Mystery discount strategy that increases opt-ins08:08 - Alternative offers beyond discounts18:59 - Testing discount percentages systematically24:17 - What's a good opt-in rate?26:42 - Segmentation and personalisation28:36 - Are pop-ups worth the annoyance?37:06 - Copy, timing, and design priority order46:23 - Building a personal brand as founderThe Mystery Discount Strategy (04:55)One of the easiest wins comes from a simple copy change that doesn't touch your margins at all. Instead of revealing your 10% discount upfront with "Get 10% Off Your First Order", try copy like "Unlock Your Mystery Discount" or "Claim the Discount You've Earned.""A lot of brands believe that in order to get a really good opt-in rate, you need to give a pretty crazy offer," Shaan explains. "We've seen brands that have early access pop-ups without even an offer that gets to about 10% opt-in rates."Same 10% discount. Different psychology. Brands see large increases in opt-ins without changing the actual offer because humans can't resist finding out what they've "earned." The curiosity gap works.Testing Discount Percentages (18:59)Before assuming you need to offer 20% or 30% off to achieve decent opt-in rates, test. Shaan urges brands to test 20% against 15%, or 15% against 10%. Track not just opt-in rates but also conversion rate, bounce rate, AOV, and revenue from codes."We've had brands that have done 20%, gone down to 15% and pretty much had the same results for opt-in rates," Shaan shares. That's a 5% margin improvement without losing performance.The data shows that when cashback is tested against discount, discount wins but sometimes only by 30% - not such a huge percentage that it's definitively worth the margin hit.The Priority Order: Copy, Timing, Design (37:06)Most brands obsess over design first, which is the wrong priority. Shaan's data from 3,000 brands reveals a clear hierarchy."Copy is number one by far and away the most important thing to test," Shaan emphasises. "What copy can resonate well. Like 'You've got 15% off,' 'You've earned 15% off,' 'Here's 15% off,' 'Here's a mystery discount.' All of these things are the biggest thing to move it."Timing comes second - when exactly the pop-up appears matters, especially across mobile versus desktop. Design lands third, including what creative to show and whether to show creative at all.The Holdout Test Everyone Should Run (28:36)Shaan's team makes it extremely easy to run holdout tests: pop-up versus no pop-up, measuring conversion rate and average order value. The results are clear."Across the board, on pretty much every single test we've run with this, we see CVR and AOV go up when you have a pop-up versus when you don't have a pop-up," Shaan reveals.Even people who immediately close the pop-up benefit from knowing a discount exists. They're aware that when they're ready to check out, a code is waiting for them somewhere, and just knowing that increases purchase likelihood.Today's GuestToday's guest: Shaan AroraCompany: Alia PopupsWebsite: aliapopups.comLinkedIn: Connect with Shaan on LinkedIn

Most eCommerce stores with large product catalogues share a common problem that quietly kills growth. It's not their products, pricing, or marketing budget—it's their site structure. Sam Wright, founder of Blink SEO and creator of Macalytics, reveals why taxonomy is the biggest drag on growth for stores doing £3-5 million annually, and exactly how to fix it using Search Console data.We explore why collection pages represent 35% of all search impressions (more than products and blogs combined), how to determine the right level of granularity for your categorisation, and why most stores aren't deep enough with their subcategories. Sam shares his framework for using Search Console impression data to identify exactly where to create new collection pages, and explains the critical difference between what works for user experience versus what search engines can actually index.Key Point Timestamps:06:30 - The Large Catalogue Challenge11:45 - Why Collection Pages Are Your Biggest SEO Opportunity16:20 - The Granularity Problem Most Stores Face22:15 - Using Search Console Data to Guide Taxonomy27:40 - Real-World Example: Redesigning for Better Structure35:10 - Future-Proofing for AI Search with Persona Data42:30 - The AI Shortcut and Critical WarningThe Large Catalogue Challenge (06:30)Sam defines large catalogue stores as those where the buying journey tips into a different mode—one based around comparison and filtering rather than simple browsing. This typically happens around 250 products, though it varies by category."With large catalogue stores, the buying journey is based around comparison and filtering," Sam explains. "A lot of the time these stores have grown up organically over a period of time and no one's taken ownership about how the store's organised."This organic growth creates a drag on everything—SEO, user experience, conversion rates, even email segmentation. Stores reach £3-5 million in annual revenue, so things are fundamentally working. But growth isn't happening as fast as it should because nobody stepped back to think strategically about organisation and purpose.Why Collection Pages Are Your Biggest SEO Opportunity (11:45)Sam shared compelling data from across all the Shopify stores his agency works with: "It's about 35% of all impressions come on collections, which is much more than products and blogs. It's basically the entry point for most people when they're doing actual new product discovery."More than a third of search visibility comes from collection pages—the pages where new customers first encounter the store. Yet most stores aren't categorised in a way that aligns with how people actually search for their products.This represents a massive untapped opportunity. If collection pages are already driving 35% of impressions without optimisation, imagine the potential when they're properly structured and aligned with search behaviour.The Granularity Problem Most Stores Face (16:20)The real opportunity for most stores lies in going deeper with categorisation. Much deeper."Most people are not granular enough with their categorisation," Sam emphasises. "A lot of stores will just have a t-shirts category. They won't subcategorise those t-shirts to the level that matches how people are actually searching."Sam uses sofas as an example: "So sofas as the parent category, like blue sofas, blue four seat sofas, blue four seat corduroy sofas. That filtering process, that is how people do search."The challenge on Shopify is that these filters aren't indexable for search engines. Google ads can't effectively target filters either. The solution is breaking out popular subcategories into actual collection pages."The real opportunity for a lot of stores is how deep you go in that categorisation because you've got products that other people don't have," Sam explains. "And that's the easiest way to capture new users."Using Search Console Data to Guide Taxonomy (22:15)Search Console data reveals exactly how people are actually searching, throwing up interesting patterns in the impression data.Sam's agency uses this practical approach: "If you look at the Search Console data for a collection page, what you might see is what we would call attribute searches on a collection. So the collection is blue sofas, but we're seeing impressions for eight-seater sofa, like blue four seat sofa, blue four seat corduroy."When these search terms appear on a collection page, it's a signal to drill down another level. "You can typically keep going until we probably say like three in stock products is probably the limit for how far down you can go," Sam notes. "And actually, only having a few products is actually quite a good user experience a lot of the time."Having three tightly related products for a specific search creates a focused, relevant experience that converts better than overwhelming customers with too many options.Real-World Example: Redesigning for Better Structure (27:40)Matt shared his experience redesigning the eCommerce Podcast website, which had grown organically over 200+ episodes with just a blog-style feed and search bar.The solution was creating a proper hierarchy: top-level categories like "Marketing & Growth," subcategories like "SEO & Content" and "Messaging & Automation," then specific topics like "Technical SEO" or "Email Automation.""Now you can quite quickly navigate using that menu," Matt explained. "If you wanted to find out about technical SEO, within one click really, you can see that link and you can go, well, that's marketing and growth or technical SEO. You can click that. And then all of the episodes we've done which are connected to technical SEO then come up on the page."The result was better user experience and better SEO, with Google now showing dedicated pages for specific topics, each with multiple pieces of related content.Sam's response captured the principle perfectly: "What's always interesting is the further you get into something, into the levels, the more interesting and more useful that information is. And I think that transfers directly to the e-commerce experience as well."Future-Proofing for AI Search with Persona Data (35:10)In his "saving the best till last" segment, Sam shared what he believes will set businesses apart as AI search evolves: enriching product data with persona and use case information."I think the real thing that's going to set a lot of businesses apart in the future is by bringing in attribute data that other people don't have, and that is based on things like personas and use cases," Sam explained. "So this is kind of more human data."He referenced ChatGPT's announcement example: "I want to see the best coffee machine under $200 that captures the taste of coffee in Italy."Traditional attributes—price, product type—are straightforward. But "captures the taste of coffee in Italy" represents persona-based, use case-focused, benefit-driven data that most stores don't systematically capture."Getting that into your product data, I think, is going to be something that really, really sets lots of people apart," Sam emphasised. "Especially when we're potentially moving into this world where someone might not touch the website."The immediate benefit doesn't require waiting for AI search. "If you've got your persona types clearly laid as a Metafield in Shopify, you could use that for custom tagging on a collection page, best for X," Sam explains. "That kind of curated experience we know works really, really well."The AI Shortcut and Critical Warning (42:30)Both Sam and Matt discussed using AI to accelerate taxonomy work. "I swear like 80% of my working days is talking to chat GPT," Sam shared. "Working through things step by step. That's probably how I spend most of my days now."Matt had similar success using Perplexity Labs to research menu structures, getting about 70% of the way there as a starting point for conversations.But Sam offers a critical caveat: "The thing about AI and automation is it's only going to accelerate what you're doing. If what you're doing is a mess, you're just accelerating a load of mess basically."This is the uncomfortable truth. AI won't fix a fundamentally broken site structure—it'll just help scale the confusion faster. The foundation must be right first, based on actual data about how people search. Then AI and automation become powerful accelerators rather than mess multipliers.Today's GuestToday's guest: Sam WrightCompany: Blink SEOWebsite: blinkseo.co.ukLinkedIn: Connect with Sam on LinkedIn