The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant

Todd VanderStelt is the Co-founder of MixShift, a firm that helps Amazon agencies, aggregators, and brands scale operations and reporting for their Amazon accounts. He is also the Managing Partner at Dash Applications, which delivers software to improve operations and sales for retailers and brands, and the Founder of TidalBore Group, a management consulting firm specializing in retail. Previously, Todd held leadership roles at Amazon, where he built forecasting tools and operational systems.

Sam Hager is the Co-founder and CEO of MixShift. He began his career in the Amazon space, managing multimillion-dollar business books across advertising and agency services. Before MixShift, Sam was the Marketplace Strategist and Amazon Advertising Manager at Booyah Advertising.

Forecasting in the Amazon ecosystem is one of the most frustrating challenges for brands and agencies. With so many shifting variables — from ad spend to competition to inventory fluctuations — how can companies predict sales and plan budgets without wasting resources or missing opportunities?

Amazon forecasting and automation veteran Todd VanderStelt and eCommerce strategist Sam Hager have developed a forecasting method for Amazon brands. They emphasize simplifying forecasting through a top-down model that uses a few key data inputs — ad spend, seasonality, and organic growth — to generate highly accurate predictions. Sam and Todd advise building forecasting tools that align teams around data, tie budgets directly to performance, and factor in real-world contexts, like promotions or unexpected press coverage, to make informed decisions.

In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant talks with Todd VanderStelt and Sam Hager, Co-founders of MixShift, about building accurate and actionable Amazon forecasting models. Together, they explain why top-down forecasting outperforms traditional methods, how linking ad spend to revenue improves planning, and the future innovations transforming eCommerce analytics.

Spencer Millerberg is the Founding Partner of DetailPage, which helps brands optimize traffic and gain Amazon market share. He founded OneClickRetail, the original provider of Amazon market share data that was sold to Ascential. As an eCommerce and data analytics expert, Spencer has helped over 650 brands improve sales, margins, and search positions on eCommerce sites.

In today's digital marketplace, visibility is everything. With AI tools like ChatGPT shaping how shoppers discover products, brands are facing a new kind of competition — one where search optimization meets machine learning. How can companies ensure their products are recommended when customers ask AI what to buy?

According to eCommerce and data analytics expert Spencer Millerberg, the key lies in mastering both traditional and generative optimization. He urges brands to speak the customer's language, not their internal catalog terms, and to keep content fresh to trigger algorithmic boosts. By understanding how AI prioritizes retailer and brand content, and by revisiting SEO regularly, brands can secure lasting visibility and growth.

In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant welcomes Spencer Millerberg, Founding Partner of DetailPage, back to the show to discuss AI-driven discoverability. Spencer explains why retailer content dominates AI recommendations, how quarterly content updates improve search ranking, and why optimizing neglected B SKUs drives major growth.

Joshua (Josh) Fulmer is the Executive Creative Director of Lunge Marketing, a full-service eCommerce agency specializing in Amazon, Walmart, TikTok Shop, and Google Ads services. With over 18 years of design and brand strategy experience, he leads creative teams in developing engaging, inclusive visual narratives. Before joining Lunge, Josh served in the US Marine Corps, worked in the craft beer industry, and built a design consulting practice.

Content creation has become more essential and complex than ever. AI tools promise faster, cheaper results, but at what cost to brand trust and authenticity? How can brands balance speed and creativity while maintaining a consistent voice across every channel?

According to content strategist Josh Fulmer, the key lies in using AI as an enhancer, not a replacement. He recommends developing clear content strategies grounded in audience research and user personas to ensure every asset serves a purpose. Brands should focus their budgets on creators and platforms that truly align with their target market, while maintaining consistent tone and messaging across formats. The goal is thoughtful integration, where technology supports creativity without diluting brand integrity.

Welcome back to The Digital Deep Dive as Aaron Conant talks with Joshua (Josh) Fulmer, Executive Creative Director of Lunge Marketing, about AI's impact on content creation. Josh discusses how brands can maintain consistency amid disruption, build smarter strategies through audience targeting, and balance automation with authentic storytelling.

Aaron Schwartz is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Orita.ai, a software company that improves email deliverability. He is also an advisor and investor in various commerce tech companies, including Passport and EcoCart. Previously, Aaron built and managed the DTC brand Modify Watches and was the President of Loop.

Email remains a core channel for reaching customers, but brands often misuse it. As customer acquisition costs climb and competition intensifies, many brands resort to blasting their audiences with more campaigns, only to see engagement fall and customers unsubscribe. How can companies harness smarter strategies to keep customers engaged without burning them out?

According to eCommerce veteran Aaron Schwartz, the answer lies in data-driven retention marketing. Over-sending emails may provide a short-term lift, but ultimately damages deliverability and customer trust. By tapping into customer behavior data, brands can determine when someone actually wants to hear from them, creating more meaningful engagement. Shifting from a marketer's mindset to a consumer's perspective — and using modern analytics instead of outdated rules of thumb — can transform email, SMS, and direct mail into profitable retention channels.

In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant talks with Aaron Schwartz, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Orita.ai, about retention marketing best practices. Aaron discusses why brands must move past intuition and embrace data, how machine learning enables smarter segmentation, and why balancing timing with customer preferences drives higher ROI.

Lauren Livak Gilbert is the Executive Director of the Digital Shelf Institute (DSI), which shapes the future of digital and advances commerce through community, content, and education. In her role, she defines the strategy for creating a global industry commerce community to support brands, retailers, and future leaders in the complex digital environment. As a thought leader in digital and design, Lauren has over 10 years of experience driving impactful multichannel design content, transformative digital shelf solutions, and high-conversion web UX designs across multiple regions. Before DSI, she held numerous roles at Johnson & Johnson, where she owned the digital shelf for consumer products in North America.

The pace of change in digital commerce has forced brands to rethink their organizational structures. Traditional structures built solely for brick-and-mortar sales can no longer keep up with evolving customer expectations and constant platform updates. How can brands transform their organizations to stay relevant in the omnichannel marketplace?

Seasoned digital commerce strategist Lauren Livak Gilbert urges brands to transform their overall operations instead of merely choosing where eCommerce belongs in the company. Presenting yourself to retailers as a single unified company, setting shared goals across teams, and using AI to automate tasks like forecasting and content creation are essential. Lauren also highlights the need for clean, standardized data and advises HR leaders to prepare the next generation of digital talent. These shifts position businesses to adapt quickly and thrive.

In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant sits down with Lauren Livak Gilbert, Executive Director of The Digital Shelf Institute (DSI), to discuss building the reinvented omnichannel organization of the future. Lauren explains why shared goals drive higher eCommerce sales, how AI frees teams for strategic thinking, and why HR must rethink talent development.