In this episode of Functional and Fabulous, Gordon and Ger meet with Rick Watson. Rick has spent 25 years in ecommerce and runs his consultancy business that helps merchants transform their digital operations. Known as ‘The Notebook Guy’ by top vendors like Shopify, Rick keeps his ear to ground on how various platforms and software are accepted into the ecommerce market.
Movement around the Market
Rick works with ecommerce businesses big and small, from strategy and technology to people and processes. He notes that when it comes to platform migration, the most notable reasons for this include, investment, legacy platforms and process updating. Rick believes that although not there is not a one size fits all approach when it comes to ecommerce platform choice, Shopify has “done a really good job of sort of cornering the mid-market of direct-to-consumer, and they're pushing further up market as well”. This was further reinforced by the fact that at recent conferences there has been a notable shift in which platforms were present.
Headless Commerce Or Team Configure?
In this episode, Ger, Gordon and Rick also discuss if businesses should look towards a headless commerce approach or use more configurable platforms. A headless commerce approach involves building a custom front end for an ecommerce website, whereas configurable platforms essentially offer a pre-built solution with configurable options and some flexibility for customisation. Rick advises businesses to carefully consider their needs before adopting headless commerce. He believes that businesses should only consider headless commerce if they already have a team of developers who are experienced in building microservices.
Beyond the Tech: People, Processes and Content Marketing
Rick believes that businesses should focus on understanding their customers and building a strong brand story. He also emphasises the importance of data-driven decision-making and using technology to improve operations. Additionally, he highlights the need for businesses to have a clear plan for growth and to be aware of the latest trends in the ecommerce industry.
On marketing, Rick points out that paid media is becoming more expensive and that businesses should focus on building their owned and earned channels. He believes that the future of marketing is a combination of paid media, earned media, and owned media.
Ecommerce Giants
Amazon is still the dominant player in ecommerce in the US but Walmart is growing faster. Amazon is looking for new ways to expand its reach, such as grocery delivery subscriptions. When it comes to the likes of Temu, Rick outlines that it is a very different shopping experience to Amazon. They are not interested in selling you something quick but instead build a profile and sell you deals based on your browsing.
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