Gen Alpha and Immersive Commerce

Destaney Wishon is the Co-founder and CEO of BTR Media, a retail media company empowering growth for brands. The company rebranded from BetterAMS, where Destaney started as an Account Executive, providing perspective on new industry standards for brands’ eCommerce strategies. She is passionate about providing in-depth, strategic recommendations on sponsored products, brands, displays, and DSP. As an Amazon advertising thought leader, Destaney has spoken in over 9,000 podcasts and events.

In this episode…

As the digital landscape evolves seemingly by the day, Amazon is no longer the only advertising platform to invest in, and entrepreneurs are inundated with business growth strategies. How have advertising and media evolved, and how can entrepreneurs adapt to the constantly shifting space?

As a digital advertising strategist regularly pivoting to address challenges in the digital landscape, Destaney Wishon notes that Amazon has transitioned into a media company to compete with retail media networks like Walmart. Rather than investing solely in niche Amazon ads like PPC, brands must diversify their spending to include sponsored product, brand, and display ads and social media platforms like TikTok. As entrepreneurs transition out of their companies’ daily operations, they must create effortless, consistent, and engaging content to scale. Destaney recommends hosting networking events or podcasts to develop partnerships and create outreach strategies on LinkedIn to navigate the digital space effectively.

Tune in to this episode of The Digital Deep Dive as Aaron Conant talks with Destaney Wishon, The Co-founder and CEO of BTR Media, about the current state of Amazon advertising and entrepreneurship in the space. Destaney explains how paid media has skyrocketed, how to scale an agency strategically, and content creation strategies.

Chris Perry is the Co-founder and Chief Learning Officer at firstmovr, a satellite Center of Excellence (COE) for eCommerce education and change management. He is also an Executive Educator and Keynote Speaker at Path to Purchase Institute. With over 12 years of experience as an eCommerce leader and executive educator, Chris aims to empower leaders to embrace change with actionable knowledge, strategies, and KPIs.

In this episode…

The eCommerce landscape is advancing rapidly, and first-mover organizations are capitalizing on digital trends for 2024. What eCommerce projections should you observe, and how can you implement them to drive explosive growth in 2024?

First mover and change leader Chris Perry notes that shoppers expect omnichannel integrations at every touchpoint, so everything from online and in-store shopping experiences to retail media should include omnichannel strategies. With the rapid adoption of retail media, first movers must dismantle advertising and media silos to develop a full-funnel approach that engages audiences. As Gen Z consumers shop on social media platforms like TikTok, social commerce has become the leading driver of digital, making it crucial for first movers to leverage. Additionally, increasing acquisitions and partnerships have led to competition, so by partnering with agencies of record (AOR), you can enable long-term leadership and growth. Category management strategies are imperative in generating incremental omnichannel growth. To ensure effective omnichannel capabilities, you must update your processes, details, and workflows.

In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant welcomes Chris Perry, the Co-founder and Chief Learning Officer at firstmovr, to discuss the leading digital commerce trends for 2024. Chris shares how to develop winning online and in-store shopping strategies, how to promote first-mover leadership training and education, and how to execute omnichannel strategies.

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

Justin Maner is the Founding Partner of DetailPage. He was also the CEO of Data Spark, a startup that offered actionable insights to brands and sellers on Walmart Marketplace. Having spent 10 years as an Amazon director, Justin led the baby registry to become the #1 US registry, reinvented the vendor negotiation process, and created a new communication system for vendors and sellers.

In this episode…

As brands compete for shelf space on digital retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target, market share has become top of mind for many. With fragmented data sources, outdated PDPs, and competition at an all-time high, how can you drive retail sales and market share on Amazon?

Data insights masters Spencer Millerberg and Justin Maner stress the importance of acquiring accurate first- and third-party data sources to measure performance and market share. These can be collected and analyzed using disruptive, AI-driven technology that’s affordable and 95% accurate. Driving retail sales requires increasing traffic and conversions, so Justin and Spencer advise optimizing your PDPs for competitor keywords. Yet rather than gauging competition based on specific categories, you must analyze keywords customers use when searching for similar products. This allows you to segment competition effectively. 

Tune in to this episode of The Digital Deep Dive as Aaron Conant invites Spencer Millerberg and Justin Maner, Founding Partners of DetailPage, to speak about gaining market share in the competitive Amazon landscape. Together, they talk about disruptive technologies in eCommerce, how to update PDPs using relevant competitor keywords, and how to allocate first- and third-party data.

Ajay Kapur is the GM and CTO of Security and Applications at Edgio, a platform helping companies deliver online experiences and content. In his role, he handles product management and marketing, engineering, infrastructure, and technology operations. Ajay was the Co-founder and CEO of Layer0, a developer-focused platform-as-a-service that was acquired by Edgio. Before founding Layer0, he published mobile apps and invested in technology companies for Goldman Sachs’ private equity arm.

In this episode…

Website speed and performance are at the forefront as many eCommerce brands try to secure conversions. Yet instantaneous and seamless site experiences can be compromised by unwanted traffic, data theft, and other security concerns. How can you integrate site speed, performance, and security to improve online shopping experiences and generate quality conversions?

According to web developer Ajay Kapur, unauthorized traffic and compromised data diminish site speed, resulting in a cumbersome user experience. CDN security removes unwarranted traffic and safeguards workflow data to free up your infrastructure. However, achieving instant website speed and above-average performance requires recreating retail shopping experiences and increasing available products by eliminating page load times. This optimized performance accelerates conversion rates and revenue per user. 

On today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant hosts Ajay Kapur, the GM and CTO of Security and Applications at Edgio, for a conversation about site speed, performance, and security. Ajay shares strategies for analyzing website speed and performance, how to surpass competition through high-performing websites, and online shopping trends and experiences.

Kim Rayburn is a Client Engagement Advisor at Cohley, a content generation and testing platform that helps brands create content for social ads, email marketing, websites, and more. She is also a Principal and Consultant at Topnotch Consultancy, where she helps companies transform their sales growth strategies. With 25 years of consumer-focused experience in various global executive roles, Kim has worked in research, finance, product development, retail, and analytics.

In this episode…

With brands competing for consumer attention, observing shoppers’ behaviors, preferences, and demands has become crucial for engagement and sales. How can you capture the shopper’s voice to foster lifetime brand loyalty?

As a consumer insights analyst, Kim Rayburn emphasizes creating a content strategy to recognize and adapt to customer feedback throughout each stage of their journey. This involves generating authentic content like video testimonials highlighting a brand’s compelling features to drive purchasing decisions. Consumers rely heavily on reviews to make decisions, so Kim recommends integrating text and video reviews demonstrating daily use cases and overall value. Brands can harness and summarize insights from shopper responses to refine and optimize their strategies.

In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant welcomes Kim Rayburn, a Client Engagement Advisor at Cohley, for a discussion about leveraging the shopper’s voice through UGC content. Kim describes how to optimize UGC content, how AI is fundamentally altering paid media, and the top retail trends and priorities for 2024.

Udayan Bose is the Founder and CEO of NetElixir, a digital marketing agency designed to help the growth of eCommerce businesses, B2B companies, and retail brands through strategic solutions and an AI-powered platform. Udayan is also the Co-founder of The Udaan Trust, a nonprofit foundation of NetElixir that supports underprivileged young women in India to pursue their education goals and build successful careers.

In this episode…

As brands gear up for 2024, there are three major shifts they must navigate: the widespread use of AI chatbots, the end of third-party cookies, and the metaverse revival. How can you capitalize on these trends to gain a competitive advantage in 2024 and beyond?

With AI fundamentally altering the digital marketing agency structure, online marketer Udayan Bose has observed leading companies leveraging chatbots to generate consumer data insights, personalize the online shopping experience, and enhance search results. Udayan emphasizes these chatbots’ roles as personal search assistants, facilitating personalized and accurate answers to complex questions. By the end of the year, Google will disable third-party cookies completely. Yet only 15-20% of marketers are prepared for this change. Alternatively, you can leverage retail media to combine in-store and online advertising, circumventing new privacy regulations. Although the metaverse has primarily targeted gamers in the past, Udayan predicts that Apple’s release of a mixed-reality headset in February will restore interest by revolutionizing social commerce.

Tune in to this segment of The Digital Deep Dive as Aaron Conant welcomes Udayan Bose, the Founder and CEO of NetElixir, back to the show to discuss the pressing digital marketing trends of the near future. Udayan explains his company’s AI-first efforts, how to manage rapidly changing digital marketing trends, and the growing potential of retail media.

Nate Pinkston is the Head of Growth for Retail Media at Microsoft, where he manages end-to-end ownership of sales, customer success, and account management for the world’s largest retail media networks. As a digital marketing and engagement leader, he uses analytics to develop innovative solutions in the AdTech, MarTech, and retail industries. Nate has led teams to design and launch new products, reach new customer segments and markets, and work with C-suite executives to drive growth.

Paul Brenner is the SVP of Retail Media and Partnerships at Vibenomics, an in-store advertising audio and display media publisher for retailers. With 30 years of experience in retail media technology, he has worked across areas, including media and entertainment, advertising, manufacturing, pharma, retail, and automotive. Paul specializes in helping brick-and-mortar businesses enhance their in-store shopping experiences by leveraging retail media.

In this episode…

Retail media is gaining traction in the digital advertising ecosystem, and retailers are leveraging it to drive in-store conversions. Yet with multichannel advertising a growing necessity and ad dollars spread thin, how can you incorporate retail media seamlessly into your strategy?

Digital impressions drive many point-of-sale conversions online, but with 80-85% of these conversions occurring in-store, retailers must engage shoppers through visual and auditory mediums. However, retail media mavens Nate Pinkston and Paul Brenner say you must combine in-store and digital advertising and retail media to generate conversions across multiple channels. This requires attributing impressions to specific campaigns and retail media networks through transparent data analytics and distributing ad spend across corresponding channels. A strong relationship with retail media networks is the foundation for an effective strategy.

Join Aaron Conant in this episode of The Digital Deep Dive as he chats with Nate Pinkston of Microsoft’s retail media department and Paul Brenner of Vibenomics about developing a retail media advertising strategy. Together, they share best practices for adopting retail media, how AI enhances retail media effectiveness, and how to leverage retail media for creative ad campaigns.

Corey Apirian is the CEO of Davinci Micro Fulfillment, a full-service logistics company that uses technology and partners with brands and retailers to help market, sell, fulfill, and ship their products. As an accomplished supply chain and operations leader, Corey has over 15 years of senior management experience. With more than 20 years of experience in the eCommerce fulfillment industry, Corey has been drop shipping for every major retailer since 2004 and has launched over 50 different subcategories through individual online and brick-and-mortar channels.

In this episode…

Many brands consider expanding into DTC channels, but with only one fulfillment center, they struggle to achieve optimal delivery times in various areas. With profitability a top concern in fulfillment and delivery, how can you meet consumer demands to drive additional conversions?

Instituting multiple hyper-local fulfillment centers throughout the country reduces shipping costs while ensuring inventory reaches the end consumer in 1-2 days. However, direct fulfillment alone is not enough to secure conversions. As fulfillment leader Corey Apirian notes, DTC delivery is a holistic process involving integrating multiple delivery methods and partners to maximize accuracy. Larger items may require you to leverage 3PL companies, whereas compact items can be shipped using Seller Fulfilled Prime to deliver directly to domestic Prime customers.

In today’s edition of The Digital Deep Dive, Corey Apirian, the CEO of Davinci Micro Fulfillment, returns to chat with Aaron Conant about DTC fulfillment considerations for 2024. Corey explains the importance of transparency in communicating delivery times, why CPG brands should have a DTC presence, and inventory management strategies for profitability.

Avi Moskowitz is the Co-founder and CEO of PrettyDamnQuick, a fast-growing eCommerce delivery app facilitating delivery experiences for top DTC and CPG brands. As an eight-figure veteran entrepreneur, he specializes in improving brands’ checkout conversions and shipping revenues. Avi also hosts the Delivering Delight podcast and co-founded BeerBazaar, a top-rated craft brewery with an online shop that became one of the top 10 Shopify stores in Israel.

In this episode…

As customer acquisition costs rise, brands try to generate conversions to secure loyalty and lifetime value. Checkout and delivery are often overlooked during the customer journey, with brands missing out on profitable opportunities. How can you optimize the fulfillment process to enhance the consumer experience?

In traditional retail shopping, customers receive the item upon purchase. However, seasoned business owner Avi Moskowitz notes that when shopping online, customers leave the shop without the product and must wait for delivery. To cultivate trust during this variable period, you must communicate reasonable and thorough expectations of shipping and delivery, ensuring you fulfill this commitment accurately. This may entail establishing omnichannel fulfillment methods through multiple hyperlocal warehouses to meet demands efficiently. 

In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant hosts Avi Moskowitz, the Co-founder and CEO of PrettyDamnQuick, for a conversation about increasing profitability through effective delivery. Avi shares how he conducts A/B testing at checkout, how to convert customers from checkout to delivery, and how to navigate shipping costs and delivery times.

Mike Black is the CMO of Profitero, a leading eCommerce acceleration company offering intelligence-driven solutions for profitable growth. With a background in marketing, he held leadership positions in product marketing and demand generation at various global analytics companies. Before Profitero, Mike was the Vice President of Product Marketing at Nielson, where he launched new analytics products for the company’s retail measurement business.

In this episode…

Digital marketing has shifted from an occasional perk to a new business standard as brands optimize content to drive conversions on the digital shelf. Yet with so much demand for innovative content and record-high consumption rates, how can you test and measure your content to ensure your efforts generate maximum ROI?

According to eCommerce-focused marketer Mike Black, the first step in content optimization is to assemble your briefs to target retail algorithms and advertise in the appropriate categories. However, keywords and competitors change dynamically and frequently, so you must leverage automation and other analytics tools to track incremental performance. Mike cites the digital shelf as a key performance driver but warns that data sets can become siloed, so by applying the data to various marketing channels like retail media, you can develop an integrated strategy for informed decision-making.

In the latest episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant hosts Mike Black, the CMO of Profitero, who talks about the convergence of media, commerce, and the digital shelf. Mike addresses the democratization of eCommerce and technology, how to leverage software tools for paid media, and how data-driven insights boost content performance.