The JetRails Podcast

Captains Log, Stardate -302360.5 We've entered a new reality in which eCommerce platforms can't stop talking about their low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). They all seem to believe that they provide the lowest TCO, although our data scientists have proven that can't be correct. How are they all coming to different conclusions... and should TCO really be as big a decision-making factor as these platforms are trying to make it when there are other considerations to take into account, like opportunity costs? Guest: Ambassador Ben Marks, Shopware.com Host: Ambassador Robert Rand, JetRails.com

The Backdrop: Luma is the default theme that Magento 2 websites around the world have been using for years. It's several years old, trying to compete in the fast-paced world of eCommerce. So the question is "Is it the best solution?". There are Magento themes for sale that are full of bells and whistles. They're intended to give you lots of extra features quickly, but also add complexity and technical debt for your developers. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are another way to go, but as newer entrants into the market, they bring their own challenges. Enter Hyvä: An experienced Magento developer was planning to build an eCommerce site for his wife's business and wanted to use Magento. However, he was dissatisfied with Luma and its old coding languages and methodologies. He wanted something cleaner, built with newer coding languages. They say that necessity is the mother of invention. In this episode, we chat about the variety of theming options that led Willem Wigman to create Hyvä, as well as what a theme like Hyvä can mean to the Magento community - from the happiness of developers to the Google Core Web Vitals scores earned by merchants, and the billable hours needed to build and upkeep a Magento 2 store. Guest: Andreas von Studnitz, integer-net.com Host: Robert Rand, jetrails.com Additional Resources about Hyvä that you may find helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qftuffCI8m8 https://www.slideshare.net/AndreasvonStudnitz/successful-projects-with-hyv-the-impact-of-developer-happiness

The longer your business is operating and growing, the more software you've inevitably deployed. Over time, your organization can easily wind up with a variety of software subscriptions and solutions that aren't in alignment with your needs or goals. Some aren't well used or are redundant and should be eliminated. Others stop being a good fit as your business evolves. Whether you're an eCommerce manager, IT director, CMO, COO, or someone else that's responsible for signing off on a lot of software, choosing and tracking those systems rarely gets easier. That's why we're excited to release this episode about tech stack optimization. We discussed how both end-users like merchants, and aggregate users like digital agencies, can better manage their tech stacks. Guest: Sheryl Shultz, CabinetM.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

For eCommerce stores, 2020 was heavily focused on acquiring and supporting new customers. In 2021 those same eCommerce merchants are putting a bigger focus on retention and customer lifetime value (CLV). So, we wanted to spend some time discussing organized ways to keep your shoppers engaged with your brand and loyal to your store. Through the process, we also touch on a lot of things that don't work well and should be avoided. Guest: Fiona Stevens, LoyaltyLion.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

eCommerce shoppers, in the words of a famous cartoon character, will "gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today". While the words of J. Wellington Wimpy, a well-known character from Popeye were meant to be entertaining, there's a serious underlying concept. Shoppers don't all have lines of credit at the ready. They may have steady incomes but haven't built a credit history yet. Whether they're young adults or immigrants, it can be tough in our credit-centric society. It's the same for folks whose credit took a nosedive in the past and is still recovering. Add in shoppers that want to minimize credit checks and maintain low balances so they can get a good mortgage or car loan in the near future, and you'd be amazed at how large the market for consumer financing options in eCommerce checkouts really is. This episode sheds light on this sizable market and the variety of financial technologies that are empowering these shoppers to pay over time. Guest: Kali Keesee, Katapult.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

Some items don't belong on a standard UPS or FedEx truck. Perhaps the items are heavy or big. Maybe you're just moving items in bulk quantities. That's where less-than-truckload (LTL) freight comes in. These services have been in high demand in recent times, delivering items from B2B and B2C orders alike. As a merchant, if you need to spread out your goods between multiple warehouses so that they can be delivered in 1-2 days after they're purchased by consumers, LTL can really come in handy. It's also a great way to deliver particular goods, from desks to surfboards, even if you're just getting the goods to a brick-and-mortar location for store pickup. Intrigued? Want to learn more about best practices for LTL? Need to stay ahead of the curve as this delivery channel evolves? Then this episode is for you! Guest: Anthony Charland, Kuehne-Nagel.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com More LTL Freight Educational Materials: https://us.kuehne-nagel.com/additional-resources-ltl-ecommerce

Browser extensions like Honey and Capital One Shopping (formerly Wikibuy) promise to give shoppers the best coupon codes at checkout automatically. For merchants, it's like someone's standing at the checkout handing out photocopies of exclusive coupons - something they'd never stand for at brick-and-mortar stores. Shoppers wind up using coupons that weren't intended for them, hurting margins and making it harder to attribute sales to marketing and retention campaigns. So, we called in an expert to discuss both the problems and solutions. Guest: Matt Gillis, Clean.io Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

Whether you're a frontend dev, backend dev, eCommerce manager, marketer, or other stakeholder, figuring out how to gain expertise in Magento can be difficult. If you want to improve your work and advance your business or career, you'll appreciate this episode! We cover everything from where to get started, to how to become a rockstar in the Magento community. Guest: Joseph Maxwell, SwiftOtter.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Some of the resources mentioned in this episode include: Info About SwiftOtter Magento Developer Survey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9k5yMQHiIM #CommunityCollaboration article about Magento speed optimization tools: https://jetrails.com/blog/recommended-magento-speed-optimization-tools/

As consumers, we are the product. The data that we generate has value. Individuals, however, are increasingly getting a say in what happens to their data. Much like sales tax collection, this puts a burden on eCommerce store owners, who need to comply with an increasing number of laws from different jurisdictions. This includes GDPR from the EU, CCPA from California, LGPD down in Brazil, and now VCDPA in Virginia. States, countries, and regions are demanding that their citizens have the right to be forgotten (the right to the erasure of their data), along with a range of other rights, from the ability to access and rectify information to the ability to copy or move their data (ie. data portability). What does this mean for eCommerce merchants in terms of compliance? Does using 3rd party vendors and apps reduce risks and obligations? What do the risks and fines look like if you have a data breach or otherwise run afoul of these laws? How does this impact your day-to-day operation, and are you at risk of not meeting customer expectations? We tackle these questions and more in this discussion about what merchants need to know about privacy in 2021! Guest: Mate Prgin, Enzuzo.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

Online shoppers compare your prices to those of other eCommerce stores. How do you track and use competitor pricing and inventory availability? Can this practice help you to increase your prices? Which products should you track, and how often should you adjust prices? Not sure? Well, get ready to learn how eCommerce merchants are tracking competitors and optimizing their product prices continuously in this episode about eCommerce product price comparison, analysis, and strategy. Guest: Burc Tanir, Prisync.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

Highly customizable applications like Drupal and Magento have made auto-updating elusive. For some, allocating resources to patch and update software in a timely fashion can be a challenge. So, we asked an expert in the area of auto-updating these kinds of platforms what a healthy workflow can look like. Tune in to learn about the pros and cons of common practices for updating CMS, eCommerce, and other open-source software. This includes whether following generalized compliance standards like PCI is enough to keep your website safe. Guest: Johannes Noll, Codario.io & CodeShield.io Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

We frequently discuss increasing conversion rates, average order values, and customer lifetime values, so we thought it would be helpful to focus this episode on the mice, as opposed to making it all about the mousetraps. Guest: Will Laurenson, CustomersWhoClick.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

Email marketing is important to most successful eCommerce organizations, but lots of organizations are bottlenecked and don't leverage all of the bells and whistles that their email platforms support. So, we thought it would be helpful to talk about what you can get help with, and what you should avoid trying to outsource. Let's assume that your newsletter and sale emails are going out and getting a good response. Here are some questions you can still be asking yourself: - Are your transactional emails wowing shoppers and driving them to make more purchases? - Are you reactivating email subscribers that have stopped opening your messages? - Have you set up triggered emails to remind shoppers to come back and reorder goods that are typically consumed or used up in a certain time frame? - Do you automatically send abandoned browse emails? - When's the last time that you checked if your list was clean and your domain had a good sending reputation? If any of this strikes a chord, be sure to tune in to learn more about what you can do (or outsource) to kick your eCommerce email marketing into high gear! Guest: Mike Arsenault, Rejoiner.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Recommended Reading: https://jetrails.com/blog/should-you-host-your-emails-on-your-ecommerce-web-server/

eCommerce is always evolving. In this episode, you'll hear stories from 3 industry insiders as they discuss what's already changed, what's changing... and even some predictions. Along the way, you'll learn about the intersections of eCommerce with other important areas, like Sales Tax and ERP solutions. You'll also hear about different disruptions and improvements for different eCommerce merchants, including B2C/B2B and SMB/Mid-Market/Enterprise. Have you been missing sitting down with experts at eCommerce trade shows and learning what's really going on? Then strap yourself in and get ready for our longest episode yet! Guests: Ted Stenstrom, KensiumSolutions.com Shannon Kelly, VertexInc.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com

There's something to be said for experiences where we look past AI and allow shoppers to help optimize their own experiences. If you've ever been a regular at a restaurant or a local store, you know what I'm talking about. You walk in, and the staff already know what you like - because you've told them. It's not about guessing and averages, it's about listening to shoppers and treating them like highly-valued individuals. So, we called in an expert to discuss how merchants are allowing eCommerce shoppers to personalize their own shopping experiences. Guest: Gen Furukawa, Prehook.com Host: Robert Rand, JetRails.com Recommended Resources: If you enjoyed learning from Gen, check out his podcast: https://www.cartoverflow.com/