Leaders on Shopify with John Readman

John Readman
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Marketing

Leaders on Shopify is a new podcast hosted by John Readman, a digital marketing veteran with 25 + years’ experience helping brands accelerate growth online. As founder and CEO of Modo25 and Ask BOSCO®, John has worked with global names such as ASOS, Pepsi, BMW, Superdry and more - and he brings that battle-tested insight straight to this show. Each episode of Leaders on Shopify digs into the real stories, strategies and scaling lessons from executives, founders and experts using the Shopify platform. From practical growth tactics and data-driven marketing to leadership decisions that shape successful e-commerce brands, John’s no-nonsense conversations cut past buzzwords to the ideas that actually move the needle for Shopify merchants - especially those that have scaled or are scaling from mid-market to enterprise. Whether you’re a CMO, founder or Shopify partner, this podcast gives an insight into how leaders are navigating the challenges of rapid growth, mastering analytics and building brands that stand out - all while unlocking more value from the Shopify ecosystem. Expect honest insights, actionable takeaways and a host of guests who’ve lived the journey from early traction to serious scale.

  1. 6d ago

    Nobody gets fired for buying Shopify. But is it always the right choice...?

    He’s been in e-commerce for 25 years. He’s 44. He grew a bathroom retailer from nothing to £78m, then jumped the fence to agency side because he wanted agencies to stop forgetting what it actually feels like to be the client. Pete Robertshaw is Customer Solutions Director at Glass Atlas, the agency John Woodall quietly built by acquiring Space 48, Mean Bee, Brave the Skies, Bring Digital, This Is Digital and Summit Media. One of the biggest independents in the UK, and one of the few that will actively tell a prospect Shopify isn’t right for them. John sits down with Pete to pull apart the Shopify dream most boards have already bought into and the uncomfortable truths nobody’s telling them.   In this episode: Why “nobody gets fired for buying Shopify” has become the IBM of the 2020s and the boardroom fear driving every migrationThe real cost of a Shopify migration (and the payments, FX and transaction-fee traps that quietly wreck the business case)Why product data, not front-end design, decides whether your migration flies or flopsThe B2B client who chose Shopify against Pete’s advice and changed their whole business to fit itHeadless: who actually needs it, who’s regretting it, and when it’s just overkillDubarry’s post-migration lift and the one thing that actually unlocked itAgentic commerce: smoke, future, or something in between and which products will and won’t survive itZero-click attribution and the marketer’s nightmare already unfoldingPete’s bold five-year bet: e-commerce platforms are dead, and PIM is the only thing still standingThe one metric every e-com business should obsess over, and the biggest waste of money in the industry right now Find out more: Connect with John: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnreadman/ASK BOSCO®: https://askbosco.ioASK BOSCO® Shopify app: ASK BOSCO Marketing Analytics - ROAS, attribution, marketing analytics & marketing dashboards | ShopConnect with Pete: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-robertshaw/Glass Atlas: Glass Atlas | Grow Beyond

  2. Oct 15

    When is Shopify the right choice? A dev agency’s honest answer

    Brad leads strategy and consultancy at Remarkable Commerce, a Nottingham-based development agency of nearly 100 people that has been building ecommerce technology for 27 years. Its own platform powers around 100 retailers. Brad started out in marketing, then spent a year brand-side as a head of ecommerce, so he knows exactly how it feels to grill an agency. In this episode, Brad tells John Readman how one retailer went from £6m to £250m online in just over a decade, after the infamous “what colour is the dress?” moment took its old site down. He also explains how Remarkable launched the UK’s first Shop Pay checkout on a non-Shopify storefront, and why he thinks personalisation might be making us all a bit stupid.  In this conversation, Brad and John discuss: How the dress that broke the internet led to a £6m to £250m growth storyThe Magento migration that lifted conversion by around 35% in three monthsWhen Shopify is the right choice, and when it isn’tHow Remarkable launched the UK’s first Shop Pay checkout on a non-Shopify storefrontWhy Amazon’s UX is “terrible” but we keep shopping there anywayWhy Brad has a gripe with personalisation, and why John now buys a physical Sunday paperWhy Shopify’s out-of-the-box connection to AI shopping assistants is only basic, and how to get more from itRescuing Shopify “basket cases”: bugs, bloated app costs and poor codeBuild or buy: when to use a Shopify app and when to build your ownA merchandising tool that reorders products without slowing the site downWho should really own your website tracking, and why the answer is usually nobodyWould you trust AI to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on Google Ads? Find out more:Connect with John: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnreadman/?isSelfProfile=falseConnect with Brad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradlie/ASK BOSCO®: https://askbosco.ioASK BOSCO® for Shopify: ASK BOSCO Marketing Analytics - ROAS, attribution, marketing analytics & marketing dashboards | ShopRemarkable: Bespoke eCommerce Platform | Remarkable Commerc

  3. Oct 15

    The unglamorous secrets behind luxury brands on Shopify

    Tom is the founder of WIRO, a Shopify Plus agency for luxury fashion brands. In just over 10 years, WIRO has worked with hundreds of brands, grown to a team of 30 spread across the UK, Europe and Southeast Asia, and become one of a handful of top-tier Shopify partners in the UK and Europe. Tom started out running a design and print studio, convinced that great ecommerce was all about how beautiful a website looks. Now every project starts with data, CRO and SEO. In this episode, he tells John Readman why being selective about who they work with built a stronger agency, why “on brand” can quietly damage a luxury website, and why the next big thing to optimise might not be a storefront at all. In this conversation, Tom and John discuss: The naive design-first mistake Tom made in the early days, and why every decision is now driven by dataWhy WIRO dropped every other platform to focus solely on ShopifyHow a lot of growth during COVID nearly became the agency’s own worst enemyWhy WIRO says no to a lot of business, and how a clear ICP shaped the agencyThe most common mistake luxury brands make onlineWhy WIRO avoids the flood of brand-new AI appsThe discovery process that has kept every build on budget for the last 12 monthsWhy Tom pushes back when an RFP asks for headlessAgentic commerce: why it’s both the most overhyped and the most underrated thing in ecommerce right nowWhy Tom launched a second business for B2B brandsHis advice for anyone choosing an agency: why you should only speak to three, and always talk to their past clients Find out more: Connect with John: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnreadman/?isSelfProfile=falseConnect with Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomscrees/?isSelfProfile=falseASK BOSCO®: https://askbosco.ioASK BOSCO® for Shopify: ASK BOSCO Marketing Analytics - ROAS, attribution, marketing analytics & marketing dashboards | Shop Wiro: eCommerce Growth Specialists in Shopify & Shopify Plus | WIRO

  4. Oct 7

    Headless vs native Shopify: when it's worth it, and when it's a waste of money

    Five years ago, headless was the hottest thing in ecommerce. Then it went out of fashion. Now it's coming back. So should your brand be doing it?   Tom Mucklow-Norell is the co-founder of Superco, a London-based Shopify Platinum Partner working with brands like Represent and Funkin' Cocktails. His view is simple: for most brands, native Shopify is now so good that headless just isn't a smart use of time or money. But there are exceptions, like the famous chef whose recipe content drives such huge organic traffic that headless was the only sensible choice.   Tom also explains why big brands are finally leaving Adobe for Shopify, the one part of a migration you can't easily walk back, and how Superco built a B2B trade hub for bartenders on Funkin' Cocktails' first move to Shopify. Plus, why he ignores any tech partner that leads with commission, and why AI agents won't replace the joy of shopping.   In this episode: Headless vs native Shopify: when it's worth it, and when it's a waste of moneyWhy headless is suddenly back in fashionWhy big brands are finally leaving Adobe for ShopifyThe migration risk that can set a brand back yearsBuilding a B2B trade hub for bartenders with Funkin' CocktailsWhy leading with commission is the fastest way to lose an agency's attentionWill we ever let AI do our shopping for us?The brands Tom admires most, from Dash Water to Hoka Reach out and connect: John Readman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnreadman/ASK BOSCO®: https://askbosco.ioASK BOSCO® shopify app: ASK BOSCO Marketing Analytics - ROAS, attribution, marketing analytics & marketing dashboards | Shop…Tom Mucklow-Norell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommucklow/?isSelfProfile=falseSuperCo: Superco - Shopify Platinum Partner agency

  5. Oct 6

    Why chasing revenue can make you a "busy fool", and why Google will never tell you to spend less

    Revenue is up. Margins are down. And you're working harder than ever to stand still. After 18 years in ecommerce and eight Shopify stores selling trade tools, workwear and building materials, Reid, founder of Trade Counter Direct, knows exactly what it feels like to be a "busy fool". In this episode, he shares why chasing revenue can quietly cost you money, why Google will never tell you to spend less, and what he's learned about protecting margin in a market with around 7,000 to 8,000 competitor price changes every week. He also opens up about the trademark dispute that wiped his business off Google for nearly two months, and how it forced a 175,000-product move from Magento to Shopify, done in-house in just three to four weeks. In this episode: Why more revenue doesn't always mean more profit, and the ad spend advice you won't hear from GoogleHow a "be a penny cheaper" pricing strategy leads to a race to the bottomTesting price increases 1% at a time until the sales data tells you to stopSurviving two months off Google and a 175,000-product migrationWhat AI shopping agents that buy at a set price could mean for how retailers price Find out more:ASK BOSCO® - https://askbosco.ioASK BOSCO Shopify app - https://apps.shopify.com/ask-boscoPricemaster - Profit-First Ecommerce Pricing Automation SoftwareConnect with Reid - https://www.linkedin.com/in/reid-archer-72952b23/

  6. Sep 30

    The surprising benefits of adding insurance to your Shopify checkout

    What if adding insurance to your Shopify checkout could increase conversion, reduce returns and create a whole new revenue stream? John Readman is joined by Jamie Hamer, serial entrepreneur and founder of Loxa, to look at the surprisingly powerful psychology behind product insurance at checkout. Loxa is an insurtech business helping high-value Shopify merchants offer insurance on everything from furniture and tools to bikes, glasses and catering equipment. Jamie explains how the model works, why simply offering insurance can increase conversion even when customers don't buy it, and why insured products see around a third fewer returns. They cover: Why Loxa built for Shopify first, with some integrations live in as little as three hoursWhy some products work brilliantly for checkout insurance, while phones and boilers don'tHow Loxa gets a 93% claims acceptance rate, while using vouchers to bring customers back to the original merchantWhy the opportunity doesn't end at checkout, with post-purchase cover and a subscription "wallet" on the horizonAnd one big question for the future of agentic commerce: will AI shopping agents buy insurance for us? If you sell high-ticket products on Shopify, this is a side of the customer journey you probably haven't thought about enough.   Find out more at loxacover.com, connect with Jamie Hamer on LinkedIn, and check out his podcast, Retail is Detail. Find out more: ASK BOSCO® - https://askbosco.ioLoxa - https://loxacover.comASK BOSCO® Shopify app - https://apps.shopify.com/ask-bosco

  7. Sep 23

    Forget TikTok Shop: Go live on Shopify instead

    Live shopping is working, but you don't need TikTok to do it. More Shopify brands are now streaming live sales directly from their own stores, keeping the customer, the data and the checkout for themselves. Sharon Lee Thony runs SLTC, a Shopify-first agency working mostly with fast-growing beauty, health and wellness brands.  She joins John to share what's actually driving results right now: how live shopping on Shopify works in practice, why Meta's returns have quietly slipped for a lot of brands, and why Reddit ads are converting far better than their tiny ad spend suggests they should. Sharon also has one of the more unusual founder stories around. She started SLTC in 2018, sold it to Fiverr in 2020, spent five years as an employee inside her own business, then bought it back at the start of this year. She explains why she did it, and what she's changed now she's back in the founder seat. Listener offer: free live shopping consultation Sharon and the SLTC team are offering Shopify brands a free live shopping consultation. They'll: Review your product catalogue and recommend the products or collection best suited to live shoppingPlan your event from start to finish, including promoting it beforehand, support on the day (on camera or coaching on key messages), and email and SMS follow-up to convert your audience afterwardsBook your free consultation: Contact Us - Let's Work Together | SLTC Find out more: ASK BOSCO®: https://askbosco.ioSLTC: https://sltconsulting.coSLTC Live Shopping, Complimentary Consultation: https://sltconsulting.co/live-shopping-consultationLive Me Up App: https://apps.shopify.com/livemeup?mref=bxiedeepOkendo App: https://www.okendo.io/campaigns/partners?affiliate_id=sltconsulting.coClients for Live Shopping examples: Miik: http://miik.ca/Brooklyn Made: https://brooklynmadestore.com/

  8. Sep 20

    How to spot a good Shopify app in an age of AI generated apps

    700 apps launched on Shopify in a single week this year. Most of them shouldn't exist. Some of them are brilliant. And almost nobody can tell the difference. Martin Cox, CEO of Shopify App Co has spent fourteen years on Shopify. He built an agency, sold it, then walked away to start again from nothing. This year alone he's launched four apps, with a fifth landing next week. Every week he sits down with the independent founders behind the apps that actually work. He knows what the junk looks like. He also knows why the best app you've never heard of will probably never get found. In this conversation we get into: Why the app store has stopped being where merchants discover appsWhat Built for Shopify really tells you, and what it doesn'tWhether Sidekick is the biggest opportunity or the biggest threat in the ecosystemWhy agentic commerce is still 0.1% of sales, and why the 18x growth headlines are nonsense Find out more:Native app co: https://apps.nativeappco.com/ASK BOSCO Shopify app: https://apps.shopify.com/ask-bosco

See All (21)

About

Leaders on Shopify is a new podcast hosted by John Readman, a digital marketing veteran with 25 + years’ experience helping brands accelerate growth online. As founder and CEO of Modo25 and Ask BOSCO®, John has worked with global names such as ASOS, Pepsi, BMW, Superdry and more - and he brings that battle-tested insight straight to this show. Each episode of Leaders on Shopify digs into the real stories, strategies and scaling lessons from executives, founders and experts using the Shopify platform. From practical growth tactics and data-driven marketing to leadership decisions that shape successful e-commerce brands, John’s no-nonsense conversations cut past buzzwords to the ideas that actually move the needle for Shopify merchants - especially those that have scaled or are scaling from mid-market to enterprise. Whether you’re a CMO, founder or Shopify partner, this podcast gives an insight into how leaders are navigating the challenges of rapid growth, mastering analytics and building brands that stand out - all while unlocking more value from the Shopify ecosystem. Expect honest insights, actionable takeaways and a host of guests who’ve lived the journey from early traction to serious scale.

Information