The Unofficial Shopify Podcast

Kurt Elster, Paul Reda
  • 4.7 (258)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

NEW EPISODES EVERY TUESDAY, SUBSCRIBE FOR UNBEATABLE ECOM RECON – Every Tuesday since 2014, host Kurt Elster shares the Shopify success stories that nobody tells you about, straight from the entrepreneurs living it. Subscribe for a raw look at what it really takes to succeed on Shopify.

  1. 4d ago

    Kurt & Paul: September Roundup

    Discounts are the biggest line item on your P&L that nobody approved. Kurt and Paul answer the questions merchants keep asking, then lay out the Black Friday plan. Part one is a mailbag pulled from r/ecommerce, r/shopify, and the Shopify Community: the Combines With checkbox that wiped the profit on 60 orders before lunch, influencer codes showing up on Honey, welcome codes reused by new Gmail accounts, and the eternal free-shipping-or-20%-off question. Part two is what to fix in September, and what three consecutive Black Fridays of gift-with-purchase data say about thresholds, gift size, and who actually takes the gift. What you'll learn: Why discounts deserve the scrutiny you give ad spend, and why almost nobody gives itHow one Combines With checkbox stacked free shipping, 20% off, and a bundle script into zero-profit ordersWhat to do about influencer codes on coupon sites (and why single-use codes don't solve this one)The rule Kurt uses on every code he creates: a 12-month expiry, no exceptionsWhy you can't stop welcome-code abuse, and the one-line fix from the top Reddit replyFree shipping vs discount codes: if you have to ask, you don't know your contribution marginThe September checklist before code freeze: SEO metadata, alt text, accessibility, Core Web Vitals, and a discount auditThree Black Fridays, one $50 gift threshold, and carts that landed at $98, $101, and $111The surprise in the data: gift-with-purchase skews to returning customers, free shipping to new onesThe segmented strategy: free shipping code for first-time buyers, gift for everyone elseThreshold math: gift at 2x AOV, free shipping 50% above AOV, gift retail value 10 to 15% of cartWhy Shopify's agentic catalog mapping did nothing on two stores for 14 daysHosts: Kurt Elster and Paul Reda, co-owners of Ethercycle, a Shopify-exclusive agency, and makers of Promo Party, a gift-with-purchase app. SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurt Cleverific - Smart order editing for Shopifycleverific.com Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURT LINKSAll three research reports: https://ethercycle.com/reportState of Discounts 2026: https://ethercycle.com/pages/state-of-discounts-2026Q4 gift-with-purchase report: https://promoparty.app/bfcm-gift-with-purchase/The $2K Combines With thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/ecommerce/comments/1qbvg5k/Free shipping vs discount codes thread: https://community.shopify.com/t/675799Welcome code abuse thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/shopify/comments/1u9i640/Influencer codes on Honey thread: https://community.shopify.com/t/222041WORK WITH KURTApply for Shopify Helpethercycle.com/apply See Our Resultsethercycle.com/work Free Newsletterkurtelster.com The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

    Kurt & Paul: September Roundup

  2. Sep 15

    How a Nicotine-Free Vape Brand Grows *Without Ads*

    He sells vapes with no nicotine. Every ad platform, payment processor, and carrier treats him like Big Tobacco anyway. Conrad Kurth founded Cyclone Pods in 2018 after watching every friend he had get hooked on Juul. Eight years later the brand has grown every year with a 60 percent repeat customer rate, no paid ads, no Shopify Payments, and no USPS. This is what selling on hard mode actually looks like. What you'll learn: Why a product with no addictive ingredient still gets a 60% repeat rateWhere a new customer really comes from when Meta, Google, and TikTok won't run your adsWhy "alternative advertising" on age-restricted sites sent traffic that never convertedThe Sunday morning Shopify Payments shut off with no warning, and the standalone store he keeps ready for next timeHow UPS and FedEx agreed to ship after seeing lab data, and why USPS never willWhether publishing third-party lab results helps SEO (his honest answer: he can't prove it)Why Wisconsin only allows vapes from Philip Morris, Altria, and ReynoldsThe Focus Pouch story: caffeine plus lion's mane, reishi, and cordyceps, two years before caffeine pouches were a categoryVapes for dogs, the leaking device that got pulled, and what he'd tell his 2018 selfHis advice for anyone selling a restricted product: ignore the ad people, do the legwork yourselfGuest: Conrad Kurth, founder and CEO of Cyclone Pods, a nicotine-free vape and nootropic pouch brand based in Santa Monica, California. Former software engineer. Show Links: Cyclone Pods: https://cyclonepods.comEmail Conrad: conrad@cyclonepods.comSPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurt Cleverific - Smart order editing for Shopifycleverific.com/unofficial Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURT WORK WITH KURTApply for Shopify Helpethercycle.com/apply See Our Resultsethercycle.com/work Free Newsletterkurtelster.com The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

    How a Nicotine-Free Vape Brand Grows *Without Ads*

  3. Sep 8

    ShipBob CMO on Peak Season 2026

    He's shipped over a billion units. He says your Black Friday gets decided in September. Casey Armstrong, CMO of ShipBob, returns for his third appearance to break down peak season 2026. Five years ago the villain was Shipageddon. This year there's no single boogeyman, just tariffs that pushed brands global, an exploding channel mix, and AI quietly eating the back office. What you'll learn: Why right now is "inbound peak" and what to send your 3PL before OctoberThe real warehouse math: when one node beats five, and why split shipments crush marginsThe only two levers that lower shipping costs (and you can only pull one)The subscription discount trap that trains customers to game you, plus how Rise Coffee and Momentous do it rightHow brands turn screenshots into warehouse receiving orders in 30 seconds with AI agents in SlackShipBob Promise: delivery dates on the PDP and at checkout, built by the exec who ran Amazon's North America fulfillmentThe Watchmaster story: a crawler that undercut Rolex competitors $5 at a time to win Google ShoppingThe exact signal it's time to stop packing your own ordersGuest: Casey Armstrong, CMO of ShipBob, the global fulfillment platform with 70+ facilities worldwide. Previously VP of Marketing at BigCommerce. Show Links: ShipBob: https://www.shipbob.comUnpacked with Casey Armstrong, ShipBob's podcast: https://unpacked.shipbob.comCasey's prior appearances: Shipageddon (Dec 2020), 3PL ShipBob Sees Strong Black Friday Fulfillment (Dec 2021)SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurt Cleverific - Smart order editing for Shopifycleverific.com Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURT WORK WITH KURTApply for Shopify Helpethercycle.com/apply See Our Resultsethercycle.com/work Free Newsletterkurtelster.com The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

    ShipBob CMO on Peak Season 2026

  4. Sep 1

    Shopify's New Rev Share, Catalog, and the Next Big Bets Explained

    "You think you know what you're doing. Like I work at Shopify. I should be better at it." That's Atlee Clark, Shopify's VP of Partnerships, on running her own store, Pika Layers, for the past seven years. She's joined by Eytan Seidman, VP of Product for everything partners and developers touch. Together they just rewrote the deal for Shopify's entire partner ecosystem, and this conversation explains what that means for your store. We get into the new revenue share that pays partners on merchant GMV growth (Plus upgrades finally count), why Catalog and UCP put the world's products in a single API, and how Sidekick app extensions going GA changes what apps can do inside your admin. Plus the two areas both VPs say are wide open for anyone willing to build. Stick around for the complaint Eytan admits Shopify still hasn't fixed. SPONSORS Swym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & more getswym.com/kurt Cleverific - Smart order editing for Shopify cleverific.com Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnels zipify.com/KURT LINKS Shopify Partners: shopify.com/partners Shopify.dev: shopify.dev Pika Layers (Atlee's store): pikalayers.com Atlee Clark on X: x.com/AtleeClark PromoParty (Kurt's app): [URL] WORK WITH KURT Apply for Shopify Help ethercycle.com/apply See Our Results ethercycle.com/work Free Newsletter kurtelster.com The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

    Shopify's New Rev Share, Catalog, and the Next Big Bets Explained

  5. Aug 25

    Shopify's Head of Growth: How to Get Recommended by AI

    "It's more than 2x that conversion rate coming from another referral channel." AI shopping agents are already sending buyers to Shopify stores, and they convert at double the rate of your other referral traffic. Most merchants have no idea it's happening because the analytics show up as direct traffic. Archie Abrams runs growth at Shopify, and he's spent five and a half years building the infrastructure for exactly this moment: Shop identity, cart sync, and the Shop Product Network. Archie breaks down why AI traffic lands on product pages instead of your homepage, the five-minute ChatGPT audit that reveals what AI actually understands about your products, and which product categories are winning in agentic search right now. Plus the free growth levers already sitting in your admin, and why the smartest money might still be in direct mail. Sponsors Swym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & more Cleverific - Smart order editing for Shopify Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnels Links Shopify Collective Shopify B2B (now on all plans) Work With Kurt Apply for Shopify Help See Our Results Free Newsletter The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

    Shopify's Head of Growth: How to Get Recommended by AI

  6. Aug 18

    Why Your Subscription Program Stopped Growing — Matt Holman

    Your subscription program is adding customers every month—so why has it stopped growing? Matt Holman, founder of Subscription Prescription and known as “The Subscription Doc,” explains how churn creates a hidden ceiling: eventually, the subscribers coming in simply replace those going out. Matt and Kurt discuss why improving the offer can produce a better return than obsessing over retention, including: Why Matt considers a 40% subscription opt-in rate achievable How gifts can outperform deeper subscription discounts Why customers who switch products or flavors can be worth 6x more When migrating subscription platforms is worth the risk How to simplify the initial offer without limiting existing subscribers Which products probably shouldn’t be sold by subscription The inexpensive billing-email improvement most brands overlook They also compare Recharge, Skio, and Loop—and explore how AI could change subscription management. Guest Matt Holman, The Subscription Doc Subscription Prescription: https://thesubscriptiondoc.com The Cancel Page: https://thecancelpage.com Sponsors Swym — Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, and morehttps://getswym.com/kurt Cleverific — Smart order editing for Shopifyhttps://cleverific.com Zipify — Build high-converting sales funnelshttps://zipify.com/KURT Work with Kurt Apply for Shopify help: https://ethercycle.com/apply See our results: https://ethercycle.com/work Get the free newsletter: https://kurtelster.com

    Why Your Subscription Program Stopped Growing — Matt Holman

  7. Aug 11

    REPORT: AI is 0.1% of $274M in sales analyzed

    "This traffic is nothing. It is a rounding error." Kurt and Paul pulled 24 months of raw order data from 10 established Shopify stores: 94 million sessions, 2.2 million orders, $274 million in revenue. They went looking for the AI shopping revolution and found 0.1% of revenue. The catch: those referrals convert better than any other channel, and getting ready for them takes one afternoon of free work. Then the discount data. Across $285 million in gross sales, nearly every store hands the same 20% code to new and returning customers alike, all year long, while the promo type that wins on every metric gets 7% of the budget. Also covered: the channel quietly outselling all AI sources combined 35 to 1, and the leaked evergreen code that cost one store $349,000. SPONSORS Swym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & more getswym.com/kurt Cleverific - Smart order editing for Shopify cleverific.com Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnels zipify.com/KURT LINKS State of Ecommerce 2026 (AI traffic report): https://ethercycle.com/pages/state-of-ecommerce-2026 State of Discounts 2026: https://ethercycle.com/pages/state-of-discounts-2026 Promo Party (free gift with purchase app): [PROMO PARTY URL] Shopify Agentic dashboard: Shopify admin, under Sales channels WORK WITH KURT Apply for Shopify Help ethercycle.com/apply See Our Results ethercycle.com/work Free Newsletter kurtelster.com The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

    REPORT: AI is 0.1% of $274M in sales analyzed

  8. Aug 4

    He Sold a Startup, Now He Sells Viral Dog Pajamas

    "Man, what didn't I get wrong? It's so much harder." Brian Nolan sold his SaaS company Sellbrite to GoDaddy. Then he bought Darren & Phillip, an Australian dog apparel brand built around viral matching dog-and-owner bathrobes, and found out that owning a store is a different beast than building software for stores. The founder was the face of the brand, and she left with the sale. The Google Workspace account was locked to Australian billing. Moving inventory from Australia to the US costs more than shipping it from China. In this episode: what nobody warns you about when buying an 8-year-old brand, how customers with 80+ repeat purchases justify losing money on the first order, and the TikTok creator seeding playbook that works in the hundreds, not the tens of thousands. SPONSORS Swym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & more getswym.com/kurt Cleverific - Smart order editing for Shopify cleverific.com Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnels zipify.com/KURT LINKS Darren & Phillip: darrenandphillip.com Loop Returns (returns & exchanges): loopreturns.com Judge.me (reviews): judge.me Promo Party (Kurt's free gift with purchase app): promoparty.app WORK WITH KURT Apply for Shopify Help ethercycle.com/apply See Our Results ethercycle.com/work Free Newsletter kurtelster.com The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

    He Sold a Startup, Now He Sells Viral Dog Pajamas
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4.7
out of 5
258 Ratings

About

NEW EPISODES EVERY TUESDAY, SUBSCRIBE FOR UNBEATABLE ECOM RECON – Every Tuesday since 2014, host Kurt Elster shares the Shopify success stories that nobody tells you about, straight from the entrepreneurs living it. Subscribe for a raw look at what it really takes to succeed on Shopify.

Information

  • Creator
    Kurt Elster, Paul Reda
  • Years Active
    2014 - 2026
  • Episodes
    553
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © ETHERCYCLE LLC. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
  • Show Website
    The Unofficial Shopify Podcast

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