The Unofficial Shopify Podcast

Kurt Elster, Paul Reda
  • 4.7 (258)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • 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. 42m ago

    Campaign Autopilot updates / Shopify Editions Fall '26

    "We actually take the media risk when we buy off-app. And if we don't buy well, that's on us. That's not on the merchant." Samir Pradhan ran ads at Pinterest and Google. Now he runs merchant marketing at Shopify, a company that says it is not an ads company. For the Fall '26 Edition, Shop Campaigns goes from two countries to 35, and Campaign Autopilot is out of early access and live for every merchant. Kurt asks the questions a merchant would: what counts as a sale, where the ads show up, whether you should pay to win back a past customer, and how much rope to give an AI media buyer. Plus what Autopilot means for brands that already have an agency, why Samir thinks email is underused, and where Shopify takes marketing automation next. SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurt Promo Party Pro - Free gifts that drive bigger ordersapps.shopify.com/promo-party-fgwp Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/BFCM What you'll learn: Shop Campaigns now runs in 35 countries, anywhere Shop Pay is, up from the US and CanadaPay per sale: you pay only when an order is confirmed, not for clicks or impressionsWhere the ads run: the Shop app, plus buyers Shopify finds on Google, Meta, and ChatGPTWhy Shopify, not the merchant, carries the media risk on off-app buyingSeparate bids for new and returning customers, for example $40 vs. $20, and why paying for a repeat buyer can make senseNo fixed minimum budget; you set a daily budget and your target cost per customerCampaign Autopilot is GA: Meta, Shop, Microsoft, and Snap today, X coming soonGuardrails and progressive permissions: approve every change, or "always allow" a channel once it earns itAutopilot runs in your own ad accounts, so the accounts stay yoursHow Autopilot fits next to an agency, and using it to test channels you have not triedWhy email is underused, and an ML model that holds back emails from shoppers likely to unsubscribeWhat's next: holiday budget guidance, inventory-aware campaigns, and Sidekick SEO recommendationsGuest: Samir Pradhan, VP Product, Merchant Marketing, Shopify. LINKSShopify Fall '26 Edition: https://www.shopify.com/editions/fall2026Campaign Autopilot: https://www.shopify.com/campaign-autopilotShop Campaigns: https://www.shopify.com/shop-campaignsSamir Pradhan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samir-pradhan-71978120 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.

    Campaign Autopilot updates / Shopify Editions Fall '26

  2. Nov 3

    Shopify Editions Fall '26: The Exponential Edition

    "Shopping is in our blood. It's the one thing that we care about the most, more than anyone else. And so if anyone's gonna do that work, why not us?" Shopify VP of Product Vanessa Lee returns to break down the Fall '26 Edition, Shopify's tenth, which Shopify calls the Exponential Edition. The theme is network effects: features only Shopify can build because millions of merchants share one platform. Vanessa covers Shopify Protect writing chargeback evidence with AI, Shop Promise opening to far more stores, and Shop MCP and shop.md, which turn any AI agent into a personal shopper. Then the surprise: Shopify's catalog is expanding to products that are not on Shopify. Plus a $50 bet on how fast shoppers adopt AI agents. SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurt Promo Party Pro - Free gifts that drive bigger ordersapps.shopify.com/promo-party-fgwp Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/BFCM What you'll learn: Why the tenth Edition is called "Exponential," and what network effects mean for a store of any sizeShopify Protect now covers all orders, not just Shop Pay, and uses AI to write dispute evidence for each card networkAbout 40% more "product not received" disputes won with Shopify Protect, per VanessaRule builder: add a 3DS challenge to risky orders, for example anything over $1,000Shop Promise: a new delivery prediction model makes 20x more merchants eligible for the badge, with the same $5 Shop Cash guarantee to shoppersShop MCP and shop.dev: catalog, cart, checkout, and order tools for anyone building a shopping agentShop Pay as an agent wallet, with a spending budget you setshop.md: copy one prompt and any AI agent becomes your personal shopper, tuned to your own habitsCatalog expansion (beta): products from stores not on Shopify, cleaned to Shopify's taxonomy, in one APIWhy speed (a 180 ms search target) and the satisfaction of checkout matter for AI shoppingWindow shopping vs. efficiency shopping, and where agents fit eachKurt's own agentic workflow, in production with merchants in eight weeksGuest: Vanessa Lee, VP of Product, Shopify. LINKSShopify Fall '26 Edition: shopify.com/editions/fall2026shop.md, turn any agent into a personal shopper: shop.mdshop.dev, Shop MCP for agentic commerce: shop.devVanessa Lee on X: x.com/vlaurenleeVanessa Lee on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vlaurenlee 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.

    Shopify Editions Fall '26: The Exponential Edition

  3. Oct 27

    He Quit Superyachts to Sell Kilns on Shopify

    "This is the largest purchase they make after a car and a house." Matt Davy spent his twenties fixing engines on 450-foot superyachts, earning six figures tax free. He ran a high-ticket dropshipping store from the engine room, picked pottery because his partner is a potter, then switched to selling his own pottery wheels. Kiln Crafts hit its first £1M in about 900 days. The second million took seven months. Matt explains why his customers want a phone call, how draft orders became his best-converting Klaviyo flow, and what changed the month he moved his business into Claude Cowork. SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurt Promo Party Pro - Free gifts that drive bigger ordersapps.shopify.com/promo-party-fgwp Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/BFCM What you'll learn: Why a superyacht engineer earning six figures tax free walked away, and how he ran a store from the engine roomHigh-ticket dropshipping for 14 months at £2,000 to £2,500 profit a month, then the move to his own pottery wheelsShipping 100 lb wheels and 500 lb kilns in the UK for £50 to £60, and baking it into the priceWho buys: women aged 55 to 75 who want a phone call before the biggest purchase after a car and a houseThe phone team, the scripts that took a year and a half, and why they ask about the dog barking in the backgroundDraft orders sent to a 10-email Klaviyo flow, the store's best-converting flow, with a call-back task in a weekA custom CRM that records, transcribes, and scores every sales callThe month he moved the business into Claude Cowork, and why every employee takes the Anthropic coursesWhy Meta stays mostly out of cold traffic when the buying cycle runs for monthsRunning short on a redesigned best seller going into Q4Next: £300 to £400 add-on products, a Netherlands 3PL for the EU, and US certification for 110 voltsGuest: Matt Davy, co-founder of Kiln Crafts. Kiln Crafts is based in the UK. LINKSKiln Crafts: https://kilncrafts.co.ukKiln Crafts on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiln.craftsKiln Crafts on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kilncrafts 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.

    He Quit Superyachts to Sell Kilns on Shopify

  4. Oct 20

    Black Friday Is a Funnel-Clearing Event, Not List Growth

    "BFCM is a funnel clearing event, not a list growth event." Jimmy Kim has spent 18 years in email. He built an in-house email tool for his men's clothing store, turned it into Sendlane, and built his own sending network along the way. Now he co-hosts Send It! with Chase Dimond. His view of Black Friday: stop casting a wide net and move every segment one step down the funnel. Jimmy explains why you ramp send volume in October instead of November, how many emails to send on Black Friday and to whom, and why a new product launch beats another discount. SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurt Promo Party Pro - Free gifts that drive bigger ordersapps.shopify.com/promo-party-fgwp Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURT What you'll learn: Why Black Friday should move every segment one step down the funnel instead of growing the listGetting VIPs to raise their hands for early access, so they reserve a budget for youThe segments to build now: prospects, first-time buyers, repeat customers, VIPs, and lapsed customersWhere identity resolution works (browse and cart abandonment) and where it doesn't (list building)Why unengaged prospects get cut, while lapsed buyers from the last 365 days get one more shotRamping send volume in October, because a 2 to 3X spike in November is a red flag to inbox providersAdding unengaged contacts at 10% of your list, never doubling itFive to eight emails on Black Friday, with different messaging and frequency per segmentSMS as an urgency channel, not an echo of your emailWhat unsubscribe rate means pull back: 0.2 to 0.5% is normal, worry at 20 to 30% above your baselineWhy a new product launch beats another discount, plus bundles, gift with purchase, and tiered spendThe post-BFCM lag, the second purchase, and faster abandoned cart timing for the holiday weekGuest: Jimmy Kim, co-host of the Send It! podcast and founder of Sendlane. LINKSThe eCom Email Marketer (Jimmy's daily newsletter): https://ecomemailmarketer.comSend It! podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SendItPodcastSend It! on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/send-it/id1772942834Montana Knife Company's Black Friday episode: https://ethercycle.com/blogs/unofficial-shopify-podcast/inside-montana-knife-companys-black-friday-2025-the-unofficial-shopify-podcast 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.

    Black Friday Is a Funnel-Clearing Event, Not List Growth

  5. Oct 13

    Shopify Rebuilt the Theme Editor From Scratch: Canvas

    "Now everybody knows code. It's called English." On October 1, Shopify launched Canvas, a new theme editor built around Sidekick. Ben Sehl is Director of Product for Online Store at Shopify. He built themes as a partner, cofounded the clothing brand Kotn, and led Hydrogen from zero to one. Now he's replacing a theme editor that has worked for 15 years, and he says Canvas will be the only one in time. Ben explains what Shopify rebuilt under the hood, who should use Canvas today and who should wait, and why he thinks agencies are worth more now than before AI. SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurt Promo Party Pro - Free gifts that drive bigger ordersapps.shopify.com/promo-party-fgwp Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURT What you'll learn: Why Shopify rebuilt the editor instead of adding AI to the old oneThe artboard view: every page of your store on one screenHow a client-side Liquid renderer lets you click any text and edit it where it livesWhy Sidekick for big changes and direct edits for small onesTheme settings: why Horizon was peak settings, and why two or three variants per block is the new ruleWhat happens to your theme, your JSON templates, and your GitHub sync when you switchAutosave, version history, and theme check before publish, built inWhat Canvas does not support yet: Theme Store themes, apps, and MarketsWhy Ben hired an agency for Kotn instead of using Canvas, and why he thinks AI makes agencies more valuableShopify's zero-breaking-changes promise, back to store number one, SnowdevilThe one prompt to try first: "redesign my store"Guest: Ben Sehl, Director of Product, Online Store at Shopify. Cofounder of Kotn. LINKSBen Sehl on X: https://x.com/benjaminsehlBen's site: https://sehl.caKotn: https://kotn.comCommerce-UI (Kotn's agency): https://commerce-ui.comIntroducing Canvas (Shopify): https://www.shopify.com/news/introducing-canvasCanvas changelog: https://changelog.shopify.com/posts/design-a-fully-bespoke-store-with-canvas 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.

    Shopify Rebuilt the Theme Editor From Scratch: Canvas

  6. Oct 6

    From $25K to $447K a Month: BattlBox's Whatnot Playbook

    "Not knowing what we were doing, just bobbling through it, we did a couple thousand dollars an hour and we were like, whoa, this might be something." John Roman bought BattlBox back in 2023 and went looking for the next channel. With over a million TikTok followers, TikTok Shop looked obvious. Then a Whatnot sales rep sent an email. Seventeen months later, live selling on Whatnot does $447K a month, with no ad spend. John breaks down why Whatnot buyers spend three times what TikTok Shop buyers spend, what a three-hour show looks like when each product gets 30 seconds, and the host-hiring mistake that seemed like a sure thing. SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurt Promo Party Pro - Free gifts that drive bigger ordersapps.shopify.com/promo-party-fgwp Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURT What you'll learn: The ramp: $25K in 10 hours the first month, $447K in 317 hours last monthWhy buying intent on Whatnot beats TikTok's algorithm: "You don't open up the Amazon app to look at content"Auctions, dollar starts, and the deal-hunter problem that hurts your marginThe format: 30 seconds per product, 50 to 60 items per three-hour show, 200 SKUs in rotationThe setup: a phone, good lighting, a home studio, and OBS for effectsWhere hosts come from, and why the TikTok Shop affiliates they recruited didn't work outRaids and community boosts, the features that keep Whatnot buyers coming backHow members get box items six months before they reach WhatnotWhy they turned off Whatnot ads after a holdout test, and how their Meta CAC changedWhat's next: Battl Games season three, a six-part YouTube series starting in NovemberGuest: John Roman, CEO of BattlBox. Last on the show in January 2023. LINKSBattlBox: https://battlbox.comBattlBox on Whatnot: https://www.whatnot.com/user/battlboxJohn Roman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-romanOnline Queso (John's blog): https://onlinequeso.comJohn's previous episode, "How a Subscription Box Biz Got a Netflix Show": https://unofficialshopifypodcast.com/episodes/john-roman-battlbox/ 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.

    From $25K to $447K a Month: BattlBox's Whatnot Playbook

  7. Sep 29

    7 Founders, 15 Minutes Each: What's Working in 2026

    Kurt spent a day at Beanstalk, an invite-only ecommerce conference at Industry City in Brooklyn, recording 15-minute conversations under a tent. Seven made it to tape. Every guest is on Shopify. Not one led with paid ads. The lineup: Matt Butcher of Adam's Polishes on why he comes. Jay Wright, who spends about a billion dollars a year on Meta, on why your media buying is "completely cooked." Maria Lopez-May, VP Marketing at Nugget, on life after the pandemic lottery. Vivek Kumar, CEO of Articore (Redbubble and TeePublic), on their new Shopify integration and a $20 million turnaround. NJ Falk of APL on $400 sneakers and the thing she noticed about Sidekick. Robbie Bent of Othership on building $15 million bathhouses and marketing through the local dentist. Ali Weiss, former CMO of Glossier, on launching NoBiggie and choosing not to turn on paid. Paul was not there. He asks what you would ask. What you'll learn: Why a curated conference beats a big one: "everyone I bump into here is worth chatting with"Jay Wright: Meta is an auction, someone is winning at that CPM, and it is not the person buying like it's 2022The biggest mistake Jay sees: founders abdicating growth to a $1,000-a-month retainerHow to label your ad creative so your own account tells you what to make nextMaria Lopez-May of Nugget: right product, right time, then the dupes, then Amazon and CTVArticore's first profit since listing and a Shopify integration that launched ten days before the interviewWhy print-on-demand sellers should not put "the kitchen sink" on their storeAPL: Magento to Shopify Plus in a week, then a flagship store opened four months before lockdownThe Sidekick detail NJ Falk noticed and Kurt never didOthership: a horse trough in a backyard, 90 people screaming in a dark sauna, and why brick and mortar takes two decadesWhy local influencers (the trainer, the stylist, the bartender) beat wide-reach channels for a neighborhood businessAli Weiss on unlearning beauty margins, "playing on hard mode" with two buyers, and why getting on a Target shelf is the easy partNoBiggie Neighbors: free product for your kid's birthday party as the whole acquisition strategyThe hard decision to not turn on paid until repeat purchase shows up across channelsHosts: Kurt Elster and Paul Reda, co-owners of Ethercycle, a Shopify-exclusive agency. SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurt Cleverific - Smart order editing for Shopifycleverific.com Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURT LINKSBeanstalk: https://www.beanstalkevents.comAdam's Polishes: https://adamspolishes.comEcommerce Equation: https://ecommerceequation.comJay Wright on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaywrightofficial/Nugget: https://nuggetcomfort.comArticore Group: https://articore.comDashery: https://www.dashery.comAPL: https://athleticpropulsionlabs.comOthership: https://othership.usNoBiggie: https://nobiggieplease.comWORK 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.

    7 Founders, 15 Minutes Each: What's Working in 2026

  8. Sep 22

    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
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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
    558
  • 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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