Ecommerce Braintrust

Julie Spear
  • 4.9 (42)
  • MANAGEMENT
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Ecommerce Braintrust

Get access to the world's best brains when it comes to building momentum online for established consumer brands. Join our hosts and their expert guests for conversations about ecommerce strategies, trends, and innovations. Access our brain trust and boost your brand's ecommerce potential. Ecommerce Braintrust

  1. 1D AGO

    Vendor P&L Proliferation - Why It’s Happening and Why It Matters with Armin Alispahic - Episode 385

    Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Operations. Today, we’re excited to welcome back a familiar voice on the show—operations expert Armin Alispahic. Armin is here to bring us up to speed on a recent phenomenon in the Vendor space — the availability of true channel P&L analysis. We’ll explore why this trend is only showing up now and what it means for how brands assess their business with Amazon.   KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, and Armin discuss: Understanding Vendor Profitability on Amazon: Two main metrics: Net PPM (Net Pure Profit Margin) and Internal Brand P&L. The hidden third factor—Amazon’s internal costs (fulfillment, packaging, and shipping expenses). Why Profitability Analysis Is Becoming Crucial: Amazon is tightening vendor margins, requiring brands to have a clear view of their own and Amazon’s profitability. Increase in CRaP (Can’t Realize a Profit) items, making it essential to assess profitability at the SKU level. Technology Driving P&L Insights for Vendors: Amazon's 2023 API improvements have enabled better data access for vendor P&L analysis. New tools now provide automated, SKU-level profitability reports. Key Factors That Influence Vendor Profitability: Fixed Costs: Vendor terms (co-op, damage allowances, freight). Variable Costs: Chargebacks, shortages, advertising, and promotional spend. Operational Efficiency: Packaging, fulfillment optimization, and inventory management. How Brands Can Leverage P&L Insights: Smarter Assortment Decisions: Identifying SKUs that drive profitability vs. those that hurt margins. Optimizing Advertising Spend: Allocating budget toward high-margin products rather than just high-volume ones. Better Negotiations with Amazon: Using data to drive conversations in annual vendor negotiations (AVNs). Cross-Team Collaboration: Breaking down silos between marketing, finance, and operations.

    16 min

  2. MAR 18

    The State of Lower Funnel Media + 4 Tactics to Minimize Leakage with Ross Walker - Episode 384

    Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Operations. Today, we're catching up with Ross Walker, Director of Retail Media, to discuss his recent workshop at the Commerce Media Brand Summit in Atlanta. Ross led an in-depth session on all things bottom-of-the-funnel—what's evolving, why it matters, and how brands can maximize this critical stage. Tune in to find out more!   KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, and Ross discuss: Defining the Bottom of the Funnel (BOF) BOF focuses on conversion—turning interest into purchases or fostering brand loyalty. Includes retargeting customers who have engaged with your product or brand. Targets high-intent audiences like past visitors, brand searchers, and prior buyers. Shift in Budget Allocation Brands are moving budgets away from branded search and loyalty-based retargeting. More investment is going toward non-branded bottom-of-funnel keywords and audiences. Capturing new customers efficiently is now a bigger priority over maximizing ROAS. 4 Tactics for BOF Success Day Parting: Optimizing spend by adjusting bids based on high-conversion hours and days. Late-day bidding can be effective when competitors run out of budget. Paid & Organic Interdependency: Product listings must align with high-intent keywords to maximize visibility. Strong keyword optimization remains essential for organic rankings and paid efficiency Video Ads for BOF: Vertical video performs better for high-intent searchers. Feature-driven videos convert better than broad brand storytelling at BOF. AI & Automation in Bidding: AI is effective for optimizing bulk campaigns but still requires human oversight. Best use: Let AI handle 80% of the catalog while manually fine-tuning the top performers.

    22 min

  3. MAR 11

    Breaking Down Barriers: Cross-Functional Success in E-Commerce With Robert Estill - Episode 383

    Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Operations. Today, we’re thrilled to welcome Robert Estill, Head of Global Amazon and Marketplaces for all Beauty at The Hut Group.  With extensive experience leading E-commerce teams at powerhouse brands like Unilever, Prestige, Coty, and Versace, Robert offers invaluable insights into the ever-evolving world of online retail.  Having collaborated with him across multiple brands, we’re excited to dive into his insights on building high-performing E-commerce teams, overcoming the challenges of international expansion, the key lessons he’s learned throughout his career, and his outlook on the industry's future.   KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, and Robert discuss: E-Commerce Success Requires Adaptability The industry evolves rapidly, and what works today may not work tomorrow. Being comfortable with ambiguity and continuous learning is essential. The Importance of Cross-Functional Collaboration E-commerce isn't just marketing and sales—it involves supply chain, finance, legal, and operations. Effective communication with leadership and across departments is as crucial as technical expertise. Understanding P&L is Key to Growth E-commerce leaders must think beyond top-line revenue and focus on sustainable, profitable growth. Inventory forecasting, fulfillment costs, and operational efficiencies all impact success. 1P vs. 3P on Amazon: A Strategic Choice 1P (Vendor Central): Easier operations but less control over pricing and inventory. 3P (Seller Central): More control but requires strong operational capabilities. The decision depends on a brand’s financial structure, goals, and ability to handle fulfillment. Expanding Internationally Requires a Localized Approach Each market has unique consumer behavior, dominant platforms, and regulatory requirements. Logistics and fulfillment strategies must be planned carefully, as shipping timelines and compliance vary. Partnering with local third-party logistics (3PL) providers can help navigate complexities. AI & AMC (Amazon Marketing Cloud) Are Game Changers AI tools for content creation, search optimization, and analytics will shape the future of e-commerce. AMC provides deeper insights into customer behavior, helping brands refine their advertising strategies.

    27 min

  4. MAR 4

    The Retail Round-Up - Slap a Plus on It - Episode 382

    Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Operations. It’s time for another episode of the Retail Round-Up, February edition! Major shifts are happening in the world of e-commerce, and this episode explores the cutting-edge developments, innovations, and the impact they are having on brands, retailers, and customers alike. Joining us today are resident experts Ross Walker, Director of Retail Media at Acadia, and Armin Alipahic, Operations Team Lead. Make sure you tune in to find out more!   KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Ross, and Armin discuss: Amazon's New Direction: Amazon will direct customers to brand sites when products are unavailable on Amazon. Insights into potential motivations, benefits, and downsides for Amazon, brands, and consumers. Speculations on how this will impact Amazon’s relationship with brands and their existing models. Ulta Beauty and Omnichannel Integration: Ulta's integration of in-store inventory with brand D2C sites using the Lucky platform. Examination of the implications for brands, customers, and potential for other retailers to adopt similar strategies. Sponsored Content in AI Platforms: Discussion around Rufus AI containing sponsored ads in its search results. Predictions on Amazon's strategy for monetizing Rufus and parallels drawn to traditional advertising platforms like Google. AI for Catalog Management: Amazon's use of AI for filling in missing product attributes and mapping spreadsheets to ease catalog management. The challenges and benefits this presents to brands, particularly those with large catalogs. Amazon's Performance Plus and Brand Plus: Analysis of these tools for optimizing advertising on and off Amazon's platform. Examination of their effectiveness, particularly in targeting new customers vs. retargeting existing ones.

    23 min

  5. FEB 25

    Winning Search, Unlocking Reviews, and the ROI of Content With Profitero’s Mike Black - Episode 381

    Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Operations. Today, we’re thrilled to welcome back Mike Black, former CMO and current Chief Growth Officer at Profitero.  We’ll be diving into key insights from Profitero’s latest reports, exploring the ROI of improving search placement and the vital role that ratings and reviews play in driving success.  Make sure you tune in to find out more!   KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, and Mike discuss: Introduction and Welcome: Mike Black’s background Profitero’s Report Series Background on Profitero and its role in E-Commerce analytics. The digital shelf concept and its components. The need for factual ROI data to support digital investment. Impact of Search Placement on ROI Importance of moving from page two to page one in search results. Stats on sales increase with better organic placement. The difference in ROI between organic and paid search placements. Consumer Research and Behavior Shoppers researching product reviews online even while in-store. Importance of reviews in omni-channel influence. The challenge of internal silos in brand side teams handling reviews. Review Importance and Strategy Sales impact of moving reviews from below four stars to four stars. Review velocity significance in achieving high organic search ranking. The connection between review quality and sales. Future of Profitero Reports Upcoming updates and new benchmarks in content reports. Profitero’s focus on deeper content analytics and recommendations. Invitation to provide ideas or questions for future research.

    29 min

  6. FEB 18

    Full Funnel Then vs. Now - A Case Study a Year in the Making - Episode 380

    Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Operations. Today, we’re excited to welcome back our Director of Retail Media, Ross Walker, who will be sharing surprising insights from his work with a major beauty brand.  We’ll dive into a compelling case study on full-funnel advertising, exploring the evolving role of Streaming TV in the retail media landscape. We’re also thrilled to welcome a new guest to the show! Pat Petriello, a veteran in the retail media landscape and the new Director of Retail Marketplace Strategy at Acadia, is making his podcast debut and sharing some amazing insights with us. Make sure you tune in to find out more!   KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Ross, and Pat discuss: Definition and Understanding of "Full Funnel" Advertising Discussion on what "full-funnel" means in e-commerce Different goals of advertising campaigns at various funnel stages Changes in Streaming TV Advertising (2023 vs. 2024) Year-over-year changes in streaming TV campaign tactics Supply differences: off-the-shelf vs. curated inventory Targeting enhancements using AMC Impact of different creative approaches Effects and Measurement of Streaming TV Campaigns Assessment of upper and lower funnel metrics Use of AMC for multitouch attribution and enhanced audience targeting Engagement and Retargeting Strategy of retargeting viewers of streaming TV ads Improvements in purchase and engagement rates with better-targeted campaigns Strategic Use of Streaming TV in E-Commerce Integration of streaming TV as part of a broader e-commerce strategy Expansion of brand reach and enhancement of consumer engagement The importance of a full-funnel approach and its results Challenges and Future Considerations Consideration of cost vs. reach in streaming TV campaigns Encouragement to continually test and adapt strategies

    31 min

  7. FEB 11

    Introducing the Women in Retail Media Collective - Episode 379

    Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Operations. Today, we’re excited to welcome Ana Laura Zain, CMO of the retail media ad tech platform Pentaleap, and her colleague Emma Helsloot, Pentaleap’s Director of Sales.  Ana and Emma are also the co-founders of the newly launched Women in Retail Media Collective. In this episode, we’ll dive into their vision for this dynamic new organization and explore the impact they hope to make in the retail media space. Make sure you tune in to find out more!   KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Ana, and Emma discuss: Origins of the Women in Retail Media Collective: What sparked the idea of the collective How both Ana and Emma identified the need for a network to support women in retail media. Their personal experiences and networking efforts highlight the importance of women supporting women in this space. Mission and Goals: The collective's mission focuses on connecting, growing, and leading women in the retail media sector. They aim to increase women's representation as speakers at events and publish more content authored by women. Growth and Expansion: The collective has grown rapidly, reaching over 600 members worldwide within three months of its inception. Plans for local initiatives and flagship events are in place to enhance networking opportunities. Industry Trends: Hosted discussions on key industry trends such as programmatic advertising, AI agents, and the career paths of retail media leaders. Emphasized the importance of understanding the evolving landscape of retail media. Ways to Get Involved: Join the collective Support their initiatives Connect with the collective via their website and LinkedIn.

    21 min

  8. FEB 4

    The Retail Round Up - You Get an Ad Platform, You Get an Ad Platform…We All Get an Ad Platform? - Episode 378

    We officially closed the book on the first month of 2025 and it’s the perfect time to introduce a fresh new format we’re calling the Retail Roundup. For this inaugural edition, we’ve brought in two of our go-to experts to break down what’s really happening in the industry. Joining us today are Ross Walker, Director of Retail Media at Acadia, and Armin Alipahic, Operations Team Lead — and a walking, talking encyclopedia of Amazon knowledge since the days Bezos sold his first book.   KEY TAKEAWAYS In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Ross, and Armin discuss: Amazon Retail Ad Services: Announced the launch at CES. Enabling brands to create ads using Amazon’s ad stack. Compared to Critio and Citrus ads but with Amazon’s unique reach. Amazon Reimbursement Policy Change: New reimbursement based on cost of goods sold (COGS) instead of retail price. Required sellers to report their COGS. Discussions on potential privacy concerns and impact on margins. B2B-Specific Bids for Amazon Ads: Allows brands to bid specifically for business buyers. Seen as a significant feature for B2B-focused products. Five-Year Look Back for Amazon Marketing Cloud: Provides extended access to purchase signals for analysis beyond the typical 12-month period. Seen as a major development for mid-tier and enterprise brands. Amazon’s Title Character Count Requirement: Automatic AI revision of non-compliant product titles. Aim to eliminate word souping and improve title quality. Image Compliance Platform Overhaul: Streamlined approach to identifying and correcting image issues using AI. Greater automation to reduce manpower and costs for Amazon.

    24 min
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4.9
out of 5
42 Ratings

About

Get access to the world's best brains when it comes to building momentum online for established consumer brands. Join our hosts and their expert guests for conversations about ecommerce strategies, trends, and innovations. Access our brain trust and boost your brand's ecommerce potential. Ecommerce Braintrust

Information

  • Creator
    Julie Spear
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2025
  • Episodes
    103
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Acadia.io LLC
  • Show Website
    Ecommerce Braintrust

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