eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where AI Efficiency Meets Human Connection

Steve Hutt | Shopify and eCommerce Expert
  • 4.9 (211)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Running a Shopify store? You already know success isn't about finding the right app—it's about knowing which strategies actually work at your specific stage of growth. I'm Steve Hutt, and I've lived every level of the ecommerce journey. From eBay Power Seller shipping products from my garage, to co-founding and scaling VisionPros.com (an optical DTC startup) through to a successful exit, then spending 6+ years as a Shopify Merchant Success Manager helping 100+ brands from startup to enterprise scale, including working with teams at Tentree, Dr. Squatch, Bulletproof Coffee, Salt & Straw Ice Cream, MUD/WTR, Bokksu, and many more. Here's what makes this podcast different: I've been on both sides of the table. 6+ years working inside Shopify gave me access to what's coming before most merchants know it exists. Building, scaling, and successfully exiting my own ecommerce businesses taught me what actually works when your money and reputation are on the line. That combination of insider access plus real operator experience gives you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. Since 2018, eCommerce Fastlane has delivered over 430 episodes and more than 2 million downloads to ambitious Shopify founders and marketers. Every week, I chat with operators, developers, and experts who share what's actually moving the needle right now—not theory, but patterns I've seen work consistently across dozens of brands at multiple stages. Whether you're launching your first store or scaling past seven figures, every episode gives you stage-aware strategies you can implement this week. We cover Shopify apps and best practices, digital marketing and retention tactics, AI and automation tools, as well as operations and logistics that reduce overwhelm while building lasting customer loyalty. You'll learn how to leverage emerging tech without losing what makes your brand unique. You'll also hear real founder stories, including lessons from my own journey building and exiting a DTC brand, plus insights from 430+ industry leaders who've been exactly where you are. This isn't content for content's sake. It's the insight you'd get sitting at a mastermind table with someone who's succeeded at every level, helped hundreds of others do the same, and has the pattern recognition to show you what actually works at your current stage. Ready to grow smarter, not just faster? Join thousands of founders and marketers in the eCommerce Fastlane community through our podcast, newsletter, blog, and forthcoming book "Thriving with Shopify." Steve Hutt DTC Founder | Podcast Host Find Us Online Website: eCommerceFastlane.com Newsletter: FastlaneInsider.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shutt X: x.com/stevenhutt Instagram: instagram.com/ecommercefastlane Email: steve@ecommercefastlane.com

  1. 2D AGO

    Stop Guessing on Ad Creative: AI Consumer Agents Predict Purchase Intent Before You Launch

    Most founders don't realize they're stuck in the ad creative grind until they're months deep into it. Everyone's chasing the same AI tools to pump out images and copy, but here's what they're missing: the real bottleneck isn't creating ads—it's knowing which ones will actually convert before you spend a single dollar testing them. Think about your options for a second. You could drop $15,000 with an agency and wait four to six weeks for tested ad variants. Or you could spend $50 and get 20 AI-generated, consumer-validated ad concepts in under 15 minutes—complete with data showing exactly which ones will perform best. A year ago, that second option didn't exist. But today, something's shifted. Small to mid-sized brands that've been locked out of the sophisticated testing that eight-figure operations run are finally getting access to enterprise-level consumer intelligence. Today's guest is Armen Mkrtchyan, CEO and co-founder of Extuitive, a company that emerged from Flagship Pioneering—the same innovation lab behind Moderna. Armen and his team built something remarkable: a proprietary database of over 150,000 AI consumer agents trained on real people living in the US. These agents can predict purchase intent, skepticism triggers, and price sensitivity before you launch a single campaign. This isn't just another AI image generator churning out generic assets. This is validated creative testing at a scale that was previously impossible for most brands. Whether you're prepping for Black Friday or planning Q1 launches, understanding how AI consumer validation works could fundamentally change your approach to creative production. Let's get into it. Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome. TwitterLinkedInFacebookFor more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.

    33 min

  2. 4D AGO

    From App Chaos to Conversion Engine: Building Shopify Stores That Scale

    Here's what most founders don't realize until they're deep in the scaling trenches: that DIY Shopify store that got you to $2-3M? It's probably your biggest bottleneck right now. Your site's crawling from app bloat, conversion rates have plateaued, and expanding internationally feels like a six-month, six-figure nightmare you don't have bandwidth for. Meanwhile, the top 1% of Shopify brands are launching multi-region storefronts with localized currencies, duties, taxes, and languages—and they're live in 8-12 weeks. The difference isn't unlimited budgets or massive teams. It's knowing how to build for scale from day one. Today's guest literally helped build the Shopify Plus Partner Program. Mac King is Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Domaine, the world's largest independent Shopify design and development agency with over 350 sites launched globally. Before founding Domaine, Mac was at Shopify in the early days, flying around North America convincing agencies (including me) to become Shopify Plus Partners back when people were skeptical about paying $1,000 for Plus. Now he leads a team that builds sites for mid-market and enterprise brands who need architecture that scales—without the constant firefighting and tech debt that comes from the DIY approach. Let's dive in. Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome. TwitterLinkedInFacebookFor more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.

    41 min

  3. OCT 28

    Your Phone Number Is Killing Your Conversions: How AI Voice Agents Turn Missed Calls Into Revenue

    Every time your phone rings and goes to voicemail, you're losing a customer forever. Research shows that more than 80% of potential buyers who hit voicemail don't call back—they head straight to Google and find your competitor instead. Think about what that means: someone saw your ad, got excited about your product, had a question about sizing or shipping, and was ready to buy. Then your phone rang four times, kicked to voicemail, and that $200 average order walked away. For smaller Shopify stores, the phone typically routes to someone's personal cell—which means if you're in a meeting, at dinner, or asleep, you're bleeding revenue. For larger operations, you're either paying thousands monthly for call center staff or dealing with frustrated customers navigating clunky IVR systems that make them want to hang up before they even reach a human. Either way, the phone—one of your most powerful sales and service channels—becomes your weakest link. Today's guest is Thomas Rivera, Founding Partner of NLPearl, one of the first companies bringing AI voice agents specifically to the Shopify ecosystem. His platform answers every call 24/7, looks up orders in real-time from your Shopify admin, handles returns and FAQs, makes product recommendations, and can even transfer to live agents during business hours when you need that human touch. It takes about 10 minutes to set up, costs a fraction of traditional call centers, and the voice quality is so human-like you'd swear you were talking to a real person. Whether you're doing $10K months or $10M, this is the infrastructure that turns missed calls into revenue. Let's dive in. Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome. TwitterLinkedInFacebookFor more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.

    42 min

  4. OCT 23

    The Launch Revolution: Building Emotional Loyalty Through Drops

    Every Shopify brand scaling beyond six figures eventually faces this moment: you've got a product people actually want, demand is building, and you decide to run a launch. Then the site crashes, bots clear out inventory in seconds, real customers get locked out, and your support inbox explodes for weeks. Whether you're dropping limited sneakers or launching a new product line, the infrastructure that works for everyday commerce completely falls apart when passionate fans show up all at once. Andrew Lipp lived this frustration firsthand—not as a store owner, but as a regular guy trying to buy Nike Stranger Things sneakers. He showed up at launch time, entered his credit card details, got a confirmation, drove to the store for pickup, and was told "we don't have your transaction." The site had crashed, they'd oversold, checkout went out of sync, and the kicker? They couldn't even refund his money because the transaction never fully processed. Meanwhile, those exact shoes were instantly listed on resale markets for 3x the price. That broken experience led Andrew to leave Google, recruit a couple colleagues, and build EQL—a platform that's powered launches for Nike, Crocs, Stanley, Foot Locker, and dozens of Fortune 100 brands. They just launched their Shopify app last month to bring these same elite launch tools to brands of every size, whether you're a solo creator testing your first drop or a growing DTC brand trying to manage hype without breaking your store. Let's dive in. Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome. TwitterLinkedInFacebookFor more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.

    41 min

  5. OCT 21

    Scale Beyond Paid Ads: How SARAL’s InfluencerOS Delivers Predictable Growth for Shopify Brands

    As Q4 heats up and ad costs keep climbing, most Shopify brands are stuck in the same exhausting cycle—pouring more money into Meta and TikTok ads while watching their CAC creep higher every month. You know you need to diversify, and influencer marketing seems like the obvious answer. So you start DMing creators, sending free products, maybe paying a few to post. Three months later? Crickets. Maybe you got a handful of posts, zero sales you can track, and now you're convinced "influencer marketing doesn't work for us." Here's what's actually happening: you're treating a top-of-funnel awareness channel like it's bottom-of-funnel direct response—and then measuring it with the wrong metrics entirely. It's like judging your Facebook ads purely on organic reach. The mechanics are completely different, which is why most brands are burning budget on random tactics instead of building a system that actually compounds. Today's guest has cracked the code on making influencer marketing predictable and profitable. Yash Chavan is the Founder and CEO of SARAL—what he calls the world's first influencer operating system. His platform has helped over 250 brands generate more than $40 million in incremental revenue, not by gambling on viral moments, but by running influencer programs like actual business operations with clear frameworks, predictable outcomes, and measurable ROI. Whether you're doing your first $10K month or scaling past seven figures, his "Predictable Pyramid" approach works because it eliminates the guesswork at every stage. Let's dive in. Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome. TwitterLinkedInFacebookFor more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.

    34 min

  6. OCT 16

    Chaos-Proof Your Q4: ShipBob’s Fulfillment Playbook for Fast-Growing Shopify Brands

    As Q4 heats up, Shopify brands are facing some serious pressure—rising fulfillment costs, shifting global tariffs, and the growing complexity of scaling operations beyond your garage or living room. Today's guest knows this space inside and out. Casey Armstrong, CMO at ShipBob, returns for his third appearance on the show—a rare honor reserved for guests who bring exceptional value to our community. Casey first joined us back in July 2019 for episode 52, returned in August 2021 for episode 179, and now he's back for episode 425. Over nearly seven years at ShipBob, Casey and his team have helped hundreds of Shopify merchants evolve from scrappy startups to global brands. With more than 100 million orders shipped annually across 60+ fulfillment centers worldwide, ShipBob has become an essential partner for brands crossing that $1–5M growth threshold and scaling beyond. Whether you're gearing up for Black Friday Cyber Monday or planning a multi-channel expansion, this episode is packed with actionable insights. You'll learn how to build operational leverage, optimize cash flow using Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) warehousing, navigate the new tariff landscape, and streamline fulfillment—so you can spend less time packing boxes and more time growing your brand. Let's dive in.  Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome. TwitterLinkedInFacebookFor more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.

    44 min

  7. OCT 14

    Scale Smarter, Not Harder: The 10-Minute Shopify Workweek Using AI Agents With Thinkr

    Welcome to eCommerce Fastlane! Q4 is in full swing, and with it comes mounting pressure for Shopify brands—admin demands are cutting into margins, operations are getting more complex, and there's a constant buzz about AI: is it actually moving the needle, or just adding more noise? Today, we're bringing clarity to the conversation with Edu Samayoa, co-founder and CEO of Thinkr. His team is pioneering autonomous commerce through AI agents that deliver real results for Shopify brands. Whether you're scaling toward your first million or optimizing an established business, today's episode uncovers practical ways to use AI—not just to save precious founder time, but to win back lost sales and drive measurable growth. No more hype, no more overwhelm—just actionable insights that make an impact.  Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome. TwitterLinkedInFacebookFor more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.

    43 min

  8. OCT 10

    Winning The Checkout: Real-World eCommerce Fixes that Convert Customers and Build Loyalty

    Welcome to eCommerce Fastlane! As Q4 ramps up, Shopify brands face mounting challenges: acquisition costs are climbing, and customer expectations keep rising. How do you keep growing—in conversions, loyalty, and lifetime value—without getting bogged down by AI hype or generic advice? Today, I’m joined by Greg Tull, Director of Marketing at Classy Llama. With nearly two decades of eCommerce expertise, Greg’s team is all about practical wins—grounded, data-driven strategies and real-world customer experience solutions for scaling on Shopify Plus. Whether you’re gearing up for BFCM or just looking to build stronger customer relationships this season, you’ll discover simple, actionable ways to harness AI, design friction-free journeys, and deepen loyalty beyond the first sale. Let’s dive in. Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome. TwitterLinkedInFacebookFor more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.

    42 min
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4.9
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About

Running a Shopify store? You already know success isn't about finding the right app—it's about knowing which strategies actually work at your specific stage of growth. I'm Steve Hutt, and I've lived every level of the ecommerce journey. From eBay Power Seller shipping products from my garage, to co-founding and scaling VisionPros.com (an optical DTC startup) through to a successful exit, then spending 6+ years as a Shopify Merchant Success Manager helping 100+ brands from startup to enterprise scale, including working with teams at Tentree, Dr. Squatch, Bulletproof Coffee, Salt & Straw Ice Cream, MUD/WTR, Bokksu, and many more. Here's what makes this podcast different: I've been on both sides of the table. 6+ years working inside Shopify gave me access to what's coming before most merchants know it exists. Building, scaling, and successfully exiting my own ecommerce businesses taught me what actually works when your money and reputation are on the line. That combination of insider access plus real operator experience gives you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. Since 2018, eCommerce Fastlane has delivered over 430 episodes and more than 2 million downloads to ambitious Shopify founders and marketers. Every week, I chat with operators, developers, and experts who share what's actually moving the needle right now—not theory, but patterns I've seen work consistently across dozens of brands at multiple stages. Whether you're launching your first store or scaling past seven figures, every episode gives you stage-aware strategies you can implement this week. We cover Shopify apps and best practices, digital marketing and retention tactics, AI and automation tools, as well as operations and logistics that reduce overwhelm while building lasting customer loyalty. You'll learn how to leverage emerging tech without losing what makes your brand unique. You'll also hear real founder stories, including lessons from my own journey building and exiting a DTC brand, plus insights from 430+ industry leaders who've been exactly where you are. This isn't content for content's sake. It's the insight you'd get sitting at a mastermind table with someone who's succeeded at every level, helped hundreds of others do the same, and has the pattern recognition to show you what actually works at your current stage. Ready to grow smarter, not just faster? Join thousands of founders and marketers in the eCommerce Fastlane community through our podcast, newsletter, blog, and forthcoming book "Thriving with Shopify." Steve Hutt DTC Founder | Podcast Host Find Us Online Website: eCommerceFastlane.com Newsletter: FastlaneInsider.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shutt X: x.com/stevenhutt Instagram: instagram.com/ecommercefastlane Email: steve@ecommercefastlane.com

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