What you'll get from the podcast:

• Gain insights into the latest ecommerce trends and how they affect business strategies.
• Understand the impact of AI on product discovery and customer engagement.
• Learn about the strategic shifts in customer loyalty programs.
• Discover the role of data intelligence in driving business success.
• Explore the growing influence of social commerce platforms like TikTok.

It has been another busy year in ecommerce, the year when AI became mainstream and sped into town on a wave of hype.

Our State of Industry podcast offers a strategic review of the ecommerce landscape during the past year, focusing on key trends and developments.

The episode delves into the impact of tariffs on cross-border trade and the genuinely transformative effect AI is having on the industry, highlighting how these factors have shaped business strategies and market dynamics.

We discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by AI, particularly in product discovery, and the significant increase in AI-driven traffic to retail websites.

We also explore the evolving nature of customer loyalty programs, emphasising the shift from traditional points-based systems to more strategic, value-driven approaches that foster deeper customer relationships.

The podcast further examines the role of data intelligence in enhancing business decision-making, with a focus on the growing sophistication of data analysis tools and the importance of integrating AI capabilities.

Social commerce is also covered, noting the rise of platforms like TikTok as key players in the ecommerce space, rivaling established giants like Meta.

Key chapters:[00:00:30] Introduction and Overview[00:03:30] Impact of Tariffs and AI[00:10:00] Customer Loyalty Evolution[00:16:00] Data Intelligence in E-commerce[00:22:00] Rise of Social Commerce

*** the sound balance is a bit off on this episode and we couldn't resolve it in editing - apologies!

Shopify's bi-annual Editions launch is a key industry event that generates a lot of buzz.

Learn about the latest developments from Shopify's winter editions with Ben Homer, Senior Solutions Engineer at Shopify.

The discussion centers around the transformative impact of AI and agentic commerce on the platform, highlighting Shopify's commitment to enhancing both user and developer experiences.

Why listen:

• Get insights into Shopify's strategic direction
• Understand the potential of AI in commerce
• Learning about new tools that democratise business capabilities.

Key discussion points:

• Shopify's AI integration: explore how Shopify is leveraging AI to enhance platform capabilities, including the rollout of agentic commerce tools like Sidekick.
• Catalogs API Access: learn about the new access for developers to Shopify's catalogs API, enabling innovative tooling and expanded commerce capabilities.
• Pulse and SimGym: discover how these tools are democratising data-driven insights and testing, making advanced capabilities accessible to businesses of all sizes.
• Future of Shopify Flow: understand the potential of Shopify Flow in automating complex tasks and enhancing operational efficiency.
• Tinker and A/B Testing: get a glimpse into upcoming tools designed to simplify content creation and enhance hardware connectivity for Shopify users.

Stay connected with the leading ecommerce platforms. In this episode, we interview leaders and visionaries from Shopify, BigCommerce, Centra, Commerce Layer, Remarkable Commerce and SCAYLE Commerce Engine for a fireside chat on what’s happened in Q2 2025.

Every 6 months, we catch-up with the leadership teams of leading ecommerce vendors so you can hear directly from them about their strategic and product focus.

For this episode, we tackle three key strategic questions:

1. How have the vendors seen the platform market evolve in 2025, and what tech trends are they focused on?
2. Strategic direction of travel - what's shaping their current business strategy & why?
3. Product roadmap - key releases from Q2 2025, what they mean for retailers.

Timings:

• [01:50] Remarkable Commerce
• [23:45] Centra
• [41:00] BigCommerce
• [1:02:35] Commerce Layer
• [1:17:10] Shopify
• [1:36:00] Scayle Commerce Engine