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In this milestone 100th episode, Ryan Martin sits down with eCommerce strategist and fractional CMO Mark Baartse to dismantle the myths around ROAS, attribution, and performance marketing.

This is not another fluffy chat about branding, it’s a hard hitting, brutally honest look at what’s really working in Australian eCommerce.

From why relying on Meta and Google is short-sighted to how brand-building pays off in revenue (not just theory), Mark shares the insights that have helped scale brands doing $200M+.

You’ll also learn how most businesses are measuring the wrong data, the dangerous streetlight effect holding you back, and what the top performers in 2025 will be doing differently.

Key Takeaways

• Why ROAS is a seductive but misleading metric
• How to know when to pull back on paid ads and invest in brand
• What the streetlight effect is and how it’s quietly killing your growth
• The real role of attribution and why it’s often marketing’s worst enemy
• How to structure your first 3 to 5 years as an eCommerce brand
• What smart Aussie brands are doing to stand out in a sea of sameness

If you’re serious about scaling sustainably, this is the episode you can’t afford to miss.

Connect with Mark

The Long And Short Of It PDF.

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Ryan Martin welcomes back Prav De Silva, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer at The Thoughtful Agency, to unpack what it really takes for swimwear, resort wear and fashion brands to stay profitable and stand out in a fiercely competitive 2025.

Prav reveals why core collections are your brand’s profit engine, how scenario planning helped clients navigate tariff chaos, and why too much paid traffic could quietly sink your margins.

We dive deep into:

✅ What percentage of paid vs organic traffic keeps brands healthy

✅ The underrated power of founder-led storytelling and authentic content

✅ How affiliate marketing and smart publisher partnerships slash acquisition costs

✅ The game changing insights from Thoughtful’s proprietary data warehouse & benchmarking tool

✅ How leading Aussie brands leverage real time market data to pivot fast

If you want practical, immediately usable strategies to protect your profits, build resilient communities, and expand globally without wasting ad dollars, this episode is for you.

👉 PS: If you’re serious about profit-first growth, don’t miss Prav’s actionable takeaways on blending product innovation, performance marketing, and brand community, and how Thoughtful’s team can help you do it.

Subscribe, share, and leave a review if you found value!

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CX Index here

In this episode of Ecommerce Australia, host Ryan Martin sits down with Mareile Osthus, ex-CCO of The Iconic and now co-founder & CEO of Humii, Australia’s leading online mystery shopping powerhouse.

Mareile reveals how traditional metrics like Net Promoter Scores fail modern e-commerce brands and how Hume’s real-time, unbiased mystery shopping data is exposing hidden friction points that cost retailers millions in lost revenue and repeat customers.

Tune in to discover:
✅ Why your NPS is lying to you, and what to track instead
✅ How to spy on your competitors’ real CX without integrations
✅ The shocking average refund times hurting Aussie retailers
✅ Common blind spots killing conversion & repeat purchase rates
✅ How small to medium brands can harness enterprise-grade insights on a startup budget

If you think your customer journey is ‘good enough’, think again.

This episode will challenge you to benchmark, fix blind spots fast, and turn your CX into an unbeatable growth engine.

SEO Audit Here

Appear on the eCommerce Australia Podcast

In this episode, Ryan Martin chats with Jordy Wade, eCommerce founder of The Better Clean and Ile Digital, a CRO and email marketing agency.

From a Shopify shutdown to TikTok virality, Jordy shares the unfiltered story of launching his DTC brand, scaling from Byron to Bali, and learning what actually moves the needle in eCommerce.

What you’ll learn:

• How TikTok helped save their brand launch after Shopify froze sales

• Why “launch now, fix later” worked (with some brutal product lessons)

• Jordy’s top 3 CRO mistakes that most founders make (and how to fix them)

• How Gen Z’s buying habits are changing website UX best practices

• Why Jordy avoids the “eco-warrior” brand message and focuses on price + performance

• The exact strategy that helped The Better Clean go 18 months without a single return

• The power of founder-led marketing, email insights, and knowing your numbers
  

Whether you're in startup mode or scaling, this episode delivers raw insight from a founder who’s still in the trenches, balancing client work, product testing, and brand building from two time zones.

Free SEO Audit Here

Apply to be on the podcast Here

Join upcoming webinar and start learning ai Here

In this episode of eCommerce Australia, Ryan Martin sits down with Dawid Naude, founder of Pathfinder.ai and a pioneer in the eCommerce AI space, to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming search, content, and consumer behaviour.

If you're an eCommerce founder or manager, wondering how to adapt to a world where ChatGPT and AI driven search are replacing Google, this episode is essential listening.

We unpack:

• Why AI SEO is reshaping how products are discovered online

• How eCommerce SEO is entering a new golden age — but only for those who play it smart

• How big retailers like Woolworths and Australia Post are using AI in eCommerce

• The rise of Search Everywhere Optimisation (SEO beyond Google)

• What eCom founders need to do now to stay visible in AI-first search platforms

Dawid also shares the exact mindset shift that separates short-term SEO spam from long-term brand authority, and why authenticity and trust will be the ultimate differentiators in the AI era.

Whether you're a seasoned founder or just scaling up, this conversation is packed with actionable insights and real-world strategies for winning in the age of AI and eCommerce.

Free SEO Audit Here

Want to be featured on the podcast? Apply here

What if your customers could try your products before they buy—without killing your margins?

In this episode, Ryan Martin sits down with returning guest Peter Ceredig-Evans, co-founder of Try With Mirra, to unpack how their “Try Before You Buy” solution is driving an average of 39% increase in AOV, reducing returns, and converting first-time visitors into loyal customers.

From fashion to skincare, Try With Mirra is changing the game for Aussie eCommerce brands, offering a premium customer experience without discounts.

Pete also drops an exclusive on their upcoming Try With Mirra app, which could be the “Uber Eats for fashion.”

Whether you're scaling or stuck in the discount trap, this is a must-listen episode packed with data, insights, and actionable strategies.

Free SEO Audit Here

Want to be a guest on the show? Apply here

In this episode of eCommerce Australia, I’m joined by Dave Hyman, a highly-regarded name in the Australian digital marketing scene and founder behind several fast-growing agency ventures like Reform Digital.

We unpack the real challenges eCommerce brands face when partnering with agencies, from broken promises to poor transparency, and discuss how to avoid the common traps that leave so many founders frustrated.

This is a must-listen if you’ve ever felt let down by an agency or want to better understand what makes a great partnership in today’s crowded, often confusing digital landscape.

• The real reason so many eCommerce brands have been burnt by agencies

• How Dave built a successful digital agency during COVID (with no team and a baby on the way)

• What CRO really means in 2025, and why most brands are missing the point

• Why internal search functionality is an underrated growth lever for eCommerce

• The role of transparency, both with clients and within yourself

• What the future of agencies might look like with AI, automation, and shifting consumer behaviour

• The #1 question every brand should ask before signing with any agency

Connect with our speakers:

Connect with Ryan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-digital-marketing/

Connect with Dave - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-hyman-digital/

In this episode, Ryan sits down with Angus Cowan, the founder of MKTG Emails, a retention marketing agency that’s quietly dominating the email/SMS and retention game for some of Australia's top eCommerce brands.

If you think your email flows are dialled in because you've got an abandoned checkout sequence… think again.

Angus breaks down:

• 🔥 The #1 flow most brands are missing — and why it’s costing you thousands

• 🧠 Why over-segmentation is killing your campaign results

• 📈 What “30–40% of revenue from email” really looks like (and how to get there)

• 🚫 How a $25k email setup went completely wrong (and what you can learn from it)

• ⚖️ Full-stack vs specialist agencies — why the game is changing

• 💡 How to build high-performing popups that don’t require big discounts

We also dive into Angus' philosophy on content creation, how it fuels his agency’s growth, and why doing the basics really well still beats complexity every time.

Whether you're sending one email a week or scaling a nine-figure brand, this is a masterclass in email marketing that will shift how you think about retention.