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PODCAST

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

Steve Hutt | Shopify and eCommerce Expert

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

business marketing

All Episodes

31:42

The Hidden Nexus Trap Costing Shopify Sellers Thousands

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2026/01/06

Most Shopify sellers have no idea they're breaking tax laws until it's too late—and the penalties are brutal.In this episode, discover:Four types of nexus that trigger tax obligations beyond economic thresholds: physical locations, affiliate commissions, click-through traffic, and even trade show attendance create instant compliance requirementsWhy Amazon FBA sellers get blindsided when launching Shopify stores—Amazon handles sales tax automatically while Shopify puts the burden entirely on

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50:13

Why Conversion Rate Is a Vanity Metric (And the 4...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/12/30

Most CRO agencies chase test velocity while your conversion problems go undiagnosed—here's the research framework that changes everything.In this episode, discover:Why 80% of optimization work should happen before you launch a single test, using research to understand customer psychology instead of copying competitorsThe Intrasite Funnel diagnostic framework that reveals the four critical metrics Shopify's analytics completely miss (including the product discovery gap)How conversion rate is

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39:30

Why 56% of Searches Now Skip Your Store—And How to...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/12/23

AI is reshaping customer discovery, and if you're not showing up in ChatGPT or Perplexity recommendations, you're invisible.In this episode, discover:Why Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) matters now—AI recommendations convert 5x better than Google clicks while 56% of searches result in zero clicksThe revenue optimization framework that helped brands scale past 8 figures: converting just 3 more customers per 100 visitors doubles your ability to buy market shareHow to diagnose revenue leaks

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30:47

Inside BFCM 2025: What ShipBob Saw Across Millions Of...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/12/16

Shopify merchants generated $14 billion over BFCM weekend—but the real test starts now with fulfillment execution and operational strategy.In this episode, discover:Why apparel, beauty, and toys grew 20-40% YoY while you're strategically timing inventory to avoid cash pressure (the inbound spike happened one week later than last year)How international markets exploded with Canada up 400% and Australia 250%, creating immediate expansion opportunities you can execute this quarterThe exact

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27:40

1-Hour Delivery Meets Bulletproof Hardware: Shopify...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/12/10

Bluetooth scanners failing during your busiest checkout rush is about to become a problem of the past.In this episode, discover:How Shopify's new POS Hub eliminates the wireless peripheral failures that generate most retail support tickets—using wired connections that work with legacy hardware worth thousandsWhy 1-hour local delivery via Uber Direct integration matters more in the final December week (retail's biggest) than during Black Friday weekendHow to enroll in-store customers into

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34:49

The $250K Problem Hiding In Your Warehouse Corner

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/12/04

Most DTC brands lose 15-30% of their margin to return processing mistakes they don't even know they're making.In this episode, discover:Why the "chaos corner" in your warehouse costs more than the actual refunds—from restocking delays to inventory write-offs that silently destroy profit marginsHow 50-500% return volume spikes in January-February create your biggest hidden opportunity to recover margin (not just process faster)The 5-minute Shopify integration that turns return data into

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40:53

AI Agents That Actually Work: How DTC Brands Save...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/12/02

Most e-commerce teams are drowning in manual work that AI should be handling—but there's a massive gap between AI hype and AI that actually works.In this episode, discover:How autonomous agents differ from chatbots and query tools—no more babysitting or constant prompting required for repetitive tasksThe exact process one D2C fitness brand used to identify influencers from their top 5% customers in 5 minutes (previously took a team of interns months)Why the disconnect between data

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47:17

The $20 Billion Affiliate Mistake: Stop Paying for...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/11/25

You're paying affiliate commissions on customers who were already buying from you—Josh Kennedy calls this the "$20 billion mistake."In this episode, discover:Why 2/3 of affiliate partnerships drain profit instead of driving growth—loyalty platforms and coupon sites intercept checkout without creating valueThe search-first framework that generated $10M in real revenue—reverse-engineer where customers already look for solutions, then build direct creator relationshipsHow to audit your top 10

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38:54

Customer Acquisition Costs Keep Rising—The...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/11/18

The customer acquisition playbook that built your business three years ago is actively bleeding money today.In this episode, discover:Why single-channel strategies are crushing margins as CPMs creep up year over year—and the integrated SEO + paid media approach that's reducing customer acquisition costs by treating channels as complementary systems, not competing budgetsHow to extract actionable BFCM insights within 1-2 weeks while you still have Q4 runway to capitalize on Christmas

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34:25

The 2 Discount Types Every Shopify Merchant Needs for...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/11/11

Here's what most brands get wrong about discounting: they launch a site-wide 20% off sale for Black Friday, watch orders spike for a few days, and then—crickets. Sales completely dry up.The real problem? You've just trained your customers to wait for the next sale. Now nobody's buying at full price. Your margins are taking a beating, your average order value drops, and suddenly you're stuck in this exhausting race where every competitor is yelling louder with bigger discounts.But what if

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33:21

Stop Guessing on Ad Creative: AI Consumer Agents...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/11/07

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

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41:05

From App Chaos to Conversion Engine: Building Shopify...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/11/05

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

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42:04

Your Phone Number Is Killing Your Conversions: How AI...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/10/28

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

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40:48

The Launch Revolution: Building Emotional Loyalty...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/10/23

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

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34:20

Scale Beyond Paid Ads: How SARAL’s InfluencerOS...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/10/21

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

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44:21

Chaos-Proof Your Q4: ShipBob’s Fulfillment Playbook...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/10/16

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

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42:56

Scale Smarter, Not Harder: The 10-Minute Shopify...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/10/14

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

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41:37

Winning The Checkout: Real-World eCommerce Fixes that...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/10/10

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

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33:22

From Paid Ads To Owned Audiences: DTC Growth...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/10/07

Today's episode explores a critical shift in how scaling Shopify brands can build deeper, more profitable customer relationships.As digital ad costs climb heading into Q4—with BFCM just around the corner—too many brands waste budget competing in noisy landscapes, ignoring an untapped resource for ongoing engagement and conversion: owned audiences through branded newsletters.Most DTC brands still rely solely on transactional email flows from ESPs like Klaviyo, Omnisend, or

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33:46

The New Sourcing Formula: How AI-Powered Strategies...

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where... ·

2025/09/30

Sourcing a new product shouldn’t feel like a midnight scavenger hunt across time zones.Yet most Shopify founders still juggle endless email threads, clunky spreadsheets, and “good-enough” quotes that quietly erode their margins.Today’s guest, Anthony Sardain, says there’s a saner way. He created Cavela, the first fully automated, AI-powered virtual sourcing agent that taps more than 200 000 vetted factories in 40 countries and routinely shaves an average of 37% off unit costs—all while

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103 results

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