BigSummit Fireside Chat Uncovers How to Drive Growth in the Evolving Ecommerce Landscape

In August 2024, we launched BigSummit, our flagship thought leadership conference designed to empower ecommerce leaders. Throughout the event, we hosted several panel discussions that allowed industry experts to share their knowledge and insights on the ecommerce landscape. 

During our Fireside Chat, Sharon Gee, SVP of Sales and Partnerships at Feedonomics, sat down with Rick Watson, CEO of RMW Commerce, and Travis Hess, CEO of BigCommerce, and they discussed the new normal in commerce, the importance of organizational agility, and strategies for brand differentiation in an omnichannel world.

Here are some highlights and key takeaways from the panel that brands can use to elevate their ecommerce presence.

Test and learn this holiday season

Sharon Gee: How should brands and retailers prepare for the holidays? Is there anything they should keep at the forefront of their minds?

Rick Watson: “If you haven't already gotten your products into Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), it's almost too late at this point. I would say make sure you have availability for promotions and availability in your stock and warehouse.

“Second is to test and learn. Everyone thinks the holidays are when you stop changing, which never made sense to me. To me, this is when consumers are buying, and it’s the best time to learn throughout the entire year. If you're not trying two or three new things, I think you're missing out on a golden opportunity.”

Travis Hess: “I agree. It’s the best time to experiment, and I think experimentation is the new norm. I talked a little bit yesterday about customers being the new channel. Brands have to go where their customers want to engage them and they need to do that immersively and with value. When done quickly, I consider it a success.  

“I think testing, learning, trying new things, and creating some semblance of organizational agility to be able to do this stuff and work it into the culture of the organization is essential. The biggest thing is changing yourself to embrace this concept and dogma around agility and experimentation, knowing that you're not always going to be right. I think the more you put yourself out there and create availability, the more efficiency you're ultimately going to drive.”

Key takeaway.

For a successful holiday season, brands need to prioritize stock availability and experiment with new strategies. Testing different promotions, channels, and operational efficiencies during the peak shopping period offers valuable insights that can drive long-term growth.

Building a culture of agility and embracing experimentation — despite not always getting it right — helps brands stay competitive. Meeting customers where they are with immersive, value-driven experiences ensures brands can adapt quickly to changing demands and maximize holiday sales.

Drive change with collaboration and clear goals

Gee: Your recommendation around testing, learning, and fostering collaboration between these teams to maximize channel effectiveness makes a lot of sense. One of the biggest challenges we've encountered is overcoming the inertia that prevents teams from moving in that direction. Do you have any advice on how to build a strong internal business case to drive this change?

Watson: “First of all, you need the right people around the table. One thing that strikes me in a lot of the client work I'm doing is that a merchant makes the product, and then we're like, here's our line for the year. The new organization has to be more community-oriented and cross-functional. Commerce is ultimately just about math — traffic times, conversion times, and AOV equals revenue. We shouldn't complicate it more than that.

“If you're making a business case, you need to think about what you are trying to address. Are you trying to gain a new customer you haven't heard of before? Maybe the solution is a marketplace or a new campaign to get them to your website. Are you trying to make an existing customer buy more like the person who bought six months ago? Are you trying to make them buy again? Why are you trying to make them buy again? What would motivate them to buy again? So, that gets into the life cycle of marketing. Ultimately, those are what I think about when I think about business cases.”

Key takeaway.

To overcome inertia and drive change, brands need to bring the right teams together and focus on collaboration. A cross-functional approach helps everyone work toward the same goals.

Brands building a business case should keep it simple and focus on what they're trying to achieve — whether it's attracting new customers, getting repeat buyers, or increasing AOV. By tying goals to clear metrics like traffic and conversion rates, brands can make a strong, straightforward case for driving change.

Overcome challenges with action and fresh perspectives

Gee: What are some of the challenges and ways you might recommend our customers overcome them when trying out new programs like Amazon Today or features that platforms like Meta and TikTok are rolling out?

Watson: “The first thing is to avoid decision paralysis. If you’ve been thinking about it for more than three to six months — stop. Rule two: don’t give it to the busiest person who’s going to ignore it because it’s not where they’ll make their quota. Rule three: give it to an up-and-coming person who can make it their sole focus — someone who enjoys evaluating new things and isn’t weighed down.

“I think from the organizational point of view, getting out of this paralysis mindset and getting more into the experimentation mindset is essential. If you're staying the same, something is wrong.”

Key takeaway.

When implementing new programs and features, brands should avoid decision paralysis and adopt an experimentation mindset. It's important not to debate decisions too long and instead take action.

Rather than assigning these initiatives to the busiest team members, who may lack the time to focus, brands should give them to up-and-coming team members who thrive on exploring new ideas. These individuals can dedicate the necessary time and energy to evaluating and testing. By empowering the right people, brands can drive innovation and remain agile in an ever-changing market.

Deliver value by aligning services with client needs

Gee: Travis, what do you see as the evolving role of technology partners in this new normal? What is the new role of agencies in relation to an omnichannel customer strategy?

Hess: “I don't think it's lost on service providers how much things have changed and been disrupted. If you look at the platform side just five years ago, the time it took to deliver on requirements, the services provided, and the associated revenues are dramatically different from today.

“Look at basic economics as a service provider. If what used to be 12 months and $2 million in services revenue is now three months and $200,000, try building a resource allocation around that. It's hard to staff that with full-time people, so by definition, you end up fractionally staffing. That's going to create context switching, fatigue, and quality issues. 

“When you add in the fact that brands and clients often take time to make decisions, moving to a recurring revenue model becomes essential. You simply can’t grow a services business without recurring revenue, especially now. You need to frame your capabilities around delivering value to the client because they need to drive value for their own customers.”

Watson: “If you're an agency owner who isn’t thinking like your client and is only focused on pitching the next big project, you're already lost. That's not what your client is looking for — they want solutions to their problems.

“In the next generation, media plus data equals commerce. A brand is never going to turn down a project that helps them learn more about their customers. They will turn down a project that's building a sandcastle on their website.”

Key takeaway.

In today’s changing landscape, technology partners and agencies need to shift to a service model that emphasizes efficiency and recurring revenue. With shorter project timelines and lower service fees, the old model of long, high-cost engagements is no longer sustainable.

Agencies should focus on delivering value quickly and aligning their services with what the client really needs. That means presenting their capabilities in a way that helps the client create value for their customers while also adopting a problem-solving approach. Agencies that prioritize ongoing, data-driven solutions to help clients understand their customers will thrive, while those stuck on big projects may fall behind.

Maximize discoverability through customer-centric strategies

Gee: What opportunities should brands seize when it comes to discoverability across channels as they build their 2025 strategy and planning?

Watson: “When I think about discoverability, I think about just showing up and being on channels you're not on today. Ultimately, businesses are not about growing revenue but about growing customers. If you understand how to gain customers and get them to do what you want, then you follow the chain and put the customer at the center of your business.”

Hess: “I think creating value where your customers want to engage with the brand and measuring that objectively is the key to all of this. Be willing to experiment but also follow the data while maintaining a mindset focused on growth and value to customers. At the end of the day, if you're not generating value for the customers, you're not going to keep the loyal ones that you have, and you're certainly not going to attract new ones.”

Key takeaway.

For 2025 strategy planning, brands should prioritize discoverability by expanding into new channels and focusing on customer acquisition. The goal isn’t just boosting revenue but building a loyal customer base. It’s all about keeping the customer at the heart of the business and finding the best ways to engage them.

Creating value where customers want to connect with the brand is key to maintaining loyal customers and bringing in new ones. While it’s important to experiment, brands should always let data and objective insights steer their decisions to ensure growth and lasting customer relationships.

The final word

In the ever-changing ecommerce landscape, agility and innovation are essential for standing out and driving growth. By embracing experimentation, fostering collaboration, and focusing on customer-centric solutions, brands can achieve success and differentiate themselves in a highly competitive market. Building strong customer relationships, expanding into new channels, and leveraging data-driven insights will be the key to thriving in 2025 and the years ahead.

Watch the full Fireside Chat for more insights on how brands can elevate their ecommerce strategy and achieve long-term success.